Never underestimate the power of a creature not
being in play, or a creature during opponents'
turns. Sorcery-speed removal is blanked against
such a creature, nor can it be killed by forcing
your opponent to block with it. Add to that
Obzedat's five toughness, which puts it out of
range of most instant-speed burn spells, and of
course its ETB-ability triggering every turn for
a four-pont life swing that can't be blocked
BEFORE it swings for five, and you have that
perfect combination of "can't effectively
answer" and "must answer".
Barring some very strange things happening on
the story side, the Ghost Council was always
going to remain the Orzhov guild leader on the
second visit to Ravnica. Those things weren't
necessarily as unlikely as you might think,
considering that Magic's storyline has seen
characters like Leshrac and Urza die; however,
the original Ghost Council was very powerful and
popular, and that factor no doubt contributed.
The original Ghost Council card sort of
couldn't decide whether it wanted to be an
impossible-to-kill control/midrange finisher or
an efficient and resilient threat in aggro
decks, and while it was used as both, this
pulling in different directions caused some
rather odd decks to be made. The new Obzedat is
much more straightforward and easier to use, and
doesn't rely on you having other creatures. I
find it hard to believe that there was really
anyone who experienced a significant number of
feel-bad moments when all their other creatures
were dead and they couldn't flicker the original
Ghost Council, but who knows for sure? Some
things never change, though, and the new version
is still good at both roles and can absolutely
dominate a game. The only thing it doesn't do as
well as the original Ghost Council is block, but
you're in black and white - if you run out of
removal, you're doing it wrong.
Welcome back readers today's card of the day is
a powerful five drop providing a measure of
inevitability. Draining your opponents and
increasing your life helps you stabilize and the
fact it dodges sorcery speed removal is pretty
powerful. a 5/5 body is big enough to tangle
with threats in standard. In modern and eternal
formats this creature is expensive and may not
contribute enough to existing archetypes however
the potential exists. In casual and multiplayer
its a resilient creature that can keep pressure
on and allow you to attack one player and drain
another providing a real threat and a way to
stabilize against multiple players. In commander
its a solid general that is big and aggressive
and provides some resiliency for voltron style
decks. In limited its a bomb rare that dodges
sorcery removal and slowly ticks your opponents
life down bit by bit. Overall a powerful
creature that supplies everything you need in a
creature.
The number six card of the year is Obzedat,
Ghost Council which is a five mana White and
Black 5/5 that lifetaps for two when it enters
play and can blink out at your end step then
return on your next upkeep with Haste. The cost
is both high and specific, with two White and
two Black, and having no evasion or real combat
effects reduces the impact of being a 5/5 as
does the reduced chance of blocking with him.
The blinking and lifetapping is definitely
worthwhile though and in a removal heavy build
to allow mostly safe attacks it is a powerful
card.
Overall in an Orzhov deck with support this is a
good choice to sit at the top of the mana curve
alongside the Extort mechanic that can avoid
many forms of removal.
In Limited this can be a great finisher for
Orzhov that is extremely difficult to remove, by
avoiding Sorcery speed spells, and puts a clock
on the opponent while granting you a nice
cushion of life points. Any attacks with Obzedat
need to be carefully considered as one of the
only in format ways to deal with it is through
combat tricks like Smite or Furious Resistance.
An automatic inclusion in a guild Sealed and
good first pick in Booster that either locks you
into Orzhov or gets sidedecked as a hate draft
thanks to the mana cost being fairly difficult
to splash.
Obzedat, Ghost Council is one of my favorite
creatures. I’ve buried many a foe with good ‘ol
ghost dad. Anyone that claims not to like
Obzedat, Ghost Council is simply being stubborn
or they are clueless when it comes to Magic the
Gathering. Can you imagine having a creature
that can avoid all ‘non-instant’ removal? That
is exactly what ghost dad can do for you. Do you
like to gain life while your opponent suffers?
If you do, then 5 mana is all that it costs for
your very own ghost council. I have a wicked
Standard deck that takes advantage of Obzedat,
Ghost Council and a wonderful card called
Sanguine Bond. The deck is fun and brutal at the
same time! Happy Holidays….!
