A little bit about my time in MTG. I've been playing for about 3-4 years, and I love Commander/EDH format (I own 1 standard deck, the rest are EDH). In my play group, we try to keep the games fun (no infinite combo's). Although, blue is my favorite color, graveyard retrieval is my favorite play style (I also have a
Daretti, Scrap Savant
deck). My thought process in a graveyard deck; Go ahead and kill it, I'll just bring it back!
Which brings me to,
Karador, Ghost Chieftain
! He is by far my favorite commander and I personally think the best graveyard commander in the game. 90% of the time he only cost , even if he's gone back to the command zone multiple times. Also, getting one creature back every turn is very helpful, especially when those creatues have nasty ETB effects.
This is a creature heavy deck that I built with a few things in mind; Sacrifice and ETB (Enter the Battlefield) abilities. Your friends will hate you because you'll do it over, and over, and over, and over....I think you get the point. Out of all my decks, My friends hate this one the most, mainly because of
Spore Frog
(my friends love hyper agro decks).
Please read below to understand how particular cards should work.
Board Control:
Dictate of Erebos
,
Grave Pact
&
Martyr's Bond
(especially
Martyr's Bond
) are ESSENTIAL to this deck. Every time you sacrifice something, your opponents have to do the same thing...It's fun, for you! Mix in those enchantments with
Fleshbag Marauder
or
Merciless Executioner
and your opponents sacrifice two creatures, to your one. Mix that in with
Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
and you'll create a gigantic flying creature (especially in a FFA setting).
Graveyard Retrieval: Other than
Karador, Ghost Chieftain
, there are A LOT of graveyard retrieval to choose from. I will explain the importance of
Reveillark
,
Karmic Guide
&
Eternal Witness
in the Good Utility Cards: section. There is more to choose from than just that;
Monk Idealist
is great to get your enchantments back.
Riftsweeper
one of my favorites because it brings back your exiled things!
Oversold Cemetery
Give's you an extra creature back per turn
Phyrexian Reclamation
Retrieval on command &
Victimize
(Great 2:1 Sorcery).
Dredge: A great way to fill up your graveyard with cards with
Golgari Grave-Troll
,
Golgari Thug
,
Stinkweed Imp
Mana Ramp: Thankfully, this is has so it's a rarity if I have a mana problem. You'll search for you mana with some creatures;
Farhaven Elf
,
Primal Druid
,
Sakura-Tribe Elder
&
Solemn Simulacrum
. You'll also have some spells for ramp;
Harrow
,
Natural Connection
,
Boundless Realms
,
Cultivate
,
Kodama's Reach
,
Far Wanderings
,
Primal Growth
(Best ramp card in this deck), &
Search for Tomorrow
. You also have
Mirari's Wake
to double your mana and make my creatures bigger.
Card Draw: AH! My favorite thing to do in magic, DRAW! For creatures that let you draw cards, you have;
Disciple of Bolas
(plus you gain life!) &
Solemn Simulacrum
. Enchantments that let you draw;
Phyrexian Arena
&
Vampiric Rites
(plus a sacrifice outlet & life gain). Lastly, but not least, Instant's & Sorcery's;
Momentous Fall
(Another Sacrifice outlet & life gain),
Harmonize
,
Life's Legacy
(Another sacrifice outlet),
Rishkar's Expertise
(plus you get to play a free card with 5 CMC or less) &
Soul's Majesty
.
Sacrifice Outlet: Oh boy, oh boy!!! this is how you kill your own things, and truly control the game. Most of the time, I don't even let my friend's destroy, or exile (especially exile) my creatures, I'll sacrifice them instead! I've mentioned some of the draw/sacrifice cards (Such as;
Vampiric Rites
) in the prior section. Here are some you can do this at instant speed with the following cards; First, the lands
High Market
(plus gain life),
Miren, the Moaning Well
(plus life gain),
Phyrexian Tower
(plus extra Mana) &
Westvale Abbey
(Stumbled upon this card. I still need to buy it, but I think it'll work great). Creatures with sacrifice outlets;
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
&
Scourge of Skola Vale
.
Bring on the Hate: Your opponent has something mean and nasty, these cards will solve that problem. Creature Hate (kills creatures);
Bone Shredder
&
Nekrataal
. You also have cards like
Aura Shards
, &
Reclamation Sage
for artifact/enchantment hate. My personal favorite
Ashen Rider
, Works great with
Karmic Guide
&
Saffi Eriksdotter
.
Good Utility Cards:
Spore Frog
Prevent all damage...Then bring him back. Awesome!
Iona, Shield of Emeria
...should be self explanatory why it's in there.
Selfless Spirit
Sacrifice it to make all you creatures indestructible. Helpful when someone uses a board wipe.
Saffi Eriksdotter
Low CMC, Great to sacrifice your big creature and bring them back (
Reveillark
,
Craterhoof Behemoth
,
Ashen Rider
,
Hornet Queen
,
Karador, Ghost Chieftain
, ect.). You also have
Adarkar Valkyrie
.
Oblation
Tuck the enemies commander into their deck. Bring it back with
Eternal Witness
...yeah, it's really awesome in a FFA setting! Your friends will hate you for ever!!
Buried Alive
The only tutor I have in the deck (I prefer card draw) because it's perfect for a graveyard deck. The card you will always search for is
Reveillark
(
Reveillark
is a key combo piece). The other cards will depend on what is in your hand/graveyard, but
Karmic Guide
,
Eternal Witness
,
Hornet Queen
,
Ashen Rider
or
Avacyn, Angel of Hope
are typically great choices.
The
Reveillark
&
Karmic Guide
Combo is how you retrieve the BIG creatures (
Ashen Rider
or
Avacyn, Angel of Hope
for instance) in the graveyard.
Privileged Position
&
Sterling Grove
are fantastic! If you have both out at the same time, IT GIVES EVERYTHING SHROUD, including lands! It keeps your nasty enchantment combo safe (
Grave Pact
,
Dictate of Erebos
&
Martyr's Bond
) but, you can still sacrifice! So fun...for you. Isn't that what matters at the end of the day.
Journey to Eternity
&
Thaumatic Compass
are new additions to the deck for the transformation ability. Both of which turn into lands.
Journey to Eternity
turns into another Graveyard retrieval.
Thaumatic Compass
transformation allows me to remove one BIG damage creature (especially opposing commanders) from combat every turn.
I hope everyone enjoys the deck as much as I do. I also hope your friends hate the deck as much as mine do.
HAPPY GRAVEYARD HUNTING!