commander taxes by user4503695

Format: Commander

Commander: Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 38

Deck overview

This deck is an Orzhov lifegain, drain, and combo engine led by Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel. The game plan establishes early board presence with low-cost lifegain and tempo permanents like Soul Warden, Authority of the Consuls, and Blind Obedience. Deploying the commander on Turn 5 unlocks massive card draw, converting each lifegain trigger into fresh cards by paying life. This influx of resources quickly digs into the deck's primary win condition: an infinite drain loop pairing Exquisite Blood with Sanguine Bond, Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, Enduring Tenacity, or Marauding Blight-Priest. Alternative win paths include massive mana drain from Debt to the Deathless backed by Crypt Ghast or casting Approach of the Second Sun. The deck defends its board with efficient single-target removal and targeted protection spells, creating a resilient attrition strategy that scales into a decisive finish.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Ajani's Pridemate
  • 1 Ajani's Welcome
  • 1 Angel's Feather
  • 1 Approach of the Second Sun
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Authority of the Consuls
  • 1 Basilica Screecher
  • 1 Bleachbone Verge
  • 1 Blind Obedience
  • 1 Blood Artist
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Caves of Koilos
  • 1 Chaplain's Blessing
  • 1 Cleric Class
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Concealed Courtyard
  • 1 Creeping Bloodsucker
  • 1 Crypt Ghast
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Debt to the Deathless
  • 1 Eclipsed Steppe
  • 1 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim
  • 1 Enduring Tenacity
  • 1 Erode
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Exquisite Blood
  • 1 Exsanguinate
  • 1 Fake Your Own Death
  • 1 Feed the Swarm
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Fetid Heath
  • 1 Fiendish Panda
  • 1 Fracture
  • 1 Ghostly Prison
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
  • 1 Isolated Chapel
  • 1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
  • 1 Koth of the Homestead
  • 1 Land Tax
  • 1 Life Insurance
  • 1 Light of Hope
  • 1 Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff
  • 1 Mana Tithe
  • 1 Marauding Blight-Priest
  • 1 Marsh Flats
  • 1 Mind Stone
  • 1 Monologue Tax
  • 1 Mortify
  • 1 Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel
  • 1 Not Dead After All
  • 1 Orzhov Signet
  • 10 Plains
  • 1 Pontiff of Blight
  • 1 Pristine Talisman
  • 1 Radiant Fountain
  • 1 Reanimate
  • 1 Rebuff the Wicked
  • 1 Reflecting Pool
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Restoration Magic
  • 1 Revitalize
  • 1 Rhox Faithmender
  • 1 Sanctify
  • 1 Sanguine Bond
  • 1 Scheming Silvertongue // Sign in Blood
  • 1 Scoured Barrens
  • 1 Shattered Sanctum
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Soul Warden
  • 1 Soul's Attendant
  • 9 Swamp
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Syndicate Heavy
  • 1 Tainted Field
  • 1 Talisman of Hierarchy
  • 1 The Gaffer
  • 1 Tithe Drinker
  • 1 Treasury Thrull
  • 1 Turbulent Moor
  • 1 Union of the Third Path
  • 1 Vault of Champions
  • 1 Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose