So I have been wanting to make a life gain deck for some time now, but was never really sure which commander to build around. Alot of people recommended [[Oloro, Ageless Ascetic]], but I don't really want to go into Esper quite yet. So that leaves Orzhov colors. What I'm wanting to know is which one is the "Best".

There is a TL;DR version below the ~~~, if you don't want to hear my thoughts on each of the commanders I have picked out of

Allot of people say that [[Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim]] is one of the "Best", but I feel that is not the case. Yes, Ayli can fuel herself by saccing creatures and gaining life. However, her [[Vindicate]] ability will ONLY trigger if you are above 50 life. So yes, it IS easy to get it going, but then what happens when you precariously low life, or perhaps you can no longer gain life (due to [[Erebos, God of the Dead]] for instance). Then what? You have a 2/3 with Deathtouch and: "Sacrifice a creature". I am also understanding that not everyone plays "anti-life gain" cards, but it is still a thing to be wary of.

[[Obzedat, Ghost Council]] and [[Ghost Council of Orzhova]] are probably the most "common" gain and drain decks you'd see around (besides the other one I will mention soon). These strategies aren't terrible, and I'm sure everyone will agree that Obzedat would be the "Better" of the two commanders to do this with, but something like a simple [[Torpor Orb]] turns off their abilities. Obzedat is better, because when it ETB from his exile ability, it has haste. This means he can miss board wipes, try and hit people and then flicker out till next turn. The "good "part about these two commanders, is that even if Erebos is out, you can still drain their life total

[[Vona, Butcher of Magan]] is probably a "better" Ayli, in the sense that you don't have to rely on having a high life total to use it. Problem: Sorcery speed removal regardless of whats happening. For this reason, Vona gets the short straw

[[Kambal, Consul of Allocation]] one of the "Stronger" commanders I have considered. Triggers on non-creature spells so you can really gain and drain constantly. His ability means its not likely going to be targeted, unless you are going up against a storm deck or something. Can still work through Erebos (draining I mean) and doesn't rely on ETB or anything. The "issue" I have is that he's not very...offensive. Most of the cards I've seen are about a pillowfort like strategy where you out pace your opponents and just sit there waiting till you get a [[Debt to the Deathless]] type of effect to drain each opponent to death. Yes Kambal will be better in a 4 commander game, but its basically going to be a 3 player game and you sitting behind some pillows, praying not to die from a horde of dragons flying over your walls

[[Karlov of the Ghost Council]] probably the most "versatile" commander. Not only is he his own removal on a stick, but he also gets bigger. This means that Karlov gets a sweet little package of what he can do. If you think about it, Karlov could just voltron up, gaining life and getting bigger and bigger with every time you gain life Karlov can also just win by getting a stupid high life total and [[Aetherflux Reservoir]] someone to death, meaning you could kill via commander damage OR through a gain and drain type of strategy. Karlov I think is one of the "Better" commanders, but then you gotta think about which path you are going, or how deep into each you go. For example do you add the "Sword of X and Y" and go to town with that? Do you focus on more of the "gain and drain" strategy? Do you go down both routes?

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TL;DR version: I'm looking primarily at Kambal and Karlov to POSSIBLY build. Namely because:

• Ayli cares "too much" about life total (as in, being 50 life, but instant speed removal...possibly)

• Obzedat, Ghost Council and Ghost Council of Orzhova are "good", but not great (gain and drain on ETB, self "protection")

• Vona, Butcher of Magan is a "better" Ayli, but not really (sorcery speed removal sucks)

• Kambal doesn't need to do anything really but sit there and gain you life. But other than that (and running combos like [[Sanguine Bond]] and [[Exquisite Blood]] ((which, lets be honest, MOST of these decks will run))), he just sits there and pillowforts, which can be lame and boring if you are trying to close out the game fimally

• Karlov is the most versatile commander. Voltron up by getting counters and killing via commander/combat damage, a removal piece on a stick or just a straight up "suck the life out of you", Karlov is probably the "best", but most "hated" commander, due to the above statements.

It really is hard for me to narrow down the commander I want to build around. I don't typically buy cards till I have a rough idea of a deck list, and you can't really make a deck list without knowing who you are building around. Cards that shut down life gain really put a hamper on most of these commanders, but people won't always have it available to them and won't always be in their deck (unless Erebos is your commander).

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear some amazing stories or suggestions!