Brainstorm

Instant

Draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order.

Combos

• Brainstorm + Zephyrim

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Pauper Duel Commander	Legal
Pauper EDH	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (44)

Niko9 on Fun Deck/Builds to try

3 weeks ago

FormOverFunction Yep, I agree for sure! As much as I used try to nitpick and optimize decks, at the end of the day, if your group is all on the same power level we should be losing 75% of the time, so why not brew decks for fun? Commander was a fan made format, and I think the best version of it will always be a fan made format.

The thing is wizards is really good at designing cards that are good in commander, but so bad at designing cards that are fun or fit a theme. Like, not everything has to be 3 colors, draw cards or make treasures. I made a deck a while ago around Dihada, Binder of Wills because I love self mill strategy, but I have a hard time playing it. Every game is, do I have the colors to cast Dihada as fast as possible, because there really is no better play in the deck than, 4 mana to mill 4 and get 4 treasures. Luckily I didn't spend any money on the deck : ) I really thought I'd like it.

Or like the new Voja, Jaws of the Conclave that people are talking about as an aggro commander. I'm just looking at it like, yeah, but why does a wolf draw cards? What happened to drawing being like Pondering or Brainstorming. It's a little maddening that the only way they know to make a card good is draw or treasures, and then everything does that.

EDH is just weird in a way, because it's so fun to play with your friends, and so kinda lame to play with not your friends. I tried to get into games online and it's like, the first half of the game is everyone ramping and on their phones, then they miss interactions, then they want to go back, then somebody bricks on lands and quits randomly, then eventually combo win. I don't know, it's just such a great casual format, I just think it's harder than ever to make friends playing commander because there is almost an expected play pattern and that takes the fun of, cool merfolk deck, out of the game.

And, oh and this might be a waaaaay out there opinion, but I do think that EDH content creators and the design of the precons have created a certain bias in how good cards are, and it's played into them being in so many deck. Like, if every precon has Sol Ring then the edhREC data will have a massive uptick in how many games are won after playing a sol ring. Or how much of an absolute bomb something like Jeska's Will looks like in a command zone episode because they mulligan to perfect hands with perfect color fixing and early ramp. Drawing Sol Ring turn 6 or getting Jeska's Will when you don't have the right colors are things that I always think about while brewing because, for more than half the duration of every game, I'd much rather have a Tragic Slip than a Sol Ring. Cards with a high ceiling just look busted in a perfect game or a high sample size, but in play it's harder to tell if a win with Sol Ring is a correlation or just an occurrence.

I guess what I mean to say there is yeah, getting off staples, or at least considering what they are actually doing or me helps make decks feel more fun. Getting off combos with commanders and things is definitely one too. Because that seems like such a great idea when I'm brewing, but having a more versatile 99 can be way more fun to play.

But maybe my question is, how do you make the experience of playing with strangers in EDH better, or is it just a format that is designed to be at it's absolute best with friends. I've seen people just leave online games when I have a home brew, a few times even getting cussed at for being "off meta", and I very much feel like EDH for pure fun may be something that players have to create again somehow.

Also, I now want to pumpkin canoe race : ) That sounds delightful.

Sorry to go on a bit!

Azoth2099 on Wizard tribal Big X spells

1 month ago

Ahh yes, Wizard tribal. Amazing. Here's some cards to tutor, draw & ramp your way to victory with:

Mystical Tutor, Personal Tutor, Solve the Equation, Gamble, Fervent Mastery & Vedalken AEthermage are worth considering as tutors here imo. Most of the other tutors in this color combo are Artifact tutors like Fabricate, Reshape & Reckless Handling...which I suppose could end up playing into a revamped strategy here as the deck develops, who knows?

For draw, Windfall, Wheel of Misfortune (& Wheel of Fortune if you're cut like that), Tolarian Winds, & Decaying Time Loop are all great with this commander. Cantrips like Ponder & Brainstorm should probably make the cut as well, it's hard to top that value for 1 mana.

As far as ramp, I always try to roll with at least 10 mana rocks, a handful of rituals & perhaps a few cost reducers when I'm within {U}{R}, depending on the your deck's mana curve. I know that sounds extreme, but I swear it makes your deck awesome, especially the more it develops. As the quality of each card goes up over time, consistent ramp becomes more and more important.

Also, some combo pieces to pair with Dualcaster Mage wouldn't hurt either. Twinflame, Heat Shimmer & Ghostly Flicker all work, the former 2 are definitely more synergistic with your current list though.

I could yap about various bangers for this commander like Bribery & Acquire all day, but I'll stop here unless you request more.

Lastly, a bit of bad news...Vadrik, Astral Archmage is the best {U}{R} commander for big X spells lol, he's insane. I might even say that he's the best one in that color combo in general.

Cheers!

Neotrup on Ojer pakpatiq, can I use …

1 month ago

You cannot. The rebound abilities of Brainstorm and Remand will both trigger at the same time, so you can choose the order to put them on the stack. If you put Brainstorm's trigger on top, you'll cast it while Remand's trigger is still on the stack, then resolve Brainstorm before Remand's trigger ever resolves. When the next trigger resolves, there won't be any targets for Remand, so it will stay in exile unable to be cast.

If instead you put Remand's trigger on top of the stack, it will resolve, but there won't be any spells on the stack (Brainstorm is still in exile, it just has a triggered ability on the stack.) Remand will remain in exile just like in the first example and then Brainstorm's trigger will resolve and you can cast it. The net result ends up the same regardless of how you stack the triggers.

TL;DR: You aren't able to rebound counterspells because the way the timing works there's never a spell on the stack to target.

BarfQuackers on Ojer pakpatiq, can I use …

1 month ago

Sorry for the poorly worded title but basically, say I have Ojer Pakpatiq, Deepest Epoch  ^Flip and on previous turns I cast Brainstorm and Remand. My next upkeep comes around can I cast Brainstorm and then cast Remand targeting brainstorm or nah?

JustJohn97 on Mono Blue Delving Terror

2 months ago

Balaam__ I agree Lorien Revealed is good for a ramp shell or for color fixing. The thought process here is that I am pseudo ramping towards my goal of casting creatures like Tolarian Terror, especially since I often don't have a 1 drop. I can spend mana to cycle Lorien Revealed and put a sorcery in the graveyard and have effectively reduced the cost of my creatures while also securing a land drop. Perhaps running Thought Scour may be better, which would add to your argument of running more Island, but I can't say for certain. It does have the upside of flipping Delver of Secrets  ^Flip, shuffling Brainstorm, and filling the graveyard while also still being good late game. I don't have a lot of T1 plays, so I'm ok with sinking mana at the beginning for later plays when I'm in top deck mode.

I love having interaction and would love to run more bounce spells, I just don't know how I would fit them in haha! This is actually my honest attempt of shoving in as much interaction while still having something to execute my gameplan with. Typically my game plan is to stall and use interaction until I can throw down a Tolarian Terror. That's actually where the Desert lands come in. I can use them as repeatable interaction without spending a card. It also allows me to cast all my sorcery spells, a third of my instants, and my big creatures if my graveyard isn't large enough. Again it's very match dependent, but sometimes I view holding up the colorless mana as basically holding up something like Vapor Snag. If I were to replace them with interaction, I don't think the mana would be there, so this was my compromise of opportunity for mana and interaction. I'm sure there's a build where Vapor Snag or Unsummon fit in, but I'm not sure what to cut for them after replacing Desert with Island.

Thanks again for the suggestions! Definitely something for me to think about. I'm looking forward to more future games and figuring out what works well and what needs to change.

FAIRxPOTAMUS on Deck Space marine

2 months ago

Here’s a few combos I’ve made.

Inquisitorial Rosette + Zephyrim Inquisitorial Rosette + Thunderhawk Gunship Defenders of Humanity + Exterminatus Belisarius Cawl + Talisman of Dominance

Inquisitorial Rosette might be your best friend. I like that you have Marneus Calgar . I would suggest Belisarius Cawl , Defenders of Humanity is good for when you need tokens in a pinch. Thunderhawk Gunship is nice. Ultramarines Honour Guard boost everything. Another card you could try to find is The Flesh is Weak since it buffs your guys and puts -1s on your opponent’s guys.

I’m not sure how Sol Ring Brainstorm or Dark Ritual are fitting into the theme. Space marines are the “good guys” (not really everybody’s a prick in 40k) and these spells are linked to the ruinous powers of chaos and xenos. Very anti-imperial. You could go full blown chaos with this deck alternatively. There’s plenty of chaos space marine cards including Abaddon the Despoiler , Lucius the Eternal , Tallyman of Nurgle , Dark Apostle , and more. Hallowed Fountain and Watery Grave are okay mechanically but I’m preferring to use the special lands from the 40K block. Take a look at Arcane Sanctum

Check out my deck if you like. I’ll leave the link below. I’m always looking at it and appreciate feedback so feel free to comment. Happy wizarding out ther.. er.. um.. I mean.. The Emperor Protects!

https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/imperium-hominum-legatum-1/?cb=1706457194

Azoth2099 on So basically dimir Talrand

3 months ago

Yeah, I suppose that was a rude way to say that, I apologize.

Once this deck is streamlined, you'll have more than enough token generation to slot Diabolic Intent, especially considering that one of your main combos is Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter. Sacrificing a token so that you can make infinite tokens is worth it.

Also, the utility offered by Black Market Connections here is insane. If you don't want to throw a bunch of life into it once it's served it's purpose you can just pay 1 for a treasure, which is fantastic. The tokens it generates are Changelings as well, which matters a lot if we're talking about quickly getting to the 9. Never be afraid to use your life as a resource, especially in color combos including {B}. You're kicking yourself by doing so! The more powerful and dialed in your decklist is, the more powerful your life will be as a resource, I cannot overstate this.

If you don't want to police the table for fun's sake...that's awesome lol, you're probably super fun to play with! In that case, I'd add more cantrip effects for yourself like Ponder, Brainstorm, Serum Visions, Opt...There's a ton. Windfall, Tolarian Winds, Sign in Blood & Night's Whisper would do great in this new hypothetical card draw pack, too.

As far as what I'd cut to make room for more core strength, here it goes:

Teferi's Veil, Levitation, Cover of Darkness, Glamdring, Maskwood Nexus, Uncovered Clues, Pieces of the Puzzle, Worn Powerstone, Metallurgic Summonings, Quantum Misalignment, Decoy Gambit & Soul Shatter.

None of these are bad cards per se, I definitely understand why you slotted most of them, but if you replace them with some of the cards I mentioned your deck engine will run a lot smoother a lot more often.

Azoth2099 on Kess reanimator

3 months ago

Consider Careful Study, Faithless Looting, & Tolarian Winds here! They can really help you tear through your deck & fill your graveyard super early in the game. I don't remember how much Traumatize costs nowadays, but it's probably worth looking into as well.

Some other pieces like Dark Ritual, Overmaster, Brainstorm, Ponder & Unmarked Grave can provide a lot of value here for a cheap ticket too.

Good luck refining your list!