Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Karlov of the Ghost Council
Karlov of the Ghost Council
Legendary Creature — Spirit Advisor · {W}{B} · Black/White commander
Whenever you gain life, put two +1/+1 counters on Karlov.
{W}{B}, Remove six +1/+1 counters from Karlov: Exile target creature.
Build a Karlov of the Ghost Council deck →
What Karlov of the Ghost Council actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- Triggered ability · lifegainWhenever you gain life, put two +1/+1 counters on Karlov.
- Activated ability{W}{B}, Remove six +1/+1 counters from Karlov: Exile target creature.
What a Karlov of the Ghost Council deck wants
The plan the Forge derives for this commander: the roles it fills and how many of each.
- 21× Gain life repeatedly — for a commander that converts life gained into drain, the gain IS the damage
- 20× Put +1/+1 counters on creatures you control, or multiply the ones already there
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
- 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
- 7× Refill your hand
- 2× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- 11× Get ahead on mana
Best cards for Karlov of the Ghost Council
Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.
Gain life repeatedly — for a commander that converts life gained into drain, the gain IS the damage
- Inventors' Fair0 mana
- Basilisk Collar1 mana
- Vault of the Archangel0 mana
- Blood Artist2 mana
- Zulaport Cutthroat2 mana
- Authority of the Consuls1 mana
- Bloodchief Ascension1 mana
- Serra Ascendant1 mana
Put +1/+1 counters on creatures you control, or multiply the ones already there
- Karn's Bastion0 mana
- Blightbelly Rat2 mana
- Contagion Clasp2 mana
- Drown in Ichor2 mana
- Grateful Apparition2 mana
- Metastatic Evangel2 mana
- Yawgmoth, Thran Physician4 mana
- Glistening Sphere3 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Path to Exile1 mana
- Swords to Plowshares1 mana
- Defile1 mana
- Tragic Slip1 mana
- March of Otherworldly Light1 mana
- Infernal Grasp2 mana
- Flicker of Fate2 mana
- Fatal Push1 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Final Showdown1 mana
- Vanquish the Horde8 mana
- Amalia Benavides Aguirre2 mana
- Do or Die2 mana
- Martyr's Cry2 mana
- Pest Control2 mana
- Force of Despair3 mana
- Split Up3 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Demonic Tutor2 mana
- Diabolic Intent2 mana
- Vampiric Tutor1 mana
- Imperial Seal1 mana
- Insatiable Avarice1 mana
- Diabolic Intent2 mana
- Grim Tutor3 mana
- Liliana Vess // Liliana Vess0 mana
Refill your hand
- Esper Sentinel1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Orcish Bowmasters2 mana
- Black Market Connections3 mana
- Braids, Arisen Nightmare3 mana
- Morbid Opportunist3 mana
- Phyrexian Arena3 mana
- Archivist of Oghma2 mana
Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- Flowering of the White Tree2 mana
- Bastion Protector3 mana
- Greater Auramancy2 mana
- Codsworth, Handy Helper3 mana
- Cryptothrall4 mana
- Avacyn, Angel of Hope8 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
- Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
Get ahead on mana
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- Everflowing Chalice0 mana
- Mox Amber0 mana
- Mox Diamond0 mana
- Mox Opal0 mana
- Mana Vault1 mana
- Sol Ring1 mana
- Wayfarer's Bauble1 mana