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The King Has Returned.

Commander / EDH Budget Casual Counters Phyrexian Primer Proliferate Tokens WB (Orzhov)

Fasrielyn

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Creature (31)

Artifact (13)

Sorcery (9)

Instant (7)

Commander (1)

Commander: Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos

Land (34)

Enchantment (5)

Maybeboard

Creature (6)

Artifact (4)

Sorcery (1)

Enchantment (1)

Our precious boy from Born of the Gods, Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos has returned, but has done so to destroy his homeland. And, I am here for it. This list is an upgrade version of the Growing Threat precon. It goes even harder on what it wants, phyrexians, incubate tokens, and proliferate.
The precon decklist in my opinion out of the box is ok. That doesn't meant it is bad by any means, but it feels lackluster. I understand the direction of having multiple other artifact creatures in the deck, but my main issue is that they also did nothing with the new incubate mechanic. Now, full disclosure here, I love the incubate mechanic. It gives a new way to play around sacrificing permanents. Is it super strong to point of breaking the game? No. But, it does offer great value to add bodies to the field. This goes hand in hand with taking out cards that just don't need to be in the deck, and adding a lot more of the incubate caring cards from March of the Machine.
Proliferate can be very powerful in the right hands. But, in orzhov there is only 26 cards that say proliferate, and none outside of our commander really cares about incubate tokens. If you wanted to build a deck around toxic/poison/infect, do that as there are 34 cards with just the toxic keyword on them. But, the main focus Brimaz should have is on incubate tokens.
The list overall has some standout key pieces that you need to keep in the deck to help focus on the goal of it all. This goes from ramp, draw, removal and all the other fun aspects of the deck that help lay the foundation to make the deck work.
The precon does a pretty good thing all things considered as we are in Orzhov, and that is ramp. It has the wonderful staples such as Arcane Signet, Hedron Archive, Mind Stone, Orzhov Signet, Talisman of Hierarchy, Wayfarer's Bauble, and the one and only Sol Ring. But, there is a nice addition, and that is Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus. It is a slightly worse Sword of the Animist, but it does come out on a body right away. Which is nice if you could cast it as instant speed, or give it haste. If you can't then it is kind of a feel bad moment when it is played.
I kept Phyrexian Gargantua, Phyrexian Rager, Ambition's Cost, and Night's Whisper in the deck because the two phyrexians help trigger our commander's first ability, so the life loss isn't all that terrible. Ambition's Cost, and Night's Whisper are just nice card draw in my opinion, and once again the life loss isn't that big of a deal to me.
Now, this deck has a lot of targeted removal, some is good, some isn't. The ones I kept are as follows, Despark, Excise the Imperfect, Mortify, Swords to Plowshares, Utter End, Angel of the Ruins, and Noxious Gearhulk. Notice that two of the three non-phyrexian creatures are here. The two I non-phyrexians in the targeted removal section I kept is because they offer other things. Angel of the Ruins offers plainscycling, and flying. Noxious Gearhulk has menace, but also gets a little life back. Sure, Meteor Golem is any permanent, but it is just a 3/3 otherwise, and for 7 mana, I had other plans.
The only mass removal from the precon I kept was Massacre Wurm. Cause everyone loves him right? Right? I could very well keep Phyrexian Rebirth, but I rather not because it is already so expensive to cast, you get 1 phyrexian out of it, and it says destroy all creatures. There is a better replacement for it.
Now the meat of the deck, phyrexians. One of my favorites from the deck is Darksteel Splicer. Why? Because it triggers not just when it enters the battlefield, but when another nontoken phyrexian does too for each opponent we have. This card alone on a decent turn could turn out 6 3/3 colorless phyrexian golems with indestructible. That is a big board state right there to deal with. Another great phyrexian that pairs with this guy is Blade Splicer to make sure the golems we make have first strike.

Other key phyrexians that I kept in the list are, Phyrexian Triniform and Moira and Teshar. Triniform does something awesome, and that is tokens thanks to its encore ability. Moira and Teshar may seem interesting in this deck, but with 12 artifacts alone, this card could bring back some key pieces, even if for a limited time to gain more value out of them. Sounds very Phyrexian to me.

Incubate is the fun new mechanic in this set. The odd thing is that, IT HAS ONLY 3 CARDS THAT MAKE OR CARE ABOUT INCUBATE! Like seriously WotC wtf? You must rely heavily that Brimaz is out on the field to make incubate tokens. Or, rely heavily on him being out to sacrifice other Phyrexians to proliferate. I'm sorry, I don't like building decks around a command that I have to rely on in order to even make the deck work. I want it to work without the commander having to be on the field to function. Hence why I am not a fan of voltron.

The incubate cards in the precon I of course kept in. Those are Blight Titan, and Compleated Huntmaster. The other is Excise the Imperfect. Cool, I don't get the incubate token, my opponent does. Awesome.

This deck does have some nice sac outlets. I prefer to have the aforementioned Compeated Huntmaster because it is only 1 and tap, sac a creature or artifact, and incubate 3. This is nice when trying to trigger Brimaz on another person's turn. The other sac outlets in the deck I like are Filigree Vector and Keskit, the Flesh Sculptor. Both do different things. Filigree Vector helps with proliferating out stuff. While Keskit helps with card advantage.
Recursion in this deck is a must. Why? Because you may not always have an incubate token, and an opponent is at 9 poison counters, and you just really want to kill them, but it'll cost you your Phyrexian Triniform. So, you need ways to recur your stuff. Moira and Teshar is a great example of this. Even if just for a bit.

Phyrexian Delver, Vulpine Harvester are great creature based recursion that can get either a creature or artifact respectively. Victimize and Yawgmoth's Vile Offering are great at getting key creatures back onto the field.

This precon has some decent lands in it. The obvious ones that are nice are Bojuka Bog, Fetid Heath, Karn's Bastion, and my favorite Vault of the Archangel. That one is really spicy if we have a large enough army, and then give them all deathtouch. People will not want to block unless absolutely necessary.
Now the fun part. Here i'll talk about what cards I took out, and why. And, for some of these, they were really dumb for putting them in the deck in the first place.

Ancient Stone Idol - cool, i'll get an incubate 10 with him. That is it. When it dies, its death trigger doesn't trigger Brimaz. So, why other than the 1, JUST ONE, incubate token is it worth it? It isn't.

Bloodline Pretender - This one wasn't as easy of a cut as the previous card, but I felt it necessary only because I rather have Aron, Benalia's Ruin in its place. I may put him back in, i'm not sure yet. Haven't played that much yet.

Burnished Hart - Ramp that is too much to invest in. Next

Cataclysmic Gearhulk - To me, selective board wipes are just not as impactful as full on wipes. Yes, it takes out other threats, but people usually select their best piece, and is still able to come back from it versus a full on Austere Command.

Duplicant - Does virtually nothing in the deck. It is too expensive for a one card removal, that can be brought back if it dies. Not a fan. If i'm going to remove it, it is going to be gone for good.

First-Sphere Gargantua - This thing is expensive at 6 mana value to draw 1 card, on a 5/4 body with unearth 2B. I'd rather it be the 2B and do the same, and exile it at the next end step. But, this just slows the deck down too much.

Graveshifter - This guy I could see going back into the deck honestly. The reason I took it out is because that 3B, and it is only one time. My thought process was to replace it with Terror of Towashi.

Master Splicer - It wasn't easy taking it out because of the other splicers in the deck, but 3W, for a 3/3 golem and golems get +1/+1? That is a no from me. Aron does it better repeatedly.

Meteor Golem - As explained before, 7 mana for one target nonland permanent? No. Just no. You are so much better off putting in Anguished Unmaking in the deck instead, and save the 4 mana.

Myr Battlesphere - Don't get me wrong, it is a nice card. Lovely card. But the deck doesn't make myr tokens really. Like this is the only one. Why is it here? Just put Essence of Orthodoxy instead WotC.

Phyrexian Ghoul - Sure it is a sac outlet, but it only boosts itself. And, as we all know, sharing is caring.

Psychosis Crawler - Decent enough card in a card draw heavy deck. But, this isn't one of those decks. Orzhov isn't known for its card draw ability. So, why is it in this deck? I feel like it would serve better with Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir than Brimaz.

Scrap Trawler - Honestly this was a toss up. The deck is focusing on making tokens, well if you sac those, and don't have a 0 cost artifact, then you can't get anything.

Shattered Angel - Much like Psychosis Crawler, WHY IS IT IN HERE! Landfall isn't something Orzhov is known for either. Get it out of here.

Shimmer Myr - This little guy is ok. But, with a total of 15 artifacts, 12 of them being just artifacts, I think I can live without it.

Soul of New Phyrexia - The big bad avatar of New Phyrexia. Cool, for 6 mana, it has trample, and a 6/6 body. I ignore the other lines of text because they cost 5 each! If they were 3? i'd maybe do it.

This section is significantly smaller than the previous. But, there are some key things I took out.

Path of the Schemer - This is out because I don't play with planechase at all.

Phyrexian Rebirth - I talked about this card already, but i'll say it again here. It is expensive for just 1 body to destroy creatures. I rather put in Sunfall, and the body I get is also an Incubate token.

Go for the Throat - To me it is too restrictive on the targets it can remove. So, for me that is a no.

This section is a bit odd of some of their choices. I can see why they put some in, but others, I am really left with scratching my head like, "why?"

Coveted Jewel - Nice card draw if it were 4 mana value instead of 6. Make it 2 mana it makes of any one color, and that is still more competitive than 6.

Fractured Powerstone - Stated before I don't like planechase, so this is out fast.

Ichor Elixir - Same as before

Nettlecyst - This is one of those that I saw a possibility for, and what WotC wanted for it. But, the issue is that it just makes a creature big. It doesn't give it fear or menace. If it did, I'd be willing to pay 5, and equip 3. Otherwise, it is a no from me.

Orzhov Locket - STOP REPRINTING LOCKETS, Sincerely, the entire MTG community.

Sculpting Steel - This is nice if I had better targets than mainly rocks.

Scytheclaw - This is interesting, but with no evasion, it is hard to connect. It isn't one of those cards that people see, and is like "meh, i'll let it be." No, this is more "Deal with that thing now."

I took Phyrexian Scriptures out. Why? Because I have too many non-artifact creatures, and I don't want to lose them.
WotC had the best opportunity to add a piece of ramp that fits perfectly into this deck. That is Everflowing Chalice. No other deck does this matter in than a proliferate deck. They even had a perfect card to go with it in Filigree Vector. Like why did they not add it? It isn't an expensive card by any means. Just a total fail.

The other ramp I added is the lovely little guy Myr Convert. Pay 2 life to get one mana of any color? Sounds good with me. Life is a resource, and it needs to be used properly.

Now, for card draw I did add some more to it. It felt slow playing it out of the box. So, of course for flavor reasons I had to add Phyrexian Arena. But, one card that can make things get out of hand real quick is Infectious Inquiry. This card is my secret sleeper card. It isn't a poison deck no, it is an incubate deck, WITH proliferate. One turn around the table Brimaz can make that 1 poison counter, into 5.

Other key card draw cards are ones that need a sacrifice. Which is perfect to trigger our commander. Corrupted Conviction, Costly Plunder, and Deadly Dispute all require to sac a creature or artifact. Well, the deck makes plenty of those.

I put in Sign in Blood because it is a pet card of mine in black. Like my Sriracha, I put it in everything.

Finally, Norn's Wellspring may seem like an odd choice at first, but it works well with our commander for multiple reasons. We want creatures to die, and when they do, you can scry 1, and put an oil counter on it. If that creature was a phyrexian, you automatically will have two oil counters on it, and can draw another card. This can sneak up on people really fast.

Going to put this into one section because it doesn't need much. From ONE I put in Drown in Ichor. Because black does a great job in giving -x/-x counters to opponents creatures. This gets passed indestructible very well.

The other removal I added was mentioned before, Sunfall. I rather have exile all creatures versus destroy. Why? Because I have a lot of friends that play graveyard recursion decks, and I don't want them to have access to their key pieces if they were on the field. Also, it creates an incubate token. At worst, my opponents sac their stuff, and I can too. Or, let them all get exiled, and I have then a massive incubate token ready to smash people's faces.

So many fun phyrexians have come to join us in MOM. And, of course the mom has to be in the deck, Elesh Norn  . Why? She has value added to help deter our opponents from attacking us, but on the flip side, she makes a board state of 5 incubate 2 tokens which then she transforms all incubate tokens, all creatures then get +1/+1 and double strike, then finally a board wipe which should leave us unscathed because our board is mainly artifacts, lands, and phyrexians. So, she is the best mom because she protects her children like a good mother should.

Other fun phyrexians coming to the fight is Phyrexian Censor. Ok, I admit I love stax pieces. And, when I saw this guy previewed, I knew it would go into Brimaz. I know i'm a horrible person. I'm sorry.

I have talked about this guy before, but Aron, Benalia's Ruin just does so much work in the deck. He is a sac outlet which leads to triggering Brimaz, and he gives counters to all our creatures. He just does it all.

One card that was added last set is Norn's Choirmaster. I saw this do some real work in any infect/toxic deck. Itself is already a good beater at 5/4 with flying and first strike. But the other text of "whenever a commander you control enters the battlefield or attacks, proliferate." It is just perfect.

Attentive Skywarden should have been in the deck. A 2W 2/2 with flying, and when it connects you get to transform an incubate token for free. That adds up real fast over the course of a game.

You thought I wasn't going to add Phyrexian Obliterator to the list? No way. Even its friend Phyrexian Vindicator has gone into the list. Why? Cause I like them. No real reason other than that. They both do work for me.

This deck is focused around incubate. Brimaz wants them out in order to transform, proliferate, and get bigger to smack our opponents as hard as they can. So, why so few incubate synergies in the precon WotC?

The first auto-include imo is Essence of Orthodoxy. Whenever it or another phyrexian enters the battlefield under your control, incubate 2. In a deck of 33 creatures, and only 2 of them are not Phyrexian, this card will be triggering like mad. It is kind of like Brimaz, without the proliferate trigger. This is a must if you are playing around incubate.

A not as powerful card is Infected Defector. This guy is a Phyrexian, and when it dies, it'll incubate 3. That is pretty good if you sac it. So, this guy will trigger both Brimaz and Essence of Orthodoxy.

Norn's Inquisitor is a staple for this deck because whenever a permanent transforms, you can get a +1/+1 counter on it. This deck makes a lot of incubate tokens, and can transform them with ease. This guy just makes them even bigger.

Phyrexian Awakening is truly awesome, and helps out with combat. It gives Phyrexians you control vigilance. Who doesn't love vigilance? I know I do.

Progenitor Exarch enters the battlefield with x incubate 3 tokens, and can tap to transform an incubate token you control. That is some nice value. Sure, it may be mana intensive, but even if you make 2 or 3 tokens, it is very much worth it.

Sculpted Perfection does what Master Splicer does but for Phyrexians. Which the deck mainly has.

Now I know there isn't as much synergy with this card as I'd like in the deck, but Tiller of Flesh can still put in work even if you cast a couple removal spells. At worst he triggers Brimaz and Essence.

Bloated Processor is an interesting guy. You need to have phyrexians to make him bigger, and then have him die through many different ways. So, ideally you'll want to transform your icubate tokens to feed him, then sac him to something else. It is an odd include, but it does trigger Brimaz first line of text, and can trigger the second.

Throne of Geth I thought was fitting for flavor wise, but man it does do some good work. It just needs an artifact for it to work, and be able to then proliferate. So, you don't have to transform any incubate tokens.

Nice and simple here. Nothing crazy. Terror of Towashi was a nice little guy that when previewed, knew that it would do some work in this deck. Sure it is a creature based recursion, but you can get him out fast, and swing once, I think it was worth it.
Yes, there are some other token generating cards besides incubate. Those are the lovely mites! Skrelv's Hive and Mite Overseer can create mite tokens, which are artifacts, on the cheap, and create a lot. This will help sacing them, or being able to use them to attack, and spread as many poison counters as possible to our opponents. You really only need to get one on each opponent for it work.
There are some notable maybe includes in the deck, but I thought were going to break the bank for me.

Mondrak, Glory Dominus would be downright amazing honestly. But, running $25 for me right now is a bit much. Knowing full well I spent most of my upgrade budget on Elesh Norn  .

White Sun's Twilight is a great card, but the main focus of the deck is incubate tokens, not mites. Still worth a shot.

Sheoldred   could be nice considering her backside. But, it is limited on its front side with only forcing opponents to sac one nontoken creature. It doesn't have to be the main threat either.

OG Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is worth a serious look, but falls into the category of costing 7 mana. The point of this deck was to reduce the high avg mana value.

Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim is an amazing card, and one I want to build a separate commander deck around. The issue I have with him is that, this isn't so much of an aristocrats style deck.

Gift of Compleation is one card I highly considered. My main issue is Surveil. I'd have to put more recursion in to make it worth it. Still a possibility.

Inspiring Statuary is lovely. But, with the main hitters of the deck, I think it'll be fine.

Daddy Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is one that I really like to have in the deck. I just don't want to add too many non-Phyrexian creatures to the list purely because of Brimaz's trigger and Phyrexian Censor.

Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines is like Mondrak, very expensive monetary wise for me right now.

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99% Casual

Competitive

Revision 6 See all

(1 year ago)

+1 Anguished Unmaking main
+1 Austere Command main
-1 Despark main
-1 Farewell main
+1 In Garruk's Wake main
-1 Kindred Dominance main
Top Ranked
  • Achieved #1 position overall 1 year ago
Date added 1 year
Last updated 1 year
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)

8 - 0 Mythic Rares

30 - 0 Rares

24 - 0 Uncommons

13 - 0 Commons
Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.55
Tokens Copy Clone, Incubator, Phyrexian 0/0 C, Phyrexian Golem 3/3 C, Phyrexian Mite 1/1 C, Treasure
Folders commander, Tapped Out - User Decks, Pilfered, To Try, Phyrexian Pleasures, Future Builds, deck ideas, Build
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