Nivacyn-yang by DillyDally

Format: Commander

Commander: Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 38

Deck overview

This deck is an Orzhov lifegain and aristocrats combo engine led by Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel. The primary game plan revolves around leveraging life totals as an active resource, converting incremental lifegain into overwhelming card advantage and assembling an infinite drain loop. The deck features tight redundancy for its win conditions, pairing Exquisite Blood or Bloodthirsty Conqueror with Sanguine Bond or Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose. Early turns establish a steady mana curve, develop low-cost lifegain creatures such as Soul Warden and Auriok Champion, and deploy disruptive enchantments like Authority of the Consuls and Ghostly Prison. Once the commander or heavy card-draw engines like Necropotence and Bolas's Citadel come online, the deck rapidly digs through its library to find its combo pieces. Strong board wipes and targeted exile removal keep opposing strategies in check, while extensive graveyard recursion like Living Death and Agadeem's Awakening guarantees resilient engine recovery.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Adagia, Windswept Bastion
  • 1 Agadeem's Awakening // Agadeem, the Undercrypt
  • 1 Ajani's Welcome
  • 1 Al Bhed Salvagers
  • 1 Alhammarret's Archive
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Arcane Lighthouse
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Archetype of Courage
  • 1 Archetype of Finality
  • 1 Archon of Cruelty
  • 1 Ashnod's Altar
  • 1 Aunt May
  • 1 Auriok Champion
  • 1 Austere Command
  • 1 Authority of the Consuls
  • 1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
  • 1 Avacyn, Angel of Horror
  • 1 Barren Moor
  • 1 Bastion of Remembrance
  • 1 Blood Artist
  • 1 Bloodthirsty Conqueror
  • 1 Boggart Trawler // Boggart Bog
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Bolas's Citadel
  • 1 Cabal Coffers
  • 1 Cathar Commando
  • 1 Command Beacon
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Cruel Celebrant
  • 1 Damnation
  • 1 Dawnbringer Cleric
  • 1 Demonic Tutor
  • 1 Detection Tower
  • 1 Drifting Meadow
  • 1 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim
  • 1 Exquisite Blood
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Final Act
  • 1 Ghostly Prison
  • 1 Grave Pact
  • 1 Guide of Souls
  • 1 Hall of Heliod's Generosity
  • 1 Hinterland Sanctifier
  • 1 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
  • 1 Imp's Mischief
  • 1 Intimidation
  • 1 Ishgard, the Holy See // Faith & Grief
  • 1 Kor Haven
  • 1 Lapse of Certainty
  • 1 Liliana the Faultless
  • 1 Living Death
  • 1 Lunarch Veteran // Luminous Phantom
  • 1 Malakir Bloodwitch
  • 1 Midgar, City of Mako // Reactor Raid
  • 1 Minas Tirith
  • 1 Mortuary Mire
  • 1 Necropotence
  • 1 Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel
  • 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
  • 1 Ondu Inversion // Ondu Skyruins
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 1 Phyrexian Altar
  • 1 Phyrexian Tower
  • 1 Plaguecrafter
  • 5 Plains
  • 1 Polluted Mire
  • 1 Restless Fortress
  • 1 Return to the Light Realms
  • 1 Sanguine Bond
  • 1 Scrubland
  • 1 Secluded Steppe
  • 1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
  • 1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Soul Warden
  • 1 Soul's Attendant
  • 1 Spymaster's Vault
  • 1 Susur Secundi, Void Altar
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
  • 1 Thought Vessel
  • 1 Throne of Eldraine
  • 1 Toxic Deluge
  • 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Urza's Cave
  • 1 Vault of Champions
  • 1 Vault of the Archangel
  • 1 Vein Ripper
  • 1 Vengeful Bloodwitch
  • 1 Viscera Seer
  • 1 Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
  • 1 Volrath's Stronghold
  • 1 Witch Enchanter // Witch-Blessed Meadow
  • 1 Wrath of God
  • 1 Zulaport Cutthroat