This Orzhov deck treats its own life total as a resource. It pays life aggressively for cards, mana and value through Necropotence, Greed, Bolas's Citadel and Phyrexian mana, and Cecil, Dark Knight's Darkness trigger drains its own life to flip the commander into Cecil, Redeemed Paladin, a lifelinking attacker that makes the rest of the attack indestructible. Once low, the deck turns the life swing around with lifegain-to-drain engines, life-total exchanges and refills that punish opponents for the life it spent. How it wins: It drains opponents by converting lifegain into life loss and swinging with a protected, pumped team, and it can also win outright when Mister Negative swaps life totals with a near-infinite pile of lost life set up by Pact Weapon and a repeatable life payment. Key roles: - Paying life for cards and mana: These cards turn life into card advantage, mana and free spells, and they push Cecil toward the half-life threshold that transforms it. (Necropotence, Bolas's Citadel, K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth) - Flipping the commander and the life swing: These cards bring life totals back up, swap them, or level them after the deck has bled, so a low life total becomes an advantage. (Mister Negative, Repay in Kind, Tainted Sigil) - Lifegain-to-drain loop: These cards pair lifegain with life loss for opponents, so every lifelink hit or gain trigger also damages the table, and some combinations become self-sustaining. (Sanguine Bond, Exquisite Blood, Enduring Tenacity) - Surviving at low life: These pieces keep the deck alive while it sits near or below zero. They include Pact Weapon, the cards that let it gain life equal to the life it has lost, and cheap repeatable life outlets that also enable the combo. (Pact Weapon, Children of Korlis, Wall of Blood) - Combat and the knight team: Equipment, keyword sharing and protection make Cecil and the other attackers hit hard and survive. Redeemed Paladin's indestructibility and Knight Exemplar's pump also back up the Knight creature types. (Odric, Lunarch Marshal, Knight Exemplar, Dark Knight's Greatsword) - Lifegain payoffs that grow: Some creatures and equipment get bigger with each lifegain trigger, so they become finishers as the drain engines run. (Excalibur II, Aerith Gainsborough, The Wind Crystal)

Cecil, Dark Knight // Cecil, Redeemed Paladin decklist

• Arcane Signet
• Bolas's Citadel
• Dark Knight's Greatsword
• Excalibur II
• Lightning Greaves
• Orzhov Signet
• Pact Weapon
• Sol Ring
• Swiftfoot Boots
• Tainted Sigil
• Talisman of Hierarchy
• The Darkness Crystal
• The Wind Crystal
• Bleachbone Verge
• Bojuka Bog
• Caves of Koilos
• Command Tower
• Fetid Heath
• Godless Shrine
• Isolated Chapel
• Marsh Flats
• Orzhov Basilica
• 8× Plains
• Reliquary Tower
• Rogue's Passage
• Shattered Sanctum
• Shineshadow Snarl
• Silent Clearing
• 10× Swamp
• Tainted Field
• Vault of Champions
• Vault of the Archangel
• Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
• Aerith Gainsborough
• Bastion Protector
• Blood Celebrant
• Bloodthirsty Conqueror
• Children of Korlis
• Dark Confidant
• Darkstar Augur
• Dion, Bahamut's Dominant // Bahamut, Warden of Light
• Enduring Tenacity
• General's Enforcer
• K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
• Kain, Traitorous Dragoon
• Knight Exemplar
• Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff
• Mister Negative
• Odric, Lunarch Marshal
• Rosa, Resolute White Mage
• Squall, SeeD Mercenary
• Tymna the Weaver
• Vilis, Broker of Blood
• Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
• Vona, Butcher of Magan
• Wall of Blood
• Witch Enchanter // Witch-Blessed Meadow
• Black Market Connections
• Exquisite Blood
• Greed
• Lunar Convocation
• Necropotence
• Phyrexian Arena
• Sanguine Bond
• Unspeakable Symbol
• Anguished Unmaking
• Dark Ritual
• Dismember
• Fell the Profane // Fell Mire
• Infernal Grasp
• Inkshield
• Path to Exile
• Restoration Magic
• Snuff Out
• Swords to Plowshares
• Damn
• Exsanguinate
• Feed the Swarm
• Night's Whisper
• Reanimate
• Repay in Kind
• Sign in Blood
• Toxic Deluge