Astarion life gambler by nicknameBOB

Format: Commander

Commander: Astarion, the Decadent

Bracket: 4

DeckCheck Threat Index: 42

Deck overview

This Orzhov deck is a combo-control strategy centered around lifegain and life-drain synergies. While Astarion, the Decadent sits in the command zone as a lethal single-target punisher that doubles opponent life loss on your end step, the primary win condition is an infinite two-card drain loop. By pairing a damage-to-lifegain engine like Exquisite Blood or Bloodthirsty Conqueror with a lifegain-to-damage payoff such as Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, Enduring Tenacity, or Marauding Blight-Priest, any point of damage or lifegain immediately drains the entire table to zero. The supporting 99 provides sturdy defensive measures, utilizing rattlesnake deterrents like Ghostly Prison and Inkshield, sweeper redundancy with Austere Command and Wrath of the Skies, and proactive protection via Grand Abolisher and Flare of Fortitude. It controls incoming aggression until it can cleanly assemble its lethal combo.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Aetherflux Reservoir
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Astarion's Thirst
  • 1 Astarion, the Decadent
  • 1 Austere Command
  • 1 Basilisk Collar
  • 1 Bellowing Mauler
  • 1 Black Market Connections
  • 1 Black Sun's Zenith
  • 1 Blind Obedience
  • 1 Blood Artist
  • 1 Bloodletter of Aclazotz
  • 1 Bloodthirsty Conqueror
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Bolas's Citadel
  • 1 Caves of Koilos
  • 1 Champion of Dusk
  • 1 Children of Korlis
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Debt to the Deathless
  • 1 Defiant Bloodlord
  • 1 Demonic Tutor
  • 1 Disenchant
  • 1 Drana's Emissary
  • 1 Enduring Tenacity
  • 1 Enlightened Tutor
  • 1 Esper Sentinel
  • 1 Exquisite Blood
  • 1 Exsanguinate
  • 1 Felidar Sovereign
  • 1 Fetid Heath
  • 1 Flare of Fortitude
  • 1 Fraying Omnipotence
  • 1 Ghostly Prison
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Grand Abolisher
  • 1 Holy Day
  • 1 Inkshield
  • 1 Isolated Chapel
  • 1 Killing Wave
  • 1 Land Tax
  • 1 Lunar Convocation
  • 1 Marauding Blight-Priest
  • 1 Myriad Landscape
  • 1 Orim's Chant
  • 1 Orzhov Signet
  • 1 Oubliette
  • 1 Phyrexian Arena
  • 12 Plains
  • 1 Quietus Spike
  • 1 Relic of Legends
  • 1 Revival // Revenge
  • 1 Rhox Faithmender
  • 1 Risky Shortcut
  • 1 Rush of Dread
  • 1 Selfless Squire
  • 1 Serra's Emissary
  • 1 Shattered Sanctum
  • 1 Shineshadow Snarl
  • 1 Silent Clearing
  • 1 Skyclave Relic
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sorin Markov
  • 1 Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate
  • 1 Sower of Discord
  • 1 Sunlit Marsh
  • 12 Swamp
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Sword-Point Diplomacy
  • 1 Tainted Field
  • 1 Talisman of Hierarchy
  • 1 Temple of Silence
  • 1 Vampiric Tutor
  • 1 Vault of Champions
  • 1 Vindicate
  • 1 Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
  • 1 Vizkopa Guildmage
  • 1 Wrath of the Skies