Unusual Tribes 7: Orcs

Intro

Unlike some other tribes discussed in this series, Orcs do not have a history rooted in mythology. They were invented by Tolkein in the 20^th century to serve as Sauron’s Minion’s in The Lord of the Rings. Since then they have been employed in a variety of Fantasy media. Typically they serve as villains, relishing violence and destruction. Though there are some depictions of Orcs which renounce this stereotypical portrayal, the Orcs of Magic do not. They are constantly portrayed as delighting in violence. They have also been associated with several other, mostly negative, traits throughout their history, such as cowardice and stupidity. This week’s article will analyse how these ideas about Orcs have been presented on Magic the Gathering cards, and whether it’s possible to build a viable tribal deck featuring them.

Currently Magic The Gathering is home to 56 different Orcs. Initially Orcs were printed exclusively in red but, starting with Khans of Tarkir, Orcs began appearing frequently in black as well. A very small number of Orcs associated with the Mardu Horde of Tarkir have white as a part of their colour identity, most notably the Mardu Khan Zurgo Helmsmasher. White is not a colour majorly associated with Orcs.  Outside of Zurgo, Mardu Roughrider is the only other Orc with white mana in their casting cost. Although a handful of Orcs, such as Mardu Warshrieker and Unyielding Krumar, have abilities which either generate or require white mana, there are no mono-white Orcs.  There is a single Orc with green in their casting cost, Sek’Kuar Deathkeeper, a tricolour red/black/green Orc  printed in Coldsnap in 2006. Shaman of the Great Hunt is hard to categorise, being the only Orc printed with a Temur Watermark and having an activated ability which requires green/blue hybrid mana.

In summary, there are 31 mono-red Orcs, 20 mono-black Orcs, 2 Black/Red Orcs (both of whom are Ixalani pirates), 2 White/Red/Black Orcs and a single Red/Green/Black Orc. Two of these Orcs, Orcish Paratroopers and Half-Orc, Half-, are silver bordered.

Orcs and Cowardice

Orcs have been around since the beginning. Ironclaw Orcs and Orcish Artillery were both printed in Alpha. Together these cards convey everything that needs to be known about Orcish identity in the early days of Magic. Ironclaw Orcs is a 2/2 creature which is unable to block any creature with a power greater than 2. This demonstrates the Orcs’ cowardice and their unwillingness to take on opponents of equal or greater strength. Orcish Artillery, which can be tapped to deal 2 damage to target creature or player and 3 damage to you, conveys that despite this cowardice they are still destructive creatures, albeit not very intelligent. The Tenth Edition reprint of Orcish Artillery also has some fantastic flavour text which conveys the cards self-destructive nature perfectly, ‘So they want to kill my men? Well two can play at that game'.

Cowardice as an Orcish trait, first demonstrated by Ironclaw Orcs, was reused several times. Orcish Conscripts, first printed in Ice Age, is unable to attack or block unless at least two other creatures attack or block along with it.  A clear demonstration of the Conscripts‘ unwillingness to fight alone. Both Brassclaw Orcs, from Fallen Empires, and Ironclaw Buzzardiers, from Time Spiral, exist as a reference to Ironclaw Orcs, possessing the exact same ability. The enchantment Ironclaw Curse  from Homelands implies that the cowardice of the Ironclaw Orcs may originate from a curse. The curse grants the enchanted creature a similar, albeit not identical, ability to Ironclaw Orcs, reducing their toughness by one and preventing them from blocking creatures with greater toughness.

Ironclaw Orcs would receive a significantly upgraded iteration years later in the form of Zurgo Bellstriker. Zurgo retains the 2/2 stat line and the same ‘cannot block creatures with power 2 or greater’ ability, but costs 1 mana less and has Dash, making it a much more usable card. Though it would be an oversimplification to say that Zurgo’s possession of this ability reflects ‘cowardice’, it instead demonstrates how the once mighty Mardu Khan has been reduced to a fearful vassal of Tarkir’s new dragon overlords. This is demonstrated by the artwork on the Dragons of Tarkir iteration of Duress which depicts Zurgo kneeling fearfully before Kolaghan, the new master of the Mardu. Since Zurgo Bellstriker‘s printing in 2015 no new Orcs have been printed bearing  Ironclaw Orcs’ ability, nor have they been presented as cowardly through any other means. This may represent a step away from associating Orcs with cowardice, or Wizards may simply be biding their time to resume this association in a later set.

Orcs on Tarkir and Ixalan

Orcs are a regular presence on the plane of Tarkir. There are Orcs aligned with several of the plane’s clans, in both the original and the altered timeline.  As mentioned above, most of the Orcs of the plane are aligned with the Mardu Horde, though there are also Orcs serving the Abzan Houses and Temur Frontier. In Dragons of Tarkir all of the Orcs printed serve the Dragonlord Kolaghan, as evidenced by the fact that their cards all bear Kolaghan’s watermark. This consolidation of Orcish loyalty may be because Kolaghan as a red/black card has the same colour identity that most of Tarkir’s Orcs, and all subsequently printed Orcs, have.

The Orcs of Ixalan, at least all of those printed on cards, are aligned with the Brazen Coalition, the pirate faction of the plane.  Fathom Fleet Boarder offers a snapshot of life for an Orc aboard Ixalan’s pirate fleets. The Boarder  deals two damage to its controller as it enters play, unless they control another pirate. This is a flavourful card as it conveys both the violent nature of Orcs and the concept of a pirate committing mutiny against their captain, demonstrated by the damage Fathom Fleet Boarder deals to its controller. All of this is furthered by the card’s flavour text which states,‘Without frequent raids, Orcs sometimes get bored and plunder their own ships.’ The flavour text of Dire Fleet Captain offers similar sentiment. It states, ‘Orcs are happiest under captains who steer toward battle. Orcs of the Dire Fleet are downright jovial’.

Interestingly, as Orcs have been featured in both the Mardu Horde and the Brazen Coalition, there are several Orcs with the Raid mechanic. This was the signature mechanic of both of these groups. 4 Orcs possess Raid, meaning that more than 10% of the 30 cards printed with Raid are Orcs, and 7% of all Orcs have Raid. This demonstrates Orcs’ love of combat, as Raid is an ability which activates only when attacks have been initiated on a turn.

Goblins and Orcs

At times, especially during the game’s earlier days, Goblins and Orcs had identities which were practically synonymous with one another. Orcish Artillery and Goblin Artillery are in fact identical cards, save for their creature type.

There is a recurring joke on Goblin cards that they are given a profession, only for their effect to do the opposite of what that profession implies. For example, the card Goblin Masons destroys walls, Goblin Spy spies on you by revealing the top card of your library, and Goblin Diplomats causes everyone to attack one another. This joke was initially shared between Orcs and Goblins. Orcish Librarian destroys your library, Orcish Settlers destroys lands and Orcish Mechanics destroys artifacts. The fact that both Orcs and Goblins shared this joke demonstrates their similar identity. Furthermore, in the art of the three cards listed above it is unclear whether an Orc or a Goblin is depicted.[1] You could cross off ‘Orcish’ and write ‘Goblin’ into any one of their names and it would be hard to tell the difference. More recent Orc artwork delineates the two sharply. Goblins retain this small green appearance, whilst Orcs are depicted as taller, more muscular and sometimes have pale or yellow, rather than green, skin. It would be hard to mistake Orcish Vandal or Dire Fleet Ravager for a Goblin.

Orc Support

Fittingly, perhaps, for a tribe whose leaders order their artillery to fire at their own soldiers, the only Orc lord ever printed was terrible.

Orc General is a weak lord. He provides +1/+1 to all Orcs, but only until the end of turn, and only on the condition that you tap him and sacrifice an Orc or a Goblin.  Although this is a perfect demonstration of the card’s flavour text, ‘Your army must fear you more than the enemy. Only then will you triumph’, it makes the card exceedingly weak when compared to other lords.

Orcish Captain is another card which supports Orc tribal strategies, though it is a comically bad card. Orcish Captain’s effect requires its controller to flip a coin and target an Orc. The target is granted +2/+0 in the event the flip is called successfully and -0/-2 in the event that it is guessed incorrectly. As 30 of the 54 black bordered Orcs printed have 2 toughness or less, a failed flip often results in the immediate death of the targeted creature. You would be taking a big gamble targeting your Zurgo Helmsmasher with this effect, and the potential upside of a 2 power boost is definitely not worth the risk of killing your own creature. In Orcish Captain’s defence, Krark’s Thumb can reduce the randomness of its effect. Furthermore, the Captain can be used without as much risk when buffing the 24 Orcs with 3 toughness or greater, especially if their attacks have already made it through unblocked. Despite this, it is typically not worth running Orcish Captain in any capacity.

Arbitrary Grades

Flavour: B

Magic the Gathering depicts Orcs as simultaneously violently destructive and spinelessly cowardly. This portrayal could do with some more nuance. A depiction of an Orcish character with some genuinely positive traits would be nice. Though, as it stands, this 2-dimensional depiction of Orcs as violent thugs is executed effectively for what it is. Their destructive ways are emphasised in cards such as Orcish Artillery which fires towards the enemy and towards themselves, and Orc General who demonstrates that Orcish armies are commanded through intimidation and fear. Thrasher Brute also has flavour text demonstrating their love for violence which states, ‘Some competitors fight for glory or money. Some just like hitting people’. The cowardice of Orcs, as mentioned above, is demonstrated by giving cards the same effect as Ironclaw Orcs, or something similar, which prevents them from battling equal or stronger opponents. Yet such portrayals have not been used since 2015.

The two different iterations of Zurgo, existing on parallel versions of Tarkir, demonstrate the dual nature of Orcs. Sometimes, like Zurgo Helmsmasher, they are imposing menaces. At other times, like Zurgo Bellstriker, they are presented as smaller, meeker, creatures.

Viability: D

Regrettably, although there are several individually strong Orcs, they do not possess enough synergies as a tribe to truly be worth running together.  Though this can be circumvented to a degree by making use of generic tribal support cards such as Metallic Mimic and Door of Destinies.

Orcs are, however, reasonably useful at supporting other tribal archetypes. Dire Fleet Neckbreaker and Dire Fleet Captain are exceedingly useful cards in Pirate decks, and can be used alongside a selection of other useful Orcish pirates such as Stormfleet Arsonist. +1/+1 counter based decks can benefit from the addition of Mer-Ek Nightblade. This card has the ability both to generate additional counters, through Outlast, and to grant all creatures with counters Deathtouch, though it is perhaps a bit overcosted. Warrior tribal decks can also make use of Thrasher Brute who drains the opponent each time its controller plays another Warrior.

In summary, Orcs have a lot to offer other tribes and archetypes but do not really make a viable archetype in and of themselves.  If in the future they are given a genuinely useful lord, or perhaps some extra support cards or greater mechanical synergy, this situation may change.

Best and Worst Cards:

The praises of Zurgo Bellstriker have already been sung frequently throughout this article. To summarise, 1 mana for a 2/2 is fantastic, especially in aggro decks where  Zurgo’s inability to block is less of  a problem, as you’ll always  be on the offensive. The added versatility of being able to Dash into situations where more immediate damage is needed is also a nice bonus.

Although Orcish Captain was condemned above as a terrible card, which it is, it is arguably not the worst Orc. Its ability is optional, which ultimately renders it a 1/1 for 1 red mana. That is awful, but not the bottom of the barrel. The true worst card of the tribe is Orcish Librarian. At 2 mana for a 1/1 stat line, Orcish Librarian gives you the same unimpressive stats for a higher cost.

Orcish Captain provides a gamble whenever its effect is used, offering a buff in exchange for the risk of a, potentially lethal, drop in toughness. Orcish Librarian’s ability is also a gamble, but a less useful one.  It allows you to look through the top 8 cards of your library before exiling 4 of them at random.  The 4 cards which weren’t exiled are then placed back on top of your library, in an order of your choosing. This risks chewing through your library for very little potential gain, and is best left unused outside of self-mill decks.

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[1] This is not to say that the art on these cards is bad. Orcish Settlers in fact has some of my favourite art in the game, as it’s a neat reference to Grant Wood’s 1930 painting American Gothic.