commander · Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
Eternal Bargain (C13).
An Esper life gain and control deck from Commander 2013, led by Oloro, Ageless Ascetic — gain two life each upkeep from the command zone without ever casting him, then leverage that growing life total for card draw and damage payoffs.
The Commander
Eternal Bargain is Commander 2013's Esper life gain deck and Oloro has one of the most powerful passive abilities in the format. He gains you two life each upkeep even from the command zone — you never need to cast him. When you do gain life with him in play, you can pay a mana to draw a card and each opponent loses one life. This means consistent free life gain from the command zone each turn cycle, with optional card draw and damage payoffs whenever you want them.
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic creates a passive advantage engine that compounds over games. Two life per upkeep is four to five additional life per turn cycle (with his in-play triggered ability), which converts to cards drawn and life drained from opponents. The deck runs Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood as its primary win condition — those two enchantments form an infinite loop where any life gain causes the opponent to lose life, which gains you more life, which causes more life loss.
Key Cards
Sanguine Bond
Whenever you gain life, each opponent loses that much life. Oloro's passive two life per upkeep causes each opponent to lose two life with Sanguine Bond in play. Every life gain in the deck deals damage to all opponents simultaneously. Against a three-player pod, gaining two life deals six total damage per trigger. The deck is full of life gain triggers — lifelink, extort, Soul Warden effects — and each one becomes group damage with Sanguine Bond.
Exquisite Blood
Whenever an opponent loses life, you gain that much life. Together with Sanguine Bond, this creates an infinite loop: any life gain causes an opponent to lose life (Sanguine Bond), which causes you to gain that much life (Exquisite Blood), which causes the opponent to lose that much life again. The loop resolves until opponents are at zero. Resolve both enchantments and then trigger either one — the game ends immediately. This is the deck's primary win condition and both pieces are tutored easily in Esper.
Well of Lost Dreams
Whenever you gain life, you may pay mana equal to the amount gained and draw that many cards. With Oloro gaining two life each upkeep, Well of Lost Dreams lets you pay two mana to draw two cards every turn cycle. Combined with additional life gain from lifelinkers and Oloro's own in-play trigger, the deck draws two to four cards per turn for minimal mana investment. This is the primary card advantage engine that finds Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood.
Aetherflux Reservoir
Whenever you cast a spell, you gain one life for each spell cast this turn. Pay fifty life to have Aetherflux Reservoir deal fifty damage to any target. In a deck with Oloro's passive life generation and constant life gain from other sources, building fifty life above your starting total is achievable. Once you have it, Reservoir becomes a fifty-damage cannon pointed at any player. Against opponents who try to prevent the Sanguine Bond combo, Reservoir provides a backup win condition that's extremely difficult to interact with.
Nevinyrral's Disk
Enters tapped. Tap and pay one mana: destroy all artifacts, creatures, and enchantments. The nuclear option for control. Against creature-heavy boards that threaten to overwhelm the Oloro life gain engine, Nevinyrral's Disk resets everything simultaneously. In a deck that wins through enchantment combo rather than creature combat, a board wipe that also destroys artifacts is frequently asymmetric in your favor. Rebuild faster with superior card draw while opponents recast their commanders from the command zone.
How to Play
Let Oloro generate passive life advantage from the command zone for the first several turns — two free life per upkeep means you start the game ahead of everyone else in life total by turn five. Use Well of Lost Dreams and Oloro's in-play trigger to convert that life gain into card draws. Find and deploy Sanguine Bond first, then tutor for Exquisite Blood with Esper's extensive tutor package. The moment both enchantments are in play, trigger any life gain effect to start the infinite loop. If opponents interact with the combo, switch to Aetherflux Reservoir — build fifty life above starting total through Oloro's passive generation and fire the cannon for game.