Cards to Watch for Orzhov Blink in Modern
Today’s article is all about Orzhov Blink - a Modern deck that has quickly solidified itself at the front end of the meta without a lot to offer and talk about.
Let’s dive into some of the key pieces of this deck, their upward potential, financially speaking, and the roles that they play.
Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd
This little pup always seemed to have some potential. Phelia’s attack trigger enables you to blink any of your value pieces in play, while simultaneously pumping up the blink target as well - if you blink
For two mana, Phelia lands early and provides an increasing amount of value as your boardstate grows, which is sort of the name of the game in Orzhov Blink shells.
Other prime targets for Phelia’s blink ability include
Phelia is effectively a blink engine given the repeatability of its triggered ability. The floor for this card is you blink a card without an ETB and get a
Phelia is around $5 right now and seems to be settling down. The market price for this card is mostly appropriate given the print run of
| Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd | ||
| Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd (Borderless) |
Emperor of Bones
Of all the cards discussed today, Emperor of Bones might be the most underrated. Line-by-line: for two mana, Emperor of Bones gives you a repeatable effect at the beginning of every combat that lets you exile a card from a graveyard. If Ketramose is in play, this will draw you a card.
Emperor also has Adapt 2, meaning you can pay two mana to put two +1/+1 on counters on him if he has none, making him potentially a four-power attack on future turns, which is highly relevant for the pressure your board can apply over the course of the game.
Finally, Emperor’s last line triggers whenever he has +1/+1 counters put on him (either through his own ability or through Phelia’s, as discussed earlier) and allows cards exiled with him to be returned into play with a finality counter, which can range in power from Solitude (removal) to Overlord of the Balemurk (card advantage and pressure). Oh, and when cards would be sacrificed, due to their finality counter they’re exiled instead, which once more enables Ketramose to trigger.
For only a couple bucks, Emperor of Bones just does so much that synergizes with so many other relevant pieces. The ceiling for this card is incredibly high, and it’s actually shocking it’s only a couple bucks at the moment despite some recent price movements. Of all the cards discussed today, Emperor has the most upward potential.
| Emperor of Bones | ||
| Emperor of Bones (Borderless) |
Solitude
Solitude is one of three legal Evoke Elementals in the Modern format, now that both
In a world where
Beyond the improvement in overall utility that Solitude provides, insofar as the new meta is concerned, it’s also a form of incidental advantage in Orzhov Blink. As long as you evoke Solitude on your turn, Ketromose will trigger and draw you card, while also removing a threat in play. That’s the true power of Ketromose. Turns out adding “draw a card” to any effect that already exiles is potent in a format that lacks traditional card advantage engines otherwise prevalent in other eternal formats with deeper card pools.
For all these reasons, Solitude has seen quite the uptick in price, currently sitting around $20 - well above its $10 to $13 range in prior months. So long as Orzhov Blink continues to sit atop the meta, it wouldn’t shock me to see Solitude continue to climb in price a little bit more. It’s one of those odd cards where it’s not only a removal spell that can generate card advantage, it’s also the best answer to the same play patterns in the mirror match. Sorcery-speed Solitude with your own Ketramose in play to remove an opponent’s Ketramose or
| Solitude | ||
| Solitude (Retro Frame) | ||
| Solitude (Borderless) | ||
| Solitude (Borderless) |
Overlord of the Balemurk
Overlord always appeared as though it had a lot to offer, but it wasn’t clear back when
This is where things get interesting. If you blink Balemurk with, say, a Flickerwisp or an
Since Ketramose’s release, we’ve seen Overlord slowly tick up in value, settling around $25 at this point. This card has significant upward potential in comparison to other cards on our list. It represents an incredibly clean way to apply pressure and close games, while offering its user the ability to dig for more value in a deck that is full of it.
| Overlord of the Balemurk | ||
| Overlord of the Balemurk (Extended Art) | ||
| Overlord of the Balemurk (Japan Showcase) |
Concluding Remarks
Overall, as Modern has been reshaping itself post-ban, a lot of creature-oriented decks have started to bubble to the surface, with Orzhov Blink leading the charge. Beyond its solidified place in the top end of the meta, it’s also a deck that’s incredibly fun to play. Perhaps I’m biased, but drawing cards and synergizing around flickering cards is a really fun and unique play pattern that hasn’t had a lot of relevance in many formats at all, let alone Modern.
I’m super excited to see where this deck goes from here, and look forward to the format’s continuing evolution. Speculate safely!
Further Reading
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Corey Williams
Corey Williams is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. He considers himself a macroeconometrician with his research body reflecting work in applied macroeconomics and econometrics. Corey is an L1 Judge who started playing Magic around Eighth Edition. He enjoys Modern, Commander, cEDH, and cube drafting. Outside of Magic, he loves running, teaching, and the occasional cult movie.