Oros's Revenge!

Have you looked at your decks recently? Do you have any decks that have been sitting around and need a good overhaul?

My oldest Commander deck is still intact! But the problem is that this good ol’ Oros deck is also one that rarely got updated as cards were released. Plus
it’s been constantly raided for cards for other projects or decks. The result is an uneven deck that didn’t do a good job representing my first deck in the
format.

Since I haven’t given Oros a good cleaning and refurbishing in a while, I figured it was time to break it apart card by card and rebuilt it with some of
the new hotness post-Khans and post-Commander 2014.

Here’s the current version of the deck:

Oros, the Avenger

Abe Sargent

Test deck on 11-24-2014

Commander

Creatures (27)

Lands (36)

Spells (36)

In addition to being raided, it’s also missing cards you would normally expect from me in these colors, like Kor Haven and Volrath’s Stronghold. I pulled
original dual lands and Damnation and other fun things over the years.

So, it’s time to restore the glory! My original deck needs to shine again and no longer be an afterthought that is mostly assembled out of tradition.

The first place to look is that manabase. Yuck. But now, I have more lands after picking up more deck stock recently and taking apart a few projects. So
we’ll fancy this thing right on up.

I add two more shocklands to the list. That’s easy. I also add in the triad of scry Temples, since this is a color combination with little card drawing. We
need any manipulation we can get. Nomad Outpost is an obvious addition too. In head Vault of the Archangel and Slayers’ Stronghold. Finally, I include
Reflecting Pool and Rupture Spire to increase my mana making.

Here’s my new manabase after adding in a few cards, making some switches, and rehashing some numbers. We have more lands too.

So, other than Nomad Outpost, what stuff from Khans is a serious contender for my Oros deck?

I don’t like Mardu Charm that much. This isn’t really an aggressive deck like the Mardu colors like, so stuff like Mardu Roughrider really isn’t the right
cup of tea. I do like Ankle Shanker, Zurgo Helmsmasher, and Mardu Ascendancy. Oh yes, and Utter End too; that thing is sexy good. Zurgo is good enough to
survive mass removal on my turn, and since I run a good chunk, that’s keen. But I have a lot of mass removal that can hit him too (Hallowed Burial, Black
Sun’s Zenith) intentionally built in for flexible answers to a lot of threats out there.

Let’s hold off on the Ascendancy and Shanker right now, but Zurgo is a strong maybe. And Utter End will head in without question.

This is a deck of targeted removal, sweeping removal, and creature-based removal. Then it has some defensive cards, and follows that with some fun
game-winning creatures.

Let’s begin with my creatures. Some guys need to get pulled, and we can refresh some other concepts as well.

Steel Hellkite will give my deck another fun creature that doubles as removal. It’s a useful addition to the theme. Mogis, God of Slaughter seems really
powerful here too. In a removal heavy deck, he’s a nice adjunct. We could use some more reanimation. Karmic Guide comes to mind as a fun addition.

I also notice that I don’t really need as many win conditions as I do. So I can push some other themes. I can pull an Akroma and Avatar of Fury, Serra
Avatar and such.

Deepfire Elemental subs out. Kaervek is sort of a mean card for this sort of deck. I pull him. I’m looking at a stack of cards I pulled for my deck. Hmm. I
have some strong stuff. I like Athreos, God of Passage, Adarkar Valkyrie, Eternal Dragon, Sepulchral Primordial or Luminate Primordial. Hmm. Let’s add in
that Valkyrie.

If I’m going to spend eight mana for a nasty creature, it’s not Magmatic Force. It’ll be Avacyn, Angel of Hope. And it just so happens that I have an extra
copy just sitting here. And in other protection news, Mortivore is hitting the hay so I can slide in Soul of New Phyrexia. I want more reliable creatures
in my deck.

Removal!

Utter End subs in for Unmake. Meanwhile, because I added some more creature-based removal, I’m cutting a lot of our spell-removal in order to invest in
some other types of cards. Out head things like Firestorm, Vengeful Dreams, Punishing Fire, and Void. Sure, they are tried and true cards that I have
always loved, but it’s time to send them to the sidelines.

I use this as a chance to bring Wear//Tear from the bench to replace Terashi’s Grasp. Meanwhile, this seems like a good chance to substitute Death Grasp
for the much more potent Aurelia’s Fury. Not only is it an instant, but it’s a much more flexible card, and lifegain can be de-emphasized in a 40 life
environment.

While Mortify is a solid instant removal spell for a creature or an enchantment, I usually turn it against a critter. I subbed it out for the cheaper
Swords to Plowshares. Swords remains that good!

Fight to the Death is sometimes strong, and sometimes just sits in my hand, waiting to get used, but never having a useful play. Let’s sub in that Rout.

You know, I don’t have obvious answers to ‘walkers other than killing them with something like Utter End or Vindicate. But I could add in Hex Parasite to
take out ‘walkers, as well as many other things. It’s a great planeswalker answer. It’s not really “removal,” but let’s add it in.

Random Stuff

This is where we can look at all of the other stuff!

Because it can be used to prevent damage from multiple sources (such as combat damage against myself and my creatures), I like Divine Deflection over other
alternatives like Deflecting Palm. Captain’s Maneuver is out for it. You could also toss in Comeuppance.

Meanwhile, Bonehoard is fine, but just not that reliable. Not like Elspeth, Sun’s Champion. Lifegain might be overrated these days, and Congregate is
similarly unreliable. When it works, which is often, it can break things, but it’s not quite as good in Commander as 60-card and 20-life formats. I yank it
for Unburial Rites in order to give my deck a bit more reanimation. I dig into my black cards for some better card drawing than this stuff represented. I
pull Reforge the Soul for Phyrexian Arena.

Dawn Charm is a fun little surprise card. But I want an extra way to handle graveyards. I could add in Nihil Spellbomb or Crypt Incursion or Suffer the
Past. There are a solid number of entries that can help. I like the trick of instant removal as a way to counter reanimation and recursion spells. So
Suffer the Past it is.

I like to use tutors as answers. I rarely tutor for a problem. I’m much more likely to Beseech for Starstorm than I am for Guiltfeeder. Of course, Beseech
the Queen is a pretty weak tutor. I’d love a Demonic Tutor, but I don’t own an extra.

Mana and Rocks:

Before, I just had a Sol Ring and two creatures that fetched me lands upon arrival. We need to flesh out this section. Some of the extra removal cards I
pulled wound up here. I thought long and hard about Commander’s Sphere, but ultimately, decided to head in a different direction.

Looking back, is there anything else I need to put in? Liliana Vess? Underworld Connections? Council’s Judgment? Gideon Jura? Lightning Greaves and
Swiftfoot Boots? Skullclamp? Anger?

Uhhh….yeah.

I really want Liliana Vess, and I see a spot for her. I pull out Beseech the Queen for a queen of sorts. She has tutoring capability, so that seems like a
productive switch.

And here is the final Oros deck, all refurbished for another run in the sun!

Oros, the Avenger

Abe Sargent

Test deck on 11-24-2014

Commander

Creatures (27)

Planeswalkers (2)

Lands (38)

So what did you think? Are you refurbishing some cards now that we’ve seen another few doses of strong cards for the format hit print? Let us know and we
can talk about it!

Oros’s Revenge!

Creatures (27)

Lands (36)

Spells (36)

Removal!

Random Stuff

Mana and Rocks:

Creatures (27)

Planeswalkers (2)

Lands (38)

Spells (33)