Standard is currently a rather hostile environment. Izzet Prowess has been on an absolute tear, representing over 35% of the field on day 2 of the Regional Championship in the U.S.
While this has made it a bit difficult to successfully innovate within the format, there were still some unique strategies that found success at the Regional Championship level. Today, we’re going to be focusing on a sweet Orzhov Amalia shell that made a good run at the Regional Championship in the U.S.
Multiple Orzhov Amalia players finished day 1 with a record of 7-2 or better, which is very impressive for a deck with such a small sample size. Even though the deck doesn’t seem to be crushing in quite the same fashion on day 2, it’s worth highlighting such an off-the-wall strategy and what it brings to the table.
Lots of Life Gain Triggers
At its core, the Orzhov Amalia deck is centered around tons of ways to gain life and generate value through incremental advantages. Amalia was infamous for being an incredible combo piece alongside Wildgrowth Walker in Pioneer, resulting in the potent two-drop eventually getting banned in the format.
By contrast, in Standard, there aren’t any overwhelming combos to be concerned about. Instead, this deck is just using Amalia as an elite source of value by being an Explore engine.
In order to maximize Amalia on curve, you’ll find playsets of two different one drops that each gain you life whenever a creature enters. The first card, Hinterland Sanctifier, is very simple.
Assuming Hinter;and Sacntifier survives, you can follow up with Amalia, immediately gain 1 life, and get your Explore trigger. From then on, every creature you play triggers Amalia, and if you ever have multiple copies of Hinterland Sanctifier going, things can get out of hand fast.
Case of the Uneaten Feast serves a similar purpose, while also being immune to traditional removal spells. These two cards act as the deck’s main enablers that make all of your other cards better.
Many other creatures, like Deep-Cavern Bat and Sinkhole Surveyor, provide additional ways to reliably trigger Amalia turn after turn. Deep-Cavern Bat has Lifelink, while Sinkhole Surveyor makes tokens that trigger Hinterland Sanctifier and Case of the Uneaten Feast.
Winning the Long Game
Overall, while this deck is capable of fast draws involving Amalia, what gives it its biggest edge is how well it can grind through removal. Amalia obviously provides card advantage over time by picking up extra lands via Explore, but that’s hardly the only thing that helps you win the long game.
One of your best tools in this department is Enduring Innocence. Whether it eats a removal spell or not, as long as it doesn’t get exiled, you’re in good shape to start drawing a ton of extra cards.
Enduring Innocence pairs nicely with your token makers like Great Arashin City, which excels in grindy games in its own right. Amalia and Snarling Gorehound provide consistent fuel for Great Arashin City by dumping creatures into your graveyard when applicable.
As you continue churning through your deck and filling your graveyard, you’ll eventually find one of your copies of Raise the Past. Raise the Past can singlehandedly win you games against creature decks
Assuming you get to resurrect Amalia and either Hinterland Sanctifier or Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim along with a slew of creatures, you’ll gain a bunch of life and get lots of Explore triggers for your troubles to help set up your next draw step. If you’re lucky enough to mill over Qarsi Revenant at any point, you can Renew it and give your big Amalia Lifelink and Flying, which should make it easy to close the game.
Qarsi Revenant also does a good job letting you Solve Case of the Uneaten Feast. Case of the Uneaten Feast, just like Raise the Past, makes it easier to beat Day of Judgment.
Areas of Concern
Orzhov Amalia is a rather intriguing choice for Standard and does have some things going for it. Even though you don’t have a ton in the way of removal, all of the life gain adds up and buys you time versus the red decks. Against black midrange shells where you aren’t under as much pressure, the resource advantages you gain over time can be insurmountable.
One major weakness for this archetype, however, does come in the Izzet Prowess and mono-red matchups. Given how reliant this deck is on Amalia and the life gain synergies to pull ahead, Screaming Nemesis and Sunspine Lynx can be extremely problematic.
Sunspine Lynx is a common sideboard card that will completely ruin your day if you don’t have removal at the ready. As for Screaming Nemesis, if your red aggro opponent ever finds a window to send a one-mana burn spell at their own Screaming Nemesis, they’ll simply send two damage to you, and you won’t be able to gain life for the rest of the game.
Screaming Nemesis is already annoying enough as an attacker, and the anti-life gain clause is a nightmare to play against. Throw in Monstrous Rage as a way for the red decks to Trample over your small blockers, and there’s definitely cause for concern in these matchups.
Given the absurd metagame percentage Izzet Prowess and mono-red aggro combine to make up in Standard, Orzhov Amalia isn’t exactly the best positioned. Nonetheless, it’s a fun choice in an otherwise dull metagame that is still capable of putting up a strong performance. Consider giving this deck a whirl at your next Standard FNM.