Sultai

Sultai is one of the five clans of the fictional Tarkir plane in Magic: The Gathering. It is associated with the green, blue, and black color identity and is often represented by serpentine imagery and necromantic motifs. In Tarkir’s lore, the Sultai control the southern jungle and necropolis, pursuing knowledge and power through long-term planning and the exploitation of death.

The clan’s philosophy centers on cunning, patience, and mastery of resources drawn from the graveyard. Sultai practitioners prefer subtle manipulation over direct confrontation, using what has died to fuel future power. Their society emphasizes scholarship, ritual, and the accumulation of strategic advantage, with a hierarchical, secretive leadership structure that prizes control and longevity.

In terms of gameplay, Sultai decks in Magic: The Gathering typically focus on graveyard interactions, reanimation, and value through incremental advantage. The faction makes heavy use of graveyard resources, recursion, and efficient creatures to outlast opponents. Delve and other graveyard-enabled mechanics are commonly associated with Sultai cards, enabling efficient spells by exiling cards from the graveyard to pay costs.

Notable Sultai figures in the card game include Tasigur, the Golden Fang, a prominent legendary creature representing the clan’s depth and resilience, and Sidisi, the Brood Tyrant, a central figure in Sultai lore and flavor. Together, these elements define Sultai as a faction that prizes sovereignty achieved through cunning use of what remains and a patient, long-game perspective.