For the longest time I played Korlash, Heir to Blackblade. However, as the format got faster, Korlash got worse. To be honest though, I still have a secret love affair with Korlash despite the fact that I've been rocking Skithiryx. Over the year and some months I've been heavily involved in EDH, I've come to accumulate a huge pool of cards that were all either once in the deck or good enough to warrant their inclusion should the direct and focus change. Looking over the huge list of stuff I wasn't playing, it dawned on me to build two separate decks, one like the aggressive Skithriyx Dragon build I've posted here, and a control variant sporting Korlash as the general.
I've tried many attempts to come up with a direct for the control variant however I've been frustrated in my efforts. I ask of you to please give me any suggestion you might have for a direction for the deck. I'd really appreciate it. I'd like to build the deck in a way that utilizes and synergies with Korlash without the whole deck revolving around him,
Ok, that didn't work. I've got to try and quit working out combos that late at night, lol.
Ok, I just figured out a way to use Korlash's 'grandeur' ability in edh..... forgive me, I know that everyone probably figured this out long before me but I just got it.
With Korlash Imprinted on Mimic Vat, and Xiahou in play and a recursion engine like Oversold Cemetery or Oath of Ghouls, you could make a Korlash token and grandeur the real one from hand for 2 swamps and a big hasty beater every turn.
Ok, I know it's a stretch, but all those cards are very good in a black zombie deck on their own and you could easily just stumble into the combo. Heck, Mimic Vat with Xiahou imprinted would be insanely good by itself.
Anyway... OP:
Besides obviously wanting Mimic Vat and recursion engines in a Korlash/Xiahou deck anyway, I'd like to suggest a few things for the "big mana" package that you want to go with: Cabal Coffers (w/6 swamps) or Crypt of Agadeem (w/6 creatures in gy) + Deserted Temple + Rings of Brighthearth = Infinite mana to kill with those spells you mentioned (or Consume Spirit). And all the cards are good on their own so it's not using up any card slots for specialty pieces.
Ok, I just figured out a way to use Korlash's 'grandeur' ability in edh..... forgive me, I know that everyone probably figured this out long before me but I just got it.
With Korlash Imprinted on Mimic Vat, and Xiahou in play and a recursion engine like Oversold Cemetery or Oath of Ghouls, you could make a Korlash token and grandeur the real one from hand for 2 swamps and a big hasty beater every turn.
The only way that this would work would be if each turn, you would imprint Korlash onto the vat, make a copy of him, imprint another creature onto the vat (returning Korlash to the g/y), return Korlash to your hand, discard him to grandeur, then return him to your hand again to play and sacrifice next turn to imprint.
So I'd say Malevolent Awakening is probably the sac engine of choice. The whole combo would take, every turn:
2BB mana to play Korlash
1BB to sac Korlash, returning another creature to your hand from your gy
3 to activate Mimic vat
Theoretically 0 to play the creature (if it's Ornithopter or the like)
1BB to sacrifice the creature, freeing Korlash. Except he won't be in the graveyard to return at this point, so we need another creature in the loop, return that creature.
At least 0 to play that creature
1BB to sacrifice it, returning Korlash.
Discard Korlash to grandeur. Return him in your Upkeep with Oversold Cemetery
That's minimum 16 mana per turn and 5 required cards (Vat, Oversold, Awakening, two 0-mana creatures) besides Korlash. To get 2 swamps a turn and haste on your general.
Somehow seems not worth it.
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First let me preface my reply by saying thanks for taking the time to reply. I really do applicate it. I mean no offense if I come across as a little well... “doh” but I've been playing mono-black for well over a year and a half and I think I know of every card that would warrant inclusion.
Ok, I just figured out a way to use Korlash's 'grandeur' ability in edh..... forgive me, I know that everyone probably figured this out long before me but I just got it.
With Korlash Imprinted on Mimic Vat, and Xiahou in play and a recursion engine like Oversold Cemetery or Oath of Ghouls, you could make a Korlash token and grandeur the real one from hand for 2 swamps and a big hasty beater every turn.
Interesting but also extremely risky. If that Mimic Vat gets destroyed then you're in for a world of pain because your general is stuck imprinted. The only way around this is if you imprint something else in response but it's GG if a Krosan Grip hit it.
Besides obviously wanting Mimic Vat and recursion engines in a Korlash/Xiahou deck anyway, I'd like to suggest a few things for the "big mana" package that you want to go with:
Cabal Coffers (w/6 swamps) or Crypt of Agadeem (w/6 creatures in gy) + Deserted Temple + Rings of Brighthearth = Infinite mana to kill with those spells you mentioned (or Consume Spirit). And all the cards are good on their own so it's not using up any card slots for specialty pieces.
I'm a little iffy about including any infinite mana packages, especially in a deck that has X spells. Large exsanguinates are bad enough but when the deck becomes tutor up infinate mana and exsanguinate the table, it gets boring and repetative. Now it's, at least in my oppinion, a totally different story if instead of infinite mana a deck produced large quantities of mana that proove to be lethal. One is I-WIN lolz combo and leaves a sour taste...
Thanks for the suggestions but there are only 99 slots to a deck. About 40 of them will be land and 15 of them tutors. Between the bare minimums, I'm looking at maybe 13 slots. What I need to do is decide a focus while still be able to fit in the things that I don't play in Skithiryx.
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Vampire Hexmage
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed
1 Magus of the Coffers
1 Phage the Untouchable
1 Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Scroll Rack
1 Mimic Vat
1 Nim Deathmantle
1 Grafted Exoskeleton
1 Sculpting Steel
1 Promise of Power
1 Withering Boon
1 Imp's Mischief
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Sudden Spoiling
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Exsanguinate
1 Profane Command
1 Shrouded Lore
1 All Is Dust
1 Decree of Pain
1 Overwhelming Forces
1 Lethal Vapors
24 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Maze of Ith
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Thawing Glaciers
1 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Dark Depths
1 Vesuva
General: 1 Korlash, Heir to Blackblade1 Barter in Blood
As you can see this doesn't leave us with a lot of room—fourteen slots to be exact.
Grave Pact and Butcher of Malakir along with some sac outlets:
My only issue is that these cards do little on their own and demand to be built around... Given the limited slots, I don't see making a Grave Pact egine an addition.
Here are some synergistic inclusions I'm considering:
Necropotence and Venser's Journal
Wound Relfection and Temporal Extortion
Gravepact, Butcher of Malakir and an Engine to Abuse it
Visara the Dreadful and Avatar of Woe
Icy Manipulator and Ring of Gix
Sundering Titan, Platinum Angel and Steel Hellkite
Darksteel Forge, Nev's Disk and Oblivion Stone (Guardian Beast too!)
Grave Titan, Geth and Graveborn Muse
Kuldotha Forgemaster Combo
and...
Rings of Brighthearth + Shenanagins
Two other potential themes that I've come up with have been a Zombie tribal theme (though I can't get it to come together well) and Nullash, a deck that abuses Null Rod and the fact that EDH decks are heavily artifact dependant. The latter would run no artifacts with activated abilities and seek to abuse things like Gauntlet of Power and Extraplanar Lens.
I'm particularlly found of this last idea as it alows me to utilize a lot more cards that I'm already not running in Skithiryx. Thoughs?
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I've tried many attempts to come up with a direct for the control variant however I've been frustrated in my efforts. I ask of you to please give me any suggestion you might have for a direction for the deck. I'd really appreciate it. I'd like to build the deck in a way that utilizes and synergies with Korlash without the whole deck revolving around him,
I'd like to play the two planeswalkers in black, my 15 tutors, Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed and big mana packages such as Gauntlet of Power and Extraplanar Lens to support Profane Command and Exsanguinate.
Your suggestions are appreciated!
Ok, I just figured out a way to use Korlash's 'grandeur' ability in edh..... forgive me, I know that everyone probably figured this out long before me but I just got it.
With Korlash Imprinted on Mimic Vat, and Xiahou in play and a recursion engine like Oversold Cemetery or Oath of Ghouls, you could make a Korlash token and grandeur the real one from hand for 2 swamps and a big hasty beater every turn.
Ok, I know it's a stretch, but all those cards are very good in a black zombie deck on their own and you could easily just stumble into the combo. Heck, Mimic Vat with Xiahou imprinted would be insanely good by itself.
Anyway... OP:
Besides obviously wanting Mimic Vat and recursion engines in a Korlash/Xiahou deck anyway, I'd like to suggest a few things for the "big mana" package that you want to go with:
Cabal Coffers (w/6 swamps) or Crypt of Agadeem (w/6 creatures in gy) + Deserted Temple + Rings of Brighthearth = Infinite mana to kill with those spells you mentioned (or Consume Spirit). And all the cards are good on their own so it's not using up any card slots for specialty pieces.
Twisted Abomination for more swamps and a beater.
More swamp getters:
[card]Solemn Simulacrum
Journeyer's Kite
Armillary Sphere[/card].
.
and of course Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
Expedition Map to fetch any land.
More Recursion:
- Mimic Vat
- Nim Deathmantle
- Nezumi Graverobber
- Beacon of Unrest
- Victimize
..
More cards to use all the big mana:
Nirkana Revenant - Not only uses it, but makes it too.
- Steel Hellkite
- Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
- Nantuko Shade
- Geth, Lord of the Vault
..
Grave Pact and Butcher of Malakir along with some sac outlets:
- Carrion Feeder
- Nantuko Husk
- Phyrexian Tower
.(Xiahou works really well since he self sacs)
Some self-recurring creatures for sac fodder:
- Bloodghast
- Nether Traitor
- Reassembling Skeleton
..
And some card draw:
- Phyrexian Arena
- Graveborn Muse
- Promise of Power
- Ambition's Cost
- Skullclamp
(to use all the dying creatures).Syphon Mind
.
Some global sac removal:
- Innocent Blood
- Barter in Blood
- Fleshbag Marauder
(crazy imprinted on mimic vat).Maybe Smallpox?
Some more spot removal:
- Damnation
- Decree of Pain
- Sudden Death
- Rend Flesh
- Go for the Throat
..
Throw in your tutors, a Grave Titan and an Imp's Mischief, and I think you've got a pretty cool outline for a Korlash control deck.
oh, and Yawgmoth's Will, and Nightmare Lash. The Lash on Xiahou would be pretty brutal.
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The only way that this would work would be if each turn, you would imprint Korlash onto the vat, make a copy of him, imprint another creature onto the vat (returning Korlash to the g/y), return Korlash to your hand, discard him to grandeur, then return him to your hand again to play and sacrifice next turn to imprint.
So I'd say Malevolent Awakening is probably the sac engine of choice. The whole combo would take, every turn:
2BB mana to play Korlash
1BB to sac Korlash, returning another creature to your hand from your gy
3 to activate Mimic vat
Theoretically 0 to play the creature (if it's Ornithopter or the like)
1BB to sacrifice the creature, freeing Korlash. Except he won't be in the graveyard to return at this point, so we need another creature in the loop, return that creature.
At least 0 to play that creature
1BB to sacrifice it, returning Korlash.
Discard Korlash to grandeur. Return him in your Upkeep with Oversold Cemetery
That's minimum 16 mana per turn and 5 required cards (Vat, Oversold, Awakening, two 0-mana creatures) besides Korlash. To get 2 swamps a turn and haste on your general.
Somehow seems not worth it.
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Interesting but also extremely risky. If that Mimic Vat gets destroyed then you're in for a world of pain because your general is stuck imprinted. The only way around this is if you imprint something else in response but it's GG if a Krosan Grip hit it.
I'm a little iffy about including any infinite mana packages, especially in a deck that has X spells. Large exsanguinates are bad enough but when the deck becomes tutor up infinate mana and exsanguinate the table, it gets boring and repetative. Now it's, at least in my oppinion, a totally different story if instead of infinite mana a deck produced large quantities of mana that proove to be lethal. One is I-WIN lolz combo and leaves a sour taste...
Thanks for the suggestions but there are only 99 slots to a deck. About 40 of them will be land and 15 of them tutors. Between the bare minimums, I'm looking at maybe 13 slots. What I need to do is decide a focus while still be able to fit in the things that I don't play in Skithiryx.
1 Cruel Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Shred Memory
1 Dimir Machinations
1 Dimir House Guard
1 Grim Tutor
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Brainspoil
1 Demonic Collusion
1 Netherborn Phalanx
1 Beseech the Queen
1 Liliana Vess
1 Sorin Markov
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Vampire Hexmage
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed
1 Magus of the Coffers
1 Phage the Untouchable
1 Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Scroll Rack
1 Mimic Vat
1 Nim Deathmantle
1 Grafted Exoskeleton
1 Sculpting Steel
1 Promise of Power
1 Withering Boon
1 Imp's Mischief
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Sudden Spoiling
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Exsanguinate
1 Profane Command
1 Shrouded Lore
1 All Is Dust
1 Decree of Pain
1 Overwhelming Forces
1 Lethal Vapors
24 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Maze of Ith
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Thawing Glaciers
1 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Dark Depths
1 Vesuva
General: 1 Korlash, Heir to Blackblade1 Barter in Blood
As you can see this doesn't leave us with a lot of room—fourteen slots to be exact.
My only issue is that these cards do little on their own and demand to be built around... Given the limited slots, I don't see making a Grave Pact egine an addition.
Here are some synergistic inclusions I'm considering:
Necropotence and Venser's Journal
Wound Relfection and Temporal Extortion
Gravepact, Butcher of Malakir and an Engine to Abuse it
Visara the Dreadful and Avatar of Woe
Icy Manipulator and Ring of Gix
Sundering Titan, Platinum Angel and Steel Hellkite
Darksteel Forge, Nev's Disk and Oblivion Stone (Guardian Beast too!)
Grave Titan, Geth and Graveborn Muse
Kuldotha Forgemaster Combo
and...
Rings of Brighthearth + Shenanagins
Two other potential themes that I've come up with have been a Zombie tribal theme (though I can't get it to come together well) and Nullash, a deck that abuses Null Rod and the fact that EDH decks are heavily artifact dependant. The latter would run no artifacts with activated abilities and seek to abuse things like Gauntlet of Power and Extraplanar Lens.
I'm particularlly found of this last idea as it alows me to utilize a lot more cards that I'm already not running in Skithiryx. Thoughs?