Karlov of the Ghost Council (EDH / Commander)

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⚪ ⚫ POWER 8️⃣

> 1. Introduction and Strategy

Karlov is a top-tier commander for the duel commander format, but he is viable in multiplayer games. Now the strategy is different. The list is meant to be used in multi-player games. The purpose is to trigger as many times as possible the commander's ability by gaining life to make it bigger for both control (exiling threats) and damage (Voltron). With this control build we are looking for a couple of infinite combos but the win can also come through combat.

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> 2. How do we win

The list has not been optimized to focus on a single line to win with tutors but rather enjoy longer games.

Voltron strategy:

• The commander keeps getting bigger and bigger. At some point, you can protect it (Giver of Runes, Mother of Runes) or make it unblockable (Whispersilk Cloak) and deal the damage. It is not the more common through. He will be killed probably before and the counters are more often used to manage threats.

Combos:

• Exquisite Blood + (Sanguine Bond or Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose). If you win a life point others lose points and vice versa. You are in the loop where any chance is any life gain is an instant win.

• Walking Ballista + Heliod, Sun-Crowned: Give lifelink to the balista for the win

• Aetherflux Reservoir + Bolas's Citadel: With a critical mass of spells and life you can play a good chunk of your deck until you got too many lands on top.

Swing and Drain:

• We do not have a lot of creatures but still a few can make a difference with evasion and lifelink Serra Ascendant Archangel of Thune, Sunscorch Regent. We can get rid of blockers with the removal package or the commander's ability

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> 3. Game Strategy

Early Game:

• Ramp and control
• We can and should play the commander very early but be careful not to become the archenemy too soon, drop some rocks, and eventually keep your removal.

Mid Game:

• I gain 1 life is your favorite and most used sentence. Use your life as a resource when needed to keep the draw engine rolling.

End Game:

• cf How do we win

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> 4. Comments on the build

⛰️ Lands:

• 35 lands, could be probably reduced to 34/35.
• Focus has been made on colored mana. We need a white and a black up front, and less generic mana.
• We can notice some tapped lands (Kabira Crossroads, Scoured Barrens, Sejiri Steppe) but each time the effect is relevant to our gameplay. Rogues' Passage was considered as well but not included so far.

⬆️ Ramp:

• Even in Orzhov we have now enough pieces to have a decent ramp through rocks and few creatures.
• Focused has been made on colored mana this time not for the commander (hopefully it will be out before the rocks) but for the rest of the deck as well.

☠️ Wraths & Removals:

• We have the best pieces of Magic at our disposal in those colors.
• As of today I do not own the 0 mana removal though (Deadly Rollick, nor The Meathook Massacre) add them if you can

↩️ Draw and Card advantage:

• Here we look for recurring effects, drawing cards consistently to keep going.

🛡️Control & Protect:

• We need to protect the commander. Mother and Giver or runes can be used to do so but also eventually make him unblockable.

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