Ankle Shanker

Creature — Goblin Berserker

Haste

Whenever Ankle Shanker attacks, creatures you control gain first strike and deathtouch until end of turn.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	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
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (48)

Crow_Umbra on Isshin, Two Combats as One

3 weeks ago

Hi there! Have you had a chance to play the deck at all irl yet? I was also wondering what's the general focus you wanted to take your Isshin deck? Given his wording, he can do a lot with attack triggers, and from looking at your deck it looks like you're trying a bit of everything that he's capable of. If you're open to them, I have some suggestions:

• Your mana curve is pretty top heavy, and without much ramp/mana acceleration beyond Sol Ring, Aracane Signet, Sword of the Animist, Capt Lannery Storm, Chromatic Lantern, Smothering Tithe, & Goldspan Dragon. If you wanted to speed up your play a bit, I'd recommend getting in a few more 2 mana rocks like Orzhov Signet & Talisman of Conviction, & some of the others in Mardu colors.

• If you wanted to lean more into a token creature generation route, I'd recommend adding in Myrel and Brimaz, which are already in your Maybeboard, & maybed swapping them with Pathrazer of Ulamog & maybe one of your other high CMC creatures. I think trimming some of your higher CMC creatures ties in a bit to my suggestion from my bullet above.

• Ankle Shanker could be a potential swap for Blade Historian, mostly because the death touch & first strike combo will make your board difficult to block.

• I'd recommend cutting Cunning Rhetoric and swapping it with Rising of the Day or Fervor. Cunning Rhetoric was a card I cut fairly early on from my Isshin deck, and found the Haste anthems to be a lot more helpful for starting my aggro swings faster. Cunning Rhetoric is also in a kinda awkward spot where you kinda want to dissuade attacks, but it's not really enough of a deterrent; at least it wasn't in my meta.

• I think you could swap Planar Cleansing for another board protection effect like Clever Concealment. Isshin really benefits from maintaining as much aggro momentum as possible, so it helps to keep your board as intact as possible. Additionally, Planar Cleansing is very single-color heavy for a 3 color deck.

• On the topic of board protection, I'd highly recommend adding in Reconnaissance, as it's one of the best cards for any Isshin deck. The wording on Reconnaissance acts as a pseudo-Vigilance anthem, and can save your creatures from combat. This article from EDHREC better elaborates on the timing and how it works. This would really round out your board protection you already have with Dolmen Gate & Iroas.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. Would be happy to offer additional suggestions or ideas if you would like them. Best of luck with your deck, Isshin is a lot of fun!

Crow_Umbra on Isshin Double Attack Trigger

1 month ago

I meant Ankle Shanker on my last comment lol

Crow_Umbra on Isshin Homebrew

3 months ago

Welcome to Tappedout and to Isshin brewing. In looking at your list I have some thoughts and potential suggestions. A few quick questions: Do you have a budget per card or total budget in mind? Is there a particular avenue of Isshin that you have in mind, I see that you mentioned multi-combats.

• Your deck generally looks solid, but I think you creatures are what could use the most focus in terms of swaps. Stuff like Heliod, Megatron, Hooded Blightfang, Raiyuu, and Academy Manufactor are good, but don't fit this deck super well.

• If you like Hooded Blightfang, I'd recommend adding some deathtouch anthems like Vault of the Archangel, Ankle Shanker, and/or Kaya, Geist Hunter to really take advantage of its ability. Otherwise, I think you could remove it.

• If you like that GroupSlug style of play like Hooded Blightfang, I'd recommend checking out other stuff like Hellrider, Brutal Hordechief, Vicious Conquistador, or Infectious Horror, which aren't as narrow in focus to pull off like Blightfang.

• I think you could probably swap Feed the Swarm for something like Dismantling Wave, Anguished Unmaking, or Vanishing Verse. Mardu has more options for enchantment removal than other color combos with Black in them where Feed the Swarm is one of their few options.

• Lastly, these are not budget friendly, but are generally good cards for any Isshin strat. I'd recommend checking out Dolmen Gate, which will be getting another reprint in The List pretty soon when the LotR set drops, and Reconnaissance, which is like a pseudo-Vigilance anthem that can save your creatures from combat. This article details how Reconnaissance works a bit more.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. I've had a lot fun playing Isshin for the past year, and I hope you do too.

Crow_Umbra on Obi-Wan Budget

4 months ago

Glad we're on the same page carpecanum lol. I think Myriad/ETB damage is a great budget route for Isshin lists that can serve as a decent foundation for potential upgrades.

To build off your Ankle Shanker suggestion, I'd also like to throw in Vault of the Archangel and Kaya, Geist Hunter could serve as additional Deathtouch anthems. Kaya is also a budget-ish option for token doubling. I think Vault of the Archangel should replace Temple of the False God. Temple is very slow, and not super useful in a 3+ color deck.

Mayhem Patrol can be a useful 2 drop and can be Blitzed out if needed for a cantrip draw.

carpecanum on Obi-Wan Budget

4 months ago

OK, Crow Umbra is in my head. Same cuts, Myriad is great etc.

Clamor Shaman and Goblin Heelcutter come out fast and let you attack with impunity. If your deck has to attack you need to make sure you don't get murdered by blockers. Ankle Shanker would fit right in.

Veteran Soldier maybe? Dictate of Heliod?

Crow_Umbra on Isshin for a Fight

6 months ago

Glad you're getting the hang of the deck and it's working well for you so far. If you like the beefiness of Cathars' Crusade, you could run Adriana, Captain of the Guard. I see she's in your maybe board. Same cmc, but her P/T boosts although temporary, are still pretty decent. With Isshin out, and swinging at 3 opponents, your creatures will get +6/+6. If you pull off the Magic Christmas Land of having Adriana and Skyhunter Strike Force on field at the same time as Isshin, I think your creatures would all get +12/+12, since each instance of Melee triggers separately and would stack.

Additional creatures that can also provide P/T boosts on attack: Signal Pest, Accorder Paladin, Soltari Champion.

Ankle Shanker could be worth a look at to essentially make your board evasive with First Strike & Deathtouch.

In regards to Phyrexian Arena & Tocasia's Welcome they definitely have their pros and cons

Phyrexian Arena:

• Pro: Consistently gets you a card at each of your upkeeps
• Con: Have to wait a whole turn rotation to draw a card from it, making the play pattern kind of awkward in mid-late game.
• Con: Life loss can get precarious later in game, but that's the risk of playing Black Draw lol.
• Con: Double color mana pip, especially in a color that your deck is currently playing the least

Tocasia's Welcome:

• Pro: Can get you a card the same turn it gets played if you follow up with creature token production or a 3cmc or less creature.
• Con: Only draws one card per turn.
• Con: May not draw cards on other players' turns if you don't have a means of making creature tokens at instant speed.
• Con: At its best when paired with consistent creature token production, or casting smaller creatures.

Vampiric Rites is an option worth trying, but will shine with enough creature tokens to toss into it. The activation cost could compete with instant speed removal/interaction in situations where you may be trying to dig for answers. Might be better in an Aristocrats focused deck that is likely also getting additional value out of death triggers, so the 2 mana is a more value generating activation beyond drawing a card and gaining life.

Deadly Dispute and Painful Truths are additional "burst" options for draw.

Crow_Umbra on Goldmane... The Other Brother

7 months ago

Your primer description is basically what I have going on with my Saryth, the Viper's Fang deck. Just a mono-color showcase that somehow holds its own.

Brave the Elements seems like it could do some work here. An old favorite of mine from my earliest days play Mono white Allies. Dismantling Wave is also some solid removal.

Side note- I discussed your Ankle Shanker suggestion with my good friend, & I've decided to add it in. Might also add Vault of the Archangel & Kaya, Geist Hunter as some additional pieces to that package.

Crow_Umbra on Musashi's Mosh Pit [Primer]

7 months ago

Last_Laugh - Ankle Shanker is cool. I had it in my Maybe Board for a while and removed it for whatever reason.

I've liked Grave Titan each time I've played it. Getting 3 bodies, one of which has death touch, on board for 6 mana isn't too bad. In the times I've played it, it was usually enough to dissuade swings away from me for a turn rotation. The 2 tokens on ETB, and 2-4 each swing depending if Isshin is out is pretty cool, especially if I have an Impact Tremors effect on board.

I'll keep Ankle Shanker on back burner for now in case I feel I need it.