The 5 Best Orzhov Commanders

In Magic: the Gathering, there are few color pairings that are as directly opposed to each other's themes and principles. White is all about order and harmony. On the opposing end, Black cares only for power and pursues it relentlessly. So, what happens when it these two are forced to work together? Many things actually! But, since this is an article about the top Orzhov Commanders - let's shine our gray light there.

Eriette of the Charmed Apple

Wilds of Eldraine was a set full of whimsy but it was not without its wickedness. Eriette of the Charmed Apple is a 2/4 Human Warlock for three mana and is Magic's own version of Maleficent. Eriette is a fresh take on an Enchantment matters deck as it cares about Auras on your opponents' creatures. Each of those creatures will not be able to attack you or your planeswalkers so you can catch up on your beauty sleep without any worries. Oh, and the beginning of your end step each opponent loses X life and you gain X life equal to the number of Auras you have. I don't know about you, but, I'm pumping up my opponents' creatures with All That Glitters, Ethereal Armor, and Sage's Reverie while I sit back and watch the bloodbath.

Karlov of the Ghost Council

Lifegain in Commander is not that great of a primary strategy given the existence of Commander Damage and Poison Counters. Karlov of the Ghost Council is one of the few Orzhov commanders that breaks the mold as this ghost granddaddy cares about lifegain but utilizes it in two ways. His first ability puts two +1/+1 counters on himself when you gain life, meaning that Karlov can swing in and take people out with commander damage. His other ability costs 2 mana and six +1/+1 counters to exile any creature. Recent cards like Duskmourn: House of Horror's Enduring Tenacity and Foundation's Bloodthirsty Conqueror are shoe-ins as an oops-I-win button. But, for those who lifegain, Karlov is an amazing general.

Shilgengar, Sire of Famine

Whoever thought that an Elder Demon could lead an Angel kindred deck in Commander? Well, Modern Horizons 3's set designers thought it would be a neat idea and they brought us Shilgengar, Sire of Famine. This five mana 6/6 Flying nastiness is a sacrifice outlet like no other. Sacrificing a creature to it gives you a Blood token. But, if you chose to offer an Angel to Shigengar - you get Blood tokens equal to the Angel's toughness.

For three mana and six Blood tokens, you can return every single creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield as Vampires with a finality counter on them. Yep, sacrifice and recursion in one baby. Aside from including all the amazing Angels available in Magic, cards like Rampage of the Valkyries, Court of Grace, and Valkyrie's Call are enchantments that can help this deck pop off in the most unholy way possible.

Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim

The Aristocrats archetype in Commander is a powerful and popular strategy. Nickel and diming your opponents with low mana value creatures like Corpse Knight, Blood Artist, Cruel Celebrant, and Zulaport Cutthroat just hits a particular thing in most Orzhov players' brains.

Elias il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim is all of those cards (plus Soul Warden as it gains you life when a creature enters the battlefield) in your command zone! It also has Deathtouch and costs only two mana. With a deck helmed by Elias, you need a lot of tokens or creatures to offer to the Orzhov tax collectors. Thankfully, there is a lot of good token producing spells that does other things. White Sun's Twilight, Martial Coup, and Blot Out the Sky creates as many tokens (read: fodder) as you can pay for and destroys your opponents things. Oh, and put in Anointed Procession and Mondrak, Glory Dominus in to maximize the value.

Teysa Karlov

And the commander who takes the crown is the Orzhov Syndicate's very own matriarch and guildmaster Teysa Karlov. She costs four mana 2/4 Human Advisor that doubles triggered abilities that happens when creatures die. This makes her the better commander for an Aristocrats style deck compared to young Elias il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim.

Find the best dies trigger you can get and stuff 'em all in this deck, coz Teysa rewards greed. If Pitiless Plunderer, Bastion of Remembrance, Pawn of Ulamog, and Skullclamp aren't on your list you're not Commandering enough my dude.

Oh, and she also gives your creature tokens vigilance and lifelink. Not as amazing as the first ability but that's a bonus I'll take all day.

Black and White

Power. Order. Greed. Grace. Okay, I'll stop with the one word sentences. These are the best Orzhov commanders that you could choose to helm your wicked deck. Life. Death. This is the - okay. I did it again. But yeah, life and death is the Orzhov way.