Karlov’s fun time smile factory by caveman

Format: Commander

Commander: Karlov of the Ghost Council

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 39

Deck overview

Led by Karlov of the Ghost Council, this Orzhov deck converts incremental lifegain into rapid commander growth and board control. The core game plan curves a 1-drop Soul Sister or passive lifegain enchantment into a Turn 2 Karlov, quickly accumulating +1/+1 counters from every creature and spell entering the battlefield. Karlov doubles as a lethal combat threat and a repeatable instant-speed creature removal engine, exiling opposing threats for two mana and six counters. The deck supplements its commander-centric aggression with life drain pieces like Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, independent token armies from Crested Sunmare, and explosive finishers like Aetherflux Reservoir and Akroma's Will. While the list excels at creature suppression, combat pressure, and life buffer generation, it relies on multi-turn combat cycles to eliminate three opponents and lacks stack interaction against spell-based combo decks.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Aetherflux Reservoir
  • 1 Akroma's Will
  • 1 Ancient Tomb
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Archangel of Thune
  • 1 Auriok Champion
  • 1 Authority of the Consuls
  • 1 Basilisk Collar
  • 1 Blind Obedience
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway
  • 1 Caves of Koilos
  • 1 Celestine, the Living Saint
  • 1 City of Brass
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Crested Sunmare
  • 1 Dark Confidant
  • 1 Daxos, Blessed by the Sun
  • 1 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim
  • 1 Enduring Tenacity
  • 1 Esper Sentinel
  • 1 Fetid Heath
  • 1 Fumigate
  • 1 Generous Gift
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Hall of Heliod's Generosity
  • 1 Heliod's Intervention
  • 1 Inkshield
  • 1 Isolated Chapel
  • 1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
  • 1 Kambal, Profiteering Mayor
  • 1 Karlov of the Ghost Council
  • 1 Land Tax
  • 1 Leonin Elder
  • 1 Liesa, Forgotten Archangel
  • 1 Mana Confluence
  • 1 Mangara, the Diplomat
  • 1 My Precious // Allure of Power
  • 1 Night's Whisper
  • 1 Orzhov Signet
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 1 Phyrexian Arena
  • 1 Phyrexian Reclamation
  • 11 Plains
  • 1 Prismatic Lens
  • 1 Pristine Talisman
  • 1 Regal Bloodlord
  • 1 Rhox Faithmender
  • 1 Ripples of Undeath
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Sanguine Bond
  • 1 Sejiri Shelter // Sejiri Glacier
  • 1 Serra Ascendant
  • 1 Shadowspear
  • 1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
  • 1 Shineshadow Snarl
  • 1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
  • 1 Sign in Blood
  • 1 Silent Clearing
  • 1 Smothering Tithe
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Soldier of the Pantheon
  • 1 Soul Warden
  • 1 Soul's Attendant
  • 1 Stensian Sanguinist // Exsanguinate
  • 1 Sunscorch Regent
  • 1 Suture Priest
  • 7 Swamp
  • 1 Sword of Light and Shadow
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Talisman of Hierarchy
  • 1 The One Ring
  • 1 The Ozolith
  • 1 Toxic Deluge
  • 1 Vault of Champions
  • 1 Vault of the Archangel
  • 1 Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
  • 1 Vizkopa Guildmage
  • 1 Volrath's Stronghold
  • 1 Wall of Reverence
  • 1 Whip of Erebos
  • 1 Witch of the Moors
  • 1 Witch's Clinic