Karrthus 2:Electirc Boogaloo.

Alright time for part two of fixing Karrthus! For a refresher in Part 1 I presented my Karrthus deck and immediately realized that it was very very janky. As such the post became about fixing the deck and currently I have 6 Open slots.  We left off right before I got to the Dragony goodness, so lets just jump in! For a refresher here is the part of the Deck that is untouched:

Stuff that makes Dragons
Dragonmaster Outcast
Death by Dragons
Dragon Roost

Stuff that likes Dragons
Dragonspeaker Shaman
Bladewing's Thrall
Crucible of Fire
Sarkhan the Mad

Dragons!
Moltensteel Dragon
Steel Hellkite
Jugan, the Rising Star
Ryusei, the Falling Star
Mana Charged Dragon
Hoard Smelter Dragon
Darigaaz, the Igniter
Broodmate Dragon
Rorix Bladewing
Malfegor
Balefire Dragon
Bladewing the Risen
Bogardan Hellkite

Alright, lets see first up are the cards that make more dragons.  I am more than happy with all three of these. Anyway, Dragon roost is obviously good and the Outcast is a nice one drop that pulls hate from other creatures, not to mention how awesome surprise dragons are.

    Quick aside: I was playing in a 3 player EDH game some time ago, the first player had been knocked out and the other person was playing with my Skullbriar deck.  He is at 13 life, I have 5 lands, an outcast and a Sakura Tribe Elder out with 0 cards in hand.  He taps out to play a bunch of ground creatures thinking I can’t kill him. EOT (End of Turn) I sacrifice the elder, grab a land, untap, upkeep I get a dragon, draw a land, play it, cast Karrthus. Game.  For a game where I was pretty mana-screwed, that was a good way to win.

Death by dragons is awful everywhere else, but giving people Dragons isn’t so bad when you plan on taking them with Karrthus the next turn (or that turn). Bladewing's thrall is a lot better than he looks. Getting a medium sized guy with flying back for free is awesome, especially with all the Board Wipe in EDH. Shaman makes all my high cost dragons cheaper, Crucible makes them Bigger and Sarkhan the mad just looooooooooooves this deck. Do you Need some card draw? He is good! Do you need some creature removal (and maybe a dragon to steal)? He is good! Need some immediate direct damage? Guess what? Good!

    Second quick aside : Top + Sarkhan is fun, top end of your turn, draw for my turn, Sarkhan reveals a land, etc. is just plain fun, and not even broken.
    I am happy with all of these Dragons, Rorix Bladewing is the only one that I am iffy on, but he has haste natively, so he gets to stay!  Here are all the dragons in print I would consider running in the remaining six spots:

Fledgling Dragon
Hellkite Hatchling
Thunder Dragon
Scourge of Kher Ridges
Vaevictis Asmadi
Furnace Dragon
Mordant Dragon

Fledgling and Hellkite give me some lower cost Dragons I can drop early.  Also, Hellkite + Viridian Emissary, Sakura Tribe Elder, Yavimaya Elder, or Solemn Simulacrum is just gravy. Scourge of Kher Ridges and Thunder Dragon give me some more removal in Dragon form.  Vaevictus Asmadi is 100% for style.  Furnace and Mordant used to be in here, and I mostly found that they either did nothing or hurt me more than helped.  There is also Dragon Storm and Form of Dragon which I have gone back and forth on since making the deck. Form is thematically appropriate but kinda bad, Dragon storm is a tutor that gets me a dragon and puts it into play. Occasionally I get more than one! In the end I think I need to add:

Fledgling Dragon
Hellkite Hatchling
Thunder Dragon
Scourge of Kher Ridges
Vaevictis Asmadi
Dragon Storm

Alright the Full New Decklist:

Mana Ramp
Sol Ring
Worn Powerstone
Darksteel Ingot
Pristine Talisman
Natures Lore
Rampant Growth
Kodama’s Reach
Cultivate
Viridian Emissary
Sakura Tribe Elder
Yavimaya Elder
Solemn Simulacrum

Haste!
Lightning Greaves
Fires of Yavimaya
Swiftfoot Boots
Dragon Breath
Sarkhan Vol

Draw
Sensei's Divining Top
Skullclamp
Harmonize
Greater Good
Demonic Tutor
Nights Whisper
Phyrexian Arena
Dragon Storm

Recursion!
All Suns' Dawn
Eternal Witness
Holistic Wisdom
Living Death
Patriarch's Bidding
      
Just Good Stuff
Insurrection
Warstorm Surge
Mimic Vat

Removal
Hull Breach
Into the Core
Ancient Grudge
Tribute to the Wild
Hit // Run
Damnation
Plague Wind

Stuff that makes Dragons
Dragonmaster Outcast
Death by Dragons
Dragon Roost

Stuff that likes Dragons
Dragonspeaker Shaman
Bladewing's Thrall
Crucible of Fire
Sarkhan the Mad

Dragons!
Moltensteel Dragon
Steel Hellkite
Jugan, the Rising Star
Ryusei, the Falling Star
Mana Charged Dragon
Hoard Smelter Dragon
Darigaaz, the Igniter
Broodmate Dragon
Rorix Bladewing
Malfegor
Dragon Broodmother
Balefire Dragon
Bladewing the Risen
Bogardan Hellkite
Fledgling Dragon
Hellkite Hatchling
Thunder Dragon
Scourge of Kher Ridges
Vaevictis Asmadi
Dragon Storm

Lands!
Ghost Quarter
Temple of the False God
Hall of the Bandit Lord
Miren, the Moaning Well
High Market
Blood Crypt
Bloodstained Mire,
Dragonskull Summit
Graven Cairns
Sulfurous Springs
Karplusan Forest
Rootbound Crag
Stomping Ground
Wooded Foothills
Fire-Lit Thicket
Llanowar Wastes
Overgrown Tomb
Verdant Catacombs
Twilight Mire
Woodland Cemetery
Savage Lands
Reflecting Pool
Command Tower
Mountain X 4
Forest X 3
Swamp X 3

There it is, the brand new Karrthus, can’t wait to try him out! Alright, next time We have Oh, Captain My Captain

Karrthus!

Welcome back! My original intent for today was to show you Karrthus, and talk about Deck Singularity.  And this is still true, but, well, I will get to that.  First, a deck list:

General:  Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund

Mana Ramp
Sol Ring
Worn Powerstone
Darksteel Ingot
Pristine Talisman
Natures Lore
Rampant Growth
Kodama’s Reach
Cultivate
Viridian Emissary
Sakura Tribe Elder
Yavimaya Elder
Solemn Simulacrum

Haste!
Lightning Greaves
Fires of Yavimaya
Strider Harness
Dragon Breath
Sarkhan Vol

Draw
Sensei's Divining Top
Skullclamp
Worldly Tutor
Greater Good
Demonic Tutor
Nights Whisper
Phyrexian Arena
Summoning Trap

Recursion!
Regrowth
Eternal Witness
Vengeful Rebirth
Holistic Wisdom
Living Death
Patriarch's Bidding
       
Just Good Stuff
Insurrection
Warstorm Surge
Mimic Vat
Garruk
Enslave

Removal
Hull Breach
Into the Core
Ancient Grudge
Tribute to the Wild
Artifact Mutation
Putrefy
Hit // Run
Damnation
Plague Wind

Stuff that makes Dragons
Dragonmaster Outcast
Death by Dragons
Dragon Roost

Stuff that likes Dragons
Dragonspeaker Shaman
Bladewing's Thrall
Crucible of Fire
Sarkhan the Mad

Dragons!
Moltensteel Dragon
Steel Hellkite
Jugan, the Rising Star
Ryusei, the Falling Star
Mana Charged Dragon
Hoard Smelter Dragon
Darigaaz, the Igniter
Broodmate Dragon
Rorix Bladewing
Malfegor
Dragon Broodmother
Balefire Dragon
Bladewing the Risen
Bogardan Hellkite


Lands! 35
Ghost Quarter
Temple of the False God
Hall of the Bandit Lord
Miren, the Moaning Well
High Market
Dragonskull Summit
Akoum Refuge
Lavaclaw Reaches
Mountain Valley
Karplusan Forest
Rootbound Crag
Stomping Ground
Wooded Foothills
Grove of the Burnwillows
Llanowar Wastes
Overgrown Tomb
Verdant Catacombs
Golgari Rot Farm
Twilight Mire
Savage Lands
Reflecting Pool
Mountain X 5
Forest X 5
Swamp X 4

So the first thing I want to talk about, Deck Singularity. How many cards here, were also in Stonebrow or Nin? 39, How many are in other decks I own? 17.  I’m certain each color of magic (and colorless) have about 20 cards or so that end up in almost every deck of that color.  Green is the worst offender, if only because of mana ramp. For reference here’s the list of Green cards that I always end up starting off with:

Rampant Growth
Natures Lore
Sakura Tribe Elder
Viridian Emissary
Kodama’s Reach
Cultivate
Yavimaya Elder
Greater Good
Harmonize
Eternal Witness
Restock
Woodfall Primus
Brawn
Thicket Elemental
Predator Ooze
Scute Mob
Kessig Cagebreakers
Pelakka Wurm
Avenger of Zendikar
Woodfall Primus
Indrik Stomphowler
Deadwood Treefolk
Birthing Pod
Garruk’s Packleader
Regal Force
Prime Time
Explosive Vegetation
Holistic Wisdom
28
Now, a lot of that ends up getting cut due to not having the cards/money to buy them. Or the Deck is tribal or w.e.  However the point remains that there is 28 cards that start off in all my lists the minute I decide the deck has forests. Now if you add in the other colors, artifacts, and lands you end up with about 30 unique slots, give or take how much you are cutting.  And therein lies my problem, it is all the same deck, playing just the good stuff unless I try really hard.  Stonebrow has made this especially bad; it’s really hard for a deck to not be “Stonebrow with Blue or Stonebrow with white” which is why lately I have been trying to stick with themes.  Now Karrthus is my oldest EDH deck, but even it would be “Stonebrow with Black” if it wasn’t for the dragon theme. Also oldest really just means that I keep thinking the deck is fine and then every few months I look through and have to massively update it.

Which brings me to point two: Wow, this deck needs updating.  I haven’t looked at it in a long time (well, I replaced Hellkite Overlord with Balefire Dragon right after Innistrad came out, but an actual look at the deck hasn’t happened) and it shows.  I don’t run enough creatures, have a bunch of stuff that just shouldn’t be in the deck, and have a Mana Base I don’t like.  So, today and Thursdays posts will be on getting Karrthus to a good place.  For one thing I want another 9 or so dragons, and should cut things that just don’t go well here.

Alright, lets start with the Lands.  I want 35 and want an even distribution between the three colors.  First off, the colorless lands:
Ghost Quarter and Strip Mine
    Some land destruction is key for things like (Kor Haven or Cabal Coffers) , and this one doesn’t make me feel like a jerk for removing a land.
Temple Of The False God and Ancient Tomb
    A land that taps for 2 is better than 1
Hall of the Bandit Lord
    More Haste!
Miren, the Moaning Well and High Market
    These are awesome.  They don’t look like much but the ability to just sacrifice a guy whenever you want is fantastic.  The fact that they are land make them better. Oh and the life gain doesn’t hurt either.


Next Tri Color Lands:
Reflecting Pool, Savage Lands, Command Tower
    Nothing to magical here, all these lands can tap for any of the colors I need for Karrthus.

Then, Dual Color Lands
Shock Lands

Blood Crypt, Overgrown Tomb, Stomping Ground are all too good not to play especially if we are running Search Lands

Bloodstained Mire, Verdant Catacombs, Wooded Foothills Lets grab those Basics/Shock Lands! (Rocky Tar Pit and its ilk can always replace these in a pinch)

Filter Lands
    Graven Cairns, Fire-Lit Thicket, and Twilight Mire.
Pain Lands
    Karplusan Forest, Llanowar Wastes, Sulfurous Springs
"M10"Lands
    Dragonskull Summit, Rootbound Crag, Woodland Cemetery

Forest X4
Mountain X3
Swamp X3

Are the 3-4 basics, 2 search and 2 shocks enough to support the 3 “m10” lands? Maybe, maybe not.  Perhaps these should be Gruul Turf and its ilk which are good, but this deck just really really hates CitPT (Comes into play tapped) lands. I’m not sure but i will try the M10 for now, and at least this puts us on a more stable mana base.  Alright, what next? Mana Ramp is staying exactly the same, and Hastes only change is for Strider Harness to become Swiftfoot Boots.

Draw and recursion definitely need some work. Worldly Tutor is never as good as I think it should be, same goes for Summoning Trap.  One of those should be a Harmonize and the other gives us our first opening (Open Spots: 1). Regrowth, Wisdom, and V. Rebirth are all very good cards but should probably be better cards. Holistic Wisdom is practically broken in certain EDH decks (and is like 75 cents, this is unreal, it is very good, you should buy a lot of them) but here? I go back and forth.  Regrowth is obviously good, but should probably be Restock or All Suns' Dawn simply for card advantage. Vengeful Rebirth is a good two for one but we need slots and have a fair amount of ways to get stuff back (Open Slots:2)

    As far as Just good stuff goes, Garruk (once again) and enslave are both good cards that usually aren’t the cards I want to see. Also, I am already running two other walkers and I rarely get enslave (and the creature it is on) for more than a turn (if that). Looks like I have two more slots (Open Slots:4)

Between Artifact Mutation, Putrefy and Hit//Run only one can stay and Hit//Run far more versatile than the other two (Open Slots:6)

We are three slots from what I wanted for Dragons, but that might be ok.  Next we actually delve into the Dragony goodness of the deck with: Karrthus Part 2, Electric Boogaloo