Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant

Legendary Creature — Beholder

Whenever you attack a player, tap target creature that player controls and goad it. (Until your next turn, that creature attacks each combat if able and attacks a player other than you if able.)

Whenever an opponent attacks another one of your opponents, you and the attacking player each draw a card and lose 1 life.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (40)

Crow-Umbra on Obi-Wan Budget

2 weeks ago

The recent Aurelia Multiverse Legends reprint is such a huge benefit to budget decks. I know your overall budget is $75, but do you have a budget per card? I have a few suggestions within budget that I think could push your deck a little more without breaking the bank:

• I think you can probably cut Heiko Yamazaki, the General and Raiyuu, Storm's Edge you currently have 5 Warriors & 3 Samurai in deck. From playing Isshin extensively this past year, you definitely want to be attacking with more than one creature per combat haha. Solo attacking usually only happens in early game or after recovering from board wipes.

• Since you already have Duke Ulder Ravengard and Hammers of Moradin, you could lean a bit more into Myriad. Hammers of Moradin is one of my favorite cards in my list, and usually punches above its weight. Some other Myriad creatures you could include are Genasi Enforcers and Elturel Survivors.

• To pair with Myriad and your creature token production in general, I'd recommend getting in some ETB damage effects like Corpse Knight, Impact Tremors, and/or Witty Roastmaster. This helps get some damage in "around" defenses, and softens up opponents even further for when your creatures connect.

• I think Delina, Wild Mage could be an eventual swap/upgrade to Flamerush Rider. Yes, you can Dash out the Rider, but the copies that Delina makes are not Legendary, which can have a higher ceiling on doubling up those triggers you typically wouldn't be able to.

• Karlach, Fury of Avernus could be a budget-ish (less than $10) swap for Raiyuu if you want another extra combat effect. Karlach doesn't even need to attack, she just checks if you are attacking.

• Breena, the Demagogue or Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant could be potential swaps with Glint-Sleeve Siphoner. Both are a blast, and add some fun political wrinkles to games while helping you (and opponents) draw cards. They're high risk/high reward. Breena can help grow herself or your other threats, and Karazikar can help deflect aggro away with Goad.

• Lastly, I'd recommend Gruesome Realization as a swap for Faithless Looting. Yes, Looting is cheap & has Flashback, but it isn't super helpful in this deck since you're not utilizing your graveyard as a resource. Gruesome Realization has helped me cut down other opposing creature token boards in a few games, or drawn me cards if I wasn't playing against those types of strats.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. Overall your deck has decent synergy, but I think a handful of the suggested swaps can get it a bit more honed in. Hope you have fun with Isshin, he's a blast.

Crow-Umbra on Isshin, Two Heavens As One - Eiganjo Uprising v1.2

4 weeks ago

Another solid round of updates! Your deck is looking more and more refined with each new update. I haven't added anything from MOM/MOC into my 99 yet, but I've kept stuff on my radar.

I think it might be worth revisiting Breena, the Demagogue and/or Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant. You could possibly replace Welcoming Vampire, as 8ish of your cards in the 99 have power 2 or less, some of which are token producers so have more extended synergy.

I'm a bit biased since Breena won me my last few games. My meta leans aggro, so she tends to stick around since people can benefit, but she gets huge as a result, or can grow other threats on our side of the board. In those last few games she was at 20+ power both times, and was 1-shotting people by that point in the game. Karazikar even for 1 turn rotation is super helpful for deflecting aggro.

Breena and Karazikar are both high risk/high reward in their own respects, but I think each has a higher ceiling than Welcoming Vampire for both drawing and finishing potential.

Crow-Umbra on Isshin

4 weeks ago

Nice take on Isshin, and welcome to TappedOut!

Although your primer says tokens, I'm noticing you only have about 4 token producers, plus Anointed Procession. I think that if you plan to go more token focused, you should have a higher volume of creature token production. I'm currently running an Isshin deck that is very token oriented with elements of ETB damage from things like Impact Tremors or group slug from Hellrider. It's a super fun build that I've enjoyed for the past year. Instead of writing out a super lengthy set of suggestions for that type of build I can link my deck if you're interested; it has a detailed primer discussing the build and card choices.

All that being said, your deck currently looks a bit more like a Legends Matter themed build. If you want to go more that route of Legends Matter, you could include some of the following:

• Braids, Arisen Nightmare - A cool draw piece that pairs well with token and aristocrats strategies, & can work in conjunction with Cadric, Ratadrabik, and Hofri.

• Cadric, Soul Kindler

• Delina, Wild Mage - She can create non-Legendary token copies of Legendary creatures. If you roll 15-20, those tokens stick around, which can let you stack some gnarly effects from your legends that you wouldn't be able to otherwise.

• Ratadrabik of Urborg - Kinda fits both a Legends Matter and the token subtheme you are trying to go for.

• Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge - Could also be swapped as the commander for this deck if you want to do more Legends Matter. He could also be a decent draw engine in the 99 of your current build, since about 17 of your creatures are Legends, plus the 2 Background enchantments.

• Hofri Ghostforge

• Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant - Great draw and control piece for an Isshin deck, and also fits the politics subtheme you're going for. A solid inclusion for pretty much any Isshin variant.

Crow-Umbra on Isshin Your Pants

4 weeks ago

Nice to see another Myriad Isshin list. I think yours is probably the 2nd or 3rd I've seen. Have you had a chance to play the deck irl at all? Also wondering if you have any specific total budget, or budget per card in mind? In looking at your list, I have a few suggestions:

• Your land and ramp count both seem kinda low. I think you could probably bump up to 35-36 lands, and add a couple more mana rocks like Boros Signet and the others on color, Talisman of Hierarchy and the others in Mardu colors. Yes, I recognize that Sword of the Animist & Bitterthorn can grab you lands, but that's typically not until turn 4 at the earliest.

• I get that they might be meta-dependent choices, but Leyline of Sanctity & Aegis of the Gods can likely be swapped out for more synergistic effects.

• I see you already have it in your Maybeboard, but Fervor can likely be swapped in over Hammer of Purphoros, mostly because it's a bit easier to cast and slightly more resistant to removal.

• If you're looking to make any expensive upgrades, I'd recommend Dolmen Gate and/or Reconnaissance as upgrades over Rune-Tail. If you're not familiar with Reconnaissance, it can give your creatures pseudo-Vigilance, and save them from unfavorable blocks. This article can explain the timing rules in a bit more detail.

• Corpse Knight could be a helpful addition to round out your suite of ETB damage you already have with Impact Tremors & Witty Roastmaster.

• Adriana, Captain of the Guard and Professional Face-Breaker can both be gas with your go-wide strategy. I love Professional Face-Breaker in my Isshin deck, as she can be used for either mana acceleration, or impulse draws. Adriana's Melee will stack with Skyhunter Strike Force, & both get doubled by Isshin on top of all that. Gets gross fast.

• Lastly, I'd say that Plumb the Forbidden, Breena, the Demagogue, Tocasia's Welcome, and Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant can all be gas for drawing in Isshin. I'm currently using all of them, except for Tocasia's Welcome, but have found all to be super helpful. Breena tends to stick around in my meta, and has gotten big enough to finish players off in my last couple games played.

Hope these suggestions are helpful. Best of luck with your deck and piloting it; Isshin is a blast to play.

Crow-Umbra on Isshin Double the Fun EDH

1 month ago

I've found the token swarming version of Isshin to be a blast, especially since you can still pair it with Impact Tremors effects & group slug/drain like Hellrider & Brutal Hordechief.

If you need more draw, I'd recommend the following:

• Chivalric Alliance - A newer option, not quite budget tho.

• Breena, the Demagogue is a house & can get huge since your opponents may let her stick around to benefit. She's helped me win a few games recently. In both games she got to 20+ power

• Commissar Severina Raine can double as a finisher & is like a budget Skullclamp to grind up tokens for draws.

• Firemane Commando - Bootleg Breena.

• Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant can get your hand full after one turn rotation. Helps deflect attacks.

I think you're on the right track with your cuts. Exalted is challenging to pull off since you're stuck attacking 1 opponent at a time. Going wide with tokens can let you hit the table

Gleeock on Disco Infernum

1 month ago

One goad redundancy that is actually good in here is Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant

Crow-Umbra on Isshin, the best defence is attack

2 months ago

Nice deck! In looking at your list, I think you could make a few swaps with some of the stuff already in your Maybeboard:

• Generous Gift can probably replace Jor Kadeen, since you are only running 5ish equipment, & having more removal doesn't hurt.

• Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant can probably replace Raiyuu, for similar reasons as Jor Kadeen. Your deck doesn't necessarily want to do solo-attacks, & Karlach & Aurelia are already decent extra combat enablers. Karazikar's Goading is super helpful for deflecting aggro away, & restocking on draws.

• Braids, Arisen Nightmare could be another good addition for draw, especially since you have some recursion & reanimation effects. She could possibly replace Phyrexian Dragon Engine  ^Meld, although the Meld with Mishra is a fun goal to pull off.

Hope these suggestions are helpful.

Crow-Umbra on

2 months ago

Have you had a chance to play the deck irl, or play-test it much? 28 lands and 19 creatures seem kinda low, even with all the mana rocks. If it works well for you, then no worries. In regards to draw options for Isshin, I'd recommend some of the following:

• Skullclamp is great, especially with any 1/1 tokens you may produce.

• Plumb the Forbidden is a personal favorite, especially in response to board wipes or creature theft. This is one of my favorite draw spells in my Isshin deck, especially with a board of tokens.

• Braids, Arisen Nightmare can force opponents into tough spots, depending on what you sacrifice. The fact that Braids is a "may" ability allows for scaling as needed.

• Tocasia's Welcome & Idol of Oblivion are options for more (creature) token focused builds.

• Breena, the Demagogue & Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant are both fun and interactive options. Breena especially can add a fun political wrinkle to games, as opponents may let her stick around until its too late.

• Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor is another "political" draw engine that incentivizes attacks around the board.

• Professional Face-Breaker & Tymna the Weaver are both options that reward you for going wide and connecting. I like Face-Breaker just a little more since she has built-in evasion.

• Deadly Dispute and Painful Truths are additional options.

• Lastly, Scapegoat, Dolmen Gate, and Reconnaissance are additional mana efficient board protection effects. I can't recommend Reconnaissance enough, as it acts as a pseudo-Vigilance anthem, and can remove your creatures from combat after they've already dealt damage. A bit more of an explanation here.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. Best of luck in your brewing and playing.