Ardbert, Warrior of DarknessArdbert, Warrior of Darkness | Art by Thanh Tuấn

Hey folks! You know what's really good in Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier? Blazing ShoalBlazing Shoal. Maybe some eggs-type cards too, or one-mana cantrips. See, you can cast giant spells for free if you buff Vivi's power, and using cards like Blazing Shoal or a bunch of zero- and one-drop spells you can do that really early on, for no mana!

Lots of people are going to be typing or monologuing 1,600 word variations on the above paragraph in the next couple weeks, and that's . . . fine. If that's your jam, spread it on some toast. I'm not gonna judge. Live your best life. I just have no interest in being the 300th person telling you water is wet, something that isn't even technically true according to Lake Superior, our resident expert on such things.

What I do have interest in talking about is a commander where every single spell you cast puts two counters on every single creature you control while giving them vigilance and menace, namely this Ardbert, Warrior of DarknessArdbert, Warrior of Darkness "Oops All Orzhov" deck.

What Does Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness Do?

According to his Tinder profile, Ardbert, or Ardie as his friends call him, is a swole, three-mana bloke with a bloody axe and a penchant for buffing your stuff whenever you cast black or white spells. Or in this case black and white spells, because as the little girl in the Taco Bell meme from 2016 says, "¿Porque no los dos?" Specifically, Ardbert has two abilities that read:

• Whenever you cast a white spell, put a +1/+1 counter on each legendary creature you control. They gain vigilance until end of turn.
• Whenever you cast a black spell, put a +1/+1 counter on each legendary creature you control. They gain menace until end of turn.

So the thought process here is that if every single spell in the deck is both black and white, and every single creature is a legend, then every spell you cast would put two +1/+1 counters on each creature you control while giving them vigilance and menace until the end of the turn.

As the buff is a counter, vs a temporary until-end-of-turn effect, you get a lot of synergy here. You can attack a bit recklessly as your creatures are tricky to block due to the buff and menace, and they remain untapped to use as blockers or to use any tap abilities later when convenient. It's a rock rolling down hill, and if your opponent doesn't have a way to stop it early on, it will get out of control and run them over.

The Drawbacks of Sticking to a Theme

So let's get this deck's weak spots out of the way first. When you're limiting yourself to only Orzhov () cards, you don't have much in the way of ramp, and your draw suite is pretty limited, as is things like protection. I have no mana rocks in this list, and none of black's efficient life-for-cards spells, nor any of white's step dodge effects like Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection or Dawn's TruceDawn's Truce.

The land base here is also running very few colorless utility lands. With every spell costing at least , there just isn't room for many cards that don't make black or white mana. That's what the bracket system is for though, and between the lack of Game Changers and obvious holes in our card suite, as well as dedication to theme, this list falls squarely into Bracket 2.

Having decided to just play legendary creatures, I'm also losing out on cards like Deathbringer LiegeDeathbringer Liege that would be an absolute powerhouse in this deck. I should be running it, and the only reason I'm not is my stubborn insistence on sticking to theme.

Key Cards for Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness

Now, despite the limitations that come with a brew like this, I'll note it does bring plenty of gas to the table in the form of legendary creatures, more than a few who just accidentally synergize really well with what this deck is doing. Arvad the CursedArvad the Cursed further buffs the entire creature suite, as does Ravos, SoultenderRavos, Soultender. Legends like Karlov of the Ghost CouncilKarlov of the Ghost Council and Vish Kal, Blood ArbiterVish Kal, Blood Arbiter have abilities that interact with the counters we'll be putting on all our Orzhov bodies as well.

We also get some support synergy with other cards in the deck. Barrensteppe SiegeBarrensteppe Siege adds more counters to our legendary cardboard, as does Feast of the Victorious DeadFeast of the Victorious Dead, and Life InsuranceLife Insurance can make us Treasures that will help meet our steep and specific mana requirements.

Card Advantage

Let's get into some meat and potatoes specifics here though, starting with card draw. Yes, we don't have access to things like Night's WhisperNight's Whisper or Phyrexian ArenaPhyrexian Arena as the deck is built, nor even stronger effects like Ad NauseamAd Nauseam or NecropotenceNecropotence. That doesn't mean we don't have anything.

A lot of the draw we have is stapled to creatures. Estinien VarlineauEstinien Varlineau and cEDH bombshell [/el]Tymna the Weaver[/el] draw us cards as part of our attack plan. Commissar Severina RaineCommissar Severina Raine lets us sacrifice creatures at instant speed to draw, and Sister RepentiaSister Repentia draws on death. Firja, Judge of ValorFirja, Judge of Valor can also draw cards just for casting multiple spells per turn.

Several of the planeswalkers in the deck have card draw as abilities. Sorin, Grim NemesisSorin, Grim Nemesis and Kaya, Ghost AssassinKaya, Ghost Assassin put us cards ahead, and spells like Treacherous GreedTreacherous Greed gets us three cards if we sacrifice a creature. We also have a few draw options in our land base, namely War RoomWar Room and Bonders' EnclaveBonders' Enclave.

Protection

Similarly while we might not have a Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection-level protection spell, we aren't completely vulnerable to our opponents' whims. Jirina, Dauntless GeneralJirina, Dauntless General can be sacrificed to give our board hexproof and indestructible. It's no Teferi's Protection, or even Dawn's TruceDawn's Truce, but we go to war with the army we have, not the army we wish we had. Given the restrictions I've given myself for this deck I'll take what I can get.

There's also a few other protection effects here, like Cauldron HazeCauldron Haze which will give all our creatures persist at instant speed. The -1/-1 counters it leaves behind will also quickly get overwritten by Ardbert's ability. There's even a couple fog effects in the list in InkshieldInkshield and Batwing BrumeBatwing Brume.

Removal

Do you know what this deck isn't lacking? Targeted removal, that's what. Mostly this removal is in the form of almost every VindicateVindicate variant ever printed:

• Anguished UnmakingAnguished Unmaking
• DesparkDespark
• Dire TacticsDire Tactics
• FractureFracture
• MortifyMortify
• Utter EndUtter End
• Vanishing VerseVanishing Verse

That's on top of sorcery options like Legions to AshesLegions to Ashes and board wipes like Merciless EvictionMerciless Eviction and Kaya's WrathKaya's Wrath.

Answers aren't going to be a problem here, even if you lack the efficiency of Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares, Path to ExilePath to Exile, and Deadly RollickDeadly Rollick.

War of the Righteous

If I'm being completely honest though, the real reason I wanted to brew up this list is to have a home for one of my pet cards, Visions' Righteous WarRighteous War. Despite being part of the Reserved List, Righteous War remains a very affordable sub-$1.50 in cost. Like Ardbert, Righteous War does two things: it gives your white creatures protection from black, and your black creatures protection from white. And like Ardbert, you can combine those two abilities, giving all your Orzhov creatures protection from black and white. How useful is that?

• 15 of the 20 most popular single target removal spells on EDHREC are some combination of white or black, meaning your creatures can't be targeted by 3/4 of the most popular removal options in the format.
• 18 of the top 20 most popular commanders on EDHREC are a color combination featuring black or white, meaning 90% of commanders can't block your creatures and will have their damage nullified if blocked by your vigilant creatures if they don't have trample.

Righteous War isn't broken by any means, but do you know what it is in this deck in the right matchup? Hilarious, and hilarious > broken.

I've included the current decklist down below. It's subject to change, however, so if you want to see the newest version you can find it fully updated here at Archidekt.

The EDHRECast has also been doing Patreon-only videos and deck techs, and I did one for this Ardbert deck when I first had the initial idea. A few cards have changed since then, but most of the content is relevant to the current list. I've opened up access on the video for anyone at the link below, but if you'd like to see more content like this you can get access by subscribing at www.patreon.com/edhrecast.

Thanks for reading, and remember EDHREC your deck before you wreck your deck.

Patreon Ardbert video

Ardbert, Warrior of Darkness Commander Deck List