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Format | Legality |
1v1 Commander | Legal |
Archenemy | Legal |
Block Constructed | Legal |
Canadian Highlander | Legal |
Casual | Legal |
Commander / EDH | Legal |
Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
Custom | Legal |
Duel Commander | Legal |
Highlander | Legal |
Legacy | Legal |
Leviathan | Legal |
Limited | Legal |
Modern | Legal |
Oathbreaker | Legal |
Planechase | Legal |
Quest Magic | Legal |
Vanguard | Legal |
Vintage | Legal |
Hero of Bladehold
Creature — Human Knight
Battle cry (Whenever this creature attacks, each other attacking creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn.)
Whenever Hero of Bladehold attacks, put two 1/1 white soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield tapped and attacking.
Crow_Umbra on two wind assault
1 month ago
Nice! Isshin is a lot of fun, and can quickly become arch-enemy, as I'm sure you've probably experienced. I think if you're going to move on from the Samurai, I'd suggest also trimming back on the equipment subtheme, as they can be pretty mana-intensive without additional equipment support.
I've personally had more experience with playing a more tokens go-wide take on Isshin, which I think can be pretty fun and dynamic. A few general suggestions if you do cut back on Samurai & Equipment, and decide to focus more on going wide:
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A few more creature token creators like Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon and Hero of Bladehold are pretty solid.
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Group slug effects that work with creature ETBs or as attack triggers are pretty helpful. Stuff like Impact Tremors, Warleader's Call, Brutal Hordechief, and Commissar Severina Raine are all solid options.
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Getting a bit more draw in your deck could be helpful. Chivalric Alliance, Breena, the Demagogue, & Firemane Commando are all pretty solid options. If you play in a more aggro meta, Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser and Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant can be some fun options to encourage or force your opponents to attack each other.
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Isshin thrives off maintaining board momentum, so anything to protect your board could be helpful: Reconnaissance, Dolmen Gate, & Clever Concealment can all be helpful. Reconnaissance can be especially helpful to save your creatures from unfavorable combat situations. This EDHRec article helps detail the timing if you're unfamiliar with it.
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Lastly, it might be helpful to trim out some of the creatures at the top end of your curve in the 7-9cmc range.
Just some quick ideas for how you could make use of those Samurai and Equipment slots if you decide to change them up. Hopefully these suggestions were helpful
Crow_Umbra on Musashi's Mosh Pit [Primer]
4 months ago
I see Anduril as similar because it costs 5 total mana to cast and equip, and Cathar's Crusade is also 5 cmc. Most of the common token producers that most Isshin strats tend to run like Myriad creatures, Hanweir Garrison Meld, Hero of Bladehold, Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin, and Adeline, Resplendent Cathar each pump out 4+ tokens, depending if Isshin is out. Either way, creatures need to attack with Anduril equipped, or to make their tokens if Cathar's Crusade is on board. I think they have similarities in terms of their pacing, but aren't 1:1. If anything, to me, Anduril is like a pseudo-Cathar's Crusade for strats that don't have access to White.
I had Thundering Raiju on my Maybeboard for a bit. I think I ultimately ended up picking Tectonic Giant, as I liked the option to impulse draw, and have liked the consistency of 3-6 damage each time I've played it. Aside from Breena, the Demagogue, I haven't really felt the need to dedicate any other slots to +1/+1 counter antheming effects.
Brickhouse on Kyler, Sigardian Emissary
6 months ago
Hero of Bladehold might have a spot here. The tokens are not humans but still.
Crow_Umbra on Isshin Homebrew
9 months ago
Congrats on those early Ws! Those must have felt encouraging.
Another great card for Isshin is Hero of Bladehold. It was recently reprinted in a precon, so that version is fairly accessible. Accorder Paladin & Signal Pest are also helpful antheming creatures to round out a Battle Cry package.
Blightfang is cool for sure; the suggestions for Death touch anthems were to really get more value out of it. Also death touch anthems are super helpful for aggro in general.
The awesome part about Isshin is that there's tons of attack triggers available to him. He can be built in a variety of different manners, & can adjust to various playgroups pretty well.
Best of luck with your continued adjustments & future games. Happy to spit-ball suggestions if you're ever looking for them.
tkjanacek on Isshin Trigger Warning
10 months ago
Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus is basically second Animist's Blade. Hero of Bladehold and battle cry cards in general seem strong with Isshin. You could make this deck more equipment focused with Syr Gwyn, Armored Skyhunter, Glimmer Lens, Hexplate Wallbreaker, Forging the Tyrite Sword, Nahiri, Forged in Fury, Jor Kadeen, First Goldwarden, Seraphic Greatsword and Akiri, Fearless Voyager. Talisman of Conviction, Talisman of Indulgence and Talisman of Dominance are good ramp options. The Mirran swords are really good with multiple combat steps, particularly Sword of Feast and Famine.
Mattio38 on Forza Orzhova
10 months ago
Hi Crow-Umbra & carpecanum, I finally had time to update the deck. Thank you guys so much for your feedback. It is very much appreciated! I'll start from the top of your recommendations.
Luminarch Ascension Used to be the number 1 game winner back in the days when our playgroup started playing commander. My friend had one, I have never played one myself. This deck is THE opportunity for me to bring that nostalgia back to our commandertable. Pet card. Can't cut. You're probably right that the oppos will prevent it from getting counters, but I'm going to pop Angels out of it or die trying xD
Draw
Plumb the Forbidden for Phyrexian Arena is a great swap! In most games I find myself mainly active in my turns and quite passive during other players' turns. So next to the Black Market Connections comparison as you pointed out, Plumb has another benefit of being an instant!
Tokens
Kaya, Geist Hunter got swapped for Relic Vial. Way cooler! Court of Grace is cut for Adeline, Resplendent Cathar. I find the Monarch a very cool inclusion in a game of commander but the card is just not good enough. I think I was forcing adding a Monarch card too much. Hero of Bladehold is another great tip as a token creator. I've swapped the Hero for Vraan, Executioner Thane. Brimaz, King of Oreskos, and Leonin Warleader are both excellent options aswell, but I simply run out of cuts.
That brings me to my final part. Cathars' Crusade is awesome in this deck and I'd also like to add a Necropotence but I simply have no idea what to cut for those anymore. I think I'm already quite short on lands and I'd preferably add 1 draw spell and 2 ramp spells..
Again, thank you both for your feedback. You rock!
Crow_Umbra on Forza Orzhova
10 months ago
I think for the most part your deck categories look fairly balanced. Something I noticed is that some of your token generation is a little slow or conditional. I think you could probably swap out Luminarch Ascension. It's incredibly telegraphed, and if you play in a more aggro meta, your playgroup may do what they can to prevent your Ascension from getting the counters it needs.
I think you could probably swap out Phyrexian Arena for Plumb the Forbidden, especially since you already have Black Market Connections. I love Plumb the Forbidden in my Isshin deck, which also has a creature token creation theme. Excellent response to removal, especially boardwipes, and refill your grip more than anyone else.
I think you could probably swap out Court of Grace for Kaya, Geist Hunter. She has some cool utility as another token doubler, and as a Deathtouch anthem. Additionally, I think you could swap out a basic land for Vault of the Archangel as another means to anthem up your token swarms.
If you are looking for more token producers: Hero of Bladehold, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Brimaz, King of Oreskos, and Leonin Warleader are all excellent options that can also give your deck a bit more of an aggro edge.
If you're open to infinite combos, I'd recommend adding Leonin Relic-Warder and any combination of the following: Animate Dead, Dance of the Dead, and/or Necromancy. All 3 Auras can go infinite with Relic-Warder, and create an infinite loop of death triggers & ETB triggers. Here is an explanation of the combo. I think all 4 pieces could fit seamlessly into your deck.
Lastly, I think you could cut Vraan, Executioner Thane and Relic Vial, as they are the weakest of your Aristocrats effects, and you already have a decent volume of them; especially with consistent access to one in the command zone. Both are conditional/limited as to how they can trigger.
Worrad75 on Attack-harmonicon
1 year ago
we back baby, lots of changes:
**Sardian Avenger IN
Ashnod's Altar OUT**
I've had really good experiences so far with Devilish Valet, and so I'm adding another cheap, scaling threat that can really rack up the damage at any stage of the game. It synergizes fantastically with pieces like Shadowspear and Duelist's Heritage, introduces a bit of treasure hate, and even shuts off some combos. I love that it scales with the power level of the table, and I expect it to overperform for 2 mana. On the other hand, Ashnod's has underperformed. Without consistent token producers (of which there are only a handful of in the deck), this often feels like 3 mana do-nothing, and it being one of only a select handful of non-mana artifacts in the deck means its even more likely to eat non-creature removal.
**Goblin Motivator and Bloodlust Inciter IN
Ogre Battledriver and Dowsing Dagger Flip OUT**
I found myself craving more haste enablers in the deck and Ogre Battledriver seems to be too big of a lightning rod, which is fair because it can end games with the right setup. I've opted for cheaper, lower to the ground options that are less likely to eat targeted removal. They won't pump a team of incoming tokens off of Mardu Ascendancy or Hero of Bladehold, but they will come down faster and have impact over many more turns than the ogre would normally be allowed to live. I did enjoy playing with Dowsing Dagger Flip but it feels counter-intuitive to lean into haste and also give out blockers.
**Battle Angels of Tyr IN
Rabble Rousing OUT**
Myriad is fun, cool, and good. Turns out, its even better when you make twice as many tokens. For 4 mana, you get 26 flying power per turn with Isshin out, and potentially 2 card draws and 2 treasures to top it off (you likely wont get the lifegain trigger). The nail in the coffin for Rabble Rousing is that the tokens don't come in tapped and attacking. That downside combined with the whiff potential means that the card feels clunky at times. It was also overkill for the synergies that it was hoping to lean into for card draw (Welcoming Vampire and Tocasia's Welcome), so overall it only felt like we were unlocking the true potential of this card in magical-christmas-land with Skullclamp and Ashnod's Altar.
**Laelia, the Blade Reforged IN
Welcoming Vampire OUT**
Given that we're downsizing on the overall number of token-focused cards (and adding [battle angels of tyr]), [welcoming vampire] seems like a natural candidate to take out for [Laelia]. A guarenteed 2 cards a turn is better than (maybe) 1 card a turn, even if it means making your creature a lightning rod.
Nadaar, Selfless Paladin OUT**
If I was willing to pay 5 mana to give the whole team melee with Adriana, Captain of the Guard, then I will absolutely double up on the effect on a 2/2 flying body for 3 mana. PSA: instances of melee stack, so Isshin + both of these = +12/+12 to each creature that attacks. Nadaar is a solid value piece, but getting to attack with him twice without him getting killed feels more like a gamble than a guarantee, so he's getting pulled out for the moment. Note that this makes Triumphant Adventurer the sole venture card left in the deck, so if I need space for another 2 drop that might be where I go.
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