Uncle Karl's Fun House

Commander / EDH Lifegain Soul Sisters Voltron WB (Orzhov)

Flagellum

Creature (29)

• 1x Ajani's Pridemate
• 1x Basilica Guards
• 1x Basilica Screecher
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Bloodgift Demon
• 1x Cliffhaven Vampire
• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Divinity of Pride
• 1x Drana's Emissary
• 1x Falkenrath Noble
• 1x Felidar Sovereign
• 1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
• 1x Kingpin's Pet
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Nyx-Fleece Ram
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant  ^Flip
• 1x Soul Warden
• 1x Soul's Attendant
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Sunscorch Regent
• 1x Suture Priest
• 1x Syndic of Tithes
• 1x Thrull Parasite
• 1x Tithe Drinker
• 1x Tree of Perdition
• 1x Tymna the Weaver *f-etch*
• 1x Vampire Nighthawk
• 1x Vizkopa Guildmage

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

Land (37)

• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Glimmerpost
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 12x Plains
• 1x Radiant Fountain
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Seraph Sanctuary
• 12x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Enchantment (10)

• 1x Authority of the Consuls
• 1x Blind Obedience
• 1x Bloodchief Ascension
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Greed
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Phyrexian Reclamation
• 1x Sanguine Bond
• 1x Test of Endurance

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Essence Harvest
• 1x Rite of Consumption
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Tragic Arrogance

Commander (1)

Artifact (11)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Loxodon Warhammer
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sun Droplet
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Tablet of the Guilds
• 1x Trailblazer's Boots
• 1x Well of Lost Dreams
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Instant (6)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Mortify
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Unmake
• 1x Utter End

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Maybeboard

Creature (1)

• 1x Gifted Aetherborn

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Gonti's Machinations

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Come One, Come All, to Uncle Karl's Fun House!

Ever aspire to be your family's creepy Uncle? Well now's your chance! I originally built this deck as an Oloro, Ageless Ascetic deck but wanted something more interactive. In other words I wanted to turn cards sideways. When I saw Karlov of the Ghost Council was spoiled I know it was a match made in Heaven. Hell, we even look similar! Anyways I had to rewire the deck a bit as life gain for the sake of life gain was pointless in Oloro. This is not necessarily true with Karlov however. He loves all sources of life gain and in return he gets fat, much like me after a Thanksgiving feast.

Strategy

Step 1: Cast/Protect Karlov

In order to gain the most from life gain triggers we need Karlov to hit the board early. One of the most beneficial T1 moves is to cast Soul Warden or Soul's Attendant so Karlov is a 4/4 on T2. The Soul Sisters themselves have the potential to pump up Karlov to epic proportions. It's important to put some sort of protection on him since he will be the elephant in any room. So the standard Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves are included as well as Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant/Mother of Runes among others.

Step 2: Collect Life Gain/Lifelink/Extort Effects

Here we cast things like Drana's Emissary, Whip of Erebos, Contemplation or other similar effects that this deck is loaded with. This also includes cards with abilities that synergize well with life gain.

The Extort mechanic works wonders here. Not only do we get to drain each opponent, we can also get plenty of Karlov triggers.

Step 3: Smash Face with Karlov/Critters or Exile Threats

So now that Karlov is sitting there enjoying his life gain dinner we move onto the our attack plans. Karlov will get huge if he feed him enough, so we can either use him to attack and/or exile the biggest threats. There are plenty of lifelink critters in the deck that will readily feed Karlov as well.

Evasion enablers are essential for Karlov to be able to land hits. Without them Karlov just durdles around getting fat and exiling things, also becoming a target of ultimate clagginess. That is why I've included several evasion enablers that also net me cards or offer protection as well. While auras like Unquestioned Authority may be considered no bueno in this style of deck, they can be recurred using Sun Titan. And I'm not going to cry for spending 3 mana to draw a card :)

Alternate Wincons

Should Karlov continually be shut down we have a few options to win. While not my favorite mode of winning Exquisite Blood/Sanguine Bond infinity combo is effective. Soviet Kitty aka Felidar Sovereign is our other wincon who doesn't need any explaining. Tree of Redemption is a solid method of bringing an opponent's life to a manageable amount.

Let's not forget about Essence Harvest and Rite of Consumption. If used on a very fat Karlov it can knock out an opponent easily. Obviously Essence Harvest is the better of the two, but at least you can make use of an obese Uncle Karl. These two spells can combo nicely with Sanguine Bond/Exquisite Blood taking care of two opponents.

Kaladesh Update

So Kaladesh is around the corner and a few gems can be found.

Aetherflux Reservoir: Um, yes please! Now we get to put all that life gain to use, easily capable of knocking at least one opponent out.

Kambal, Consul of Allocation : It's a Bloodchief Ascension for non-creature spells. It will neuter storm decks but is still good just in general.

Authority of the Consuls: A stax effect and a psuedo Soul Warden on an enchantment for . Blind Obedience's little bro.

Any and all suggestions and +1's would be appreciated!

Date added	9 years
Last updated	7 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 23 - 0 Rares 27 - 0 Uncommons 15 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.89
Tokens	Emblem Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, Vampire 1/1 B w/ Lifelink
Folders	Compare to.... , Karl, Commander Things
Based on	Oloro's Lifegain Matters Pillow Fight! [[Retired]] Flagellum EDH