<p style="text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lo and Li, Twin Tutors" href="#" target="_blank">Lo and Li, Twin Tutors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by AKAGI</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the reasons the </span><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/tla"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Avatar: The Last Airbender</span></i></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> intellectual property speaks to me as much as it does is that I relate to the characters on a deep level. Aang’s guilt over abandoning his responsibilities, Iroh’s redemption as a father figure who failed his biological son, Zuko struggling to balance his destiny with his moral compass…even Azula being the less-favored sibling, perceived as a monster from a young age. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And yet, the most direct analogue to my own life is in today’s commander(s): <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lo and Li, Twin Tutors" href="#" target="_blank">Lo and Li, Twin Tutors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lo and Li, Twin Tutors"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lo and Li are not particularly rounded characters, which makes sense, in a somewhat sad way. Like Lo and Li, I am a tutor, albeit an academic one. As educators, our job is more to help others reach their dreams and less to reach dreams ourselves; at our worst, we sometimes wonder whether our lot in life is to act as mentors for others’ journeys rather than to be the heroes of our own stories. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even Lo and Li, in both of their incarnations, are Advisors, even though today’s focus is on the Noble creature type.</span></p>
<h2>The Noble Creature Type</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nobles</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> are a relatively new creature type in <i>Magic</i>, with many kings and queens of older sets being given the type via errata. Notably absent from the type is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin King" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin King</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (might want to get on that, Wizards!), but most other members of aristocracy have been given the title, including the aptly-named <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampire Noble" href="#" target="_blank">Vampire Noble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goblin King"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vampire Noble"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many Nobles are legendary, as the rich and powerful tend to make compelling characters. Of the non-legendary Nobles, many are Vampires, as the Markovs and Sengir represent the wealthy literally feeding off of the poor. I’m sure there’s a joke about late-stage Capitalism in there, but I’m not about to drink from that vein.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Like many cards from the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Avatar</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> set, Lo and Li are beautifully designed from a flavor perspective. While their role as a facilitator fits their profession as a royal tutor, so does the fact that they also support Lessons. Our deck will show them mingling with society Nobles while also imparting their wisdom via Lessons.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mixing Nobles and Lessons sounds interesting in the abstract, but neither is very deep, so we will find ourselves working to find common ground. But how do we get these two types without a lot of overlap to work? And are there enough Nobles and Lessons to make a functional strategy?</span></p>
<h2>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lo and Li, Twin Tutors" href="#" target="_blank">Lo and Li, Twin Tutors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Do?</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As an uncommon legend, Lo and Li have worse stats than their rare counterparts. Five mana for a 2/2 is way over-costed, especially when <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lo and Li, Royal Advisors" href="#" target="_blank">Lo and Li, Royal Advisors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> costs four mana for a 3/3. Their abilities would need to be something special to justify running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lo and Li, Twin Tutors" href="#" target="_blank">Lo and Li, Twin Tutors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as a commander, let alone one for a type they don’t even represent. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Luckily, they don’t disappoint.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lo and Li’s primary ability is that, when they enter, they search for a Lesson or Noble card and put it in our hand. Nobles vary in power level, as we’ll see in a bit, but there are plenty that we would love to have extra copies of, and our commander helps make that happen. Lessons might not be the toolbox cards </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Strixhaven </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">intended them to be in Commander, but Lo and Li lets us find removal, card draw, or ramp when we need it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lo and Li’s second ability is also fairly powerful, especially in a creature type with inconsistent stats. Granting lifelink to all of our Nobles and Lessons helps win grindy games and is a rarity to find in mono-black. We do need to be a bit careful, as some of our powerful effects cause loss of life, which is unaffected by lifelink.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since Nobles are an undersupported type, it’s largely up to us to create the synergy and feel for ourselves.</span></p>
<h2>Key Cards for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lo and Li, Twin Tutors" href="#" target="_blank">Lo and Li, Twin Tutors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="High-Society Hunter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Falkenrath Noble"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many of our stronger Nobles support an <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/aristocrats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aristocrat</a> strategy, which makes sense, given the meanings of the two words. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="High-Society Hunter" href="#" target="_blank">High-Society Hunter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides a sacrifice outlet as well as a stream of card draw when anyone’s creatures die. We can also benefit off of those deaths with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Falkenrath Noble" href="#" target="_blank">Falkenrath Noble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, one of the flagship cards of the archetype when it became a known commodity in </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Innistrad</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> standard.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arrogant Outlaw"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vampire Sovereign"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vampires like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arrogant Outlaw" href="#" target="_blank">Arrogant Outlaw</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampire Sovereign" href="#" target="_blank">Vampire Sovereign</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> help give the deck reach, complementing the life loss triggers from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Falkenrath Noble" href="#" target="_blank">Falkenrath Noble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. These types of effects help us break board stalls and win games where our creatures get out-classed, which happens a surprising amount of times for a deck composed of the upper-class.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bastion of Remembrance"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dark Prophecy"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While there are some Aristocrats cards in the type itself, we want a bit more than that. If we have too many non-Nobles, we run the risk of diluting the theme, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bastion of Remembrance" href="#" target="_blank">Bastion of Remembrance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives us another <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Falkenrath Noble" href="#" target="_blank">Falkenrath Noble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effect without adding a non-Noble creature. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark Prophecy" href="#" target="_blank">Dark Prophecy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also gives us another draw engine, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="High-Society Hunter" href="#" target="_blank">High-Society Hunter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which, again, is not a creature.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Village Rites"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bone Shards"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aristocrat decks are notorious for sacrificing lesser creatures, which seems pretty in line with what Nobles seem willing to do. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Village Rites" href="#" target="_blank">Village Rites</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> lets us trade those cogs for cards, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bone Shards" href="#" target="_blank">Bone Shards</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> trades vassals for threats. Both of these cause death triggers, setting off a conga line of effects.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Introduction to Annihilation"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Lessons are where things get a little hairy, but a lot cool. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Introduction to Annihilation" href="#" target="_blank">Introduction to Annihilation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of my favorite Lessons, as it gives us the ability to remove permanents that black usually can’t hit well, like enchantments. It does draw the opponent a card, but that can be helpful politically and is worth the flexibility of being able to find it with our commander.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ruinous Waterbending"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ruinous Waterbending" href="#" target="_blank">Ruinous Waterbending</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a newer Lesson that is an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infest" href="#" target="_blank">Infest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> attached to a delayed <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blood Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Blood Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> hovering for the turn. While it can kill our commander, we can re-cast it and tutor again. A second tutorable <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blood Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Blood Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effect is necessary to make the deck operate smoothly and to grant us multiple powerful turns. We can even cast this and intentionally send our survivors into a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickett%27s_Charge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pickett’s Charge</a> to get more triggers. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After all, the wealthy make war, but it’s the poor who fight them.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Volrath&#039;s Stronghold"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Tower"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Volrath&#039;s Stronghold" href="#" target="_blank">Volrath&#039;s Stronghold</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a solid land for an Aristocrats strategy, putting whatever creature we want on top of our library. We can even follow it up by casting our commander if we’re mana flooded and need it now. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Tower" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Tower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a way to build a sacrifice effect into our manabase, which can also give the deck a bit of a mana boost.</span></p>
<h2>How Does This <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lo and Li, Twin Tutors" href="#" target="_blank">Lo and Li, Twin Tutors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Commander Deck Win?</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nobles operate like Aristocrat decks, looking to capitalize off of the deaths of lessers while profiting off of those deaths and nickel-and-diming opponents. Our commander helps us find the missing pieces to get these engines rolling, as well as a few silver bullets, from Lessons learned over the years.</span></p>
<h2>Lo and Li, Twin Tutors Commander Deck List</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Lo and Li, Twin Tutors Commander Deck Tech" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="&nbsp;
[Commander]
*1 Lo and Li, Twin Tutors
[/Commander]
&nbsp;
[Creatures]
*1 Ardyn, the Usurper
*1 Arrogant Outlaw
*1 Ascendant Evincar
*1 Ayara, First of Locthwain
*1 Azula, On the Hunt
*1 Azula, Ruthless Firebender
*1 Baron Sengir
*1 Bloodtithe Collector
*1 Emperor of Bones
*1 Falkenrath Noble
*1 High-Society Hunter
*1 Indulgent Aristocrat
*1 King Macar, the Gold-Cursed
*1 Lord Skitter, Sewer King
*1 Lost Monarch of Ifnir
*1 Mai, Scornful Striker
*1 Malevolent Noble
*1 Markov Baron
*1 Necron Overlord
*1 Ozox, the Clattering King
*1 Sengir, the Dark Baron
*1 Species Specialist
*1 Timothar, Baron of Bats
*1 Vampire Aristocrat
*1 Vampire Noble
*1 Vampire Sovereign
*1 Wicked Guardian
*1 Witch-king of Angmar
*1 Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin
*1 Zenos yae Galvus // Shinryu, Transcendent Rival
[/Creatures]
&nbsp;
[Enchantments]
*1 Bastion of Remembrance
*1 Black Market
*1 Blight Mound
*1 Dark Prophecy
*1 Haunted One
*1 Open the Graves
*1 Revel in Riches
*1 The Meathook Massacre
[/Enchantments]
&nbsp;
[Artifacts]
*1 Crowded Crypt
[/Artifacts]
&nbsp;
[Sorceries]
*1 Aang&#039;s Journey
*1 Bone Shards
*1 Confront the Past
*1 Desperate Plea
*1 Introduction to Annihilation
*1 Introduction to Prophecy
*1 Necrotic Fumes
*1 Rite of Consumption
*1 Ritual of the Machine
*1 Ruinous Waterbending
*1 Scarring Memories
*1 Victimize
[/Sorceries]
&nbsp;
[Instants]
*1 Azula Always Lies
*1 Corrupted Conviction
*1 Costly Plunder
*1 Deadly Dispute
*1 Eviscerator&#039;s Insight
*1 Plumb the Forbidden
*1 Village Rites
*1 Zuko&#039;s Exile
[/Instants]
&nbsp;
[Lands]
*1 Castle Locthwain
*1 Cavern of Souls
*1 Command Beacon
*1 Midgar, City of Mako // Reactor Raid
*1 Path of Ancestry
*1 Phyrexian Tower
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*30 Swamp
*1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
*1 Volrath&#039;s Stronghold
*1 War Room
[/Lands]
&nbsp;"></span></div></span></p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nobles are a fun type to give life to. Lo and Li, in particular, let the deck function like a royal party: mingling with the well-to-do while profiting off of the labor of the lackeys. Now, if only we could get <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin King" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin King</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin" href="#" target="_blank">Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> the Noble typing…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But how would you build Nobles? And how do you differentiate them from other black graveyard decks?</span></p>


lo and li

Building Noble Typal with Lo and Li, Twin Tutors