With the unbanning of Bonder's Ornament, Orzhov Pestilence was one of the decks I considered could return to the competitive environment. Back then, the deck was one of the best at using the artifact, as it extended the game considerably with the interaction between Guardian of the Guildpact and Pestilence.
Times have changed, however, and Pauper's speed has increased. Today, testing Guardian of the Guildpact in this mechanic has proven less reliable than in those days. The "Draw 2" effects from artifacts now represent the best value resource for black‑based archetypes, and giving them up in favor of a more "grindy" game using Monarch and Ornament as value sources means playing many steps behind other players.
Therefore, I worked on this version with Cauldron Familiar, based on Food Gardens, but swapping green for white to include Dust to Dust and some other interactive Sideboard pieces.
The Decklist
Maindeck
The main engine of this list involves clearing the board of creatures with Pestilence and bringing Cauldron Familiar back from the graveyard to the battlefield to keep the enchantment on board, ensuring we control the board whenever needed.
Without Witch's Oven, we need Food cards for the interactions. Fortunately, Lembas and Nutrient Block are Food sources for Cauldron Familiar with other functions and synergies that work excellently with the rest of the deck.
The white splash also offers Carrot Cake, which we can sacrifice after activating Pestilence to put a 1/1 token onto the board if we do not have Cauldron Familiar.
To complement the artifact base, we have Nihil Spellbomb as interactive graveyard hate, Campfire for repeated life gain and a way to reuse cards from the graveyard and/or dodge specific hate, and Bonder's Ornament, which ramps mana and guarantees extra draws each turn in the late game.
With a consistent artifact base, there is no reason to play without Fanatical Offering and Eviscerator's Insight. A full set of them could be included if we want to drop Bonder's Ornament.
Cast Down and Snuff Out answer any threat on the board, while Tithing Blade solves problems if we can keep the board empty. Ideally, we save these cards for anything that Pestilence would cost too much to answer.
Troll of Khazad-dûm has a dual role. Early in the game, it guarantees access to white mana by fetching Sunlit Marsh or the land drop of the turn by fetching any Swamp. As the game goes long, it becomes our main win condition.
We also have Orzhov Basilica to reuse Bojuka Bog and Radiant Fountain while also fixing mana.
Sideboard
Like Jeskai Ephemerate, Orzhov Pestilence is a slow deck whose card advantage sources can be overwhelmed by Affinity if we let it play freely. As a result, we need Dust to Dust to control the board and deny resources.
Destroy Evil comes in against Terror and other archetypes where we need to deal with creatures with high toughness and/or troublesome enchantments.
Duress protects us from interaction and is also a strong disruptive tool against Midrange, Tron, and Terror variants.
Faerie Macabre lets us answer the Balustrade Spy combo with a card that dodges board or stack interaction, and which the opponent cannot always telegraph or protect against in time.
Even though it has lost space in the Metagame, this is one of the few decks where I like to have Circle of Protection: Red, since we can activate it multiple times in a turn while Pestilence keeps Sneaky Snacker off the board.
To complement the plan against red, Lone Missionary provides immediate life gain and a solid blocker, and Drown in Sorrow holds off Mono Red Rally a turn earlier — essential on the play — and is also a reliable sweeper against Elves, Faeries, and White Weenie.
Sideboard Guide
Mono Blue Terror
IN
OUT
Madness Burn
IN
OUT
Grixis Affinity
IN
OUT
Mono Red Rally
IN
OUT
Elves
IN
OUT
Mono White Aggro
IN
OUT
Black Gardens
IN
OUT
Wrapping Up
That's all for today!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!
Thanks for reading!
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