Brion Stoutarm is the king of face smashing. Crass, charming and endearingly stupid, Brion Stoutarm is the perfect general for anyone looking for a good time. His is a deck that is best played for the pure joy of it, when you first manage to kill someone by smashing them full force in the face with a Serra Avatar you will get a wonderful warm fuzzy feeling that will leave you grinning like a fool and leave your unwitting victim dazed and confused.
This deck is a natural extension of a janky RG 'combo' deck I used to play back in Odyssey/Onslaught Standard. It ran using Skirk Alaramist to flip Krosan Cloudscrapper and then fling it using Bloodshot Cyclops. The deck rarely worked precisely as planned but in all the time I have played magic the moments that I got that combo off are some of the most memorable and nostalgic I can ever recall. So what made the combo so special? It's simple! The surprise factor. My personal favorite feeling from a game of magic is pulling off something that leaves your opponents mouths agape. When I recently returned to Magic after an extended hiatus (played Stronghold to Champions of Kamigawa, returned for Innistrad) I was immediately intrigued by commander and when I found Brion I knew instantly the deck I needed to make.
So, I have explained why I fell in love with Brion but you may not be convinced. What is it about Brion that makes him stand out as a general, why would you want to play him? Lets examine what this stout giant has to offer to anyone with the necessary fortitude to withstand his charm.
Color Identity
Brion is, obviously, a Red/White (aka Boros) general. Anyone who has been around the block a bit when it comes to EDH knows that of all the multicolor combinations out there, Boros is the least powerful. Why? Because it lacks access to strong, generalized tutor effects, efficient mana ramping and wide ranging synergistic combos. So, how is this a strength for Brion? Because, first and most importantly, it forces you to think long and hard about how you build your deck. I find that, more than any other deck I have ever built, I need to really consider how the cards I have chosen for my deck work together. It leads to a very thoughtful deck which you will feel far more invested in. On a more mechanical level for Brion, Boros offers the perfect pieces to support his throwing arm. White gives you interesting creatures and defense while red offers strong damage amplification and removal.
The Package
Brion is an extraordinarily efficient package of pain. For four mana you get a 4/4 lifelink creature with a very potent and fun fling ability. Thanks to this combination we are able to build a deck where he is the center of the universe. Why? Because with his aggressive cost and intriguing combination of abilities we can feasibly cast him a number of times throughout a game and get some ridiculous mileage of throwing large creatures to maximize the gain from his lifelink.
Art
How could you not want to play with a general who throws livestock with such dramatic flair?
The core strategy for the deck is simple. Use Brion to fling a Serra Avatar and profit. Of course, in practice, things are seldom so black and white.
The first thing to learn with this deck is that it is designed to be innocuous. In multiplayer games it is very common to go through a few turns with very little on board that threatens anyone. Use this to your advantage. Early on politics can be a great weapon for you to wield. Play up the threat of other players in order to buy yourself time to set up your mid-game. This will typically work but if it doesn't we do have some early game defenses. The first and most important is Ghostly Prison. Forcing people to pay mana to attack you is a tried and true way of stopping attacks in most games since it will deprive the player of resources to build their own position. The second important piece to early game defense is Sunforger. It is able to retrieve any answer you could possibly want to any given situation. In addition to these don't be afraid to throw some of your low CMC creatures under a bus when the situation warrants it, there is plenty of ways to recur them later.
Now, lets assume you have made it through the early game without be totally rolled over, what now? First, assess the board state. Around turn 5 or 6 you will want to look at casting Brion but to do so you need to ensure you can both protect him and feed his throwing arm. If you are in a situation where Brion is your only creature and all your opponents are sitting with removal in hand you are in some trouble, victory depends on keeping Brion. Protecting Brion comes in a couple forms. First is the obvious protection offered by a card like Lightning Greaves. They both are easy to dig for and protect against a large portion of targetted removal, but they fail against edicts and sweepers. This is where protecting Brion gets interesting. The back up plan when faced with situations that don't target Brion you start cheating him back. Sigil of the New Dawn, Adarkar Valkyrie, and Angelic Renewal are wonderful ways to cheat effects that you don't have control over. In certain situations it is ok to allow Brion to be destroyed and sent to the graveyard. Those would be situations where you have something in hand to return him to play.
Sticks and sleeping dragons, yeah this ends well...
As a general, Brion has numerous things in his favor. First and foremost is his unrivaled fling ability. When combined with large creatures he is able to deal large amounts of damage and, thanks to lifelink, gain substantial life for you all at the cost of R. The other strength for Brion is he is in a sweet spot for mana cost. At a converted mana cost of four he can return to the command zone a couple times and still be realistically castable. Having said that however, Brion has two glaring downsides. First, he is laughably vulnerable. If you haven't got some protection for him he may as well be written off as cannon fodder. His other weakness is his color identity. Boros suffers from a lack of strong tutors, card draw and mana fixing/ramping.
Next thing to concern yourself with is feeding Brion. The absolute best card in the deck for aiding in feeding him is Sneak Attack. For R you can drop any creature as fuel for your attacks. Unfortunately for us however, Sneak Attack is fairly universally recognized as a threatening card and it doesn't stay on board long. So in its absence we need to find ways to get out cannon fodder at a reasonable pace. Sadly, there aren't many options other than hard casting it, but that doesn't mean there are zero options. With all the recursion in the deck a single large creature can be sacrificed multiple times. There is also a wonderful option found in Wild Ricochet. So many decks run powerful cards such as Tooth and Nail, Bribery, Intuition, etc... which we can copy and use to our advantage. Admittedly this is a narrow use of the card but it is surprisingly efficient.
Now on to winning. Most of the time this deck will win one opponent at a time. Thanks to Serra Avatar, Ajani's Ultimate and creatures like Hamletback Goliath and Taurean Mauler we have wide ranging access to large creatures. Serra Avatar, of course, is our shining star. Your ideal board setup would include Brion, a damage doubling effect (Gisela or Gratuitous Violence), a renewal effect and Serra Avatar in addition to a life total greater than 20. A state like this allows you to fling the Avatar for 40 damage, gain 40+ life and then fling it again the next turn for 120+ damage and life. This is you primary path to victory, fling to win. That said, it is possible to win though two other means, good old fashioned beatdown and mill. The beatdown method is fairly self explanatory so I will ignore it for the moment. The mill strat is simple and only used as a fail-safe. Thanks to the wonders of Altar of Dementia we are able to sacrifice our giant creatures to dig deep into someones deck. This is a last resort only strategy though. Why only in the face of defeat do we employ this card? Because most EDH decks run cards that either shuffle themselves or the graveyard back into the players library or they are built to use their graveyard as a resource and thus you are feeding them. However, combine this with Adarkar Valkyrie, Thornbite Staff and any creature, large or small, and you can potentially empty every opponents library in one swoop. Sun Titan and Angelic Renewal in combination with the Altar also leads to a similar effect. In case milling is not a tactic you are overly fond of Altar of Dementia can be replaced by Goblin Bombardment, as noted in the list.
The last bit of strategy I should touch on is dealing with "rogue" players. Sometimes as a game goes on you end up with a player who hits a sweet spot in their deck and essentially ends up playing solitaire or starts to completely dominate the board. Situations like this are where you crack out the full power of Sneak Attack + Sigil of the New Dawn. End of turn every turn playing Yosei can completely remove a player from the game. It also works to a lesser extent with Sun Titan and Archon of Justice. Of course this combo can be used to abuse any of your good ETB triggers (especially amazing with Solemn Simulacrum). Another card that could be employed at this point is Orim's Chant. I don't have it in the main list for reasons listed under the "Deliberate Exclusions" section towards the end of this post. In addition to that combo you also have access to a few disruptive instants which can be back-breaking to a combo if played at the most inopportune time. Skullcrack can be used to disrupt someone gaining absurd amounts of life while Faith's Reward and Boros Charm a quite effective at nullifying board wipes in their varied forms.
General Damage: Due to the nature of how this deck works it is very weak to Voltron decks. If you are lucky you will be able to use Kor Haven or Dawn Charm to hold your ground but over the long term the best way to beat them is to make them your focus (and try to push the table against them).
Mana: You will rarely find yourself in a situation where you are mana screwed but color screw comes up a little more frequently than one may like. To defeat this you simply need patience. That third or fourth red source is always only a turn away. This is a point where stalling is key. If you find yourself in a real pinch you could always tutor up Chromatic Lantern to fix your colors.
Heavy Control: Whether it be permission or lots of removal this is one of our most significant threats. Due to our rather plodding pace for playing threats we are ripe targets for control decks and can be easily locked out of a game. Thankfully, in most casual groups, decks like this are rare. In the event that you know you will be playing against decks like this, consider adding Grand Abolisher into your deck (I've made a note in the decklist of what to replace).
Top Decking: There will come times where you are just really unfortunate and can't find any of the cards that are instrumental to you winning. When this happens, open your deck box and pray that hope escapes. There really isn't much advice to offer here since in Boros there aren't many ways to find the answers you need when you want them without drawing very specific cards.
Note on Politics: Success and failure in most games of EDH can come down to politics and how you play the table. This deck, more than most, relies on politics. You need to focus attention away from you or onto you at the right times. When is the right time, well that is difficult to put into a primer, it is something you learn over time. Typically however, early game you want to push the tables focus onto someone who is clearly building a strong board position. Later on you will want to make unspoken pacts with other players to 'thin' your opposition (example: volunteer to allow a player using blue to Bribery you when they are in a jam, they get a large (and unthreatening to you) creature and you get good will.
Adarkar Valkyrie - When you manage to get this in play and keep it for even one turn you will not regret it. The ability to recycle any dying creature, particularly those sacrificed by Brion or as a result of Sneak Attack is so powerful. Combine it with Thornbite Staff and you can potentially create some devastating infinite combos.
Angel of Serenity - An absolutely fantastic card for this deck. Most often its triggered ability will fish out a number of used creatures from your graveyard, threatening others with refueling Brion's throwing arm when it dies. The true beauty of this Angel lies in its flexibility, being able to rob your opponents of threats should never be overlooked.
Anger - The haste granted by Anger can make or break games. Many times you will find that when you cast Brion you want to use his ability instantly for fear that he won't survive through a lap of the table, this is why this is here.
Archon of Justice – Best used as a deterrent to attackers. When you opponent swings at you and risks having something important exiled they will glance for other less risky targets.
Balefire Liege – You really want this guy to stick on the board. He serves a number of roles, both obvious and obscure. The obvious roles of course extend from his abilities, the anthem effects and the triggers. The obscure role is as a magnet for hate. Most players will always assess this as one of your largest threats when attempting to prune your field, which is what you want typically as it can take heat off of Brion or other clutch creatures.
Bloodshot Cyclops – The cyclops is in to, first and foremost, serve as a back-up to Brion, albeit without the wonderful lifelink. When Brion is not in danger however this guy is best used as targeted creature removal.
Emeria Angel – The most important role of this card is defence against edict effects. In an average game (barring focused removal) this creature will net you at least three tokens. It may not seem like much but when you drop Brion or Ajani those three tokens can swing a game in your favor. In addition to that they make some great Skullclamp fodder when you are in a pinch.
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight - If there was any card in this deck that needed little explanation this was it. With this card + Gratuitous Violence I have managed to fling an Avatar for almost 200 damage, and that isn't near what it could potentially be.
Glory – This card makes your graveyard a prime target for some purging but it is rarely not worth it. Having the ability to make your creatures unblockable or dodge a clutch removal is just too good to pass up. I have toyed with the idea of replacing this with Mother of Runes but at this point Glory is performing well enough. The best way to get this into your graveyard is to fling it typically, if you are in a position where you need to discard it that is typically a bad sign.
Hamletback Goliath - This guy gets absurdly large with great speed. I have frequently seen it dropped as a 6/6 on my turn and by the time the game back around to me it was 45/45 (TnN for an Avenger and Primeval makes me happy). Follow a go around like that by dropping your Serra Avatar and it becomes something absurd. This can be your dark horse. Once people have caught on to Avatar this is the card you start using for fling chaos.
Homura, Human Ascendant – You want to fling this guy anyway you can. The enchantment he turns into is incredible and not for the pump. The flying it grants to all your creatures can set you up for one of those rare games where you will win with an attack.
Karmic Guide – I very rarely cast this creature for its full mana cost. Typically I hold it until I have a sufficiently juicy reanimation target and then Sneak it in. For those occasions where I actually cast it I never end up paying the echo on it.
Kor Cartographer - As close as white will ever get to a real ramp creature, this card offers some wonderful utility. It fetches two dual lands, Mistveil Plains and any basic Plains. It is abusable with cards like Sneak Attack, Karmic Guide and Reveillark.
Moltensteel Dragon - A beautifully dangerous way to push through damage with a fling. I went back and forth on this card through testing because it can be a huge liability to pump a large amount of life into it only to have it removed but ultimately the risk is worth it. The gamble that this card represents can make for really memorable moments in games. Under most circumstances you will want to play this as fling fodder but it is also a champion blocker, able to trade with practically anything.
Restoration Angel - This card is like a Swiss Army Knife in this deck. It serves as a surprise blocker in a pinch, it can save creatures from targeted removal, it can repeat ETB effects and can save any creature that has been placed into play with Sneak Attack and it can more than one of those at the same time.
Reveillark – Unless you are in desperate need of a chump blocker try to hold this card as long as possible to ensure it has targets. It is heartbreaking to see this hit the bin without any legal targets. Ideally this will be used to return Karmic Guide + any of Taurean Mauler, Serra Ascendant or Solemn Simulacrum.
Serra Avatar – This is the card that defines the deck. Being able to double your life total (or triple) at the cost of R is poetic. The only downside to this card is that it lacks trample, so if you attack with your 80/80 Serra Avatar and it is chumped by a 0/1 plant token you will die a little inside.
Solemn Simulacrum - This is an EDH staple for a reason, colorless ramp and card draw is a rare and precious commodity in Boros.
Soul Warden – This is one of the most under estimated creatures in the deck. In most games it will be able to gain you a few points of life but against token decks or decks that abuse effects such as that of Deadeye Navigator it quickly becomes a house.
Stonecloaker - This is a pure utility card for this deck. Most often I use it to bounce a Sneak'd creature to prevent it dying but that is not the only use for it by any means. It serves as repeatable graveyard hate, protection for creatures (Brion in particular) and a surprise blocker.
Stoneforge Mystic and Stonehewer Giant – These two serve the same purpose, find your equipment. The Giant is particularly great when it is able to dig out a Sunforger and equip it at instant speed allowing you to use it on a moments notice.
Sun Titan – Sun Titan's favorite target in this deck is Angelic Renewal. If you are able to keep Renewal on the field consistently it becomes a strong deterrent to opponents sweepers and targeted removal. There are plenty of good targets for Titan in the deck besides Renewal of course, but that is most often the most prudent choice.
Taurean Mauler - This is your third go-to fling target. He needs to be on board for a while before he becomes threatening but typically he is ignored by the majority of players.
Weathered Wayfarer – With the limited ramp in this deck I am often in a position where I am able to activate this guy. The fact that he can search for any land is extraordinary.
Yosei, the Morning Star – I make a point in this deck of not breaking this card. I have seen some decks do filthy things with Yosei but here he serves mostly as reactionary control or a blocker. That being said however, when you are able to Sneak Attack and recur this card on every turn sometimes temptation will get the better of you.
Ajani Goldmane – Ajani was made for a deck like this. Every one of his abilities works toward Brion's endgame with his ultimate being of particular interest. Never play him without some way to protect him since like all planeswalkers in this format, he is a delicate snowflake.
Enchantments:
Angelic Renewal – A pseudo-regenerate that works for sacrificed creatures and triggers ETB effects again. The fact that it is only two mana makes it a prime target for Sun Titan
Ghostly Prison – A tax effect that serves to buy us time. You want this as early as possible to afford you the necessary time to build you mid-late game strategy.
Gratuitous Violence – Double damage from all your creatures, makes those dream flings absurd and you blockers scary. Combined with Sunhome and its ability to grant double strike this enchantment becomes a force to be reckoned with. This is the one card in the deck where you will really feel the lack of red mana. It often happens that you have it turn 5 but are sitting on only one or two red sources.
Land Tax - Another ramp effect that is easy to manipulate. Also serves well as a way to thin your deck late game or as a free shuffle effect.
I make Yosei into a being of pure evil.
Sigil of the New Dawn - This is one of your most important defensive and offensive spells. It recurs indiscriminately for 1W and helps you to hang in on games that are going to the brink.
Altar of Dementia - This is a sort of backup plan when you want to make an impact on the game. It isn't going to be a game ender but when you force someone to drop more than half of the library into their graveyard with a single creature sac it will certainly feel like a moral victory.
Chromatic Lantern - Mana Fixing on steroids. This card guarantees that you will never be left short on colored mana. Not as amazing in a two color deck as in others but fixing is fixing and this is the best of the 3 mana rocks.
Expedition Map - Originally I included this as some flexible ramp, but over time it has evolved. This is my 'land answer' card, able to grab Kor Haven when I need the damage prevention or Kher Keep when I need blockers/fodder. Depending on your situation, there is no shame in using an Enlightened Tutor to find this.
Lightning Greaves – Play this early, you need the protection it offers to defend Brion, without it you are fighting an uphill battle.
Scroll Rack – Your salvation! Scroll Rack has proven to be absolutely bonkers for this deck. It lets you power through to the answers you need and gives you copious amounts of staying power late game. Its only disadvantage is the fact that if you dump your hand it really diminishes its effect.
Skullclamp – This card is crazy with Kher Keep and fling effects. Very effective at keeping you fed or helping you dig for your win conditions.
Strionic Resonator - This card can become so many different things through the course of a game you will be amazed. Use it to copy Land Tax triggers for crazy value, copy a enter the battlefield or leaves the battlefield trigger such as Yosei's and laugh hysterically. It even doubles effects like Skullclamps card draw.
Sunforger – This is the backbone of your defenses. Able to retrieve any answer you need for any given situation makes this one of the first equipments you should be digging for in the deck.
Thornbite Staff – In most situations this card is just good tech. But combine it with Adarkar Valkyrie, a sacrifice outlet (Altar or Bombardment) and a creature and you have yourself an infinite combo.
Umezawa's Jitte – This is a prime choice for equipment tutors whenever you are facing an aggressive deck. It builds counters even while on defense and can fuel some ridiculous plays.
Well of Lost Dreams – In a deck with this much life gain this card is a champ. It will never be a first choice pick when you are tutoring but mid-late game it offers an absurd amount of digging power.
Instants:
Boros Charm - Though not as effective on all modes in EDH as it is in regular constructed formats, it is still a pretty large blowout. The ability to make ALL of your permanents indestructible for RW is amazing. The ability to give a creature double strike is relevant under certain circumstances while the four damage will rarely be relevant to finish off an opponent.
Chaos Warp and Oblation – Use these often and repeatedly. Chaos Warp is best against creature-light decks while Oblation is best for everything else. Take note here however, when/if you stall out, don't be afraid to use these on your own permanents (equipment in particular) as a means to gain some cards and shuffle your library.
Faith's Reward - This card is almost never a dead draw. At worst you spend four and return a key card to the battlefield which on its own is quite nice. However, if you are able to play this following a board wipe of any kind it leaves you in a position for a major blowout. On top of the great utility of the card on its own, it is also tutorable with Sunforger making it all that more fantastic (though make note that it cannot be used through Sunforger to save your creatures from a wipe).
Miraculous Recovery – Instant speed recursion that allows for some out-of-nowhere plays. Most often you will use it recur a chump blocker but sometimes you will get those nut plays where you recover a Karmic Guide, which recurs a Sun Titan, which brings back a Stonecloaker which bounces Karmic Guide.... Lines like that for 4W are amazing.
Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares – These are clutch in their ability to get rid of Indestructible creatures and highly threatening monstrosities. Also great political tools. Use Path to exile an opponents token so they get a much needed land of Swords someones fatty to save them from death.
Return to Dust – I thought recently about replacing this with good old Disenchant until I played a game where I was facing down Darksteel Forge. There is always something worth exiling with this, but try your best to use it on your main phase to get the full effect.
Skullcrack - Two mana for three damage in EDH is laughable to the point that some may consider a card like this wasted in the deck. In all honesty the damage on this card is irrelevant. Its true purpose it to interrupt or prevent massive lifegain and allow you or other players to punch through damage prevention shields.
Wild Ricochet - This is your wildcard. It can become whatever you need whenever you need it. Typically using it to copy tutor effects is the most reasonable use for it but it also serves as a spectacular political weapon.
Sorceries:
Austere Command – Easily one of the most effective sweepers at whites disposal. Use this as a means to make a surgical strike at powerful opponents.
Decree of Justice – There really should never be a time when you hard cast this. It is strictly here as a weenie token generator which cantrips.
Hallowed Burial – This is a sweeper that gets around regeneration, indestructibility and generals returning to the command zone. It can be useful to follow a large play of Sneak Attack creatures with this as a means to save them.
Red Sun's Zenith – This is how you deal with undying/persist shenanigans. It's ability to exile creatures is very relevant in this format. The truest beauty of this however is its ability to work as a free shuffle for your library. From time to time you will be able to combo this with Gisela to finish someone off but those situations don't arise very often.
Rout - A wrath effect with an option for instant speed. Use at your own discretion to reshape the board.
Steelshaper's Gift – Most of the time you will use this to find Sunforger. The utility Sunforger affords you is just so insane that it is hard to ignore it when you are in the process of building up your board. That said, there are plenty of situations where you just need some defence in which case you would hunt for Greaves, Jitte or you Staff. Be mindful of what your situation dictates you need most.
Land
Most of the land needs no explanation so I will only pick out the ones I feel warrant a word or two.
Kher Keep – I laughed at this card for a long time, but 0/1 chump blockers at a moments notice is nothing to turn your nose up at. It also plays very well with Skullclamp. 2R for two cards is awesome.
Kor Haven – This is my poor man's Maze of Ith. It will be the card that pulls your rear out of the fire when it comes to facing down large generals of immense fatties. Keep in mind with this though that it only prevents the attacking creatures damage. You can use it as a way to thin an unwitting attackers board.
Miren, the Moaning Well - This is your back up plan when forced into a situation you don't like. Leaving 3 open is hard to do sometimes but the lifegain you can receive off your creatures is enormous. In addition to that, it is an efficient way to get the most out of your creatures played via Sneak Attack.
You may be reading through this thinking that you like Brion as a general but don't care for the ideology the deck uses. Perhaps you are looking for something more competitive or consistent. Perhaps you are wanting to build a Brion Stoutarm deck that doesn't rely on him so strongly. If this is the case then I will discuss some possible variations or alterations that will reshape this deck as well as touch on some other strategies and what they would be like with Brion.
I think it is appropriate to mention how I define what makes the difference between casual and competitive when making this deck. To my mind, casual is defined by three things: thrilling decks, significant and laidback player interaction and an overall focus on the game for the sake of the memories. When playing competitively you ignore cards that lead to memorable moments in favor of ones that offer consistency. I use consistency as almost a dirty word throughout this post and I don't mean it to be. To me consistency leads to a predictable deck which eventually becomes boring. As I edit and expand this deck I work hard to hew to the three points of a good casual game and ensure I don't cross the line and make it obscene.
First, lets talk about making the deck more hardcore/competitive/consistent. The first step would be to remove cards like Proper Burial and Well of Lost Dreams. In fact, gutting the cards relying or building upon the decks life gain would open a lot of slots for more consistent and stronger cards (such as those in the "Deliberate Exclusions" portion of this post). To be more competitive and consistent you would likely decrease the decks reliance on Brion or add in more plentiful and effective protections (more Swords, Boots, etc...). In addition to that, with the life gain diminished, a card such as Grafted Exoskeleton becomes very powerful. The last major tweak that the deck would need to become truly competitive is an adjustment to its mana curve. In a casual setting with a group of players willing to play politics and enjoy the game this mana curve is fine but against more cut throat players or for players stuck in the inevitable EDH arms race then the mana curve needs to be smoothed significantly so that you have early game presence. Cards like Ajani and Glory would likely be cut in favor of cards like Mother of Runes and Cathar's Crusade. These are all just general points on altering the deck toward this goal of course, there are plenty of other alterations, mostly small, which push it closer and closer to being a far more powerful deck.
Now, to discuss other, non-general/non-fling centric decks for Brion. The first and most obvious is to make an aggressive Boros deck that uses Brion for his colors and uses his ability simply as a last resort finisher to dome an opponent. This is a relatively simple variation of Brion that works with simplicity and little variation. if you are the kind of player who prefers to win through assaults this is the path to follow. Boros aggro has access to some of the most amazing combat tricks in magic and can lead to some epic wins. If this is how you want to play however, Brion is not that best Boros general for the job, both Aurelia and Jor Kadeen are generally better options. If aggro isn't your style, there is one other truly viable option for Brion, control. This deck touches a little on one of the more aggravating controlling combos available to Boros (Sneak Attack, Sigil and Yosei) but there are plenty of other interactions in these colors that can create absurd board states or lock players out of the game (Stonehorn Dignitary is particularly abusable). In a deck like this Brion could be used to fling or as a finisher (with extensive equipment of course). Aggro and control aren't the only available strategies for Brion beyond fling but they are the most likely to be effective. Technically you could do a Voltron style deck with Brion but without built in protections he is naked when you cast him and lack evasion of any kind to get damage through.
As one final comment on variations of the strategy used in this deck there is a much more definitive version of it available. If you love the idea of tossing large creatures at a players face but are not particularly fond of R/W then I will point you toward the best option competitively speaking. If you use any placeholder Naya (G/R/W) general you can accomplish some incredible things with flinging creatures. Green fills all the holes that Boros suffers. It gives you strong and reliable tutors, moderate and effective graveyard recycling and strong ramp.
I won't pretend that this deck is anywhere near where it could be. There is plenty of room for tweaks and fixes. Below you will find a list of cards I have my eye on to test in the future as well as cards that are not performing to expectation after further play testing. When reviewing the deck above and the cards below keep in mind that this deck is designed around two main principles, victory through flings and compelling player interaction all while following Wheaton's Law. The cards under the Deliberate Exclusions heading are ones that I left out because they were either a) non-casual, b) non-synergistic or c) personally despised. They are listed here so that it is obvious that I at least know they exist and to give a reasoning why they shouldn't be included.
Twice as nice at half the price!
Possible Additions Warstorm Surge - I have finally moved this card onto my short list of cards to be tested. On paper and in goldfish testing it performs well enough but time will tell if it works well in reality. Goblin Bombardment – This card is 100% interchangeable with Altar of Dementia. I am currently not using it because I still have irrational love for the typically terrible Altar, that and I can't for the life of me find a copy of the card. Staff of Nin - Extra card draw and a ping ability make this card quite intriguing. A very good card for Boros. Malignus - I have found it hard to get excited about this card. Personally, I am attracted to flashy and overstated cards and effects (sometimes to a fault) and this card just never struck me. That said, mechanically this creature is incredibly solid. He offers a large amount of synergy with the deck. Vandal Blast - A one sided Shatterstorm has the potential to be incredible. Not quite a snap inclusion however as the deck currently has a reasonable amount of artifact destruction. Illusionist's Bracers - I will be playing with this soon. The ability to copy one of Brion's flings and eliminate two opponents at once is just fantastic. My current issue with including it however is figuring what I want to cut for it. Fatal Frenzy - A suggestion from Tittliewinks22, I am quite intrigued by the implications of this card. It has significant potential to just blow a game wide open and is tutorable with Sunforger.
Underperformers Ajani Goldmane – I have so rarely managed to get the ultimate of Ajani off that I am starting to think that his spot would be better filled by any number of cards. He is staying for now mostly because his -2 loyalty ability can be very useful at times. Decree of Justice - I have never hard cast this card. It is nice that it can create a small army and cantrip all while being very difficult to counter but typically the army it creates is just instantly wiped out leaving me with an expensive card. Moltensteel Dragon - I am constantly back and forth on this card. It took me forever to come around and put it into my deck and now that I finally have I am slightly unimpressed by it.
Deliberate Exclusions Sensei's Divining Top - An amazing card that adds a huge amount of consistency to any deck, a perennial EDH staple. Why is it not included here? Because I am sick of it. This stupid card appears everywhere and always plays out the same, I would much rather use a card like Scroll Rack. Aggravated Assault - I am well aware of the combo between this and SoFaF. It is excluded however because the deck just is not designed to be pushing on offense. Godo, Bandit Warlord - Ruled out mostly because I was satisfied with the number and quality of the equipment tutors I already have. Also excluded due to the high mana cost and the lack of necessity for the extra combat phases. Orim's Chant - This card was excluded just based on its power level. I am not opposed to adding it in at some point if I start facing decks that combo off early in the game (before turn 4). I included it as a possible card choice in my decklist above as well. Academy Rector - I know I am running just enough enchantments to make this card very good, especially with how critical Sneak Attack is for the deck. I have excluded it however just because I am currently satisfied with how often I am able to find Sneak Attack. Imperial Recruiter - This is an amazing card for this deck but suffers on the grounds that it makes the deck more consistent and it's absurdly expensive. I should add that the consistency isn't bad at all, it just helps to create a deck that is predictable and eventually boring. Grafted Exoskeleton - With the ease of equipment tutoring in Boros and the absurd effectiveness of poison in EDH this card is extremely powerful. It is not included though due to just how effective it can be. This is one of those cards that just make an EDH game end before it gets interesting and poison counters are a cheap way to win overall. Felidar Sovereign - It was originally in my first draft of the deck when I brewed it up in late December but was cut fairly early on due to being too abrupt an end to games. I have a personal dislike for triggered win conditions such as this and did not feel right using them against other people. Tithe - A highly effective and critical white ramp card capable of finding dual lands and Mistveil Plains. It is not included not because it is too powerful or douche but simply because it wasn't necessary. It's inclusion will improve the deck but not significantly enough to warrant me including it in a casual version of the list. If I was playing competitively then it would be added in an instant. Gamble - The only non-restricted tutor available to Boros and a passably good one at that. I tried it in the past and with the random discard it does offer some excitement to playing the deck but the fact still remains that you are likely always going to search for the same few targets. On top of that I had terrible luck with the card and managed to discard the card I tutored for far more often than not. Hellkite Tyrant - There are simply too many artifact based decks in my local meta for me to be able to use this in good conscience. That said, if you are less conscionable or playing in a meta with average incidental artifact usage then go nuts.
Removed: Phyrexian Processor, Proper Burial Added: Kor Cartographer, Strionic Resonator Why?Phyrexian Processor is a powerful card that can lead to some agonizing situations. Its effect is still quite relevant but, for the time being I believe this is the most sensible cut. Proper Burial is a card that, after much deliberation, I realized does nothing relevant. I never tutored for it and in the game I did play it the effect had no bearing on the outcome of the game.
Removed: Serra Ascendant, Stranglehold, Dawn Charm, Debt of Loyalty Added: Restoration Angel, Angel of Serenity, Boros Charm, Skullcrack Why?Serra Ascendant just didn't fit with the deck overall. In commander it is just such a painful and obscene card. Attacking for 6 on turn two is a quick way to make enemies. Stranglehold served its purpose too well. I felt guilty for essentially locking my opponents out of their decks and preventing them from enjoying the game as much as they could. Dawn Charm was great at the role it filled but I ultimately weighed the number of times I actually used it effectively against the power of the hate attached to Skullcrack and it did not come out ahead. Debt of Loyalty was loyal to me (heh). I love the effect and the WTF? moments it initially generated but ultimately something needed to be cut to make room for some much more relevant and necessary spells, namely Boros Charm.
Removed: Viashino Heretic, Cradle of Vitality, Emeria, the Sky Ruin Added: Moltensteel Dragon, Chromatic Lantern, Plains Why?Viashino Heretic was removed because it was severely disappointing. I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually had this in play and used his ability. Cradle of Vitality was great on paper but not so hot in practice. I did manage to pull off some great plays with it but they were highly infrequent and an exception instead of a norm. The truth is that most of the creatures I used it on were killed by removal/bounced before anything came of the effect. Emeria, the Sky Ruin just did not work in this deck. I managed to set it off about one out of every ten games. Its slot will definitely be better served by a regular Plains since it doesn't enter play tapped.
Removed: Condemn, Glory of Warfare Added: Faith's Reward, Stranglehold Why?: Condemn was most often a dead card in my hand. I always wanted to save it to tuck those particularly annoying generals but since most non-voltron decks I face never attack with them I was holding it for nothing. Glory of Warfare is a fantastic enchantment for aggro based boros decks but ultimately has proven quite impotent in this list.
Removed: Sword of Light and Shadow, Planar Portal, Soul's Attendant, Requiem Angel Added: Thornbite Staff, Scroll Rack, Phyrexian Processor, Emeria Angel Why?: Sword of Light and Shadow has proven to be far less useful than I might have hoped. It is a great card but with the lack of offensive strength in the deck it simply did not fulfill its role as adequetly as one may hope. Planar Portal was intended as a stop gap measure for smoothing out the lack of tutoring in the deck but after much play testing and an increasing dislike for the card I have removed it. Soul's Attendant was a hold over from when I was using Ranger of Eos, it has proven to be rather redundant over time, especially since its "may" clause always bites me. Requiem Angel turned out to be rather disappointing over time. It did net me tokens and fulfilled its purpose well enough but its mana cost is ultimately its undoing.
Removed: Temple of the False God, Storm Herd Added: Miren, the Moaning Well, Sigil of the New Dawn Why?: Temple of the False God is a good land but it felt useless in this deck. The extra colorless mana it produced rarely made the difference on whether I could cast a particular spell and the conditional clause for its activation was a terrible hindrance in this deck (many games you actually needed to wait till turn five for it to work). Storm Herd was a fun card but it weighed on the deck like an anchor. Having it in your opening hand was a total waste and even when you finally were able to cast it someone would be waiting in the wings with something that wipes you hundreds of weenies out.
Removed: Dwarven Miner, Ranger of Eos, Windborn Muse, Loxodon Warhammer Added: Taurean Mauler, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Solemn Simulacrum, Altar of Dementia Why?: Dwarven Miner was largely unnecessary I found. His ability is, without question, relevant and powerful, but there aren't enough lands in my particular group that are so degenerate that a card like Ghost Quarter couldn't deal with them. Ranger of Eos was removed because of its lack of synergy. Sure it was able to fetch some of my small creatures but other that Serra Ascendant there aren't really any 1CMC creatures I particularly need. Windborn Muse was removed since it felt like too much of a good thing. With Ghostly Prison in the deck, a second tax effect felt too much like overkill. Add to that the fact that at 4CMC it swapped perfectly with Solemn Simulacrum.
Removed: Grand Abolisher, Quicksilver Amulet Added: Stonecloaker, Sneak Attack Why?: Grand Abolisher was removed simply because he wasn't overly necessary in my meta. Don't let its removal fool you however, the card is still quite fantastic in this deck when you are facing someone with heavy permission or combat tricks. There is a note in the deck list of which card this could be replaced with. Quicksilver Amulet was removed in favor of the far, far superior Sneak Attack. When I originally was building the deck I was under a mistaken impression that Sneak Attack was on the local ban list. When I discovered it was not the issue was rectified with great expediency.
Removed: Arid Mesa, Strip Mine, Madblind Mountain, Auriok Champion, Duplicant, Mimic Vat, Wrath of God, Retaliate, Mountain Added: Ancient Amphitheater, Ghost Quarter, Soul's Attendant, Hamletback Goliath, Adarkar Valkyrie, Skullclamp, Rout, Wild Ricochet, Plains Why?: Arid Mesa was removed because it felt like the benefit for it was so minimal as to be inconsequential, there is a reasonable amount of mana fixing already. Strip Mine is an amazing land destruction card due to it not having any real drawback. However, once I realized the political realities of the deck I decided to replace it with the more reasonable Ghost Quarter. Madblind Mountain had (has) an effect that can be helpful, but ultimately it was cut due to being yet another land that enters play tapped. Auriok Champion proved to be too expensive for what I wanted. Even though it is only one more mana than Soul's Attendant I just couldn't justify paying twice the mana for the effect when in the end these creatures rarely last long. Duplicant proved to be too expensive to be effectively used as removal. The only creatures I ever came across which I felt were worth Duplicant's cost were the Eldrazi and the twocolossi. Mimic Vat proved to be too mana intensive to achieve the ends I wanted. It also ended up serving a purpose opposing the rest of the deck since imprinting your creature excluded them from resurrection. Wrath of God is awesome but in the end I prefer the extra utility offered by Rout. Retaliate is just way too conditional to be useful. In addition to requiring you to take damage it doesn't have the "can't be regenerated" clause that can make or break a game.
Acknowledgments: Gaka and bobthefunny for inspiration to write this primer and ideas on how to lay it out like a champ.
@ Imolatus - From what I have seen, Jor Kadeen is the best R/W general simply because he is very synergistic and plays to the strengths of the colors (artifact and equipment tutors). As for Adarkar Valerie, I largely ignored it because I thought I had enough recursion already but the more I test the more I realize that I need the Valerie.
@ Tassadar - I actually totally missed that card when I was making the deck originally, I am going to try it out because the possible shenanigans when you cast an avatar with it in play are just too juicy. I also like that it is a giant which makes me more inclined to add Ancient Amphitheater.
I used to have Grab the Reins in my list when I was first testing but I found myself in a position where I only ever used it with Sunforger and then only if I had no other choice. When it was in my hand I can't recall ever hard casting it. Fling has been a consideration though, possibly in place of one of my exile effects, but I keep debating it since I am forced to sac one of my creatures when I rarely have more than two or three out with one of them being my general. Not having Sneak Attack does kinda sting a little especially since its replacement, Quicksilver Amulet, is magnitudes worse.
Your red mana count seems a bit high as you only have about 7 red spells you actually cast, Anger you want in the graveyard and Balefire is castable with white mana.
Made a few changes to the list, reduced red mana and added some suggestions. Currently in the process of assessing and testing a few AVR cards for the deck, it's like the set was made for EDH, so many options.
What about....Borgardan Hellkite...? He comes in, burns for 5, or 8 if you have the liege, he can swing for another 5 before Brion decides that he's past his usefulness and fling him for another 5. That's 18 damage for 8 mana....
P.S - .....and if you have Furnace of Rath and/or Warstorm Suge in play.............
What about....Borgardan Hellkite...? He comes in, burns for 5, or 8 if you have the liege, he can swing for another 5 before Brion decides that he's past his usefulness and fling him for another 5. That's 18 damage for 8 mana....
P.S - .....and if you have Furnace of Rath and/or Warstorm Suge in play.............
Bogardan Hellkite is a worthy choice for the deck, especially if you have Sneak Attack out (which I discovered was not banned in my playgroup and is now in the list) but on its own I don't ever see myself casting it, I think I would rather add Inferno Titan if I was looking for some burn on a stick since with firebreathing he is actually a juicier fling target. When it comes to Furnace of Rath, I hate it. Globally doubling damage is just far too risky for this deck since it takes a while to build up to critical mass, Gisela will fill this role once she is released and included. As for Warstorm Surge, I actually tested it in the deck very, very early on and didn't find it to be reliable. When it is down it can provide consistent damage (sometimes instantly lethal) but I just found that it came too late to be a real threat or it led to hollow victories.
Heh, I'm glad that Gisela's getting a lot of love. Though, it tends to be in the form of the 99 (R/W loves her, Kaalia loves her, etc). It disheartens me slightly, since I intend on using her as my Voltron general of choice, but that's okay.
Anyway, how's your draw power usually? Since you're alerady running Land Tax, Scroll Rack seems like a good inclusion, as their synergy together is awesome.
Speaking of cheesy, have you tried out Grafted Exoskeleton? Gives Brion the ability to one-shot/two-shot someone in a lot of situations, but it's also really dickish, so I can imagine that you'd want to stay far away from that particular choice.
Grafted Exoskeleton was actually in the very first list I goldfished with in Cockatrice and it proved to be so ridiculous and cheesy just from playing against fake opponents that I didn't even bother carrying it over to future iterations. I may throw it in again one day when I am playing some of the more dickish decks in my area but it really is something that leads to cheap and hollow victories.
My draw power is actually better than I had expected but Scroll Rack may still be something I should look into. The real draw engine for me is Kher Keep + Skullclamp, a little expensive but very productive when I stall out.
i like the deck... try to add more evoke creature like spitebellow or ingot chewer for Brion sac ability...
i didn't play the deck myself but dont you have the feeling that you lose your time to play your general all the time (because people kill him). Decks based on general often leave me that impression... but sometime when your playing an underrated general people leave you alone.
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Kakwann, Lvl 39 Sorcerer
Currently Playing
Standard:GWRU 4C Collected Company Modern:GUWRB Bloom Titan Legacy:BUG SHARDLESS BUG
EDH : GR BORBORYGMOS ENRAGED GU PRIME SPEAKER ZEGENA UWR ZEDRUU THE GREATHEARTED UBR MISHRA ARTIFICER PRODIGY B SHEOLDRED WHISPERING ONE R ASHLING THE PILGRIM
i like the deck... try to add more evoke creature like spitebellow or ingot chewer for Brion sac ability...
i didn't play the deck myself but dont you have the feeling that you lose your time to play your general all the time (because people kill him). Decks based on general often leave me that impression... but sometime when your playing an underrated general people leave you alone.
Expedition Map isn't as efficient as the Amulet but it has a huge advantage in that it can find any land in the deck, and not just basics. Typically it is used to find either Kor Haven or Sunhome. With very few exceptions I really dislike evoke creatures, which is why they aren't in here.
As to the reliance on my general, it can be a little painful at times but for the most part people ignore him. Tuck effects are the only thing that really ruin me, but the cyclops is in the deck as a backup.
In regards to phyrexian dreadnaught, it has certainly been a tempting creature, but I always stop at the thought that Sacing creatures for it will make any gain from it moot.
Spent a reasonable amount of time lately attempting to tweak this deck to be a little more consistent without pushing it to be super competitive, but given where it started there is a fair amount of wiggle room to get there. The most recent change to the list saw me cut an obviously weak card in Storm Herd, as I had posted I would do from the start. I enjoyed it enough but it was just so bad typically that its spot is better filled with anything else.
One major issue with the deck as is that I have run into is that it is currently short on creatures. With the lack of strong creature tutoring abilities or some form of filtering I often have games where it feels like all I can find are my support cards and have nothing with which to build board presence. As time goes by I want to find good candidates to cut in favor of about 5-8 more creatures (ending with roughly a third of the deck being creatures).
Finally completed the primer for the deck and got all the formatting in place. No new additions at this point but still happy to hear feedback both on card choices and on the format, layout and content of the primer.
Zealous Conscripts is something I really want to fit into the deck and have been testing with recently. I absolutely love the card for standard and its effect is just as good for EDH. I love that it steals any permanent and has a reasonable body to support itself. Add to that the rather substantial amount of recursion in the deck and it becomes really great. As for other threaten effects, I dislike them. As I said earlier I have tried Grab the Reins in the deck and just was underwhelmed by it. In most of the games I play the cards I want to steal most are non-creatures and Conscripts allows me to do that. I should state however that the threaten effects could take on more of a role in the deck in the future if I add in a free sac outlet. Cards like Adarkar Valkyrie and Angelic Renewal would allow for permanent creature theft, but the system would need optimization before it would be worth adding a large number of threatens.
Have you tried Enduring Renewal? Seems awesome in theory, but could be win-more. Also Altar of Dementia seems random as your free sac outlet of choice. Ever actually milled anyone out w it? I'd try Goblin Bombardment so you can kill people with Sun Titan + Angelic Renewal even if they have Eldrazi in their deck. And with the number of enchantments in the deck and the sacrifice theme already, Academy Rector seems like a shoo-in.
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Standard: Humanimator
Modern: Jund, Wafo-Tapa UWR
Legacy: Witch-Maw Stoneblade
EDH: Ruhan of the Fomori, Hazezon Tamar, Maga, Traitor to Mortals
Enduring Renewal is a card I had not even considered. It could have interesting interactions if played at the right time but it could also end up tossing away a lot of necessary cards at just the wrong time. It is something I will need to look in to in the future, but as you mentioned, it is likely to be win more. On the topic of Altar of Dementia, I have not managed to completely mill someone and it is a card that is largely benign in the deck. Why is it included then? Because I loved those few times I have tossed an Avatar into its wood-chipper and forced someone to dump more than half of their library into their graveyard. I agree that Goblin Bombardment is a more prudent choice both as a general sacrificial outlet and as a backup plan. The Altar is on the list of under-performing cards and is likely to be cut on the next pass of the deck I do.
In regards to the last card you mentioned, Academy Rector, it is a powerful card in this deck and offers a fairly significant improvement overall. Its exclusion, as noted in the last section of the OP, was entirely deliberate. I am re-evaluating its inclusion fairly regularly but for the moment I am reasonably pleased with the decks ability to play enchantments.
Updated the original post with the following card changes: Removed: Sword of Light and Shadow, Planar Portal, Soul's Attendant, Requiem Angel Added: Thornbite Staff, Scroll Rack, Phyrexian Processor, Emeria Angel
In addition, I updated the primer to reflect some feedback I received regarding its formatting and information as well as attempted to update it to include changes in the way the deck plays. Also added the, now official, [Primer] tag. As always, feedback is always welcome and encouraged.
The Genesis...
- Brion and You
- Will I Like Brion?
- Strengths and Weaknesses
- Strategy
- The Deck
- Creatures
- Spells
- Land
- Variations
- Building a Better Brion
- Changelog
Common Difficulties
Defining Casual
Brion Stoutarm is the king of face smashing. Crass, charming and endearingly stupid, Brion Stoutarm is the perfect general for anyone looking for a good time. His is a deck that is best played for the pure joy of it, when you first manage to kill someone by smashing them full force in the face with a Serra Avatar you will get a wonderful warm fuzzy feeling that will leave you grinning like a fool and leave your unwitting victim dazed and confused.
This deck is a natural extension of a janky RG 'combo' deck I used to play back in Odyssey/Onslaught Standard. It ran using Skirk Alaramist to flip Krosan Cloudscrapper and then fling it using Bloodshot Cyclops. The deck rarely worked precisely as planned but in all the time I have played magic the moments that I got that combo off are some of the most memorable and nostalgic I can ever recall. So what made the combo so special? It's simple! The surprise factor. My personal favorite feeling from a game of magic is pulling off something that leaves your opponents mouths agape. When I recently returned to Magic after an extended hiatus (played Stronghold to Champions of Kamigawa, returned for Innistrad) I was immediately intrigued by commander and when I found Brion I knew instantly the deck I needed to make.
Brion and You
So, I have explained why I fell in love with Brion but you may not be convinced. What is it about Brion that makes him stand out as a general, why would you want to play him? Lets examine what this stout giant has to offer to anyone with the necessary fortitude to withstand his charm.
Color Identity
Brion is, obviously, a Red/White (aka Boros) general. Anyone who has been around the block a bit when it comes to EDH knows that of all the multicolor combinations out there, Boros is the least powerful. Why? Because it lacks access to strong, generalized tutor effects, efficient mana ramping and wide ranging synergistic combos. So, how is this a strength for Brion? Because, first and most importantly, it forces you to think long and hard about how you build your deck. I find that, more than any other deck I have ever built, I need to really consider how the cards I have chosen for my deck work together. It leads to a very thoughtful deck which you will feel far more invested in. On a more mechanical level for Brion, Boros offers the perfect pieces to support his throwing arm. White gives you interesting creatures and defense while red offers strong damage amplification and removal.
The Package
Brion is an extraordinarily efficient package of pain. For four mana you get a 4/4 lifelink creature with a very potent and fun fling ability. Thanks to this combination we are able to build a deck where he is the center of the universe. Why? Because with his aggressive cost and intriguing combination of abilities we can feasibly cast him a number of times throughout a game and get some ridiculous mileage of throwing large creatures to maximize the gain from his lifelink.
Art
How could you not want to play with a general who throws livestock with such dramatic flair?
Strategy
The core strategy for the deck is simple. Use Brion to fling a Serra Avatar and profit. Of course, in practice, things are seldom so black and white.
The first thing to learn with this deck is that it is designed to be innocuous. In multiplayer games it is very common to go through a few turns with very little on board that threatens anyone. Use this to your advantage. Early on politics can be a great weapon for you to wield. Play up the threat of other players in order to buy yourself time to set up your mid-game. This will typically work but if it doesn't we do have some early game defenses. The first and most important is Ghostly Prison. Forcing people to pay mana to attack you is a tried and true way of stopping attacks in most games since it will deprive the player of resources to build their own position. The second important piece to early game defense is Sunforger. It is able to retrieve any answer you could possibly want to any given situation. In addition to these don't be afraid to throw some of your low CMC creatures under a bus when the situation warrants it, there is plenty of ways to recur them later.
Now, lets assume you have made it through the early game without be totally rolled over, what now? First, assess the board state. Around turn 5 or 6 you will want to look at casting Brion but to do so you need to ensure you can both protect him and feed his throwing arm. If you are in a situation where Brion is your only creature and all your opponents are sitting with removal in hand you are in some trouble, victory depends on keeping Brion. Protecting Brion comes in a couple forms. First is the obvious protection offered by a card like Lightning Greaves. They both are easy to dig for and protect against a large portion of targetted removal, but they fail against edicts and sweepers. This is where protecting Brion gets interesting. The back up plan when faced with situations that don't target Brion you start cheating him back. Sigil of the New Dawn, Adarkar Valkyrie, and Angelic Renewal are wonderful ways to cheat effects that you don't have control over. In certain situations it is ok to allow Brion to be destroyed and sent to the graveyard. Those would be situations where you have something in hand to return him to play.
As a general, Brion has numerous things in his favor. First and foremost is his unrivaled fling ability. When combined with large creatures he is able to deal large amounts of damage and, thanks to lifelink, gain substantial life for you all at the cost of R. The other strength for Brion is he is in a sweet spot for mana cost. At a converted mana cost of four he can return to the command zone a couple times and still be realistically castable. Having said that however, Brion has two glaring downsides. First, he is laughably vulnerable. If you haven't got some protection for him he may as well be written off as cannon fodder. His other weakness is his color identity. Boros suffers from a lack of strong tutors, card draw and mana fixing/ramping.
Now on to winning. Most of the time this deck will win one opponent at a time. Thanks to Serra Avatar, Ajani's Ultimate and creatures like Hamletback Goliath and Taurean Mauler we have wide ranging access to large creatures. Serra Avatar, of course, is our shining star. Your ideal board setup would include Brion, a damage doubling effect (Gisela or Gratuitous Violence), a renewal effect and Serra Avatar in addition to a life total greater than 20. A state like this allows you to fling the Avatar for 40 damage, gain 40+ life and then fling it again the next turn for 120+ damage and life. This is you primary path to victory, fling to win. That said, it is possible to win though two other means, good old fashioned beatdown and mill. The beatdown method is fairly self explanatory so I will ignore it for the moment. The mill strat is simple and only used as a fail-safe. Thanks to the wonders of Altar of Dementia we are able to sacrifice our giant creatures to dig deep into someones deck. This is a last resort only strategy though. Why only in the face of defeat do we employ this card? Because most EDH decks run cards that either shuffle themselves or the graveyard back into the players library or they are built to use their graveyard as a resource and thus you are feeding them. However, combine this with Adarkar Valkyrie, Thornbite Staff and any creature, large or small, and you can potentially empty every opponents library in one swoop. Sun Titan and Angelic Renewal in combination with the Altar also leads to a similar effect. In case milling is not a tactic you are overly fond of Altar of Dementia can be replaced by Goblin Bombardment, as noted in the list.
The last bit of strategy I should touch on is dealing with "rogue" players. Sometimes as a game goes on you end up with a player who hits a sweet spot in their deck and essentially ends up playing solitaire or starts to completely dominate the board. Situations like this are where you crack out the full power of Sneak Attack + Sigil of the New Dawn. End of turn every turn playing Yosei can completely remove a player from the game. It also works to a lesser extent with Sun Titan and Archon of Justice. Of course this combo can be used to abuse any of your good ETB triggers (especially amazing with Solemn Simulacrum). Another card that could be employed at this point is Orim's Chant. I don't have it in the main list for reasons listed under the "Deliberate Exclusions" section towards the end of this post. In addition to that combo you also have access to a few disruptive instants which can be back-breaking to a combo if played at the most inopportune time. Skullcrack can be used to disrupt someone gaining absurd amounts of life while Faith's Reward and Boros Charm a quite effective at nullifying board wipes in their varied forms.
Common Difficulties:
Note on Politics: Success and failure in most games of EDH can come down to politics and how you play the table. This deck, more than most, relies on politics. You need to focus attention away from you or onto you at the right times. When is the right time, well that is difficult to put into a primer, it is something you learn over time. Typically however, early game you want to push the tables focus onto someone who is clearly building a strong board position. Later on you will want to make unspoken pacts with other players to 'thin' your opposition (example: volunteer to allow a player using blue to Bribery you when they are in a jam, they get a large (and unthreatening to you) creature and you get good will.
The Deck
1 Brion Stoutarm
Creatures (26):
1 Adarkar Valkyrie
1 Anger
1 Angel of Serenity
1 Archon of Justice
1 Balefire Liege
1 Bloodshot Cyclops
1 Emeria Angel
1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1 Glory
1 Hamletback Goliath
1 Homura, Human Ascendant
1 Karmic Guide
1 Kor Cartographer
1 Moltensteel Dragon
1 Restoration Angel
1 Reveillark
1 Serra Avatar
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Soul Warden (Grand Abolisher)
1 Stonecloaker
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Stonehewer Giant
1 Sun Titan
1 Taurean Mauler
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Yosei, the Morning Star
1 Ajani Goldmane
Enchantments (6):
1 Angelic Renewal
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Gratuitous Violence
1 Land Tax
1 Sigil of the New Dawn
1 Sneak Attack
Artifacts (12):
1 Altar of Dementia (Goblin Bombardment)
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Expedition Map
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Scroll Rack
1 Sol Ring
1 Skullclamp
1 Strionic Resonator
1 Sunforger
1 Thornbite Staff
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Well of Lost Dreams
Instants (11):
1 Boros Charm
1 Chaos Warp
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Faith's Reward (Orim's Chant)
1 Miraculous Recovery
1 Oblation
1 Path to Exile
1 Return to Dust
1 Skullcrack
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Austere Command
1 Decree of Justice
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Rout
1 Steelshaper's Gift
Land (37):
1 Ancient Amphitheater
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Boros Garrison
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Command Tower
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Kher Keep
1 Kor Haven
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Mistveil Plains
1 Plateau
1 Rugged Prairie
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
8 Mountain
14 Plains
Spells
Planeswalkers:
- Ajani Goldmane – Ajani was made for a deck like this. Every one of his abilities works toward Brion's endgame with his ultimate being of particular interest. Never play him without some way to protect him since like all planeswalkers in this format, he is a delicate snowflake.
Enchantments:
- Angelic Renewal – A pseudo-regenerate that works for sacrificed creatures and triggers ETB effects again. The fact that it is only two mana makes it a prime target for Sun Titan
- Ghostly Prison – A tax effect that serves to buy us time. You want this as early as possible to afford you the necessary time to build you mid-late game strategy.
- Gratuitous Violence – Double damage from all your creatures, makes those dream flings absurd and you blockers scary. Combined with Sunhome and its ability to grant double strike this enchantment becomes a force to be reckoned with. This is the one card in the deck where you will really feel the lack of red mana. It often happens that you have it turn 5 but are sitting on only one or two red sources.
- Land Tax - Another ramp effect that is easy to manipulate. Also serves well as a way to thin your deck late game or as a free shuffle effect.
I make Yosei into a being of pure evil.
- Sigil of the New Dawn - This is one of your most important defensive and offensive spells. It recurs indiscriminately for 1W and helps you to hang in on games that are going to the brink.
- Sneak Attack - This card is amazing and really makes a night and day difference in this deck. With cards like Stonecloaker, Angelic Renewal, Sigil of the New Dawn and Adarkar Valkyrie this card is really nuts. In the end this card serves as the ultimate feeder for Brion's flings.
Artifacts:
- Altar of Dementia - This is a sort of backup plan when you want to make an impact on the game. It isn't going to be a game ender but when you force someone to drop more than half of the library into their graveyard with a single creature sac it will certainly feel like a moral victory.
- Chromatic Lantern - Mana Fixing on steroids. This card guarantees that you will never be left short on colored mana. Not as amazing in a two color deck as in others but fixing is fixing and this is the best of the 3 mana rocks.
- Expedition Map - Originally I included this as some flexible ramp, but over time it has evolved. This is my 'land answer' card, able to grab Kor Haven when I need the damage prevention or Kher Keep when I need blockers/fodder. Depending on your situation, there is no shame in using an Enlightened Tutor to find this.
- Sol Ring – Ramp.
- Lightning Greaves – Play this early, you need the protection it offers to defend Brion, without it you are fighting an uphill battle.
- Scroll Rack – Your salvation! Scroll Rack has proven to be absolutely bonkers for this deck. It lets you power through to the answers you need and gives you copious amounts of staying power late game. Its only disadvantage is the fact that if you dump your hand it really diminishes its effect.
- Skullclamp – This card is crazy with Kher Keep and fling effects. Very effective at keeping you fed or helping you dig for your win conditions.
- Strionic Resonator - This card can become so many different things through the course of a game you will be amazed. Use it to copy Land Tax triggers for crazy value, copy a enter the battlefield or leaves the battlefield trigger such as Yosei's and laugh hysterically. It even doubles effects like Skullclamps card draw.
- Sunforger – This is the backbone of your defenses. Able to retrieve any answer you need for any given situation makes this one of the first equipments you should be digging for in the deck.
- Thornbite Staff – In most situations this card is just good tech. But combine it with Adarkar Valkyrie, a sacrifice outlet (Altar or Bombardment) and a creature and you have yourself an infinite combo.
- Umezawa's Jitte – This is a prime choice for equipment tutors whenever you are facing an aggressive deck. It builds counters even while on defense and can fuel some ridiculous plays.
- Well of Lost Dreams – In a deck with this much life gain this card is a champ. It will never be a first choice pick when you are tutoring but mid-late game it offers an absurd amount of digging power.
Instants:
- Boros Charm - Though not as effective on all modes in EDH as it is in regular constructed formats, it is still a pretty large blowout. The ability to make ALL of your permanents indestructible for RW is amazing. The ability to give a creature double strike is relevant under certain circumstances while the four damage will rarely be relevant to finish off an opponent.
- Chaos Warp and Oblation – Use these often and repeatedly. Chaos Warp is best against creature-light decks while Oblation is best for everything else. Take note here however, when/if you stall out, don't be afraid to use these on your own permanents (equipment in particular) as a means to gain some cards and shuffle your library.
- Enlightened Tutor – One of the most powerful tools at our disposal. It finds Sneak Attack, Sigil, any equipment, Solemn, etc... This deck would be nearly unplayable without this card. The three most common targets for this are Sneak Attack, Land Tax and Solemn Simulacrum.
- Faith's Reward - This card is almost never a dead draw. At worst you spend four and return a key card to the battlefield which on its own is quite nice. However, if you are able to play this following a board wipe of any kind it leaves you in a position for a major blowout. On top of the great utility of the card on its own, it is also tutorable with Sunforger making it all that more fantastic (though make note that it cannot be used through Sunforger to save your creatures from a wipe).
- Miraculous Recovery – Instant speed recursion that allows for some out-of-nowhere plays. Most often you will use it recur a chump blocker but sometimes you will get those nut plays where you recover a Karmic Guide, which recurs a Sun Titan, which brings back a Stonecloaker which bounces Karmic Guide.... Lines like that for 4W are amazing.
- Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares – These are clutch in their ability to get rid of Indestructible creatures and highly threatening monstrosities. Also great political tools. Use Path to exile an opponents token so they get a much needed land of Swords someones fatty to save them from death.
- Return to Dust – I thought recently about replacing this with good old Disenchant until I played a game where I was facing down Darksteel Forge. There is always something worth exiling with this, but try your best to use it on your main phase to get the full effect.
- Skullcrack - Two mana for three damage in EDH is laughable to the point that some may consider a card like this wasted in the deck. In all honesty the damage on this card is irrelevant. Its true purpose it to interrupt or prevent massive lifegain and allow you or other players to punch through damage prevention shields.
- Wild Ricochet - This is your wildcard. It can become whatever you need whenever you need it. Typically using it to copy tutor effects is the most reasonable use for it but it also serves as a spectacular political weapon.
Sorceries:
- Austere Command – Easily one of the most effective sweepers at whites disposal. Use this as a means to make a surgical strike at powerful opponents.
- Decree of Justice – There really should never be a time when you hard cast this. It is strictly here as a weenie token generator which cantrips.
- Hallowed Burial – This is a sweeper that gets around regeneration, indestructibility and generals returning to the command zone. It can be useful to follow a large play of Sneak Attack creatures with this as a means to save them.
- Red Sun's Zenith – This is how you deal with undying/persist shenanigans. It's ability to exile creatures is very relevant in this format. The truest beauty of this however is its ability to work as a free shuffle for your library. From time to time you will be able to combo this with Gisela to finish someone off but those situations don't arise very often.
- Rout - A wrath effect with an option for instant speed. Use at your own discretion to reshape the board.
- Steelshaper's Gift – Most of the time you will use this to find Sunforger. The utility Sunforger affords you is just so insane that it is hard to ignore it when you are in the process of building up your board. That said, there are plenty of situations where you just need some defence in which case you would hunt for Greaves, Jitte or you Staff. Be mindful of what your situation dictates you need most.
Land
Most of the land needs no explanation so I will only pick out the ones I feel warrant a word or two.
Variations
You may be reading through this thinking that you like Brion as a general but don't care for the ideology the deck uses. Perhaps you are looking for something more competitive or consistent. Perhaps you are wanting to build a Brion Stoutarm deck that doesn't rely on him so strongly. If this is the case then I will discuss some possible variations or alterations that will reshape this deck as well as touch on some other strategies and what they would be like with Brion.
I think it is appropriate to mention how I define what makes the difference between casual and competitive when making this deck. To my mind, casual is defined by three things: thrilling decks, significant and laidback player interaction and an overall focus on the game for the sake of the memories. When playing competitively you ignore cards that lead to memorable moments in favor of ones that offer consistency. I use consistency as almost a dirty word throughout this post and I don't mean it to be. To me consistency leads to a predictable deck which eventually becomes boring. As I edit and expand this deck I work hard to hew to the three points of a good casual game and ensure I don't cross the line and make it obscene.
Now, to discuss other, non-general/non-fling centric decks for Brion. The first and most obvious is to make an aggressive Boros deck that uses Brion for his colors and uses his ability simply as a last resort finisher to dome an opponent. This is a relatively simple variation of Brion that works with simplicity and little variation. if you are the kind of player who prefers to win through assaults this is the path to follow. Boros aggro has access to some of the most amazing combat tricks in magic and can lead to some epic wins. If this is how you want to play however, Brion is not that best Boros general for the job, both Aurelia and Jor Kadeen are generally better options. If aggro isn't your style, there is one other truly viable option for Brion, control. This deck touches a little on one of the more aggravating controlling combos available to Boros (Sneak Attack, Sigil and Yosei) but there are plenty of other interactions in these colors that can create absurd board states or lock players out of the game (Stonehorn Dignitary is particularly abusable). In a deck like this Brion could be used to fling or as a finisher (with extensive equipment of course). Aggro and control aren't the only available strategies for Brion beyond fling but they are the most likely to be effective. Technically you could do a Voltron style deck with Brion but without built in protections he is naked when you cast him and lack evasion of any kind to get damage through.
As one final comment on variations of the strategy used in this deck there is a much more definitive version of it available. If you love the idea of tossing large creatures at a players face but are not particularly fond of R/W then I will point you toward the best option competitively speaking. If you use any placeholder Naya (G/R/W) general you can accomplish some incredible things with flinging creatures. Green fills all the holes that Boros suffers. It gives you strong and reliable tutors, moderate and effective graveyard recycling and strong ramp.
Building a Better Brion
I won't pretend that this deck is anywhere near where it could be. There is plenty of room for tweaks and fixes. Below you will find a list of cards I have my eye on to test in the future as well as cards that are not performing to expectation after further play testing. When reviewing the deck above and the cards below keep in mind that this deck is designed around two main principles, victory through flings and compelling player interaction all while following Wheaton's Law. The cards under the Deliberate Exclusions heading are ones that I left out because they were either a) non-casual, b) non-synergistic or c) personally despised. They are listed here so that it is obvious that I at least know they exist and to give a reasoning why they shouldn't be included.
Warstorm Surge - I have finally moved this card onto my short list of cards to be tested. On paper and in goldfish testing it performs well enough but time will tell if it works well in reality.
Goblin Bombardment – This card is 100% interchangeable with Altar of Dementia. I am currently not using it because I still have irrational love for the typically terrible Altar, that and I can't for the life of me find a copy of the card.
Staff of Nin - Extra card draw and a ping ability make this card quite intriguing. A very good card for Boros.
Malignus - I have found it hard to get excited about this card. Personally, I am attracted to flashy and overstated cards and effects (sometimes to a fault) and this card just never struck me. That said, mechanically this creature is incredibly solid. He offers a large amount of synergy with the deck.
Vandal Blast - A one sided Shatterstorm has the potential to be incredible. Not quite a snap inclusion however as the deck currently has a reasonable amount of artifact destruction.
Illusionist's Bracers - I will be playing with this soon. The ability to copy one of Brion's flings and eliminate two opponents at once is just fantastic. My current issue with including it however is figuring what I want to cut for it.
Fatal Frenzy - A suggestion from Tittliewinks22, I am quite intrigued by the implications of this card. It has significant potential to just blow a game wide open and is tutorable with Sunforger.
Underperformers
Ajani Goldmane – I have so rarely managed to get the ultimate of Ajani off that I am starting to think that his spot would be better filled by any number of cards. He is staying for now mostly because his -2 loyalty ability can be very useful at times.
Decree of Justice - I have never hard cast this card. It is nice that it can create a small army and cantrip all while being very difficult to counter but typically the army it creates is just instantly wiped out leaving me with an expensive card.
Moltensteel Dragon - I am constantly back and forth on this card. It took me forever to come around and put it into my deck and now that I finally have I am slightly unimpressed by it.
Deliberate Exclusions
Sensei's Divining Top - An amazing card that adds a huge amount of consistency to any deck, a perennial EDH staple. Why is it not included here? Because I am sick of it. This stupid card appears everywhere and always plays out the same, I would much rather use a card like Scroll Rack.
Aggravated Assault - I am well aware of the combo between this and SoFaF. It is excluded however because the deck just is not designed to be pushing on offense.
Godo, Bandit Warlord - Ruled out mostly because I was satisfied with the number and quality of the equipment tutors I already have. Also excluded due to the high mana cost and the lack of necessity for the extra combat phases.
Orim's Chant - This card was excluded just based on its power level. I am not opposed to adding it in at some point if I start facing decks that combo off early in the game (before turn 4). I included it as a possible card choice in my decklist above as well.
Academy Rector - I know I am running just enough enchantments to make this card very good, especially with how critical Sneak Attack is for the deck. I have excluded it however just because I am currently satisfied with how often I am able to find Sneak Attack.
Imperial Recruiter - This is an amazing card for this deck but suffers on the grounds that it makes the deck more consistent and it's absurdly expensive. I should add that the consistency isn't bad at all, it just helps to create a deck that is predictable and eventually boring.
Grafted Exoskeleton - With the ease of equipment tutoring in Boros and the absurd effectiveness of poison in EDH this card is extremely powerful. It is not included though due to just how effective it can be. This is one of those cards that just make an EDH game end before it gets interesting and poison counters are a cheap way to win overall.
Felidar Sovereign - It was originally in my first draft of the deck when I brewed it up in late December but was cut fairly early on due to being too abrupt an end to games. I have a personal dislike for triggered win conditions such as this and did not feel right using them against other people.
Tithe - A highly effective and critical white ramp card capable of finding dual lands and Mistveil Plains. It is not included not because it is too powerful or douche but simply because it wasn't necessary. It's inclusion will improve the deck but not significantly enough to warrant me including it in a casual version of the list. If I was playing competitively then it would be added in an instant.
Gamble - The only non-restricted tutor available to Boros and a passably good one at that. I tried it in the past and with the random discard it does offer some excitement to playing the deck but the fact still remains that you are likely always going to search for the same few targets. On top of that I had terrible luck with the card and managed to discard the card I tutored for far more often than not.
Hellkite Tyrant - There are simply too many artifact based decks in my local meta for me to be able to use this in good conscience. That said, if you are less conscionable or playing in a meta with average incidental artifact usage then go nuts.
Removed: Phyrexian Processor, Proper Burial
Added: Kor Cartographer, Strionic Resonator
Why? Phyrexian Processor is a powerful card that can lead to some agonizing situations. Its effect is still quite relevant but, for the time being I believe this is the most sensible cut. Proper Burial is a card that, after much deliberation, I realized does nothing relevant. I never tutored for it and in the game I did play it the effect had no bearing on the outcome of the game.
Removed: Serra Ascendant, Stranglehold, Dawn Charm, Debt of Loyalty
Added: Restoration Angel, Angel of Serenity, Boros Charm, Skullcrack
Why? Serra Ascendant just didn't fit with the deck overall. In commander it is just such a painful and obscene card. Attacking for 6 on turn two is a quick way to make enemies. Stranglehold served its purpose too well. I felt guilty for essentially locking my opponents out of their decks and preventing them from enjoying the game as much as they could. Dawn Charm was great at the role it filled but I ultimately weighed the number of times I actually used it effectively against the power of the hate attached to Skullcrack and it did not come out ahead. Debt of Loyalty was loyal to me (heh). I love the effect and the WTF? moments it initially generated but ultimately something needed to be cut to make room for some much more relevant and necessary spells, namely Boros Charm.
Removed: Viashino Heretic, Cradle of Vitality, Emeria, the Sky Ruin
Added: Moltensteel Dragon, Chromatic Lantern, Plains
Why? Viashino Heretic was removed because it was severely disappointing. I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually had this in play and used his ability. Cradle of Vitality was great on paper but not so hot in practice. I did manage to pull off some great plays with it but they were highly infrequent and an exception instead of a norm. The truth is that most of the creatures I used it on were killed by removal/bounced before anything came of the effect. Emeria, the Sky Ruin just did not work in this deck. I managed to set it off about one out of every ten games. Its slot will definitely be better served by a regular Plains since it doesn't enter play tapped.
Removed: Condemn, Glory of Warfare
Added: Faith's Reward, Stranglehold
Why?: Condemn was most often a dead card in my hand. I always wanted to save it to tuck those particularly annoying generals but since most non-voltron decks I face never attack with them I was holding it for nothing. Glory of Warfare is a fantastic enchantment for aggro based boros decks but ultimately has proven quite impotent in this list.
Removed: Sword of Light and Shadow, Planar Portal, Soul's Attendant, Requiem Angel
Added: Thornbite Staff, Scroll Rack, Phyrexian Processor, Emeria Angel
Why?: Sword of Light and Shadow has proven to be far less useful than I might have hoped. It is a great card but with the lack of offensive strength in the deck it simply did not fulfill its role as adequetly as one may hope. Planar Portal was intended as a stop gap measure for smoothing out the lack of tutoring in the deck but after much play testing and an increasing dislike for the card I have removed it. Soul's Attendant was a hold over from when I was using Ranger of Eos, it has proven to be rather redundant over time, especially since its "may" clause always bites me. Requiem Angel turned out to be rather disappointing over time. It did net me tokens and fulfilled its purpose well enough but its mana cost is ultimately its undoing.
Removed: Temple of the False God, Storm Herd
Added: Miren, the Moaning Well, Sigil of the New Dawn
Why?: Temple of the False God is a good land but it felt useless in this deck. The extra colorless mana it produced rarely made the difference on whether I could cast a particular spell and the conditional clause for its activation was a terrible hindrance in this deck (many games you actually needed to wait till turn five for it to work). Storm Herd was a fun card but it weighed on the deck like an anchor. Having it in your opening hand was a total waste and even when you finally were able to cast it someone would be waiting in the wings with something that wipes you hundreds of weenies out.
Removed: Dwarven Miner, Ranger of Eos, Windborn Muse, Loxodon Warhammer
Added: Taurean Mauler, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Solemn Simulacrum, Altar of Dementia
Why?: Dwarven Miner was largely unnecessary I found. His ability is, without question, relevant and powerful, but there aren't enough lands in my particular group that are so degenerate that a card like Ghost Quarter couldn't deal with them. Ranger of Eos was removed because of its lack of synergy. Sure it was able to fetch some of my small creatures but other that Serra Ascendant there aren't really any 1CMC creatures I particularly need. Windborn Muse was removed since it felt like too much of a good thing. With Ghostly Prison in the deck, a second tax effect felt too much like overkill. Add to that the fact that at 4CMC it swapped perfectly with Solemn Simulacrum.
Removed: Grand Abolisher, Quicksilver Amulet
Added: Stonecloaker, Sneak Attack
Why?: Grand Abolisher was removed simply because he wasn't overly necessary in my meta. Don't let its removal fool you however, the card is still quite fantastic in this deck when you are facing someone with heavy permission or combat tricks. There is a note in the deck list of which card this could be replaced with. Quicksilver Amulet was removed in favor of the far, far superior Sneak Attack. When I originally was building the deck I was under a mistaken impression that Sneak Attack was on the local ban list. When I discovered it was not the issue was rectified with great expediency.
Removed: Arid Mesa, Strip Mine, Madblind Mountain, Auriok Champion, Duplicant, Mimic Vat, Wrath of God, Retaliate, Mountain
Added: Ancient Amphitheater, Ghost Quarter, Soul's Attendant, Hamletback Goliath, Adarkar Valkyrie, Skullclamp, Rout, Wild Ricochet, Plains
Why?: Arid Mesa was removed because it felt like the benefit for it was so minimal as to be inconsequential, there is a reasonable amount of mana fixing already. Strip Mine is an amazing land destruction card due to it not having any real drawback. However, once I realized the political realities of the deck I decided to replace it with the more reasonable Ghost Quarter. Madblind Mountain had (has) an effect that can be helpful, but ultimately it was cut due to being yet another land that enters play tapped. Auriok Champion proved to be too expensive for what I wanted. Even though it is only one more mana than Soul's Attendant I just couldn't justify paying twice the mana for the effect when in the end these creatures rarely last long. Duplicant proved to be too expensive to be effectively used as removal. The only creatures I ever came across which I felt were worth Duplicant's cost were the Eldrazi and the two colossi. Mimic Vat proved to be too mana intensive to achieve the ends I wanted. It also ended up serving a purpose opposing the rest of the deck since imprinting your creature excluded them from resurrection. Wrath of God is awesome but in the end I prefer the extra utility offered by Rout. Retaliate is just way too conditional to be useful. In addition to requiring you to take damage it doesn't have the "can't be regenerated" clause that can make or break a game.
Acknowledgments: Gaka and bobthefunny for inspiration to write this primer and ideas on how to lay it out like a champ.
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
I would consider Adarkar Valkyrie, it lets you get the creature you throw right back.
@ Tassadar - I actually totally missed that card when I was making the deck originally, I am going to try it out because the possible shenanigans when you cast an avatar with it in play are just too juicy. I also like that it is a giant which makes me more inclined to add Ancient Amphitheater.
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
Sneak Attack is actually banned in my playgroup which is why it is excluded.
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
Ugh, for double shame. How about Fling then? Or Grab the Reins? Sometimes you need a backup for your commander.
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
P.S - .....and if you have Furnace of Rath and/or Warstorm Suge in play.............
Iwamori says "Just Bring It!"
Edric's Spiesssssssss (Snake Tribal) GU
Sliver Overlord (Slivers Galore!!) WUBRG
Ruhan of the Fomori RWU
Seton, Krosan ProtectorG
Intet, The Dreamer (Hive Mind + Scrambleverse anyone?) URG
Karona, False God the Goddess of Tribal - Samurai, P3K Horsemen, 5c MyrsWUBRG
Garza's Family UBR
Sygg, River Guide and his merry merrowmen UB
Sharuum, the Hedgemon Sphinx Tribal
Bogardan Hellkite is a worthy choice for the deck, especially if you have Sneak Attack out (which I discovered was not banned in my playgroup and is now in the list) but on its own I don't ever see myself casting it, I think I would rather add Inferno Titan if I was looking for some burn on a stick since with firebreathing he is actually a juicier fling target. When it comes to Furnace of Rath, I hate it. Globally doubling damage is just far too risky for this deck since it takes a while to build up to critical mass, Gisela will fill this role once she is released and included. As for Warstorm Surge, I actually tested it in the deck very, very early on and didn't find it to be reliable. When it is down it can provide consistent damage (sometimes instantly lethal) but I just found that it came too late to be a real threat or it led to hollow victories.
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
Anyway, how's your draw power usually? Since you're alerady running Land Tax, Scroll Rack seems like a good inclusion, as their synergy together is awesome.
Speaking of cheesy, have you tried out Grafted Exoskeleton? Gives Brion the ability to one-shot/two-shot someone in a lot of situations, but it's also really dickish, so I can imagine that you'd want to stay far away from that particular choice.
Commander/EDH Decks:
BRG The Blood of Jund - Kresh the Bloodbraided BRG
WR The Blades of Goldnight - Gisela, Blade of Goldnight WR
My draw power is actually better than I had expected but Scroll Rack may still be something I should look into. The real draw engine for me is Kher Keep + Skullclamp, a little expensive but very productive when I stall out.
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
Expedition Map < Traveler amulet
and you dont need to tap lol
i like the deck... try to add more evoke creature like spitebellow or ingot chewer for Brion sac ability...
i didn't play the deck myself but dont you have the feeling that you lose your time to play your general all the time (because people kill him). Decks based on general often leave me that impression... but sometime when your playing an underrated general people leave you alone.
Standard: GWRU 4C Collected Company
Modern: GUWRB Bloom Titan
Legacy: BUG SHARDLESS BUG
EDH :
GR BORBORYGMOS ENRAGED
GU PRIME SPEAKER ZEGENA
UWR ZEDRUU THE GREATHEARTED
UBR MISHRA ARTIFICER PRODIGY
B SHEOLDRED WHISPERING ONE
R ASHLING THE PILGRIM
Azusa - Derevi - Glissa - Mizzix - Sharuum - Wanderer - Wort
Expedition Map isn't as efficient as the Amulet but it has a huge advantage in that it can find any land in the deck, and not just basics. Typically it is used to find either Kor Haven or Sunhome. With very few exceptions I really dislike evoke creatures, which is why they aren't in here.
As to the reliance on my general, it can be a little painful at times but for the most part people ignore him. Tuck effects are the only thing that really ruin me, but the cyclops is in the deck as a backup.
In regards to phyrexian dreadnaught, it has certainly been a tempting creature, but I always stop at the thought that Sacing creatures for it will make any gain from it moot.
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
One major issue with the deck as is that I have run into is that it is currently short on creatures. With the lack of strong creature tutoring abilities or some form of filtering I often have games where it feels like all I can find are my support cards and have nothing with which to build board presence. As time goes by I want to find good candidates to cut in favor of about 5-8 more creatures (ending with roughly a third of the deck being creatures).
As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
Modern: Jund, Wafo-Tapa UWR
Legacy: Witch-Maw Stoneblade
EDH: Ruhan of the Fomori, Hazezon Tamar, Maga, Traitor to Mortals
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
Modern: Jund, Wafo-Tapa UWR
Legacy: Witch-Maw Stoneblade
EDH: Ruhan of the Fomori, Hazezon Tamar, Maga, Traitor to Mortals
In regards to the last card you mentioned, Academy Rector, it is a powerful card in this deck and offers a fairly significant improvement overall. Its exclusion, as noted in the last section of the OP, was entirely deliberate. I am re-evaluating its inclusion fairly regularly but for the moment I am reasonably pleased with the decks ability to play enchantments.
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash
Removed: Sword of Light and Shadow, Planar Portal, Soul's Attendant, Requiem Angel
Added: Thornbite Staff, Scroll Rack, Phyrexian Processor, Emeria Angel
In addition, I updated the primer to reflect some feedback I received regarding its formatting and information as well as attempted to update it to include changes in the way the deck plays. Also added the, now official, [Primer] tag. As always, feedback is always welcome and encouraged.
GW Aggro
EDH:
BUG Damia Landfall
RW [Primer] Brion Stoutarm
R Bosh's Bash