A new powerful aristocrats commander in Lost Caverns of Ixalan?!

We are nearing the release of magic's newest set - Lost Caverns of Ixalan. The set is full of fun new cards, mechanics but also powerful commanders. In this special halloween article I will be showcasing the newest aristocrats commander that people have already started trying out builds for. The experimented decklist is at the end of the article.

Early experimentation

I am of course talking about our newest vampire - Bartolomé del Presidio. He has both a great name and a great ability essentialy being a sacrifice outlet in the command zone. This is a great ability for any aristocrats deck and having access to it every game makes those decks a lot stronger.

Some players have already starting experimenting with Bartolomé trying to find the best decklist. The core of the deck consisting of various powerful artistocrats cards seems consistent between decklists. The rest of the deck is still being figured out through playtesting. Some players are opting for an aggresive deck similar to other aristocrats decks while others have a bit slower more midrange version of the deck in mind.

New aristocrats pieces?

Caverns of Ixalan brings some brand new cards that heavily synergise with an aristocrats playstyle as it apears to be the limited archetype for orzhov. The most notable from among these is probably Helping Hand, a new different take on Unearth. It is missing the option to cycle it away and the creature comes in tapped but it's white rather than black. This means that it can be used not only in aristocrats strategies but also some other aggressive decks playing white. 

There are some other notable cards like Sanguine Evangelist. Not only a bonkers limited card but also a pretty good 3-drop for constructed formats. Creating a token when played and when dying gives you three bodies for the price of one card is already pretty solid but the card also has battle cry meaning those flying tokens and your other creatures will hit the opponent even harder.

Some other cards are also being considered like Stalactite Stalker but they don't seem to have that big of an impact as the before mentioned ones.

Is Orzhov the way?...

The only other aristocrats deck in the current metagame is probably Juri, Master of the Revue. The build of the deck is however much different as it's rakdos (B/R) rather than orzhov (B/W) like Bartolomé. This gives Juri decks not only access to burn but also some powerful cards like Mayhem Devil, Seasoned Pyromancer and Loyal Apprentice. 

With orzhov you have to get a bit more creative as you can't really pull some combo and win on the spot like Juri can. On the other si

de, since you have access to white you get access to some powerful cards that help you protect your commander or synergise with your deck. Among these are staples like Selfless Savior or even Adeline, Resplendent Cathar which both work really well in the deck.

For now I believe that Juri, Master of the Revue and the rakdos version is a bit better than Bartolomé but the list still isn't figured out yet and we may be surprised when Lost Caverns of Ixalan finally releases. Until that comes you can help me and the other deckbuilders find the best version of the deck...

Bonus decklists from deckbuilders:

Author: Tomas Solovic

Date: 31st October, 2023 (Halloween article)