Buffs, Buffs and More Buffs!
Art: Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
by Nils Hamm
Table of Contents
Welcome to another installment of Brewed EDH:
Todays Featured Commander is:
Skullbriar is a very early commander but he is still really fun to pilot and smack some opponents with. Skullbriar was a very strong commander at the start of the format, while he has taken a back seat he is still a ton of fun to play and there is more support than ever! The amount of counters that add deathtouch or lifelink or flying as well as +1/+1’s make Skullbriar stronger than he ever was. Skullbriar is the most popular Golgari +1/+1’s commander and has been for quite a while he is a house! With Skullbriar on the field everyone basically has 21 health as he is a cheap commander damage machine!
The Deck:
Skullbriar Counters!
Why Skullbriar, the Walking Grave?
There are many golgari +1/+1’s commanders in the space such as Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager
and Polukranos, Unchained
while these are fine options Skullbriar is the best option in my opinion. Skullbriar is the most popular Golgari +1/+1 counters commander and that is for a very good reason. Skullbriar is an easy to cast hasty commander that can get big and stay big no matter where he goes. Skullbriar may not have built in protection but since he doesn’t lose any counters he has recasting him a bunch is not a big deal. The best reason to choose Skullbriar over other Golgari Commanders is that he can come out early and often and make an impact quickly. Even though Skullbriar is Golgari he has a bunch of combo potential and a great high end curve to pump him and all of our creatures.
Deck Overview:
The main goal of our deck is killing our opponents with Skullbriar, we can accomplish this very early, we have many ways to make Skullbriar big. We have +1/+1 counter staples like Hardened Scales
and Doubling Season
and Winding Constrictor
which when combined with Skullbriar and our +1/+1 cards can get out of hand quickly. Our main way to make Skullbriar big is through our creatures and spells like Visions of Dominance
and Invigorating Surge
if we already have counters on Skullbriar this can get out of hand quickly. Since Skullbriar does not lose counters as he moves between zones we can utilize cards like Hornbash Mentor
to give Skullbriar trample and Void Beckoner
who we will almost never cast but we can cycle to give him deathtouch. We have cards to give Skullbriar nearly every type of base ability on Skullbriar. Skullbriar’s cheap mana cost makes it so even if he is getting killed regularly we can almost always cast him again and if he has been buffed continue the beatdown! The Ozolith
is a great way to move counters from creatures that die onto Skullbriar. Ring of Kalonia
is also a great way too buff up skullbriar and the has the added benefit of buffing him every turn because he is green! We are also packing some infinite combos like Vigor
+ Walking Ballista
+ Hardened Scales this will give us infinite damage. The whole point of our deck is to make skullbriar as big as possible and swing at our opponents. Since we can efficiently pump up skullbriar in many ways games with him are 21 health game because we can easily finish people off with commander damage. Overall our main gameplan is to buff Skullbriar as much as possible and swing for the fences!
Strengths of the Deck:
- We have cards that can win games without Skullbriar
- Commander damage kills are very easy
- Can combo off and end games
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- Weak against creature hate
- Weak against effects that remove counters
- Weak against aggressive strategies
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
Our main win con is through commander damage / combat with Skullbriar but we are also packing some infinite combos
Vigor + Walking Ballista + Hardened Scales = infinite damage
Rite of Passage
+ Walking Ballista + Hardened Scales = infinite damage
Rite of Passage + Walking Ballista + Corpsejack Menace
= infinite damage
While our of combos are infinite damage and involve a lot of the same cards it is nice to be able to execute an infinite damage combo in multiple ways!
Conclusion:
In Conclusion, I think Skullbriar is a very forgotten about commander and doesnt see much action these days but is still a well-positioned and very fun commander with a lot of potential. Skullbriar has gained a lot more support in recent years and is just a ton of fun to play
Thanks for reading to the end!