Niv full alter art by takomi

Format: Commander

Commander: Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 46

Deck overview

This deck is an Orzhov Lifegain Combo-Control list led by Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel. It operates by establishing early lifegain triggers and mana rocks to deploy its 6-mana commander on Turn 5. Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel turns incidental life gain into substantial card draw, digging through the library to find one of its signature two-card infinite drain combos: Exquisite Blood or Bloodthirsty Conqueror paired with Sanguine Bond, Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, or Enduring Tenacity. The deck also features high-ceiling alternate win conditions in Bolas's Citadel alongside Aetherflux Reservoir, as well as Approach of the Second Sun. A robust removal suite featuring Anguished Unmaking, Swords to Plowshares, and Toxic Deluge allows the deck to control the board and neutralize opposing threats, while cards like Blind Obedience, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, and Authority of the Consuls slow down fast aggressive strategies and generate steady life buffer.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Aetherflux Reservoir
  • 1 Agadeem's Awakening // Agadeem, the Undercrypt
  • 1 Alhammarret's Archive
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Approach of the Second Sun
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Archivist of Oghma
  • 1 Authority of the Consuls
  • 1 Black Market Connections
  • 1 Bleachbone Verge
  • 1 Blind Obedience
  • 1 Blood Artist
  • 1 Bloodthirsty Conqueror
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Bolas's Citadel
  • 1 Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway
  • 1 Caves of Koilos
  • 1 Children of Korlis
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Creeping Bloodsucker
  • 1 Crypt Ghast
  • 1 Damn
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Dawn's Truce
  • 1 Despark
  • 1 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim
  • 1 Enduring Tenacity
  • 1 Esper Sentinel
  • 1 Exquisite Blood
  • 1 Exsanguinate
  • 1 Fell the Profane // Fell Mire
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Fetid Heath
  • 1 Flawless Maneuver
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
  • 1 Haliya, Guided by Light
  • 1 Heliod, Sun-Crowned
  • 1 Inkshield
  • 1 Isolated Chapel
  • 1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
  • 1 Karlov of the Ghost Council
  • 1 Land Tax
  • 1 Lightning Greaves
  • 1 Liliana the Faultless
  • 1 Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff
  • 1 Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire
  • 1 Marsh Flats
  • 1 Moseo, Vein's New Dean
  • 1 Night's Whisper
  • 1 Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel
  • 1 Orzhov Signet
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 1 Phyrexian Tower
  • 10 Plains
  • 1 Psychosis Crawler
  • 1 Reanimate
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Restoration Magic
  • 1 Rhox Faithmender
  • 1 Sanguine Bond
  • 1 Serra Ascendant
  • 1 Shadowy Backstreet
  • 1 Shattered Sanctum
  • 1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
  • 1 Silent Clearing
  • 1 Smothering Tithe
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sorin of House Markov // Sorin, Ravenous Neonate
  • 1 Soul Warden
  • 1 Soul's Attendant
  • 1 Starscape Cleric
  • 1 Suture Priest
  • 8 Swamp
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Talisman of Hierarchy
  • 1 The Wind Crystal
  • 1 Thought Vessel
  • 1 Toxic Deluge
  • 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Vault of Champions
  • 1 Vault of the Archangel
  • 1 Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
  • 1 Witch Enchanter // Witch-Blessed Meadow