MTG Arena doesn’t support multiplayer, much to the chagrin of Commander players everywhere (i.e. the majority of the player base now). The solution? The Commander alternative introduced in Dominaria: Brawl.
In paper, Brawl had a short lifespan; the vision of it being a Standard-legal version of Commander went against what people like about Commander. However, it found a new home on Arena, especially when Arena introduced Historic Brawl, which lifted the limits of Standard rotation. Now, it’s similar to Duel Commander with Arena-only twists and a smaller card pool.
In May, I decided to grind long enough to hit Mythic for the first time. In June, with Ranked (or now, “Competitive”) Brawl being a perpetual game mode, I decided to do it again. Both times, I used a strategy that was a classic in pre-Horizons Legacy and Modern and one I have not seen anyone else try: mono-white Death and Taxes.
Competitive Brawl is dominated by the polarized Commander play patterns I enjoy least: solitaire-like value engines and combo on one end, and draw-go decks that won’t let me have a turn on the other end.
Now, I get to bonk them all and send them to jail.
“NOTHING CAN BE SAID TO BE CERTAIN, EXCEPT…”
To quote Team RIW veteran and Pro Tour Champion Ari Lax about Legacy Death and Taxes:
“It’s just not fair. You just make your opponent not play Magic, then you somehow kill them. They just sit there and say, “Man, none of my cards did anything.” And you get to ask them why they didn’t build their decks better. I mean, I’m playing creatures with power and toughness. Your game plan is to get a Sphere of Resistance into play … The difference is that your Sphere of Resistance gets to attack them. You want to negate your opponent’s strategy, but not like a control deck does, where you are looking to have all of the right answers. Here, you want to have all of the right threats to make their cards effectively do nothing. That’s why it’s not fair. They don’t get to play Magic.”
It’s more difficult to follow this plan in a 100-card, singleton format, but dig deep enough into the arena card pool, and we’ll find plenty of ways to make our opponents suffer.
The easiest mistake to make with this deck is treating it like mono-white aggro. While we can have aggro-like draws, we’re actually a Tempo deck with a bit of Prison seasoning. It’s most useful to think in terms of the jobs each card performs: Disruption, Utility and Finishing.
Disruptors are the core of the deck. These cards throw off the enemy’s game plan while threatening a clock. The ban list for Competitive Brawl is miniscule compared to its casual counterpart, so we get to pack some of the nastiest pieces of disruption in the business like Drannith Magistrate. Given the infestation of blue decks in the format, redundant methods of beating back instant-speed interaction like Grand Abolisher, Voice of Victory, Tithe Taker, and the ever-classic Thalia, Guardian of Thraben are crucial for us to stun-lock our enemies. Be careful of symmetrical effects: Spirit of the Labyrinth, Containment Priest, and Hushbringer can be backbreaking for opponents, but we aren’t entirely immune to them.
Utility cards keep us going. This is where we find removal, protection, and a bit of value. When we can put those on creatures such as Thraben Inspector or Mother of Runes, all the better. A few cards that have overperformed are Planar Disruption, which can shut down almost anything in a way that’s better than destroying it; Touch the Spirit Realm, whose channel ability can be used on offense or defense; and Skyclave Apparition, which picks off opposing Commanders without downside unless they’re willing to get rid of their most important card for good. Notably absent are Path to Exile and Erode; our game plan is to tax our opponent’s resources, so giving them lands undermines our strategy despite those spells’ efficiency.
Finishers are how we end the game once our opponents are stumbling. Here we have Anthem effects, big hitters, and our Commander herself, Adeline. The standout here is Akroma’s Will, which is the most ridiculous Overrun-style effect ever printed. We can win just by casting one half of the card, let alone getting full value with Adeline. It’s completely possible to win without casting a finisher, but getting one makes it far easier to close the match out.
One of this deck’s biggest strengths is how many cards overlap on roles. Paladin Class is a disruptor that becomes a finisher late-game. Brave the Elements protects our team or a crucial creature from damage or spot removal, but it can also force through a final attack by making our creatures unblockable by a specific color. Coppercoat Vanguard contributes to finishing our opponents while protecting our most powerful creatures. The cards listed above are based on their primary roles, but make sure to know every potential use of a given card.
Another draw to the deck: The mana is simple, untapped, consistent, and cheap. While our opponents spend precious life points and turns on their lands, curving out for us is trivial. I sorted our nonbasic lands into the roles they play above, either as MDFCs or activated abilities. We finish the deck with 30 Plains.
I know I haven’t talked about the actual Commander yet. That’s because the deck isn’t built around Adeline. I win many games without ever casting her. However, the threat of Adeline is enough to warp opponents’ play patterns. If disrespected, she can make every annoying dork on our board into a compounding threat and close the game quickly; if respected, we can leave her on the side, making them hold mana open in fear. I briefly made Thalia the commander to guarantee our most famous source of disruption every game, but I learned that having a giant gun menacing our opponent in the command zone is what the deck most needs.
As an Arena-only format, there’s a massive 3/3 elephant in the room to discuss: Alchemy cards.
Alchemy cards are Arena-exclusive cards that do things paper Magic is not equipped to do. If you play Arena Brawl, you’re familiar with how infamously powerful Alchemy cards are compared to their physical counterparts. If we plan to Brawl, we need to pack our own.
Alchemy cards that perform well in our deck include:
Captain Eberhart: A creature whose disruptive strength isn’t always obvious since it only affects hidden cards, but given how highly opponents prioritize removing him, he’s doing something right. Our curve is so low that we rarely use the cost reduction he provides, but the double strike makes our finishers extra powerful when he’s around, and it allows him to make attacks that would stuff our other creatures.
Benalish Knight-Counselor: While he might look mediocre, his Enlist ability lets him punch in damage when the board might otherwise stall. The bonus +1/+1 counter he provides can also let our creatures reach important stat thresholds
Patriar’s Humiliation: This instant has an absurd rate, letting us turn off the most important cards in our opponents’ decks for one mana in a way nigh impossible to retrieve. Take care that if we kill their Commander with it, they do get to have their abilities back when it returns to the Command Zone, so sometimes it’s worth threading the needle of our creature count to avoid killing it outright.
There are other potential inclusions like Fragment Reality if we consistently fought creature decks, but the metagame isn’t skewed that way at the moment. Unfortunately, Alchemy has also nerfed Guide of Souls to being merely “good” and Ocelot Tribe to unplayability.
TAKING ON THE BRAWL STARS
Competitive Brawl bans the most obnoxious Brawl commanders such as Ajani, Nacatl Pariah; Tajic, Legion’s Valor; and the notorious Rusko, Clockmaker. There are plenty of other problems waiting for us on the other side of the table, so here are the most common decks to look for:
These decks are completely dedicated to super-fast ramp, either to a pseudo-combo or to find endless bombs. We can flood the board while they durdle with lands, then use our disruption like a scalpel as they reach what they think is their win condition.
Etali, Primal Conqueror / Raph and Mikey, Troublemakers: These are effectively the same decks. Our matchups here are great because they don’t have a “plan B” to fall on, especially the Turtles, which play no creatures aside from massive monsters to cheat out like Emrakul. Focus on pressure with a little bit of taxation to make double-spelling harder. I have sported a wicked grin when a Raph player finally manages to cast their commander, swing with it, bring out Emrakul… and realizes I have them dead on crackback anyway.
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary: Another ramp deck that’s as linear as above, and this time with even less utility to play. Generally, picking Rofellos off once or twice – or worse, smacking him with Planar Disruption – will win the game on the spot assuming we have any creatures to follow it up. However, if we don’t pick off Rofellos the first time he hits? Disaster. A good matchup, but one that requires discipline. Don’t be afraid to mulligan to 5.
Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy: Now we have some trouble. Kinnan decks aren’t as linear (nor, dare I say, easy-mode) as the other main ramp decks. Mana rocks are a bigger problem than their creatures are and harder for us to answer. If Kinnan is allowed to exist for more than a turn, they usually don’t combo so much as slam monster after monster, which we can’t compete with. Plus, they get to pack Force of Will, Daze, and Fierce Guardianship. It’s a rough matchup for us because we don’t have time to focus on building pressure first.
These decks want to stave off early pressure and overwhelm opponents with commanders that have easy, recurring advantage. We need to break the engines first, then focus on closing the game afterward.
Emry, Lurker of the Loch: This deck exists to prey on opponents lacking interaction. Unfortunately for them, we have some of the most interaction on the ladder. We have so many ways to auto-win this matchup because their deck bricks if they don’t have both their commander and their graveyard. Since they’re in mono-blue yet have little deck space for counterspells, their ability to protect themselves from our haymakers is low. A fantastic matchup.
Hei Bai, Forest Guardian: Their game plan is simple: Resolve Hei Bai, flicker him, and bury us in advantage from the Shrines they get for free. Because his color identity is all five colors, yet he’s easy to cast, they get all the best spells in the format without terribly awkward mana. Our goal is to stop him from ever resolving, or barring that, remove him immediately and force them to spend precious mana to keep casting him instead of flickering him. A very winnable matchup, but certainly not easy.
Nobody likes fighting draw-go decks aside from draw-go players. Disruption and taxation are critical here. A slower clock is okay if it means we can hamstring their usual plays and force them into awkward lines of action.
Nashi, Illusion Gadgeteer: My least favorite commander to see. The card design is just obscene. Flash, Ward and good stats mean we lose control of combat once they have four mana available; his Alchemy ability to conjure duplicates of cards in graveyards means his combo lines (e.g. infinite turns with Time Warp) are so simple it’s offensive. Sultai gives them the best tutors, the best counterspells, excellent removal, and the Thoracle combo straight out of CEDH. Toxic Deluge is nigh unbeatable. Frankly, it feels oppressive on the level of Rusko.
The most important things for us to do are to seize our turn and stop their combo lines. Grand Abolisher and Voice of Victory force them to commit to sorcery-speed plays. Hushbringer, Doorkeeper Thrull, and Rest in Peace are must-kills. Barring that, peeking at and taxing their hand can buy us enough time to set up a board and play around the worst of it. A frustrating matchup on the play and a miserable one on the draw.
Katara, Waterbending Master: A skill-tester for both sides. Most lists are “counterspell kindred” decks, which aren’t as effective on our deck packed with one- and two-drop threats. As before, Voice of Victory and Grand Abolisher are the deck’s antimatter; unlike before, mono-blue doesn’t have as easy of a time to get rid of them. Our creatures have good enough stats that Katara rarely has a free attack to make. Make sure to sniff out specific kinds of counterspells and force them into mana-neutral or worse trades; that skill comes with practice. Special shout-out to Spirit of the Labyrinth turning Katara into straight downside!
Decks that can actually rumble with us in the red zone. More than anything, combat knowledge determines these games. Our usual sources of disruption, while important, aren’t lynchpins now. We have to beat them at a fairer game.
Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow: Yes, she’s just as irritating in 1v1 as she is in normal Commander. It’s glib to say “just go first,” but the game plan changes based on who gets to have two mana first. We’re the clear beatdown on the play and the clear control deck on the draw, so mulligan with that in mind. Letting her get one hit isn’t the end of the world since we gum up the ground so much that she rarely gets a second one easily. Silly as it may sound, the most important thing to do is often to avoid killing her – she can’t easily connect on her own. One of my toughest tests of discipline with this deck was allowing a giant board stall against a Yuriko deck until I had 9 bodies ready for a decisive swing; even though I had a massive Adeline, I refused to allow Yuriko to die “for free” until I could win that same turn.
Raffine, Scheming Seer: The closest thing to another true creature deck in the format. We have to fight them on the board. Raffine herself can stop most of our single non-Adeline attacks, so the best plans involve either going wide enough not to worry about losing a single creature or finding a way to pick her off efficiently. The match often comes down to a race, so be careful of their cheap blue and black interaction; thankfully, their mana base often trips them up, so curving out is our biggest advantage. I think this matchup is about even, but it’s one I enjoy.
GIVE YOUR OPPONENTS AN AUDIT
The most important thing about this deck is that our opponents will not see us coming. They will not have a plan for us like we have a plan for them. It’s likely that few of them even know how to navigate a combat phase well. As you practice, you will learn the complex combat math, sequencing, and role assignment to leverage that advantage to its fullest. Since I’ve yet to see any other deck like this in the format, I’d love it if you end up being my first mirror match!
Remember: There’s a finite amount of fun in Competitive Brawl. Don’t let your opponent have any of it.
