Silverquill, the DisputantSilverquill, the Disputant | Art by Mark Zug

Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Painter's ServantPainter's Servant and GrindstoneGrindstone is the only two-card combo involving two colorless artifacts that cost two or less?)

There's no doubt that the new Elder Dragons from Secrets of Strixhaven are powerful, with some even seeing some Competitive EDH hype. In fact, our resident cEDH author, Harvey, already covered two of them. I stole a third from him. Why? Because I think it's the best of the lot.

First off, Silverquill, the DisputantSilverquill, the Disputant is the cheapest of the cycle at four mana, meaning landing your commander early won't be a chore. The actual prize here, though, is Silverquill's casualty ability, which lets you double up on the things Orzhov does best in cEDH: Rituals, SilenceSilences, and tutors. Those first two are fairly self-explanatory, so let's explore the last a bit.

Top 10 Tutors in Orzhov (That Don't Put the Card On Top of Your Library)

1. Demonic TutorDemonic Tutor
2. Diabolic IntentDiabolic Intent
3. EntombEntomb
4. Buried AliveBuried Alive
5. Diabolic TutorDiabolic Tutor
6. Open the ArmoryOpen the Armory
7. Grim TutorGrim Tutor
8. Idyllic TutorIdyllic Tutor
9. Beseech the MirrorBeseech the Mirror
10. Steelshaper's GiftSteelshaper's Gift

No grand, complicated strategy to explain here: if you can tutor up two cards, you now by definition can have a two-card combo in your hand. Ideally, that combo needs to be fairly cheap, as you want to win early, but really, this is the core idea behind making Silverquill work as a cEDH commander.

Which just raises the question: what two-card combos are we looking for?

Top 10 Cheap Orzhov Two-Card Combos

Criteria: Combos in the Orzhov color identity that only include two cards, with each individual component costing four or less, that result in either winning the game, infinite damage, infinite life loss, infinite turns, infinite card draw, near-infinite of any of the above, or a one-sided lock. Repetitions of individual cards in said combos is not permitted. As is tradition, all results are ordered by EDHREC score, although we'll be doing it via Commander Spellbook this week.

10. Celestial ConvergenceCelestial Convergence & SolemnitySolemnity

(416 Inclusions, 0.01% of 3.97M Decks)

Waiting until your upkeep to actually try to win is bad enough here, but adding on to that needing to have the highest life total? That's just a hard deal-breaker.

9. Balancing ActBalancing Act & Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection

(582 Inclusions, 0.01% of 4.96M Decks)

I've always been a firm proponent of Balancing ActBalancing Act. I truly believe that, if we want to solve the casual EDH problem of land ramp decks, BalanceBalance effects are a huge tool in doing so.

With that said, we're not talking about casual EDH today, we're talking about Competitive, and while I wouldn't call this combo that results in your opponents' sacrificing their entire boards (and probably discarding most of their hands) a no-go in cEDH, I will say that it involves two cards that are generally considered not good enough for cEDH that are both a bit expensive. The scarier of the two, Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection, honestly does almost nothing at a cEDH table, where it's likely that if you survive the turn, your opponent can just kill you on your upkeep. Balancing Act actually might be a lot more impactful, possibly reigning in creature decks, like Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero, but let's just say that if this is our best option, we're not going to stand up to the average cEDH table.

8. Near-Death ExperienceNear-Death Experience & Blood CelebrantBlood Celebrant

(616 Inclusions, 0.03% of 1.95M Decks)

Well, things haven't improved. First off, waiting with a win on board for a turn is no way to go about things in cEDH at the best of times, and you know what isn't the best of times? Going to one at someone's end step. Secondly, neither of these cards do anything for us proactively, and Near-Death ExperienceNear-Death Experience specifically is five mana with three pips to just do nothing but have a table unite against you. No thank you.

7. Ad NauseamAd Nauseam & Flare of FortitudeFlare of Fortitude

(1,257 Inclusions, 0.07% of 1.87M Decks)

Unlike Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection, Ad NauseamAd Nauseam is a game-changer that does see cEDH play, and could fit into this deck. The issue here? It's rare that you resolve an Ad Naus and don't go on to immediately win the game. So why do we need Flare of FortitudeFlare of Fortitude? Better off to go get Ad Naus and SilenceSilence with our two tutors.

6. Uba MaskUba Mask & Drannith MagistrateDrannith Magistrate

(2,441 Inclusions, 0.06% of 3.97M Decks)

Now this one is interesting. Still a bit pricey at six mana overall, but it creates a lock which will be difficult for folks to get out of if they don't already have an answer in their hand. Even better, Drannith MagistrateDrannith Magistrate is a card that, in Orzhov, we were already pretty much guaranteed to be playing, thanks to our inability to stop quick turbo decks with counterspells and the like. Combine that with Uba MaskUba Mask being pretty great against the Rhystic StudyRhystic Study meta, and this is definitely one in our considering pile.

5. Maralen of the MornsongMaralen of the Mornsong & Opposition AgentOpposition Agent

(7,175 Inclusions, 0.17% of 4.34M Decks)

It's almost a rite of passage for folks new to cEDH to make a Maralen of the MornsongMaralen of the Mornsong deck on the cheap, before they find out that most people and tournaments are okay with proxies. Maralen has been fringe for a long time, but it must be noted that the correct way to play it is to find a tutor, tutor up Opposition AgentOpposition Agent, then play Maralen of the MornsongMaralen of the Mornsong. The reason? Playing out Maralen by herself makes for a distinct and extremely tiresome play pattern: Player 1 goes and gets something to win. Player 2 goes and gets something to win. Player 3 then goes and gets an answer to Maralen (or Opposition Agent) so the entire table doesn't get locked out.

There can be some variants on that theme if folks talk or refuse to play ball, but overall, it is not a fun or effective way to play the game. So, we know to play Oppo first, right? Now, does that make this a good combo? Well, yes and no. It's extremely similar to the Drannith MagistrateDrannith Magistrate-Uba MaskUba Mask lock we looked at. If no one has an answer in hand, you win. If someone does, then this does almost nothing, which means that it's probably worth considering for the same reason that Drannith-Mask was: we're likely already on Opposition Agent.

4. Guilty ConscienceGuilty Conscience & Phyrexian VindicatorPhyrexian Vindicator

(8,286 Inclusions, 0.21% of 3.97M Decks)

Quintuple white? Yeah, I'm out.

This is pretty darn cool though, not gonna lie. A fun thing to try to throw in a mono-white deck in casual someday.

3. Staff of DominationStaff of Domination & MetalworkerMetalworker

(8,952 Inclusions, 0.11% of 8.51M Decks)

MetalworkerMetalworker featured prominently in my Top 10 Chrome Dome Combos article from last month, and I am a fan of that combo... in blue. Why blue? Because there, it's likely that you can draw a bunch of cards and have the required three artifacts in hand you need to have Metalworker make enough mana to go infinite. Well, whether we're talking about Chrome DomeChrome Dome or Staff of DominationStaff of Domination, that math is the same: you need Metalworker to tap for to go infinite. Those three artifacts in hand to do that, in Orzhov? Yeah, that's just too high a mountain to climb.

2. Walking BallistaWalking Ballista & Heliod, Sun-CrownedHeliod, Sun-Crowned

(45,544 Inclusions, 1.15% of 3.97M Decks)

Should this be here? Probably not. The reason is that the general, straightforward way of doing this combo is to cast Walking BallistaWalking Ballista for four, cast Heliod, Sun-CrownedHeliod, Sun-Crowned, then activate him for . That's nine mana to get this going, two over our limit of seven. So why is it here? Because you don't have to do it that way. If you can go to swing in unblocked with a 1/1 Ballista, while Heliod is on the board, then you can activate him prior to the damage, and start the whole process of putting a counter on to then take it off and deal damage with lifelink to put another counter on.

Does that all add up to these options being good enough to be our go-to two-card combo? I don't think so. Walking Ballista can be an okay option in a cEDH deck, but you're usually pretty sad if you're having to use it to just remove a random 2/2 across the board. Heliod, on the other hand, does absolutely nothing but win the game with Ballista, making this not a super-strong option. At this point, I'd rather go with the locks that are cheaper and also come with a bad card tacked on.

1. Bloodchief AscensionBloodchief Ascension & MindcrankMindcrank

(54,243 Inclusions, 1.25% of 4.34M Decks)

Which just leaves our number one slot to wow us! Does it get there? Is it good enough, or are we out of the really great options that would make this deck feasible in cEDH? Well, we wanted a two-card combo that was cheap and that won the game. Check and check. There is a small caveat, though: does it win the game immediately? Not exactly. If you tutor Bloodchief AscensionBloodchief Ascension and MindcrankMindcrank up, then play them both down, you don't win the game on the spot. In fact, it's not really a certain thing that you win it at all. Getting three counters down on Bloodchief is fairly inevitable in the early game, but with the full combo on board? The entire table is going to be doing everything they can to avoid losing any life, knowing that if the third counter comes down, you win.

Now, does that mean that I don't like this combo? No. Turn one Bloodchief is a legitimate start in cEDH even if you never plan on getting a Mindcrank into play, which means that this is a solid plan you can pivot to. I just don't think it should be the plan, as the plan only works if you can get that early Bloodchief down and get it online.

Honorable Mentions

So, ten combos considered, and we still don't have a plan A. Is this whole idea just coming to nothing?

Well, not quite. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as a one-card combo. In fact, there's two of them in black.

Now, I know what you're thinking: Doug, these are two eight-mana cards. Our cutoff was seven mana, and we wanted to be substantially cheaper than that, if possible. Well, let me note two things: one is that part of our gameplan isn't just to copy tutors with Silverquill, the DisputantSilverquill, the Disputant, but to copy rituals as well. Two is that we're in black and white, the two colors best in the game at ReanimateReanimate effects. In other words? With either a doubled-up ritual or a doubled-up tutor, we should be able to try and put a win on the stack with Razaketh, the FoulbloodedRazaketh, the Foulblooded or Hoarding BroodlordHoarding Broodlord.

How, you say? Let me explain, and hopefully by the end, those explanations of the requirements will also help us decide which one is better for the deck.

Razaketh, the FoulbloodedRazaketh, the Foulblooded Combo Line

Requirements: and two creatures

1. Get Razaketh in play. Doesn't matter how.
2. Sacrifice a creature to go get SacrificeSacrifice.
3. Sacrifice a creature to go get Peer into the AbyssPeer into the Abyss.
4. Cast Sacrifice, sacrificing Razaketh for eight .
5. Cast Peer into the Abyss, drawing half of your deck and assembling a win from there.

Hoarding BroodlordHoarding Broodlord Combo Line

Requirements: or two creatures

1. Get Hoarding Broodlord in play. Doesn't matter how.
2. Broodlord triggers upon entering.
3. Search for Saw in HalfSaw in Half.
4. Tapping Broodlord to convoke and using your extra or tapping your two extra creatures, cast Saw in Half targeting Broodlord.
5. Two copies of Broodlord enter, triggering.
6. Search for SacrificeSacrifice and Peer into the AbyssPeer into the Abyss.
7. Cast Sacrifice by tapping a Broodlord token to convoke, sacrificing a Broodlord token for eight .
8. Cast Peer into the Abyss, drawing half of your deck and assembling a win from there.

So, the basic run-down is that both cards are looking for more or less the same thing: to get Sacrifice to make a ton of mana with your huge creature, then use said mana to draw horrendous amounts of cards and hopefully go on to win from there. The main difference is that Razaketh needs a creature and is one mana cheaper (although that mana must be black), and Broodlord is one mana more expensive, but doesn't require a creature. The clear path forward, in my opinion? Just play both, and double our chances of drawing one to go with the double ritual plan!

As for how we actually win the game? It turns out there's another Broodlord line for that that also brings up another two-card combo we didn't cover today.

Hoarding Broodlord Combo Line #2

Requirements: or two creatures

1. Get Hoarding Broodlord in play. Doesn't matter how.
2. Broodlord triggers upon entering.
3. Search for Saw in HalfSaw in Half.
4. Tapping Broodlord to convoke and using your extra or tapping your two extra creatures, cast Saw in Half targeting Broodlord.
5. Two copies of Broodlord enter, triggering.
6. Search for SacrificeSacrifice and Yawgmoth's WillYawgmoth's Will.
7. Cast Sacrifice by tapping a Broodlord token to convoke, sacrificing the tapped Broodlord token for eight .
8. Cast Yawgmoth's Will by tapping Broodlord, floating six .
9. Cast Saw in Half from the graveyard by tapping the other Broodlord token, targeting said token. Still floating four .
10. Two Broodlords enter, triggering.
11. Search for Professor OnyxProfessor Onyx and Chain of SmogChain of Smog.
12. Tap one of the fresh Broodlord tokens to cast Sacrifice from the graveyard, sacrificing it for eight . Now floating 12 .
13. Cast Professor Onyx using six of the 12 floating mana.
14. Cast Chain of Smog using two of the six remaining mana, targeting yourself.
15. Professor Onyx's magecraft triggers, draining each opponent for two.
16. Copy Chain of Smog, targeting yourself.
17. Repeat from step 14 to drain out the table.

Got all that? Okay good, because Chain of SmogChain of Smog is the main win-con for the entire deck, barring Bloodchief AscensionBloodchief Ascension luck and Praetor's GraspPraetor's Grasp shenanigans.

Which just leaves the deck list itself, and my verdict on whether or not this really can keep up at a cEDH table.

The deck routinely wins on turn four and usually does so in a fashion that is difficult to stop. This puts it in excellent company with decks like Magda, Brazen OutlawMagda, Brazen Outlaw and Lumra, Bellow of the WoodsLumra, Bellow of the Woods as an "inevitable" deck. These decks don't typically do much to stop others from winning, and cannot keep up with the speed of the turbo decks in the format. Instead, they rely on the more responsible decks at the table to keep the turbo decks from winning early, then sneak in a win before the slower, more controlling decks can. Silverquill can absolutely fill that same niche, and may even be able to do it a tad bit better as it does have some interaction and hatebears that can stop other decks from winning on occasion.

Nuts and Bolts

There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall Commander Spellbook search.

What Do You Think?

All that said, I really do think that Silverquill, the DisputantSilverquill, the Disputant is the best option for Competitive EDH from not only the Elder Dragon options, but all of Secrets of Strixhaven. I have been surprised by others thinking that there are better options out there, however, so let me know what you think:

And finally, what is your favorite two-card combo? Does it win outright? Can you play it in Orzhov?

Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the Bufallo Bills table that's been completely busted in half.