<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vizkopa Guildmage" href="#" target="_blank">Vizkopa Guildmage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://www.tylerjacobsonart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tyler Jacobson</a></em></p>
<p>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 <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vizkopa Guildmage" href="#" target="_blank">Vizkopa Guildmage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, 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.</p>
<p>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!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vizkopa Guildmage"></div></div>
<p>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 <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Firesong and Sunspeaker" href="#" target="_blank">Firesong and Sunspeaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Star of Extinction" href="#" target="_blank">Star of Extinction</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. If I'm not at least doubling my life total, it isn't worth it!</p>
<h2>No Gain Without Pain</h2>
<p>And that's where <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vizkopa Guildmage" href="#" target="_blank">Vizkopa Guildmage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Luckily, we have a million Auras that do the job better. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lifelink" href="#" target="_blank">Lifelink</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eternal Thirst" href="#" target="_blank">Eternal Thirst</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gift of Orzhova" href="#" target="_blank">Gift of Orzhova</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cartouche of Ambition" href="#" target="_blank">Cartouche of Ambition</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are all easy means of giving any creature lasting lifelink. Then, we can use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spirit Link" href="#" target="_blank">Spirit Link</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampiric Link" href="#" target="_blank">Vampiric Link</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul Link" href="#" target="_blank">Soul Link</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 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!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lifelink"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eternal Thirst"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spirit Link"></div></div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>We'll focus on flying and other forms of evasion, so in go <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Troll of Khazad-dûm" href="#" target="_blank">Troll of Khazad-dûm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inspiring Overseer" href="#" target="_blank">Inspiring Overseer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lifecreed Duo" href="#" target="_blank">Lifecreed Duo</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Then, many of the other creatures we'll play simple have some big upsides, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Celestial Unicorn" href="#" target="_blank">Celestial Unicorn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sunblade Angel" href="#" target="_blank">Sunblade Angel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wax-Wane Witness" href="#" target="_blank">Wax-Wane Witness</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Basically, we're just looking for strong attackers who can make the most of lifelink.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Troll of Khazad-dûm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Celestial Unicorn"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wax-Wane Witness"></div></div>
<p>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.</p>
<h2>Feeding the Plan</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>We'll use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ornithopter of Paradise" href="#" target="_blank">Ornithopter of Paradise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and other mana dorks in place of mana rocks so that we can always have backup attackers, but we can also use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pristine Talisman" href="#" target="_blank">Pristine Talisman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as an even more reliable way of gaining life! Then we'll just have some typical card draw with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sign in Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Sign in Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Read the Bones" href="#" target="_blank">Read the Bones</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Night&#039;s Whisper" href="#" target="_blank">Night&#039;s Whisper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Easy peasy.</p>
<p>While we're doing the staples, we might as well cover removal. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Go for the Throat" href="#" target="_blank">Go for the Throat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snuff Out" href="#" target="_blank">Snuff Out</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are good and all, but we can also play some lifegain themed responses, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crypt Incursion" href="#" target="_blank">Crypt Incursion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Light of Hope" href="#" target="_blank">Light of Hope</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pristine Talisman"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sign in Blood"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Light of Hope"></div></div>
<h2>A Few More Drops</h2>
<p>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 <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vizkopa Guildmage" href="#" target="_blank">Vizkopa Guildmage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the table.</p>
<p>The best ones are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Congregate" href="#" target="_blank">Congregate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crypt Incursion" href="#" target="_blank">Crypt Incursion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="War Report" href="#" target="_blank">War Report</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, 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!</p>
<p>There's some simpler stuff in here too, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Awe Strike" href="#" target="_blank">Awe Strike</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rush of Vitality" href="#" target="_blank">Rush of Vitality</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. 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.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Congregate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Awe Strike"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rush of Vitality"></div></div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>A few life points every turn from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul Warden" href="#" target="_blank">Soul Warden</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Suture Priest" href="#" target="_blank">Suture Priest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lunarch Veteran" href="#" target="_blank">Lunarch Veteran</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> never hurt anyone. Well, actually...</p>
<p>We're also running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Epicure of Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Epicure of Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marauding Blight-Priest" href="#" target="_blank">Marauding Blight-Priest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, 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.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soul Warden"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Epicure of Blood"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Marauding Blight-Priest"></div></div>
<h2>Vizkopa Guildmage Pauper Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pauper Commander - Vizkopa Guildmage" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Vizkopa Guildmage
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Commander&#039;s Sphere
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Pristine Talisman
[/Artifacts]
[Instants]
*1 Awe Strike
*1 Cast Down
*1 Congregate
*1 Crypt Incursion
*1 Deadly Dispute
*1 Destroy Evil
*1 Disenchant
*1 Go for the Throat
*1 Light of Hope
*1 Orcish Medicine
*1 Reckoner&#039;s Bargain
*1 Return to Action
*1 Rush of Vitality
*1 Snuff Out
*1 Take Up the Shield
*1 Unexpected Fangs
*1 War Report
[/Instants]
[Creatures]
*1 Celestial Unicorn
*1 Children of Korlis
*1 Creeping Bloodsucker
*1 Crypt Rats
*1 Epicure of Blood
*1 Gold Myr
*1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
*1 Guardian Naga // Banishing Coils
*1 Healer&#039;s Hawk
*1 Heron of Hope
*1 Inspiring Overseer
*1 Kindly Ancestor // Ancestor&#039;s Embrace
*1 Lifecreed Duo
*1 Lunarch Veteran // Luminous Phantom
*1 Marauding Blight-Priest
*1 Ornithopter of Paradise
*1 Rooftop Assassin
*1 Sacred Cat
*1 Soul Warden
*1 Soul&#039;s Attendant
*1 Sunblade Angel
*1 Suture Priest
*1 Troll of Khazad-dûm
*1 Vault Skirge
*1 Wall of Hope
*1 Wax-Wane Witness
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Angelic Gift
*1 Blessing of Leeches
*1 Cartouche of Ambition
*1 Edge of the Divinity
*1 Eternal Thirst
*1 Gift of Orzhova
*1 Lifelink
*1 Parasitic Impetus
*1 Soul Link
*1 Spirit Link
*1 Sunspring Expedition
*1 Vampiric Link
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Diresight
*1 Night&#039;s Whisper
*1 Read the Bones
*1 Recommission
*1 Sign in Blood
*1 Unearth
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Command Tower
*16 Plains
*16 Swamp
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Run From the Sunlight, Dracula</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>I mean, imagine how sick it would be to put a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spirit Link" href="#" target="_blank">Spirit Link</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crypt Rats" href="#" target="_blank">Crypt Rats</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, 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 <em>Magic</em>!</p>
<p>It also makes me think I wouldn't be a very subtle vampire.</p>
<h3>Read More:</h3>
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<p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden;" title="&#8220;Ravenous Squirrel Pauper Commander Deck Tech&#8221; &#8212; EDHREC" src="https://edhrec.com/articles/ravenous-squirrel-pauper-commander-deck-tech/embed/#?secret=o3U21vyhwj#?secret=74ZQ2TbqgL" data-secret="74ZQ2TbqgL" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>


vizkopa

Pauper Commander - Vizkopa Guildmage