Throne of the God-Pharaoh: Sudden Death on a Budget

This rare artifact brings swift defeat to opponents with each end step, scaling its impact with your tapped creature count. With a mana cost of just 2, it's an affordable way to deal damage and gain an advantage.

Key Benefits:

• Massive life loss: Each opponent loses up to the number of tapped creatures you control at the beginning of your end step. • Low CMC: Only 2 mana makes it easy to include in Commander decks without breaking the bank. • Scalability: The more tapped creatures on the battlefield, the more life opponents will lose.

In Commander, this card is a great addition to aggro and aggressive strategies. It pairs well with creatures like Golgari Findbroker and Vraska's Contempt. When combined with a robust creature count, Throne of the God-Pharaoh becomes an attractive choice for decks seeking to finish games quickly.

While it's primarily suited for Commander, its simplicity and effectiveness make it a viable option for casual games or even Vintage formats.

Throne of the God-Pharaoh is a legendary artifact that wields significant control over the game state. Its primary ability triggers at the beginning of your end step, causing each opponent to lose life equal to the number of tapped creatures you control.

Triggering Ability

The key aspect of this card lies in its timing: it triggers at the beginning of your end step, not your main phase. This distinction is crucial because it means that any changes to creature tapping status will occur before the ability resolves. For example:

• If you have two tapped creatures and one untapped creature, your opponent will lose life equal to 2 (the number of tapped creatures).
• If an opponent's creature dies during their own end step, but is still tapped, it remains part of the count for Throne's ability.
• Conversely, if a creature that was tapped untaps before Throne's ability triggers, its tap status won't affect the life loss calculation.

Interactions with Creature-Based Cards

Throne's interaction with creature-based cards can be complex. Consider the following:

• Liliana of the Chronomektosis: This card allows you to sacrifice a creature at the beginning of your end step. If you sacrifice a tapped creature, Throne will take into account its new tap status for life loss calculations.
• Ajani's Pridemate: This card returns creatures that died during combat to their owner's hand. If a creature tapped for combat dies and is returned by Ajani's Pridemate, it will still contribute to the count for Throne's ability.

Combining with Other Cards

Throne can be combined with other cards to create powerful synergies:

• Grasp of Fate: This card allows you to tap an opponent's creature. If used in conjunction with Throne, Grasp of Fate can increase life loss significantly.
• Kodama's Reach: This card gives +1/+1 counters to creatures tapped for combat. These counters don't affect Throne's ability, but they may contribute to increased damage output or other effects.

In Commander games, Throne of the God-Pharaoh offers significant life gain potential when combined with creature-heavy decks and well-timed sacrifice effects. Players can explore various combinations to optimize its impact on the game state.

Throne of the God-Pharaoh is a versatile artifact that can be strategically integrated into various Commander decks. Its primary effect is triggered at the beginning of your end step, causing each opponent to lose life equal to the number of tapped creatures you control.

Common Archetypes

This card fits well within:

• Token generation and synergies, particularly with Sylvan Caryatid, Fertile Muddiness, and Benthic Brawler.
• Creature-heavy decks that can exploit its ability to scale life loss based on the number of tapped creatures.
• Artifact-based strategies, as it provides an additional outlet for artifact mana to be spent.

Role on the Battlefield

Throne of the God-Pharaoh is typically used as a defensive piece, allowing the player to gradually drain their opponents' life totals. Its impact can be amplified by:

• Playing Sylvan Caryatid or other token-generating creatures early in the game.
• Using Fertile Muddiness and Benthic Brawler to generate additional tokens and increase the life loss.
• Employing artifact-based removal spells, such as Dawn Charm, to prevent opponents from disrupting its ability.

Decks or Strategies that Benefit Most

This card is particularly well-suited for decks with a high creature count, token generation engines, and artifact synergy. Some specific strategies that benefit from Throne of the God-Pharaoh include:

• Boros Legion Loyalist-style red-white aggro.
• Atraxa, Praetors' Voice-based tribal and artifact-heavy combinations.
• Estrid, the Masked-inspired token generation engines.

In these decks, Throne of the God-Pharaoh serves as a key component for generating life loss and applying pressure on opponents. Its effectiveness can be further enhanced by combining it with other cards that generate tokens, provide artifact synergy, or offer defensive capabilities.

Throne of the God-Pharaoh is a potent addition to any Commander deck that can leverage its unique ability. At the beginning of your end step, each opponent loses life equal to the number of tapped creatures you control, making it a valuable piece for players running high-tapper creature suites.

• Synergy with High-Tap Creatures: Cards like Avenger of Zendikar and Craterhoof Behemoth will significantly amplify the effects of Throne. For example, controlling 5-6 tapped creatures can result in an opponent losing up to 10-12 life per turn.
• Combo Potential: When paired with cards that produce multiple tapped creatures on a single turn, such as Serra Avenger or Liliana of the Veil, Throne's ability becomes nearly unblockable. This allows you to accelerate into powerful spells while forcing opponents to play defensively.

Throne's effects also interact interestingly with certain card types:

• Artifact Creatures: Cards like Atraxa, Praetors' Voice and Meren of Clan Nel Toth can provide an additional boost to Throne's ability, further increasing the life loss per opponent.
• Enchantments: Enchantments like Vivid Marsh or Savannah Land Bridge, which tap for mana, can indirectly contribute to the life total lost by opponents.

When combining Throne with other cards that benefit from a tapped creature count, it's essential to consider the overall impact on your strategy.

Mistakes to Avoid with Throne of the God-Pharaoh

Players often misinterpret the timing of Throne of the God-Pharaoh's ability. At the beginning of your end step, it triggers before any other end-of-turn effects occur. This means that if you have a creature that dies at the end of your turn, its dying trigger will happen before Throne of the God-Pharaoh's ability resolves.

Common Timing Issues:

• Triggering Serra Ascendant or similar creatures with abilities that scale based on life lost
• Using Eldrazi Disintegrator to sacrifice a creature and then immediately lose life equal to the number of tapped creatures

Poor Synergies:

While Throne of the God-Pharaoh can be an excellent addition to a creature-heavy deck, players often forget that it requires tapping creatures to trigger its ability. This makes it less effective in decks with low creature counts or those relying heavily on non-tapped creatures.

Misunderstood Rules:

• Players may think Throne of the God-Pharaoh can be used as a win condition, but its life-gaining aspect is limited and indirect.
• It's easy to overlook that Throne of the God-Pharaoh only triggers at the beginning of your end step, so it won't affect you or your creatures directly.

When combining Throne of the God-Pharaoh with other cards, ensure that you're taking advantage of its unique ability. For example:

• Pairing it with Eater of Days, which can provide a steady stream of tapped creatures
• Using Sword of Light and Shadow to create token creatures that tap for Throne of the God-Pharaoh's ability

By being mindful of these common mistakes, players can maximize the potential of Throne of the God-Pharaoh in their Commander decks.

Throne of the God-Pharaoh is a versatile artifact that excels in Commander decks focused on creature tokens. Its ability to force opponents to lose life equal to the number of tapped creatures under your control makes it particularly effective when combined with cards like Shivan Dragon or Golgari Findbroker. These artifacts not only generate token creatures but also allow you to tap them for additional value.

In a deck centered around creature generation, Throne of the God-Pharaoh can provide an efficient way to ramp up pressure on opponents. Its low mana cost of {2} means it can be played early and start generating damage quickly. However, its impact is maximized when paired with cards that generate multiple creatures, such as Thraben Inspector or Goblin Warchief. These combinations can easily lead to significant life loss for opponents at the beginning of your end step.

When considering including Throne of the God-Pharaoh in a Commander deck, players should focus on decks centered around aggressive token generation and low-curve strategies. Its effectiveness is reduced in more midrange or control-oriented decks where opponents may have ways to disrupt its ability or reduce the number of tapped creatures under their control.

In terms of pricing, Throne of the God-Pharaoh can be a bit expensive for casual players due to its rare rarity and competitive prices across markets (ranging from $4.89 in EUR to $10.43 in USD). However, for players committed to Commander gameplay, it may be worth the investment, especially if it complements their existing deck strategy well.

In summary, Throne of the God-Pharaoh is a strong addition to Commander decks focused on aggressive token generation and low-curve strategies. Its ability to force opponents to lose life equal to the number of tapped creatures under your control makes it a valuable card in these metas, particularly when paired with other cards that generate multiple tokens.

Price Table

Key Cards for Combination

• Shivan Dragon
• Golgari Findbroker
• Thraben Inspector
• Goblin Warchief