Karador's a very strong value creature - I enjoy those. I really had a lot of fun with the old iteration and wanted another go, especially after opening a foil Sandsteppe Citadel at the Khans of Tarkir prerelease.
How does one play this deck?
Slowly. Karador is very much about the midrange, and you play your ramp and early utility dorks in the early stages of the game, using them to strip the opponent of permanents. Once that's established, you'll use Karador to access any of your dorks that may have died to a wayward sweeper.
Truthfully, Karador has insane value in the mid-lategame stages, as control is hard-pressed to fight it because they basically have to waste counters on spells cast from your graveyard. If you can grind out your opponents in the early stages of the game with your hearth of removal, you'll have no problem setting up to bowl over the table by establishing a dominant board position.
This deck is still in testing phase, so I'm going to making a bunch of small edits to it that will go here whether or not the date for said edits will be accurate. D E A L W I T H I T
I figured it's time I get a Larkmic combo going somewhere. I don't think I have anything that can go infinite with it - it just makes sure none of my extort guys other than Syndicate Enforcer and Treasury Thrull leave the table.
Other edits seem obvious in hindsight - less stupid amounts of ramp, more cards that actually have value.
This is perhaps the biggest question mark deck I have, so a lot of trial and error will be happening. Keep watch.
Basically, the shocks went up instead of down, so I'm cutting them from the deck because I can't afford them. I'm sick and tired of graveyard hate (literally got hit by two Tormod's Crypts in one game), and I feel I need more sacrifice outlets, so here you go.
I realize this adds to the curve just a tad, but honestly, Knight is practically a strict upgrade to Crop Rotation, and Woodfall Primus is more powerful than a second Skullclamp target.
I don't know how well I can even explain how much I hate this change. Much like removing Iroas from Marath, this will be the change I hate the most.
Honestly, I love Lark/Guide, I really do. The combination is obscenely powerful. The issue I'm having with the two is how they interact with the rest of the deck. I'm strictly anti-combo, and the fact that I can just choose to draw my deck with Greater Good or stack my deck with Viscera Seer is disgusting, and it leads to abuse cases with just about every ETB, and wins the game on the spot with Blood Artist. I have to stay true to my nature here and remove the problem, and no matter how I look at it, these two are the perpetrators of the problem, the issue that's making the deck not fun to play.
Going forward, though, I'm looking forward to seeing how Whisperwood Elemental tests. I'm also looking forward to getting a foil Karador in the mail soon.
I'm trying too hard to make this like my Sidisi deck, a deck that mills itself in short bursts and doesn't mind if its creatures die. Truthfully, adding Hermit Druid just seems like a lot of value, a level of which I can't just ignore. To accommodate, however, I have to cut basics.
Dragons of Tarkir gives this deck Sidisi, which it couldn't be happier for. The fact that Exploit works when you just sacrifice the creature is really relevant here, as paying 5 to tutor every turn isn't the worst. Collected Company is great with Eternal Witness and the new poster child of the deck, Hermit Druid. Merciless Executioner, on the other hand, has been in the deck since Fate Reforged came out, but was never added until now. Whoops!
My friend wanted his Survival and Greater Good back. Sad boys.
So not too long ago, I tested the line of "What happens when you get the ideal Living Death setup with Hermit Druid, but you've drawn all your basics? The answer is, Blood Artist can't solo carry you to 120 damage and Grim Haruspex is an ******** for getting in the way of your triggers by saying "Hey, your Splinterfright is dead, so draw a card before your ETB's resolve!"
In light of that, I've removed Haruspex (You can get away with Disciple of Bolas by just putting it on the stack first, so that its trigger resolves last.) in favor of adding more cards that assist that line. Kheru Bloodsucker is admittedly loose, but it's 6 damage that my now two Blood Artists don't have to do, which I very much appreciate, and it can do a total of 66 in the line, even though it's a pretty dead draw aside from that.
Sapling of Colfenor might be worth looking at should you ever want to increase your creature count in the deck. Very few extort creatures have Power > Toughness, and at most the Sapling has you pay 1 life to draw a creature. Obviously he runs into the problem of giving your opponents information, but if your ideal plan is to tap-out for extort on most turns, you shouldn't need to withhold too much info.
Since you play with some Shocks and Bosk in your manabase, you might also want to look at Treefolk Harbinger. He's a repeatable Worldly Tutor if you can get him into your graveyard (though only for treefolk/changelings), with the upside that he can also find some of your better fixers. His low cost also means he can let you get full value from extort when you've got the Pontiff out.
There are a variety of cards that trigger off of your life gain, such as Ageless Entity and Exquisite Blood. You can even throw in Sanguine Bond for the combo.
Vizkopa Guildmage could also find a home here.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
8 Karador, Ghost Chieftain
Creatures
1 Spore Frog
1 Viscera Seer
2 Blood Artist
2 Fauna Shaman
2 Hermit Druid
2 Reassembling Skeleton
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
3 Dauntless Escort
3 Eternal Witness
3 Fleshbag Marauder
3 Hallowed Spiritkeeper
3 Kheru Bloodsucker
3 Merciless Executioner
3 Necrotic Sliver
3 Nighthowler
3 Pawn of Ulamog
3 Reclamation Sage
3 Splinterfright
3 Wood Elves
4 Disciple of Bolas
4 Falkenrath Noble
4 False Prophet
4 Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
4 Mindslicer
4 Siege Rhino
5 Acidic Slime
5 Archfiend of Depravity
5 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
5 Shriekmaw
5 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
6 Kokusho, the Evening Star
6 Sun Titan
6 Yosei, the Morning Star
7 Angel of Serenity
7 Sheoldred, Whispering One
8 Ashen Rider
1 Green Sun's Zenith
2 Life From the Loam
3 Buried Alive
3 Victimize
4 Day of Judgment
4 Dread Return
4 Wrath of God
5 Living Death
5 Unburial Rites
Instants
1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Rally the Ancestors
3 Mortify
3 Putrefy
4 Utter End
Artifacts
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
4 Birthing Pod
Enchantments
1 Exploration
1 Manabond
3 Aura Shards
3 Pernicious Deed
3 Phyrexian Arena
4 Grave Pact
5 Dictate of Erebos
5 Mirari's Wake
Basic Lands
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Swamp
Nonbasic Lands
0 Barren Moor
0 Bayou
0 Bojuka Bog
0 Command Tower
0 Crypt of Agadeem
0 Fetid Heath
0 Godless Shrine
0 Golgari Rot Farm
0 High Market
0 Isolated Chapel
0 Kor Haven
0 Krosan Verge
0 Murmuring Bosk
0 Opal Palace
0 Orzhov Basilica
0 Overgrown Tomb
0 Sandsteppe Citadel
0 Scrubland
0 Secluded Steppe
0 Selesnya Sanctuary
0 Sungrass Prairie
0 Sunpetal Grove
0 Tainted Field
0 Tainted Wood
0 Temple Garden
0 Temple of Malady
0 Temple of Plenty
0 Temple of Silence
0 Tranquil Thicket
0 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
0 Verdant Catacombs
0 Windswept Heath
0 Wooded Bastion
0 Woodland Cemetery
So, why Karador, Ghost Chieftain?
How does one play this deck?
Truthfully, Karador has insane value in the mid-lategame stages, as control is hard-pressed to fight it because they basically have to waste counters on spells cast from your graveyard. If you can grind out your opponents in the early stages of the game with your hearth of removal, you'll have no problem setting up to bowl over the table by establishing a dominant board position.
Changes Log
Identity Crisis
Immortal Servitude
Condemn
Yavimaya Elder
Shriekmaw
Harmonize
Phyrexian Arena
Syphon Mind
Fleshbag Marauder
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Necrotic Sliver
Qasali Pridemage
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Congregation at Dawn
-Removed:
Orzhov Charm
Sylvan Scrying
Crime / Punishment
Night's Whisper
Mortify
Unearth
Disturbed Burial
Rampant Growth
Stitch Together
Search for Tomorrow
Unburial Rites
Rule of Law
Order of Whiteclay
Explosive Vegetation
Explore
This deck is still in testing phase, so I'm going to making a bunch of small edits to it that will go here whether or not the date for said edits will be accurate. D E A L W I T H I T
6/5/2013:
Bone Shredder
Sin Collector
Eternal Witness
Disciple of Bolas
Reveillark
Karmic Guide
Deadbridge Chant
-Removed:
Dimir House Guard
Down / Dirty
Ray of Revelation
Golgari Charm
Ranger's Path
Harmonize
Growth Spasm
I figured it's time I get a Larkmic combo going somewhere. I don't think I have anything that can go infinite with it - it just makes sure none of my extort guys other than Syndicate Enforcer and Treasury Thrull leave the table.
Other edits seem obvious in hindsight - less stupid amounts of ramp, more cards that actually have value.
This is perhaps the biggest question mark deck I have, so a lot of trial and error will be happening. Keep watch.
6/21/2013:
Viscera Seer
True Believer
Forest
Plains
Swamp
-Removed:
Sign in Blood
Farseek
Temple Garden
Godless Shrine
Overgrown Tomb
Basically, the shocks went up instead of down, so I'm cutting them from the deck because I can't afford them. I'm sick and tired of graveyard hate (literally got hit by two Tormod's Crypts in one game), and I feel I need more sacrifice outlets, so here you go.
7/5/2013:
Day of Judgment
Retribution of the Meek
Austere Command
Phyrexian Rebirth
Dark Prophecy
Tenacious Dead
-Removed:
Nature's Lore
Treasured Find
Immortal Servitude
Condemn
Path to Exile
Ready / Willing
M14 brings us Dark Prophecy, which is just a beautiful thing, and their actual successful attempt at a decent successor to Reassembling Skeleton.
When playtesting, the deck had one ridiculous glaring weakness - it didn't have any Wraths. I fixed that mistake right quick.
7/11/2013:
Scavenging Ooze
-Removed:
Animate Dead
A friend had a spare DotP code and I got a free Scavenging Ooze! Today is awesome.
7/13/2013:
Knight of the Reliquary
Woodfall Primus
-Removed:
Tenacious Dead
Crop Rotation
I realize this adds to the curve just a tad, but honestly, Knight is practically a strict upgrade to Crop Rotation, and Woodfall Primus is more powerful than a second Skullclamp target.
7/19/2013:
Yosei, the Morning Star
Kokusho, the Evening Star
-Removed:
Bloodghast
Worldly Tutor
They dropped, so I'm picking them up while the getting's good.
7/29/2013:
Mindslicer
Acidic Slime
Oracle of Mul Daya
Sun Titan
Sheoldred, Whispering One
Defense of the Heart
Mirari's Wake
Buried Alive
-Removed:
Syndicate Enforcer
Knight of Obligation
Vizkopa Confessor
Shriekmaw
Woodfall Primus
Expedition Map
Congregation at Dawn
Ancient Craving
9/20/2013:
Ashen Rider
Temple of Silence
-Removed:
Basilica Guards
Plains
10/18/2013:
Toxic Deluge
Tempt with Discovery
-Removed:
Scavenging Ooze
Defense of the Heart
12/21/2014:
1/16/2015:
Whisperwood Elemental
Archfiend of Depravity
-Removed:
Karmic Guide
Reveillark
I don't know how well I can even explain how much I hate this change. Much like removing Iroas from Marath, this will be the change I hate the most.
Honestly, I love Lark/Guide, I really do. The combination is obscenely powerful. The issue I'm having with the two is how they interact with the rest of the deck. I'm strictly anti-combo, and the fact that I can just choose to draw my deck with Greater Good or stack my deck with Viscera Seer is disgusting, and it leads to abuse cases with just about every ETB, and wins the game on the spot with Blood Artist. I have to stay true to my nature here and remove the problem, and no matter how I look at it, these two are the perpetrators of the problem, the issue that's making the deck not fun to play.
Going forward, though, I'm looking forward to seeing how Whisperwood Elemental tests. I'm also looking forward to getting a foil Karador in the mail soon.
2/10/2015:
Manabond
Life From the Loam
Hermit Druid
Splinterfright
Angel of Serenity
Barren Moor
Secluded Steppe
Tranquil Thicket
Temple of Malady
Temple of Plenty
Temple of Silence
-Removed:
Knight of the Reliquary
Bone Shredder
Yavimaya Elder
Kodama's Reach
Austere Command
2 Forests
2 Plains
2 Swamps
I'm trying too hard to make this like my Sidisi deck, a deck that mills itself in short bursts and doesn't mind if its creatures die. Truthfully, adding Hermit Druid just seems like a lot of value, a level of which I can't just ignore. To accommodate, however, I have to cut basics.
2/23/2015:
Silent Arbiter
Unburial Rites
-Removed:
Dimir House Guard
Attrition
3/17/2015:
Merciless Executioner
Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Collected Company
-Removed:
Barter in Blood
Slum Reaper
Unburial Rites
Dragons of Tarkir gives this deck Sidisi, which it couldn't be happier for. The fact that Exploit works when you just sacrifice the creature is really relevant here, as paying 5 to tutor every turn isn't the worst. Collected Company is great with Eternal Witness and the new poster child of the deck, Hermit Druid. Merciless Executioner, on the other hand, has been in the deck since Fate Reforged came out, but was never added until now. Whoops!
3/24/2015:
Forest
-Removed:
Dryad Arbor
Simple change; Marath got this deck's Dryad Arbor, so a basic Forest will replace it.
3/31/2015:
Exploration
Golgari Rot Farm
Orzhov Basilica
Selesnya Sanctuary
-Removed:
Whisperwood Elemental
3 Forests
4/4/2015:
Scrubland
-Removed:
Vault of the Archangel
I DID IT I GOT ANOTHER DUAL
I T ' S H A P P E N I N G
My third. A lot of the duals in my decks are on loan, actually. This one, however, is all mine. Muwahahaha.
It goes here, since Alesha doesn't utilize it that well, and this deck thrives off having a high nonbasic count.
5/7/2015:
Survival of the Fittest
Wrath of God
Unburial Rites
Nighthowler
-Removed:
Solemn Simulacrum
Collected Company
Silent Arbiter
Magister of Worth
5/17/2015:
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Kheru Bloodsucker
Falkenrath Noble
Pawn of Ulamog
Dread Return
Siege Rhino
Rally the Ancestors
-Removed:
Athreos, God of Passage
Grave Titan
Grim Haruspex
Survival of the Fittest
Skyshroud Claim
Deglamer
Greater Good
My friend wanted his Survival and Greater Good back. Sad boys.
So not too long ago, I tested the line of "What happens when you get the ideal Living Death setup with Hermit Druid, but you've drawn all your basics? The answer is, Blood Artist can't solo carry you to 120 damage and Grim Haruspex is an ******** for getting in the way of your triggers by saying "Hey, your Splinterfright is dead, so draw a card before your ETB's resolve!"
In light of that, I've removed Haruspex (You can get away with Disciple of Bolas by just putting it on the stack first, so that its trigger resolves last.) in favor of adding more cards that assist that line. Kheru Bloodsucker is admittedly loose, but it's 6 damage that my now two Blood Artists don't have to do, which I very much appreciate, and it can do a total of 66 in the line, even though it's a pretty dead draw aside from that.
Let me know what you think!
Since you play with some Shocks and Bosk in your manabase, you might also want to look at Treefolk Harbinger. He's a repeatable Worldly Tutor if you can get him into your graveyard (though only for treefolk/changelings), with the upside that he can also find some of your better fixers. His low cost also means he can let you get full value from extort when you've got the Pontiff out.
RRR - Bosh's School of Hard(cover) Knocks
There are a variety of cards that trigger off of your life gain, such as Ageless Entity and Exquisite Blood. You can even throw in Sanguine Bond for the combo.
Vizkopa Guildmage could also find a home here.