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Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 2434
Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
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True control. Total lockdown.
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The idea for this deck was originally conceived in this article, but was meant for Standard play. However, I’ve found it to be REALLY amusing in Extended, because of a little friend called Yosei, and some other utility tools... Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
ORZHOV LOCKDOWN (60 cards):
23 Lands:
4 Godless Shrine
3 Gemstone Mine
3 Orzhov Basilica
3 Caves of Koilos
2 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
2 Windswept Heath
2 Polluted Delta
2 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Swamp
1 Plains
7 Creatures:
3 Dimir House Guard
4 Yosei, the Morning Star
20 Sorceries:
4 Duress
4 Castigate
2 Diabolic Tutor
2 Persecute
4 Wrath of God
4 Vindicate
7 Enchantments:
3 Phyrexian Arena
2 Faith’s Fetters
1 Debtors’ Knell
4 Artifacts:
4 Orzhov Signet
SIDEBOARD:
1 Land:
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
6 Sorceries:
2 Cranial Extraction
2 Persecute
2 Sunscour
3 Instants:
3 Disenchant
5 Enchantments:
1 Debtors’ Knell
2 Faith’s Fetters
2 Ivory Mask
Now, this deck is a different take on my Standard strategy of Orzhov Control. The main ingredients are here: a Dimir Houseguard search engine, and a late game possibility of sacrifice/come-into-play effects via the sacrificing ability of Houseguard and the ability of Debtor’s Knell (btw, as a sidenote, I didn’t want to use cards from Planar Chaos yet, but once it’s out, instead of 4 copies of Wrath of God, use 2 copies, and 2 copies of Damnation, so as to better protect you from Cranial Extraction).
However, this deck is A LOT more powerful because it has access to many valuable tools in Extended.
For instance, on the mana base, we have Fetchlands. They not only serve the same purpose as Flagstones of Trokair, but they’re just plain better for this deck’s goal. Then, we have access to Boseiju, who rids us of those pesky counterspell decks like Couter-top control (via Counterbalance and Sensei’s Divining Top), making your Persecutes that much deadlier! Last, but not least, we have Miren, the Moaning Well, which in turn makes using Caves of Koilos possible for this deck, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
The biggest changes on the main deck ALSO make it that much more powerful, in the form of one of the best first-turn plays in the format: Duress! This card is just TOO good to pass, if you’re playing  . Then, the 4 copies of Mortify become the less surprising (being a sorcery), but that much better Vindicate! This also helps answering one of the main problems of the deck, which were artifacts and land-based engines.
As finishers, Angel of Despair and Adarkar Valkyrie simply don’t make the cut, when you have the almight Yosei available! Yosei is cheaper than Angel of Despair, better than both him and the Valkyrie, and when you pack the Miren + Debtors’ Knell combo, this means both free lifegain (which make Caves of Koilos less painful) and TOTAL lockdown! They won’t get to untap ever again until it’s too late! Not to mention, if you have one Yosei out, you can swing for 5 through the air, and simply play a second one, tapping up to 10 permanents and locking down the opponent for TWO FULL TURNS! That’s PLENTY of time for setting up for the finishing strike!
On the sideboard portion, Disenchant is great because of the Sword and Jitte-filled environment, not to mention nailing some of those pesky artifact lands where it hurts their controllers the most (not mentioning, saving your Vindicates for juicier targets...)! Also, since one Debtors’ Knell had to leave the main deck to make room for utility lands, it’s just fair it goes straight to the sideboard. Boseiju is ALSO a must-have, as a counter-filled deck in Extended IS a force to be reckoned with. Ivory Mask provides a pretty solid protection for late-game stalling, specially if you take an early-game beating (which you probably will). Then, the REAL MVP in Extended is ALSO here: Cranial Extraction. This, together with Boseiju, simply means bye-bye key, strategic cards! If their deck is really dependent on a specific card (Piledrive? Pyrite Spellbomb?), this can basically mean an almost guaranteed turn-four victory (House Guard ALSO fetches Cranial Extraction... Is there ANYTHING this guy can’t do for you? Really?).
Well, this is my take on a Extended, true control deck. I hope you all enjoyed reading about it, and that you try it out when you have the time. Criticism and questions, just post’em here! |
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