Karador, Reanimator Chieftain

Commander / EDH* BGW (Abzan, Junk) Budget Casual Cruel Control Midrange Reanimator

landofMordor

Creature (33)

• 1x Banisher Priest
• 1x Big Game Hunter
• 1x Butcher of Malakir
• 1x Cartel Aristocrat
• 1x Centaur Vinecrasher
• 1x Corpse Connoisseur
• 1x Den Protector
• 1x Disciple of Griselbrand
• 1x Fa'adiyah Seer
• 1x Gonti, Lord of Luxury
• 1x Greenseeker
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Groundskeeper
• 1x Hallowed Spiritkeeper
• 1x Harvester of Souls
• 1x Kessig Cagebreakers
• 1x Manglehorn
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Mogis's Marauder
• 1x Pawn of Ulamog
• 1x Reaper of the Wilds
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Restoration Specialist
• 1x Satyr Wayfinder
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Sin Collector
• 1x Skirsdag High Priest
• 1x Splinterfright
• 1x Teneb, the Harvester
• 1x Treasury Thrull
• 1x Undercity Informer
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Yisan, the Wanderer Bard

Land (40)

• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dakmor Salvage
• 1x Drownyard Temple
• 9x Forest
• 1x Golgari Guildgate
• 1x Haunted Fengraf
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Orzhov Guildgate
• 8x Plains
• 1x Sandsteppe Citadel
• 1x Selesnya Guildgate
• 1x Selesnya Sanctuary
• 1x Shimmering Grotto
• 9x Swamp
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Transguild Promenade

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Abzan Ascendancy
• 1x Alpha Authority
• 1x Crawling Sensation
• 1x Crop Sigil
• 1x Deadbridge Chant
• 1x Verdant Embrace

Artifact (3)

• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Gate to the Afterlife
• 1x God-Pharaoh's Gift

Commander (1)

Sorcery (12)

• 1x Angelic Purge
• 1x Bone Splinters
• 1x Devout Invocation
• 1x Duneblast
• 1x Ill-Gotten Gains
• 1x Jarad's Orders
• 1x Life's Finale
• 1x Obzedat's Aid
• 1x Overwhelming Stampede
• 1x See the Unwritten
• 1x Unburial Rites
• 1x Worm Harvest

Instant (1)

• 1x Abzan Charm

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Vraska the Unseen

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Meet Karador, the Chieftain of value. This is my brother's personal favorite deck, and our first collective attempt at reanimator. It's gone through a few iterations, and it has a pretty good track record despite being a fairly budget build.

Let me familiarize you with the ghosts under Karador's command:

Recursion -- Obzedat's Aid, Deadbridge Chant, and Karador, Ghost Chieftain.

Primary sacrifice outlets -- Viscera Seer, Bloodthrone Vampire, Cartel Aristocrat, Ghave, Guru of Spores

(Usual) Win Conditions -- Kessig Cagebreakers + Mogis's Marauder , Butcher of Malakir + any sac outlet, Mogis's Marauder + Vraska the Unseen , Duneblast + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed . However, I've also won games with obscure combos like Devout Invocation + Overrun

Tutor package -- Sidisi, Undead Vizier is Karador's right-hand naga. Her exploits are legendary. No, but really, a tutor plus a 4/6 body with deathtouch? What more could we ask? Jarad's Orders is another excellent tutor, given the amount of reanimation here. Birthing Pod, though, is the real MVP. Yisan, the Wanderer Bard is just like a happy cousin of the Pod, except he comes back from the dead at Karador's call. Both of these tutors just go straight up the curve, which is great for flooding the board with ETB and sacrifice effects.

Card Draw package -- Disciple of Bolas really loves to ETB and sacrifice somebody like Demonlord of Ashmouth or Alms Beast. Grim Flowering is great late-game, because you can even discard extraneous creatures no biggie. Altar's Reap is cheap and efficient, getting rid of people like Satyr Wayfinder after they serve their ETB purpose. Harvester of Souls is major deterrent, and he even loves being present to watch the demise of your opponent's army! Reaper of the Wilds ensures card advantage, even though you aren't "drawing" per se.

Removal/Control Package -- It's almost too much to go over. Let's see...there are one-time efficient powerhouses like Bone Splinters, Angelic Purge, Putrefy, and Abzan Charm, then there's recurring threats like Big Game Hunter, Archon of Justice, Angel of Deliverance, Reclamation Sage, Sin Collector, and Banisher Priest.

Other Awesome Cards -- Dread, Exquisite Blood

Note: A super-budget version (around $45) can be created by nixing Mikaeus, the 'walkers, Exquisite Blood, Ghave, and maybe Birthing Pod. Most of the expensive cards aren't hugely integral to the deck's success; they're just fun and I had them laying around.

Please feel free to post any comments, suggestions, or upvotes! (I'd love some suggestions on thinning out the sheer number of 5- and 6-drops in the deck, or on improving the 3-4 CMC range of the curve...)

Date added	7 years
Last updated	6 years
Exclude colors	UR
Key combos	Kessig Cagebreakers + Mogis's Marauder Mogis's Marauder + Vraska the Unseen Duneblast + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed Devout Invocation + Overrun
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	5 - 0 Mythic Rares 27 - 0 Rares 22 - 0 Uncommons 17 - 0 Commons
Cards	97
Avg. CMC	3.78
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Assassin 1/1 B w/ Player Killer, Copy Clone, Demon 5/5 B, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Insect 1/1 G, Morph 2/2 C, Saproling 1/1 G, Spirit 1/1 W, Wolf 2/2 G, Worm 1/1 BG
Folders	EDH, +1 Non-Budget, Casual/Budget EDH