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Average CMC
Cost
Salt Score
Overview:
Karador graveyard combo leverages efficient tutors, reanimation, and creature-based value engines to assemble infinite ETB/death loops. The deck combines stax elements with fast combo potential, using Survival of the Fittest/Hermit Druid engines to enable Karmic Guide/Loyal Retainers/Phyrexian Altar lines. While vulnerable to grave hate, it packs robust interaction and protection to secure wins by T5-6.
Primer:
Core Strategy: This deck aims to mill/discard key creatures (Hermit Druid, Buried Alive), then reanimate them (Necromancy, Karmic Guide) to assemble infinite loops with Phyrexian Altar and payoff creatures like Corpse Knight. Backup plans include stax lockdowns (Archon of Emeria, Grand Abolisher) and value recursion through Karador.
Key Lines:
- Buried Alive dumping Karmic Guide + Loyal Retainers + payoff
- Survival of the Fittest discarding Fiend Artisan to find Hermit Druid
- Hermit Druid milling 10-20 cards (due to basic lands) to fuel reanimation
- Finale of Devastation X=10 with sufficient creatures for lethal swings
Mulligan Priorities:
- Keep hands with 2 lands + early ramp (Birds of Paradise, Utopia Sprawl)
- Prioritize T1-T2 enablers: Entomb, Hermit Druid, Survival of the Fittest
- Avoid graveyard-dependent hands without protection vs unknown metas
Protection Suite:
- Grand Abolisher/Silence for combo turns
- Veil of Summer vs counters/removal
- Teferi's Protection as reset button
Key Tips:
- Use Dauthi Voidwalker as grave hate insurance
- Volrath's Stronghold loops with Eternal Witness effects
- Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth enables Utopia Sprawl fixing
Weaknesses:
Critical:
- Foldsto T2 Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void
- Relies on 2-3 card combos vulnerable to counterspells
Moderate:
- Slow vs Drannith Magistrate + Rule of Law effects
- Limited basic land count makes Blood Moon problematic
Minor:
- Recovers well from single-target removal
- Force of Vigor handles most stax pieces
Most Important Cards:
- Survival of the Fittest
- Hermit Druid
- Entomb
- Buried Alive
- Necromancy
- Karmic Guide
- Loyal Retainers
- Phyrexian Altar
- Fiend Artisan
- Dauthi Voidwalker
Attribute Ratings:
Speed: 8/10
- T3 Hermit Druid mills 10+ cards
- T4-5 infinite loops with protection
Resilience: 6/10
- 8+ protection spells (Veil, Abolisher)
- Struggles vs layered grave hate
Consistency: 9/10
- 12 tutors + 5 recursion engines
- Multiple redundant combo lines
Interaction: 7/10
- S/A-tier removal (Force of Vigor, Swords)
- Stax pieces disrupt opponents
Rating Justification:
Outpaces optimized casual decks (6.0) with T5 deterministic wins but lacks cEDH-level speed (no T2 wins) and folds to common grave hate. Comparable to focused competitive (7.0) with strong stax/combo integration but slightly slower than top-tier lists.
Power level: 7.0 - 7.5
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