Kros, Contract Abuser

Commander / EDH Casual Chaos Counters Group Hug Group Slug GWU (Bant) Jank

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Land (32)

• 1x Arcane Lighthouse
• 1x Bountiful Promenade
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Deserted Beach
• 1x Dreamroot Cascade
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 3x Forest
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Hinterland Harbor
• 4x Island
• 1x Karn's Bastion
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Nesting Grounds
• 1x Overgrown Farmland
• 3x Plains
• 1x Rejuvenating Springs
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Sea of Clouds
• 1x Spara's Headquarters
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Windswept Heath

Enchantment (11)

• 1x Brokers Ascendancy
• 1x Curse of Verbosity
• 1x Dismiss into Dream
• 1x Duelist's Heritage
• 1x Evolutionary Escalation
• 1x Inexorable Tide
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Together Forever
• 1x Verity Circle

Creature (24)

• 1x Aven Mimeomancer
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Esper Sentinel
• 1x Evolution Sage
• 1x Fathom Mage
• 1x Flux Channeler
• 1x Forgotten Ancient
• 1x Generous Patron
• 1x Grateful Apparition
• 1x Incubation Druid
• 1x Leech Bonder
• 1x Meadowboon
• 1x Nils, Discipline Enforcer
• 1x Park Heights Maverick
• 1x Rhoda, Geist Avenger
• 1x Rishkar, Peema Renegade
• 1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
• 1x Sheltering Ancient
• 1x Skyboon Evangelist
• 1x Sludge Monster
• 1x Thrummingbird
• 1x Viral Drake
• 1x Wandering Archaic  ^Flip
• 1x Willbreaker

Artifact (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Astral Cornucopia
• 1x Caltrops
• 1x Contagion Clasp
• 1x Contagion Engine
• 1x Paradise Mantle
• 1x Replicating Ring
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Strixhaven Stadium
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots

Commander (1)

Sorcery (13)

• 1x Approach of the Second Sun
• 1x Collective Effort
• 1x Contentious Plan
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Farewell
• 1x Farseek
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Promise of Loyalty
• 1x Regna's Sanction
• 1x Tezzeret's Gambit
• 1x The Crowd Goes Wild
• 1x Three Visits

Instant (8)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Brokers Confluence
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Reins of Power
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Unbounded Potential

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants

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Maybeboard

Instant (43)

• 1x AEtherize
• 1x Aetherspouts
• 1x An Offer You Can't Refuse
• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Boon of Safety
• 1x Brokers Charm
• 1x Contractual Safeguard
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Disdainful Stroke
• 1x Dispel
• 1x Dissipate
• 1x Dovin's Veto
• 1x Dromoka's Command
• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Endless Detour
• 1x Fierce Guardianship
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Fuel for the Cause
• 1x Growth Spiral
• 1x Heroic Intervention
• 1x Lead by Example
• 1x Light of Hope
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Mana Leak
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Nature's Claim
• 1x Negate
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Quandrix Command
• 1x Rapid Hybridization
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Reap What Is Sown
• 1x Rewind
• 1x Saw it Coming
• 1x Settle the Wreckage
• 1x Slip Out the Back
• 1x Steady Progress
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Tale's End
• 1x Teferi's Protection
• 1x Unwind
• 1x Vastwood Fortification  ^Flip
• 1x Worldly Tutor

Creature (25)

• 1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 1x Azor's Elocutors
• 1x Champion of Lambholt
• 1x Combat Calligrapher
• 1x Cytoplast Manipulator
• 1x Devoted Druid
• 1x Druid of Purification
• 1x Edric, Spymaster of Trest
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Experiment Kraj
• 1x Faeburrow Elder
• 1x Falco Spara, Pactweaver
• 1x Fertilid
• 1x Gyre Sage
• 1x Kodama of the West Tree
• 1x Noble Hierarch
• 1x Obsessive Skinner
• 1x Plaxcaster Frogling
• 1x Pollenbright Druid
• 1x Roalesk, Apex Hybrid
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Scavenging Ooze
• 1x Slippery Bogbonder
• 1x Spike Weaver
• 1x Vorel of the Hull Clade

Artifact (14)

• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Bloodthirsty Blade
• 1x Bow of Nylea
• 1x Cauldron of Souls
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Everflowing Chalice
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Magnetic Web
• 1x Midnight Clock
• 1x Norn's Annex
• 1x Selesnya Signet
• 1x Simic Signet
• 1x The Great Henge

Land (5)

• 1x Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Maze of Ith
• 1x Novijen, Heart of Progress
• 1x Tyrite Sanctum

Enchantment (23)

• 1x Bred for the Hunt
• 1x Captured by Lagacs
• 1x Cathars' Crusade
• 1x Cowardice
• 1x Divine Intervention
• 1x Fall of the Impostor
• 1x Forced Adaptation
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Hardened Scales
• 1x Kenrith's Transformation
• 1x Oath of the Ancient Wood
• 1x Ordeal of Nylea
• 1x Ordeal of Thassa
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Public Enemy
• 1x Resourceful Defense
• 1x Retreat to Kazandu
• 1x Simic Ascendancy
• 1x Sphere of Safety
• 1x Sporogenesis
• 1x Sterling Grove
• 1x Tenuous Truce
• 1x Witness Protection

Sorcery (15)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Borrowing 100,000 Arrows
• 1x Courage in Crisis
• 1x Gird for Battle
• 1x Rampant Growth
• 1x Rishkar's Expertise
• 1x Secret Rendezvous
• 1x Skyshroud Claim
• 1x Supreme Verdict
• 1x Tempt with Discovery
• 1x Theft of Dreams
• 1x Thrive
• 1x Time Wipe
• 1x Urban Evolution
• 1x Wargate

Planeswalker (4)

• 1x Basri Ket
• 1x Elspeth Resplendent
• 1x Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter
• 1x Tamiyo, Field Researcher

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My Idea

The idea for this deck is pretty straight forwards, get Kros, Defense Contractor out and force the other players at the table to interact with one-another, which in my play groups is a rarity.

The deck as it currently stands is the version that I own, not my ideal for what the deck could be at its strongest. Yes, I could include the original dual lands and so on, but I mean, I'm not made of money am I, even if I am playing a lawyer.

How I usually do my decklists is that the current 100 is what I have sleeved and ready to go, and the maybe board is flooded with ideas on things I could add, and I am slowly adding, taking away, and changing these boards to suit what I think is most fun, not necessarily the best, as, lets face it, there are some glaring weaknesses in Kros, Defense Contractor, and he is more a "Let's have fun" commander than a "Let's stomp face".

Combos

Combos may be a bit of a stretch, as their aren't many, but it's more hey, look at how these cards go together, now have fun...

• Leech Bonder + Paradise Mantle : This one is relatively simple, have a Leech Bonder equipped with Paradise Mantle, tap Leech Bonder for a Blue, use that Blue to untap him and move a counter from one CREATURE to another, basically netting you all your Goads from Kros, Defense Contractor on as many creatures as you wish. You can also just do things like nick another opponents counters, or even better, steal back all of the Shield Counters you give out with Kros, Defense Contractor, and just store them on your own creatures. ALSO, if a creature were to die while Leech Bonder is equipped with Paradise Mantle, make sure you take any and all of the counters that may be on those creatures, just so they don't go to waste.

How to Win

Now this is where the confusion with this deck lies with most people, how on earth do you win when you're giving out counters to your opponents? Honestly, it is a good question, but I do have a few ideas.

• Steal their stuff: It's as it says on the tin, just give your opponents a bunch of really good buffs, then once it comes down to you and one other player, just take it for yourself and swing for game. I have included cards like Reins of Power and Willbreaker for this purpose.
• Beat Face: One of the simplest ways to win, just hit them hard, I mean, you are playing with counters, may as well use them some times. I've included cards such as Brokers Ascendancy, Duelist's Heritage, Evolutionary Escalation, and Rhoda, Geist Avenger to just make your stuff big, so that when your opponents can't fight, given the fact that Kros, Defense Contractor ALSO taps creatures, you can either swing in for chip damage, or hit them with a truck.
• Just win: I have included a few auto-wins in this deck because in theory, if you delay long enough by making your opponents fight amongst themselves, these become rather easy to achieve. Cards such as Approach of the Second Sun, or Strixhaven Stadium either let you win the game in an instant, or take another out of the game immediately, although you might want to save that for the final player, I've made that mistake a few times...

Why's that in here?

I couldn't think of a better title, but thought I needed this for some cards to specifically call out why they are important:

Caltrops: This is in here because it gets rid of the Shield Counters Kros, Defense Contractor gives out, basically making it that the creatures you Goad don't just get a free hit, most of the time at least.

Verity Circle: This one is a little obvious, but some people overlook the fact that Kros, Defense Contractor not only Goads, gives a Shield Counter, and gives trample, but also taps the creatures, so I mean it's a free +1 draw with just Kros, which is good, or if you have other spells out, you can nearly deck yourself out.

Things to Pay Attention To

Proliferate does NOT target, meaning that you can avoid things that give Hexproof and Shroud when Proliferating

Forgotten Ancient can put counters on opponents creatures, can put it on multiple creatures, AND DOES NOT TARGET. Believe me, this throws people off so badly once they realise that it's possible.

This deck simply does not function without Kros, Defense Contractor. Don't get me wrong, you can just make it a "I'll give my own creatures counters" deck, but at that point you may as well play a different commander. Now, does this mean you should protect Kros with everything you have? Yes. Does this mean that I should run things like Swiftfoot Boots, Lightning Greaves, Teferi's Protection and effects similar to this? Also yes, but I don't because I'm stupid.

Things that don't work

Orzhov Advokist DOES NOT work with Kros, Defense Contractor, as he only works if YOU are the one to put the counters on opponents creatures, meanwhile the Advokist let's each player put 2 +1/+1 counters on their own creature.

Cauldron of Souls DOEST NOT work in the same way Orzhov Advokist doesn't, you're not the one putting the counters on creatures.

Feedback

I would appreciate any and all feedback or card suggestions on this deck:

I know I need more counterspells, removal, and recurring draw, I've been struggling with balancing out the deck to include more of them.

Date added	2 years
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 53 - 0 Rares 24 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.07
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Cat 1/1 W w/ Lifelink, Elephant 3/3 G, Emblem Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants, Replicated Ring, Treasure
Folders	Need to Build, Commander, Funny, decks i want to build