4-Drop Shop: Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

Credit: WOTC & Todd Lockwood
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2BB
Legendary Creature - Vampire Warrior
Lifelink
If a nontoken creature an opponent controls would die, instead exile that card and create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
2B, Sacrifice another Vampire or Zombie: Put two +1/+1 counters on Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet.
3/4
Artist: Todd Lockwood

Kalitas is only a few years old, but he's already the king of the jund 4-drop slot. He's got several strengths that immediately caught the eye of jund pilots, and has been a contender for curve-topper since Oath of the Gatewatch was released.

So without further ado, let's discuss the revamped Bloodchief.


Strengths

 Double black cost: This might be a downside in some decks, but since jund is structured to reliably hit double black for lili by turn 3 anyway, this works in our favor. Compared to double red or double green, double black is a plus.

Size 4 butt: We'll talk about how this plays out now, but at the time of his release 4-drops that could singlehandedly take over a game, and blank lots of removal (bolt in particular), were at an even greater premium.

Lifegain: The lifelink keyword on Kalitas is extremely relevant for jund. In an archetype that regularly self-harms with aggressive fetches, shocks, and thoughtseizes in the first few turns, and even a bob that sticks and draws us cards from time to time, regaining some of that lost life in the mid and late game can be clutch.

Free graveyard hate: The exile clause turns all of our removal into paths without the downside, and that can dismantle recursive creature strategies like dredge, vengevine, and grixis. You might think this cannibalizes the role that scavenging ooze is supposed to play, but since Kalitas can prevent the yard from filling up, gain us life, and get bigger himself, he's actually just a strict upgrade to ooze on the board.

Go-wide: Not only does our removal become more permanent when Kalitas is live, it builds our board simultaneously. Getting a 2/2 zombie token for every removal spell and favorable block is a sure fire way to take over a game.

Go-high: Of course, if more zombies isn't what you need, you can always sac them to Kalitas's activated ability and move that 2 power and toughness over to him permanently. At instant speed, you can do it as a combat trick too.

Weaknesses

 Big creatures and no creatures: Kalitas isn't perfect, and the #1 reason he isn't a hands-down first pick curve-topper all the time is that certain metas are pretty punishing to him. The current meta is a good example of that. Right now, tron and delve strategies frequently produce 4/4 and 5/5 creatures by turn 4 (sometimes by turn 2). If your opponent isn't doing that, then they probably aren't using creatures at all, which leaves our vampire friend as a simple 3/4 lifelink. Not bad, but nothing to write home about.

Fatal Push: This one-mana kill spell is definitely a new thorn in our legendary 4-drop's side. Where once Kalitas was one of the stickier threats in modern, now he falls to (arguably) the most played spot removal. Even worse, his rules text practically begs you to activate revolt for your opponent.

No money-back guarantee: There are other 4-drops jund can play that leave tokens behind even if they are removed the same turn they are played. Kalitas generally needs to stick around for two upkeeps before you get a zombie out of him. It's a small price to pay for potentially unlimited  zombies, but it's still a price. Against an aggressive midrange deck like abzan, or a cruel control deck, he might be a waste of four mana if you get unlucky.

So what can we do about these drawbacks?

How to Play Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet in Jund

 Sneaking same-turn removal: Kalitas pairs quite well with Slaughter Pact and Seal of Fire, which can take a creature off the opponent's board on the same turn Kalitas comes down. That nets you a free zombie even if your opponent is packing removal for our guy. This is kind of "living the dream," but hey, it's not some big build-around strategy. And when it works, it's often a blow-out.

 Playing around Push: Speaking of removal for Kalitas, how should you sequence things if your opponent is representing a push on board? Well first of all, if things devolve into a stalemate of "draw-go" because no one wants to be the first to pull the trigger, you might as well get things moving. But otherwise, it's better to wait on firing off removal until they try to kill Kalitas. Then, you play your removal spell in response to theirs, netting you a zombie before he's taken off the field.

Getting more value out of the zombies: The 2/2 tokens can help you get more tokens by double-and-triple blocking to trade with attackers. You can keep Kalitas out of combat and have him eat one (or more!) of the zombies that has a bad blocking situation before the damage step, so you protect your life total while also retaining the value of that 2 power and 2 toughness in the form of +1/+1 counters.

Blocking: Kalitas thrives in a meta full of small creature aggro decks like affinity, elves, merfolk, and so on. In this sort of matchup, you'll eventually encounter an alpha-strike type scenario (as the defending player) and you'll have to choose how to block with Kalitas, some zombies, and maybe a couple other guys. The first thing to consider is whether there could be a combat trick coming. Typically this is a deck-dependent consideration, but it's worth thinking about. Losing the vampire to a random buff spell is bad news. If you can afford to leave him back, you might want to. Ideally, you will block to retain as much life as possible, trade zombies with a couple creatures, get a few more zombies for free, then eat a zombie end-of-turn if you have the mana. On your turn, you can attack with Kalitas, threatening to eat another zombie or two before damage and either force a nasty block, or get in for some good damage. Either way, you gain life, and whatever Kalitas kills comes back as a zombie regardless of whether he dies in the exchange.

I'll repeat that. If Kalitas trades with one or more non-token creatures, his triggered ability will see them go to the graveyard and give you a zombie for each one at the same time that he goes to the yard.

 Just a little parting gift from the king of jund 4-drops.

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