Orzhov Death & Taxes has the same core deck as mono white Death and & Taxes, but since the printing of [[Orcish Bowmasters]] it has made splash black most of the time. There are many decks in Legacy that draw cards or have one toughness creatures, so [[Orcish Bowmasters]] has quickly become a staple of the format. Typically, each creature Orzhov Death & Taxes plays is either good against combo, control, or creature decks, but rarely all three. [[Orcish Bowmasters]] is unique in that it can be good against most of the decks in Legacy, but each for a different reason. By deciding to play black, this opens up the deck to play many other cards with the other main black card being [[Thoughtseize]]. It is another card that is versatile and good in most matchups and can interact faster with combo decks than Orzhov Death & Taxes could in the past. Death & Taxes has been a popular deck choice for many years, and with this new addition, we can expect its popularity to only increase, so we should be prepared for the matchup.
How does Orzhov Death & Taxes matchup against TES?
[[Orcish Bowmasters]] – This is main reason Death and & Taxes has moved to Orzhov instead of being mono white. [[Orcish Bowmasters]] is good in so many matchups and is a unique disruptive angle that didn’t exist before. Even against TES it can be annoying because of [[Mishra’s Bauble]], [[Brainstorm]], [[Song of Creation]], [[Echo of Eons]], and [[Peer into the Abyss]]. The one counter to this is [[Veil of Summer]] which would normally be a dead card in this matchup.
[[Thoughtseize]] – The deck is already playing black, so [[Thoughtseize]] is a great inclusion. Hand disruption is not an angle that Orzhov Death & Taxes could leverage in the past, but adding black gives it the opportunity. The ability to take key cards and have the information to play the rest of their creatures makes Orzhov Death & Taxes so much better and helps in many matchups. Sometimes guessing which creature to play and in which order can make or break the outcome of a game, and [[Thoughtseize]] removes that guessing game.
[[Thalia, Guardian of Thraben]] – The Achilles heel of a Storm deck. [[Thalia, Guardian of Thraben]] is the staple of Orzhov Death & Taxes and makes it nearly impossible for a s Storm deck to combo through. This card is the reason why speed is important in this matchup.
[[Wasteland]], [[Rishadan Port]] – One of the reasons Orzhov Death & Taxes got its name is because of its taxing the opponent’s lands. Most of the decks in Legacy play very few lands and could play zero basic lands, TES included. [[Wasteland]] and [[Rishadan Port]] are even more powerful on the play because you’re immediately behind on lands, and it can be hard to get past having more than one land available. Against a deck like TES that plays 12 lands, sometimes just disrupting the lands is good enough to win.
[[Mindbreak Trap]], [[Deafening Silence]] – One of the weaknesses of Orzhov Death & Taxes is extremely fast combo decks. They usually can’t interact much on the first turn outside of [[Wasteland]]. It also just so happens that if a deck is winning on turn one or two then they’re probably playing several spells on that turn. To shore up that weakness, Orzhov Death & Taxes plays a few copies of [[Mindbreak Trap]] in the sideboard, and that will be helpful against TES. [[Deafening Silence]] is in the same boat. Another turn one piece of interaction that stops s Storm right its tracks. These postboard cards allow Orzhov Death & Taxes to interact on turn zero and turn one and that is extremely helpful at beating faster combo decks, because the main deck cannot interact until the second turn outside of [[Wasteland]].
Deck Lists
The EPIC Storm
Main Deck
- 4 [[Burning Wish]]
- 4 [[Beseech the Mirror]]
- 4 [[Brainstorm]]
- 3 [[Galvanic Relay]]
- 1 [[Gaea’s Will]]
- 1 [[Song of Creation]]
- 1 [[Tendrils of Agony]]
- 4 [[Veil of Summer]]
- 4 [[Rite of Flame]]
- 4 [[Dark Ritual]]
- 4 [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]
- 4 [[Lotus Petal]]
- 3 [[Mox Opal]]
- 4 [[Mishra’s Bauble]]
- 3 [[Chrome Mox]]
- 4 [[Bloodstained Mire]]
- 1 [[Scalding Tarn]]
- 1 [[Misty Rainforest]]
- 1 [[Verdant Catacombs]]
- 1 [[Underground Sea]]
- 1 [[Volcanic Island]]
- 1 [[Badlands]]
- 1 [[Taiga]]
- 1 [[Bayou]]
Sideboard
- 1 [[Echoing Truth]]
- 1 [[Galvanic Relay]]
- 4 [[Carpet of Flowers]]
- 1 [[Thoughtseize]]
- 1 [[Consign // Oblivion]]
- 1 [[Grapeshot]]
- 1 [[Empty the Warrens]]
- 1 [[Tendrils of Agony]]
- 1 [[Echo of Eons]]
- 2 [[Abrupt Decay]]
- 1 [[Peer into the Abyss]]
Main Deck
- 4 [[Burning Wish]]
- 4 [[Beseech the Mirror]]
- 4 [[Brainstorm]]
- 3 [[Galvanic Relay]]
- 1 [[Gaea’s Will]]
- 1 [[Song of Creation]]
- 1 [[Tendrils of Agony]]
- 4 [[Veil of Summer]]
- 4 [[Rite of Flame]]
- 4 [[Dark Ritual]]
- 4 [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]
- 4 [[Lotus Petal]]
- 3 [[Mox Opal]]
- 4 [[Mishra’s Bauble]]
- 3 [[Chrome Mox]]
- 4 [[Bloodstained Mire]]
- 1 [[Scalding Tarn]]
- 1 [[Misty Rainforest]]
- 1 [[Verdant Catacombs]]
- 1 [[Underground Sea]]
- 1 [[Volcanic Island]]
- 1 [[Badlands]]
- 1 [[Taiga]]
- 1 [[Bayou]]
Sideboard
- 1 [[Echoing Truth]]
- 1 [[Galvanic Relay]]
- 4 [[Carpet of Flowers]]
- 1 [[Thoughtseize]]
- 1 [[Consign // Oblivion]]
- 1 [[Grapeshot]]
- 1 [[Empty the Warrens]]
- 1 [[Tendrils of Agony]]
- 1 [[Echo of Eons]]
- 2 [[Abrupt Decay]]
- 1 [[Peer into the Abyss]]
Orzhov Death & Taxes
Main Deck
- 1 [[Canoptek Scarab Swarm]]
- 1 [[Flickerwisp]]
- 1 [[Lion Lash]]
- 1 [[Loran of the Third Path]]
- 4 [[Mother of Runes]]
- 4 [[Orcish Bowmasters]]
- 4 [[Recruiter of the Guard]]
- 1 [[Samwise the Stouthearted]]
- 3 [[Skyclave Apparition]]
- 4 [[Solitude]]
- 4 [[Stoneforge Mystic]]
- 4 [[Thalia, Guardian of Thraben]]
- 4 [[AEther Vial]]
- 1 [[Batterskull]]
- 1 [[Kaldra Compleat]]
- 4 [[Swords to Plowshares]]
- 1 [[Path to Exile]]
- 4 [[Thoughtseize]]
- 1 [[Arid Mesa]]
- 1 [[Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire]]
- 4 [[Karakas]]
- 4 [[Marsh Flats]]
- 4 [[Rishadan Port]]
- 2 [[Scrubland]]
- 8 [[Plains]]
- 1 [[Swamp]]
- 4 [[Wasteland]]
- 4 [[Windswept Heath]]
Sideboard
- 1 [[Containment Priest]]
- 1 [[Council’s Judgment]]
- 1 [[Faerie Macabre]]
- 1 [[Kataki, War’s Wage]]
- 2 [[Mindbreak Trap]]
- 2 [[Plague Engineer]]
- 1 [[Serenity]]
- 2 [[Surgical Extraction]]
- 2 [[The Battle of Bywater]]
- 1 [[Yorion, Sky Nomad]]
- 1 [[Opposition Agent]]
Main Deck
- 1 [[Canoptek Scarab Swarm]]
- 1 [[Flickerwisp]]
- 1 [[Lion Lash]]
- 1 [[Loran of the Third Path]]
- 4 [[Mother of Runes]]
- 4 [[Orcish Bowmasters]]
- 4 [[Recruiter of the Guard]]
- 1 [[Samwise the Stouthearted]]
- 3 [[Skyclave Apparition]]
- 4 [[Solitude]]
- 4 [[Stoneforge Mystic]]
- 4 [[Thalia, Guardian of Thraben]]
- 4 [[AEther Vial]]
- 1 [[Batterskull]]
- 1 [[Kaldra Compleat]]
- 4 [[Swords to Plowshares]]
- 1 [[Path to Exile]]
- 4 [[Thoughtseize]]
- 1 [[Arid Mesa]]
- 1 [[Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire]]
- 4 [[Karakas]]
- 4 [[Marsh Flats]]
- 4 [[Rishadan Port]]
- 2 [[Scrubland]]
- 8 [[Plains]]
- 1 [[Swamp]]
- 4 [[Wasteland]]
- 4 [[Windswept Heath]]
Sideboard
- 1 [[Containment Priest]]
- 1 [[Council’s Judgment]]
- 1 [[Faerie Macabre]]
- 1 [[Kataki, War’s Wage]]
- 2 [[Mindbreak Trap]]
- 2 [[Plague Engineer]]
- 1 [[Serenity]]
- 2 [[Surgical Extraction]]
- 2 [[The Battle of Bywater]]
- 1 [[Yorion, Sky Nomad]]
- 1 [[Opposition Agent]]