Avernus After Dark: Karlach Goes Infinite

Tagline: “She just runs out of things to hit.”
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If we’re going to Hell, we might as well go dancing.

TL;DR

Fast Rakdos Voltron-combo that stacks extra combats and mana loops. Goldfishes turn 4 to 5. Folds to fogs, wipes, or early hate if you keep a slow hand. You are the problem on turn 4. Act like it.

Back on Cadence (Barely)

Karlach almost made me miss my posting goal.
Four days late. Worth it. Every time I sat down to write, I goldfished “just one more line.” She would not stay quiet.

This deck does not do casual. Every game ends one of two ways:

• I win by turn four or five
• Or the table spots the fire alarm and smothers me in group therapy

No soft open. Once Karlach is on board, the countdown starts.

And honestly, that’s the fun.

Why Karlach?

I used to think Voltron wasn’t for me. Too fragile. Too linear.
Karlach changed my mind. She trades size for speed and turns the first combat each turn into a pressure cooker.

I am also obviously very into D&D and Baldur’s Gate 3, so a literal Barbarian who turns the first attack into extra violence felt perfect. The Background mechanic scratches that build-a-backstory itch while actually being great on rate.

This is not about stacking the biggest number and hoping.
It is about chaining combats, refunding mana, and turning temporary advantage into permanent regret.

⚡ Quick Mull Guide

Keep these patterns:

• Fast mana + Karlach by turn 3 to 4 + any protection or evasion
• Ritual line + payoff (Jeska’s Will into Breach or Reiterate)
• Background early plus haste or hexproof and a clean curve to 5

Ship these hands:

• Three lands with no acceleration and no plan
• Cute value hands that do nothing until turn 5
• Protection with no pressure

Rule of 5: If you cannot reasonably produce five mana by turn 3 to 4, mulligan.

⚔️ How It Plays

Act I - Light the fuse (Turns 1 to 3)
Get to five mana fast. Rocks, rituals, cheap Backgrounds. Line up protection.

Act II - First swing decides everything (Turns 3 to 4)
Stick Karlach, suit up, attack. The first attack each turn unlocks the extra combat and tells the table what kind of game this is.

Act III - Loop or finish (Turns 4 to 6)
Either chain combats, pivot into Breach lines, or multiply damage and end it in one breath.

🔁 The Core Loop

The engine is simple: attack for the first time each turn.
Everything else multiplies the trigger, refunds mana, or weaponizes the extra steps.

• Helm of the Host + Karlach, Fury of Avernus
  Not infinite, but rude. Helm makes a Karlach token at the start of combat. On your first attack, both Karlachs trigger and you get two extra combats. After that it stops because it is no longer your first combat, but you keep the tokens and do it again next turn. Myriad vibes, only meaner.
• Sword of Feast and Famine + Aggravated Assault
  Connect, untap, buy an extra combat, repeat. Infinite combat and mana.
• Seething Song + Reiterate
  Once you cover buyback and net mana, it is infinite red. Jeska’s Will often opens the door.
• Moraug, Fury of Akoum + fetchlands
  Main phase fetch equals multiple landfalls equals multiple combats. Clean and mean.
• City on Fire
  Triple damage turns one clean loop into a handshake.

🔥 Personal Favorites

• Cultist of the Absolute - One mana Background that gives flying, deathtouch, ward, and +3/+3. The drawback is real. The damage is more real.
• Tibalt’s Trickery - Counter my own cheap spell, flip into City on Fire more often than I deserve. Unearned. Glorious.
• Port Razer - Hits different players, keeps the party going, still closes games.

Chef’s specials:

• The instant someone realizes they are taking 16 commander again and it is still main one
• The panic math that forgets I am not done yet

🧠 Rules Gotchas People Ask Me

• Does Helm of the Host go infinite with Karlach? No. It creates a token at the start of each combat. On your first attack, both Karlachs trigger and grant two extra combats. It stops after that because it is no longer your first combat this turn.
• Port Razer targeting - You need to hit a player you have not hit this turn to get the extra combat. Spread the love.
• Assault loop - With Sword of Feast and Famine you must connect to untap your lands so you can pay for Aggravated Assault. Spot removal mid-combat breaks the chain. Plan your protection.

🪓 Weak Spots

This deck either wins or becomes the problem. Not much middle.

You need five mana and protection by turn 3 to 4. Miss either and you are behind.

Other vulnerabilities:

• Underworld Breach lines fold to graveyard hate
• Overextending into wipes - let someone else blink first
• Fogs and big blockers - look for Embercleave or City on Fire to punch through

🔮 Bracket 4 Breakdown

Unapologetically optimized.

• Infinite and semi-infinite loops on purpose
• Fast mana: Chrome Mox, Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual
• Redundancy: Vampiric Tutor, Demonic Tutor, Grim Tutor
• Game changers: Underworld Breach, Jeska’s Will, Deflecting Swat, Cabal Coffers
• Goldfishes turn 4 to 5 on a clean line

Karlach does not adjust to the pod. The pod adjusts to Karlach.

🧰 Flex Slots and Meta Pivots

Want a little more resilience or reach for your room?

• More trample - swap a cute piece for Embercleave if you are not already in
• Graveyard insurance - budget a slot for cheap interaction if Breach is your go to
• Extra protection - shave a slow card for another free or 1 mana shield if removal is heavy

🤬 Attribute Ratings

🎤 Final Thoughts

Karlach is blunt force poetry. No politics. No small talk. Just cadence and consequences.

Bring her when someone says, “bring your strongest.”
Bring her when you want to stress test a pod.
Bring her when you are done pretending to play fair.

No mercy. No forgiveness.
Just blood, tempo, and the occasional “whoops, that was infinite.”

Talk to me

• What would you cut first in a removal heavy pod
• Best fog tech you have ever eaten with this deck
• Spicy Backgrounds I should test next

Drop a comment below or ping me with your pet tech. If you post a Karlach clip, tag me so I can feature it.