Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Ghost Council of Orzhova
Ghost Council of Orzhova
Legendary Creature — Spirit · {W}{W}{B}{B} · Black/White commander
When Ghost Council of Orzhova enters, target opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
{1}, Sacrifice a creature: Exile Ghost Council of Orzhova. Return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
Build a Ghost Council of Orzhova deck →
What Ghost Council of Orzhova actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- Triggered ability · etbWhen Ghost Council of Orzhova enters, target opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
- Activated ability{1}, Sacrifice a creature: Exile Ghost Council of Orzhova. Return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
What a Ghost Council of Orzhova deck needs
Plays as aristocrats. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.
- expendable creatures and tokens to sacrifice (the commander is a sacrifice outlet)
- blink and recursion aimed at the commander itself (its value is its own enter trigger)
- drain and life-loss payoffs (the damage is not combat damage)
The Ghost Council of Orzhova deck plan
The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.
- 12× Life loss that is not combat damage — each opponent loses life, repeatably
- 6× Exile a permanent you control and return it — the button a value-ETB deck presses
- 16× Creatures you are happy to sacrifice — a free sac outlet on the commander is worthless with nothing to feed it
- 8× A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
- 7× Refill your hand
- 2× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
Best cards for Ghost Council of Orzhova
Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.
Life loss that is not combat damage — each opponent loses life, repeatably
- Zulaport Cutthroat2 mana
- Leechridden Swamp0 mana
- Blind Obedience2 mana
- Cruel Celebrant2 mana
- Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim2 mana
- Marionette Apprentice2 mana
- The Meathook Massacre2 mana
- Mirkwood Bats4 mana
Exile a permanent you control and return it — the button a value-ETB deck presses
- Airbender Ascension2 mana
- Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd2 mana
- Eldrazi Displacer3 mana
- Flickerwisp3 mana
- Touch the Spirit Realm3 mana
- Conjurer's Closet5 mana
- Distinguished Conjurer2 mana
- Felidar Guardian4 mana
Creatures you are happy to sacrifice — a free sac outlet on the commander is worthless with nothing to feed it
- Nurgle's Rot1 mana
- Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation // Temple of Civilization6 mana
- Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead5 mana
- Phyrexian Triniform9 mana
- Hildibrand Manderville // Gentleman's Rise2 mana
- Edgar, Charmed Groom // Edgar Markov's Coffin4 mana
- Exquisite Huntmaster4 mana
- Grixis Slavedriver6 mana
A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses
- Orcish Bowmasters2 mana
- Accursed Marauder2 mana
- Knight of the White Orchid2 mana
- Spirited Companion2 mana
- Solemn Simulacrum4 mana
- Cauldron Familiar1 mana
- Fleshbag Marauder3 mana
- Loran of the Third Path3 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Path to Exile1 mana
- Swords to Plowshares1 mana
- Defile1 mana
- Tragic Slip1 mana
- March of Otherworldly Light1 mana
- Infernal Grasp2 mana
- Fatal Push1 mana
- Bitter Triumph2 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Demonic Tutor2 mana
- Diabolic Intent2 mana
- Vampiric Tutor1 mana
- Imperial Seal1 mana
- Demonic Consultation1 mana
- Grim Tutor3 mana
- Tainted Pact2 mana
- Scheming Symmetry1 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Damn2 mana
- Vanquish the Horde8 mana
- Toxic Deluge3 mana
- Damnation4 mana
- Wrath of God4 mana
- Day of Judgment4 mana
- Bontu's Last Reckoning3 mana
- Kaya's Wrath4 mana
Refill your hand
- Esper Sentinel1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Black Market Connections3 mana
- Braids, Arisen Nightmare3 mana
- Morbid Opportunist3 mana
- Phyrexian Arena3 mana
- Archivist of Oghma2 mana
- The One Ring4 mana
Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- Flowering of the White Tree2 mana
- Bastion Protector3 mana
- Codsworth, Handy Helper3 mana
- Avacyn, Angel of Hope8 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
- Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
- Chaplain of Alms // Chapel Shieldgeist1 mana
- Eldrazi Monument5 mana
Build this deck in the Arcane Forge →
Arcane Foundry is free to join and every tool is included: the Arcane Forge deck builder, the ARCANE Analyzer that scores a deck by simulating games rather than counting staples, a card scanner, a collection vault, and live webcam Commander tables.
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