Vizkopa GuildmageVizkopa Guildmage | Art by Tyler Jacobson

Halloween is just around the corner, and my girlfriend has convinced me to dress as a vampire this year, so I think I oughta make a deck to match. However, I'm not gonna build around a Vampire. Instead, I'll be running Vizkopa GuildmageVizkopa Guildmage, and playing the lifegain/drain game, because I really love lifegain decks. Having tens, if not hundreds more life points than the rest of the table just makes me feel untouchable.

At that point, I barely have to worry about damage, and I can spend the rest of the game lording my sovereignty over the rest of the table. It's great!

But... I hate having to do it point by point. Most lifegain decks are about having a bunch of those Soul Sisters on the board and counting up a few life every time someone sneezes. That's lame as hell. I'd much rather be gaining all the life at once, in some spectacular combo with cards like Firesong and SunspeakerFiresong and Sunspeaker and Star of ExtinctionStar of Extinction. If I'm not at least doubling my life total, it isn't worth it!

No Gain Without Pain

And that's where Vizkopa GuildmageVizkopa Guildmage comes in. Specifically its first ability, granting any creature lifelink. In my opinion, lifelink is just the best way to gain life, because it's so much easier to deal large amounts of damage than gain large amounts of life. You swing for three, you gain three, and now you're up six. And if you buff those creatures, then your lifegain scales. Those sums can be massive, and the aggressive game plan also suits me well. So let's focus on that.

Well, ok, actually that ability is pretty bad. Three mana to give a creature lifelink for a turn? That's a terrible rate no matter what, but it does give us a theme to follow.

Luckily, we have a million Auras that do the job better. LifelinkLifelink, Eternal ThirstEternal Thirst, Gift of OrzhovaGift of Orzhova, and Cartouche of AmbitionCartouche of Ambition are all easy means of giving any creature lasting lifelink. Then, we can use Spirit LinkSpirit Link, Vampiric LinkVampiric Link, and Soul LinkSoul Link to double the lifegain output of a creature, because they only give the effect of lifelink, and not the ability word itself, meaning it stacks!

However, relying on enchantments is both a blessing and a curse. One downside is that Auras are vulnerable to removal; the creature goes to the graveyard, and so do they. This issue can be resolved by just playing more enchantments, but that does take up deck space. Which brings up the other downside: the need to play creatures to enchant, who will fill up yet more space.

Because we're DIY-ing our lifelink creatures, they take up two card slots instead of one, and therefore are a lot harder to get on board. But it's not all gloomy! Because our creatures don't need to have lifelink naturally, we can just play the best big creatures.

We'll focus on flying and other forms of evasion, so in go Troll of Khazad-dûmTroll of Khazad-dûm, Inspiring OverseerInspiring Overseer, and Lifecreed DuoLifecreed Duo.

Then, many of the other creatures we'll play simple have some big upsides, like Celestial UnicornCelestial Unicorn, Sunblade AngelSunblade Angel, and Wax-Wane WitnessWax-Wane Witness. Basically, we're just looking for strong attackers who can make the most of lifelink.

Then, to amplify this game plan, there's the Guildmage's second ability, draining our opponents whenever we gain life. With that ability activated, we're essentially just doubling the damage each of our lifelinking creatures do for three mana. That's pretty good, especially in Pauper, where dealing a ton of damage can be tough.

Feeding the Plan

That's the primary game plan. Play a scary, evasive creature, give it lifelink, activate our commander, swing and gain/drain. It's got the potential to be strong, but it's pretty resource intensive. So let's make sure we're playing all the ramp and card draw we can.

We'll use Ornithopter of ParadiseOrnithopter of Paradise and other mana dorks in place of mana rocks so that we can always have backup attackers, but we can also use Pristine TalismanPristine Talisman as an even more reliable way of gaining life! Then we'll just have some typical card draw with Sign in BloodSign in Blood, Read the BonesRead the Bones, and Night's WhisperNight's Whisper. Easy peasy.

While we're doing the staples, we might as well cover removal. Go for the ThroatGo for the Throat and Snuff OutSnuff Out are good and all, but we can also play some lifegain themed responses, like Crypt IncursionCrypt Incursion and Light of HopeLight of Hope.

A Few More Drops

Finally, we'll top off this deck with a bunch of simpler ways to gain life. These are cards that support our game plan, but are also just generally advantageous with Vizkopa GuildmageVizkopa Guildmage on the table.

The best ones are CongregateCongregate, Crypt IncursionCrypt Incursion, and War ReportWar Report, which all gain us an incredible amount of life. On a bad day it might be 10. On a good day, it could be 40!

There's some simpler stuff in here too, like Awe StrikeAwe Strike and Rush of VitalityRush of Vitality. A lot of protection spells just happen to give lifelink, so I figured they were worthwhile inclusions, especially because some of our creatures are likely to draw ire.

We're also gonna run all the Soul Sisters, because as much as I complain about them, I can't deny that they're good cards. Plus, there's just a ton of them, and I find that victory lays in consistency.

A few life points every turn from Soul WardenSoul Warden, Suture PriestSuture Priest, or Lunarch VeteranLunarch Veteran never hurt anyone. Well, actually...

We're also running Epicure of BloodEpicure of Blood and Marauding Blight-PriestMarauding Blight-Priest, who, similarly to our commander, drain our opponents when we gain life. I guess our Soul Sisters will be doing some damage, and because the Epicure and Blight-Priest only deal one damage per trigger, the many small instances of lifegain end up being more advantageous here.

Vizkopa Guildmage Pauper Commander Deck List

Run From the Sunlight, Dracula

In the end this deck actually draws on a lot of different strategies, from small drips of lifegain to huge floods of it. I'd like to say it balances both methods pretty effectively, and it's also very consistent. But the most important thing to me is that it has it's huge, game winning moments of spectacular gore, and that's my favorite part.

I mean, imagine how sick it would be to put a Spirit LinkSpirit Link on Crypt RatsCrypt Rats, activate them for five, gain like 50 life and then use your commander to kill every opponent instantly. That's what I live for in Magic!

It also makes me think I wouldn't be a very subtle vampire.

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