Orzhov Syndicate

The Orzhov are ruled by the ironfisted Obzedat, a council consisting of the oldest and most powerful undead oligarchs. A vast hierarchy stretches out beneath them, so most of your interactions with the leadership of the guild are with people (or spirits) who occupy the rank just above yours. This hierarchy has corruption in it at every level, and at any time your superiors might be passing instructions down from on high or just using you to pursue their own agendas of greed and ambition.
Orzhov churches and basilicas are scattered across the city, each one led by a ministrant with a staff of knights and syndics. These sites are centers of commerce clothed in the trappings of religion, where lowly borrowers come to seek atonement for their sins - atonement that is given in the form of debt and obligation.
Orzhov attorneys and advokists maintain offices near New Prahv and other Azorius courts. Despite their proximity to law enforcement, these offices are centers of operation for Orzhov protection rackets and other criminal activities.

The Orzhov Syndicate is dedicated to the quest for power. It sees the value in an organized, structured, law-abiding community, because it is adept at exploiting laws and structures for its own gain. It sees itself. in a perfect world, as the arbiter and enforcer of a social order that keeps everyone in their place and the Orzhov in the highest place.
Increasing tensions in Ravnica have led to an atmosphere of instability, and to counter this, the Orzhov Syndicate promises the trappings of a stable, ordered life amid the chaos-for a price. The Orzhov believe that adherence to hierarchy is the key to success, and they find great comfort in the rigid structure of their guild.
To boost their declining profits in a vacillating economy, the Orzhov have begun offering protection services, promising to shield their "customers" from both physical ha rm and fiscal disaster. These operations amount to racketeering, bringing with them the underlying threat that those who refuse to pay for protection become targets of the Orzhov's thugs and enforcers.
The Azorius are the greatest threat to Orzhov's operations. In times past, the Orzhov danced along the edges of the law and presented an appearance of legality, but the combination of an ever-expanding legal code and the guild's move into racketeering and other explicitly illegal activities has made it vulnerable to Azorius enforcement. So far, the Azorius have demonstrated more interest in cracking down on the chaotic activity of the Gruul and the Rakdos, but Azorius arresters also routinely shut down Orzhov protection rackets and take enforcers into custody. To make matters worse, the Azorius Senate's increasing use of precognitive magic is proving difficult for the Orzhov to work around.
So far, the syndicate's most effective tactic has been to increase the layers of separation between the day-to-day criminal operations of the guild and the leadership, ensuring that no matter how many street-level thugs and syndics are apprehended to fill the Azorius prisons, the guild's leadership remains intact. Contact between the oligarchs and lower-ranking members of the guild is increasingly rare in this situation, and even the pontiffs find it ever more difficult to arrange a hearing with their superiors.

The Orzhov's original function was both religious and financial, with the two functions closely related. As Ravnica's dominant church, the Orzhov continues to preach an oppressive message that equates sin with debt and promises forgiveness to those who make tithes and donations. As Ravnica's principal bank, it stores and secures the riches of the city, collecting interest at high rates to expand its own wealth. Its members truly believe that their work is necessary to the proper functioning of Ravnica. Although most other Ravnicans see the Orzhov for the corrupt organization it is, many people are still dazzled by the syndicate's promises of wealth. prestige, and longevity.
The Ghost Council, also called the Obzedat, that leads the Orzhov founded the guild and signed the Guildpact, but it isn't clear which members of the original Obzedat might have faded from existence since then and which current members have joined since.

In the eyes of the Orzhov Syndicate, the other guilds primarily represent either opportunities for exploitation or dangerous threats to its way of life.
A syndicate built on a foundation of exploitation and extortion can't rely on alliances. The Orzhov appreciate certain aspects of other guilds' work and missions, but they treat other guilds as resources to be plundered. In general, the Orzhov view guilds that promote order and stability (Azorius, Boros, and Selesnya) more kindly than guilds that sow chaos and destruction (such as Golgari and Rakdos).
Sometimes adherence to order can get in the way of an efficient crime operation, though. and that's when the Orzhov part ways with the other law-and-order guilds-especially the Azorius. Any guild that obstructs the Orzhov from amassing more wealth is an enemy, whether the disruption comes from horning in on Orzhov operations or enforcing laws against racketeering.
The best way to secure individual allies from other guilds is to make them owe you something. Borrowers seldom make friendly or especially loyal allies, but they can be useful pawns. You might form a genuine alliance with members of other guilds if you share a common enemy: the overreaching Azorius or Boros, the spies of t he Dimir or assassins of the Golgari, or the rampages and excesses of the Gruul and Rakdos. Alternatively, you might team up with members of a chaotic guild to bring down an opponent that is causing too much trouble for Orzhov operations.