This is a 10 ticket budget Korlash, Heir to Blackblade deck (as of 2/4/2014 on MTGO Traders this deck was $10.16 to build sans general and basic lands which are another $2.50) for play on MTGO. I started with the general since I very rarely play voltron style decks and worked my way down from a swamps matter theme to what I am playing now. The deck's primary focus is to make Korlash big and unblockable and beat face. Because so many of the creatures in this deck have evasion, if Korlash gets tucketed we can generally aggro our way to win with the equipment in the deck as a back-up strategy. This deck also has a secondary focus where it can burn people out using a combination of cards like Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Corrupt and Exsanguinate along with Sanguine Bond and Wound Reflection. The deck has a number of ways to recur threats even from the graveyard which gives it some resiliency.
The deck is still being tuned and one of the I've noticed that it tends to be slower than I would like and that I am very light on instant speed spot removal. I'm playing around with different combinations of cheap cards (I am currently trying out Tragic Slip and Vendetta to see what I can cut to see what works and what I can cut for them.
Card Descriptions
Creatures
Korlash. Heir to Blackblade - Korlash is the general of the deck and is your generic "I'm going to shove this length of power into the nearest open orifice. Generally speaking he is going to be powerful enough to two shot an opponent on general damage though with the equipment available in the deck he is going to be to one shot an opponent. While he lacks built in haste or evasion, he does have the ability to regenerate himself which makes him more resilient than your run of the mill voltron. He also has some grandeur text but that doesn't work unless you are running clones. I'm not.
Dauthi Slayer and Nether Traitor - Shadow weenies who when suited up with some equipment can directly hit an opponent without having to worry about blockers. Nether Traitor has a bit more utility because it has haste and it can be brought back directly from the graveyard.
Nantuko Shade - An early beater that also scales well for late game because of its efficient shade ability.
Gatekeeper of Malakir - Value creature that makes target opponent sac a creature when cast for its kicker cost. The goal is to cast it, chump block, and bring it back with the numerous creature recursion cards we have.
Burnished Hart - This deck loves its swamps and Burnished Hart can not only get them but the deck has numerous ways to put him back into your hand to use and ramp again. It is expensive ramp but when you aren't playing green you take what you can get.
Fleshbag Marauder - This is essentially Gatekeeper of Malakir number two except this time with feeling because he makes everyone sac a creature. Same plan as with Gatekeeper, cast, chump, recast, profit.
Mogis's Marauder - To begin with this needs to be called Mogis' not Mogis's Marauder. This is a haste enabler and method of evasion for Korlash or any other juice creatures we would like to beat face with. It also synergizes nicely with some of the token generators the deck has like Keeper of the Bloodlines, Marshflitter, and Abhorrent Overlord so we can get immediate value from our creatures.
Pilgrim's Eye - Yo dawg, I heard you like swamps and curving out 'n' stuff. I brought you a swamp and I'll keep you from taking that fatty without trample on the chin.
Vampire Nighthawk - Value. So much value. The only thing this card doesn't do is draw you a card when it enters the battlefield.
Bloodline Keeper - This guy spits out tokens and is a respectable body with evasion so he loves him some equipment. I haven't ever used his flip ability but the deck runs enough vampires that you will get some value out of it if you can pull it off.
Crypt Ghast - Extort is corner useful for incremental value but the real deal is the mana doubling ability. This deck has a lot of tutors but they are all fairly mana expensive so making your mana go twice as far lets you search for something and cast it on the same turn when you wouldn't normally be able to do so.
Dimir House Guard - Mot sure what kind of house you would guard with an animated skeleton with knives but I am sure it is hella important. The main reason I picked up this guy was because he provides (mostly uncounterable) tutoring for key cards with a 4 CMC. The main ones I go for are Crypt Ghast, Tendrils of Corruption, Mutiliate, Sever the Bloddline, Greed, Whip of Erebos, Trading Post, and Nightmare Lash/Lashwrithe. The creature itself has pretty middlin' (bad) stats but it does have evasion which can be useful with how powerful most of the equipment we are running are.
Marsh Flitter - Hi, my name is Marsh Flitter and I generate chumps and occasionally punch people in the face for respectable amounts of damage. I like holding hands, walks on the beach, and being a member of one of the most abusive tribes printed in standard at its time.
Sangromancer - This was just a general value pick because the life gain can work well with a lot of the other effects in the deck. If you have this and Sanguine Bond out at the same time, it effectively stops people from wrathing until they can deal with Sanguine Bond. Being a vampire he also syngerizes well in corner cases that you flip Bloodline Keeper.
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - Mediocre stats for a four drop but he does have horsemanship which is the 3 Kingdoms version of shadow. His big ability is that he lets you fetch black cards back from your graveyard which can be back breaking when you can cast a spell like Corrupt or Exsanguinate multiple turns in a row. Because of all the ways of returning creatures from our graveyard to play or hand he usually gets at least two uses.
Bloodgift Demon - Phyrexian Arena stapled to a fairly large body. Arena was definitely out of our budget but this guy does a fair imitation of it and because his ability specifies that you can let target player draw once in a blue moon you can try burning someone for that last point of damage or helping a friend in a game of Two-Headed Giant.
Gray Merchant of Asphodel - Functionally a less powerful Exsanguinate but to its credit it is far more easily re-used once it hits the graveyard than its x-spell brethren. There is a reason this card is tearing up standard and resolving this with a Sanguine Bond or Wound Reflection in play is pretty strong.
Magus of the Coffers - Cabal Coffers stapled to a creature. While the lack of haste can be painful when you need the mana that turn, Magus has reasonable stats and provides some much needed acceleration for the deck.
Netherborn Phalanx - Another cost restricted tutor this guy does have a somewhat usable ability against token or swarm strategy decks when cast as a creature. Prossh and Rhys players throw up when they sees this guy hit the field. The main things I transmute this guy for are Nirkana Revenant, Steel Hellkite, Corrupt, Caged Sun, Wound Reflection and occasionally Enslave. Mich like Dimir House Guard this guy can be re-used fairly easily by the deck so getting more than one transmute out of him isn't unusual.
Nirkana Revenant - Our second mana doubling creature and this one is also a hellacious beater when swinging through unblocked. Revenant has most of the same ups and downs as Crypt Ghast but mostly I look at this creature and go "Damn I'm glad this is cheaper than the paper version."
Steel Hellkite - This guy gets rid of trouble permanents that this deck wouldn't normally be able to handle. He is a reasonably sized beater with a firebreathing ability so have a mana doubler out makes this guy much scarier.
Abhorrent Overlord - Another way of spitting out tokens, Overlord has good stats and generally produces at least 4 harpies. He has a strong ETB effect so bringing him back with Strands of Night or Whip of Erebos is usually a very powerful way to rebuild your position post wrath.
Rune-Scarred Demon - Unconditional tutor on a body? Value just by casting him?! I'll take it!
1 Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
Creatures//23
1 Dauthi Slayer
1 Gatekeeper of Malakir
1 Nantuko Shade
1 Nether Traitor
1 Burnished Hart
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Mogis's Marauder
1 Pilgrim's Eye
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Bloodline Keeper
1 Crypt Ghast
1 Dimir House Guard
1 Marsh Flitter
1 Sangromancer
1 Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed
1 Bloodgift Demon
1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Magus of the Coffers
1 Netherborn Phalanx
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Abhorrent Overlord
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Murder
1 Tendrils of Corruption
1 Consume the Meek
Sorcery//13
1 Black Sun's Zenith
1 Exsanguinate
1 Ashes to Ashes
1 Read the Bones
1 Ambition's Cost
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Mutilate
1 Sever the Bloodline
1 Diabolic Revelation
1 Increasing Ambition
1 Mind Sludge
1 Promise of Power
1 Corrupt
Enchantment//7
1 Phyrexian Reclamation
1 Greed
1 Strands of Night
1 Whip of Erebos
1 Sanguine Bond
1 Enslave
1 Wound Reflection
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Phyrexian Totem
1 Trading Post
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Caged Sun
1 Staff of Nin
1 Spine of Ish Sah
Equipment//6
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Strata Scythe
1 Whispersilk Cloak
1 Lashwrithe
1 Nightmare Lash
Land//38
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Hall of the Bandit Lord
1 Phyrexia's Core
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Rogue's Passage
33 Swamp
Deckstats as of 2/4/2014
Deck Description
The deck is still being tuned and one of the I've noticed that it tends to be slower than I would like and that I am very light on instant speed spot removal. I'm playing around with different combinations of cheap cards (I am currently trying out Tragic Slip and Vendetta to see what I can cut to see what works and what I can cut for them.
Card Descriptions
Dauthi Slayer and Nether Traitor - Shadow weenies who when suited up with some equipment can directly hit an opponent without having to worry about blockers. Nether Traitor has a bit more utility because it has haste and it can be brought back directly from the graveyard.
Nantuko Shade - An early beater that also scales well for late game because of its efficient shade ability.
Gatekeeper of Malakir - Value creature that makes target opponent sac a creature when cast for its kicker cost. The goal is to cast it, chump block, and bring it back with the numerous creature recursion cards we have.
Burnished Hart - This deck loves its swamps and Burnished Hart can not only get them but the deck has numerous ways to put him back into your hand to use and ramp again. It is expensive ramp but when you aren't playing green you take what you can get.
Fleshbag Marauder - This is essentially Gatekeeper of Malakir number two except this time with feeling because he makes everyone sac a creature. Same plan as with Gatekeeper, cast, chump, recast, profit.
Mogis's Marauder - To begin with this needs to be called Mogis' not Mogis's Marauder. This is a haste enabler and method of evasion for Korlash or any other juice creatures we would like to beat face with. It also synergizes nicely with some of the token generators the deck has like Keeper of the Bloodlines, Marshflitter, and Abhorrent Overlord so we can get immediate value from our creatures.
Pilgrim's Eye - Yo dawg, I heard you like swamps and curving out 'n' stuff. I brought you a swamp and I'll keep you from taking that fatty without trample on the chin.
Vampire Nighthawk - Value. So much value. The only thing this card doesn't do is draw you a card when it enters the battlefield.
Bloodline Keeper - This guy spits out tokens and is a respectable body with evasion so he loves him some equipment. I haven't ever used his flip ability but the deck runs enough vampires that you will get some value out of it if you can pull it off.
Crypt Ghast - Extort is corner useful for incremental value but the real deal is the mana doubling ability. This deck has a lot of tutors but they are all fairly mana expensive so making your mana go twice as far lets you search for something and cast it on the same turn when you wouldn't normally be able to do so.
Dimir House Guard - Mot sure what kind of house you would guard with an animated skeleton with knives but I am sure it is hella important. The main reason I picked up this guy was because he provides (mostly uncounterable) tutoring for key cards with a 4 CMC. The main ones I go for are Crypt Ghast, Tendrils of Corruption, Mutiliate, Sever the Bloddline, Greed, Whip of Erebos, Trading Post, and Nightmare Lash/Lashwrithe. The creature itself has pretty middlin' (bad) stats but it does have evasion which can be useful with how powerful most of the equipment we are running are.
Marsh Flitter - Hi, my name is Marsh Flitter and I generate chumps and occasionally punch people in the face for respectable amounts of damage. I like holding hands, walks on the beach, and being a member of one of the most abusive tribes printed in standard at its time.
Sangromancer - This was just a general value pick because the life gain can work well with a lot of the other effects in the deck. If you have this and Sanguine Bond out at the same time, it effectively stops people from wrathing until they can deal with Sanguine Bond. Being a vampire he also syngerizes well in corner cases that you flip Bloodline Keeper.
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - Mediocre stats for a four drop but he does have horsemanship which is the 3 Kingdoms version of shadow. His big ability is that he lets you fetch black cards back from your graveyard which can be back breaking when you can cast a spell like Corrupt or Exsanguinate multiple turns in a row. Because of all the ways of returning creatures from our graveyard to play or hand he usually gets at least two uses.
Bloodgift Demon - Phyrexian Arena stapled to a fairly large body. Arena was definitely out of our budget but this guy does a fair imitation of it and because his ability specifies that you can let target player draw once in a blue moon you can try burning someone for that last point of damage or helping a friend in a game of Two-Headed Giant.
Gray Merchant of Asphodel - Functionally a less powerful Exsanguinate but to its credit it is far more easily re-used once it hits the graveyard than its x-spell brethren. There is a reason this card is tearing up standard and resolving this with a Sanguine Bond or Wound Reflection in play is pretty strong.
Magus of the Coffers - Cabal Coffers stapled to a creature. While the lack of haste can be painful when you need the mana that turn, Magus has reasonable stats and provides some much needed acceleration for the deck.
Netherborn Phalanx - Another cost restricted tutor this guy does have a somewhat usable ability against token or swarm strategy decks when cast as a creature. Prossh and Rhys players throw up when they sees this guy hit the field. The main things I transmute this guy for are Nirkana Revenant, Steel Hellkite, Corrupt, Caged Sun, Wound Reflection and occasionally Enslave. Mich like Dimir House Guard this guy can be re-used fairly easily by the deck so getting more than one transmute out of him isn't unusual.
Nirkana Revenant - Our second mana doubling creature and this one is also a hellacious beater when swinging through unblocked. Revenant has most of the same ups and downs as Crypt Ghast but mostly I look at this creature and go "Damn I'm glad this is cheaper than the paper version."
Steel Hellkite - This guy gets rid of trouble permanents that this deck wouldn't normally be able to handle. He is a reasonably sized beater with a firebreathing ability so have a mana doubler out makes this guy much scarier.
Abhorrent Overlord - Another way of spitting out tokens, Overlord has good stats and generally produces at least 4 harpies. He has a strong ETB effect so bringing him back with Strands of Night or Whip of Erebos is usually a very powerful way to rebuild your position post wrath.
Rune-Scarred Demon - Unconditional tutor on a body? Value just by casting him?! I'll take it!
Spells
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa | Korlash, Heir to Blackblade | Karador Apostles | Brago, King Eternal | Talrand the Sky Summoner | Mageta the Lion