Gaius van Baelsar wants a deck that plays sturdy creatures that also deal with opponents' cards. It also suits a deck that gives up its own cards on purpose to get something back.
Mana cost
Black ()
Power / toughness3 / 2
RarityUncommon
When Gaius van Baelsar enters, choose one —
• Each player sacrifices a creature token of their choice.
• Each player sacrifices a nontoken creature of their choice.
• Each player sacrifices an enchantment of their choice.
Picked for what they do in Gaius van Baelsar's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Gaius van Baelsar's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Open the full glossary
Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryBPlayers write colors as letters: B for black.MidrangeMidrange decks play solid creatures that also deal with opponents' cards, attacking when it is safe and defending when it is not. They sit in the middle: slower than an all-out attacking deck, sturdier than a deck built to answer everything.Open the Midrange pageForced SacrificeMakes opponents sacrifice their own permanents. Because they choose what to lose, it gets around protection and hexproof that ordinary removal cannot touch. Braids, Arisen Nightmare, Living DeathOpen the Forced Sacrifice pageValue CreatureA creature that does two jobs: it deals with an opponent's card when it arrives, then stays as a real attacker. Its enter the battlefield ability destroys, damages, counters or bounces something, and it has 3 or more power or an ability like flying that makes it hard to block. Answering your opponent and pressuring them with the same card is what a Midrange deck is built on. Shriekmaw, Meteor GolemOpen the Value Creature pageTarget RemovalRemoves a single chosen permanent by destroying it, exiling it or returning it to its owner's hand, however big it is. It is the precise answer to one problem, as opposed to a board wipe that hits everything. Damage and -X/-X can miss a big creature, so they are Damage Removal and -X/-X Removal instead. Swords to Plowshares, Beast WithinOpen the Target Removal pageSacrificeSacrifice decks give up their own creatures, Treasures and other cards on purpose and get something back each time. A sacrifice outlet, a card that lets you sacrifice whenever you want, is the heart of the deck.Open the Sacrifice pageStaxStax decks slow the whole game down with cards that make spells cost more, stop lands from untapping, or limit what players can do each turn. The deck is built so those limits hurt it least. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check with your table first.Open the Stax pageETB ValueDoes something useful the moment it arrives: an enter the battlefield ability, which players shorten to ETB. You keep that effect even if the card is removed straight afterwards, which is why these pair so well with flicker cards that make them enter again. Solemn Simulacrum, The One RingOpen the ETB Value page
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