Orzhov Heavy Removal Control

A removal-dense Orzhov control deck that trades card-for-card with cheap black and white interaction, sweeps the board with The Meathook Massacre and Farewell, then wins through Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, The Wandering Emperor, and Sorin the Mirthless.

The Meathook Massacre + your removal suite: Every creature that dies to Fatal Push, Bloodchief's Thirst, Infernal Grasp, Mortify, or Go for the Throat drains the opponent for 1 and gains you 1, turning one-for-one trades into a slow life-total win condition. It also shrinks creatures before combat so cheaper removal can clean up larger threats.

The Wandering Emperor + instant-speed removal: Emperor has flash, so you can hold up two or three mana for Fatal Push, Infernal Grasp, or Mortify every turn. If the opponent does nothing worth killing, you flash in the Emperor at end of turn, make Samurai tokens, or exile an attacker — you never waste mana.

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse + Sorin the Mirthless: Sheoldred turns every card you draw into 2 life and every card the opponent draws into 2 damage. Sorin’s plus ability keeps your hand full while draining the opponent, and his Vampire tokens with flying and lifelink both stabilize the board and trigger The Meathook Massacre when they eventually trade.

Farewell + The Meathook Massacre: Farewell exiles creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and graveyards all at once, cleaning up indestructible and recursive threats. The Meathook Massacre provides a cheaper earlier sweeper that also drains, and the two together let you reset the board multiple times while your planeswalkers and Sheoldred pull ahead.

Mortify and Feed the Swarm: These answer enchantment-based engines and planeswalkers that mono-black removal cannot touch, keeping the deck from folding to non-creature permanents.

Keep any hand with two or three lands and at least two cheap interaction spells (Fatal Push, Bloodchief's Thirst, Infernal Grasp, Duress). Keep hands with one sweeper plus early removal against creature decks. Ship hands with zero one- or two-mana interaction, hands with only four-plus-mana cards, and hands with fewer than two lands or more than four lands. A single Scoured Barrens, Orzhov Guildgate, or Forsaken Sanctuary is fine; shipping three or more enters-tapped lands with no turn-one play is correct.

Early game (turns 1–3): Trade efficiently. Use Duress to strip a key card from combo or control, Fatal Push and Bloodchief's Thirst on cheap threats, and Infernal Grasp or Go for the Throat on anything bigger. Do not tap out for a threat; hold mana up so the opponent must respect instant-speed removal and a flashed-in The Wandering Emperor.

Mid game (turns 4–6): Stabilize with The Meathook Massacre for X=2 or 3 when the opponent commits several creatures, then land Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Sorin the Mirthless to start pulling ahead on life and cards. Use Sheoldred's Edict to force sacrifices through hexproof and indestructible, and Despark or Mortify on planeswalkers and enchantments.

Late game (turn 7+): Farewell exiles creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and graveyards all at once — the cleanest reset in the format. After the reset, a resolved Sheoldred plus The Wandering Emperor's tokens and Sorin's card advantage close the game while you keep drawing removal. Never race; win through attrition and the drain from The Meathook Massacre.

This deck has very little intrinsic card draw, so dedicated grindy value decks can out-resource you — prioritize Duress and Sorin to keep pace. Non-creature combo that resolves before you find discard is a real loss condition. Hexproof and uncounterable threats can slip past targeted removal, so lean on Farewell and Sheoldred's Edict. Finally, the mana base is built from enters-tapped duals (Scoured Barrens, Forsaken Sanctuary, Orzhov Guildgate) and basic Swamps because rare dual lands are not available, so very fast aggro starts on the play can punish a slow draw; mulligan toward cheap interaction to compensate.