In the right deck, this guy is great. He is a 4/4 for four mana, which is fine. He is nearly unkillable, which is great too, and keeps giving you life and causing life loss for your opponent. He is also a great general for EDH.
BenKHS
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(9 votes)
the best guild leader for sure. (from Ravnica)
Salostot
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
can this card be removed with another card such as unmake, and still be returned at end of turn?
MasterOfEtherium
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(7 votes)
What A Pimp
ninetailedfox
★☆☆☆☆ (1.9/5.0)(5 votes)
It cannot be removed with unmake because its a triggered ability and doesn't use the stack
jollypup404
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(8 votes)
there is an error on the card text on the side.
Sacrifice a creature: (Remove) Exile Ghost Council of Orzhova (from the game). Return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
im not sure how to report an error so that's why im posting this as a comment. um...fix it?
holgir
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(4 votes)
A loser to the new M2010 rules. But still OK.
Guest1334148255
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(4 votes)
Can I sacrifice Ghost Council of Orzhova? If yes, it gets a lot better.
BambooNickel
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
yes, you can sac him to himself. no, that won't do anything besides put him in your graveyard. no, there is no error in the oracle. check the 2010 rules changes.
Dischade
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
First off, this is an activated ability not a triggered one. And both activated AND triggered abilities do use the stack. You CAN unmake this card and it will be removed from the game normally, you could respond to the player's paying the colorless and sac-ing a critter with unmake, and either unmake the creature or force the player to try to use the ability again.
f_fivefiftyseven
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Is it possible, as long as you have enough creatures and mana, to play this, exile it, play another, exile it, and then time the triggers so that you can have one return, and then exile it again before the other returns?
Tsuichoi
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
truely unique card - Great effect, belongs in every black white deck, the only down side is using its effects removes any equipment or enchantments attached (oviously) yet for a good 4/4 creature, i tend to enjoy "beafing them up" Oh well...
4.5/5 :D
Cyberium
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
B/W is the color of Orshov, the color of Haunt. i.e., you can sacrifice a creature you control with something haunting it to maximize the control instead of waiting for opponent to kill it.
M10 rules kinda damaged the power of this card but it's still really powerful.
Zulp
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Lost out to the rules changes, but still a resilient creature that will make your opponent pay if he/she keeps trying to get rid of it.
dragonking987
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
if you sacrifice it for its own effect will the effect still resolve.
Orzhova
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My favorite card in MTG. The Orzhov have such rich flavor, and back it up with such great effects and artwork.
Mongoose22
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ghost Council was a powerhouse back in the days of Guildpact and Ghost Dad decks. It lost a lot of its mojo once M10 rolled around; with combat damage no longer put on the stack, Ghost Council can't kill things in combat and run away anymore. Still, it's 4/4 for 4cc, and the ability still allows it to dodge removal if you've got peons around to sack in its place.
cats_and_me
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
What can I say about this great card that other people haven't posted already? I bought some copies for a "Kamigawa" deck, it both triggers and survives Celestial Kirin's ability.. You create spirit tokens with Baku Altar, which you then can sacrifice to this card's ability if you want to! :) After M2010 was released, removing the creature with damage on the stack didn't work anymore, but after M2011 was released, we got to play it with Reassembling Skeleton: And that way, zoah, you have your "garbage" creature that you can sacrifice to this card's ability..
Hayw00d0909
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Wait a minute, I must be reading this wrong. If this guy is removed from the game by say, Path to Exile, could I then just sacrifice a creature later in the game to return him to play at any time? If so, main deck, make room.
Stray_Dog
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"YOU have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr Beale, and YOU... WILL... ATONE!"
Cool card for EDH general. He can't be killed if you just flood the board with tokens.
sarroth
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@Dragonking: You can sacrifice it to its own ability, but the ability won't resolve. The ability only gets put on the stack after payments have made. By that time Ghost Council is in your graveyard, so when the ability triggers it sees that Ghost Council is not a valid target for exiling anymore because it is not on the battlefield and fizzles. The only reason that I can think of for you to want to sacrifice it to itself would be to prevent Control Magic effects. With WB you probably would have the cards to get it back from the graveyard, so that at least prevents your opponent from taking it. Or if you are playing Commander/EDH with this as your commander and you trigger the ability in response to Control Magic, the card can just go to the command zone anyway. Either way, the reasons for doing that are quite limited.
eskan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love the small life draining effect.
Shadoflaam
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wrathful ones, nine eyes gaze, Holding skulls filled and laced, With human bloooooooooood...
sonorhC
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Hayw00d0909: If someone Paths this and you have a creature available, you can respond by using its ability right then, in which case it'll come back at the end of the turn. But if you let the Path resolve, then this is in the exile zone, and abilities of permanents only work when they're on the battlefield unless otherwise specified, so you wouldn't be able to use its ability later.
Zoah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
These guys are probably my favorite Guild Leader, but they are a tad difficult to use. When making the deck for him, you have to keep in mind that he needs creatures to throw away so give him a token generator somewhere. I like the Pawn of Ulamog.
PinkleDadandy
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
electro potence pay 3 and one red to deal 5 damage per turn and gain 1 then once you get enough mana do warstorm surge
Admiral_Ferret
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Even before "M10 Rule Change"... why would you think that sacrificing himself would remove him from the game and bring him back? I really don't get it, just read the card. "Pay 1 mana. Sacrifice a creature. Remove from the game (etc.)."
What happens before you "Remove from the game"? You sacrifice a creature. What happens when you "Sacrifice creature"? It goes to the graveyard.
I'm glad I never ran into this card before if people really tried Sending the council to the graveyard in an attempt to remove itself from the game. ._.
or am I totally wrong, in which case a simple, relatively kind explination would be appreciated!
KnexWiz
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Even before "M10 Rule Change"... why would you think that sacrificing himself would remove him from the game and bring him back? I really don't get it, just read the card. "Pay 1 mana. Sacrifice a creature. Remove from the game (etc.)."
What happens before you "Remove from the game"? You sacrifice a creature. What happens when you "Sacrifice creature"? It goes to the graveyard.
I'm glad I never ran into this card before if people really tried Sending the council to the graveyard in an attempt to remove itself from the game. ._.
or am I totally wrong, in which case a simple, relatively kind explination would be appreciated!
Posted By: Admiral_Ferret
One of the m10 rule changes was that pre-m10 damage went on the stack, now it doesnt. in the past while damage was on the stack you could use his ability before he is dealt the damage but it would still damage the opposing creature. now this is not the case. the rule change had nothing to do with people trying to sacrifice this to it's self, that has never worked and those people dont understand how sacrificing works.
Hope this helps :)
MarlinFlake
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Another reason you might want to sacrifice this to itself, besides avoiding Control Magic, would be if you had a Blood Artist or something similar out. This tactic is currently used sometimes with Falkenrath Aristocrat, whose ability also doesn't resolve when she is sacrificed to herself, but whose death does trigger the Blood Artist.
Wulfsten
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great card, love the flavour as well. I think it should have flying though, both flavourwise and to give it that extra oomph while it's on the board. Deathtouch would work well, too.
Salient
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Running this without Teysa is a crime. Reassembling Skeleton Spirit Fest!
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Does anyone else get reminded of the Rare Hunters from Yu-Gi-Oh! (at the beginning of the theme song) when they look at this artwork? :)
Comments (35)
Sacrifice a creature: (Remove) Exile Ghost Council of Orzhova (from the game). Return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
im not sure how to report an error so that's why im posting this as a comment. um...fix it?
no, there is no error in the oracle. check the 2010 rules changes.
4.5/5 :D
M10 rules kinda damaged the power of this card but it's still really powerful.
Holding skulls filled and laced,
With human bloooooooooood...
pay 3 and one red to deal 5 damage per turn and gain 1
then once you get enough mana do warstorm surge
What happens before you "Remove from the game"? You sacrifice a creature. What happens when you "Sacrifice creature"? It goes to the graveyard.
I'm glad I never ran into this card before if people really tried Sending the council to the graveyard in an attempt to remove itself from the game.
._.
or am I totally wrong, in which case a simple, relatively kind explination would be appreciated!
What happens before you "Remove from the game"? You sacrifice a creature. What happens when you "Sacrifice creature"? It goes to the graveyard.
I'm glad I never ran into this card before if people really tried Sending the council to the graveyard in an attempt to remove itself from the game.
._.
or am I totally wrong, in which case a simple, relatively kind explination would be appreciated!
Posted By: Admiral_Ferret
One of the m10 rule changes was that pre-m10 damage went on the stack, now it doesnt. in the past while damage was on the stack you could use his ability before he is dealt the damage but it would still damage the opposing creature. now this is not the case. the rule change had nothing to do with people trying to sacrifice this to it's self, that has never worked and those people dont understand how sacrificing works.
Hope this helps :)