Poor, Unappreciated, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is one of the best, most important creatures in Standard

… So why are we calling Kalitas poor and unappreciated?

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is everywhere — Esper Dragons, Grixis Control, Orzhov Control — but the prevailing narrative is still around G/W Tokens!

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet in Esper Dragons:

Robert Lombardi

4 Dragonlord Ojutai
2 Dragonlord Silumgar
3 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

1 Ob Nixilis Reignited

2 Clash of Wills
3 Foul-Tongue Invocation
2 Grasp of Darkness
3 Languish
2 Painful Truths
1 Read the Bones
4 Silumgar’s Scorn
2 Transgress the Mind
3 Ultimate Price

3 Caves of Koilos
4 Choked Estuary
4 Island
2 Port Town
3 Prairie Stream
2 Shambling Vent
4 Sunken Hollow
4 Swamp

SIDEBOARD
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Dark Petition
1 Dead Weight
1 Dragonlord’s Prerogative
2 Duress
1 Flaying Tendrils
1 Infinite Obliteration
2 Negate
1 Risen Executioner
1 Silumgar’s Command
1 Sorin, Grim Nemesis
2 Virulent Plague

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet in Grixis Control:
(BTW Patrick and Michael are both in love with this deck)

Oliver Tiu

2 Dragonlord Silumgar
4 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
4 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

1 Chandra, Flamecaller

3 Fiery Impulse
2 Grasp of Darkness
3 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Radiant Flames
3 Read the Bones
3 Ruinous Path
2 Transgress the Mind
2 Ultimate Price

3 Evolving Wilds
4 Foreboding Ruins
1 Island
1 Mountain
3 Shivan Reef
4 Smoldering Marsh
2 Sunken Hollow
5 Swamp
3 Wandering Fumarole

SIDEBOARD
2 Dragonmaster Outcast
4 Duress
3 Fevered Visions
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
3 Radiant Flames
1 Rending Volley
1 Silumgar’s Command

And loneliest… Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet in Orzhov Control:

Bret Tetley

3 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Ob Nixilis Reignited
2 Sorin, Grim Nemesis

3 Anguished Unmaking
4 Grasp of Darkness
3 Languish
2 Planar Outburst
4 Read the Bones
2 Ruinous Path
4 Secure the Wastes
2 Ultimate Price

4 Caves of Koilos
4 Forsaken Sanctuary
4 Plains
4 Shambling Vent
7 Swamp
3 Westvale Abbey

SIDEBOARD
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Dark Petition
3 Declaration in Stone
2 Duress
3 Hallowed Moonlight
2 Linvala, the Preserver
3 Transgress the Mind

Here’s the thing about Tetley’s deck… Since Kalitas is the only creature in this deck, it is really, really likely to die. The most popular removal — Ultimate Price, Grasp of Darkness — all kill Kalitas, and there is no one to draw off fire before it shows up.

Poor, dead-to-be, Kalitas 🙁

Patrick and Michael talk about even more Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet-featuring decks than these… As well as a new Dragons brew by MichaelJ!

All this and more in “Poor, Unappreciated, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet”:


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Mage-Ring Network Engine

Mage-Ring Network
Mage-Ring Network is a powerful innovation in Esper control decks,
facilitating Ugin, the Spirit Dragon and great flexibility

Patrick made Top 8 of Grand Prix Indianapolis with Esper Control! He played a deck that was informed by his own work for Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar + the recent excellence of Reid Duke.

(much love for Reid Duke in this podcast)

Esper Control by Patrick Chapin

2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

1 Languish
1 Murderous Cut
2 Ultimate Price

2 Anticipate
2 Clash of Wills
4 Dig Through Time
4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
2 Negate
1 Horribly Awry
1 Scatter to the Winds

1 Dragonlord Silumgar
3 Ojutai’s Command
1 Silumgar’s Command
2 Utter End

1 Hallowed Moonlight
2 Planar Outburst
1 Surge of Righteousness

1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Flooded Strand
1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
3 Island
2 Mage-Ring Network
1 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
3 Prairie Stream
3 Shambling Vent
3 Sunken Hollow
1 Swamp
1 Windswept Heath

sideboard:
3 Duress
1 Infinite Obliteration
1 Painful Truths
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Dispel
1 Dragonlord Ojutai
1 Dragonlord Silumgar
2 Arashin Cleric
2 Monastery Mentor
1 Surge of Righteousness

“You can’t use your entire sideboard to get your match up to 25%. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
-Patrick Chapin

Our hosts discuss various sideboard strategies for various formats… Everything from Dredge in Legacy to whether or not Arashin Cleric is any good in Mage-Ring Network Esper.

What makes a good card in Standard? What is a better way to go than “trying to look clever”?

How can you find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

When to you sideboard in Monastery Mentor?

The answers to all these questions and more in “Mage-Ring Network Engine”

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… Oh, and for everyone asking, the song we use in and out is Innovate by The Gatherin: