Karlach, Fury of Avernus MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityMythic
TypeLegendary Creature — Tiefling Barbarian
Abilities Choose a background
Power 5
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Karlach ensures a consistent card advantage and disrupts opponents with its hand-altering abilities.
  2. Its potential to accelerate resources is notable, providing essential mana through Treasure tokens.
  3. Instant speed casting allows for strategic flexibility and surprise tactics during gameplay.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Karlach, Fury of Avernus MTG card by a specific set like Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate and Battle for Baldur's Gate Art Series, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Karlach, Fury of Avernus and other MTG cards:

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Text of card

Whenever you attack, if it's the first combat phase of the turn, untap all attacking creatures. They gain first strike until end of turn. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase. Choose a Background


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Karlach, Fury of Avernus offers an impactful approach to maintaining card velocity in a game. Its ability to force an opponent to discard and draw another card not only disrupts their strategy but also keeps your hand refreshed, thereby contributing to a steady flow of resources.

Resource Acceleration: The ability of Karlach to generate a Treasure token upon attacking is a considerable asset. This built-in mechanism for resource acceleration can be crucial for ramping up to your more demanding spells faster or providing the necessary mana for pivotal plays, ensuring you stay ahead of the curve.

Instant Speed: Karlach shines with its ability to be cast at instant speed due to flash. This flexibility allows for dynamic gameplay, giving players the power to deploy threats unsuspectedly during an opponent’s turn or at the end of their turn to preserve the element of surprise and keep opponents on their toes.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Karlach, Fury of Avernus compels a player to discard a card in order to trigger its ability. This condition can be detrimental, especially when a player’s hand is already depleted or the discarded card could be vital for later strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Deploying Karlach requires a combination of red mana and generic mana. This can be restrictive as it demands a dedicated mana base, making it less flexible for inclusion in multi-color decks that may not focus on red resources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that is on the higher side, Karlach’s impact on the game may not align with its expenditure. There are alternative creatures that might offer greater value or more immediate board presence for the same or lower investment.


Reasons to Include Karlach, Fury of Avernus in Your Collection

Versatility: Karlach, Fury of Avernus offers a flexible role in numerous deck archetypes, thriving in aggressive strategies while still being valuable in decks that capitalize on hasty creatures or those looking to exploit attack-triggered abilities.

Combo Potential: This card’s ability to give another target creature haste opens up potential for explosive turns, pairing well with effects that benefit from immediate combat engagement or with creatures possessing impactful attack triggers.

Meta-Relevance: Karlach shines in a game environment where speed is crucial. Against slower, control-based decks, deploying hasty threats can often tip the scales in your favor, making it a pertinent choice for the current pace of play.


How to beat

Karlach, Fury of Avernus, storms into the battlefield with a presence that demands an immediate answer. This aggressive card thrives in environments where it can attack freely, turning its innate haste and other combat benefits into a relentless force. To outpace Karlach, consider employing removal spells that can target it the moment it hits the board. Instant-speed removal like Murder or Heartless Act allows you to react swiftly to its arrival, ensuring Karlach doesn’t get the chance to make its devastating impact.

Control strategies can also be an excellent way to suppress Karlach’s fury. Counterspells such as Cancel or Negate can halt Karlach in its tracks before the advantage can be gained. Furthermore, board wipe spells like Wrath of God or Damnation can clean up all creatures, including Karlach, especially if it’s leading a charge with multiple aggressive creatures. It’s crucial to manage your resources and time your interactions effectively to keep Karlach at bay. Players should be ready to act decisively, utilizing a blend of instant responses and strategic planning to ensure this imposing threat doesn’t overrun the game.

Strategically, it’s a game of chess – foreseeing Karlach’s arrival and having a countermeasure in place. Ensuring your deck has the tools to neutralize threats of this caliber is key to victory over any adversary that wields the fury of Avernus.


Cards like Karlach, Fury of Avernus

Unleashed into the fiery world of MTG, Karlach, Fury of Avernus is a force to be reckoned with. When analyzing creatures within the same demonic realm, Rakdos Pit Dragon shares some of the fury. Both cards harness the rage mechanic to increase their power, although Karlach steps ahead with no mana requirement to activate its potential. The dragon, on the other claw, demands a mana payment to achieve its full strength.

In the midst of battle, we also witness the likeness of Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch. She too thrives on liberating creatures from their summoning sickness, empowering them for immediate impact. While Exava advocates for unleashed creatures, Karlach encourages a different strategy with trample-enabling tactics and a propensity for battle immediacy.

Concluding this comparative march through MTG’s hellish landscapes, Karlach, Fury of Avernus emerges as a unique commander. Its inherent versatility stands tall among creatures, blending trample with an inspiring rally cry for other warriors. It’s these distinctive characteristics that burnish Karlach’s standing as an inferno of opportunity for strategic players in Magic: The Gathering.

Rakdos Pit Dragon - MTG Card versions
Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch - MTG Card versions
Rakdos Pit Dragon - MTG Card versions
Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Karlach, Fury of Avernus by color, type and mana cost

Fire Elemental - MTG Card versions
Earth Elemental - MTG Card versions
Eron the Relentless - MTG Card versions
Balduvian War-Makers - MTG Card versions
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Flame Spirit - MTG Card versions
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Ravaging Horde - MTG Card versions
Covetous Dragon - MTG Card versions
Thundering Giant - MTG Card versions
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Savage Firecat - MTG Card versions
Volatile Arsonist // Dire-Strain Anarchist - MTG Card versions
Tephraderm - MTG Card versions
Avarax - MTG Card versions
Bonethorn Valesk - MTG Card versions
Frost Ogre - MTG Card versions
Heartless Hidetsugu - MTG Card versions
Fire Elemental - MTG Card versions
Earth Elemental - MTG Card versions
Eron the Relentless - MTG Card versions
Balduvian War-Makers - MTG Card versions
Hivis of the Scale - MTG Card versions
Hulking Cyclops - MTG Card versions
Flame Spirit - MTG Card versions
Flowstone Salamander - MTG Card versions
Ma Chao, Western Warrior - MTG Card versions
Ravaging Horde - MTG Card versions
Covetous Dragon - MTG Card versions
Thundering Giant - MTG Card versions
Dwarven Strike Force - MTG Card versions
Savage Firecat - MTG Card versions
Volatile Arsonist // Dire-Strain Anarchist - MTG Card versions
Tephraderm - MTG Card versions
Avarax - MTG Card versions
Bonethorn Valesk - MTG Card versions
Frost Ogre - MTG Card versions
Heartless Hidetsugu - MTG Card versions

Printings

The Karlach, Fury of Avernus Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2022-06-10 and 2022-06-10. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12022-06-10Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's GateCLB 4002015NormalBlackJustine Jones
22022-06-10Battle for Baldur's Gate Art SeriesACLB 342015Art seriesBorderless
32022-06-10Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's GateCLB 5072015NormalBlackBilly Christian
42022-06-10Battle for Baldur's Gate Art SeriesACLB 542015Art seriesBorderless
52022-06-10Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's GateCLB 1862015NormalBlackBilly Christian
62022-06-10Battle for Baldur's Gate PromosPCLB 186s2015NormalBlackBilly Christian

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Karlach, Fury of Avernus has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Karlach, Fury of Avernus card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2022-06-10 An effect that checks whether you control your commander is satisfied if you control one or both of your two commanders.
2022-06-10 Both commanders start in the command zone, and the remaining 98 cards (or 58 cards in a Commander Draft game) of your deck are shuffled to become your library.
2022-06-10 Choose a Background is a variant of the partner ability. You may have two commanders if one of them is a legendary creature with the choose a background ability and the other is a legendary Background enchantment. Backgrounds and cards with choose a Background do not interact with cards which have any other partner ability.
2022-06-10 If a card refers to a commander creature you own, a Background won't usually be counted or included for that effect. If another spell or ability causes your Background to become a creature, however, it will be included. Any effect that refers to your commander or a commander you own or control without specifying creature will apply to a Background that is your commander, as appropriate.
2022-06-10 If something refers to your commander while you have two commanders, it refers to one of them of your choice. If you are instructed to perform an action on your commander (e.g. put it from the command zone into your hand due to Command Beacon), you choose one of your commanders at the time the effect happens.
2022-06-10 If you control a Background that grants an ability to commander creatures you own, and you own more than one commander creature, each of them will have that ability.
2022-06-10 If your Commander deck has two commanders, you can include only cards whose own color identities are also found in your commanders’ combined color identities.
2022-06-10 If your commander loses the choose a Background ability or stops being a Background during the game, as appropriate, it is still your commander.
2022-06-10 Karlach doesn't have to be among the attacking creatures.
2022-06-10 Notably, the triggered ability of Karlach doesn't give you any additional main phases. This means that you will move directly from the end of combat step of one combat phase to the beginning of combat step of the next one.
2022-06-10 Once the game begins, your two commanders are tracked separately. If you cast one, you won’t have to pay an additional the first time you cast the other. A player loses the game after having been dealt 21 combat damage from any one of them, not from both of them combined (although your Background won’t usually be a creature anyway).
2022-06-10 You can choose two commanders that are the same color or colors.