One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall by Shock

Format: Commander

Commander: Karn, Gilded Guardian

Bracket: 2

DeckCheck Threat Index: 31

Deck overview

Karn, Gilded Guardian leads a five-color artifact midrange and aggro deck built around high-synergy artifact creatures, Transformers, and scaling construct tokens. The early game establishes mana through cost reducers like Etherium Sculptor and indestructible bridge lands while managing a heavily tapped mana base. Once colored artifact permanents are in play, casting Karn, Gilded Guardian draws several cards to refill the hand and maintain momentum. The mid-to-late game converts this wide artifact count into lethal damage through massive overrun effects such as Craterclaw Colossus, mass flying animation with Cyberdrive Awakener, or asymmetric board wipes like Organic Extinction and Their Name Is Death. Heavy recursion pieces including Wake the Past and Eerie Ultimatum ensure the board can bounce back quickly from opposing sweepers. While the deck lacks stack interaction and suffers tempo friction from numerous tap-lands, its immense board presence, resilient indestructible lands, and potent combat finishers make it a threatening table-wide engine.

Decklist (100 cards)

• 1 Alibou, Ancient Witness
• 1 Ancient Den
• 1 Anguished Unmaking
• 1 Arcane Sanctum
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Arcee, Sharpshooter // Arcee, Acrobatic Coupe
• 1 Baleful Strix
• 1 Blaster, Combat DJ // Blaster, Morale Booster
• 1 Blitzwing, Cruel Tormentor // Blitzwing, Adaptive Assailant
• 1 Breya, Etherium Shaper
• 1 Cascading Cataracts
• 1 Chimil, the Inner Sun
• 1 Chromatic Lantern
• 1 Chromatic Orrery
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Craterclaw Colossus
• 1 Crumbling Necropolis
• 1 Cyberdrive Awakener
• 1 Cyclonus, the Saboteur // Cyclonus, Cybertronian Fighter
• 1 Darkmoss Bridge
• 1 Darksteel Citadel
• 1 Darksteel Forge
• 1 Desynchronization
• 1 Dispatch
• 1 Dramatic Reversal
• 1 Drossforge Bridge
• 1 Eerie Ultimatum
• 1 Enthusiastic Mechanaut
• 1 Ephemerate
• 1 Esika, God of the Tree // The Prismatic Bridge
• 1 Etherium Sculptor
• 1 Ethersworn Canonist
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Fabricate
• 1 Flamewar, Brash Veteran // Flamewar, Streetwise Operative
• 1 Foundry Inspector
• 1 Frontier Bivouac
• 1 Goldbug, Humanity's Ally // Goldbug, Scrappy Scout
• 1 Goldmire Bridge
• 1 Great Furnace
• 1 Great Hall of the Citadel
• 1 Inspirit, Flagship Vessel
• 1 Inventors' Fair
• 1 Iron Spider, Stark Upgrade
• 1 Jetfire, Ingenious Scientist // Jetfire, Air Guardian
• 1 Jhoira's Familiar
• 1 Jungle Shrine
• 1 Kappa Cannoneer
• 1 Karn, Gilded Guardian
• 1 Krang, Utrom Warlord
• 1 Leyline of the Guildpact
• 1 Lita, Mechanical Engineer
• 1 Mechanized Production
• 1 Megatron, Tyrant // Megatron, Destructive Force
• 1 Mistvault Bridge
• 1 Mystic Monastery
• 1 Nomad Outpost
• 1 Optimus Prime, Hero // Optimus Prime, Autobot Leader
• 1 Opulent Palace
• 1 Organic Extinction
• 1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Plaza of Heroes
• 1 Prowl, Stoic Strategist // Prowl, Pursuit Vehicle
• 1 Ratchet, Field Medic // Ratchet, Rescue Racer
• 1 Razortide Bridge
• 1 Ruinous Ultimatum
• 1 Rustvale Bridge
• 1 Sandsteppe Citadel
• 1 Seaside Citadel
• 1 Seat of the Synod
• 1 Silverbluff Bridge
• 1 Simulacrum Synthesizer
• 1 Slagwoods Bridge
• 1 Slicer, Hired Muscle // Slicer, High-Speed Antagonist
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Soundwave, Sonic Spy // Soundwave, Superior Captain
• 1 Starscream, Power Hungry // Starscream, Seeker Leader
• 1 Steel Overseer
• 1 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Tanglepool Bridge
• 1 Tempered Steel
• 1 Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge
• 1 The World Tree
• 1 Their Name Is Death
• 1 Thornglint Bridge
• 1 Thought Monitor
• 1 Thousand Moons Smithy // Barracks of the Thousand
• 1 Transguild Courier
• 1 Tree of Tales
• 1 True Conviction
• 1 Ultra Magnus, Tactician // Ultra Magnus, Armored Carrier
• 1 Unwinding Clock
• 1 Urza's Mine
• 1 Urza's Power Plant
• 1 Urza's Tower
• 1 Urza, Chief Artificer
• 1 Vault of Whispers
• 1 Voyager Quickwelder
• 1 Wake the Past