Art by Ryan Alexander Lee
Khans of Tarkir is regarded by many as the best retail draft set of all time. It is characterized by simple card design choices by today's standards but showcases how deep and rewarding an environment can be when care is put into archetype balance, unique build-arounds, and the freedom lended by splashy Morph cards with great mana fixing.
The goal of this environment is to nearly replicate Khans of Tarkir booster draft by only implementing slight tweaks to under utilized cards and cuts of cards that proved to be unplayable. These revisions are complemented by an additional card slot that features foils of some of the best cards in the set and beyond to deliver an experience that is both familiar and unique.
The cube includes 1 of each Mythic, 1 of each Rare, 3 of each Uncommon, and 5 of each Common. Packs are intended to be seeded with 1 Rare or Mythic, 3 Uncommons, 10 Commons and a 15th slot pulled from a collection of foils which include most Rares, a selection of top quality commons and uncommons with future plans to add a sprinkle of cards from throughout the Khans block as well as interesting and on theme cards from across the magic multiverse. With a limiting factor of roughly 500 commons, the cube can be drafted with up to 16 players or provide sealed pools for 8. Welcome to the vast taigas, mountain top highlands, mire muck-lands, cliff-side retreats, and sprawling deserts of Khans of Tarkir!
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Morph is a keyword ability found on creatures that reads (You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for 
. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) Morph does not use the stack; in fact it is faster than instant speed so cannot be responded to with spells and abilities. The morph creatures in Khans follow a rule that is important to remember. No morph creature can be flipped and win in combat versus a 2/2 creature for less than 
. There are a few morph creatures that flip for less than or for another cost but they will, at best, trade with or nullify a 2/2 in combat.
The hidden information relating to morph makes for deep onboard lines of play that feature complex bluffing. For most retail draft sets memorizing the available combat tricks for each color and mana combination is an essential part of leveling up at the format. With Khans the same can be said about knowing the morph creatures and their flip costs. Here is the set list filtered to morph creatures only.
Another feature of morph creatures is that they double as a 2/2 creature for even if you don't have access to their morph colors. This makes splashing a dual land or 2 to play an off color morph creature a valid strategy. The entire format is influenced by the importance of the play and flip cost of morphs making it ideal to play 18 lands in Khans of Tarkir.
Anafenza & the Abzan Outlast is a keyword ability found on creatures that reads (
: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Outlast only as a sorcery.)
Abzan decks are the quintessential midrange creature deck. They play to the board to slow down an aggressive offense and then start growing their creatures using Outlast until they take over the game. Abzan will take the role of aggressor versus more controlling decks. Having access to growing creatures allows Abzan to make use of green's Ferocious cards, a slower game plan can make use of Delve effectively, and a high creature count can leverage Raid as well. The only set ability that isn't utilized very well is Prowess. Flying creatures and slower Jeskai control decks might be Abzan's toughest matchups.
Narset & the Jeskai Prowess is a keyword ability found on creatures that reads (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
Jeskai can either play as a tempo or control deck. Tempo builds will generally focus 2 colors splashing the 3rd while control builds can be greedier; potentially splashing a 4th. For prowess to be strong a Jeskai deck will need a good mix of creatures and noncreature spells making token generating noncreatures such as Hordeling Outburst especially strong. Keep in mind that prowess triggers off the cast and not the resolution of a spell so cards with Ferocious will see the new power and toughness prior to checking for Ferocious. In addition to synergies with Ferocious; Jeskai makes good use of Delve spells and tempo builds can utilize Raid. Outlast is the only mechanic that doesn't synergize particularly well but the standalone strength of cards like Abzan Battle Priest or Abzan Falconer can even find a slot.
Sidisi & the Sultai Delve is a keyword ability that reads (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for 
.)
Sultai decks operate somewhere between midrange and control. They hope to clog up the board while fueling a large graveyard for Delve spells. The slow game plan, card draw, and mana fixing lends itself to splashing a 4th or 5th color in more controlling builds. The presence of Delve spells in a deck have a natural tension with each other. Having too many will result in having to pay closer to full cost on the later played ones. Sultai can make good use of Outlast cards while it builds up a defensive board and naturally builds up larger creatures to enable Ferocious but is not aggressive enough to make good use of Raid and to a lesser extent Prowess. Fast decks that can close out before Sutai stabalizes is the wedges biggest weakness.
Zurgo & the Mardu Raid is an ability word that gives an advantageous effect if a player has attacked with a creature the same turn.
Mardu is the most aggressive wedge in Khans and because of that their decks will most likely end up 2 color or splash the 3rd. These aggressive decks look to go wide with creature tokens, nullify blockers, and leverage combat tricks. Mardu features a warrior subtheme, especially in white and black, so keep an eye out for tribal synergies. The more linear and low to the ground nature of Mardu doesn't lead to as much bleed into the other mechanics but can make room for a Delve spell like Murderous Cut or Sultai Scavenger and more aggressive Outlast or Prowess creatures.
Surrak & the Temur Ferocious is an ability word that gives an advantageous effect for a player if they control a creature with power 4 or greater.
Temur decks have a midrange tempo game plan utilizing inexpensive well stated creature to enable Ferocious backed up with combat tricks, bounce spells, and burn to break through a stalled board. Temur is one of the more aggressive wedges but can still make use of Outlast or Prowess to help generate 4 power creatures and can support a Delve spell or two. Temur's removal is all temporary such as bounce or damage based burn so struggles with larger creatures than its own.
White Black Warriors White Black warriors is the most low to the ground aggressive deck in the format and preys on greedy multicolor mana bases.
Warriors are spread amongst all 5 colors but White and Black have the highest concentration. When paired with payoffs like the Chiefs and Raiders' Spoils, warriors can punish decks that play tapped lands until a 2/2 Morph card on turn 3. The payoffs for this deck are all uncommon so it is a bit more delicate to put together than a deck based solely on commons but when the pieces are there it can be explosive.
Blue Red Goblinslide Goblinslide paired with a control deck shell of interaction, draw spells, and can trips form a deck that eliminates the opponents board while building up a steady stream of 1/1 Goblins to block and finally close out the game. The deck should most likely include White or Black for hard removal spells that aren't in Blue or Red's card pool. This is probably the most advanced deck in the format that was showcased by Luis Scott-Vargas in this Draft Video.
Green Red Savage Punch Savage punch is one of the strongest commons in the set and this deck looks to maximize it.
This beatdown aggro deck proves to be very consistent due to its reliance on an almost entirely common backbone. It looks to start deploying aggressive creatures no later than turn 2 so utilizes low priority creatures such as Highland Game, Smoke Teller, Valley Dasher, and Leaping Master that will most likely wheel and can finish things off with burn.
Green Blue Secret Plans Morph creatures are the glue that holds Khans of Tarkir together and this deck looks to capitalize on turning their splashability into value.
Limited Resources: Marshall and a revolving cast of guests give incredible insight into Khans of Tarkir. Episodes 251 - 266 cover topics about the format.
Episode recommendations:
- 251 β Khans of Tarkir Rules and Mechanics with Judge Joe Bono - The nitty-gritty about the sets mechanics.
- 255 β Five-Color Decks with Kenji Egashira - Kenji pioneered the 5C deck and gives his insight.
- 266 β Khans of Tarkir Sunset Show and LSVβs First Show - LSV's inaugural show as co-host of LR and it's a great one.
Articles:
- KTK Draft Primer - Ethan Saks - Brief overview of the format.
- KTK Limited Analysis - Ryan Cribbs - Analyzes the top cards of the set by the numbers.
- KTK Limited - Morph, Speed, & Archetypes - Ren Stefanek - Deeper look at the format and archetypes.
- Drafting Five Color in Khans Limited - Ari Lax - Guide to pick orders and deck construction of the 5 color deck.
- KTK Draft: Durdling 101 - Jacob Van Lunen - Another look at 5 color control decks.
- Drafting WB Warriors in KTK - William Jensen - A guide to the most consistent aggro deck.