Kathril Voltron Reanimator

Commander / EDH BGW (Abzan, Junk) Counters Mill Nightmare Reanimator Sacrifice Voltron

bushido_man96

Keywords (25)

• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Akroma, Angel of Wrath
• 1x Akroma, Vision of Ixidor
• 1x Arvad the Cursed
• 1x Bassara Tower Archer
• 1x Bruna, the Fading Light  ^Meld
• 1x Elder Gargaroth
• 1x Fencing Ace
• 1x Gisela, the Broken Blade  ^Meld
• 1x Gravebreaker Lamia
• 1x Hornet Queen
• 1x Leyline Prowler
• 1x Lotleth Troll
• 1x Nullpriest of Oblivion
• 1x Nylea, Keen-Eyed
• 1x Nyx Weaver
• 1x Odric, Lunarch Marshal
• 1x Poison-Tip Archer
• 1x Skirge Familiar
• 1x Slippery Bogbonder
• 1x Spirit of the Night
• 1x Vampire Nighthawk
• 1x Void Beckoner
• 1x Wasteland Viper
• 1x Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

Ramp (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Farseek
• 1x Leyline Prowler
• 1x Nylea, Keen-Eyed
• 1x Rampant Growth
• 1x Skirge Familiar
• 1x Skull Prophet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Summer Bloom

Sac Outlets (6)

• 1x Evolutionary Leap
• 1x Fanatical Devotion
• 1x Greater Good
• 1x Martyr's Cause
• 1x Plumb the Forbidden
• 1x Reprocess

GY Filler (17)

• 1x Anvil of Bogardan
• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Final Parting
• 1x Gravebreaker Lamia
• 1x Greater Good
• 1x Grisly Salvage
• 1x Lotleth Troll
• 1x Null Profusion
• 1x Nyx Weaver
• 1x Oriq Loremage
• 1x Recycle
• 1x Satyr Wayfinder
• 1x Skirge Familiar
• 1x Skull Prophet
• 1x Survival of the Fittest
• 1x Tortured Existence
• 1x Wasteland Viper

Draw (11)

• 1x Abzan Charm
• 1x Ambition's Cost
• 1x Ancient Craving
• 1x Anvil of Bogardan
• 1x Elder Gargaroth
• 1x Greater Good
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Null Profusion
• 1x Plumb the Forbidden
• 1x Recycle
• 1x Reprocess

Removal (7)

• 1x Abzan Charm
• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Despark
• 1x Dire Tactics
• 1x Duneblast
• 1x Return to Nature
• 1x Wasteland Viper

Protection (4)

• 1x Fanatical Devotion
• 1x Martyr's Cause
• 1x Obscuring Haze
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots

Commander (1)

Land (36)

• 1x Arctic Treeline
• 1x Brushland
• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 7x Forest
• 1x Jungle Hollow
• 1x Nesting Grounds
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 7x Plains
• 1x Sandsteppe Citadel
• 1x Savannah
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Shimmerdrift Vale
• 9x Swamp

Recursion (8)

• 1x Ever After
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Necromancy
• 1x Nullpriest of Oblivion
• 1x Nyx Weaver
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Tortured Existence
• 1x Unburial Rites

Counters (3)

• 1x Abzan Charm
• 1x Slippery Bogbonder
• 1x Void Beckoner

Tutor (2)

• 1x Final Parting
• 1x Survival of the Fittest

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Maybeboard

Other (9)

• 1x Jarad's Orders
• 1x Key to the City
• 1x Necromancy
• 1x Swarmyard
• 1x Sylvan Caryatid
• 1x Underrealm Lich
• 1x Vile Entomber
• 1x Wasteland Viper
• 1x Wilson, Refined Grizzly

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Introduction

Kathril, Aspect Warper is my first Abzan commander. I really like graveyard interaction, and Kathril fits the bill. He wants to pitch stuff into the graveyard early so he can get really big when I cast him. When I get to the late game, I can start reanimating creatures from the graveyard to overwhelm the board with fatties. I play a similar strategy with Volrath the Fallen in my Volrath Voltron Reanimator, and I really enjoy it. With Kathril being in Abzan colors, it opens up a few different things I can do. Volrath wants to get into play as early as possible, and then start discarding creatures. Kathril wants to discard creatures before coming into play. Late game is the same for both; reanimate threats and overwhelm opponents.

Filling the Graveyard

I run a Muldrotha, the Gravetide deck that really likes to fill the graveyard up fast. This strategy works well with Muldrotha, because she gains access to the cards in the graveyard as soon as she hits the board. Therefore, milling large quantities of cards into the 'yard is a pretty good strategy for her. However, I don't find that to be the case for Kathril. It's true that Kathril likes creature cards in the graveyard, but he doesn't necessarily need to mill a bunch of cards into the 'yard at one time. I find that a more precision-based approach to getting cards into the graveyard works better with Kathril. To that end, I'm running cards like Oriq Loremage, Buried Alive, Gravebreaker Lamia, and Final Parting to search up the exact cards I want and get them into the graveyard. Survival of the Fittest and Tortured Existence offer great utility for switching cards in my hand for something useful in my graveyard. Kathril really only needs a few select creatures in the yard to effectively cast him and make him a large threat.

I'm also running some graveyard filling cards that aren't quite as precise. Cards like Grapple with the Past, Satyr Wayfinder, and Grisly Salvage act as pseudo-card draw spells, allowing me to filter lands to my hand and creatures to the graveyard. Anvil of Bogardan is a natural fit, allowing me an extra draw in exchange to pitch a card, hopefully a creature. Null Profusion and Recycle can really accelerate getting cards into the graveyard.

As I played the precon, I noticed that there were times when I was needing to cast the creatures I wanted in the graveyard in order to establish a board state and avoid getting blown out. I didn't mind doing this, but the precon was sorely lacking in sac outlets to let me get these creatures into the graveyard where I really wanted them to be when it came time to cast Kathril and gain max value. I added some sac outlets to help out with this. Greater Good is great for sacrifice, draw, and filling the 'yard more with discard. Fanatical Devotion and Martyr's Cause are underplayed and underrated free sac outlets that also offer some protection. Reprocess and Plumb the Forbidden can let me ditch several keyword creatures at a time in order to refill my hand.

The Keys to Victory

As the text on Kathril implies, keywords are the key to victory. So, no shortage of keyword-soup creatures to fill up the graveyard. Prime targets are Zetalpa, Primal Dawn and Akroma, Angel of Wrath, as they have the most keywords on them. But we want variety, so getting deathtouch and hexproof are important, too. Cards like Slippery Bogbonder and Arvad the Cursed provide these.

Reanimation

After pumping Kathril up, I want to start reanimating creatures in the graveyard to start to finish things off. Reanimate, Unburial Rites, and Ever After put creatures back on the battlefield. Living Death's usefulness is obvious, especially in the late game. I could go with some more reanimation spells, but at this time, the deck seems to play well without needing to hang on it in the late game.

Just to add a little fun and jank to the deck, I decided to include Bruna, the Fading Light + Gisela, the Broken Blade . It should be rather easy to get Gisela into the graveyard, and then cast or reanimate Bruna to get to Brisela, Voice of Nightmares     into play. It'll be a fun achievement unlocked moment when it happens. Ever After can also get me both cards on the same turn.

Conclusion

Reanimation is a favorite of mine, and this deck fits how I want to play it. I love using the 'yard as a resource. I hope others find it fun as well.

Top Ranked	Achieved #6 position overall 3 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH 3 years ago
Date added	3 years
Last updated	1 year
Key combos	Bruna, the Fading Light + Gisela, the Broken Blade
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	7 - 0 Mythic Rares 28 - 0 Rares 30 - 0 Uncommons 10 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.72
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Insect 1/1 G w/ Flying, Deathtouch
Folders	Abzhan EDH Decks I Have, EDH, Commander, 2021, Symbiotic Swarm, Kathril, Aspect Warper, iLike