Karl, there's a dead human in our house

Commander / EDH Lifegain Voltron WB (Orzhov)

D2Toaster

Land (38)

• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Forsaken Sanctuary
• 1x Glimmerpost
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x High Market
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Kabira Crossroads
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 1x Orzhov Guildgate
• 8x Plains
• 1x Radiant Fountain
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Seraph Sanctuary
• 1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 7x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vault of the Archangel

Sorcery (9)

• 1x Cataclysm *list*
• 1x Consuming Vapors
• 1x Lingering Souls
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Open the Armory
• 1x Righteous Confluence
• 1x Survival Cache
• 1x Vindicate
• 1x Wrath of God

Creature (20)

• 1x Angel of Despair
• 1x Angel of Serenity
• 1x Ashen Rider
• 1x Bastion Protector
• 1x Felidar Sovereign
• 1x Filigree Familiar
• 1x High Priest of Penance
• 1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Patron of the Kitsune
• 1x Ranger of Eos
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Soul Warden
• 1x Soulmender
• 1x Soul's Attendant
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Sunscorch Regent
• 1x Thrull Parasite
• 1x Treasury Thrull
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Authority of the Consuls
• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Campaign of Vengeance
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Righteous Cause
• 1x Test of Endurance
• 1x True Conviction
• 1x Unquestioned Authority

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor

Commander (1)

Artifact (15)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Animation Module
• 1x Coldsteel Heart
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Orzhov Keyrune
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Paradise Plume
• 1x Pristine Talisman
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sun Droplet
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Sword of Light and Shadow
• 1x Tablet of the Guilds
• 1x Well of Lost Dreams
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Instant (7)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Benevolent Offering
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Mortify
• 1x Orzhov Charm
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

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Maybeboard

Artifact (1)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir

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A Karlov of the Ghost Council voltron deck. Pump up Karlov with life-gaining triggers and go for commander damage kill.

Typical Karlov decks usually involve a lot of token generation and rely heavily on abilities of cards such as Soul Warden and Curse of the Forsaken . However this type of build sometimes generates so many tokens that it no longer feels like a voltron deck since you will be dealing more regular damage than commander damage and can win the game with just the army of tokens instead. Therefore, I want this deck to be a bit different than the usual builds.

This deck would try to gain life in every possible way. Play a spell, gain life; Play a land, gain life; Creatures ETB, gain life; Creatures die, gain life; Creatures attack, gain life. Don't forget the good old lifelink and extort. This deck does include some token generations but not too much to ruin the theme. Cards like Pious Evangel   does not make it to the list since it is meant for token-ETB-trigger heavy decks. Besides the typical life-gain staples like Sun Droplet, Tablet of the Guilds and their likes, this deck uses Sun Titan, Debtors' Knell , Wretched Confluence, and Treasury Thrull for recursion and make sure we don't run out of resource in the late game.

While Karlov is one of the fastest voltrons with big fists (swinging 6 damage on turn 3 is typical), it's size and removal ability become less and less efficient as we enter the late game. Therefore it's important to take out your biggest threat as fast as possible if it's a multiplayer game. Then, if killing off the rest of the group becomes impossible, plan B is to cast Felidar Sovereign or Test of Endurance after you have distracted them with Karlov and made them spend their removals on him a few times. Besides the lack of protection, Karlov also lacks evasion. Try to get Whispersilk Cloak, Rogue's Passage, Unquestioned Authority , or Shizo, Death's Storehouse whenever you have the chance.

I don't play with big-budget decks, so dual-lands, Imperial Seal, swords...etc are not considered for my list. However, other suggestions are appreciated.

Date added	8 years
Last updated	7 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 34 - 0 Rares 25 - 0 Uncommons 16 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.19
Tokens	Emblem Sorin, Solemn Visitor, Knight 2/2 W w/ Vigilance, Servo 1/1 C, Spirit 1/1 W, Vampire 2/2 B
Folders	EDH