Most ofMagic: The Gathering’s vampires are evil bloodsuckers that torment and occasionally convert the living into undead monsters. Ixalan’s vampires are a little different. Sure, they still need to feast on the blood of humans to survive, but rather than feared, they’re revered as both societal leaders and holy beings.
Of course, they’re still vampires, and inThe Lost Caverns of Ixalan, they take on the image of Spanish Conquistadors. The Blood Rites Commander box provides you with an invading army of bloodsuckers capable of overrunning ancestral grounds, and these are the ten best cards you’ll find in the deck.
10Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher
High investment for a big payoff.
Carmen is a high-investment card. Five mana for a 2/2 flying creature is a big ask, but thepotential payoff is immense. There are lots of ways to sacrifice permanents in the Blood Rites deck, which can potentially turn Carmen into a terrifying monster. She’ll also reanimate a dead creature every time she swings.
Carmen isbest played later in the gamewhen there are plenty of targets for her to reanimate. And be sure to have something to keep Carmen alive before you cast her, as she’ll undoubtedly become a target as soon as she hits the board.
9Charismatic Conqueror
A charismatic control card.
A 2/2 Vigilance for two mana isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but the rules text is where this Charismatic Conqueror really shines. Eitheropponents play their creatures and artifacts tapped,or you get a bunch of 1/1 vampire tokens.
In practice, this will likely mean your opponents will play all their artifacts and creatures tapped, but that’s stilla big effect for a two-mana vampire soldier. You might even see this card appear in aggro-control strategies in other formats.
8Master of Dark Rites
Dark Rituals for all!
Speaking of sacrifice outlets, Master of Dark Ritesturns any creature you control into a Dark Ritual. The only limit to those three black mana symbols is that they have to be used to cast a vampire, cleric, or demon. In a deck full of just suck cards, this won’t be too much of a problem.
With plenty of vampire tokens to sacrifice for the greater good, Master of Dark Rites cancatapult your vampire army ahead of the pack. Provided you can keep her alive long enough to sacrifice your tokens, of course.
7Redemption Choir
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family.
You’re going to have a lot of different vampires with a lot of different powers, which means Redemption Choir is–at worst–a Hill Giant with lifelink that can resurrect a three-mana critter.
That’s pretty good on its own, but itbecomes even better if you buff Redemption Choirto the point where it can attack without fear or reprisal. Now you’re gaining life and resurrecting critters every turn, which is quite good for four mana. Almost better than Carmen, even.
6Dusk Legion Sergeant
Every army needs loyal sergeants willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause.
One way to keep your vampire army alive (provided it’s not a 1/1 or a token) is to have Dusk Legion Sergeant on the board. With this menacing figure present, you cansacrifice him to give every non-token vampire you control persistuntil the end of turn. This isn’t exactly a free get-out-of-WOG card, but it’s pretty good for two mana.
And with Menace, you also have a creature that cansneak through defenses to get in some damageand activate abilities that require something to be unblocked. That’s a lot for a two-mana card.
5Promise of Aclazotz / Foul Rebirth
A promise of demons.
Yet another sacrifice outlet, Promise of Aclazotz firstgives you a demon as you send it on an adventure, and then itgives you more demons when it comes back as an enchantment. Provided you have some vampires to sacrifice of course. Oh look, there are so many vampires in Blood Rites!
Feel free to ignore the Adventure sideof this enchantment if you’ve already got a demon on the board. While Promise of Aclazotz can create a demon on its own thanks to Foul Rebirth, there’s no need if that demon is already floating around.
4Elenda’s Hierophant
A vampire rattlesnake.
A great rattlesnake card, Elenda’s Hierophant grows as you gain life, and produces a swarm of vampires whenever it dies. This is one of those ideal multiplayer cards as nobody wants to murder a 1/1 flying creature, but by the time it’s a 7/7 flying creature, it’s just a vampire bomb waiting to go off.
There’s not a lot of intricacy to Elenda’s Hierophant.Just lay it down as soon as possible and then wait for it to grow. Try to have Dusk Legion Sergeant around to keep her alive if possible.
3Order of Sacred Dusk
Vampire horses? Now I’ve seen everything.
Vampire conquistadors riding atop vampire horses. It sounds wild, but this card is no joke. Eight mana for a 5/5 flying, lifelink, haste, exalted creature is fine, but being able toconvoke this onto the board fasterthanks to your army of vampires makes thisa fun bomb to drop. It also gives your other vampires exalted, although you’ll probably want to just keep swinging with Order of Sacred Dusk once you cast it.
There aren’t too many big creatures in Blood Rites, which is why Order of Sacred Dusk feels just a little bit special.
2March of the Canonized
A one-card army.
Yet another way of getting lots of vampires and demons. March of the Canonized comes in like a wrecking ball if you’ve got enough mana,producing X vampires with lifelike. Then, if you have enough white and/or black permanents, itstarts pumping out a demon at the beginning of your turn.
This isa one-card armycapable of turning the tide of any game in your favor. Opponents should treat it with respect and aim a Disenchant at it immediately.
1Clavileño, First of the Blessed
It’s demon time.
Clavileño is how yourtiny vampire tokens become permanent vampire demon tokens. All you gotta do is kill your vampires. That’s simple enough provided your opponents obligingly block your vampires. But if they don’t, you’ve got plenty of ways to sacrifice your own vampires, providing you with a ready army of 4/3 vampire demons.
Clavileño is the better of two potential commanders available in Blood Rites. Carmen is a big investment, while Clavileño can come online sooner and with an arguably bigger payoff. Now, ready your army of vampires to conquer Ixalan!
