Overview:

This Karador, Ghost Chieftain deck is a graveyard-centric midrange strategy leveraging stax elements, efficient reanimation, and tutor density to control the board and assemble value-based wins. It focuses on recurring high-impact creatures like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Ashen Rider, while using stax pieces like Archon of Emeria and Deafening Silence to disrupt opponents. The deck lacks explicit infinite combos but compensates with overwhelming value engines and layered disruption.

Primer:

Core Strategy:
The deck aims to stall opponents via early stax (e.g., T1 Esper Sentinel, T2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben), then bury them in card advantage through graveyard recursion. Key lines include:

• T1–3 Setup: Ramp with dorks (Birds of Paradise, Llanowar Elves), deploy stax, or mill via Hermit Druid/Skull Prophet.
• Midgame Value: Reanimate threats like Elesh Norn or Luminous Broodmoth using Entomb/Buried Alive + Necromancy/Karmic Guide.
• Win Conditions: Grind opponents out with recursive value (Karador casting from graveyard), stax locks, or Eerie Ultimatum to rebuild an insurmountable board.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2–3 lands, early ramp/stax, and a graveyard enabler (e.g., Hermit Druid, Buried Alive).
• Avoid hands reliant on slow, non-recursive threats.

Key Tips:

• Use Survival of the Fittest to discard combo/stax pieces and fetch answers.
• Prioritize protecting Hermit Druid or Birthing Pod to accelerate graveyard setup.
• Leverage Teferi's Protection or Silence to protect critical turns.

Avoid Traps:

• Overcommitting to the board before establishing recursion.
• Holding interaction for reactive plays instead of advancing your stax plan.

Weaknesses:

• Critical: Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) cripples the deck’s engine.
• Moderate: Struggles against fast combo decks pre-stax setup; limited redundancy for key stax pieces.
• Minor: Some taplands slow early turns but are mitigated by fetch lands.

Most Important Cards:

• Hermit Druid
• Survival of the Fittest
• Necromancy
• Buried Alive
• Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• Archon of Emeria
• Phyrexian Altar
• Karmic Guide
• Birthing Pod
• Dauthi Voidwalker

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Can deploy stax locks by T3–4 (e.g., T2 Thalia + T3 Archon of Emeria) or reanimate game-warping threats by T3–5. Lacks T1–2 wins but pressures effectively.

Resilience: 6/10

• Recursion (Volrath's Stronghold, Karador) and protection (Veil of Summer, Teferi's Protection) mitigate single disruptions. Fold to sustained graveyard hate or multiple stax removals.

Consistency: 8/10

• 10+ tutors (Survival of the Fittest, Eldritch Evolution, Birthing Pod) and redundancy in reanimation/stax ensure key pieces are accessible.

Interaction: 7/10

• Efficient removal (Swords to Plowshares, Assassin's Trophy), stax, and protection (Silence, Veil of Summer) disrupt opponents while advancing the game plan.

Rating Justification:

This deck operates at the high end of "Focused Competitive" (7.0) due to its ability to assemble stax locks or value engines by T5–6 consistently. It lacks the speed of cEDH combo decks but outpaces casual tables with tutor density and layered disruption. Weakness to graveyard hate and slower wincons compared to T3–4 cEDH decks cap its ceiling.

Power level: 6.5 - 7.0