Hope all is well! Not sure if it would be worth adding in this new card but Beskir Shieldmate is another fodder/token maker to possible add. The only thing is that unlike Garrison Cat, Hunted Witness, etc - he is a 2 drop. Not sure if that makes him unusable, as you can't really tutor him up with Ranger of Eos , but still may be valuable just to have additional fodder in this deck. What do you think?

Additionally, do you think Bitterblossom or Bloodline Keeper  ^Flip have any room in your current deck list? Not to sure what you would take out but Bitterblossom seems like it could but good - but I guess it's probably because they don't trigger these abilities off dying - which is the main issue. Thanks!

I've got some cuts I am trying to make, I want to add a requiem angel. With me playing divine visitation, it creates an infinite loop with any sac outlet but both are also good on their own which is something I'm trying to work toward. I also play razaketh and Wurmcoil engine as my high cmc cards. I'm trying to decide if I should cut any of the high cmc cards or go after something else entirely. Id love to hear your thoughts on cutting wurmcoil/razaketh/woe strider for requiem angel and any other comments on my list if you don't mind currently two cards over! https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/teysa-karlov-12/?cb=1612894056

CyanideSuicide017 Nice list! I would definitely put in Vilis, Broker of Blood , this card is great draw and is simply a beast.

Also, surprising you don't have Bolas's Citadel included. This card could be run in almost any deck with Black in their commanders colors. Every time I get Bolas on the field, I usually end up winning the game. I would highly suggest adding in.

Other than, looks good! I will defer to Masterful for his expertise though :)

Hello. I was wondering how you feel about Lurrus in Teysa Karlov. I am currently trying to fit more small creatures I want to die in, since I cut most of them for more exciting stuff and somehow destroyed my engine. Lurrus seems to be strong with them, since he can recur them and he is a creature himself with a cheap 3cmc. Also I feel the new Kaya is really worth playtesting for me. I ran Elspeth, but eventually cut her for more non-token sac fodder, which is also why Tevesh Szat hasn't found a place yet. But Kaya seems to be doing just what I want and having exile removal as a downtick seems almost too good for me.

C4l4mity Lurrus of the Dream-Den is strong with more small creatures. I'd put in some cards like Carrier Thrall and Imperious Oligarch to up the consistency. If you like the effect, you may also want to consider playing her as the commander. She's not necessarily better or worse than Teysa, but she's a alternative option. Kaya the Inexorable is slower than Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools . Elspeth's boardwipe and Tevesh's card draw usually generate more value than Kaya's exile. However, I can see Kaya doing well in a slow, grindier meta that lets you recast the creatures you bring back with her a lot.

Hey Masterful, hope all is well! Just had a quick question

I see that it's on your "Maybe" board but do you think Bitterblossom has any room in your deck? Not to sure what you would take out but Bitterblossom seems like it could but good - Making additional sac fodder which could help.

Additionally, not sure if you saw the new card but Beskir Shieldmate might even be worth adding. It's a 2 drop that creates a token when it dies. But might not be worth it with it not being a 1 drop like Garrison Cat, Witness, etc. Just thought i'd call it out haha

cfost827 Bitterblossom is too slow for my liking. If you get it down before turn 5, it can produce a lot of value, but it's almost worthless if you draw it lategame. I prefer my token makers to be on death triggers that I can sac on a moment's notice. If you think it's valuable, I could see it being very good in some cases. Just not my cup of tea.

As far as 2 drop token makers go, Beskir Shieldmate is good. We always want our cheap token makers to have 1 toughness for Skullclamp purposes, so he meets that criteria. However, I'd play cards like Imperious Oligarch for better keywords or Carrier Thrall for mana utility before this. If you're already playing those though, then throwing this in wouldn't hurt if you want more cheap tokens.

Masterful Thanks as always for your feedback! :) Makes sense to me. I'm actually not using any 2 drop fodder (including the creatures you listed). My creature list is almost the exact same as yours lol. Sometimes I feel maybe I should add in one more cheap token maker besides Hunted Witness, Garrison Cat and Doomed Traveler - but they seem to work fine. Not to sure what I would even remove for them, since the deck list is already so tight it's hard to cut things (this is actually hard for me .. what to cut lol).

Also, I had another question. You say your deck is about 75% power, which I agree with and is awesome. However, what would be some things you would cut and add from your deck list to make it say.. 80% power level?? I'm thinking about increasing it's strength slightly (our meta, while casual seems to be getting much more competitive lately lol) and was just wondering if you had any insight on how you would make it slightly stronger. What exactly would you add or cut to do this (hypothetically of course)?

Thanks again as always for help! :)

Masterful what are your thoughts on using Vizier of Remedies with a persist creature such as Putrid Goblin or Restless Apparition for infinite loops? I know that it could be a bit fragile only having a single "-1/-1 reducer".

I'm thinking something along the lines of having a drain or card draw on death effect out, use Buried Alive to bury Carrion Feeder , Vizier of Remedies , and Restless Apparition , then mass recur with Gruesome Menagerie or Agadeem's Awakening  ^Flip and start looping deaths. Could also use Rally the Ancestors to reanimate at instant speed!

Love the deck!

cfost827 To make the deck any more competitive, the easiest thing to do is to include more cheap mana sources, add more disruption, and cut the higher mana cards. I'd consider some more competitive cards like Mana Vault , Mox Diamond , Dark Confidant , Imperial Seal , Ad Nauseam , Opposition Agent etc. The cards you should look at cutting are the slower, high cost ones like Requiem Angel , Solemn Simulacrum , Archon of Justice , etc. This doesn't include Razaketh, the Foulblooded or Vilis, Broker of Blood though since they practically win the game upon entering. Tweaking the deck to give it 5% more power level can be difficult since such a small change is subtle. You're going to have to add and cut cards to feel it out and probably play a ton of games to test.

In terms of what to cut for more fodder, you could cut Archon of Justice and Sifter of Skulls for Carrier Thrall and Imperious Oligarch , or whatever 2 drops you want. Archon and Sifter are a lot slower than cheap fodder, so if you want more, you can cut cards like them. If you want more than 2 new pieces of fodder, you could keep cutting slower 4-6 drops like Solemn Simulacrum , but it'd impact your mana base or other aspects of the deck.

DubWubby This is a cool combo. You could include it, but you're right in that it's fragile and inconsistent. It's really strong in ideal scenarios like with Buried Alive or any time you draw Vizier of Remedies with any persist creature. However, it'd be hard to include for a few reasons. If you draw persist creatures and don't have vizier, they're weak sac fodder on their own, so you'd want to include few of them. However, if you draw vizier without persist creatures, then she's almost useless, so you want to include more of them. Finding the balance of how many persist creatures you need as well as what to cut is the challenge. Saying that, Putrid Goblin is almost as efficient as other 2 drop fodder cards, and both him and vizier have 1 toughness for Skullclamp , so they aren't irredeemable on their own.

Masterful Somehow I hadn't considered equiping Putrid Goblin with Skullclamp after it becomes a 1/1. I'll playtest a few different versions/quantities and see how it feels. Thanks for the input!

Nice take on Teysa. She's my favourite card of all time as well. Upvote!

Maybe you wanna have a look on my take on Teysa, too

Death and wine

Hi :)

Solemn Simulacrum out ? I don't think it's a good idea... Keeper of the Accord is strong (I am also testing this card in my Teysa Karlov) but different...

I play Solemn Simulacrum , I have a land and if Murder , I can draw 1 or 2 cards. I play Keeper of the Accord , and if Murder .... nothing (but ok, can be better if the card stays on the board... or no, depend of the board)

About Monologue Tax , it's more efficient than you think... I think. Cost less than Smothering Tithe , you will have less treasure, but enough for an Avg. CMC deck of 2.85

(that's only my opinion, can be wrong ^^)

My Teysa deck list : Teysa Karlov Aristocrate

Hey Masterful! Hope all is well. Just wanted to check in here to see if there are any Strixhaven cards you think would go well in Teysa? I saw there are some new cards added into your list. I imagine you are still working on making your update post, but figured i'd see what are some of the cards you cut and what cards you added in. I'm seeing Brought Back , Second Sunrise , Keeper of the Accord and a few others in your list now - which I was thinking of adding as well! Would love to hear what cards you cut as well.

Also, any thoughts on Valentin, Dean of the Vein  ^Flip??

Disregard my last question - i forgot Valentin had a backside that was green lol. Cheers!

Actually, I just saw your most recent posts! Thanks as always for the in-depth details!

Khyheauts I've found Solemn Simulacrum to be too slow combined with having a low ceiling. His advantage is his consistency, but only generating 1 land plus up to 2 cards drawn is too little for 4 mana. The other ramp cards I included with this update are more versatile while also having higher ceilings. Brought Back and Second Sunrise both can give us up to 2 lands and double as creature recursion, Keeper of the Accord can generate a ton of tokens and lands, etc. Sure, Keeper doesn't draw cards if he's instantly killed, but it's not too common that people spend their removal on a ramp creature. While I don't play solemn in the list anymore, I do still think its a good card for the strategy. I just no longer have a place for him in this deck in particular. If you find a lot of success with him in your list, keep playing him.

As for Monologue Tax , I'm still testing it out. It hasn't amazed me so far, but I've been trying to include it in other decks to get a feel for how good it is. Thanks for dropping a comment. Your list looks really fun. I like how your curve tops off at 2.62. That must make for a smooth early game.

cfost827 Sometimes tappedout shows an outdated version of the page. I'm not sure why, but that may have been why you didn't see the update initially. If Valentin, Dean of the Vein  ^Flip was in our colors, it would be interesting. He wouldn't double-trigger off of Teysa since you can't exile their creature twice, but as a single creature, he could make a lot of tokens. Cheers!

Hi Masterful,

Just wanted to see how the play testing has been going with some of your new additions such as Archaeomancer's Map , Second Sunrise , Brought Back , etc.

I'm a bit skeptical about Second Sunrise and Brought Back but think they could both still work. I mean it's a lot of setup and even with running a lot of fetches, I wouldn't consider them to be "ramp" spells. Things usually don't always seem to work out perfectly in EDH. However, I would like to see if you have success with using them. Also, has Archaeomancer's Map seen any success? I'll keep an eye out for your feedback.

Additionally, for ramp, while it sucks sometimes to rely on mana rocks..it's sometimes the sacrifice one must make for playing 2 colors haha. But i was thinking about Marble Diamond and Charcoal Diamond , etc. Those could also be used as ramp instead.

Lastly, any thoughts on Dawn Charm ? It's actually a crazy versatile card to add into any deck with white.

But anyways, thanks again for all your knowledge and I'll keep an eye out for your feedback :)

cfost827 Archaeomancer's Map has been strong so far. It's good against green ramp, smooths out early turns, and can turn iffy hands into good ones. I haven't had a turn or game where I was unhappy to see it in my hand yet. As for Second Sunrise and Brought Back , they're not as inconsistent as they may seem. I ran the numbers in a card probability calculator, and we have about a 60% chance of drawing a fetchland by turn 2. At that rate, we can play BB as a stronger Rampant Growth on curve. However, if we get a bit luckier, we could double Rampant Growth on turn 2 for untapped dual lands at instant speed. Since they both also double as recursion, they're super strong with aristocrats. So yes, they aren't as consistent as 2 mana rocks, but they provide a much higher ceiling combined with versatility. We're also not hurting in terms of the amount of ramp we have. Some of our ramp might be a bit conditional, like BB, SS, Knight of the White Orchid , etc. but we have access to 13 pieces plus additional sources of mana in the form of Pawn of Ulamog , Ashnod's Altar , Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx , etc. I'd play Coldsteel Heart , Marble Diamond , and/or Charcoal Diamond if I felt we needed more consistent or more early ramp. In testing though, SS, BB, and the ramp package as a whole proved consistent enough.

Dawn Charm is a good card. I could see it being good against certain decks or strategies. If any of the modes are something you frequently find yourself needing, I'd play it. I haven't found myself needing a fog or that type of counterspell very often myself, but if you play in a combat heavy meta or against a player who loves to target you for graveyard hate, it could be useful. Another similar card which you might want to consider is Orim's Chant . It's also good against players who like to target you with spells or in combat. I play it in some lists and find it to be a great political tool by saying, "Hey, you better agree not to screw with me this turn, or I'll skip your whole turn basically."

Ok, make sense, you have fetchlands, not me, so Brought Back is more than ok. And I just receive my Monologue Tax and I will test the card instead of Smothering Tithe , just to have a less average CCM :)

Yes my deck is fun to play, nice early game, but was hard to cut cards like Cavalier of Night or Requiem Angel , but it's working well.

Hey Masterful! Hope all is well and your play testing is continuing to be successful.

Just had a few thoughts on other cards to add/cut. Have you ever tried running Kokusho, the Evening Star or Yosei, the Morning Star ? I feel like they are even better than Vilis, Broker of Blood in this deck (I know you just cut him already). With Teysa on the field and getting their death trigger, it makes these two quite powerful. Recurring them would also be great great. I'm thinking of testing adding in one of them. Which of the two would you add if you wanted to/could ?

Additionally, what are your thoughts on Spawning Pit as a sac outlet? I feel like it could actually do pretty well in this deck, maybe in place of Carrion Feeder ? Would like to hear your thoughts on this card as it could just make us more tokens.

Thanks!

Oh and lastly, what about Secure the Wastes ? I feel this card is great especially if you get your opponents to swing into the tokens, either just as defense or with an aristocrat out - as it's an Instant.

cfost827 Secure the Wastes is pretty good. I've run it in the past, but I prefer my token-makers to be from death triggers. That way, there's potential to get a lot more tokens with Teysa for very little investment.

Awesome, thanks!

Lastly, have you ever tried running Kokusho, the Evening Star or Yosei, the Morning Star ? I feel like they are even better than Vilis, Broker of Blood in this deck (I know you just cut him already). With Teysa on the field and getting their death trigger, it makes these two quite powerful. Recurring them would also be great great. I'm thinking of testing adding in one of them. Which of the two would you add if you wanted to/could ?

Additionally, what are your thoughts on Spawning Pit as a sac outlet? I feel like it could actually do pretty well in this deck, maybe in place of Carrion Feeder ? Would like to hear your thoughts on this card as it could just make us more tokens.

cfost827 I played Kokusho, the Evening Star for a while, and he was strong when he hit the board, just slow. I ended up taking him out cause I wanted a faster curve. Yosei, the Morning Star was always too stax-ey for my liking. He would slow down games a lot, and it didn't seem fun, but he's definitely powerful. For power level, I'd add Yosei, but for fun, I'd add Kokusho. However, I find that the deck runs much smoother when we don't have 6 mana creatures.

I like Carrion Feeder mostly because its a creature. It can be tutored for with Ranger of Eos and Recruiter of the Guard and can be recurred. Spawning Pit is a good sac oulet though. It's only 2 mana and can provide tokens as we sac things. Victimize is probably what I'd replace since its not a great sac outlet, and I recently put in more recursion in the form of Brought Back and Second Sunrise .