<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kheru Goldkeeper" href="#" target="_blank">Kheru Goldkeeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://vargasni.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Randy Vargas</a></em></p>
<p>Today I'm tackling a commander that I've wanted to do for a while, ever since <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em> came out. When I was reviewing this set I immediately singled out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kheru Goldkeeper" href="#" target="_blank">Kheru Goldkeeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as a unique Pauper commander that does a few things I've never seen before.</p>
<h2>What Does Kheru Goldkeeper Do?</h2>
<p>First, it mixes graveyard and artifact strategies. Technically, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kheru Goldkeeper" href="#" target="_blank">Kheru Goldkeeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> doesn't say anything about artifacts, but it makes Treasure tokens, and that really incentives us to lean into some cards that trigger off of artifacts being created or sacrificed. Second, it asks us to remove cards from our graveyard. That's pretty unusual, as most cards you see care about cards entering your graveyard, or dying in some way. Thanks to these oddities, building around this commander is going to be quite the interesting challenge. So let's see what's up.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kheru Goldkeeper"></div></div>
<p>Let's get our priorities in order. We need cards in our graveyard. Then we need cards that remove either themselves or other cards from the graveyard. After that, we want some stuff that takes advantage of the artifacts we're making. We could just use the Treasures for more mana, but that'd be boring, and I'm certain there's some advantage to be gained from treating this like an artifact deck, so I'm gonna insist on it. Finally, we need a way to win with all this stuff. That's the part I'm most concerned about, but we'll figure it out when we get there.</p>
<h2>Self Mill</h2>
<p>Milling ourselves is pretty simple. I'm fond of cards that sit around and do their thing, like:</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scion of Halaster" href="#" target="_blank">Scion of Halaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crawling Infestation" href="#" target="_blank">Crawling Infestation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chronic Flooding" href="#" target="_blank">Chronic Flooding</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curse of the Bloody Tome" href="#" target="_blank">Curse of the Bloody Tome</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<p>Yes, there's the risk of that Curse just killing us, but I'm sure it's a risk we can take. Yeah, I totally won't regret casting that on myself. But anyways, we've also got <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deranged Assistant" href="#" target="_blank">Deranged Assistant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghoulcaller&#039;s Bell" href="#" target="_blank">Ghoulcaller&#039;s Bell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for a bit more, and if we really need some cards in the graveyard ASAP, we can cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tome Scour" href="#" target="_blank">Tome Scour</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dream Twist" href="#" target="_blank">Dream Twist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Curse of the Bloody Tome"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deranged Assistant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tome Scour"></div></div>
<h2>Triggering Kheru Goldkeeper</h2>
<p>Next up, cards leaving the graveyard. Ok, I can think of several ways to do that. The first is exiling cards from graveyards. Basically, we're just gonna play a bunch of graveyard hate cards, and then use them on our own graveyard.</p>
<p>But because <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kheru Goldkeeper" href="#" target="_blank">Kheru Goldkeeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> says "One or more cards," <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tormod&#039;s Crypt" href="#" target="_blank">Tormod&#039;s Crypt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is no good here. We don't want to sacrifice our entire graveyard for just one Treasure token, now do we? Instead, we'll happily take <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Relic of Progenitus" href="#" target="_blank">Relic of Progenitus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which we can tap every turn to produce a Treasure. Does that mean it's basically just a one-mana <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcane Signet" href="#" target="_blank">Arcane Signet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that's fueled by our graveyard? Yes, but when we get some cards that trigger off of artifacts entering, it'll prove to be quite strong. We'll also run <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merrow Bonegnawer" href="#" target="_blank">Merrow Bonegnawer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for the same purpose.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Relic of Progenitus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Merrow Bonegnawer"></div></div>
<p>We can also trigger our commander by returning cards from our graveyard to our hand, and that's certainly more efficient than exiling cards. So I quickly started adding cards that would return targets. But what I noticed was that there were a lot of instants and sorceries that returned creatures, and a lot of creatures that returned instants and sorceries. Huh. Well, the solution here is pretty obvious. We can't run either group exclusively, so we'll just run both sets of cards, and then they can return each other. It means the cards are less likely to have targets than if we were able to run creatures that returned creatures, but we can't do that, so this'll work just fine.</p>
<p>We'll even throw in some sacrifice outlets so that we can get <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archaeomancer" href="#" target="_blank">Archaeomancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> style cards into the graveyards. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mnemonic Wall" href="#" target="_blank">Mnemonic Wall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revive the Shire" href="#" target="_blank">Revive the Shire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shipwreck Dowser" href="#" target="_blank">Shipwreck Dowser</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pulse of Murasa" href="#" target="_blank">Pulse of Murasa</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Salvager of Secrets" href="#" target="_blank">Salvager of Secrets</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul Manipulation" href="#" target="_blank">Soul Manipulation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mnemonic Wall" href="#" target="_blank">Mnemonic Wall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Perfect!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archaeomancer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mnemonic Wall"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soul Manipulation"></div></div>
<p>Finally, the best way to trigger our commander is with flashback and unearth. Both of these are great mechanics that can actually have more of an effect than just making a treasure. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dream Twist" href="#" target="_blank">Dream Twist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Otherworldly Gaze" href="#" target="_blank">Otherworldly Gaze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can mill us a bit, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eviscerator&#039;s Insight" href="#" target="_blank">Eviscerator&#039;s Insight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Think Twice" href="#" target="_blank">Think Twice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deep Analysis" href="#" target="_blank">Deep Analysis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can draw us some cards. One of my personal favorites is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Moment&#039;s Peace" href="#" target="_blank">Moment&#039;s Peace</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a card that will catch our opponents unaware one time, then ward them away for a long while afterwards.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dream Twist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eviscerator&#039;s Insight"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Moment&#039;s Peace"></div></div>
<h2>How to Win With Kheru Goldkeeper</h2>
<p>Now that we've got a solid engine triggering our commander over and over again, let's try and take advantage of those artifacts, and maybe turn all that cycling into a win.</p>
<p>Now what can we do with Treasures? We can sacrifice them to cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deadly Dispute" href="#" target="_blank">Deadly Dispute</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reckoner&#039;s Bargain" href="#" target="_blank">Reckoner&#039;s Bargain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Card advantage is always fantastic, and this is a pretty good way to do it. But usually artifact decks will use cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reckless Fireweaver" href="#" target="_blank">Reckless Fireweaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to turn Treasures into raw damage. We can do something similar with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Disciple of the Vault" href="#" target="_blank">Disciple of the Vault</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>; it's a bit slower, but it still gets the job done.</p>
<p>And because Treasures are tokens, we can also use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirkwood Bats" href="#" target="_blank">Mirkwood Bats</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nadier&#039;s Nightblade" href="#" target="_blank">Nadier&#039;s Nightblade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to thrash our opponents life totals.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deadly Dispute"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reckoner&#039;s Bargain"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirkwood Bats"></div></div>
<p>And with all of that ready, we can just toss in some ramp and removal, and call it good!</p>
<h2>Is This Kheru Goldkeeper pEDH Deck Good?</h2>
<p>Ok, so as you were reading this article, I'm sure you noticed a bit of a flaw with this deck. The whole thing is built around spending two mana to cast something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Raise the Draugr" href="#" target="_blank">Raise the Draugr</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and return a creature to hand, making a Treasure that sacrifices itself for one mana. Do you see the problem? Yeah, half the time, we're spending upwards of three mana to make one. The term "spinning your wheels" applies to this deck. I've crafted a library around triggering our commander purely to trigger our commander. A few good cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Relic of Progenitus" href="#" target="_blank">Relic of Progenitus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will make us free mana, but most of the cards in this deck do nothing but make mana disappear.</p>
<p>That being said, I don't think this deck is a complete wreck. While it does a lot of nothing, eventually, that nothing can be converted into card advantage and damage. And that's what wins games. I'm not certain that there's enough density of damage dealing cards in here to really be consistent, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirkwood Bats" href="#" target="_blank">Mirkwood Bats</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> absolutely can take us to victory. And because we're running so much recursion, our few important pieces are really difficult for our opponents to deal with.</p>
<p>In a long game, this deck really has a good shot.</p>


pedh

Brewing a Pauper Commander Deck With Kheru Goldkeeper