EDH Optimizer
Carth the Lion
Legendary Creature — Human Warrior · 2BG
Color identity: Black · Green · Golgari
Carth the Lion is Golgari (black and green): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Whenever Carth enters or a planeswalker you control dies, look at the top seven cards of your library. You may reveal a planeswalker card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Planeswalkers' loyalty abilities you activate cost an additional [+1] to activate.
Reference price of the card: €0.23
Average lands in decks for Carth the Lion: 35
PlaneswalkersTokensControlProliferateMidrangeRampInfectCombo
Build your Carth the Lion deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Carth the Lion 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Carth the Lion deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: B (68/100)
- Consistency86
- Speed53
- Interaction54
- Resilience85
- Closing73
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 35 lands (25 nonbasic, 4 Swamp, 6 Forest)
Garruk, Cursed Huntsman · Sol Ring · Garruk Wildspeaker · Evolution Sage · Garruk, Primal Hunter · Nissa, Who Shakes the World · The Chain Veil · Vraska, Betrayal's Sting · Vraska, Golgari Queen · Vraska, Relic Seeker · Arcane Signet · Liliana, Dreadhorde General · Garruk, Apex Predator · Nissa, Vital Force · Ob Nixilis Reignited · Vraska the Unseen · Nissa, Voice of Zendikar · Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools · Assassin's Trophy · Doubling Season · Wrenn and Realmbreaker · Nature's Lore · Cultivate · Nissa, Ascended Animist · Sakura-Tribe Elder · Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider · Cankerbloom · Garruk, Unleashed · Llanowar Elves · Rampant Growth · The Peregrine Dynamo · Sanctum Lurker · Lolth, Spider Queen · Three Visits · Birds of Paradise · Toxic Deluge · Ugin, the Spirit Dragon · Pir, Imaginative Rascal · Unnatural Restoration · Oath of Liliana · Wrenn and Seven · Atomize · Kaya's Ghostform · Beast Within · Eternal Witness · Heroic Intervention · Liliana Vess · Liliana's Talent · Rings of Brighthearth · Vivien Reid · Way of the Necromancer · Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury · Liliana of the Dark Realms · Sorin Markov · Elvish Mystic · Farseek · Kodama's Reach · Oath of Nissa · Way of the Paradox · Innkeeper's Talent · Culling Ritual · Damnation · Professor Dellian Fel · Agent Frank Horrigan · Command Tower · Karn's Bastion · Woodland Cemetery · Interplanar Beacon · Overgrown Tomb · Llanowar Wastes · Undergrowth Stadium · Bojuka Bog · Deathcap Glade · Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth · Verdant Catacombs · Tainted Wood · Twilight Mire · Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth · Golgari Rot Farm · Temple of Malady · Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway · Necroblossom Snarl · Underground Mortuary · Boseiju, Who Endures · Takenuma, Abandoned Mire · Vernal Fen · Nesting Grounds · Maze of Ith · Wastewood Verge
🃏 Recommended cards for Carth the Lion
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Carth the Lion, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Garruk, Cursed Huntsman | 93% | +86% |
| Garruk Wildspeaker | 80% | +79% |
| Garruk, Primal Hunter | 78% | +76% |
| Nissa, Who Shakes the World | 76% | +75% |
| Vraska, Relic Seeker | 75% | +74% |
| The Chain Veil | 75% | +74% |
| Vraska, Betrayal's Sting | 75% | +72% |
| Evolution Sage | 78% | +71% |
| Vraska, Golgari Queen | 75% | +69% |
| Liliana, Dreadhorde General | 73% | +68% |
| Nissa, Vital Force | 68% | +68% |
| Garruk, Apex Predator | 69% | +67% |
| Karn's Bastion | 73% | +66% |
| Ob Nixilis Reignited | 67% | +66% |
| Vraska the Unseen | 67% | +65% |
| Nissa, Voice of Zendikar | 65% | +64% |
| Interplanar Beacon | 64% | +64% |
| Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools | 64% | +62% |
| Wrenn and Realmbreaker | 60% | +59% |
| Nissa, Ascended Animist | 55% | +54% |
| Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider | 55% | +53% |
| Garruk, Unleashed | 53% | +53% |
| The Peregrine Dynamo | 51% | +51% |
| Sanctum Lurker | 50% | +50% |
💰 The best cards for your Carth the Lion deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- Garruk, Cursed Huntsman
- Garruk Wildspeaker
- Garruk, Primal Hunter
- Nissa, Who Shakes the World
- Vraska, Relic Seeker
- Nissa, Vital Force
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Vraska, Betrayal's Sting
- Evolution Sage
- Vraska, Golgari Queen
- Liliana, Dreadhorde General
- Karn's Bastion
- Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- The Chain Veil
- Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider
- Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
- Doubling Season
- Atomize
- Damnation
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Carth the Lion
- Springheart Nantuko + Tireless Provisioner → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- Springheart Nantuko + Tireless Provisioner → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- Chatterfang, Squirrel General + Pitiless Plunderer → Infinite artifact ETB, Infinite artifact LTB, Infinite artifact sacrifice triggers, Infinite artifact tokens, Infinite colored mana, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite Treasure tokens, Reduce the toughness of creatures opponents control to 0
- Rings of Brighthearth + Basalt Monolith → Infinite colorless mana
- Sensei's Divining Top + Aetherflux Reservoir + Bolas's Citadel → Infinite card draw, Infinite draw triggers, Near-infinite damage, Near-infinite lifegain, Near-infinite lifegain triggers, Near-infinite storm count
- Vraska, Betrayal's Sting + Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider → Target opponent loses the game
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Carth the Lion's color identity?
Carth the Lion is Golgari (black and green): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does Carth the Lion come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Carth the Lion deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 35 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 3.6 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 99 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 15 % of the time and floods 3 %. Deck health: B (68/100).
How many lands should a Carth the Lion deck run?
Real Carth the Lion decks run 35 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for Carth the Lion?
The three highest-synergy cards are Garruk, Cursed Huntsman, Garruk Wildspeaker, Garruk, Primal Hunter. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Carth the Lion decks.
What combos does Carth the Lion have?
Carth the Lion has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Springheart Nantuko + Tireless Provisioner. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a Carth the Lion deck cost?
You can start cheap: Garruk, Cursed Huntsman, Garruk Wildspeaker, Garruk, Primal Hunter are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.