A CLAWsome SHELLebration of Crab

Commander / EDH BrassLord

SCORE: 38 | 14 COMMENTS | 2755 VIEWS | IN 12 FOLDERS

Update: Journey to 100 Ticks —May 12, 2021

I've decided to shell my soul to the crab! This update has been a long one in the making! I decided at the beginning of playing this deck to mark all the times big boy crabbo manages to eek out a win VIA commander damage with a tally mark on the card. The idea is to eventually have my crab’s tiny glowing eyes peering out from under a mass of victory scars! After much playtesting and becoming “that weird crab guy” at the local game stores, the crab has dragged 25 souls down to Davy Jones’ locker, with one of the tics coming from another player, as he killed me with my own crab!

Goodnight, Sweet prince-

Out: Nezahal, Primal Tide--->In: Hammer of Nazahn

Nezehaul still remains one of my favorite cards, and it does two things that I like to see in a Polymorph target- Protection and Card draw. However… after MANY games, my opponents usually gave a sigh of relief when this guy would hit the field. He’s cool, but he was for sure the weakest hit from any polymorph plays. So I took him out for a bit more consistency! The Hammer is another shiny equipment that helps the crab stay on the board. May change it out with something else in the future!

Hello Boots with the Fur!

Out: Prowler's Helm ---> In: Trailblazer's Boots

Added in this for added evasion and the slight nonbo that the helm had with Deep Freeze. Still looking for baggy sweatpants and some reeboks with the straps.

Out: Spell Swindle --> In: Sapphire Medallion

Another case of a card looking cool on paper and being underwhelming in person. The mana cost proved too steep, and I found that I’d often end games with this card stuck in my hand. On the flip side, Sapphire Medallion was suggested earlier, and I always enjoy seeing this card in my opening hand! For sure a slot improvement!

Out: High Tide ---> In: Sword of Feast and Famine

Our Crab is going to shallow waters! This was one card I was surprised to cut. Another card that on paper should have been great. It can double mana in an islands matter deck AND can let us hard cast our Polymorph targets. Coolest thing I did with it was use the mana it produced to cast the crab after a board wipe, give it haste, and still had enough mana to double pump the crab to add another tick to the shell! Unfortunately, it just didn’t pan out that way enough, and was most often a card I kept in my hand until I lost the game. I recently acquired this sword, and I enjoy adding it to my crab’s pile of shiny things!

Out: 2x Island ---> In: 1x Inkmoth Nexus 1x Mutavault

I severely underestimated these man lands. Being able to tap these for mana and use it to make themselves creatures is really invaluable and allows the deck to keep on scuttling on the ocean floor as our commander tax goes up and up. Plus, Inkmoth Nexus is another alternate win condition in a pinch! And we like pinches of ALL kinds!

Out: Lay Claim ---> In: Vedalken Shackles.

When asking my friends for some advice on the deck and looking for potential cuts, one of them said, “So you mainly run this to cycle and draw a card?” Point made, Brian. Added in the shackles because chains and whips excite me! Who doesn’t like stealing creatures!?

I'm still having a blast playtesting and refining this list further. It's gone from a jumbled janky pipe dream deck to something of a threat at my local tables! I'm still trying to find room for a few cards like Fierce Guardianship, and I have my eye on cutting a few cards like Desertion. As always, suggestions are always welcome! Scuttle along, friends!