You could just play a Thragtusk and have a much more reliably good card. Why play this for marginal lifegain effects when there are better lifegain cards that don't require outside help to be good. Saying the card works "very well" because it turns your extort into gain 2 instead of gain 1 is not a convincing argument for the card.
Why splash green when WB has everything to control the board and the hand? What can Thragtusk do against infinite life and creatures or against mill?
How many copies of Obzedat would you include? You need other win conditions, and this combo is one of the stronger ones against all other archetypes. You extend your life total against aggro, you beat infinite life combos, you can combo out before control and midrange can control the game.
That's another thing about the format right now is the lack of top-end finishers for control. In the past we had titans, sphinx, wurmcoil. That's why esper resorts to milling now because there isn't a single creature that dominates the board like those in the past. Obzedat is close, but it still has weaknesses. He and other finishers still need support, and Exquisite and Guildmage can provide that outside of their duties as combo finisher.
For a WB deck, the combo is the top three choices for defense, offense, and winning (even from behind). Obzedat and Sorin are the other two. But there's no reason to max those out. You still need other support cards or finishers. Lo and behold, all 4 cards play very well with each other. Now you have 3 different ways to beat the opponent and the opponent needs 3 different ways to stop you.
That's the gameplan you all miss. Alone the combo is great, but in the right WB shell, it also strengthens the other cards.
My roommate built this combo. The deck is surprisingly solid. Of course, there needs to be some improvement, but...
As many people have said, you don't need an entire set of Exquisite Blood. He's determined 3 is the good number. The deck 5-1'd (getting 2nd) at a recent FNM, beating out Jund Midrange, Humanimator, and other decks. Is it GP/PT winning material? Probably not. Is it ridiculously fun, and FNM material? Absolutely!
The deck is weak to Enchantment removal, but if that's an issue, just build your board to beat it. Using guys like Nighthawk and spells like Stab Wound give you several ways to "trigger" the combo, such as Extort, Lifelink, etc.
People underestimate how much damage Exquisite Blood can do. Your opponent's shock lands now gain you life. Their Orzhov Charm is now a nightmare. Your Ghost Council does even more work. Geralf's Messenger becomes Ghost Dad lite. It does serious work.
2 FNMs with the deck. 4-0 at first one, 3-1 at the second.
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"I hope to have such a death... lying in triumph atop the broken bodies of those who slew me..."
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
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Why splash green when WB has everything to control the board and the hand? What can Thragtusk do against infinite life and creatures or against mill?
How many copies of Obzedat would you include? You need other win conditions, and this combo is one of the stronger ones against all other archetypes. You extend your life total against aggro, you beat infinite life combos, you can combo out before control and midrange can control the game.
That's another thing about the format right now is the lack of top-end finishers for control. In the past we had titans, sphinx, wurmcoil. That's why esper resorts to milling now because there isn't a single creature that dominates the board like those in the past. Obzedat is close, but it still has weaknesses. He and other finishers still need support, and Exquisite and Guildmage can provide that outside of their duties as combo finisher.
For a WB deck, the combo is the top three choices for defense, offense, and winning (even from behind). Obzedat and Sorin are the other two. But there's no reason to max those out. You still need other support cards or finishers. Lo and behold, all 4 cards play very well with each other. Now you have 3 different ways to beat the opponent and the opponent needs 3 different ways to stop you.
That's the gameplan you all miss. Alone the combo is great, but in the right WB shell, it also strengthens the other cards.
........................
As many people have said, you don't need an entire set of Exquisite Blood. He's determined 3 is the good number. The deck 5-1'd (getting 2nd) at a recent FNM, beating out Jund Midrange, Humanimator, and other decks. Is it GP/PT winning material? Probably not. Is it ridiculously fun, and FNM material? Absolutely!
The deck is weak to Enchantment removal, but if that's an issue, just build your board to beat it. Using guys like Nighthawk and spells like Stab Wound give you several ways to "trigger" the combo, such as Extort, Lifelink, etc.
I'll post a list when I get it off of him.
2 FNMs with the deck. 4-0 at first one, 3-1 at the second.
"I hope to have such a death... lying in triumph atop the broken bodies of those who slew me..."