Why the Necrotic Sliver?

I too run Karlov and from play testing a month or two ago I can attest to his power. When he first came out I don't think people expected how powerful or how fat he can get. Though, I run him as more voltron/extort falling back on his exile ability when I need to play defensively.

Not sure if it was mentioned earlier but Cliffhaven Vampire might fit well here. It's a Sanguine Bond on legs but you don't run Exquisite Blood so no fears of going infinite. Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant is a fun one to run with Karlov and it can protect your extort weenies (and it counts as an enchantment when flipped). I'm also surprised to see you're not running either of the soul sisters. With a T1 Soul Warden I had Karlov up to a 36/36 within the first few turns.

Vindicate gives you some of the best removal around, and a cheap sac outlet like Carrion Feeder lets you get death triggers, or lets you get value from your creatures getting destroyed. Nyx-Fleece Ram is good with Karlov, as it is a blocker that makes him huge.

One thing you could do with all the life you gain is Bitterblossom and Anguished Unmaking. Protection for Karlov would be nice, like Swiftfoot Boots, Lightning Greaves, or Whispersilk Cloak, so that he doesn't just get murdered when he hits.

Thank you for the suggestions, much appreciated :)

@Slade_Excalibur

• Necrotic Sliver is good since I have a fair deal of recursion going on.

@Flagellum

• I do think Cliffhaven Vampire is nice, but I don't think there is anything I would take out for him.
• Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant could make it to the deck, but he is sort of situational. Maybe he could take Archangel of Tithes' spot.
• Good point on the Soul Sisters. I'll have to consider if I can drop anything to make room for Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant

@Turn8ScornfulEgotist

• I have so much spot removal in the deck, that I took the luxury of not running Vindicate/Anguished Unmaking. For the 'combo' with recursion I am running Necrotic Sliver instead.
• I do agree that more protection for Karlov would be nice. I'll have to think about a major revision bump to make room for the gear.

Cheers

Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim could fit well in here as part of a removal package for non-creature permanents and Felidar Sovereign is a decent alt-win con, last thing I can think of off the top of my head is Well of Lost Dreams as additional draw potential.

Really fun looking deck, I love the extort mechanic, also a big fan of Obzedat. Looks like this deck is just a riot to play. How competitive is your meta?

for taxing, add both the thalias. Aven Mindcensor is awesome in edh.

What do you think about running Kambal, Consul of Allocation for more taxation / extort-like effect ? Or Thalia, Heretic Cathar for slowing more agressive deck and adding a little defence ?

And even Authority of the Consuls would be super solid.

Have you considered Flickering Ward, As you run a lot of Extort you could play it and extort it three times for nine mana beefing Karlov of the Ghost Council with +6/+6 and then beat with protection from a color. Rather nifty I'd say. Also Easily recurable with Sun Titan.

I would remove ... say Drana's Emissary

yo MrHighscore, Yawgmoth's Will is banned as fuck

Actually MrJohnston, Yawgmoth's Will is perfectly legal. Yawgmoth's Bargain is how you say, "banned as fuck".

maddoxmtg fair enough. man, shouldnt have spoken on a whim. wish i could delete the comment to prevent future confusion :/

Have you thought about running Gray Merchant of Asphodel? Just an idea, considering you have ways of recurring him and making it that much more painful.

Thank you all for the feedback and apoligies for the late response. Lately I've been taking a break from brewing EDH decks, so I'm not visiting TO very frequently.

@RunningPigeon

All good suggestions, But I don't really see what I should take out. In general I'm not running very high on life, so I don't think I can make use of the abilities, and most of the time I would not have mana for Well of Lost Dreams.

@Shane.Allen

My meta has all kinds of decks. Some people got T1 and others (few) play OTC commander decks. Most decks are T2 or T3 trying not to combo out in turn 4 or 5. I build this deck because I like extort and drain, but it has been far more powerfull and fun than I anticipated, at least in my meta.

@maddoxmtg

• Aven Mindcensor and Thalia (both of them, but I assume you meant Thalia, Heretic Cathar are awesome, but there is so much I want in the deck, and drain and enchantments are higher on my list.
• Authority of the Consuls looks just right for the deck (enchantment, cheap, and good for Karlov).

@Plouffe666

• Kambal, Consul of Allocation is pretty nice. I'm not sure what to take out, but I will consider him for a slot when I do.

@Jormvalte

• Flickering Ward is a great suggestion. I'll see what I can doo to find it a slot.

@scrobacca

• I did not consider Gray Merchant of Asphodel for this deck, but I think I should! Thank you.

I'm not updating the deck right now (as I like to keep it in sync with the paper version), but I want to make room for these cards (all very low casting cost except for Merchant):

• Soul Warden - more triggers for Karlov and Recurable
• Soul's Attendant - for more Karlov Triggers and Recurable
• Authority of the Consuls - OK, On theme, and recurable
• Kambal, Consul of Allocation - Tax and triggers for Karlov
• Flickering Ward - more triggers for Karlov, cheap (good for extort) and helps Karlov survive.
• Gray Merchant of Asphodel - Recurable Exsanguinate. Could work with my devotion.
• Darksteel Plate - Karlov deserves the best
• Swiftfoot Boots - Would look good on Karlov. (If no Flickering Ward I'd rather use Lightning Greaves)

I'll update the maybeboard accordingly.

Is Academy Rector tutoring for Debtor's Knell because otherwise there's no synergy there. You need to exile Rector to tutor for an enchantment.

I think I'll keep an eye on this deck as it evolves. I've got a Kambal deck right now and it tries to do quite a few similar things.

@CelineT good point. I'll take out Academy Rector (I should probably also remove Debtors' Knell, but on the ohter hand: fun stuff).

Minor tweaks basted on cards I have in stock

• Lingering Souls --> Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• Drana's Emissary --> Soul Warden
• Academy Rector --> Darksteel Plate

Cheers

Taxation is theft?

Someone suggested Wound Reflection on my extort deck for extra value on all those extort triggers. Might be too high cost, though.

I had a Karlov deck, and replacing Karlov with Kambal was an incredible improvement. He taxes hard, but most importantly doesnt present a threat. He also regularly triggers things and helps your game plan, where Karlov just benefits from your deck.

Im not sure about the loss of Drana's Emissary, I played this deck a few times on Untap with and without hes, and I think that although the drain isnt much, it can help when you are in dire straits, and its a sure trigger every turn, instead of just explosive turns every 3-4 turns.

I am considering the following changes. Thoughts?

• Expedition Map --> Authority of the Consuls: I don't need the 'big mana' lands that often and this is card is just too good to pass up.
• Archangel of Tithes --> Kambal, Consul of Allocation: I think Kambal will be a better fit (and maybe even an alternate commander)
• Painful Quandary --> Flickering Ward: Flavor for more efficient protection.
• Falkenrath Noble --> Soul's Attendant: less offensive, but more lifegain triggers. Goes well witht he increased focus on Karlov.

Overall a significant improvement to CMC

Cheers

Don't think you're wrong at all with the switch to Authority and Kambal. Especially Authority, which is so wonderfully cheap for the tempo adjustment.

I like the last one, and the first one, other then that i say leave it like it is