"Welcoming the Envoy: Teysa , Envoy of Ghosts"

"Welcoming the Envoy: Teysa , Envoy of Ghosts"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. 

I must admit that after seeing the new Teysa Art preview I looked forward to what the new  card might bring in terms of game play. I was mighty excited with the art so when the card came out I must say that I was happy with the way the mechanic was done.

At 5 Generic , 1 Black and 1 White mana , Teysa , Envoy of Ghosts seems like a clunker to play in standard which is why I am happy as well because her price would just be right to add her to my current Teysa EDH deck. A deck that was brought about by the acquisition of awesome Black/White pieces from the recent Sorin Vs. Tibalt Duel decks. Teysa , Envoy of Ghosts seems more like an aggressive commander rather than someone who would stand back and merely eliminate annoying creatures or create more tokens like the Old Teysa before swarming in with a Ghost army or Big Creatures like the Obzedat. 

The new Teysa does a really mean Ghost trick by passing through creatures and still be ready to defend against them when they attack the next turn. A very painful turn of events because she can deal commander damage or even lethal normal damage when needed to end the game. Creatures like Avatar of Woe , Royal Assassin , Interpid Hero , Big game Hunter , Tsabo Tavoc and Visara the Dreadful can't touch her at all.   She can be a handful both offensively and defensively because of this Vigilance and Pro-Creature ability. 

She could also allow a lot of low powered creatures to damage you and then have them all destroyed! And you then get a 1/1 Flying Black/White Spirit Token in play for each creature that was destroyed. You have your defenders and attackers all right there with just her in play. And since you are playing Orzhov ,  life gain is not exactly a problem since you are able to access spells like Consume Spirit or Exsanguinate or Death Grasp. You even have the Extort mechanic on your side that allows you to gain life while sapping more life points from your opponent. It doesnt seem much when your opponent has 40 life but every little bit of damage counts in the long run , especially if you would also use cards like Killing Wave in the future. Little Hurts amount to Big Hurts with the Orzhov especially since they are more Mid to Late game when it comes to damage.

Teysa on her own could potentially win an EDH game all by herself with Whispersilk Cloak in play. Expect opponents to keep a wary eye on your Envoy of Ghosts as it only takes 6 attacks for her to put on the finishing touches on their lives if left unchecked. She could do all this without losing that cool composure. Laid back and relaxed in that Utvaran Ebony chair of hers.  Yes , Teysa  , Envoy of Ghosts I welcome you!