When Koh enters, exile up to one other target creature.
Whenever another nontoken creature dies, you may exile it.
Pay 1 life: Choose a creature card exiled with Koh.
Koh has all activated and triggered abilities of the last chosen card.
Koh builds a graveyard-in-exile toolbox: exile creatures as they die (or with the ETB), then pay 1 life to gain whatever activated or triggered ability you need at the moment. You play a value/control midrange game in mono-black, removing threats while assembling a stable of abilities, then convert Koh into an engine or combo piece to close.
Extremely flexible—Koh becomes a tutor target's ability on demand, so one creature answers many situations
Built-in removal on the ETB and free incidental exile of opposing creatures denies graveyard recursion
Mono-black gives access to tutors, reanimation, and powerful card advantage to set up the abilities you want
Self-mill and sacrifice synergies feed Koh's exile zone, turning your own creatures into a permanent ability suite
Koh costs 6 and is removal-prone; losing it loses access to the borrowed abilities
Mono-black struggles with enchantments and resilient artifacts
The exile zone is only as good as what dies—needs setup to be powerful
Paying 1 life repeatedly adds up against aggro and adds variance under life-loss pressure
Sacrifice outlet that feeds Koh's exile trigger and fuels combo lines with borrowed abilities.
Add fast mana (Dark Ritual, Sol Ring, mana rocks) and tutors (Vampiric Tutor, Diabolic Intent) to assemble Koh's ability toolbox faster. Lean into a dedicated combo line—Mikaeus plus a sacrifice outlet and Triskelion/Ballista—so paying life turns Koh into a reliable kill. Round out with strong protection (Lightning Greaves, Imp's Mischief) since the deck collapses if Koh is repeatedly removed.
Legendary Creature — Shapeshifter Spirit
