Orzhov Pestilence
Aliases: BW Pestilence
Dominant mana: 
Type: Midrange/Control
Description: Orzhov Pestilence exploits the unique synergy between Guardian of the Guildpact and Pestilence, both to completely stall the board and as a final win condition. In several matchups, Guardian of the Guildpact is impossible to remove thanks to its peculiar protection ability, that protects the creature from damage caused by Pestilence effect. As result, the player is allowed to activate multiple times per turn Pestilence to wipe the board, while Guardian of the Guildpact will prevent the enchantment from leaving the battlefield.
Orzhov Pestilence takes control of the board in early game by means of a variety of removal spells, while developing its mana to resolve Pestilence and Guardian of the Guildpact. In versions of the deck with a strong focus on the control strategy, a key card is Pristine Talisman, to ramp while keeping up the life total. Discard effects are common in this archetype and typically represent the only way to deal with counterspells and strong enters the battlefield effects.
The deck is sometimes considered unstable due to the high number of lands it requires, and to the absence of an efficient card selection and draw engine after Bonder’s Ornament ban.
Staples
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Frequent cards
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Reference decks
| Name | Set name | Set date | Legal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orzhov Pestilence 696.001.Kampo | Innistrad: Midnight Hunt | 2021-09-24 | Ban 🔨 |
| Orzhov Pestilence 572.001.Amoras27 | Ultimate Masters | 2018-12-07 | ✅ |
Other decks
| Name | Set name | Set date | Legal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orzhov Pestilence 722.001.Antonio1993 | Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty | 2022-02-18 | ✅ |
| Orzhov Pestilence 584.001.Shika93 | War of the Spark | 2019-05-03 | ✅ |
| Orzhov Pestilence 572.001.donzauker84 | Ultimate Masters | 2018-12-07 | Ban 🔨 |
Videos
| 🗣️ | 📺 | ⬇️ | Title | Author | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 | 🗎 | 🇬🇧 MTGO League - Orzhov Pestilence 722.001.Antonio1993 - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (neo) - Part 2 | Pauperformance | 2022-04-04 | |
| 🇮🇹 | 🗎 | 🇮🇹 MTGO League - Orzhov Pestilence 722.001.Antonio1993 - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (neo) | Pauperformance | 2022-03-26 |
Resources
| 🗣️ | Name | Author | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 | Pestilence: What You Have to Endure, What You Have to Put Others Through | Paige Smith | 2018-12-26 |
| 🇮🇹 | [Pauper Tier] Orzhov Pestilence | Pentola | 2018-05-21 |
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