I played since rank 20 until 40 with this creation. I don't spent too many time every day, and I'm a bit slow player. The deck is very efficient and consistant against all pairings, and it have many tricks and things to take in consideration. I created it to beat/confront the actual decks. So by the result until now, it seems effective.

2x Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
2x Relic Seeker
2x Carrier Thrall
2x Fleshbag Marauder
2x Kindly Stranger / Demon-Possessed Witch
3x Drana's Emissary
1x Erebos's Titan
1x Mindwrack Demon
1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1x Archangel Avacyn / Avacyn, the Purifier

2x Neglected Heirloom / Ashmouth Blade

3x Dead Weight

2x Grasp of Darkness
2x Anguished Unmaking

2x Declaration In Stone
3x Read the Bones
2x Languish

1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

2x Forsaken Sanctuary
2x Isolated Chapel
2x Shambling Vent
4x Evolving Wilds
10x Swamp
4x Plains

Orzhov vamps

Creatures

3 x indulgent aristocrat
2 x asylum visitor
2 x carrier thrall
2 x heir of falkenrath
2 x child of night
3 x drana's emissary
1 x blood-cursed knight
3 x bloodbond vampire
3 x stromkirk mentor

Instant

3 x reprisal
3 x gideon's reproach
2 x grasp of darkness

Enchantments

2 x dead weight
2 x always watching
2 x valor in akros

Sorcery

1 x planar outburst

Lands

7 x plains
11 x swamp
2 x sandstone bridge
2 x isolated chapel
2 x evolving wilds


Any advice please?

Valor in Akros looks weird to me there, I don't think you have enough token generators to get value out of it. If it's just for enchantment value for blood-cursed knight, consider Call the Bloodline and potentially Sinister Concoction, especially Call the Bloodline synergises with you lifegain subtheme. With these two enchantments you can go heavier on the discard/madness synregy too, some Twins of Maurer Estate perhaps? Murderous Compulsion?

What you absolutely should add is Declaration in Stone and/or Anguished Unmaking

Don't run Planar Outburst in an aggro deck. And don't run subpar creatures that will get chewed up by any of the popular aggro decks.

Suggestions:

1. Alter the creature base to be more efficient and impactful.
Out:
2 x Child of Night
3 x Bloodbond Vampire
3 x Stromkirk Mentor

In:
3 x Consul's Lieutenant
2 x Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
1 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 x Liliana, Heretical Healer
1 x Archangel Avacyn

2. Improve your removal suite to include more versatile spells.

Out:
2 x Dead Weight
3 x Reprisal
3 x Gideon's Reproach

In:
3 x Sinister Concoction
2 x Anguished Unmaking
2 x Declaration In Stone
(1 card slot to spare)

3. Add support cards that do good work for you.

Out:
2 x Valor in Akros
1 x Planar Outburst

In:
2 x Call the Bloodline
2 x Gisa's Bidding

Looking for improvements on my life maker/ taker deck. Its a creature heavy, fun deck to play. Alot of times i never even need to attack...just let the vampires do their thing. It relies on allies and rally. It is a little weak to token decks as i loss to a elf and thopther deck recently

Creatures (29)
3 x Serene Steward
2 x Kor Bladewhirl
2 x Ondu War Cleric
4 x Kalastria Healer
1 x Lantern Scout
2 x Pious Evangel
1 x Malakir Familiar
4 x Vampire Envoy
3 x Drana's Emissary
3 x Bloodbond Vampire
3 x Cliffhaven Vampire
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 x Angel of Renewal
1 x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

Enchantments
1 x Shadows of the Past

Instant
2 x Anguished Unmaking

Sorcery
2 x Read the Bones

Lands (23)
8 x Plains
7 x Swamp
2 x Shambling Vent
2 x Isolated Chapel
4 x Forsaken Sanctuary


No 1 drops so a good draw is important, but seems to be ok so far. The center pieces are Kalastria Healer and her rally attribute with all the allies and the life gain/take between Pious Evangel and the vampires (Vampire Envoy, Drana's Emissary, Bloodbond Vampire, and Cliffhaven Vampire). Not sure about Sorin as I have not really been able to get him out that much, but Gideon is an great ally maker and Ob Nixilis has a quick removal if I need it along with Anguished Unmaking. Read the Bones and Shadows of the Past add some ramp. I have gotten my life over 40 a few times and been down to 1 or 2...hit some allies and got right back into it. Just built it today and have been iterating and have quickly got up to 15. Its pretty lethal and quick against the AI. Was thinking i need something for tokens though

Let me know what you think
Thanks
John

Have you tried the combo Nahiri's Machinations + Blood-Cursed Knight? It could work well with Bloodbond Vampire, Serene Steward to gain lifepoints or pump up your creatures.
The cost of activation for Nahiri's Machinations is very low and you don't care if you don't play in your deck .
I would drop 3x Cliffhaven Vampire and Angel of Renewal cause I think you have enough lifepoints and it's too slow
I would put Make a Stand or Tenacity or enchantments like Vampiric Rites or Call the Bloodline to stay in the vampiric theme, but I like Visions of Brutality especially when you have more lifepoints than your opponent and when they use cards like Juggernaut or Infectious Bloodlust

Hello peepz, visiting this site since duels 2015, time to contribute some i think.
Got to r40 from r4 with this.

creatures 14
4 x Felidar Cub
4 x Cleric of the Forward Order
1 x Liliana, Heretical Healer
3 x Fleshbag Marauder
1 x Kothophed, Soul Hoarder
1 x Linvala, the Preserver

planeswalkers 3
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

sorcery/instants 19
3 x Grasp of Darkness
3 x Ondu Rising
2 x Anguished Unmaking
1 x Solemn Offering
2 x Read the Bones
2 x Languish
2 x Mire's Malice
2 x Planar Outburst
2 x Necromantic Summons

Lands 24
2 x Forsaken Sanctuary
2 x Isolated Chapel
2 x Shambling Vent
9 x Swamp
9 x Plains


Deck was built in BFZ era, i was getting sick of all the thopters and RDW.
For the ones interested, changes i made was:
-3x Rising Miasma underforming nowadays for 3x Grasp of Darkness
-2x Solemn Offering +2x Anguished Unmaking
-2x Angelic Edict +2x Mire's Malice
-1x Kothophed, Soul Hoarder for Linvala, the Preserver
-1x Read the Bones for Sorin, Grim Nemesis

My deck is an Orzhov Control , and if you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know.

3x Dead Weight
2x Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
3x Grasp of Darkness
2x Declaration in Stone
2x Reave Soul
2x Eldrazi Displacer
3x Pious Evangel
1x Liliana, Heretical Healer
2x Anguished Unmaking
2x Read the Bones
1x Archangel of Tithes
2x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2x Thought-Knot Seer
1x Languish
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1x Archangel Avacyn
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1x Linvala, The Preserver
2x Ever After
1x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

9x Plains
6x Swamp
1x Wastes
2x Westvale Abbey
2x Isolated Chapel
2x Evolving Wilds

Hi
I don't understand why with this "work in progress deck" I have won more than 15 games in a row but, hey, so far is my most winning deck
I still miss a lot of cards i would love to use but, with the cards i have, this is the best i was able to do
Any ideas or suggestions ?

Creature(15)
2x Indulgent Aristocrat
2x Hanweir Militia Captain
2x Asylum Visitor
3x Heir of Falkenrath
2x Rancid Rats
1x Pious Evangel
1x Liliana, Heretical Healer
2x Elusive Tormentor

Instant(2)
2x Anguished Unmaking

Sorcery(12)
2x Declaration in Stone
3x Angelic Purge
3x Alms of the Vein
2x Gisa's Bidding
2x From Under the Floorboards

Enchantment(6)
2x Sinister Concoction
2x Nahiri's Machinations
2x Always Watching

Planeswalker(3)
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

Land(22)
3x Sandstone Bridge
2x Shambling Vent
5x Plains
6x Swamp
2x Forsaken Sanctuary
2x Isolated Chapel
2x Westvale Abbey

Your deck miss one of the best possible creature for it, believe me ...in fact, I'm gonna make a whole post about that later, but +1 internetes for you if you guess it. Hint: it has at least one B in the cost

(score: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki300WC61UE )

This deck looks like it is a pretty good implementation of BW Lifegain, which should be one of the better decks currently; mostly because of its good match-upvs. Aggro.
I definitely like your spin to add some Madness cards, it seems to work well within this shell.
There are very few cards in this list I disagree with. Nahiri's Machinations definitely seems off and I don't consider the effect to be powerful enough, especially without red mana. I'm not sure how good Always Watching is for you in this shell, as it doesn't buff the Zombie tokens you create, and you only have 15 nontoken creatures, which might be too few. I'd probably also cut Alms of the Vein, though that might be debatable; and I'd like to hear your experience with Angelic Purge in this setup (you don't have a ton of throwaway cards).
Improvements to the deck seem pretty obvious *cough*KalitasAyliAvacyn*cough*. These will likely go in once you open them.
I'd consider upping your land count; 22 seems a bit low. Probably going up to 24 is correct (especially with the Abbeys).

Oh i really love the madness mechanic
Nahiri's Machinations is good in the early step of the game, when you use your Asylum Visitor without problem, your opponent can block and risk to loose something ( after all is a 3/1 card ) and you fear nothing
Always Watching is just a +1/+1 not really usefull i agree with you
Alms of the Vein imho is one of the best black card from SOI. -3 hp +3 hp all for one of mana ( with madness ), wish i could add one more
Angelic Purge works perfectly with zombie token ( or gideon's kor token ) or, if required, even with your own land.
I could remove Always Watching and add something else Also use the vampire knight
Thanks for your suggestions

Ok, trying to get this port from standard playable, comments appreciated:

Mid-Range

3 x Carrier Thrall
2 x Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
2 x Grasp of Darkness
1 x Spatial Contortion
1 x Reave Soul
2 x Declaration in Stone

2 x Eldrazi Displacer
2 x Matter Reshaper
2 x Anguished Unmaking
2 x Read the Bones
1 x Call the gatewatch

1 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 x Thought-Knot Seer
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 x Languish

1 x Archangel Avacyn
2 x Reality Smasher
1 x Tragic Arrogance
1 x Ob Nixilis, Reignited

1 x Linvala, The preserver
1 x Sorin, Grim nemesis

2 x Emeria Shepherd

6 x plains
7 x swamp
4 x Evolving Wilds
2 x Shambling Vent
2 x Isolated Chapel
2 x Crumbling Vestige
1 x Wastes
2 x Westvale Abbey


curve is 11/9/5/5/4, 26 land, 17 black sources, 16 white, 9 colorless
Average cmc of spells is 3,52

Mana is close, but imperfect.
Could get marinally closer by using Warped Landscape.
Kept 1 Languish in as a concession to Humans, but the deck should be better off with Tragic Arrogance; because of the awkwardness of languishing your own t-knot.

Overall, solid deck I think, but it's lacking a certain something to be truly amazing.

Wanted to build something completely different; ended up in this Orzhov Control list after cutting the cards I wanted to build around. Looks pretty decent though.

Orzhov Control
Creatures (10):
2 x Knight of the White Orchid
2 x Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim

1 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

1 x Archangel Avacyn

1 x Oblivion Sower

2 x Emeria Shepherd

1 x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

Planeswalkers (3):
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited

1 x Sorin, Grim Nemesis

Other spells (22):
2 x Declaration In Stone
4 x Celestial Flare

2 x Anguished Unmaking
4 x Read the Bones

4 x Suppression Bonds
2 x Languish

2 x Planar Outburst
2 x Tragic Arrogance

Lands (25):
7 x Plains
6 x Swamp
2 x Shambling Vent
2 x Isolated Chapel
4 x Evolving Wilds
4 x Forsaken Sanctuary


Thoughts?

I think you have an excess of removal spells. Seriously, 4 Flares and 4 Bonds in addition to the regular BW removal suite? (And why Flare over Grasp of Darkness?) With this much removal your deck is dead in the water against control and planeswalkers (I don't consider Bonds a reliable removal option against pw's).

I also think you don't have nearly enough creatures for Ayli's ability to matter, and with life loss from Read the Bones and Anguished Unmaking, along with no blocker, you'll struggle to survive fast aggro (it's going to come down to Languish or die most games). You're also going to struggle against burn and mill (especially turbomill with Fevered Visions). In games against efficient midrange (e. g. Abzan) will either force you to trade removal one-for-one for creatures or just recur their threats from the graveyard with Pulse/Greenwarden of Murasa, rendering your removal moot.

As for your late-game wincons, with no ramp you won't get Ulamog out in time to matter because by the time you get to 10 mana naturally, you'll either have won the game or be so far behind on board state he'll be irrelevant. And while Sheperd - Bonds or Sheperd - Gideon is a cute synergy, realistically you won't be getting much value out of casting her since half your deck is instants and sorceries. I'd replace Ulamog with Linvala, for instance.

Thanks for your answer.

Flare > Grasp because it's a little easier on the mana and scales better (hits bigger threats). 4 might be overkill, but I didn't really find another creature I wanted to add, I wanted 8 things to do before t3, and I don't consider Declaration In Stone to be such a thing. If you have a suggestion what to add instead, I'd welcome that.

Bonds is not necessarily a reliable removal for PWs, but it at least shuts them down as long as the opponent does not have Anguished Unmaking or Nahiri; also it works well with Tragic Arrogance as well as Emeria. Again, 4 might be overkill, but I didn't find anything I'd necessarily want to add instead; I'd welcome suggestions.

Ulamog is too important not to run for this deck I believe. You need some kind of win-condition as you don't really get ahead at any point in the game - Ulamog just turns the tables for you. We have enough removal to not be too far behind when he enters.
I've been very unimpressed with Linvala especially in the current Duels meta - most of the time if you get the 3/3 flier your opponent still has the board against you. She can play catch-up, but this deck needs the win-con; and Linvala does not provide that funnily enough.

Flare is conditional, grasp is unconditional. You have Declaration and Unmaking to mop up bigger creatures. If you really need something to take care of big threats, use Oblivion Strike. You could even run Sinister Concoction - it's a difficult to interact with removal spell that can give your Sheperds something to reclaim.

In general I suggest you add more creatures. When testing a similar deck, I've had good results with, of all things, Thraben Gargoyle and Kindly Stranger. Gargoyle is a decent blocker with the potential to become a win condition if it survives to turn 5+, and spending removal on them is always going to sting for the opponent. Stranger is easy to activate for your deck, and will be even easier if you add Gargoyles and Concoctions.

As I said, Ulamog is too expensive for this deck. Kotophed could be a good wincon for the deck. Linvala is, at worst, a CMC 6 5/5 which you should have no problem running since you're running 2 CMC 7 4/4s.

Grasp of Darkness is not unconditional. It hits a far more limited set of targets than Flare. That said, if you are running Declaration and unmaking I definitely wouldn't run a full set of Flare...maybe 2 at most, but I would run Flare over Grasp (since the targets that Flare won't hit are dealt with by Declaration or Unmaking).

Oblivion Strike is not a terrible choice, but it is expensive. 4cmc removal in this deck seems a bit weak with all the delicious white removal.

I do like Sinister Concoction for all the reasons mentioned by GTFL and more in that it gives a great means to draw your opponent's PW removal away from your Gideon or Sorin

I've been toying around with orzhov control a lot, I even tested Gurmag Swiftwing as 2 drop, who did surprisingly well in my list. But my favourites are Cleric of the Forward Order and Rancid Rats, Felidar Cub is decent also.
Believe it or not but Rancid Rats has won a lot of matches

i started splashing Red in my Orz control deck, haven't lost yet in a handful of matches at rank 40. i found that B/W just wasn't enough to carry the deck, once you ran out of kill spells you were a sitting duck, i tried splashing Blue first but didn't like it, so i just replaced what i wanted to do with other cards from Red (kill more things, specially Walkers)

Spells
2 x Celestial Flare
3 x Grasp of Darkness
2 x Declaration in Stone
1 x Kozilek's Return
2 x Anguished Unmaking
2 x Angelic Purge
2 x Read the Bones
2 x Radiant Flames
2 x Exquisite Firecraft
2 x Languish
2 x Oblivion Strike
2 x Planar Outburst
2 x Tragic Arrogance

Permanents
2 x Oath of Gideon
2 x Suppression Bonds

Threats
1 x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 x Archangel Avacyn
1 x Linvala, The Preserver
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 x Nahiri, The Harbinger
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 x Chandra, Flamecaller
1 x Sorin, Grim Nemesis


22 Lands (figure it out on your own cause i'm not exactly 100% sure with mine yet)

update: have gone like 10-0 so far, i give it the official seal of approval