One of the best things about a new Magic set is the way it recontextualizes what came before it. Cards that never had a chance to shine in previous expansions are often raised to staple status when a new set drops. With the release of Duskmourn, the rising tide has raised many different boats. Lich-Knights’ Conquest, an unremarkable rare from Wilds of Eldraine, suddenly has a role to play in an emerging MTG Standard archetype.
Lich-Knights’ Conquest In MTG Standard
Since they were revealed, players have been trying to break Duskmourn’s Overlord creatures. Because they can come down cheap as enchantments with Impending, cards that flicker or reset them can create big value swings. Both Scrollshift and Doppelgang have been considered, and tested, for the purpose. Neither has really taken off so far. Lich-Knights’ Conquest may finally be the MTG card for the job, however.
In a new brew, aptly known as Overlord’s Conquest, MTG content creator Ashlizzlle demonstrates how well this forgotten rare works with Overlords. For the many who have likely forgotten, Lich-Knights’ Conquest essentially lets you swap artifacts and enchantments you have in play for creatures in your graveyard. You can sacrifice your Overlords to this in their enchantment form, then return them to play as creatures. Since you can drop Overlords early with Impending, this can lead to some very powerful swing turns.
Ashlizzlle’s list runs 11 Overlords in total. Full playsets of Hauntwoods and Boilerbilges, and three copies of Balemurk. These can all come down before turn five as enchantments, ready for Conquest to make them whole. Hauntwoods can even curve you into Conquest a turn early, which can be a very powerful line if you also drop a Balemurk on two.
In addition to the Overlords, the deck also runs a full playset of Fear of Missing Out. As an enchantment creature, you can loop this with Conquest too. Alternatively, you can swap it for an Overlord in your graveyard, if you milled one there with Balemurk. Its loot-on-entry ability is handy for getting excess Overlords into the ‘yard, and the Delirium effect is very relevant in the late game.
Other Interesting Inclusions
That’s the core of the deck, but Lich-Knights’ Conquest isn’t the only spice in this MTG brew. It also runs a number of other unusual cards, which synergize incredibly well with the core.
Up the Beanstalk is another Eldraine card, and it’s fantastic here. It draws you a card whenever you cast an Overlord for its Impending cost, which you’ll be doing a lot. It’s also an enchantment, which means you can sacrifice it to Conquest if you have extra creatures to reanimate.
Speaking of creatures, Enduring Courage is one of the most important ones in the deck. Its static effect lets the Overlords you reanimate get in and attack right away. It also gives them a nice power boost on top of their already-decent stats. If you drop Courage early and your opponent removes it, you can flip it back from an enchantment to a creature with Conquest. You can also trade it for an Overlord in creature form and just get the enchantment half back. Either way, the Haste this provides gives the deck a lot of its explosive potential.
For the games where you’re not just popping off, Glissa Sunslayer is here to support you. Glissa is almost impossible to beat in combat, and her three effects are all incredibly relevant. The counter removal, in particular, can get your Overlords online early without Conquest. She can also generate card advantage and remove opposing enchantments.
Between Glissa and FOMO, this deck has a solid Midrange plan available if the ‘combo’ line doesn’t work out. This makes the deck resilient and means it’s not relying entirely on one thing to win games.
Roadblocks To Conquest
Resilient it may be, but Overlord’s Conquest is by no means unbeatable. This deck hasn’t really posted much in the way of results yet, and that may be because of how many predators it has in the current Standard format.
Gruul Prowess, for a start, eats this deck alive. While it can have an explosive midgame, Overlord’s Conquest is incredibly slow out of the gate. It often dedicates early turns to setting up Overlords, rather than developing creatures or interacting with the board. This gives Gruul a wide window in which to kill you before your shenanigans come online. Even if you do hit your FOMO and removal early, the deck can wipe you out with a Leyline combo before you can blink. This isn’t a good matchup at all, but you can improve it a bit by adding cheap removal like Cut Down.
This deck’s other weaknesses are more general than deck-specific. Graveyard hate can completely shut this deck down, and it’s very common in Standard right now. Both Rest in Peace and Leyline of the Void are common sideboard pieces. Ghost Vacuum has even started showing up in the main board of some decks, such as its power and efficiency. You can answer all of these with artifact/enchantment hate like Pick Your Poison, so be sure to pack some of that in your sideboard.
Such cards are also great sideboard options against you. Since so many of your cards are enchantments, stocks in Tranquil Frillback et al go way up. Since you can recur most of your threats this shouldn’t be a huge deal, but be extra careful around cards like Haywire Mite that exile them instead.
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