Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser

Legendary Creature — Human Detective

Vigilance

Whenever Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser attacks, suspect target creature. Then goad all suspected creatures. (A suspected creature has menace and can't block. Until your next turn, goaded creatures attack each combat if able and attack a player other than you if able.)

Whenever one or more creatures an opponent controls deal combat damage to one or more of your opponents, you and the controller of those creatures each draw a card.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	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
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (10)

Crow_Umbra on ....But it happens twice.

2 months ago

All good, happy to help a newer player. What you described sounds like some pretty common issues I encountered pretty early on with Isshin, and still occasionally encounter every so often. In regards to your different points:

1. I think you have a decent enough amount of ramp. I think a couple of things can help further in this regard: changing out your two Signets for other 2 mana rocks like Talisman of Indulgence, Talisman of Hierarchy, Fellwar Stone, and Arcane Signet. Additionally, I think you can change out your 3 mana rocks like Darksteel Ingot for the stuff I mentioned. I think also trimming some of your higher cost creatures can help. Keeping a low curve can help you redeploy faster, if most of your creatures are in the 1-4 mana range. Etali is fun, but it's super boom or bust.

2. Having a couple more instant speed options to help you against boardwipes can be a huge help. It's not really budget, but Clever Concealment is an excellent option, especially since you will likely have multiple creatures to help cast this with the Convoke mechanic. There are other instant speed "counters" like Tibalt's Trickery and Reprieve which can help.

3. I think Thorough Investigation can be swapped for either Tocasia's Welcome or Chivalric Alliance. It's kinda slow for draw, since you still have to pay mana into the Clue tokens to draw 1 card at a time. Not the most budget, but Skullclamp is an excellent & repeatable option that you can feed some of your 1/1 tokens to. I'd recommend adding in Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant, Firemane Commando, and Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser as swaps with your Etali, The Master, and Elder Brain. Those 3 are all splashy, but can sit in your hand if you don't have the mana for them, which relates to some of your mana issues. Nelly, Karazikar, & Firemane all work in conjunction with the Breena you already have in your 99, and can help (or force) aggro away from you.

I think you can and should put Iroas back in there. His Menace anthem also helps to make your board harder to block, which acts as an additional layer of protection. He can help close out games if you have a strong enough board state. I think you can maybe swap him for either Righteous Cause or Blade of Selves.

Some other potential swaps: Bankrupt in Blood can swap out for Deadly Dispute (Lower creature investment needed, instant speed, and nets a treasure). Generous Gift & Stroke of Midnight can swap with any of your more narrowly focused/highly specific removal. The tokens they gift your opponents are largely inconsequential. Soul Partition is another versatile option that can either protect one of your permanents, or (temporarily) remove a threat.

Lastly, I think you can swap Mardu Shadowspear, Pulse Tracker, and Vicious Conquistador for some the 3 creatures I mentioned in bullet 3. I think you're on the right track with their group slug effects, but as smaller 1/1s they are easily blocked and killed. Mostly suggesting this as alternative if you would prefer to keep your 3 higher end creatures I suggested as swaps.

I hope this is all helpful, my apologies for writing you an essay.

Crow_Umbra on Fight For Survival

3 months ago

Hi there, have you had a chance to play this deck irl at all yet? In terms of upgrades, is there any specific area you want to focus on first? Lastly, do you have a general budget in mind for upgrades?

The tricky thing with Mardu Humans is that there are a lot of great options available to these colors; especially Legendary humans. Some more general spitballing ideas that should be fairly budget friendly:

• Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge could maybe be a swap in over Captivating Crew. He has upside that helps your Legendary creatures, and can draw you some cards. Bonus points for being a creature that Alesha can recur.

• Plumb the Forbidden is a solid draw option in Aristocrats and token-focused decks. It's one of my favorite responses to board wipes in the decks that I run it in.

• Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon can be a solid option over maybe Perimeter Sergeant. She can balloon & spit out gnomes if left alone too long.

• Loran of the Third Path could be a potential swap out over Devout Chaplain. I think it depends on if you value an ETB removal source over one that is potentially repeatable, but needs more set up to pull off. Loran also opens up a more political draw option.

• Depending on your preference, but Morbid Opportunist, Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser, or Species Specialist could all be potential alternatives to Disciple of Bolas as draw options.

Hopefully these suggestions are helpful. Mardu Humans have so many great options available to different versions of the build archetype, that it can be hard to narrow down your options. Budget considerations can definitely help narrow down your options.

Crow_Umbra on Favorite EDH Cards

5 months ago

I enjoy cards that present opponents with a choice, which can be spun politically, or put them in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. Some stuff I run in various decks:

• Council's Judgment - Voting doesn't target, so the table has an opportunity to deal with up to 4 troublesome permanents.

• Seize the Spotlight - I typically add this in aggro decks that can make use of the stolen creatures.

• Druid of Purification - In a similar vein as Council's Judgment. Everyone tends to have something around the table that they don't like. Most games I've seen Druid of Purification, it tends to remove at least two things.

• Mob Verdict - This has popped up in a couple of games I've played my Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser deck. It's partly in there for flavor, but also because I tend to play in a fairly token heavy & aggro meta, so it presents the table with the opportunity to take whoever has the widest board down a peg or two.

One of my friends recently put together one of the voting Elf commanders from one of the LotR pre-cons. Voting can be fun if done a couple of times per game, but can be a bit much when done multiple times in succession. Idk, I enjoy those moments where players might have to stop and discuss decisions before making them

Crow_Umbra on Edh options

5 months ago

I'd second Gleeock's recommendations of Breena & Isshin.

I'd also like to add Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser as another Goad/politics option. She's pretty fun & can keep the table swinging at each other, & doesn't require as much of the politicking as Breena.

Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant is another Goad/Control option that can keep things interesting.

Isshin can house all of those Legends, & lean more heavily into things like Goad, Monarch, & other forms of combat control if your meta is more aggro heavy. As Gleeock stated, Isshin might be the least budget friendly, since a 3 color mana base & card draw support can be pricey.

Crow_Umbra on Arms Race (Boros Aikido)

7 months ago

I caught your most recent comment in passing on the main comment feed, ShieldOfHolyShadows. I think you're very spot on in terms of the different mentality profiles for how people tend to respond to strategies like these.

I recently put together Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser on kind of a whim, and because stuff like Kardur, Karazikar, & Breena have all seen varying levels of success in my meta. For the most part, people enjoyed taking advantage of the draw, especially since my main playgroup leans very aggro. One of my friends deeply dislikes "being told what to do" by Goad strats, and guns for whoever plays them.

Either way, I've grown to enjoy the interactive aspect and mind games of piloting a deck like this one.

Ricccochet on Director Isshin's Cut

9 months ago

Last_Laugh and Crow_Umbra I got some updates on my deck but looking forward to upgrade it more. Might consider the following in the long run:

Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser Skyhunter Strike Force Firemane Commando Take the Bait Breena, the Demagogue Hanweir Garrison  ^Meld Hanweir Battlements  ^Meld

With most of the goad materials that I'm adding, the deck will be shifting towards a balance between offense and defense and with more card draw.

Crow_Umbra on two wind assault

9 months 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:

• A few more creature token creators like Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon and Hero of Bladehold are pretty solid.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 Isshin Semi-budget

10 months ago

No prob, happy to help! Do you have a general budget per card? I wanted to make sure that the stuff I recommended generally stuck within the budget the rest of the list seemed to have. Is there anything you have in mind for the type of effect you were looking for the 4 drop?

I'm generally a fan of keeping the curve trim for Isshin. I think most of what the deck wants tends to be mostly in the 2-4 cmc range. A few different 4 drop options:

• Bronzebeak Foragers - Basically a Grasp of Fate on a body that can be copied by Delina, Wild Mage

• Firemane Commando - Also complimentary to Breena & rewards you for attacking around the table.

• Mishra, Claimed by Gix  ^Meld - I wouldn't even bother with the Meld aspect. Mishra can be a pretty solid finisher option for group slug shenanigans.

• Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser - Newer tech from MKC. Can compliment the Breena you have in your 99 & be another draw source.

• Ogre Battledriver - Another haste anthem can be helpful for an aggro deck. The other benefit is getting that +2/+0 power buff for when creatures ETB, so it can definitely add a bit more punch to your tokens that ETB tapped & attacking.