Removal Tribal (Karlov Midrange - Toolbox)
Commander / EDH Ad Nauseam Infinite Combo Lifegain Midrange Primer Toolbox WB (Orzhov)
Land (32)
- 1x Ancient Tomb
-
1x
Arid Mesa
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1x
Bloodstained Mire
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1x
Cabal Coffers
- 1x Command Tower
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1x
Exotic Orchard
- 1x Fabled Passage
-
1x
Fetid Heath
-
1x
Flooded Strand
-
1x
Godless Shrine
- 1x Isolated Chapel
-
1x
Mana Confluence
-
1x
Marsh Flats
-
5x
Plains
-
1x
Polluted Delta
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1x
Prismatic Vista
- 1x Reflecting Pool
-
1x
Reliquary Tower
-
1x
Rogue's Passage
- 1x Scrubland HP
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3x
Swamp
- 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
-
1x
Urza's Saga
-
1x
Vault of Champions
-
1x
Verdant Catacombs
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1x
Windswept Heath
Enchantment (9)
Creature (22)
-
1x
Athreos, God of Passage
- 1x Blood Artist
- 1x Crested Sunmare
- 1x Crypt Ghast
-
1x
Dark Confidant
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1x
Drannith Magistrate
-
1x
Esper Sentinel
-
1x
Grand Abolisher
-
1x
Heliod, Sun-Crowned
- 1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
- 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
- 1x Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff
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1x
Ocelot Pride
- 1x Opposition Agent
-
1x
Serra Ascendant
-
1x
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
-
1x
Solitude
-
1x
Sorin of House Markov
Flip
- 1x Soul Warden
- 1x Soul's Attendant
- 1x Vampire Hexmage
-
1x
Walking Ballista
Sorcery (11)
-
1x
Austere Command
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1x
Council's Judgment
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1x
Damn
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1x
Demonic Tutor
- 1x Grim Tutor
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1x
Imperial Seal
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1x
Night's Whisper
- 1x Peer into the Abyss
- 1x Praetor's Grasp
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1x
Sickening Dreams
- 1x Toxic Deluge
Planeswalker (1)
Commander (1)
Instant (15)
- 1x Ad Nauseam
- 1x Angel's Grace
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1x
Anguished Unmaking
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1x
Beacon of Immortality
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1x
Dawn's Truce
- 1x Deadly Rollick
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1x
Despark
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1x
Enlightened Tutor
- 1x Get Lost
- 1x Path to Exile
- 1x Silence
- 1x Teferi's Protection
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1x
Vampiric Tutor
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1x
Vanishing Verse
Artifact (9)
Primer Description Isn't Finished
“Spider-Man, I've made several fortunes via the practice of using people like you. Idealists. Optimists. Trusting idiots who believe there is happiness to be had on this planet. Fools who believe in justice. I trade on the hopes and dreams of the righteous.” - Wilson Fisk
Karlov is a deck I’ve been playing for roughly seven years now, and to be honest, I’ve never found a Karlov deck that focuses on removal as much as this one does. Most Karlov decks I’ve seen focus on how to utilize the life they’ve gained through cards such as Sign in Blood or Phyrexian Arena without a clear win condition, or Karlov Voltron decks that use life gain, enchantments, and equipment to get the ol' greedy ghost as buff as possible before swinging out at opponents; however; gaining life seems to be good for two things in commander: instantly winning and exiling creatures.
Karlov’s ability allows us to completely pummel creatures and control our opponents' board states, and I think that too many people overlook that fact. They see the words “...when you gain life…” and think that they have to triple down on gaining life and using it with the aforementioned cards. Karlov’s activated ability highlights what Orzhov does best, removing permanents. I tried to lean into that with this deck, and the title of the deck kind of gives that away. If you count Karlov himself, the deck runs roughly eleven targeted removal spells and five board wipes. This isn't counting cards like Walking Ballista
or Sorin, Ravenous Neonate
that could be used as targeted removal in a pinch but are better used as win conditions. Even though Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is more of an anthem creature, you could also consider her as a sudo wipe if you're playing against token decks, but I'm digressing. - Since the main focus of the deck isn't winning Voltron style with Karlov, the deck is meant to utilize its removal spells and stax pieces as a means to control the board while setting up one of its various win cons. Karlov's ability to remove cards due to our life gain effects is its primary function, so pairing it with other targeted or mass removal drives that point home. Making it feel like you're always holding a loaded gun in front of your opponents.
Suggestions
Updates Add
Cuts: Ajani, Strength of the Pride, Auriok Champion, Brightclimb Pathway Flip, Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Exsanguinate, Exquisite Blood, Flawless Maneuver, Luminous Broodmoth, Mana Crypt, Mangara, the Diplomat, Plains x3, Resplendent Angel, Sanguine Bond, Swamp x2 Test of Endurance, Vindicate, and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
Additions: Angel's Grace, Athreos, God of Passage, Ancient Tomb, Ad Nauseam, Opposition Agent, Lightmine Field, Get Lost, Dawn's Truce, Drannith Magistrate, The One Ring, Sickening Dreams, Sensei's Divining Top, Exotic Orchard, Mana Confluence, Reflecting Pool, Reliquary Tower, Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff, Silence, Peer into the Abyss, Praetor's Grasp, and Lotus Petal
Ajani, Strength of the Pride has been a healthy inclusion since the card's release in M20; however, even in the five years since then, the format has changed. I've found that I don't get to use Ajani's -0 much anymore, and the +1 ability doesn't help me nearly as much as the deck's other life gain effects. The card's -2 ability synergizes well with Ocelot Pride, but token production isn't this deck's focus. As such, Ajani, Strength of the Pride gets cut and Angel's Grace makes its way into the list. It'll allow us to skirt by opponents wins if played in response to something. Potentially causing a Thassa's Oracle to falter. Alternatively, it helps us combo out with the newly added Ad Nauseam. All around, this helps us keep control of the board in key moments.
Soul Sisters are some of my favorite cards in magic, and Auriok Champion is no exception; however, its double white mana is starting to turn me away from it. Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant cost less mana for the same effect, and the deck's usage of enchantments like Blind Obedience and Authority of the Consuls make Auriok Champion's effect redundant. Athreos, God of Passage was in the deck ages ago, but got cut relatively quick. With the shift of board control and stax effects we're exploring, I think it's time to give Atheros a try again.
With the banning of Mana Crypt a large swath of the community has begun replacing it with Ancient Tomb. Losing the two mana-producing rock is the main reason I'm adding Ancient Tomb to Karlov, but since I cut Mana Crypt for a different artifact Brightclimb Pathway Flip was put on the chopping block. The double colorless produced by Ancient Tomb is more important than the fixing provided by Brightclimb Pathway Flip.
Opposition Agent has been on my "to try list" for awhile, but I continually shrugged it off because I didn't think it synergized with the deck. Truthfully, it seems as though it couldn't fit better. Over the past year, the deck has taken on some control elements. Opposition Agent's inclusion works to progress that archetype. Grabbing potential combo pieces we normally wouldn't have access to in W/B, value cards, or deck's win cons seems too good to be true. Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim has been unimpressive to me for a bit now since it only triggers with our creatures. In an aristocrats deck, Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim does wonders. In this deck, it does less than I'd like.
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite has been featured in this for a while, and that's primarily because of the abundance of token decks in my meta. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is a great card in general, but at 7 mana she's coming in a little steep. Lightmine Field is an interesting stax card that I've wanted to try for a while. It'll still help deal with hoards of attackers and pesky token decks, but we'll see just how well it performs in general. My main concern is it being too inconsistent and underwhelming against non-attack strategy decks.
Exsanguinate has been featured in this deck since its conception, so it's odd to see this go. In a slower era it could be used as a win con. Now, it's a cute way to gain some life if we need to put some counters on Karlov or ping an opponent. It's too slow and often feels like a dead draw. Peer into the Abyss, on the other hand, is a different story. The loss of life should be negligible, and drawing that many cards in a turn should set us up with a win. Acting as a "baby" Ad Nauseam, this card will help us use our life as effectively as possible.
With this round of Cuts and Additions brings a new era to Removal Tribal. Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose have been exiled from the list. Making room for Get Lost, Silence, and Lotus Petal. Exquisite Blood and Sanguine Bond lines have been an iconic part of Orzhov life gain for years, and this list has been no exception; however, that iconic status means that everyone knows what to expect. Pair that with the previously mentioned format changes, and you have an obsolete and obvious win con. Even the new Enduring Tenacity can't fix that. Cutting these cards removes one of our toolbox's potential win cons, but makes room for another removal spell—Get Lost. Silence gives us some game control. Allowing us to lock down a threatening opponent's turn or set our turn up for an uninterrupted win. Lotus Petal is an easy-access ramp that may just set us up for a turn-one Karlov.
Casting cards for free always feels phenomenal, but versatility is key when navigating threats. Trading out Flawless Maneuver for Dawn's Truce will give us more options in multiple situations. Heroic Intervention sees a lot of play in green creature decks as a means to navigate board wipes. Dawn's Truce Will allow us to stop opponents from targeting us and our creatures with spells, and in a worst-case scenario we can gift an opponent a card to cast our own, off-color Heroic Intervention. Even though we can't cast Dawn's Truce for free, I think it'll prove itself to be more valuable when compared to Flawless Maneuvers; mediocre performance in the deck.
Luminous Broodmoth has done wonders in this deck and helped bring back plenty of creatures; however, I can't help but think the slot it takes up would be better suited for a card like Drannith Magistrate. As much as I love getting my creatures back from the graveyard, I think lowering the average CMC of the deck and locking down commanders and "cast from exile" effects outweighs the deck's need for Luminous Broodmoth.
As previously mentioned, Mana Crypt's recent banning means it has to be removed from the deck. I'm super nostalgic for this card because I pulled one from a pack of EMA I won in a contest years ago. It's a memory I thought about each time I played it, so I'm sad to see it banned. It's removal makes room for a somehow unbanned card - The One Ring. Much like Mana Crypt, the life loss here is negligible. Becoming pro-everything the turn it enters could set us up for a win, but drawing cards as if it read "Cumulative Upkeep 1 life" means nothing to us. We'll replace one problem card with another.
Mangara, the Diplomat's a good card, but it hasn't performed the best in the deck. In an attempt to lower the average CMC of the deck and consistently win games, I've decided to give Sickening Dreams a try. This could end a game with Peer into the Abyss or Ad Nauseam & Angel's Grace. Hopefully this will turn out to be a decent win-con or board wipe if needed.
Sensei's Diving Top: is one of the best cards in Magic: the Gathering. With the mass amount of tutors the deck runs and the new inclusion of Ad Nauseam lines I thought it's be good to include top. It help cuts our average CMC and gives us another possible target for Urza's Saga. Hopefully we won't miss the Plains
Exotic Orchard, Mana Confluence, and Reflecting Pool help us cast things grabbed off Praetor's Grasp, and they're good fixing in the deck. Reliquary Tower will help us with cards like Peer into the Abyss and Ad Nauseam
Resplendent Angel helped lean into token generation and provided an additional life gain engine for the deck. Unfortunately, it's proven to be suboptimal. Especially when compared to Ocelot Pride and Crested Sunmare. As the deck shifts towards a more controlling archetype, Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff seems more appealing. The cards gives us ramp as long as our opponents are casting more than one spell a turn. Alone, this card is good. Pile other cards like Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Esper Sentinel, or Smothering Tithes, and opponents will really consider their plays and mana management.
Cutting removal from the deck hurts me, but it seems like Vindicate must go. Praetor's Grasp will allow us to tutor someone else's deck for a potential win con. Grabbing a Thassa's Oracle for our Ad Nauseam lines seems good. Grabbing win cons from decks are a great way to shut other's decks down as well! I'm hoping this will be just as good as I expect it to be.
Finally we come to another card near and dear to my heart - Test of Endurance. In a time where the card could reliably remain on the table an entire rotation, I loved this card. The deck features plenty of ways to skirt by. Cards like Teferi's Protection and some of the cards we've added today could be used to keep us above 50 life or keep Test of Endurance on board. The truth is, Test of Endurance has been, and always will be, inconsistent. It's cute and fun when pulled off, but it isn't good enough now. Ad Nauseam is a commonly known win-con. Last year I don't think Ad Nauseam would've got this deck. With all the deck's recent edits, this feels like a more consistent win con.
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Casual
99% Competitive
Revision 63 See all
(4 days ago)
| +1 | Exotic Orchard | main |
| +1 | Mana Confluence | main |
| -2 | Plains | main |
| +1 |
Reflecting Pool
|
main |
| +1 | Reliquary Tower | main |
| -2 | Swamp | main |
| Top Ranked |
|
| Date added | 8 years |
| Last updated | 4 days |
| Legality | This deck is Commander / EDH legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 29 - 0 Mythic Rares 49 - 0 Rares 12 - 0 Uncommons 2 - 0 Commons |
| Cards | 100 |
| Avg. CMC | 2.44 |
| Tokens | Cat 1/1 W, City's Blessing, Construct 0/0 C, Food, Horse 5/5 W, Map, Treasure |
| Folders | EDH Ideas, Edh ideas, Deck Ideas, Built Decks, Compare to.... , Find later, Fun Decks, Concepts that could be useful, EDH Decks, Interesting Commander Decks |
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