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Vampires are already one ofMagic: The Gathering’smost fearsome creature types, but what if you could turn your relatively fragile Vampires into bloodthirsty Demons? That’s the plan with Clavileño, First of the Blessed, a holy cleric who recognizes the shortcomings of fangs and replaces them with wings and claws.
The Blood Rites deck is all about Vampire swarms that become far more deadly Demons after they attack. With a few budget upgrades, we can even enhance those vampires to come back again and again, providing Clavileño with a never-ending supply of vampires to turn into Demons. Read on to discover how.
Patron of the Vein
Pact of the Serpent
March of the Canonized
Etchings of the Chosen
Blade of the Bloodchief
Vault of the Archangel
Swamp (13)
Blood Rites Commander Deck Key Themes
The most obvious theme for Blood Rites isVampires. You have cards that makelots of Vampire tokens(like March of the Canonized, Mavren Fein, Charismatc Conqueror, and Sorin), cards thatmake Vampires bigger(like Legion Lieutenant, Etchings of the Chosen, and Radiant Destiny), as well as cards tokeep your Vampires in play(like Timothar, Kindred Boon, and Dusk Legion Lieutenant).
From this solid core of Vampires comes several potential commanders.Clavileño, First of the Blessedoffers a consistent bonus to your Vampiresby potentially turning any of your smaller Vampires (or Vampire tokens) into 4/3 flying Demons. On top of that, every Vampire that makes the transition (by dying) also draws you a card.
All that Clavileñoneeds is a consistent way of offing his own Vampiresonce they’ve attacked. Blocking opponents is one method, but it might not necessarily result in a dead Vampire. Luckily,Blood Rites has plenty of sacrifice outlets, such as Viscera Seer, Master of Dark Rites, Indulgent Aristrocrat, Bartolome del Presidio, and Etchings of the Chosen.
Clavileño’s ability doesn’t end after the attack. So long as the Vampire attacks once, Clavileño can bestow his Demon curse, and then that Vampire becomes a potential sacrifice outlet.
Blood Rites next most potent commander isCarmen, Cruel Skymarcher. Although more expensive at five mana, Carmen arguably offers the most potential bygrowing with every sacrifice you or an opponent makes. On top of that, shereanimates a permanent every time she attackstoo.
While Carmen is undeniably powerful, she’d benefit more from a deck that’s primarily focused on causing players to sacrifice cards and not necessarily a Vampire-themed token deck. For this reason,we’re going to stick with Clavileño as our commander for Blood Ritesas he’s just a better overall fit.
Ourother potential commandersareBartolome del Presidio,Elenda, the Dusk Rose, andVona, Butcher of Magan. Elenda isn’t a bad alternative to Clavileño, but the other two aren’t the best fit for the rest of Blood Rites cards.
Blood Rites Commander Deck Analysis
Typal decks live and die on their typing, so you’ll be happy to note thatall 36(including the commander)creatures in Blood Rites are Vampires. There’s also a good number of removal spells (eight if you include several Vampires), board clears (Damn, Austere Command, and Olivia’s Wrath), and ramp (eight with Master of Dark Rites).
Clavileñoprovides this deck with built-in card draw, which means the deck can afford to be light on sources of draw. Champion of Dusk, Village Rites, Pact of the Serpent, and Welcoming Vampire provide decent supplemental card draw to go along with everything you draw from Clavileño.
It seemsa shame to be running black without much in terms of reanimation. Redemption Choir and Bloodline Necromancer help a bit, but we’ll be looking into ways of bringing back sacrificed Vampires for Clavileño to sacrifice again.
Oathsworn Vampire is a fantastic card to sacrifice for Clavileñothanks to its ability to be played from the graveyard. We’ll be looking at adding another card like this in the budget upgrades section.
Radiant Destiny
Kindred Boon
There arequite a few cards in Blood Rites that are just not worth the mana investment. Cards likeSanctum Seeker,Bloodtracker,Timothar, andGlass-Cut Heartare all either slow effects that require multiple turns to pay off, cost way too much mana for too little effect, or both.
Nighthawk Scavengerisn’t a bad card, per se, but itdoesn’t do much more than offer deathtouchin the late game.Martyr of DuskandDusk Legion Zealotare likewisepoor late-game draws, andRadiant Destiny offers less than Legion Lieutenantoverall.
Order of Sacred Duskalso isn’t bad on its own, but in a deck that wants to swing with an army of Vampires and Demons,exalted isn’t exactly a great keywordto give the team.
Blood Rites Commander Deck Budget Upgrades
With 12 cards removed, our replacements are going to offermore efficient reanimation, afew interesting new synergies, anda bit more flexibilityto deal with threats as they emerge.
Reason
Amalia Benavides Aguirre
Amalia offers something that Blood Rites needs: anescalating threat that will eventually explode, clearing the board and leaving a 20/20 Vampire Scout.
She’ll continually explore thanks to all the life gain you’ve got, andshe’s hard to killthanks to her ward ability. All in all, the perfect addition to Blood Rites.
Edgar, Charmed Groom
Edgar offers anefficient buff to your Vampireswhile he’s alive, and while he’s dead, he’s a source of Vampire tokens. A great upgrade forBlood Rites.
Forerunner of the Legion
It’s no Diabolic Intent, but Forerunner of the Legion offers a Vampire that can tutor. That would have been enough on its own, butForerunner of the Legion also offers a buffevery time a Vampire comes into play.
Herald’s Horn
A better mana rock by reducing thecost of all your Vampiresand occasionally getting you to draw an extra one every turn. Great for any typal deck.
Living Death
Living Death is a powerful card, but it needs to be played strategically. It’s best played later in the game after Clavileño has bestowed hisdemonic curse to several Vampiresand there are a few Vampires in your graveyard.
Then you’ll wind up with a bunch of Demons in addition to reanimating your dead Vampires.
Preacher of the Schism
Preacher of the Schism offers something else Blood Rites desperately needed: a trap. Deathtouch means Preacher willtrade with whatever blocks it, but it also encourages blocking by having two useful abilities. Either you’ll draw a card or you’ll create a Vampire for Clavileño to turn into a Demon.
Better yet, thePreacher is a prime target for Clavileño’s curseas he’s likely to die sooner rather than later.
Pyre of Heroes
Another sacrifice outlet which can alsosearchfor aVampire. This card is the perfect addition to Blood Rites.
Roaming Throne
What if we could make Clavileño’s triggered ability trigger twice? That’s twice as many cards and twice as many Demons. On top of that,Roaming Throne is still a Vampirein addition to being aGolem.
Silversmote Ghoul
Much like Oathsworn Vampire, Silversmote Ghoul canreanimate itself, making it an ideal target for Clavileño. It can also sacrifice itself, making this a one-card combo.
Veinwitch Coven
Reanimating once is fine, butreanimating every time you gain lifefor the low cost ofone black mana is much better.
Victimize
A way of getting back Vampires while also sacrificing a Vampire totrigger Clavileño. A great addition.
Vito, Fanatic of Aclazotz
There are more than a few cards in this deck that cansacrifice repeatedly on a single turn. Vito would love it if you could sacrifice three times in a row to start generating Vampire Demons.
Other Budget Upgrades To Consider
Vraan, Executioner Thaneis generally just a better Blood Artist and would be a strict upgrade.Generous Gift,Stroke of Midnight, andFractureare great removal spells that could replace Utter End or Return to Dust.
Vanquish the Hordeis better than Olivia’s Wrath as there are times when you’ll want to clear the board but you don’t have enough Vampires in play to do it. And finally,Caves of Koilosis a cheap pain land that could easily replace a swamp or plains.
