Kelsien, the Plague

Gameplan

Kelsien grinds the board by tapping to ping creatures, and when those creatures die you bank experience counters that permanently grow him into a lethal voltron threat. You play removal-heavy control, picking off small creatures and using deathtouch or damage amplifiers to turn his ping into repeatable kill-anything removal, then close with commander damage. Build toward untap effects and ping-doublers to snipe multiple creatures each turn while starving opponents of board presence.

Key Cards

• Basilisk Collar — Grants deathtouch and lifelink so Kelsien's 1 damage ping kills any creature and gains you life.
• Quietus Spike — Deathtouch plus a damage trigger turns his ping and combat into instant kills and life loss.
• Thousand-Year Elixir — Untaps Kelsien so you can ping twice a turn, doubling kills and experience gains.
• Magewright's Stone — Cheap repeatable untap to fire Kelsien's tap ability again each turn.
• City of Brass — Mana fixing is critical in a three-color removal deck that wants colored mana every turn.
• Heartless Hidetsugu — With deathtouch Kelsien snipes any creature, but more broadly the deck rewards damage-doubling effects.

Upgrade Path

Add fast mana and untap enablers (Thousand-Year Elixir, Magewright's Stone, Umbral Mantle) so Kelsien removes multiple creatures per turn and snowballs counters faster. Lean into deathtouch sources (Basilisk Collar, Gorgon Flail) plus protection like Swiftfoot Boots to make his ping kill anything while keeping him alive. Round out with efficient interaction (Swords to Plowshares, Anguished Unmaking) and a tight mana base of fetches and duals to support the demanding three-color costs.