Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

Legendary Creature — Vampire Warrior

Lifelink

If a nontoken creature an opponent controls would die, instead exile that card and put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield.

, Sacrifice another Vampire or Zombie: Put two +1/+1 counters on Kalitas, Traiter of Ghet.

Discussion (50)

CBBA on Who let the Vamps out? (Edgar-Commander)

2 hours ago

Vindictive Vampire or Zulaport Cutthroat are good aristocrats cards but have a too high cmc for a aggro deck same as Falkenrath Noble (i think noble is a bit better. You drain just one opponent, but it trigger also by opponent creatures.

What do you think about Vampire Nocturnus for Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet ? With 45 Black cards it is nearly 50% (good with tutors). Make your tokens 3/2 flyers for big swings.

ArchonBlue on Modern Esper Control

6 days ago

Hey man I dig the deck! Gave it an upvote. How do you like Unmoored Ego and Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet ? What matchups do you bring them in for?

My only possible qualm with the list is the 4 Veto in the 75, I'm still a fan of Negate in the main as it's easier to cast (say a turn 3 Karn and all you have is black and blue). If your meta is super control heavy and you really want all the Vetos, I'd say cut the Fields for basics and Glacial Fortress .

Chhris on Help With Mono-Black Eldrazi Vorthos

1 week ago

Hi all!!

For some stupid reason, I have this vision for a mono-black Eldrazi deck that I really want to see to completion, but im struggling.

I really wanted to take a strong Vorthos approach, and use Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet as my commander, which would otherwise be fine... But I dunno?? Originally my strategy would be ramp mana in order to hard cast, but Im starting to think reanimator is a more reliable strategy.

Is there someone better maybe?? I dont play much black, so I have less knowledge on this things, who is the strongest reanimation-based CMDR?

Also, and suggestions for mono black reanimation spells in general would be incredible. Anyone who helps get credit when I finally post the decklist. Thank uou in advance for the help.

Fektoer on [Primer]Teysa, Orzhov Scion

3 weeks ago

Hiya, thanks for the compliments. You do touch on some issues with the deck that are somewhat hard to fix but let's go through your points:

1) They are mainly in there for sheer fun. I like legendary stuff, Krav is a slamdunk in the deck for its abilities, Regna is a pretty angel. That being said, they are high on mana and especially Regna can be a bit lackluster. However, you should read them as "Krav, do awesome stuff, draw Regna". "Regna: meh, draw Krav". I'm never sad when I draw either of them. Either I draw Krav and the Regna I get out it is just gravy or i draw Regna (which is still a 4/4 white flyer with upside) that tutors for Krav.

2) I run: Teysa, Gearhulk, Elesh Norn, Massacre Wurm, Plaguelord, Anguished Unmaking, Vindicate, StP, Return to Dust, Tragic Arrogance, Attrition, Dictate, Abyss and Parallax Wave for removal. That's 2 board wipes (gearhulk and arrogance), 2 conditional wipes (Elesh norn and massacre wurm), 1 onesided wipe (parralax wave). Stuff generally dies. You don't want many board wipes in a board-centric strategy as this one. I could play Damnation but that only plays fine from behind, you don't really want to play that when even or ahead. Imagine having a decent boardstate and someone else plays Avenger of Zendikar . Suddenly I have to sacrifice everything just to halt that player. Gearhulk and Arrogance fix that very neatly on top of disrupting players that rely on too many permanents of the same sort. Granted, they will cost you some enchantments most of the time.

3) They are very low impact that rely on either going infinite (which I don't like) or a commanding boardstate (why are you not winning at that point). Imagine it being turn 9 or something and you draw... a 0/1 that drains the opponent a few times. They do trigger Regna but i'd rather find a card that is useful while also gaining life.

4) True, I'd love for a few more sac outlets but the ones that are free are very low impact (for example Viscera Seer ) and more combo-centric. I use to have Ayli in the deck and she might find a spot again but she's not impactful either on top of being expensive in use (this deck is mana hungry). I really hope for a card that fits in one of the other categories while also having a sac outlet but most of the times those cards are balanced by making the it cost "2B: sac a creature, do something" like Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet .

Just as a generic comment, don't take my list as the best version of Orzhov midrange. Just because I don't play Path to Exile , doesn't mean I have something against the card and therefore you shouldn't either. Truth is, I'd love to play the card but I've stuffed so much in this deck that I have no idea what to cut to make room for it. Same with more sac outlets or pretty much any card in the extensive update history that you can read through. If I had the space, they would probably be in there. It's a curse (I want to play em all) and a blessing (my deck keeps evolving).

TheMagicMafia on Hour of Grixis

3 weeks ago

Mana Issues

The mana's going to suck. You're running a completely 3-color deck hoping to play Cryptic Command s turn 4 and Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God turn 5.

I really like Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God and want to see him stay, so I suggest taking out some of the cards that really want a color that is not black, such as Cryptic Command , Vendilion Clique , and Sweltering Suns .

Style Issues

The counter spells and instant speed interaction like Vendilion Clique and Countersquall adds something to the deck, but shouldn't be the focus of it. Instead I think Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God would do best in a sort of Grixis-that-feels-like-Jund list that wants to make sure the coast is clear with removal and discard before slamming an unstoppable threat and winning.

Suggestions:

Discard

please put in Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek

Threats I think would be good/interesting.

Note: I only want like one or two of these in alongside Bolas

• Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet - great all around threat which works well with removal and gets better as the game goes on.
• Liliana of the Veil - runs down your opponents' resources.
• Gurmag Angler - "cheap" threat
• Death's Shadow - most shadow decks are very aggressive, but as control decks run low on life generally, it may be a fine way to close out the game while freeing up the rest of your mana for removal or card draw. Would require some relatively major changes to the deck though.

Cards to Remove

• Cryptic Command - too blue intensive
• Vendilion Clique - too blue intensive and not a strong enough threat
• Jace, the Mind Sculptor - too blue intensive and cards like Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet would be better for the mana and as a threat
• Sweltering Suns - red intensive, but also objectively worse than Anger of the Gods in a Arclight Phoenix and Bloodghast meta.
• Countersquall - Mana Leak should probably be your only counter as life doesn't really matter for you and there are many creature heavy decks running around, but also it just doesn't fit with the discard/removal + slam a threat game plan.

Cards I like in the deck

• Opt - blue card draw and selection is one of the biggest reasons to play blue, and I think Opt and Serum Visions would be good for smoothing out your mana, curve, and finding the answers you need.
• Angrath's Rampage - good removal that people won't expect
• Kolaghan's Command - 2 for 1
• Search for Azcanta  ^Flip - good blue card advantage engine
• Snapcaster Mage - just good value
• Terminate - good removal

Daedalus19876 on Elenda BW Tokens/Pox

1 month ago

My first thought would be to reduce the number of lands you control that enter the battlefield tapped. They're a significant issue for this deck IMO, since WB doesn't have access to especially good acceleration as-is. Your enchantment suite is good, though I'd be cautious about Luminarch Ascension (I wouldn't run it without Cataclysm in the deck).

I find that Damnable Pact is generally a bad return on card draw; I'd run something like Vampiric Tutor to grab Skullclamp instead. I'm not convinced by The Elderspell here unless you play in a meta with a significant number of PWs (this deck isn't generally one where you want to eat your own PWs to get a boost in loyalty). Careful with Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet - he can sometimes backfire when you'd rather get the death trigger than the token. Swords to Plowshares is significantly better than Path to Exile in this deck. I'd cut one land for Fellwar Stone , probably. I'm surprised not to see Lightning Greaves in here, since it's good at protecting Elenda from the dreaded exile effects. The other glaring exclusion is Toxic Deluge , which is an INCREDIBLE board wipe for this deck (since you can tailor it to not kill Elenda under most circumstances, and immediately gain back far more life). I'm curious if you've considered Bolas's Citadel , since it works very well with Pox -style effects in a deck like this that can gain back life. From your maybeboard, I'd most highly recommend Fleshbag Marauder , Hero of Bladehold , Merciless Executioner , Reaper from the Abyss , and Sadistic Hypnotist .

Hope that helps! Deck looks pretty good to me ;) and I'm flattered by you linking my primer in the description!

mistarilledawn on RB Vampires HELP

2 months ago

I love and have been running Vampires for a while:lagotripha's comment is a great way to go, build with those ideas in mind and you've got a fantastic deck to pilot. There are some cards and strategies I'd on to it, to make for different playstyles.

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is great, and you can see him do work in many versions of Jund that run him in the sideboard and mainboard. He's just fantastic as he is, but you can certainly build more around him. Stromkirk Noble and Vampire Lacerator are good 1-drops, if you want to go for a wider strategy. Lacerator can be a bit rough sometimes, and is kinda a preference/build choice. Asylum Visitor 's a strong hitter with card draw, and acts a sorta pseudo- Dark Confidant that fits in the tribe. Drana, Liberator of Malakir is also a powerful flying 3 drop, and the built-in first strike and evasion are incredibly useful.

A great utility piece to consider, as well, is Kolaghan's Command . So much choice on that one, it lends itself to quite a variety of situations.

Squirrelbacon on Dripping-Gargadon

2 months ago

Another way to get some value off of your Zubera idea is to run 3 or 4 Viscera Seer or even Hidden Stockpile for fun. Lets you scry and get some extra value over time. However, in terms of your sideboard there's a few options you can go with... I think the most broad I'll put below with small explanations and then it can be altered as needed? Maybe?

4x Leyline of the Void --> "Best" graveyard hate since it can come down turn zero and help to hose out dredge, all versions of Phoenix decks while also slowing down a few other strategies.

2x Destructive Revelry --> The card is good, however, not needed as a 4 of. Leyline of Sanctity isn't played nearly as much, Leyline of the Void is awkward to bring in against you since you still get Zubera value from the death trigger and Rest in Peace is the same. Other key artifacts or enchantments you can try to go around/under due to smaller creatures being annoying.

2x Damping Sphere --> Slows down both tron and storm and just helps for the most part...

4x Death's Shadow --> Honestly, I don't know if I like this selection but it does give you another angle of attack... Speaking of angles, Gurmag Angler may also be worth considering due to the nature of Greater Gargadon doing his thing. May also want to consider other wincons here in split numbers ( Liliana of the Veil , Liliana, the Last Hope , Kaya, Orzhov Usurper , Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet etc.)

3x Path to Exile --> Kill it, kill it dead.

This is 15, and it should be broad enough to help in several match ups, but it can also be tuned to be better/stronger for what you need. I feel that the options here are easy enough to understand when you'd bring them in and makes choices easy when playing against opponents, however, I also threw this together real quick before work so I'm sure I missed a few things. Either way, this gives an idea of a few cards to look into. Other options include Surgical Extraction , Crumble to Dust , Fulminator Mage , Thoughtseize , Nihil Spellbomb and it can just keep on going.... Rakdos Charm is a personal favorite of mine for Sideboards in X decks!