Orzhov is a color combination that houses many strategies, such as Lifegain and lifeloss, sacrifice effects, and various Creature types like Phyrexians and Bats. Orzhov is known for a couple of key Commanders, like Teysa Karlov and Shilgengar, Sire of Famine, many involving ways to utilize sacrificing creatures to accumulate an advantage over your opponents.

When it comes to building Orzhov Commander decks, however, it's important to understand how to build an appropriate Mana base for the W/B Commander of your choosing. While having a good mixture of dual Lands to help cast your spells is key to the success of any deck, you should also be aware of what utility Lands are out there, ones that can help further your specific Commander's strategy.

In this article, we'll be looking at the top W/B Lands in Magic you should be playing, so you can get an idea of what an average Orzhov Mana base looks like. For the sake of this article, we won't be discussing universally good EDH Lands like Command Tower and Exotic Orchard, but instead looking at the best Orzhov-only options for your Commander decks.

The Top 15 Orzhov Lands

Overall Best

1. Godless Shrine

2. Marsh Flats

3. Scrubland

4. Shadowy Backstreet

5. Vault of Champions

Best Utility Lands

1. Vault of the Archangel

2. Takenuma, Abandoned Mire

3. Phyrexian Tower

4. High Market

5. Westvale Abbey

Best Budget Lands

1. Isolated Chapel

2. Caves of Koilos

3. Fetid Heath

4. Tainted Field

5. Shineshadow Snarl

Orzhov Staple Lands

Without question, the top three W/B Lands in Magic are Scrubland, Godless Shrine, and Marsh Flats. Scrubland, while an expensive option, is the premier untapped Orzhov dual Land that also carries the Plains/Swamp Land types. That means not only can you search for it with Marsh Flats, but it'll count for Lands like Isolated Chapel coming into play untapped. Scrubland is one of the most expensive dual Lands on the market, so Godless Shrine is your next best option (although you'll have to pay two life to have it come into play untapped).

The next two best Orzhov dual Lands that I would put in this upper echelon of W/B Lands in EDH are Vault of Champions and Turbulent Moor. Obviously, the power level of these Lands will depend on how many opponents you have, but in games of three or more I'd rank these higher than most Orzhov Lands. Turbulent Moor in specific is great just due to it being fetch-able off Marsh Flats.

Dual Orzhov Lands With Basic Land Type

The next set of top Orzhov Lands you should be playing comes in W/B dual Lands that also share the Plains/Swamp Basic Land types. Shadowy Backstreet is probably the best of these, since you can fetch for it at Instant-speed and get a Surveil trigger at the end of your opponent's turn. This is especially powerful in graveyard-centric strategies, such as decks that include ways to reanimate Creatures.

Eclipsed Steppe falls under the category of Lands similar to Godless Shrine and Scrubland, as it is a dual Land with the Plains/Swamp Land types, although you have to pass a minor requirement to have it come into play untapped. Umbral Expanse, while it comes into play tapped, at least has the basic Land types stapled on it while also giving you the option to cycle it in a pinch, if you aren't in need of any extra Lands.

Isolated Chapel, Caves of Koilos, Shattered Sanctum, and Bleachbone Verge are my picks for the next best Orzhov EDH lands. When you're playing a handful of dual Lands that have the Plains/Swamp land types, in addition to just playing multiple Basic Lands, your Isolated Chapel should come into play untapped most if not all turns besides turn one of the game. Caves of Koilos is another untapped dual Land that does cost you life to add or Mana to your Mana pool, but with Commander being a format where you start with 40 life, the life loss is pretty insignificant (especially if your deck has inherent ways to gain life already).

Similarly, Shattered Sanctum will enter untapped in most games (and it's not the worst if you play this turn one tapped). Bleachbone Verge will also be an untapped dual Land most games if you have a good enough mix of Basic and dual Lands with Basic Land types. For this reason, Shineshadow Snarl and Tainted Field are also solid and budget-friendly options to consider.

Lastly, Fetid Heath, Brightclimb Pathway, Desolate Mire, and Silent Clearing are the other "enters untapped" dual Lands I'd consider playing in my Orzhov Commander deck. Fetid Heath and Desolate Mire are filter Lands, so you'll need another Land in play to get any use out of them. Brightclimb Pathway isn't exactly a dual Land, but more a flexible option of if you want another [Mana]{W}[/Mana] or [Mana]{B}[/Mana] source in play. Silent Clearing will cost you life any time you use it for Mana, but you can at least trade it in for a card at any point in the game. Temple of Silence, while a tapped Land, gives you a scry, but it's a worse option (although budget-friendly) compared to Shadowy Backstreet.

Here are some W/B Lands to avoid: Concealed Courtyard, while a dual Land, will come into play tapped most games. This Land is pretty powerful in a format like Standard, when you're playing an aggressive strategy that wants access to [Mana]{B}[/Mana] and [Mana]{W}[/Mana] Mana early on. However, in games of Commander, where games can go super long, this "fastland" cycle has diminishing returns.

It's also important to have a balance of different types of Lands in your decks. I think the best Commander decks tend to have a nice balance between dual, Basic, and utility Lands, based on their Commander's identity. You don't want to be bogged down with too many dual Lands, In some cases it's better to just play a basic Land than put an extra dual Land that comes into play tapped, like Forsaken Sanctuary or Forlorn Flats.

The Best Orzhov Utility Lands

There are multiple utility Lands in Orzhov that can give your strategy a boost. When building an EDH deck, especially one that's two or more colors, it's vital to have a nice mix of dual Lands that can help you cast your spells more easily in addition to Lands that can give you bonus effects. In W/B, with so many decks having synergy with Lifegain, sacrificing Creatures, or niche Creature types, there are multiple utility Land options to choose from in Orzhov.

Out of all the Orzhov utility Lands you can play, Vault of the Archangel is arguably the most universal one to include in your W/B Commander decks. Regardless of if the Lifegain is relevant to your Commander's inherent strategy, this Land can make any combat step tilt in your favor. Whether you're aiming to make a favorable attack with smaller Creatures by giving them Deathtouch, or provide your blockers with Lifelink to survive an attack, this is an extremely versatile utility Land to play, that comes at very low cost to adding to your deck.

W/B Lands with Instant-Speed Effects

Next up are Takenuma, Abandoned Mire and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire. These two Channel Lands from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty are just inherently solid utility Lands that you can use at Instant-speed. Takenuma can be pretty potent in Orzhov decks like Shilgengar, Sire of Famine, since it both mills you and can grab a Creature back from your graveyard. While Eiganjo is obviously less powerful, with four damage not killing major threats, Takenuma is probably the Land I'd want to include in most Orzhov decks, due to it being a pretty low-cost "Gravedigger" effect at Instant-speed.

Generic Utility Lands

Other generic utility Lands that can go in basically any Orzhov EDH deck include Lands like Minas Tirith, Bojuka Bog, Shizo, Death's Storehouse and Castle Ardenvale. You can't afford to play too many mono-colored utility Lands, since you want to have enough room for your basics and dual lands, so don't try and play each and every utility land at your disposal. These Lands are recommended because they're pretty flexible and can slot into any deck, regardless of what your specific theme might be.

W/B Creature or "Man" Lands

For Creature Lands you have Restless Fortress and Shambling Vent. While these are both dual Lands that have some added utility in being able to activate to be a Creature, the power and toughness on these Lands is so low impact that I would skip in on including them in my deck.

Utility Lands for Specific Commanders

Now, for some utility Lands that work well in specific W/B Commander decks.

Teysa Karlov is a Commander that revolves around killing off your own Creatures for beneficial effects. She synergizes well with cards like Luminous Broodmoth. However, to really capitalize on Teysa Karlov's static ability, you need ways to actually sacrifice your fodder.

This is why High Market is an invaluable utility Land in this deck, even though it's colorless. It provides a sacrifice outlet that you can slot into your Mana base for a very low upfront cost. This is also a Commander deck where I'd consider Westvale Abbey, Midgar, City of Mako, and if you have access to one, Phyrexian Tower.

If you're building an Eriette of the Charmed Apple deck that focuses on auras, you should play a copy of Hall of Heliod's Generosity, as a way to buy back your Enchantments from the graveyard. In a similar vein, Adagia, Windswept Bastion is another good inclusion for this reason.

A Ketromose, the New Dawn deck wants various ways to exile cards from graveyards. This is why Pit of Offerings and Hive of the Eye Tyrant are useful pieces to consider when building a Mana base for this Commander, giving you multiple ways to exile cards from graveyards. Scavenger Grounds can even do this at Instant-speed!

You should also consider Orzhov utility Lands for decks that are typal-based, like Zoraline, Cosmos Caller. While this is already a deck where Vault of the Archangel is good, since you'll be attacking with bats, you also get access to some value in Lupinflower Village and Mudflat Village. Due to Zoraline's ability this is also a deck that can get value off of Hidden Courtyard and Hidden Necropolis. Basically any sacrifice Land is much better when paired with Zoraline compared to most other Orzhov Commanders.

Conclusion

Orzhov is a color combination that boasts a variety of unique archetypes. When it comes to Mana bases, it's important to find Orzhov Lands that are both useful dual Lands but also utility Lands that match your W/B Commander's identity. While there are very powerful Lands like Scrubland and Phyrexian Tower, there are multiple budget options to choose from if you're just starting out with a new precon.

Understanding the best Orzhov Lands for Commander will make you a better deckbuilder and help you figure out the right balance between different types of lands your deck will want access to. Hopefully, this article helps expand your card knowledge and increase your decks consistency!