Summary
AsMagic: the Gathering Arenastill doesn’t have a proper Commander format, Brawl is the next best thing, allowing players to get to grips with decks in a similar format against a single opponent.Magic: the Gathering Foundationshas brought with it several great cards for both Commander and Brawl, all of which offer new deck-building opportunities, or slot well into pre-existing decks.
This topic will examine several cards from this set that lend themselves to the Brawl format, either in the command zone or as one of the 99 other cards in a Brawl deck. All of these are worth a pick-up, whether crafted or pulled from a pack and will add a new entertaining flair to any deck they find themselves in.
1Hare Apparent
Hop To Victory
Hare Apparent has caused a real stir in theMagiccommunity for a few reasons. Firstly, the fact a player can put any number of Hare Apparent cards in a deck is hugely important, as there are only a handful of cards that have this ability.
Secondly, in a deck focused on token production, or utilization, playing several copies of this card will drastically impact the board, flooding the battlefield with rabbits. While this card isn’t for every deck, any token creature deck would be incomplete without a few Hare Apparents.
2Etali, Primal Storm
Steal Cards And Play Them For Free
Etali, Primal Stormhas been terrorizing players since 2018, and this newest reprinting is no exception. While its attack trigger thrives in commander, stealing cards from three opponents instead of one, it still has a place as a possible commander for a mono-red Brawl deck.
While it is an expensive creature to cast, as a commander it lends itself to playing a deck full of bulky red dinosaurs, and as a member of the 99, it has a place in many decks that want to commit crimes by stealing cards from other players.
3Liliana, Dreadhorde General
Demanding Sacrifice
Almost every version of Liliana has become a staple in Brawl as a commander for powerful mono-black zombie-focused decks. Offering free card draw and easy board bulking, it is hard to argue against the neutral game power of thisPlaneswalker.
If a player can get off Liliana, Dreadhorde General’s ultimate, it can be a devastating blow to an opponent’s board state, and will often cost them the game. While it may be expensive to cast, the ability to bring Liliana back from the command zone can be invaluable in profiting from her abilities.
4Muldrotha, The Gravetide
Play With The Dead
Muldrotha, the Gravetide is here due to its power as a commander, but also due to its enabling of a fun playstyle that many new players may find confusing. There are many graveyard recursion decks in Brawl. However, Muldrotha is a commander that makes this simple and allows access to cards in black, green, and blue.
Building a deck full of cards focused on sacrificing, milling, and discarding will make Muldrotha a powerhouse as it nullifies the feeling of those mechanics being negative costs.
5Koma, World-Eater
Coil Around The Battlefield
Koma, World-Eater is a very difficult commander to deal with,being un-counterable, an 8/12, AND having Trample and Ward 4, it is essentially invincible once it gets onto the battlefield. If any of its combat damage gets through, which is highly likely thanks to Trample, it creates four 3/3 creature tokens to bulk out the battlefield.
Building a deck around Koma realistically looks at getting a lot of mana very quickly, which Simic decks are often very good at, to get the commander onto the battlefield as soon as possible, then swinging with it over and over to trample everyone and flooding the board with serpents.
6Zimone, Paradox Sculptor
Make Everything Bigger
Another Simic commander, Zimone, Paradox Sculptor is thebest commander on this list for a newer player. It’s a relatively cheap card to play, with two abilities that directly synergize and don’t require a hyper-focused deck to be super strong.
Zimone consistently puts +1/+1 counters on creatures, and can then be activated to further increase these counters. It is hard to go wrong with this deck, making it both beginner-friendly and strong enough for veteran players to take a look at.
7Krenko, Mob Boss
Goblins, Goblins, Goblins, And More Goblins
Krenko, Mob Boss isTHE commander to play to make any opponent angry. Stuff the deck full of as many red goblin creatures as possible, with a few artifacts and enchantments that buff specific creature types, and just start tapping Krenko every turn.
Krenko doubles the number of goblins on his side of the board every turn, meaning within just a few turns a player can go from one little goblin to an unstoppable army, and there is very little that can be done to stop it. Add in an Impact Tremors for even more carnage, and enjoy all the wins from players conceding to avoid this deck.
8Bloodthirsty Conqueror
Drain Opponents To Heal
Bloodthirsty Conqueror is one of two creatures on this list that can’t be used as commanders, yet it is arguably just as powerful as any of the commanders here. Not only is it a nightmare to fight, being a large flying creature that will kill anything that blocks it, but its ability is incredibly strong.
Making all damage dealt to opponents turn into healing for its controller is a very potent ability, making this an instant target the moment it hits the battlefield, lest it suddenly turns the game in one player’s favor.
9Niv-Mizzet, Visionary
Too Many Cards
Niv-Mizzet, Visionary is one of many Niv-Mizzet cards inMagic’shistory and is a perfect addition to the collection. This Dragon Wizard will fit into any Izzet deck focused on casting spells to deal non-combat damage and drawing aload of cards.
Where this card becomes most powerful is any deck containing both it and Niv-Mizzet, Parun, as together they create an infinite combo of card-drawn and damage pings, thanks to their combined abilities. One does damage every time the player draws a card, and the other draws a card every time the player deals damage, which will infinitely activate each other until the target opponent dies or concedes.
10Doubling Season
Everything, Times Two
The final card is, again, not one that can be used as a commander but fits perfectly into any deck that aims to make tokens or put counters on permanents. Doubling Season has been known to the community for a long time, and is more accessible than ever with this latest re-release.
As long as Doubling Season is on the board, its controller will create double the number of tokens and counters from every source, which many decks that contain green mana often do. This card is an automatic include in any deck that can run it, and can often overwhelm an opponent with little input.
