I was able to partake in a rare joy this weekend: organizing my Commander box. While previously loosely sorted by color, there was only chaos beyond that modicum of order. With a weekend to myself and the itch to slot cards from Commander (2014 Edition) into my preexisting decks (and potentially build some new ones), I decided to approach my big box o’ stuff and sort it all. I decided to keep the color demarcation and sub-sort alphabetically. This will make it easier to put new cards into the collection while also cutting down on the difficulty of finding the card I want, provided I can recall the name.

My Teysa, Orzhov Scion deck started its journey during a Scars of Mirrodin sealed Pro Tour Qualifier. Between rounds, I browsed dollar bins and ended up with a few cards to play in my then-EDH decks. The first was a copy of Lyzolda, the Blood Witch, and we now know how that has turned out. Another card I slotted hid away in my deck box that day for later use: a gorgeous, Russian Teysa, Orzhov Scion. I didn’t have perfect recollection of its abilities, but I knew it was a true build-around card, something I really thought I would enjoy for EDH. Upon getting home and checking Gatherer, it turns out I was correct. I tucked Teysa away and barely glanced at her for almost a year.

Cut to 2011, and I had the complete set of the first Commander product. I ripped apart the decks and started reassembling them into my own personal contraptions. Moving back to Brooklyn had given me access to a fairly consistent group of gamers, and it meant I would need some more weapons for battle. One of my first attempts was a mono-white Mikaeus, the Lunarch deck that never quite clicked. Mikaeus sought to go wide and then pump up a huge token army thanks to its commander. I did notice that my tokens died quite often, and I wanted to make better use of that tendency. If there is one thread that drives the way I play Commander, it is making sure no resource goes to waste, even as it dies. This led me to cannibalizing my collection to have Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter lead the army. As a mono-white deck, Mikaues had access to quite a few Angels, and those traveled alongside the Vampire into the new build. Vish Kal loved tokens, and adding other ways to gain use from these extra creatures meant finding other ways to sacrifice.

Vish Kal served well, but Teysa kept calling. After Innistrad block, I had an inkling of an idea. The Human theme, specifically one based on Human sacrifice, came to light. Suddenly, my deck had a direction. While that original build was lost to the times before I kept records, Teysa has evolved into a token-based, board-control deck. The goal, before today, was to keep myself alive until tokens could take over the game. Of course, there were problems. Notably, I was still attached to a few cards from previous versions.

Subtractions

These are not bad cards by any means, but they no longer fit what Teysa is trying to do. Intrepid Hero is a holdover from the days when I was not pumping a lot of new cards into my stacks of ninety-nine. The Hero seemed to be a great metagame call as a way to fight unknown giant monsters. Being only a 1/1, the Intrepid Hero just never matched up well and would often fall before it could slay any Dragons.

Twilight Shepherd is leaving the deck because I am going to be changing the focus to tokens. While creatures will still die, the chances of me being able to refill my hand is going to be low. Teysa does not fear Wraths, and having protection from sweepers is not as needed.

Black Cuts: Big Game Hunter, Disciple of Griselbrand, Grim Harvest, Life's Finale, Sangromancer, Unburial Rites

Big Game Hunter is going to be upgraded to a card to can do the same thing, but with more upside. Now that there is no longer a Human theme in the deck, Big Game Hunter can find a more appropriate home. Unburial Rites met a similar fate.

Disciple of Griselbrand and Grim Harvest were tough cuts. I love both of these cards and the utility they provide. The truth of the matter is that the Disciple does not have enough food in this deck to be worth the slot—when so many creatures are small tokens, investing mana in life is not worth the effort. Grim Harvest is a heavy mana investment, and Teysa has access to enough other ways to regrow the dead that this card can head to the cutting-room floor.

Life's Finale was one of many board sweepers, but it is the only one that is guaranteed to take away all of Teysa’s tokens. Because it lacks flexibility, it is gone.

Sangromancer just didn’t do anything.

Moving backward, Swamp and Winding Canyons are being cut for a Plains and an Orzhov Guildgate. Winding Canyons is a powerful card, but it is needed for a different deck, and so it leaves the sleeves. Mortarpod was a neat card; it just never quite worked out the way I wanted. Darksteel Ingot is being melted down and transformed into a Commander's Sphere.

Athreos, God of Passage . . . I love this card. I love the choices it can force and the impact it has on the game. What I do not like, however, is that the result is almost always known. I had hoped Athreos would prompt interesting gameplay lines, but instead, everything became rote. The God of Passage is going to find another home.

The goal of cutting these cards was to allow Teysa to focus more on her two main themes: board control and tokens. These additions will help flood the board while also turning lowly Spirits and Soldiers into serious threats and sources of anxiety for foes.

Additions

These cards fall into two main categories: tokens and enhancers. Cathars' Crusade and Goldnight Commander make the accumulation of tokens a game-ending eventuality. Combined with Maw of the Obzedat, these cards will often generate exponential amounts of damage.

The other three cards all provide bodies for the army. Spirit Bonds has the added value of turning tokens into ways to keep other creatures alive through removal and sweepers. Unlike Twilight Shepherd, the Bonds pulls double-duty, making its spot far more secure.

Black Additions: Beacon of Unrest, Dictate of Erebos, Eater of Hope, Overseer of the Damned

Beacon of Unrest allows Teysa to take advantage of the fact she is going to be killing everything. The ability to blow up an opposing creature and then pull the “yoink” is quite the experience.

Dictate of Erebos, Eater of Hope, and Overseer of the Damned all do the same thing: They keep the board clear. They also work in concert with the Overseer, giving fuel for the Eater of Hope, which can then take even more creatures out thanks to Dictate.

Artifact and Land Additions: Burnished Hart, Commander's Sphere, Orzhov Guildgate, Plains

Burnished Hart has become a go-to for all my nongreen decks. The ability to go and find two lands while dying is quite important, especially given my Golgari zeitgeist.

Teysa, Orzhov Scion ? Commander | Alex Ullman

• Commander (0)

• Creatures (36)
• 1 Angel of Despair
• 1 Archon of Justice
• 1 Blood Artist
• 1 Bloodsoaked Champion
• 1 Bone Shredder
• 1 Cemetery Reaper
• 1 Eater of Hope
• 1 Emeria Angel
• 1 Falkenrath Noble
• 1 Geist-Honored Monk
• 1 Goldnight Commander
• 1 Hallowed Spiritkeeper
• 1 Herald of Anafenza
• 1 Karmic Guide
• 1 Maw of the Obzedat
• 1 Mentor of the Meek
• 1 Necrotic Sliver
• 1 Nether Traitor
• 1 Ogre Slumlord
• 1 Overseer of the Damned
• 1 Phyrexian Plaguelord
• 1 Reassembling Skeleton
• 1 Reliquary Monk
• 1 Requiem Angel
• 1 Shriekmaw
• 1 Skirsdag High Priest
• 1 Stronghold Assassin
• 1 Sun Titan
• 1 Treasury Thrull
• 1 Twilight Drover
• 1 Burnished Hart
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Darien, King of Kjeldor
• 1 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
• 1 Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
• 1 Adarkar Valkyrie

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

• Spells (24)
• 1 Mortify
• 1 Return to Dust
• 1 Austere Command
• 1 Beacon of Unrest
• 1 Merciless Eviction
• 1 Attrition
• 1 Cathars' Crusade
• 1 Dictate of Erebos
• 1 Field of Souls
• 1 Grave Pact
• 1 Martyr's Bond
• 1 Martyr's Cause
• 1 Mobilization
• 1 Oblivion Ring
• 1 Oversold Cemetery
• 1 Sacred Mesa
• 1 Spirit Bonds
• 1 Underworld Connections
• 1 Blasting Station
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Helm of Possession
• 1 Illusionist's Bracers
• 1 Skullclamp
• 1 Sol Ring

• Lands (37)
• 10 Plains
• 9 Swamp
• 1 Barren Moor
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Drifting Meadow
• 1 Evolving WIlds
• 1 Godless Shrine
• 1 High Market
• 1 Mystifying Maze
• 1 Orzhov Basilica
• 1 Orzhov Guildgate
• 1 Polluted Mire
• 1 Scoured Barrens
• 1 Secluded Steppe
• 1 Springjack Pasture
• 1 Tainted Field
• 1 Temple of Silence
• 1 Temple of the False God
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse
• 1 Kor Haven

Buy This Deck

Teysa, Orzhov Scion’s is a deck designed to dominate the table. Spitting out tokens and small creatures, those who supplicate to the Church of Deals eventually find victory as their reward. The goal is to trade a meager follower for something of greater value and then trade even more minions for the death blow. Teysa’s is a deck I will pull out of my bag of tricks when I feel like slowing things down. It starts slow and needs to plot out its path to the winner’s circle. While soft to dedicated combination decks, Teysa can absolutely wreak havoc on any commander that is relying on an army of its own. Teysa may not have the most robust fighters, but they are willing to die for her cause—over and over. It helps to have such slavish followers.