Hello and welcome to Daily Commander!

Today we are going to be talking about Ria Ivor, Bane of Banehold!

Ria Ivor has battle cry and at the beginning of combat on your turn the next time target creature would deal combat damage to one or more players this combat you prevent that damage and if damage is prevented this way then you make that many 1/1 Phyrexian Mite artifact creature tokens with toxic 1 that can’t block.

Ria Ivor is another creature that benefits you for going tall and going wide, but the benefit is that they work together in that the taller you go the more Mites with toxic you get, which helps speed up the game. Not only that, but we can also play with a Phyrexian typal theme to benefit the Mites and Ria Ivor.

So our plan is combining a going tall strategy with a going wide strategy to get as many Mites onto the battlefield to win via poison damage, using Phyrexian typal support to our benefit.

The first plan we should consider are ways to get a creature big so we can target them with Ria Ivor’s ability to make a ton of Mites.

Cranial Plating is a perfect example of this because it make a creature bigger based on the number of artifacts we control, which include our Mites, but also switch which creature its attached to at instant speed for only two black mana.

Sigil of Valor is a great pick as well because it gives the attacking equipped creature +1/+1 for each other creature we control, which if we develop a wide enough board then we can get an even bigger board to swing with next turn.

Since we are playing into some Phyrexian typal strategies as well, Sculpted Perfection is excellent for the deck because not only does it give our Phyrexians +1/+1, it also incubates 2 which can be helpful in reestablishing a board presence after a board wipe.

Etchings of the Chosen is a generic typal anthem, but has the benefit in allowing us to pay one mana to sacrifice a creature of the chosen type, which we should have plenty of, to give a creature we control indestructible, again helping us maintain a board presence after a board wipe.

While it isn’t a traditional anthem Phyrexian Awakening incubates for 4 but also gives our Phyrexians vigilance, Flowering of the White Tree gives our legendary creatures +2/+1 and ward 1 while giving our nonlegendary creatures +1/+1, and Invasion of New Capenna can exile an artifact and become an Equipment that puts +1/+1 counter on the creature it’s equipped to and creatures you control that share a creature type with it.

We should also have redundant ways to make Mite tokens, and ideally they should give benefits to the tokens or other Phyrexians.

Mite Overseer is such a creature because not only does it give our creature tokens +1/+0 and first strike on our turn, but it also gives us a way to make a Mite token for a decent price, if we don’t mind paying a bit of life.

Skrelv’s Hive is also another early option we can use to get Mites onto the battlefield at the beginning of our upkeeps, but also has a Corrupted ability in giving our creatures with toxic lifelink when an opponent has three or more poison counters.

We also have Charge of the Mites as a modal spell that either deals damage to a creature or Planeswalker equal to the number of creatures we control or make two Mites, Basilica Shepard making two Mites when it enters, and Essence of Orthodoxy to incubate 2 whenever it or another Phyrexian enters.

There is also White Sun’s Twilight, which is a board wipe that we can use to also make Mite tokens that we can use on the crack back, Phyrexian Censor to help hinder our opponents in casting non-Phyrexian spells and having non-Phyrexian creatures enter tapped, and Grafted Butcher giving our Phyrexians menace for a turn while also giving them a +1/+1 and having a way to recur itself onto the battlefield from the graveyard.

Since a majority of our creatures are going to have toxic, our win condition is going to be a poison win, meaning any other ways to aid that will be necessary.

Infectious Inquiry is such an example because it draws us two cards for the extra cost of two life, but also gives each of our opponents a poison counter to help get things started. Similarly, Vraska’s Fall is an edict effect against our opponents for a creature or Planeswalker they control and helps by giving them a poison counter as well.

We should also take advantage of the number of proliferate cards, like Drown in Ichor, which gives a creature -4/-4 and proliferates us, Phyresis Outbreak to give a poison counter to each opponent and gives our opponents creatures -1/-1 for each poison counter they have, and Anoint with Affliction which exiles a creature of mana vale 3 or less but if an opponent is Corrupted then we have a two mana creature exile.

Since we are going for a poison victory, which is historically a disliked mechanic, we should also be prepared to be targeted heavily. Norn’s Decree is a way to get some passive poison counters on an opponent if they deal combat damage to us while also incentivizing our opponents to attack poisoned opponents to draw a card.

While not giving poison, Norn’s Annex is a way to be a Ghostly Prison effect, except our opponents need to pay a Phyrexian white mana for each creature attacking us.

Ria Ivor is a Commander that facilitates a strategy, and while we can get a decent way through without them in play, we massively benefit from their ability in getting a ton of Mites onto the battlefield.

Thank you for reading, see you tomorrow for the next Daily Commander!

Peace,

From, J.M. Casual