So, I wanted to make a post about the Tymna and Bruse list that I've been playing in 1v1 League on MTGO, and this seems like as good a place to put it as any.
History
Just a brief word about where the deck started out will probably give you an idea of how the deck got to this point. It came into being because I looked around the MTGO 1v1 meta and figured that a hate bear list was well positioned. With that said, I didn't fall in love with any of the lists that I saw, and in particular, didn't care for any of the commander options that I was seeing. The closest was probably Abzan Anafenza, but her abilities aren't super relevant. Then a looked at the partner commanders, and Tymna had been one that I'd had my eye on for a while. "Free" card advantage on a commander is a very rare thing, so I started there. Then I was looking for another Partner that would help to activate Tymna's ability, and Bruse leaped right out at me.
Initially, I had in mind a deck that would play hate bears early, then close the game out with one of a series of combos, somewhat like a Thrasios/Bruse, or a Karador deck might. I had a real combo platter of combos in there. Kiki-Resto-Conscripts, Sac-Red Cap-Anafenza/Vizier, Sac-Blood Artist/Zulaport-Karmic-Reveillark. This didn't turn out particularly well. Even with all the tutors I was running, this turned out to be unreliable without the ability to support the combo with counters. Also, I realized that with the clunky top end, I really wasn't taking advantage of Tymna. Tymna really wants you to play a one or two drop on turns 1-2, come down pre-combat and draw you a card on turn 3 (2 with Mox). So, the second build of the deck was much more aggressive than the current one, playing ~6-8 one drops, and ~10 two drops. This didn't work for all of the reasons that hyper-aggressive decks tend not to work in this format. The creatures I was playing didn't have enough impact on the game outside of combat, and you run out of gas before you can get the opponent dead. That lead to the version that I'm playing now, which eschews most 1 drops, plays only two drops that have a significant impact on the game outside of combat, and plays fewer creatures overall in favor of playing more interactive cards. This third phase of the deck is also where I hit on the idea of playing the two Vehicle, which turn out to be really really good in the deck.
Play and matchups
The game plan of the deck is fairly straight-forward in theory. Turn one you want, ideally, to have some form of disruption. Turn two, you really want to play a two-drop creature. Turn three, you want to Play Tymna. Turn four, you want to play Bruse. In practice, it's a lot more complicated, and what you actually want to do will vary a lot depending on what you're up against. In particular, how you prioritize your non-commander creatures depends a lot on what you're up against. Finally, when you have a decent advantage, you want to just end the game with Armageddon or Ravages.
[[Baral]]
Baral is the deck this deck was primarily built against, and it might be the deck's best matchup. You have a ton of cards designed to mess up every aspect of their game plan, and the most important thing is to setup your opponent up to play into your answers. Resolving Hide/Seek is virtually game-ending against these decks, since their backup plans without Emrakul are pretty bad. Remove Baral as often as possible, and don't feel like you need to rush too much. As long as you play a safe game, preserving your key cards, you'll win eventually. One thing to be really look out for is whether your opponent is playing a Baral variation, rather than the typical Baral deck (420Dragons, you monster, I'm looking at you). If your opponent is on the High Tide plan, you'll need to kick it into high gear, because you have few tools for beating that deck other than getting them dead.
[[Ramp]]
There are many flavors of this, but your plan is going to be broadly similar in all cases. This is where you're going to be most aggressive. They have no board wipes, little removal, and if you let the game go on too long, you'll just lose. There are differences among the various ramp decks that will make your approach slightly different, but basically your approach will be the same regardless of whether it's Selvala, Nissa, or Wanderer.
[[Delver decks]]
This is how I refer, collectively, to Vial Smasher/Kraum, Tasigur, Leovold and similar primarily blue decks. I call them Delver decks because they basically play out in the same tempo/control way that your classic Delver decks do. Some of them even actually play Delver. Because they're all about interaction, they're all very skill-testing to play, and play against. The main trick is to not put yourself into positions where you're getting blown out. Try to take the initiative, but don't play into situations where you can get 2 for 1'd, or blown out by a big tempo play. Don't play into Daze/Spike/Pierce/Snare if you can reasonably avoid it. If you get a chance to use hand disruption, take card draw spells before anything else. It might seem counter-intuitive, but I think you're actually favored in a long game against a lot of these types of decks, because Tymna gives you some excellent card advantage, and Bruse keeps you from getting burned out by Vial Smasher.
[[Board Control]]
Probably the two main commanders that fall in this category right now are Breya and Oloro. I think the deck's matchup here is actually really favorable. Breya is substantially more challenging than Oloro, because she can clog the board up effectively (she's one of the few decks in the entire meta that puts any number of fliers on the board). In general though, this matchup is where Tymna most resembles a straight-up Phyrexian Arena, and there is a very real chance that you will out draw these control decks up to the point where they hit enough mana to resolve a big Revelation, Blue Sun or similar. They main thing is to just not overplay your hand. These decks will all run 3-5 board wipes, so hold as much in reserve as you can afford to.
Don't get suckered in by Oloro's life gain too much.
[[Specific Card Discussion]]
I think most of the stuff in the deck is fairly self-explanatory. If anyone is curious about why a given card is/isn't in the deck, I'd be happy to reply. Likewise, if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be more than happy to hear them. I've played a lot of EDH in my life, but I'm sure I haven't thought of every card that could be slotted into the deck.
Nice dekc, I wonder about the MW matchup because all the versions I saw play some boardclear. Also, Im not sure how many games did you play vs oloro to call the matchup favorable? Because from my experience (when he was DC legal) he pretty much crushed all creture based decks. Especialy when most of your guys are just 2/x
I've played a pretty good number against Oloro. I the reason the matchup feels favorable is mostly specific to the current mtgo meta. With control and combo decks dominating the meta for the most part, the Oloro decks aren't built around beating this kind of creature deck. That could absolutely change if the meta shifted more towards aggressive or midrange creature decks.
Not a budget option, actually. One of the big things with Tymna is that your 2-drops need to be able to get in for damage. In that regard, a 2/2 that can turn into a 3/3 is somewhat more valuable than a 1/2, even though Stoneforge is obviously better as a tutor. At least, that was my reasoning when I started trying it out. For sure, I don't know that this is correct, but Stoneforge had been in the deck, and it was often a liability, so I made this switch, and I feel reasonably happy with it.
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1 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
1 Angel of Sanctions
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
1 Bearer of Silence
1 Bloodghast
1 Bloodsoaked Champion
1 Containment Priest
1 Dark Confidant
1 Drana, Liberator of Malakir
1 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Harsh Mentor
1 Hypnotic Specter
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
1 Leonin Arbiter
1 Merciless Executioner
1 Mother of Runes
1 Palace Jailer
1 Relic Seeker
1 Scab-Clan Berserker
1 Scrapheap Scrounger
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Sin Collector
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Veteran Motorist
1 Vial Smasher the Fierce
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Liliana of the Veil
Sorceries 8 Total
1 Armageddon
1 Council's Judgment
1 Demonic Turor
1 Duress
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Lingering Souls
1 Ravages of War
1 Thoughtseize
Instants 11 Total
1 Hide/Seek
1 Crackling Doom
1 Fatal Push
1 Go for the Throat
1 Kolaghan's Command
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Lightning Helix
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Terminate
1 Vampiric Tutor
Artifacts 6 Total
1 Aethersphere Harvester
1 Chrone Mox
1 Mox Diamond
1 Smuggler's Copter
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte
Lands 38 Total
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Arid Mesa
1 Badlands
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Cavern of Souls
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
1 Concealed Courtyard
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Fetid Heath
1 Flooded Strand
1 Godless Shrine
1 Graven Cairns
1 Inspiring Vantage
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Mana Confluence
1 Marsh Flats
1 Plateau
1 Polluted Delta
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Scrubland
1 Shambling Vent
1 Slayer's Stronghold
1 Temple of Triumph
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothils
2 Mountain
2 Plain
2 Swamp
History
Just a brief word about where the deck started out will probably give you an idea of how the deck got to this point. It came into being because I looked around the MTGO 1v1 meta and figured that a hate bear list was well positioned. With that said, I didn't fall in love with any of the lists that I saw, and in particular, didn't care for any of the commander options that I was seeing. The closest was probably Abzan Anafenza, but her abilities aren't super relevant. Then a looked at the partner commanders, and Tymna had been one that I'd had my eye on for a while. "Free" card advantage on a commander is a very rare thing, so I started there. Then I was looking for another Partner that would help to activate Tymna's ability, and Bruse leaped right out at me.
Initially, I had in mind a deck that would play hate bears early, then close the game out with one of a series of combos, somewhat like a Thrasios/Bruse, or a Karador deck might. I had a real combo platter of combos in there. Kiki-Resto-Conscripts, Sac-Red Cap-Anafenza/Vizier, Sac-Blood Artist/Zulaport-Karmic-Reveillark. This didn't turn out particularly well. Even with all the tutors I was running, this turned out to be unreliable without the ability to support the combo with counters. Also, I realized that with the clunky top end, I really wasn't taking advantage of Tymna. Tymna really wants you to play a one or two drop on turns 1-2, come down pre-combat and draw you a card on turn 3 (2 with Mox). So, the second build of the deck was much more aggressive than the current one, playing ~6-8 one drops, and ~10 two drops. This didn't work for all of the reasons that hyper-aggressive decks tend not to work in this format. The creatures I was playing didn't have enough impact on the game outside of combat, and you run out of gas before you can get the opponent dead. That lead to the version that I'm playing now, which eschews most 1 drops, plays only two drops that have a significant impact on the game outside of combat, and plays fewer creatures overall in favor of playing more interactive cards. This third phase of the deck is also where I hit on the idea of playing the two Vehicle, which turn out to be really really good in the deck.
Play and matchups
The game plan of the deck is fairly straight-forward in theory. Turn one you want, ideally, to have some form of disruption. Turn two, you really want to play a two-drop creature. Turn three, you want to Play Tymna. Turn four, you want to play Bruse. In practice, it's a lot more complicated, and what you actually want to do will vary a lot depending on what you're up against. In particular, how you prioritize your non-commander creatures depends a lot on what you're up against. Finally, when you have a decent advantage, you want to just end the game with Armageddon or Ravages.
[[Baral]]
Baral is the deck this deck was primarily built against, and it might be the deck's best matchup. You have a ton of cards designed to mess up every aspect of their game plan, and the most important thing is to setup your opponent up to play into your answers. Resolving Hide/Seek is virtually game-ending against these decks, since their backup plans without Emrakul are pretty bad. Remove Baral as often as possible, and don't feel like you need to rush too much. As long as you play a safe game, preserving your key cards, you'll win eventually. One thing to be really look out for is whether your opponent is playing a Baral variation, rather than the typical Baral deck (420Dragons, you monster, I'm looking at you). If your opponent is on the High Tide plan, you'll need to kick it into high gear, because you have few tools for beating that deck other than getting them dead.
[[Ramp]]
There are many flavors of this, but your plan is going to be broadly similar in all cases. This is where you're going to be most aggressive. They have no board wipes, little removal, and if you let the game go on too long, you'll just lose. There are differences among the various ramp decks that will make your approach slightly different, but basically your approach will be the same regardless of whether it's Selvala, Nissa, or Wanderer.
[[Delver decks]]
This is how I refer, collectively, to Vial Smasher/Kraum, Tasigur, Leovold and similar primarily blue decks. I call them Delver decks because they basically play out in the same tempo/control way that your classic Delver decks do. Some of them even actually play Delver. Because they're all about interaction, they're all very skill-testing to play, and play against. The main trick is to not put yourself into positions where you're getting blown out. Try to take the initiative, but don't play into situations where you can get 2 for 1'd, or blown out by a big tempo play. Don't play into Daze/Spike/Pierce/Snare if you can reasonably avoid it. If you get a chance to use hand disruption, take card draw spells before anything else. It might seem counter-intuitive, but I think you're actually favored in a long game against a lot of these types of decks, because Tymna gives you some excellent card advantage, and Bruse keeps you from getting burned out by Vial Smasher.
[[Board Control]]
Probably the two main commanders that fall in this category right now are Breya and Oloro. I think the deck's matchup here is actually really favorable. Breya is substantially more challenging than Oloro, because she can clog the board up effectively (she's one of the few decks in the entire meta that puts any number of fliers on the board). In general though, this matchup is where Tymna most resembles a straight-up Phyrexian Arena, and there is a very real chance that you will out draw these control decks up to the point where they hit enough mana to resolve a big Revelation, Blue Sun or similar. They main thing is to just not overplay your hand. These decks will all run 3-5 board wipes, so hold as much in reserve as you can afford to.
Don't get suckered in by Oloro's life gain too much.
[[Specific Card Discussion]]
I think most of the stuff in the deck is fairly self-explanatory. If anyone is curious about why a given card is/isn't in the deck, I'd be happy to reply. Likewise, if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be more than happy to hear them. I've played a lot of EDH in my life, but I'm sure I haven't thought of every card that could be slotted into the deck.
I've played a pretty good number against Oloro. I the reason the matchup feels favorable is mostly specific to the current mtgo meta. With control and combo decks dominating the meta for the most part, the Oloro decks aren't built around beating this kind of creature deck. That could absolutely change if the meta shifted more towards aggressive or midrange creature decks.