In a Commander setting, life gain has long been a fan-favorite strategy. There are plenty of ways to take advantage of life gain effects in Commander, including with some classic infinite life drain combos. As popular as these combo kills are in Commander, however, they don’t tend to make much noise in Constructed.
That said, thanks to some recent innovation, a classic Commander lifegain combo has just appeared in Standard. With the help of some new tools to speed things up, this deck has a better opportunity to showcase its strengths moving forward.
Traditional Combo Kill
If you’re an EDH enthusiast, you’re probably aware of the simple yet effective combo that revolves around Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood. With both cards on the table, any effect that either gains you life or forces an opponent to lose life creates an infinite loop of triggers from your enchantments, draining your opponents of all their life.
While there have been many replacements for Sanguine Bond printed over the years, it wasn’t until the printing of Bloodthirsty Conqueror in MTG Foundations that another Exquisite Blood appeared. Now, with Bloodthirsty Conqueror and Starscape Cleric both in Standard together, a similar combo can be executed in a different, more competitive environment.
Still, the fact that Bloodthirsty Conqueror costs five mana has largely prevented this combo from putting up much in the way of results over the last year. Fortunately, Momo, Friendly Flier is a huge asset for the Orzhov combo archetype that helps accelerate out your otherwise clunky combo pieces. Once you add Starfield Shepherd into the mix, you have consistent access to your elite one-drop. Shepherd can also grab Valgavoth’s Faithful, which can resurrect either combo piece in the event they get answered before you can assemble a kill.
Fighting Through the Air
While the primary focus of this deck is to execute a combo, it isn’t the only way you can win the game. In fact, Momo’s presence lets you take full advantage of some strong aerial attackers that can put your opponent on the backfoot.
No card individually synergizes better with Momo than Sage of the Skies. Because Momo specifically discounts the next non-Lemur flier you play, if you have Sage rolled up, you can always wait until turn three to deploy Momo and immediately follow with Sage. In doing so, you’ll get two 2/3 fliers with Lifelink out of the deal.
Beyond being naturally strong in racing situations against aggressive archetypes, these Lifelink bodies reliably trigger Starscape Cleric, allowing you to put on additional pressure outside of the combo. Deep-Cavern Bat provides similar value, while simultaneously stripping the opponent of their best interactive elements.
The cost reduction Momo provides also gives you a chance to double spell as early as turn two. Casting Bat or Cleric alongside Seam Rip helps stave off early pressure from Ouroboroid shells while still letting you develop your board, which is a big deal. Considering how few fliers most of the green decks have access to, the damage output from Momo and your other small fliers will start to add up.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Overall, while this shell is far from a top tier contender, the combination of efficient, evasive plays and a combo kill that you can build towards at least gives Orzhov Life Gain Combo a shot to compete in the current metagame. Unsurprisingly, the life gain elements line up very well against Mono-Red Aggro and Simic Aggro. Neither deck does a great job removing Bloodthirsty Conqueror, either, which will run away with games if left unchecked.
At the same time, though, Sage, Shepherd, and Overlord of the Balemurk all do a good job pulling you ahead on resources in grindy games versus Dimir Midrange. Alongside some grindy cards out of the sideboard like Jackdaw Savior and Scout for Survivors, you’ve got a real shot to play through your opponent’s wealth of removal.
Unfortunately, you can still run into issues versus Izzet Lessons. Firebending Lesson successfully answers a turn one Momo, and your array of one-toughness creatures line up very poorly versus Iroh’s Demonstration. On top of that, it doesn’t take long before Combustion Technique threatens to take down Bloodthirsty Conqueror or Overlord of the Balemurk for just two mana. Playing the long game against a deck with Accumulate Wisdom and Monument to Endurance is also extremely difficult in the first place.
Considering how popular Izzet Lessons is, it’s hard to feel super optimistic going into a large tournament with Orzhov Life Gain Combo. Nonetheless, the deck still has plenty of strengths going in its favor, and it could make for an interesting metacall depending on what archetypes you expect to play against.
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