"Dream Death: Orzhov Aura's 2014"

"Dream Death: Orzhov Aura's 2014"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. 

I simply cannot deny my fondness for Auras and enchantments. Since I first latched a Blanchwood Armor on a Treetop Scout with a One with Nature on it. It was the first deck that I ever built to simply destroy the Ravager Affinity decks that plagued me during the First Mirrodin Block.

I have always believed in the power of Auras and I guess Magic has finally come up with enough cards to support this particular deck. I love where the escalation is going and I am eagerly awaiting more cards to upgrade all my Standard Pauper decks or simply create new ones.

Awhile back I was able to create an Orzhov Aura deck that took advantage of Yoked Ox's Unnatural toughness. Something that simply did not die to simple burn or creatures that were far stronger than it. With the release of Born of the gods I have begun an evolution from that deck that steps more into Light and Dark Dreams as the Auras now emerge. 

4 X Orzhov Guildgate

9 X Plains

9 X Swamps

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22 Lands

4 X Nyxborn Shieldmate 

4 X Hopeful Eidolon

4 X Nyxborn Eidolon

4 X Baleful Eidolon

3 X Observant Alseid

3 X Auramancer

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22 Creatures

4 X Ethereal Armor

4 X Pacifism

4 X Altar's Reap

4 X Dark Favor

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16 Spells

So what do we have here exactly? Well just another deck that is begging to unite with each other and create something monstrous. We have a +1/+2, a +1/+1 Lifelink , a +2/+1 and +1/+1 Death Touch as well as a +2/+2 Vigilance Creature. 5 creatures that are enchantments and could easily be bestowed when needed. So if we manage to attach all these auras on let us say the 1/1 Hopeful Eidolon we get something like this.... A 7/7 Titan made of Dreams...Well more like a nightmare for opposing players. Something that is Vigilant , Lifelinking and Destroys any creatures it touches. Chances are we may never see this titan in play and the reason is because of the Ethereal Armor that is also included here.With all of the Auras hitting the battlefield and at a much easier rate because of less mana cost we might be seeing bigger creatures early that would be more ready for assaults. Still , I would make it a personal goal to have all the Auras Unite. It might be hard and really messes up priorities but it is fun and that is what playing is about.

I have to confess that I was a little lazy on this one. I didn't want to put in any Devour Flesh or Celestial Flare just for the heck of it. I want my creatures to slam into other creatures , watch them wither and die from First Strike and Death Touch. The Mana curve is something that I worked on here as well and I found that the creatures all max out at 3 mana. Auramancer makes an appearance here as a little bit of recursion. One of my favorite cards from Innistrad seems to be a bit underused though it has been reprinted in M14 , Read the Bones gets more love than Altar's reap. Well not in this deck. I still love Instant Card Draw even if it does cost me a creature. When you think about it if it is a bestowed creature you have at least 2 other creatures falling off and still fighting for you.Then you could just cast Auramancer and get that card you just sacrificed to draw 2 cards.Not bad for something that you would Sacrifice to an opponents  Devour Flesh or Celestial Flare anyway.

In Conclusion this deck is not afraid. It wants to mix it up with other creatures. It brims with so much potential power that it could give you a 7/7 monster that could attack on turn two! Most of the time people wake up from Dreams. Opponents facing these Nightmares seldom do.