Lots of excellent comments above. I will mostly reiterate some of the choices I have seen already mentioned.
False Prophet is an excellent board wipe on a stick, though you may want to pack another sac outlet or two as described above. If the Altar's are too combo-y for you, there is Viscera Seer, Martyr's Cause, and Carrion Feeder.
Corpse Augur has been one of my top tutor targets in Karador. Draws at least 3-4 cards, and the best I have done is to draw 17 off my own graveyard to win the game after self-milling with Altar of Dementia.
If you want a huge shot in the arm to your graveyard, Doom Whisperer is showing much promise in my testing.
Necromancy can be cast at instant speed to bring back a surprise blocker, ETB, LTB, or any useful creature in a Flash. But its not a creature :frown:.
Your deck seems to be based around good-stuff strategy, with no clear synergy or theme to the deck. In my experience goodstuff decks have a tendency to get old faster then themed decks, assuming you enjoy that theme. Also without the cards working together to build a large advantage, your individual cards need to work harder to win you the game.
I am not up to date on the prices of some of the cards. But here are some additions I would make. It seems you have a light token theme, so we can build on that while swapping some weaker control cards with more flexible options. I apologize in advance if it looks like I am tearing your deck apart. These are some opinions and feel free to use as many, or none, of them you like.
You need to add in at least 5-8 MORE creatures. 20 creatures in a deck like this looks terribly light, especially when your Commander wants other creatures in play to pump. Take a close look at Puppeteer Clique and Woodfall Primus, as persist works well with your Commander.
Someone with a Ghave deck will be along to throw out some more token support. I play more reanimation in my GWB deck, and not much token support.
Lastly, I just noticed all of your Pro-Blue, Pro-Black creatures as defense against Etrata, however adding some good instant speed removal should mitigate the amount of hits you take from Etrata. Just make sure you leave removal mana open after Etrata enters the battlefield and threaten a removal if she swings your way. That shoudl make your deck much more versitile than playing mediocre creatures with Pro-Colors. There may be some better options in Hexproof creatures, but I am not sure.
Or add some swords of X & Y with Pro Blue and Pro Black for much greater benefit. Not budget, I know. Sword of Body and Mind seems good for you, and you even want the wolf token; its not horribly expensive. Sword of Truth and Justice and Sword of Sinew and Steel are coming soon. Get that trade binder ready...
These are some of my favorites, mostly for digging through cards quickly. Some require more theme than others, particularly non-blue draw.
Not all of these stack up agains Blue and Black draw, and some of these are based on a creature theme. These are simply some draw spells that I like in my decks.
Unless I know the person, and know they are not going to do anything unfun, and might actually work on attaining the proxied card. But generally there are plenty of cards that replicate the effect of powerful cards, usually for more mana. I understand the position of wanting to play cool cards without spending a mint. However I don't feel like I am handicapped for not buying a Tabernacle, or Moat, or Time Twister despite the fact that my decks would benefit from them. Fun games can be had with actual cards that may be less powerful than their proxied counter parts. That is why cards like Time Reversal were printed, so we can get those great effects at a more "fair" mana cost and be widely available.
I play a champs Grim Monolith because I have a real Grim Monolith in another deck. Contemplating getting a Champs Force of Will to go with my other one so I can play it in multiple decks. I don't play competitive, so teir 1 everything is not a concern for me.
I really have fun resolving a Wild Pair. I do not currently play it in any decks, but it is a pet card of mine and really fun to have in play. Beyond the obvious fact that free stuff is good, optimizing your choice based on combined P/T is unique.
I also have good fun playing "modular" counter spells. Cryptic Command, Insidious Will, and Mystic Confluence have me looking for the most impactful way to use the abilities outside of simply "counter target spell".
It depends on what you are trying to achieve with the deck. If you feel the deck needs more consistency to function, then cutting some theme cards may be the better choice.
If this deck is designed as a 75% deck, meaning it is not supposed to be as powerful as possible, then sacrificing power for synergy is perfectly acceptable.
In my experience, cutting some theme cards for draw/ramp, while reducing originality, will greatly help with play-ability and allow the deck to do more of what it wants faster. This has equated to more fun with a given deck when it really flows well. Having a strong foundation of resources (mana and cards) will really help the deck feel more powerful even if the theme cards are rather weak individually.
My Karador deck was painfully short on both ramp and draw. I was cramming all these cool utility creatures and removal package like Big Game Hunter, Loyal Retainers, and Bone Shredder that my early game was very clunky and slow. Late game I would stall with minimal card draw ans rely heavily on Karador recursion to function. I had too much removal and not enough ramp/draw that I was stalling out late game.
Once I removed some of these fun, but unnecessary, cards in exchange for Farhaven Elf, Yavimaya Granger, and Moriok Replica, my games were vastly more fun because the deck had a more natural flow throughout the game. I could build resources, create synergies, and the theme cards that made the cut were that much more impactful.
That response turned out more wordy than expected. Sorry.
We have moved to full mulligans again, first free. Partial Paris was too sketchy for me even before it lost favor "officially". We used it when it was widely accepted, but it always felt too easy to hand sculpt, even if you aren't trying very hard.
I am happier with full mulligans, and if you really need a 2nd free mulligan, at least you can't keep that best card and dump the rest. It all has to go back.
Sadly Big Game Hunter got removed from the deck because I was too heavy on removal and needed the space for more ramp.
Desolate Lighthouse with Palinchron infinite mana can dig for a win con by infinite untaps. Yes, "Palinchron Broken" but I needed some way to win with infinite mana and it worked like a charm.
I will be adding Crop Rotation to my Karador. I was always aware of the Bojuka Bog combo, but I also have a handful of other utility lands that would be very handy at instant speed. Instant Diamond Valley would be tech if I was low on life.
You are missing something. The tap/untap clause on Derevi makes you effectively immune to Stax Lock components of the deck. It breaks the symmetry of those cards and even allows you to tap down opponents new resources as they become available. With only a few small evasive creatures and a lock piece you can play your deck unimpeded by your stax cards and prevent your opponents from breaking free. It is very oppressive, even though I personally have never played against such a deck.
Also he is immune to commander tax, which is just that much more annoying. (and has "flash")
1
False Prophet is an excellent board wipe on a stick, though you may want to pack another sac outlet or two as described above. If the Altar's are too combo-y for you, there is Viscera Seer, Martyr's Cause, and Carrion Feeder.
I also play Saffi Eriksdotter, Reveilark, and Nim Deathmantle, which were already mentioned and I like them very much. Yosei, the Morning Star and Kokusho, the Evening Star are finishers for me that don't require combat damage.
Corpse Augur has been one of my top tutor targets in Karador. Draws at least 3-4 cards, and the best I have done is to draw 17 off my own graveyard to win the game after self-milling with Altar of Dementia.
If you want a huge shot in the arm to your graveyard, Doom Whisperer is showing much promise in my testing.
Necromancy can be cast at instant speed to bring back a surprise blocker, ETB, LTB, or any useful creature in a Flash. But its not a creature :frown:.
1
I am not up to date on the prices of some of the cards. But here are some additions I would make. It seems you have a light token theme, so we can build on that while swapping some weaker control cards with more flexible options. I apologize in advance if it looks like I am tearing your deck apart. These are some opinions and feel free to use as many, or none, of them you like.
You need to add in at least 5-8 MORE creatures. 20 creatures in a deck like this looks terribly light, especially when your Commander wants other creatures in play to pump. Take a close look at Puppeteer Clique and Woodfall Primus, as persist works well with your Commander.
In
Out
Other Cards
Someone with a Ghave deck will be along to throw out some more token support. I play more reanimation in my GWB deck, and not much token support.
Lastly, I just noticed all of your Pro-Blue, Pro-Black creatures as defense against Etrata, however adding some good instant speed removal should mitigate the amount of hits you take from Etrata. Just make sure you leave removal mana open after Etrata enters the battlefield and threaten a removal if she swings your way. That shoudl make your deck much more versitile than playing mediocre creatures with Pro-Colors. There may be some better options in Hexproof creatures, but I am not sure.
Or add some swords of X & Y with Pro Blue and Pro Black for much greater benefit. Not budget, I know. Sword of Body and Mind seems good for you, and you even want the wolf token; its not horribly expensive. Sword of Truth and Justice and Sword of Sinew and Steel are coming soon. Get that trade binder ready...
1
Not all of these stack up agains Blue and Black draw, and some of these are based on a creature theme. These are simply some draw spells that I like in my decks.
1
Relevant cards include all 4 green fetches and the following.
1
Unless I know the person, and know they are not going to do anything unfun, and might actually work on attaining the proxied card. But generally there are plenty of cards that replicate the effect of powerful cards, usually for more mana. I understand the position of wanting to play cool cards without spending a mint. However I don't feel like I am handicapped for not buying a Tabernacle, or Moat, or Time Twister despite the fact that my decks would benefit from them. Fun games can be had with actual cards that may be less powerful than their proxied counter parts. That is why cards like Time Reversal were printed, so we can get those great effects at a more "fair" mana cost and be widely available.
I play a champs Grim Monolith because I have a real Grim Monolith in another deck. Contemplating getting a Champs Force of Will to go with my other one so I can play it in multiple decks. I don't play competitive, so teir 1 everything is not a concern for me.
2
I also have good fun playing "modular" counter spells. Cryptic Command, Insidious Will, and Mystic Confluence have me looking for the most impactful way to use the abilities outside of simply "counter target spell".
1
If this deck is designed as a 75% deck, meaning it is not supposed to be as powerful as possible, then sacrificing power for synergy is perfectly acceptable.
In my experience, cutting some theme cards for draw/ramp, while reducing originality, will greatly help with play-ability and allow the deck to do more of what it wants faster. This has equated to more fun with a given deck when it really flows well. Having a strong foundation of resources (mana and cards) will really help the deck feel more powerful even if the theme cards are rather weak individually.
My Karador deck was painfully short on both ramp and draw. I was cramming all these cool utility creatures and removal package like Big Game Hunter, Loyal Retainers, and Bone Shredder that my early game was very clunky and slow. Late game I would stall with minimal card draw ans rely heavily on Karador recursion to function. I had too much removal and not enough ramp/draw that I was stalling out late game.
Once I removed some of these fun, but unnecessary, cards in exchange for Farhaven Elf, Yavimaya Granger, and Moriok Replica, my games were vastly more fun because the deck had a more natural flow throughout the game. I could build resources, create synergies, and the theme cards that made the cut were that much more impactful.
That response turned out more wordy than expected. Sorry.
2
I am happier with full mulligans, and if you really need a 2nd free mulligan, at least you can't keep that best card and dump the rest. It all has to go back.
1
Sadly Big Game Hunter got removed from the deck because I was too heavy on removal and needed the space for more ramp.
Desolate Lighthouse with Palinchron infinite mana can dig for a win con by infinite untaps. Yes, "Palinchron Broken" but I needed some way to win with infinite mana and it worked like a charm.
I will be adding Crop Rotation to my Karador. I was always aware of the Bojuka Bog combo, but I also have a handful of other utility lands that would be very handy at instant speed. Instant Diamond Valley would be tech if I was low on life.
2
Also he is immune to commander tax, which is just that much more annoying. (and has "flash")