Hot Karlov Jr. - Spirit Lords and Busted Swords

Commander / EDH* Lifegain Multiplayer WB (Orzhov)

yant0028

Creature (30)

• 1x Archangel of Thune
• 1x Auriok Champion
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Children of Korlis
• 1x Crested Sunmare
• 1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
• 1x Knight of the White Orchid
• 1x Krav, the Unredeemed
• 1x Leonin Elder
• 1x Mentor of the Meek
• 1x Mirran Crusader
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Ranger of Eos
• 1x Regna, the Redeemer
• 1x Reveillark
• 1x Sangromancer
• 1x Selfless Spirit
• 1x Serra Ascendant
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Soul Warden
• 1x Soul's Attendant
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Sunscorch Regent
• 1x Suture Priest
• 1x Tymna the Weaver *f-etch*
• 1x Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
• 1x Vizkopa Guildmage
• 1x Vona, Butcher of Magan
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Mass Calcify
• 1x Merciless Eviction
• 1x Open the Armory
• 1x Return to the Ranks
• 1x Steelshaper's Gift
• 1x Survival Cache
• 1x Vindicate

Land (37)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Blighted Steppe
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Concealed Courtyard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 11x Plains
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Shambling Vent
• 1x Strip Mine
• 6x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vault of the Archangel
• 1x Windswept Heath

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Aura of Silence
• 1x Authority of the Consuls
• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Bloodchief Ascension
• 1x Legion's Landing  ^Flip
• 1x Palace Siege
• 1x Retribution of the Ancients
• 1x Sanguine Bond

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor

Commander (1)

Artifact (16)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Chariot of Victory
• 1x Explorer's Scope
• 1x Hammer of Nazahn
• 1x Loxodon Warhammer
• 1x Mask of Memory
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Pristine Talisman
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sword of Light and Shadow
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Sword of War and Peace
• 1x Tablet of the Guilds
• 1x Tainted Sigil
• 1x Umezawa's Jitte
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Instant (8)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Enlightened TutorGC
• 1x Forsake the Worldly
• 1x Necrologia
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Sudden Spoiling
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

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Maybeboard

Creature (7)

• 1x Ashen Rider
• 1x Devoted Caretaker
• 1x Divinity of Pride
• 1x Nezumi Graverobber  ^Flip
• 1x Orzhov Pontiff
• 1x Puresteel Paladin
• 1x Resplendent Mentor

Instant (3)

• 1x Blessed Alliance
• 1x Hero's Downfall
• 1x Unmake

Enchantment (2)

• 1x Sanguine Bond
• 1x Sigarda's Aid

Sorcery (3)

• 1x Consuming Vapors
• 1x Return to the Ranks
• 1x Wrath of God

Artifact (1)

• 1x Basilisk Collar

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Still need to trim a few cards (suggestions welcome!), but the goal of the deck is fairly simple: Play Karlov, remember lifegain triggers, suit him up with sweet equipment, profit.

Karlov is a very cheap Commander to cast (pretty much always my turn 2 play), and given the right support cards, is capable of reaching stupidly large proportions quite quickly. You can start knocking people out of the game in no time if your opponents don't have an answer and you're not forced to continually remove counters to keep other bombs off the field.

Great turn 1 plays include Soul Warden, Soul's Attendant, Authority of the Consuls, Bloodchief Ascension, Serra Ascendant and Retribution of the Ancients. Vault Skirge is ok too.

Turn 2 is almost always when I cast Karlov.

Turn 3, ideally I have something to start drawing additional cards like Dark Confidant, Dark Tutelage, Phyrexian Arena, Mask of Memory, Sword of Fire and Ice... Or ramp via Knight of the White Orchid, Pristine Talisman, or Sword of the Animist. Failing that, cards like Blood Artist, Sun Droplet, Umezawa's Jitte, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, and Contemplation are some other sweet cards to add to the amount of life-gain triggers for growing Karlov.

Disclaimer about play style, budget, and metagame:

• I dislike infinite combos. They're not fun for me to play against, and they're not fun for me to win with.
• I dislike winning with "you win the game" cards a la Laboratory Maniac.
• I dislike very linear decks that aim to execute the exact same game plan every game. I like to win in different ways from game to game with the same deck.
• If I'm not playing super obvious cards like Grim Monolith, Mana Drain, etc., it's because I don't own them. Feel free to suggest non-budget cards if you want, but the truth is if I don't already own it, I am very unlikely to buy anything >$50.
• My metagame is more casual than competitive. People aren't rocking hyper-streamlined decks with all the fast mana and a curve of 1.5. I build decks to win, sure, but I still want people to have a bit of fun. This means I try to avoid decks that feature stax cards that lock people out of the game (though I will throw a Blood Moon in my mono red lists from time to time because of the inherent weakness of mono red), nor do I want to take 10-15 minutes turns storming off.
• With all that said, I would greatly appreciate any feedback or suggestions to add and remove cards based on your experience. Thanks!

Date added	8 years
Last updated	6 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 49 - 0 Rares 23 - 0 Uncommons 10 - 0 Commons
Cards	109
Avg. CMC	2.89
Tokens	Emblem Sorin, Solemn Visitor, Horse 5/5 W, Vampire 1/1 W, Vampire 2/2 B, Warrior 1/1 W
Folders	Cool decks, EDH