(Orzhov Basilica | Art by Jim Nelson)

Kaya and Sorin Sitting in a Tree, Definitely Not KISSING

The question of planeswalkers as commanders has been brought up in Magic discourse an infinite number of times. People say it would kill EDH as a format, and others say it will do nothing but give more options to a perpetually endless pool of commanders. I believe the truth is somewhere in the middle. My name is Nick, and the thirteenth installment of Myth Realized will cover Orzhov (white, black) cards. Let's take a look at how they would each ruin (or not ruin) your favorite 100-card Singleton format.

If you've stuck around with me until this article, you know what cards to look for in this color combination. If not, check out the articles I did in white and black to see the cards I've previously shouted out in these colors.

Kaya, Bane of the Dead - 3(W/B W/B W/B)

Well, it is a bit of a shame to start the year off with such a stinker of a card, but here we are. If you told me a planeswalker cost six mana but had seven loyalty in the dark, I might think it was not too bad. When you tell me it is the Bane of the Dead, I will tell you never to speak to me again. There is no world where I would pay this amount of mana for something I can play in any color deck by adding a Detection Tower to my mana base. Adding on an exile effect as the only ability on this card does not improve its status as a bad card in every situation.

Kaya, Geist Hunter - 1BW

On the other hand, Geist Hunter is a bit of a mixed bag. There is no doubt that the card is powerful. Giving your team Deathtouch means that no one will be enthused to block you even if you have a board of 1/1 tokens. Any effect that can double up or even triple up on tokens in a deck with white is significant; looking at you, Anointed Procession and Mondrak, Glory Dominus. The downside is that this will be a one-off double-up effect rather than something that can stick around. The ultimate is not out of reach due to being too high on the loyalty numbers. However, I just do not see a world where you are never down-ticking this card to potentially get a slightly improved Necromancer's Covenant. The card is only three mana, so everyone should know the rule in place for a planeswalker of that cost by now. It has desirable effects, so this would see play, but it comes with a massive sign reading, "I am a token deck; try to stop me."

Kaya, Ghost Assassin - 2BW

I cannot tell you where, when, why, or how I have died to this card. But I can promise you it has happened. What I can tell you is that it will probably not happen again. This card does come with one of the most interesting loyalty costs on a planeswalker. The ability to blink it and another creature can lead to some interesting play patterns. Outside of the blink ability on this card, I do not think I want to use the other abilities. The life gain/life loss has the "new school" wording, which caps the amount of life you can gain, and you only ever draw one card of the -2 ability. There are some very powerful black creatures with enter-the-battlefield (ETB) effects, though. As long as white has access to Karmic Guide and Reveillark, there will always be something this card can help facilitate.

Kaya, Intangible Slayer - 3WWBB 

Do not let the mana value scare you away from this card! This card is well worth finding a way to make it happen. One of the worst things in any game of Magic is playing a planeswalker and having it eat a removal effect from an opponent. With this version of Kaya, your chances of that happening significantly decrease. And before you start yelling about how I did not like the life gain/ life loss on the last Kaya, look at the two cards again. In case you missed it, this one has bigger numbers and is a +2 compared to a -1, so it is some amount of a numerical value better. This card comes down with six loyalty and has relevant abilities, once more setting it apart from a previous iteration. If you still do not trust how good this card is, wait until you are -3 on your opponent's best creature and gain it for yourself. Do it after activating your Kaya, Geist Hunter -2 ability. I would run this in the command zone of an Orzhov deck, no questions asked.

Kaya, Orzhov Usurper - 1WB

Strong with a smaller deck. A time went by when this card would live in the main deck or sideboard of 60 card-constructed decks across formats. But we are not dealing with 60-card decks, and we are not dealing with just one opponent. This card is not "bad" like some in the past and, like some, surely will be in the future, but this card is just not designed synergistically for the commander format. It would be hilarious to run this as a commander and kill the self-mill player when they put over half their deck in the graveyard.

Kaya the Inexorable - 3WB

It is the best Kaya ever printed and is not even close. Five mana and five loyalty is the only fair thing about this card, beyond that the Inexorable is a house of a card. The +1 makes it near impossible for an opponent to remove your creature, and when they burn the first removal spell or wrath on it, it goes back to your hand, and you get a 1/1 spirit for the trouble. -3 to exile any non-land permanent, sign me up. The first time you see someone exile their creature after they put a ghostform counter on the turn before to reuse the cast/ETB effect of the card, your faith in true beauty will be restored. Possibly the most essential ultimate for legendaries-matter decks like Esika, God of the Tree, or Sisay, Weatherlight Captain. Not even Farewell can answer threats if you resolve this ability.

Sorin, Grim Nemesis - 4WB

To me, Sorin is a massive physical being. Sorin is imposing and someone whose presence you would know when they walked into a room. This card is all about doing things big. Six mana and six loyalty are big numbers for our big bad boy. A card draw and a potential kill condition on the +1 make this card hum when it does see play. Conditional removal with a modal minus ability ensures you can kill what you need and gain life as a bonus. The -9 ability on this card could not be made better for Commander. The highest life total from all players in a format where everyone starts at 40 means a massive amount of Vampire Knights. This might draw some ire from the table if you have it leading your deck, but you might be able to be a successful nemesis, thanks to Sorin.

Sorin, Lord of Innistrad - 2WB

A four mana planeswalker that has an immediate way to make an emblem; we must be talking about Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, right? No, we are talking about the Lord of Innistrad himself. While this emblem only gives you a power boost, the tokens might be better with lifelink. The token from the +1 ability protects Sorin and is a likely path to reach the ultimate. This color combination is not known for keeping opponents' creatures and planeswalkers around, so if you get to the -6, you might not want to use it as there may be no value for you to garnish. You get bonus points though if you run this card as the leader of a black white Vampire Typal deck.

Sorin, Solemn Visitor - 2WB

Before earning his title as Lord of Innistrad, this card was much worse. While this card can give all of your creatures lifelink in addition to the power boost, this is not stapled to an emblem, so the temporary aspect is a knock against this card. A 2/2 token with flying is better than other tokens planeswalkers make, but it does not compensate for this card's unfortunate attempt at an ultimate. Most likely, this card joins the 99 of a few of these other planeswalker lead decks.

Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord - 2WB

Black white superfriends have a leader, and their name is Sorin. Is giving the planeswalkers you control lifelink that beneficial in this color combination? No, but it is going to be neat. Moving the lifelink ability to the static ability of a planeswalker is the perfect middle ground between an activated loyalty ability and an emblem. The +2 on this card does not do anything special damage-wise, but it does gain you life and get you to a nice high number on loyalty counters. When you use the minus on this card, you will hopefully get something good out of it. This card can do some cool things, and that's sometimes what Commander is all about when you're making a deck.

Wrap Up

A cliché in Magic is "strong in the right deck." That's a great way to describe the top end of the Orzhov walkers. Like most of the colors we have looked at, nothing here will break the format in half. There are some powerhouses in their own right, to be fair. Kaya the Inexorable, is the best example of this. The card does so many strong things, and the ultimate is something that, with a deck built around it, can win the game. Many people would rather play a myriad of other Orzhov or black white planeswalkers as their commander or play Kaya in the 99. These planeswalkers emulate a feeling I have about this color combination as a whole; they are strong but missing something. Both the characters of Kaya and Sorin would draw people to using them as the leader of the 99, but I would be shocked if they usurp the likes of Tymna the Weaver for raw power, Teysa Karlov for token-based strategies, orElas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim for life gain/aristocrats.

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