EDH: Karlov Of the Ghost Council
The Deck
Evening Internet! Welcome to my very first attempt at an EDH deck-list! Like many of you out there I managed to snap up a few bargains on black Friday, one of which was the commander 2015 product: Call the Spirits. The deck packs a lot of cool cards ranging from Daxos the Returned, Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts, Daxos's Torment, Righteous Confluence and Grasp of Fate. The deck was a fun purchase at a low price and one card stood out to me above all the others: Karlov of the Ghost Council. Sporting a very cool ability centred around using +1/+1 counters as fuel for exiling creatures and some dope artwork, I decided he would be a perfect general for my first foray into the commander format.
I began planning the deck by analysing our commander. A spirit advisor that stacks himself with +1/+1 counters whenever we trigger an instance of life gain, Karlov packs a powerful exile ability that is triggered by removing six of these counters. Therefore, we are looking to trigger as many instances of life-gain as possible, with three equalling an effective removal spell. In addition, our commander has the potential to swell in size through his accumulation +1/+1 counters, posing a prominent offensive threat too other players. From this additional analysis of Karlov of the Ghost Council I was able to compile a list of cards and abilities that synergised well with him, complementing his own abilities, flavour and play style.
Below is a breakdown of all the major components of the deck and which of our ninety-nine make it up. Please note, although this deck was not built to a strict budget I did try to be realistic with the cards that I included. For this reason, cards like Vampiric Tutor, Marsh Flats, Cabal Coffers and Auriok Champion are not listed but are all worthy inclusions none-the-less.
As always, a big thank-you to everyone who helped me put this list together. Many friends both directly and indirectly helped me go from a blank sheet of paper to the finished article!
Life gain
In order to fuel the abilities of Karlov of the Ghost Council, we are looking too trigger as many instances of life gain as possible. Therefore, many of our life gain cards have easily repeatable triggers (Soul Warden/Soul's Attendant, Ajani's Mantra, Nyx-Fleece Ram) to ensure we can pile on as many counters as possible. Other recurring life gain triggers are found on our cards sporting the extort mechanic and other similar abilities (Tithe Drinker, Zulaport Cutthroat, Deathgreeter). Whilst some one-off cards like Debt to the Deathless are also present, the emphasis were placing on recurring triggers ensures we have both a consistent source of removal and a prominent source of commander damage.
In our attempt to trigger instances of life-gain, we can also utilise the appropriately named life-link mechanic with cards like Whip of Erebos, Vault of the Archangel and Gift of Orzhova. Not much more to say here, life-link is just another tool in our arsenal.
Card Draw/Hand Advantage
As with any commander deck were running a variety of cards intended to let us draw cards and replenish our hand as the game goes on. Ranging from one off spells like Read the Bones and Sign in Blood too recurring card draw engines like Well of Lost Dreams and Phyrexian Arena, we also have cards like Treasury Thrull and Enlightened Tutor to search out the tools for each specific situation.
Ramp/mana
The deck runs many traditional EDH staples designed to put you ahead on mana. Cards like Sol Ring and Hedron Archive are included to help us keep pace with our opponents whilst cards like Pristine Talisman and Orzhov Signet are included for their ability to also cater to our decks unique requirements and themes. Being in black, Crypt Ghast is another worthy inclusion and when combined with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth the mana he can generate is ludicrous.
By my count, there are eight ramp cards in the deck. In all honesty, I worry that this is a bit light for our requirements as were ideally going to be flooding our mana into abilities like extort each turn. If this proves to be true, this portion of the deck is likely to see a major overhaul. Any thoughts or help here would be appreciated.
Removal/Board Wipes
We have a number of removal spells in our ninety-nine but our main method of removal lies with our commander. Karlov of the Ghost Council can exile a creature in exchange for six of his +1/+1 counters and. In other words, we can trigger three instances of life gain, we can exile an opponents creature for only . This isnt a bad rate and will serve as our primary means of removing creature based threats that hit the table.
Were also running some more traditional removal spells in the form of Anguished Unmaking, Mortify, Swords to Plowshares and Utter End. As Karlov is our main source of creature based removal, many our other spells are included for their ability to deal with other permanents like enchantments or artifacts. Other spells to be considered are Vindicate, Return to Dust, Death Grasp and Path to Exile.
In addition to our single target removal spells, we have several spells capable of wiping the board. Toxic Deluge and Wrath of God are classic board wipes and serve as our primary means of brining the board state back to a level playing field should thing get out of hand. Being in we also have access to the fantastic Merciless Eviction. This board wipe can operate like a tool box, allowing us to deal with any type of permanent that gets out of hand and is a fantastic inclusion in any deck. I know three board wipes might be considered a little light for some, in which case cards like Fumigate or Deadly Tempest are worth considering.
Win conditions
Weve covered the main components of the deck but how do we actually win?
We have a few ways of winning the game, our primary focus being a large concentration of cards sporting the Extort mechanic and other similar life-drain effects. This allows us to fuel Karlovs ability whilst draining away our opponents life total, a real win-win! When Cards like Pontiff of Blight, Drana's Emissary, Blood Artist and Bloodchief Ascension are all used in unison that one or two damage begins to add up very quickly, putting our opponents on borrowed time. This consistent life drain, teamed with our more aggressive creatures (Serra Ascendant, Sunscorch Regent, Ajani's Pridemate and Karlov himself) is our primary and most likely road to victory.
Another method of victory for us lies with our commander himself: Karlov of the Ghost Council. He has the potential to grow to a huge size meaning he can hopefully push through enough commander damage to finish off our opponents. His own removal ability helps to remove any obstacles that might slow him down and his evasiveness can be augmented further by cards like Gift of Orzhova, Rogue's Passage, Shizo, Death's Storehouse and Whispersilk Cloak. As well as improving his evasiveness, we can give him extra punch and staying power with cards like Sunbond and Lightning Greaves respectively. With increased evasion and abilities like shroud and indestructible, Karlov poses a serious threat to our enemies.
Were running a classic infinite combo too, Exquisite Blood and Sanguine Bond. This life-drain combo fits perfectly with the team of our deck and if both are present on the battlefield it only takes one change in life to secure victory!
And our final methods of victory, Felidar Sovereign and Aetherflux Reservoir. For when all else fails!
