Baron Sengir. One of the most iconic characters in old Magic lore and a monstrous force that plagued the multiverse when summoned from plane to plane thanks to planeswalkers summoning him away. Along the way, he created several vampires, hence the appearance of several Sengir Vampires across the multiverse.

Over time, the good Baron found himself stranded on the plane of Ulgrotha after a planeswalker summoned him and left him there following the battle. There he made a new home and slowly began to terrorize the plane. It wouldn't be long before the planeswalker couple of Feroz and Serra would appear to aid the people of the plane in opposition of the Baron. The pair eventually passed, but the Baron lived on, and as of the Time Spiral block he was seen entering a planar gate on the eve of the mending to an unknown plane.

As it happens, the original Baron Sengir card - while iconic - wasn't that great. Homelands wasn't exactly known for stellar cards, after all. And so, with Commander Legends came a new card: Sengir, the Dark Baron.

Sengir's new card may not be the biggest step up in terms of raw power from the original Baron Sengir card, but it's enough. He gets an unreal number of counters and gets them quickly. Most importantly, however, is the fact that he now can partner up. The Baron likes to work alone usually, aided by his pawns in his castle Sengir. However, we could instead set him up nicely with a partner that he can manipulate for his own ends.

We know little of Prava apart from the fact that she's a popular commander in the Steel Legion and is from the same plane as Licia, Sanguine Tribune. On this plane, they do battle as military rivals. She is highly protective of her troops and is quite able to amass a serious force under her wing. As it happens, this is just perfect for the Baron to manipulate for his uses.

Sengir and Prava | Commander | Kendra Smith

• Commanders (2)
• 1 Prava of the Steel
• 1 Sengir, the Dark Baron

• Creatures (28)
• 1 Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
• 1 Blood Artist
• 1 Corpse Knight
• 1 Cruel Celebrant
• 1 Elendra, the Dusk Rose
• 1 Felisa, Fang of Silverquill
• 1 Hallowed Spiritkeeper
• 1 Hanweir Militia Captain
• 1 Karmic Guide
• 1 Luminous Broodmoth
• 1 Mentor of the Meek
• 1 Ophiomancer
• 1 Pawn of Ulamog
• 1 Reveillark
• 1 Shaile, Dean of Radiance
• 1 Smothering Abomination
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Soul Warden
• 1 Sun Titan
• 1 Suture Priest
• 1 Teysa Karlov
• 1 Teysa, Orzhov Scion
• 1 Thalisse, Reverent Medium
• 1 Twilight Drover
• 1 Viscera Seer
• 1 Woe Strider
• 1 Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
• 1 Zulaport Cutthroat

• Planeswalkers (5)
• 1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General
• 1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
• 1 Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools

• Instants (3)
• 1 Anguished Unmaking
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Swords to Plowshares

• Sorceries (6)
• 1 Austere Command
• 1 Fracture
• 1 Martial Coup
• 1 Night's Whisper
• 1 Secret Rendezvous
• 1 Unburial Rites

• Enchantments (9)
• 1 Attrition
• 1 Bastion of Remembrance
• 1 Bitterblossom
• 1 Dictate of Erebos
• 1 Ethereal Absolution
• 1 Fanatical Devotion
• 1 Legion's Landing
• 1 Mobilization
• 1 Phyrexian Reclamation

• Artifacts (11)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Ashnod's Altar
• 1 Darksteel Plate
• 1 Oketra's Monument
• 1 Orzhov Signet
• 1 Shield of Kaldra
• 1 Skullclamp
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1 Whispersilk Cloak

• Land (36)
• 6 Plains
• 5 Swamp
• 1 Barren Moor
• 1 Brightclimb Pathway
• 1 Castle Ardenvale
• 1 Castle Locthwain
• 1 Caves of Koilos
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Fetid Heath
• 1 Field of the Dead
• 1 Godless Shrine
• 1 Hall of Heliod's Generosity
• 1 High Market
• 1 Isolated Chapel
• 1 Orzhov Basilica
• 1 Phyrexian Tower
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Secluded Steppe
• 1 Shambling Vent
• 1 Shineshadow Snarl
• 1 Silent Clearing
• 1 Tainted Field
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1 Vault of Champions
• 1 Vault of the Archangel
• 1 Volrath's Stronghold
• 1 Westvale Abbey

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At its heart, the deck's strategy is quite simple: make a bunch of creatures (usually of the token variety) and sacrifice them to Sengir to make him big and beefy. While Prava is an excellent token generator herself, Mobilization does things just a little better as it makes the tokens at a cheaper cost and buffs them as well. We also can get tremendous supplies from cards like Bitterblossom, Ophiomancer, Elenda, the Dusk Rose, each of the planeswalkers, fellow Commander Legends creature Thalisse, Reverent Medium, and many more. There's no shortage of ways to make delicious fodder for Baron Sengir.

There's lots of your typical aristocrats cards to be found as well. Cruel Celebrant, Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, and Bastion of Remembrance all provide ways to slowly chip away at opponents' life totals by sacrificing creatures. Sacrificing creatures can even have extra synergy with cards like Teysa, Orzhov Scion; Twilight Drover, and Smothering Abomination - all giving you some stellar effects that go beyond the typical life drain effects. And there's no shortage of sac outlets either! Fanatical Devotion, Woe Strider, Ashnod's Altar, Viscera Seer, and even Magic's big bad Yawgmoth, Thran Physician himself provide great ways to fuel these effects, as well as the hungry Sengir.

The timing couldn't be better with this list being put together either, as with the release of Strixhaven: School of Mages and Commander 2021 giving us some cool new Silverquill toys for the deck. Shineshadow Snarl is just an easy choice to slip in as an easily affordable land inclusion. Fracture gives us some great removal that can deal with just about anything. Finally, we get Shaile, Dean of Radiance // Embrose, Dean of Shadow and Felisa, Fang of Silverquill. These put counters on creatures we control and can even get bonuses for your juiced up creatures going to the bin. As it turns out, though, Felisa can even benefit off of cards like Luminous Broodmoth which give your creatures counters besides the typical +1/+1. Last but not least is Secret Rendezvous, a sweet White draw spell that you can use politically with opponents - manipulating them to your will as only Sengir can.

Will the Baron's hunger ever be satisfied or will Prava unwittingly provide him with more and more fuel for his army? Either way, this pair is bound to make a big splash at your next Commander game if you're looking for a neat new way to play Orzhov sacrifice strategies. If you want some more flavorful inclusions, consider cards like Sengir Vampire, Ihsan's Shade, Elixir of Immortality, or even the Baron's original Homelands card. I cut many of them here to make a more consistent build, but each is still a solid card in its own right. Happy hunting, and may your vampiric reign reap the juiciest of fruits in your conquest to dominate your playgroup!

Kendra Smith

Twitter: @TheMaverickGal

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