Overview:

Karador graveyard/reanimator strategy leveraging creature recursion, stax elements, and combo finishes. The deck focuses on filling the graveyard with key creatures through Hermit Druid, Buried Alive, and Entomb, then recurring them through Karador, Ghost Chieftain, Necromancy, and Karmic Guide. Win conditions include infinite ETB/death triggers with Ashen Rider/Kokusho loops using Phyrexian Altar, stax locks with Archon of Emeria/Thalia effects, and overwhelming value from The Great Henge/Survival of the Fittest.

Primer:

Core Strategy: This deck aims to control the game through graveyard recursion and stax while assembling creature-based combos. Key phases:

1. Graveyard Setup: Use Hermit Druid, Entomb, and Buried Alive to stock the graveyard with combo pieces like Karmic Guide, Fiend Artisan, and Ashen Rider.
2. Stax & Value: Deploy Archon of Emeria, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, and Dauthi Voidwalker to slow opponents while recurring value engines like Elesh Norn and Luminous Broodmoth.
3. Combo Finish: Assemble infinite loops with Karmic Guide + Necromancy + sac outlet (Phyrexian Altar) to generate infinite ETB/death triggers via Ashen Rider or Corpse Knight. Alternatively, use Birthing Pod chains to tutor combo pieces.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with graveyard enablers (Hermit Druid, Entomb) or early stax (Thalia).
• Ensure access to 3+ lands with green/white sources.
• Prioritize hands containing Survival of the Fittest or Faeburrow Elder for explosive starts.

Key Tips:

• Use Phyrexian Tower to sacrifice creatures for immediate value while fueling Karador's cost reduction.
• Teferi's Protection protects against board wipes during critical combo setups.
• Dauthi Voidwalker disrupts opponents' graveyards while providing a backup wincon with exiled cards.

Avoid Traps:

• Don't overcommit to the board before establishing recursion.
• Avoid exposing Hermit Druid without protection in metas with heavy creature removal.

Weaknesses:

Critical:

• Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void) shuts down 80% of the deck's strategy.
• Relies on fragile creature-based combos vulnerable to instant-speed removal.

Moderate:

• Limited counterspell protection for combo turns.
• Slow recovery from mass land destruction (Armageddon effects).

Minor:

• Some vulnerability to flyers, mitigated by Luminous Broodmoth/Poison-Tip Archer.

Most Important Cards:

• Hermit Druid
• Survival of the Fittest
• Phyrexian Altar
• Karmic Guide
• Necromancy
• Fiend Artisan
• Entomb
• Birthing Pod
• Finale of Devastation
• Buried Alive

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Can assemble T4-5 wins with perfect hands (e.g., T1 Entomb + T2 Reanimate effect). Average goldfish win ~T6-7.

Resilience: 6/10

• Strong graveyard recursion but critically weak to hate. Multiple stax pieces provide mid-game resilience.

Consistency: 8/10

• 10+ tutors (Survival, Birthing Pod, Eldritch Evolution) and redundant combo lines.

Interaction: 7/10

• A-tier targeted removal (Swords, Assassin's Trophy) but lacks free counterspells. Stax pieces act as proactive interaction.

Rating Justification:

This deck sits between "Focused Competitive" (7.0) and "Highly Optimized" (7.5) on the rubric. It has:

• T5-6 deterministic wins via combos
• Strong tutor density and redundancy
• Meta-dependent resilience (folds to grave hate but dominates in permissive environments)
• Lacks cEDH-level speed/protection (no free counters, slower than T3 wins)

Power level: 7.0 - 7.5