At a glance
- Format: Brawl (100-card)
- Commander: Elenda, Saint of Dusk
- Colors: White / Black (WB)
- Archetype: Orzhov lifegain/aristocrats
- Power tier: mid-high
- Competitive Brawl: ✅ Legal
Strategy
Elenda is a lifelink, hexproof-from-instants threat who grows and gains menace the instant you climb above starting life, and every Orzhov body here feeds that engine. Cheap fodder and token-makers die into a wall of drain triggers — Zulaport Cutthroat, Vengeful Bloodwitch, A-Blood Artist, Susurian Voidborn, Vein Ripper, Vraan, Etched Familiar, and Bastion of Remembrance turn each death into a life swing and direct damage, while Village Rites, Deadly Dispute, Morbid Opportunist, Midnight Reaper, High-Society Hunter, and the new Phyrexian Arena keep your hand stocked. Lifegain payoffs (Ajani’s Pridemate, Hallowed Priest, Twinblade Paladin, Aerith, Angel of Vitality, Fiendish Panda) snowball off all the lifelink, and a dense suite of efficient WB removal (Mortify, Hero’s Downfall, Massacre Wurm, Bitter Triumph) keeps the board clear. Arcane Signet and Solemn Simulacrum smooth the mana and turn ramp into draw and fodder. You win by attrition: chip drain, recursive bodies, and an Elenda that simply outsizes everything.
Upgrade path
Rare discipline verified clean against the owned pool: every rare/mythic in the 99 is OWNED (own>=1), none are crafts — Vraan, Vein Ripper, Midnight Reaper, Xathrid Necromancer, Vincent Valentine, Preacher of the Schism, Aerith, Qarsi Revenant, Elegy Acolyte, Scavenger’s Talent, Demon of Loathing, Massacre Wurm, Inspiring Commander, plus the newly added owned rares Phyrexian Arena (own2), High-Society Hunter (own1), Solemn Simulacrum (own1) and the owned rare duals (Bleachbone Verge, Shattered Sanctum, Starting Town). The ONLY crafted card remains the approved shock Godless Shrine (1 copy). Zero rare/mythic spell crafts. Refinement pass (this version): the full-text re-eval surfaced several undervalued owned staples. Added A-Blood Artist (4th Blood-Artist drain), Susurian Voidborn (warp-flexible drain that also fires on artifact deaths), High-Society Hunter (sac-for-counters + draw on every nontoken death), Phyrexian Arena (premier black card-advantage engine), Arcane Signet (best 2-mana WB fixing rock), and Solemn Simulacrum (ramp + draw + sac fodder). Cut the weakest filler to make room: Mintstrosity, Honored Knight-Captain (dead Equipment tutor — no payoff equipment in deck), Prosperity Tycoon (clunky off-theme tokens), Beetle-Headed Merchants (slow 5-mana attack-sac, outclassed by High-Society Hunter), Curious Farm Animals, and vanilla Healer’s Hawk. Land count unchanged at 35. Could still craft duplicate Bleachbone Verge / Caves of Koilos / Concealed Courtyard later for more untapped WB sources if desired.
Cards
Decklist
Paste straight into MTG Arena (or Moxfield/Archidekt):
Commander
1 Elenda, Saint of Dusk
Deck
1 Zulaport Cutthroat
1 Vengeful Bloodwitch
1 A-Blood Artist
1 Susurian Voidborn
1 Vraan, Executioner Thane
1 Vein Ripper
1 Etched Familiar
1 Shroudstomper
1 Bastion of Remembrance
1 Morbid Opportunist
1 Midnight Reaper
1 High-Society Hunter
1 Xathrid Necromancer
1 Vincent Valentine
1 Preacher of the Schism
1 Ajani's Pridemate
1 Hallowed Priest
1 Twinblade Paladin
1 Aerith Gainsborough
1 Angel of Vitality
1 Fiendish Panda
1 Gifted Aetherborn
1 Qarsi Revenant
1 Outlaw Medic
1 Inspiring Overseer
1 Dusk Legion Zealot
1 Phyrexian Rager
1 Cat Collector
1 Elegy Acolyte
1 Syr Vondam, the Lucent
1 Invasion Reinforcements
1 Resolute Reinforcements
1 Vampiric Rites
1 Scavenger's Talent
1 Buzzard-Wasp Colony
1 Demon of Loathing
1 Village Rites
1 Mortify
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Murder
1 Infernal Grasp
1 Bake into a Pie
1 Bitter Triumph
1 Heartless Act
1 Long Goodbye
1 Tribute to Hunger
1 Sephiroth's Intervention
1 Valorous Stance
1 Feed the Swarm
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Arcane Signet
1 Mind Stone
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Deadly Dispute
1 Inspiring Commander
1 Gravelighter
1 Prideful Parent
1 Godless Shrine
1 Command Tower
1 Bleachbone Verge
1 Shattered Sanctum
1 Capital City
1 Scoured Barrens
1 Misty Palms Oasis
1 Insomnia, Crown City
1 Thriving Heath
1 Thriving Moor
1 Starting Town
1 Evolving Wilds
11 Plains
12 Swamp
1 Hangarback Walker
1 Bloodghast
1 Psychosis Crawler
1 Junji, the Midnight Sky
1 Languish
1 Sothera, the Supervoid
Card images & data via Scryfall.