Korvold
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Metashare
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[[Korvold, Fae-Cursed King]] is a powerful Jund [[symbol:b]][[symbol:r]][[symbol:g]] commander that rewards you for sacrificing your permanents—often turning innocuous creatures, artifacts, and tokens into explosive card draw and lethal combos. Korvold thrives in a combo-centric shell designed to maximize its sacrifice-triggered draw engine and quickly pivot into game-ending plays.
Note: Korvold’s gameplan has been significantly hindered with the banning of [[Dockside Extortionist]], [[Jeweled Lotus]], and [[Mana Crypt]].
Why Play Korvold?
Explosive Card Draw: Korvold turns each sacrificed permanent into an extra card—fueling your hand with resources.
Fast Combo Potential: [[symbol:b]][[symbol:r]][[symbol:g]] boasts a robust suite of rituals, tutors, and recursion. Korvold leverages these tools to find and execute combos quickly.
Resilience & Redundancy: A multitude of sacrifice outlets and reanimation effects mean your combos and synergy pieces are rarely dead.
High Adaptability: With strong removal and protective spells, Korvold can pivot from aggressive combo lines to a controlling strategy when needed.
You might enjoy this deck if you:
Love sacrifice-based synergy and turning tokens into raw card advantage.
Prefer a deck with multiple layered combos and lines to victory.
Appreciate the big-turn, big-payoff play style that characterizes Jund [[symbol:b]][[symbol:r]][[symbol:g]] turbo strategies.
Game Plan
Early Game
Ramp & Setup
Deploy mana dorks (e.g., [[Birds of Paradise]], [[Deathrite Shaman]]) and cheap artifacts (e.g., [[Mox Diamond]], [[Sol Ring]]) to quickly power out Korvold.
Look for efficient tutors and draw engines to locate critical combo pieces or reanimation spells.
Develop a Sacrifice Engine
Establish sacrifice outlets (like [[Skirk Prospector]]) and value generators (e.g., disposable creatures or Treasure tokens).
Each sacrificed permanent can lead to additional draws and incremental advantage, setting up for a combo finish.
Mid Game
Leverage Korvold’s Draw
Once Korvold hits the battlefield, each sacrifice triggers card draw. Combine these triggers with recursion sacrifice fodder to churn through your deck.
Keep an eye on your life total if you plan to utilize payoffs such as [[Ad Nauseam]].
Position for a Combo Kill
Accumulate enough mana and ensure your hand is stocked with interaction to protect your approach.
Identify the right moment to push through your combo line—especially if you can slip it in under an opponent’s guard or after they’ve tapped out.
Late Game
Combo Out
Transition your board advantage into a game-winning combo, typically one of your infinite or near-infinite loops that produce lethal damage or an unstoppable board state.
Exploit big mana, reanimation loops, or storm-like sequences to close the door on opponents.
Play Through Interaction
Protect your finishing line with spells like [[Veil of Summer]] or by using robust recursion (e.g., [[Underworld Breach]]) to recover if your initial attempt fails.
Key Combos & Synergies
Below are some of the most potent ways to deliver a knockout blow. Most revolve around creating infinite mana, infinite creatures, or repeated casts to chain triggers for lethal.
[[Food Chain]]
Pieces: [[Food Chain]] + [[Squee, the Immortal]]
Execution:
Cast [[Food Chain]].
Cast [[Squee, the Immortal]].
Exile Squee to [[Food Chain]], generating four mana of any color.
Recast Squee from exile, netting +1 creature mana each loop.
Repeat for infinite creature mana.
Outcome: With infinite creature mana, you can then cast Korvold repeatedly to draw your deck and assemble a win condition.
[[Underworld Breach]] + [[Grinding Station]]
Pieces: [[Underworld Breach]] + [[Grinding Station]] + a zero- or mana-positive artifact (e.g., [[Sol Ring]] or [[Mox Opal]])
Execution:
Cast [[Underworld Breach]].
Resolve [[Grinding Station]], then sacrifice your artifact to mill yourself for 3.
Escape the artifact by exiling 3 cards from your graveyard.
Artifact’s ETB untaps [[Grinding Station]]. Tap and sacrifice again for repeated mill.
Outcome: Continual loops that can mill your entire library and assemble another win condition from your graveyard.
Win Conditions
[[Dualcaster Mage]] + [[Twinflame]] / [[Molten Duplication]]
Pieces: [[Dualcaster Mage]] + [[Twinflame]] or [[Molten Duplication]]
Execution:
Cast [[Twinflame]] [[Molten Duplication]] targeting a creature you control. Hold priority.
Cast [[Dualcaster Mage]] targeting [[Twinflame]] or [[Molten Duplication]] with the enter the battlefield ability.
The copied spell targets Dualcaster Mage, creating another hasty copy.
Repeat for infinite hasty creatures.
Move to combat and swing for lethal combat damage.
[[Dualcaster Mage]] + [[Saw in Half]] (Instant Speed)
Pieces: [[Dualcaster Mage]] + [[Saw in Half]] + either [[Lightning Bolt]], [[Demonic Tutor]], or [[Praetor's Grasp]]
Execution:
Cast an instant or sorcery like [[Lightning Bolt]] or [[Praetor’s Grasp]], holding priority. You can also respond to an opponent’s instant or sorcery spell.
Cast [[Saw in Half]] targeting any creature, holding priority.
Cast [[Dualcaster Mage]] to copy [[Saw in Half]].
Resolve the [[Saw in Half]] copy, making 2 copies of [[Dualcaster Mage]]
Target [[Saw in Half]] and the original instant or sorcery on the stack to copy both.
Repeat to create infinite [[Dualcaster Mage]] tokens and copy the instant or sorcery infinite times.
[[Warren Soultrader]] + [[Chatterfang, Squirrel General]]
Pieces: [[Warren Soultrader]], [[Chatterfang, Squirrel General]], [[Zulaport Cutthroat]]
Execution:
Cast [[Chatterfang, Squirrel General]], [[Warren Soultrader]], and [[Zulaport Cutthroat]].
Activate Warren Soultrader by paying 1 life and sacrificing another creature. You create a Treasure token, Chatterfang gives you a Squirrel, and Cutthroat drains opponents and gains you 1 life.
Each activation yields damage to opponents and more creatures/Treasures to sacrifice.
Outcome: Continue sacrificing to eventually drain the entire table.
[[Opposition Agent]] + [[Scheming Symmetry]]
Cast [[Opposition Agent]], then use [[Scheming Symmetry]] to steal a win condition from an opponent. You can steal multiple cards using [[Underworld Breach]].
[[Praetor’s Grasp]]
Cast [[Praetor’s Grasp]] to steal a win condition from an opponent. You can steal multiple cards using [[Underworld Breach]].
General Mulligan Principles
Look for Acceleration: Prioritize zero-cost or low-cost artifacts plus dorks for a fast Korvold or early engine setup.
Seek Card Advantage / Draw Engines: A hand with [[Ad Nauseam]], [[Necropotence]], or early Korvold potential can turn into an explosive advantage quickly.
Include Interaction or Protection: Holding at least one piece of disruption (like a cheap removal or veil effect) keeps opponents’ lines in check.
Have a Clear Path: Whether it’s a direct combo route or a synergy chain leading to Korvold-fueled draws, ensure your opening hand “does something” by Turn 2 or 3.
Weaknesses
Graveyard & Artifact Hate: Effects like [[Rest in Peace]] or [[Null Rod]] hamper your recursion and artifact-centric combos.
Timing-Dependent: Korvold is at his best when he’s on the field. Having to recast him multiple times can slow you down significantly.
Complex Lines: Managing triggers and multiple sacrifice outlets can be intricate; mis-sequencing can cost you the game.
Limited Color Disruption: While [[symbol:b]][[symbol:r]][[symbol:g]] has strong tutors and removal, it lacks some classic [[symbol:u]] or [[symbol:w]] stax/hard-counters for absolute board control.
Conclusion
[[Korvold, Fae-Cursed King]] embodies the raw power of sacrifice synergy in Jund [[symbol:b]][[symbol:r]][[symbol:g]]. His ability to turn any permanent into an extra card—along with the color suite’s broad toolbox of tutors, rituals, and recursion—makes him a formidable contender in CEDH. If you thrive on big, explosive turns, value-packed combos, and a commander that rewards you for feeding your resources to the engine, The MAD King is ready to devour all challengers.
References:
the MAD KING
