Ghost Council Voltron/Control

[Ghost]

Theory crafting with Ghost Council of Orzhova as a slow, grindy Voltron commander with lots of token and board wipe support. The goal is to create an environment with enough token production to fuel flickering the Ghost Council. The board is kept as clear as possible with board wipes. The creature suite includes low cost creatures that replace themselves with tokens to ensure Ghost Council can protect itself from removal. Any equipment that automatically equips when Ghost Council returns to the battlefield are included. Token producers are diversified across permanent types to prevent blowouts.

Could use more card draw, land based ramp and instant speed interaction.

Using budget options when possible. Thoughts on this strategy are appreciated. Land base is not tuned yet. Thank you!

Deck: Ghost Council V

//Main
1 Ghost Council of Orzhova

//Creatures
1 Bloodsoaked Champion
1 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
1 Doomed Traveler
1 Hunted Witness
1 Lunarch Veteran // Luminous Phantom
1 Mageta the Lion
1 Massacre Girl
1 Nested Shambler
1 Ophiomancer
1 Orzhov Enforcer
1 Persistent Specimen
1 Reassembling Skeleton
1 Tithe Taker

//Planeswalkers
1 Archangel Elspeth
1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 The Eternal Wanderer

//Enchantments
1 Bitterblossom
1 Blessed Sanctuary
1 Dreadhorde Invasion
1 Duelist's Heritage
1 Hidden Stockpile
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Planar Collapse

//Utility Artifacts
1 Genesis Chamber
1 Nuisance Engine
1 Tome of Legends
1 Trading Post

//Equipment
1 Andúril, Flame of the West
1 Captain's Claws
1 Champion's Helm
1 Fireshrieker
1 Hero's Blade
1 Inquisitor's Flail
1 Nettlecyst
1 Ronin Warclub
1 Sai of the Shinobi
1 Stormrider Rig

//Mana Stones
1 Arcane Signet
1 Charcoal Diamond
1 Commander's Sphere
1 Marble Diamond
1 Mind Stone
1 Orzhov Keyrune
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Sol Ring
1 Sonic Screwdriver
1 Talisman of Hierarchy
1 The Irencrag

//Sorceries
1 Austere Command
1 Damn
1 Divine Reckoning
1 Dusk // Dawn
1 End Hostilities
1 Farewell
1 Languish
1 Merciless Eviction
1 Slaughter the Strong
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Wrath of God

//Lands
1 Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Command Tower
1 Concealed Courtyard
1 Fetid Heath
1 Forbidding Watchtower
1 Godless Shrine
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Orzhov Basilica
11 Plains
1 Restless Fortress
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Shambling Vent
1 Silent Clearing
1 Spawning Pool
11 Swamp
1 Tainted Field
1 Temple of Silence
1 War Room

Display deck statistics

[Dunadain]

I really like this list!

First off, we have a built in decklist display:

Code: Select all

[deck]
Instants
1 Treasure hunt
Sorceries
1 Firestorm
Lands
29 Island
29 Mountain
[/deck]

Will result in:

Decklist

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Instants

1 Treasure hunt

Sorceries

1 Firestorm

Lands

29 Island

29 Mountain

Approximate Total Cost:

Just makes it a bit easier to parse.

Second of all, I'm a bit suspicious of all the Doomed Traveler type cards, they allow you to blink your commander twice, while a single Bloodghast can give you limitless blinking for the entire game. Seems like you should be maxing out the second type of card. Especially cause you can then use Entomb, Unmarked Grave, and Buried Alive to find them.

Edit: also, I'm noting a lot of similarities to my Ebondeath, Dracolich Voltron deck (which is why I like it so much, XD) obviously the addition of a second color changes a lot, but feel free to check out the link in my signature if you're looking for ideas.

[Ruiner]

It's a neat style of deck, I ran something sort of similar a few years ago with Obzedat, Ghost Council as the commander.

I'd consider running Rout as one of your wipes since the insant speed is a nice option.

[Ghost]

@Dunadain

Thanks so much for taking a look. I think you're right about the doomed traveler clones. My thought process, was that they provide an immediate replacement token after use, so multiple removal spells would have to be used across a turn cycle. Bloodghast and friends can keep coming back, but usually with restrictions and often on your turn or at sorcery speed. However, with a critical mass of them, I think they will provide more consistent sacrifice fodder. I found Cult Conscript, Haunt of the Dead Marshes, and Nether Traitor to go along with Bloodghast. I initially glossed over Nether Traitor and Bloodghast, as I had a memory of them being quite spendy. Looks like times have changed!

The primer you wrote was fantastic. I like Brass Knuckles as another double strike option. Swords are a little out of my price range, except for maybe Sword of Hearth and Home which I can see being very useful alongside the ETB creature based board wipes. Sword of Forge and Frontier is similarly less expensive and adds to the ramp package. I really want Ghost Council of Orzhova to be the primary win condition, but all the tokens and recurring creatures + equipment does add some "plan B" options.

@Ruiner

Rout is a great idea. Totally slipped my radar!

I'll try to post an updated (reformatted) list soon. Doing this all on my phone is a bit tedious!