Just in time for shark week!
Art: Brallin, Skyshark Rider
by Paul Scott Canavan
Art: Shabraz, the Skyshark
by Paul Scott Canavan
Table of Contents
Todays Featured Commanders are:
Brallin and Shabraz are a really fun Jeskai deck with so much combo potential, Brallin and Shabraz are both unique but also play off of each other very well, for our combos we typically only need Brallin but Shabraz serves an important role in this deck. Brallin and Shabraz very much support a combo playstyle packed to the brim with wheel effects, counterspells and a ton of ways to interact! Brallin and Shabraz are great commanders for any combo-lover and is a ton of fun to pilot! Lets get into It!
The Deck:
Brallin Shabraz Wheels Combo!
Why Brallin and Shabraz?
Brallin and Shabraz are really fun commanders that lend themselves really well to the combo strategy in EDH, being able to cycle through our deck really quickly and find our combos pieces. Brallin and Shabraz both play off of each other but present different dynamics within the deck, for Brallin I mostly use them as a combo piece and only attack when guaranteed a clear attack to set up for a win. Shabraz I typically use as either an offensive attacker or a big blocker, being able to buff Shabraz and gain life pretty much constantly can be a great way to defend against more aggressive strategies. Brallin and Shabraz are a really fun partner commander for any players that love the combo playstyle!
Deck Overview:
Our creature package is full of awesome creatures that help develop our combos as well as outlets to draw cards and discard cards to trigger our commanders! Tireless Tribe
is a great card that is not only a discard outlet but can be a great way to trigger one of our discard combos on demand and act as a great blocker in the face of a single very large creature! Spellseeker
is a great early game way for us to begin assembling our combo pieces! Since we are quite low on creatures and blockers Chrome Host Seedshark
can be a great way for us to keep up blockers against aggressive strategies! Clever Impersonator
is a really great toolbox card that can target pretty much anything which is a great adaptable card that allows us to gain the benefits of whatever we need, whether that be a mana rock or a big creature clever impersonator is really just a great card! Forgotten Creation
is a great way for us to discard our hand and trigger Brallin and Shabraz every turn! Magus of the Wheel
and Jace's Archivist
are both Wheel of Fortune
on a stick and can be very useful for triggering Brallin and Shabraz! Since we are drawing and discarding a ton of cards Chasm Skulker
is a great way for us to get a big creature and get a bunch of tokens once Chasm Skulker dies, in testing I was able to get Chasm Skulker up to 20 or 30 power quite easily!
Our planeswalker package is pretty simple but does a lot to forward our gameplan! Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
is basically just another copy of Laboratory Maniac
but also can be an additional way to draw a card! Narset, Parter of Veils
is a great way for us to make all of our wheel effects one-sided since our opponents will only be able to draw one card! Teferi, Time Raveler
is a great way for us to protect our combo pieces since opponents wont be able to interact with us on our turn! Teferi giving us the ability to cast our spells at flash can also help for us to cast a wheel on our opponents upkeep!
Our spell package is full of counters, wheels and interaction, some of our best counters are cheap and super efficient like An Offer You Can't Refuse
and Arcane Denial
. Forbid
is a counterspell that is uniquely good in our deck since we can get the benefits of the buyback cost by discarding cards! Farewell
is one of the most powerful mass removal spells in EDH, in testing I typically held this card until I was really far behind or I needed to stop an opponent from winning the game! Teferi's Ageless Insight
is a great way for us to make our wheels essentially doubles casting a wheel and drawing 14! Winds of Change
is one of the cheapest wheels in our deck and can allow us to draw 6 cards for only 1 mana! Vanish into Memory
is an amazing card that can not only act as protection from single target removal but will also allow us to trigger both Brallin and Shabraz.
Our artifact package is very simple but has some amazing artifacts, since we love drawing cards we absolutely had to include The One Ring
which is just an amazing snowball card and with Shabraz’s trigger we can essentially nullify the lifeloss from the one ring. Teferi's Puzzle Box
is a great way for us to force our opponents to cycle their hands and allows us to trigger our commanders! Alhammarret's Archive
is a great way for us to double Shabraz’s life triggers and essentially doubles our wheels!
Since we love drawing cards Mystic Remora
and Rhystic Study
are two highlights of the enchantment package. Since we discard a bunch of cards The Bath Song
can be a great way not only to generate mana but also recur some of the cards that we discarded! Smothering Tithe
allows us to generate a ton of mana, especially when we cast a wheel!
Our land package is very typical for really any Jeskai deck, full of MDFC lands as well as a bunch of duals for all three of our colors, our land base is a little higher than average at 36 lands but we do have some high mana cost permanents that we need to cast as well as being able to cast multiple spells in a turn!
Strengths of the Deck:
- Many ways to protect our combo pieces
- Can cycle through our deck very easy
- Most combos don’t require much setup and can happen quickly
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- Combo decks are weak to specific combo hate
- Deck is terrible against reanimator decks since we put cards in the graveyard so often
- Not much faster than most other EDH combo decks
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
Our main win conditions are our combos, in testing I did have one day where my combo pieces kept being targeted / removed so I did win through commander damage with Shabraz! Below are the many combos that we play and explanations of how they work!
Brallin, Skyshark Rider + Curiosity
Result: Near-infinite damage. Infinite card draw. Infinite draw triggers. Near-infinite +1/+1 counters on Brallin. Near-infinite self-discard triggers.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Curiosity attached to Brallin. You have a number of cards in hand greater than your maximum hand size.
Steps: During your cleanup step, discard to your maximum hand size. Brallin triggers for each card discarded, getting a +1/+1 counter and dealing 1 damage to each opponent. Curiosity triggers, causing you to draw a card for each damage dealt. Pass priority, moving to an additional cleanup step. Repeat until you have no cards left in library or have won the game.
Glint-Horn Buccaneer
+ Curiosity
Result: Infinite damage. Infinite card draw
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Curiosity attached to Glint-Horn Buccaneer. You have a number of cards in hand greater than your maximum hand size. You have more cards in library than opponents life total.
Steps: During your cleanup step, discard to your maximum hand size. Glint-Horn Buccaneer triggers for each card discarded, dealing 1 damage to each opponent. Curiosity triggers, causing you to draw a card for each damages done to each opponent. Pass priority, moving to an additional cleanup step. Repeat.
Brallin, Skyshark Rider + Ophidian Eye
Result: Near-infinite damage. Infinite card draw. Infinite draw triggers. Near-infinite +1/+1 counters on Brallin. Near-infinite self-discard triggers.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Ophidian Eye attached to Brallin. You have a number of cards in hand greater than your maximum hand size.
Steps: During your cleanup step, discard to your maximum hand size. Brallin triggers for each card discarded, getting a +1/+1 counter and dealing 1 damage to each opponent. Ophidian Eye triggers, causing you to draw a card for each damage dealt. Pass priority, moving to an additional cleanup step. Repeat until you have no cards left in library or have won the game.
Glint-Horn Buccaneer + Ophidian Eye
Result: Infinite damage. Infinite card draw
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Ophidian Eye attached to Glint-Horn Buccaneer. You have a number of cards in hand greater than your maximum hand size. You have more cards in library than opponents life total.
Steps: During your cleanup step, discard to your maximum hand size. Glint-Horn Buccaneer triggers for each card discarded, dealing 1 damage to each opponent. Ophidian Eye triggers, causing you to draw a card for each damages done to each opponent. Pass priority, moving to an additional cleanup step. Repeat.
Brallin, Skyshark Rider + Tandem Lookout
Result: Near-infinite damage. Infinite card draw. Infinite draw triggers. Near-infinite +1/+1 counters on Brallin. Near-infinite self-discard triggers.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Tandem Lookout is paired with Brallin. You have a number of cards in hand greater than your maximum hand size. You have more cards in library than the sum of each opponent’s life total.
Steps: During your cleanup step, discard to your maximum hand size. Brallin triggers for each card discarded, getting a +1/+1 counter and dealing 1 damage to each opponent. Brallin’s ability from Tandem Lookout triggers, causing you to draw a card for each damages done to each opponent. Pass priority, moving to an additional cleanup step. Repeat.
Glint-Horn Buccaneer + Ghostly Pilferer
+ Curiosity
Result: Near-infinite damage. Infinite card draw. Near-infinite self-discard triggers.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. An additional card in hand. The number of cards in library is greater than each opponent’s life total. Curiosity attached to Glint-Horn Buccaneer.
Steps: Activate Ghostly Pilferer by discarding a card. Glint-Horn Buccaneer triggers, dealing 1 damage to each opponent. Curiosity triggers for each opponent dealt damage. Resolve one trigger, causing you to draw a card. Holding priority, repeat. Repeat.
Glint-Horn Buccaneer + Tandem Lookout
Result: Infinite damage. Infinite card draw
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Tandem Lookout is paired with Glint-Horn Buccaneer. You have a number of cards in hand greater than your maximum hand size. You have more cards in library than opponents life total.
Steps: During your cleanup step, discard to your maximum hand size. Glint-Horn Buccaneer triggers for each card discarded, dealing 1 damage to each opponent. Glint-Horn Buccaneer triggers, causing you to draw a card for each damages done to each opponent. Pass priority, moving to an additional cleanup step. Repeat.
Glint-Horn Buccaneer + Ghostly Pilferer + Ophidian Eye
Result: Near-infinite damage. Infinite card draw. Near-infinite self-discard triggers.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. An additional card in hand. The number of cards in library is greater than each opponent’s life total. Ophidian Eye attached to Glint-Horn Buccaneer.
Steps: Activate Ghostly Pilferer by discarding a card. Glint-Horn Buccaneer triggers, dealing 1 damage to each opponent. Ophidian Eye triggers for each opponent dealt damage. Resolve one trigger, causing you to draw a card. Holding priority, repeat. Repeat.
Result: Near-infinite damage. Infinite card draw.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Curiosity attached to Niv-Mizzet. You have a way to draw a card. Your library is greater than opponent life total.
Steps: Draw a card. Niv-Mizzet trigger, dealing 1 damage to any target opponent. Curiosity triggers, allowing you to draw a card. Repeat from step 2.
Smothering Tithe + Underworld Breach
+ Windfall
esult: Infinite looting for all players. Infinite draw triggers for all players. Infinite self-discard triggers for all players. Near-infinite Treasure tokens. Near-infinite colored mana.
Requires: Windfall in your graveyard. All permanents on the battlefield. A player has at least three cards in hand. There are at least three additional cards in your graveyard. At least one opponent is unable to pay for Smothering Tithe’s trigger. 2U available.
Steps: Cast Windfall from your graveyard for its escape cost by paying 2U and exiling three cards from your graveyard, causing each player to discard at least three cards and draw at least three cards. Smothering Tithe triggers for each card drawn by your opponents, creating that many Treasure tokens. Activate three of the Treasure tokens by tapping and sacrificing them, adding 2U. Repeat.
Glint-Horn Buccaneer + Ghostly Pilferer + Tandem Lookout
Result: Near-infinite damage. Infinite card draw. Near-infinite self-discard triggers.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. An additional card in hand. The number of cards in library is greater than each opponent’s life total. Tandem Lookout paired with Glint-Horn Buccaneer.
Steps: Activate Ghostly Pilferer by discarding a card. Glint-Horn Buccaneer triggers, dealing 1 damage to each opponent. Tandem Lookout triggers for each opponent dealt damage. Resolve one trigger, causing you to draw a card. Holding priority, repeat. Repeat.
Narset, Parter of Veils + Teferi's Puzzle Box
Result: Each opponent shuffles their hand into their library during their draw step. Opponents cannot draw cards during their turn.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield.
Steps: During your opponent’s draw step, they draw a card, and Teferi’s Puzzle Box triggers. Resolve the Teferi’s Puzzle Box trigger, causing the opponent to shuffle their hand into their library and draw no cards due to Narset.
Niv-Mizzet, Parun
+ Curiosity + Laboratory Maniac
Result: Win the game. Infinite card draw. Infinite draw triggers.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Curiosity attached to Niv-Mizzet. You have a way to draw a card.
Steps: Draw a card. Niv-Mizzet triggers, dealing 1 damage to any target opponent. Curiosity triggers, causing you to draw a card. Repeat from step 2 until draw from an empty library, causing you to win the game.
Niv-Mizzet, Parun + Curiosity + Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
Result: Win the game. Infinite card draw. Infinite draw triggers.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Curiosity attached to Niv-Mizzet.
Steps: Activate Jace’s first loyalty ability by putting a loyalty counter on it, causing target player to mill two cards and you to draw a card. Niv-Mizzet triggers, dealing 1 damage to any target opponent. Curiosity triggers, causing you to draw a card. Repeat from step 2 until draw from an empty library, causing you to win the game.
Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty
+ Underworld Breach + Burning Inquiry
Result: Near-infinite self-discard triggers. Near-infinite storm count. Infinite self-mill. Near-infinite mill. Infinite draw triggers for all players. Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Burning Inquiry in hand. R available. Steps: Cast Burning Inquiry by paying R. Birgi triggers, adding R. Resolve Burning Inquiry, causing each player to draw three cards and discard three cards at random. Cast Burning Inquiry from your graveyard for its escape cost by paying R and exiling 3 cards from your graveyard. Repeat from step 2.
Niv-Mizzet, Parun + Curiosity + Thassa's Oracle
Result: Win the game. Infinite card draw. Infinite draw triggers.
Requires: Thassa’s Oracle in hand or in library. All other permanents on the battlefield. Curiosity attached to Niv-Mizzet. You have a way to draw a card. UU available.
Steps: Draw a card. Niv-Mizzet triggers, dealing 1 damage to any target opponent. Curiosity triggers, causing you to draw a card. Repeat from step 2 until you have an empty library. Cast Thassa’s Oracle by paying UU. Thassa’s Oracle enters the battlefield, causing you to win the game.
Niv-Mizzet, Parun + Tandem Lookout + Laboratory Maniac
Result: Win the game.
Requires: All permanents on the battlefield. Tandem Lookout paired with Niv-Mizzet. You have a way to draw a card.
Steps: Draw a card. Niv-Mizzet trigger, dealing 1 damage to any target. Niv-Mizzet’s soulbond ability triggers, drawing you a card. Repeat from step 2 until you draw your library, Laboratory Maniac triggers, winning you the game.
Conclusion:
In conclusion I think that Brallin and Shabraz is a really fun commander pair who interact super well with each other and are really fun combo decks. While this deck may not be a CEDH tuned version of a typical EDH combo deck it is still fairly powerful with an absolute ton of different ways to win the game! Brallin and Shabraz are great for any player who loves combos!
Thanks for reading to the end!