Kalitas - Traitorous Control

Commander / EDH Control Cruel Control Mono-Black Multiplayer Stax

Rahvin2015

CardDraw (6)

• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Vampiric Rites

Combo (1)

• 1x Rings of Brighthearth

Control (9)

• 1x Archfiend of Depravity
• 1x Contamination
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Fleshbag Marauder
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Kormus Bell
• 1x Magus of the Abyss
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Smokestack

Evasion (1)

• 1x Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed

HandDestruction (1)

• 1x Sadistic Hypnotist

Land (36)

• 1x Arcane Lighthouse
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Deserted Temple
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Maze of Ith
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Strip Mine
• 17x Swamp
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vesuva
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold
• 1x Wasteland
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip

LandDestruction (2)

• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Wasteland

LandDrops (7)

• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Crucible of Worlds
• 1x Liliana of the Dark Realms
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse

LifeGain (4)

• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel

ManaDoublers (8)

• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Caged Sun
• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Gauntlet of Power
• 1x Liliana of the Dark Realms
• 1x Nirkana Revenant
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Thespian's Stage

ManaRamp (6)

• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Charcoal Diamond
• 1x Darksteel Ingot
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum

MassRemoval (9)

• 1x All is Dust
• 1x Black Sun's Zenith
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Kagemaro, First to Suffer
• 1x Killing Wave
• 1x Massacre Wurm
• 1x Steel Hellkite
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Protection (4)

• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Maze of Ith
• 1x Tawnos's Coffin

Recursion (11)

• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Chainer, Dementia Master
• 1x Crucible of Worlds
• 1x Mimic Vat
• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Phyrexian Reclamation
• 1x Relentless Dead
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Trading Post
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold
• 1x Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed

SacFodder (6)

• 1x Bloodline Keeper  ^Flip
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Gravecrawler
• 1x Relentless Dead
• 1x Trading Post
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip

SacOutlet (5)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Sadistic Hypnotist
• 1x Trading Post
• 1x Vampiric Rites

SpotRemoval (4)

• 1x Fleshbag Marauder
• 1x Karn Liberated
• 1x Karn, Silver Golem
• 1x Tawnos's Coffin

Tutor (7)

• 1x Beseech the Queen
• 1x Demonic Tutor HP
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Rune-Scarred Demon
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

Utility (6)

• 1x Arcane Lighthouse
• 1x Bloodline Keeper  ^Flip
• 1x Helm of Possession
• 1x Karn, Silver Golem
• 1x Massacre Wurm
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top

Vampire (2)

• 1x Bloodline Keeper  ^Flip
• 1x Nirkana Revenant

Voltron (3)

• 1x Liliana of the Dark Realms
• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Opal Palace

Wincon (5)

• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Nirkana Revenant
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip
• 1x Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed

Zombie (5)

• 1x Fleshbag Marauder
• 1x Gravecrawler
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Relentless Dead
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier

Commander (1)

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Maybeboard

CardDraw (7)

• 1x Dark Prophecy
• 1x Decree of Pain
• 1x Erebos, God of the Dead
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
• 1x Phyrexian Arena

Combo (3)

• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Phyrexian Plaguelord
• 1x Tombstone Stairwell

Control (4)

• 1x Anowon, the Ruin Sage
• 1x Butcher of Malakir
• 1x Erebos, God of the Dead
• 1x Liliana of the Veil

Evasion (2)

• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Sword of Light and Shadow

HandDestruction (4)

• 1x Liliana of the Veil
• 1x Liliana Vess
• 1x Mind Slash
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine

LandDrops (3)

• 1x Journeyer's Kite
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble

LifeGain (4)

• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Sword of Light and Shadow
• 1x Wurmcoil Engine

ManaDoublers (1)

• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine

ManaRamp (6)

• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Phyrexian Totem
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1x Worn Powerstone

MassRemoval (1)

• 1x Decree of Pain

Other (16)

• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Corpse Augur
• 1x Extraplanar Lens
• 1x Graveborn Muse
• 1x Harvester of Souls
• 1x Mindslicer
• 1x Phyrexian Obliterator
• 1x Sorin Markov
• 1x Sword of Body and Mind
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Thoughtpicker Witch
• 1x Underworld Connections
• 1x Voltaic Key
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak
• 1x Withering Boon
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Protection (4)

• 1x Darksteel Plate
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Sword of Light and Shadow

Recursion (3)

• 1x Coffin Queen
• 1x Sword of Light and Shadow
• 1x Yawgmoth's Will

SacFodder (4)

• 1x Bitterblossom
• 1x Ophiomancer
• 1x Reassembling Skeleton
• 1x Wurmcoil Engine

SacOutlet (3)

• 1x Attrition
• 1x Mind Slash
• 1x Phyrexian Plaguelord

SpotRemoval (5)

• 1x Attrition
• 1x Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
• 1x Liliana of the Veil
• 1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
• 1x Phyrexian Plaguelord

Tutor (2)

• 1x Diabolic Revelation
• 1x Liliana Vess

Utility (1)

• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

Vampire (3)

• 1x Anowon, the Ruin Sage
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief

Voltron (5)

• 1x Blade of the Bloodchief
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Sword of Light and Shadow
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Umezawa's Jitte

WinCon (2)

• 1x Bitter Ordeal
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star

Wincon (1)

• 1x Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief

Zombie (2)

• 1x Coffin Queen
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

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Welcome to my attempt at mono-black control, currently featuring Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. I'm building mono-black control, with subthemes of tokens/sacrifice, built around Kalitas' somewhat unique abilities.

I'd love to see some feedback and suggestions. Please share your comments, give me a +1 if you like what you see!

Commander and Strategic Overview Show

Kalitas shuts down creature recursion almost entirely while he's on the board - any opponent creature that dies, dies permanently. This is a replacement effect, so this also shuts down on-death triggers.

He also generates tokens, and acts as his own sacrifice outlet for those tokens. It's not a free sacrifice, but it lets the commander grow persistently (through +1/+1 counters, instead of till end-of-turn). This opens up Grave Pact effects as sources of immediate value, and means that, if left unmolested, Kalitas can grow to swing in easily for commander lethal.

Finally, lifelink. This "minor" ability is surprisingly useful, since black tends to pay for most things with loss of life.

Kalitas is also relatively inexpensive coming in at 4CMC, so he can be cast multiple times from the command zone without becoming too much of a burden.

Having said that, Kalitas does have a few weaknesses. He has no form of built-in evasion, so he's easy to block. He's vulnerable to removal (no native hexproof or indestructible). He brings token generation and his own sac outlet, but tokens are only generated when a non-token creature an opponent controls dies, and Kalitas brings no method to directly kill creatures. His sac outlet is also not free, costing for every instance. Combined with the conditional token generation, this means he can grow very slowly.

This deck will attempt to leverage Kalitas' abilities through fairly standard mono-black control - killing creatures, then swinging in for commander lethal. His weaknesses will be addressed using hexproof/shroud equipment, zombies and zombie token generators, big mana doublers, and limited evasion abilities (the best evasion is a clear battlefield).

Alternative win conditions Show

Since I can't exclusively rely on commander damage for the win, I have some alternative win conditions:

Gray Merchant of Asphodel provides another alternate wincon, considering the easy black devotion. Plenty of sac outlets and methods to recur him. He's a zombie, so he can even help Kalitas grow.

Exsanguinate is here both for lifegain and as another alternative wincon. Plenty of big mana for X spells in mono black.

Control; aka: Harvesting Tears Show

Controlling the board is the most important aspect of this deck. Our commander's color identitiy is extremely strong in the creature-destruction arena, but weak at destroying artifacts and enchantments.

So why not make all of the things creatures? Karn, Silver Golem and Kormus Bell (paired with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth) can turn artifacts and lands, respectively, into creatures that we can easily destroy. Kormus Bell + Massacre Wurm + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is a game-ender. Similarly, Archfiend of Depravity + Kormus Bell + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is devastating. Note that, since artifacts and lands are not tokens, Kalitas' replacement effect will exile them and give us zombies in return.

Archfiend of Depravity, Sheoldred, Whispering One, and Magus of the Abyss will help force opponents to sacrifice continually (the Archfiend helps particularly against token decks). Grave Pact and Dictate of Erebos use our commander's sacrifice ability (with other sac outlets, of course) to force opponents to sacrifice as well. When they're out of creatures, turn to Karn and the Bell to make them sacrifice/destroy dangerous artifacts or even lands.

Smokestack is just classic stax/control, and will help force opponents to sacrifice every turn. Big weakness here is that it requires a full turn before it gets that first counter and actually starts doing anything...but once it gets going, we have easy sacrifice fodder, and (ideally) our opponents do not. If we're making things into creatures when they get sacrificed and Kalitas is around, they won't be able to recur easy sac fodder (even recurring lands with Crucible of Worlds can be shut down.

Contamination is just plain mean. It's a very scary soft-lock on the game. This is one of the black equivalents to Iona, and it brings forth salty tears of anguish and despair.

A major weakness in this deck are spellslinger opponents. We're focused hard on destroying permanents, so decks that don't focus on using permanents are resistant to our control. Land destruction is one possible solution to this problem, but we also have excellent discard effects available in mono-black. Sadistic Hypnotist doubles as a free sacrifice outlet, and can force opponents to discard two cards for each creature sacrificed. That's a pretty great trade. Unfortunately this is the only discard effect currently in the deck, simply due to limited space. Mind Slash is another strong contender, particularly since it lets us choose the card rather than the target. Right now it loses because you have to pay mana along with the sacrifice, and because creatures are generally easier to recur from the yard.

The control package is supported by a bunch of sacrifice fodder and recursion effects to make sure we always have something to sac when required. Gravecrawler and Relentless Dead are obvious includes (beating out Reassembling Skeleton and Ophiomancer which are usually staples in this role) when our commander eats zombies; Bloodline Keeper beats out Bitterblossom for a spot for similar reasons, as well as the potential to pump the tokens and our general if we can make him flip. While opponents still have creatures on the board, Kalitas can turn them into still more zombie tokens when they die. New inclusion Chainer, Dementia Master will help recur any creature easily if needed. Magus of the Abyss can even destroy himself, only to be brought back into play be Sheoldred or Chainer or another recursion effect.

These effects are also supplemented by a heavy set of diverse board wipes. Kalitas can turn any board wipe one-sided, leaving us with a ton of zombies and opponents with nothing but salt. Any board wipe with Karn, Silver Golem or the Kormus Bell + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth combo becomes outright devastation; weaking havoc on opponent board states and potentially supplying us with a giant army of zombies.

Damnation and Toxic Deluge are the best wipes in black, and that's saying a lot. Black Sun's Zenith is costly, but the counters are permanent and it goes back to the library rather than the yard for later re-use. Killing Wave is mostly here for the full-art foil that I can't turn down, but it's handy because it lets us keep one or two useful creatures and sacrifice the rest, which can take advantage of Grave Pact effects to force opponents to just get rid of it all. All Is Dust kills off pesky enchantments and other colored permanents, which can leave us in a highly advantageous position given our reliance on artifacts. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon destroys token armies, can selectively wipe the board leaving only our strongest threats on the board, and his ultimate is simply beautiful (especially with Rings of Brighthearth). Steel Hellkite only affects a single player at once, but can be used to take out troublesome artifacts, enchantments, and tokens if he can push through for a hit.

Combos and Synergies Show

Ashnod's Altar + Grave Titan + Nim Deathmantle = infinite colorless mana and infinite zombie tokens.

Add Grave Pact or Dictate of Erebos for infinite enemy sacrifice, which may trigger Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet for yet more zombie tokens.

Add Phyrexian Altar for infinite black mana.

Rings of Brighthearth combos with damned near everything:

Duplicate fetchland effects (Myriad Landscape and Polluted Delta) to get double swamps.

Duplicate Strip Mine and Wasteland for extra land destruction.

Duplicate Mimic Vat activation to pop out two of the imprinted cards with Haste (Grave Titan and Fleshbag Marauder are amazing for this; the Titan would both be a pair of 6/6 deathtouch bodies attacking, and spawn a whopping 8 zombies, and then you could do it again next turn).

Duplicate Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed's sacrifice ability to pull a black card plus Xiahou Dun back to your hand; recast Exsanguinate or Damnation or Army of the Damned or any other black spell as many times as you want!

Rings + Cabal Coffers + Deserted Temple + 6 swamps = infinite black mana.

Duplicate Karn Liberated's exile ability to exile two target permanents! Or double up on Liliana Vess's -2 for double the tutors!

Duplicate Steel Hellkite's ability to choose two CMC targets on a single swing!

Duplicate Ugin, the Spirit Dragon's ultimate to just win!

Like I said, almost everything. Card is nuts.

Date added	8 years
Last updated	3 years
Exclude colors	WURG
Key combos	Ashnod's Altar + Grave Titan + Nim Deathmantle Cabal Coffers + Deserted Temple Kormus Bell + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Kormus Bell + Massacre Wurm + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Archfiend of Depravity + Kormus Bell + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	15 - 0 Mythic Rares 43 - 0 Rares 21 - 0 Uncommons 4 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.78
Tokens	Copy Clone, Emblem Liliana of the Dark Realms, Goat 0/1 W, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Vampire 2/2 B, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	Cool Decks