Teysa Karlov Competitive

Commander / EDH* Aristocrats Combo Death and Taxes Infinite Combo Tokens WB (Orzhov)

Fluxator

Creature (25)

• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Boreas Charger
• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Cartel Aristocrat
• 1x Corpse Augur
• 1x Cruel Celebrant
• 1x Fiend Hunter
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Karmic Guide
• 1x Knight of the White Orchid
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Leonin Relic-Warder
• 1x Liliana, Heretical Healer  ^Flip
• 1x Midnight Reaper
• 1x Pitiless Plunderer
• 1x Ranger-Captain of Eos
• 1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Reveillark
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Vesperlark
• 1x Vindictive Lich
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Instant (9)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Cabal Ritual
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Disenchant
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Mortify
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Land (34)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Concealed Courtyard
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x High Market
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Mortuary Mire
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 7x Plains
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Silent Clearing
• 9x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Temple of Silence

Enchantment (10)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Black Market
• 1x Dance of the Dead
• 1x Dark Prophecy
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Necromancy
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Smothering Tithe

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Liliana, Dreadhorde General

Commander (1)

Sorcery (13)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Bitter Ordeal
• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Final Parting
• 1x Merciless Eviction
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Scheming Symmetry
• 1x Sign in Blood
• 1x Victimize
• 1x Vindicate

Artifact (7)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy

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Sideboard

Creature (11)

• 1x Athreos, God of Passage
• 1x Cavalier of Dawn
• 1x Cavalier of Night
• 1x Corpse Augur
• 1x Ministrant of Obligation
• 1x Orzhov Enforcer
• 1x Pawn of Ulamog
• 1x Reassembling Skeleton
• 1x Seraph of the Scales
• 1x Smothering Abomination
• 1x Tenacious Dead

Instant (4)

• 1x Brought Back
• 1x Culling the Weak
• 1x Pull from Eternity
• 1x Sacrifice

Land (1)

• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip

Artifact (2)

• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Skullclamp

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Toxic Deluge

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Maybeboard

Creature (31)

• 1x Archon of Justice
• 1x Ashen Rider
• 1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1x Bloodthrone Vampire
• 1x Body Snatcher
• 1x Butcher of Malakir
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Falkenrath Noble
• 1x Flesh Carver
• 1x God-Eternal Bontu
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Harvester of Souls
• 1x Krav, the Unredeemed
• 1x Lost Auramancers
• 1x Necrotic Ooze
• 1x Nether Traitor
• 1x Pious Evangel  ^Flip
• 1x Plaguecrafter
• 1x Priest of Forgotten Gods
• 1x Ravos, Soultender
• 1x Sadistic Hypnotist
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Sifter of Skulls
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Tithe Taker
• 1x Vampire Hexmage
• 1x Vindictive Vampire
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer
• 1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
• 1x Yosei, the Morning Star

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Armageddon
• 1x Barter in Blood
• 1x Bitter Ordeal
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Dread Return
• 1x Kaya's Wrath
• 1x Morbid Curiosity
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Obzedat's Aid
• 1x Promise of Power

Instant (3)

• 1x Costly Plunder
• 1x Mortify
• 1x Utter End

Enchantment (2)

• 1x Revel in Riches
• 1x Vampiric Rites

Land (2)

• 1x Dark Depths
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Artifact (1)

• 1x Culling Dais

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Teysa Karlov has been one of my favorite characters in the MTG universe since I first got into the game years ago. Naturally, upon seeing Teysa Karlov in RNA, I knew I wanted to build around her. This deck is on a semi-budget, so you will notice that the land base isn't optimal, and I'm missing some powerful artifacts and tutors such as Imperial Seal , and the like. It's definitely possible that they will eventually be added to the list when I inevitably cave in and order them. My goal is for this deck to be as competitive as possible, and as such, I'm constantly making tweaks and adjustments to make getting those victories even easier. Unfortunately, this version of Teysa will probably never hold her own in a cEDH group, so keep in mind that when I say "competitive," It's still for the most part in higher tier casual play. That being said, I'll dive into an explanation of how my version of Teysa works.

Main Strategy Show

Unlike many Teysa Karlov decks, I focused less on the token theme, and more on the Aristocrats "death trigger" sort of style. I personally find her death trigger doubling to be far more useful than the token ability, and at least in my playgroup, winning by comboing off is a lot easier than making a token army and attacking to win. I do still run some token subthemes, as they make good sac fodder for abilites like Grave Pact and Dark Prophecy , but I've personally ended up straying away from cards like Anointed Procession and Divine Visitation . They're fun cards and playing Teysa with them is also very fun, but when our main goal is being "competitive," we're going to lean more into comboing off with death triggers.

For the uninitiated, there are three main pieces to assemble in order to play an aristocrats theme: We need a sac outlet (ideally a free and repeatable one), a creature we WANT to sac, and something with an ability that will trigger when we sac the creature. For sac outlets, our best options are:

• Carrion Feeder
• Viscera Seer
• Ashnod's Altar
• Phyrexian Altar
• Cartel Aristocrat
• Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

These outlets have no cost, can be repeated infinitely, and can be activated at instant speed. The only exception is Yawgmoth, but life isn't a big cost in EDH and the draw more than makes up for it. We also run a few other outlets in case you don't draw into these right away, which are:

• High Market
• Phyrexian Tower
• Smothering Abomination
• Razaketh, the Foulblooded

These cards are less optimal, as they're all missing one or more of the criteria listed above OR have a very high mana cost (in Razaketh's case). However, they do provide other benefits that can be useful.

Cards we want to sac are those that do something for us when they die or can be easily recurred. For these, we run:

• Tenacious Dead
• Orzhov Enforcer
• Reassembling Skeleton
• Boreas Charger
• Ministrant of Obligation
• Corpse Augur
• Seraph of the Scales
• Solemn Simulacrum
• Vindictive Lich
• Reveillark
• Cavalier of Night
• Cavalier of Dawn

All of these creatures give us some benefit when they die, and all of their abilities will trigger twice when Teysa is on the board. And finally, we want cards that do something when one of our creatures die, for which we run:

• Blood Artist
• Cruel Celebrant
• Zulaport Cutthroat
• Athreos, God of Passage
• Dark Prophecy
• Grim Haruspex
• Pawn of Ulamog
• Grave Pact
• Pitiless Plunderer
• Dictate of Erebos
• Liliana, Dreadhorde General

These are generally the strongest abilities in the deck, and it is usually through these abilities that we will win the game. All of the above cards will have their activated ability trigger twice when Teysa is on board, which can be abused very easily. One sacrifice with Grave Pact and Teysa on board means all of our opponents sacrifice TWO creatures, which is how we control the game so easily. Remember, your main goal is to establish a sac outlet, a creature to sac, and something that will trigger when it dies.

Gameplan Show

In the early game, we focus first on ramping ourselves as best we can, and then controlling the boardstates of our opponents. Unfortunately, W/B doesn't have the greatest ramp available, but we do have a few good cards to take advantage of. These are:

• Phyrexian Tower
• Land Tax
• Knight of the White Orchid
• Mana Crypt
• Mana Vault
• Ashnod's Altar
• Boreas Charger
• Pawn of Ulamog
• Phyrexian Altar
• Pitiless Plunderer
• Solemn Simulacrum
• Black Market
• Dark Ritual
• Cabal Ritual

As you might notice, many of these ramp cards play into our sacrifice theme, which is great for this deck. An early Land Tax can make a lot of difference, ensuring we don't miss any land drops, and the sooner you can get out Black Market , the crazier your plays will be in the mid and late game. Keep in mind that Teysa will add TWO counters to it for every creature death, which adds up quickly.

Once we've established our mana base, we want to start controlling the game with removal cards. For these, we run:

• Swords to Plowshares
• Anguished Unmaking
• Mortify
• Return to Dust
• Grave Pact
• Dictate of Erebos
• Austere Command
• Merciless Eviction
• Cavalier of Night
• Cavalier of Dawn
• Yawgmoth, Thran Physician (To an extent)

We have a lot of interaction with our opponents' boards, and I oftentimes find myself as THE person the group is looking to when something needs to be removed. In multiplayer games, this is good for us, as it allows us to make allies fairly easily. However, once you start triggering and double triggering Grave Pact abilities, you can start to draw some hate, so be wary of that. A lot of our sustained removal is reliant on our enchantments, so choose targets for your instants and sorceries carefully. Save your removal for the cards that are actually a threat to our strategy, rather than throwing it willy-nilly.

Winning the Game Show

If we've successfully survived the early game into the mid game through proper control, then it's time for us to try to win the game! As I said earlier, this deck is very combo focused, so rather than assembling an army of buff tokens, you'll instead be trying to assemble the combo pieces that will win you the game. To this end, we have several tutors:

• Demonic Tutor
• Diabolic Intent
• Scheming Symmetry
• Buried Alive
• Ranger-Captain of Eos
• Final Parting
• Enlightened Tutor
• Razaketh, the Foulblooded

You'll notice that some of these tutors put cards into our graveyard. We also run the following recursion cards so we can get them back to start a combo:

• Mortuary Mire
• Reanimate
• Animate Dead
• Athreos, God of Passage
• Liliana, Heretical Healer  / Liliana, Defiant Necromancer
• Necromancy
• Victimize
• Karmic Guide
• Reveillark

Now, you're probably thinking, "Okay, I've got my tutor and/or recursion. What cards am I looking for?" Our main goal is to assemble what we'll call a "Blood Artist" combo. Named after the card, Blood Artist , the combo involves assembling infinite sacrifices while Blood Artist or a card with a similar effect is on board, in order to essentially burn all of our opponents to death, one damage at a time. We run three "Blood Artist" cards, which are:

• Blood Artist
• Zulaport Cutthroat
• Cruel Celebrant

There are other cards we could run similar to these, such as Vindictive Vampire , and by all means, if you find yourself wanting for more of these effects, feel free to run it instead of something else. For me, I feel that we have enough draw and recursion that these three should be enough.

Combos Show

To assemble infinite sacrifices, we have a few options.

Karmic Guide + Reveillark Show

This is one of the simplest infinite sacrifice engines we have. Simply have both creatures on the board, sac Karmic Guide first, and then sac Reveillark . Reveillark 's LTB trigger will activate, allowing you to return Karmic Guide to the battlefield, along with another suitable creature if it applies. This can be repeated infinitely. This is, in my opinion, the strongest infinite sac combo, as it makes your wincon very difficult to interact with. Assuming you have Blood Artist , Carrion Feeder / Viscera Seer / Cartel Aristocrat , Reveillark , and Karmic Guide on board, your combo is almost impossible to remove, and this is why: Say your opponent targets your Sac outlet (we'll say Carrion Feeder for this example) with a Mortify . In response, you can use your Carrion Feeder to sac Karmic Guide , then Reveillark , and then finally, to sac himself. Their Mortify fizzles, and your Reveillark triggers its LTB effect, allowing you to return TWO creatures with power 2 or less to the battlefield. You can target Karmic Guide and Carrion Feeder and just like that, we're right back at the start of the combo. The only way for them to prevent this combo once you have it assembled is either through graveyard hate or a counter on one of the pieces while you're assembling it. Even a counter can be hard to do effectively, as we have built in recursion in the combo through Karmic Guide and Reveillark . The other reason I think this particular combo is the strongest in the deck is because it is VERY easy to tutor. This combo is the main reason we run Final Parting . Karmic Guide and Reveillark are usually somewhat tricky to get on the field at the same time, as they're both five mana cards, plus you'd have to draw them first. With Final Parting , we can put Karmic Guide into our hand and Reveillark into our graveyard. This sets you up to combo off next turn (or even the same turn if you have the mana), by simply casting Karmic Guide targeting Reveillark with its ability, and then you have an infinite sac engine, provided you have a sac outlet. Buried Alive is a slightly less reliable way to set up this combo, as it requires you to have some form of creature recursion to play Karmic Guide from the graveyard, but if you do, it is much more mana-efficient and can also grab you another missing piece of the combo, such as a Blood Artist effect.

Reassembling Skeleton Show

One of the other infinite sac combos involves Reassembling Skeleton or Tenacious Dead , Phyrexian Altar , and either Pawn of Ulamog or Pitiless Plunderer . It's fairly easy to follow: Sac your Tenacious Dead or Reassembling Skeleton with Phyrexian Altar to make black mana, Pawn of Ulamog or Pitiless Plunderer will make a token, sac the token for the other mana you need to return Tenacious Dead / Reassembling Skeleton to the battlefield, and repeat. This combo is adaptable depending on what pieces you have available. For example, if you specifically have Pitiless Plunder instead of Pawn of Ulamog , you can do the combo with Ashnod's Altar instead, using the treasure token to generate the black mana required to recur your creature and using Ashnod's Altar For the colorless portion. This version has the added benefit of generating infinite colorless mana through the leftover colorless mana produced by Ashnod's Altar each time the loop is repeated. As of now, the deck has no way to take advantage of infinite mana to win, but I may explore combos like this with cards such as Exsanguinate in the future, if infinite mana seems to be something I can reliably make. This combo can also be adapted further if you don't have a mana producing sac outlet and instead have something like Carrion Feeder . You can still do the combo as long as you are able to cast your commander, Teysa Karlov , however, it also requires that you have Pitiless Plunderer instead of Pawn of Ulamog . With Teysa on board, Pitiless Plunderer will generate two treasure tokens instead of one when you sac your Reassembling Skeleton , and you can then sac both tokens to revive the skeleton and repeat. If you have Teysa AND Phyrexian Altar , then you can make infinite mana of either white OR black using the extra treasure token.

Nim Deathmantle Show

The other main infinite sac combo in the deck involves Nim Deathmantle . This combo requires Ashnod's Altar , Nim Deathmantle , and a creature that makes a token when it dies, such as Doomed Traveler . Equip Doomed Traveler with Nim Deathmantle , sac Doomed Traveler with Ashnod's Altar , generating two colorless and a spirit token. Nim Deathmantle triggers, and in response, you sac the token with Ashnod's Altar , generating two more colorless mana and allowing you to pay the 4 colorless from Nim Deathmantle to revive the creature. Repeat infinitely. This combo can also generate infinite colorless and infinite tokens if you have a creature that makes two tokens on death, such as Ministrant of Obligation or Seraph of the Scales or if you have Teysa Karlov and a creature that makes one token, as Teysa will double it, making two.

It should be noted that you do not necessarily NEED a Blood Artist effect on board to win with these combos. If you have a draw trigger, such as Grim Haruspex , Midnight Reaper , Smothering Abomination , Dark Prophecy , or Liliana, Dreadhorde General on board, you can simply draw into a Blood Artist ability and win from there. However, you do need to be careful with Midnight Reaper and Dark Prophecy , as it's possible you could burn yourself to death before you reach it.

And that is essentially my guide for the deck. If you have any questions, suggestions, tips, or if you feel I should have covered something that I didn't, please comment below and I'll do my best to answer. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the deck!

Date added	5 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 4 Mythic Rares 37 - 5 Rares 24 - 8 Uncommons 10 - 2 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.92
Tokens	Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Emblem Liliana, Defiant Necromancer, Golem 3/3 C, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Morph 2/2 C, Spirit 1/1 WB, Treasure, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	Deck Ideas