Akiri & Ardenn: Enhanced Combat

Commander / EDH Forkbeard

SCORE: 84 | 54 COMMENTS | 13582 VIEWS | IN 31 FOLDERS


From Akiri & Bruse to you - happy new year! —Jan. 1, 2018

Celebrating 1 year of Akiri equipment beat downs. Really happy with how this deck turned out - I was never drawn to Boros brews but decided to give A&B a go anyway. The end result has been much more fun & explosive than I ever expected it to be and I look forward to tinkering with this build over time.

Resetting the comments while I'm here. Here's to more death by line slingin', sword swingin', umezawa jitte'n allies in 2018!

Unlife says... #1

Maybe think about Fury of the Horde and Temur Battle Ragefor some more utility. Also Hellkite Charger would pair very well with Sword of Feast and Famine

January 15, 2017 10:46 p.m.

Forkbeard says... #2

Thanks Unlife, some good ideas. I've made a couple substitutions.

January 15, 2017 11:40 p.m.

NensouHiebara says... #3

Ally Encampment produces coloured mana for Akiri and Bruse and can spare one of them from a sweeper.

January 19, 2017 7:29 p.m.

Forkbeard says... #4

Good idea! I'm adding it, thanks NensouHiebara.

January 19, 2017 7:36 p.m.

kopopoo says... #5

What about Mycosynth Lattice??

January 25, 2017 1:52 p.m.

Forkbeard says... #6

That would play nice with Darksteel Forge. Definitely a card to consider, thanks kopopoo.

January 26, 2017 7:15 p.m.

Redace878 says... #7

I have a very similar deck. Do you have Argentum Armor? It gets ridiculous if you use Masterwork of Ingenuity to copy it. Also Grappling Hook might be a better alternative to Fireshrieker.

February 23, 2017 12:37 p.m.

Forkbeard says... #8

Thanks for the suggestions Redace878, greatly appreciated. I went back and forth on Argentum Armor end ended up deciding that 12 mana ( to cast, to equip) was just too steep. I'm not ruling it out entirely because it's definitely powerful, I just want to see how the deck does without it for now. Same thing with Grappling Hook - I like it, but 8 mana for double strike is too much. Akiri needs to focus on hitting faces instead of killing off creatures so GH's bonus ability wouldn't be used too often.

February 25, 2017 8:52 p.m.

Redace878 says... #9

Forkbeard Yeah, my deck runs it because I think it has more equipment synergy, so I would be able to get it equipped by turn four but I think it is too much mana for a deck like this.

February 26, 2017 8:50 a.m.

Godo, Bandit Warlord is a red equipment tutor that immediately puts it on the battlefield. Even if his second ability isn't useful in this list, that seems powerful enough, especially when you need that specific Sword of X and Y.

Lightning Greaves is a great way to protect your voltron commander and accelerate her out. If you want to add more equipment to her, just shift this onto another creature temporarily for the low, low cost of 0 mana.

Skullclamp is always useful for threatening your opponent with extra card advantage in case they try to kill your voltron commander.

Awesome decklist!

March 9, 2017 12:33 p.m.

Forkbeard says... #11

Those are some great suggestions Austin_Smith_of_Cards, thank you! I was steering away from equipment that granted shroud but completely forgot about Greaves' equip cost. Totally going in, as is Godo.

March 10, 2017 1:28 p.m.

TheRealness says... #12

love this idea, i personally run Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer with a larger creature base but see a lot of similarities through our decks since i used to use the commanders you're using. Inquisitor's Flail is a powerhouse for me. i also like Sword of the Animist for land pull and Auriok Windwalker // Nahiri, the Lithomancer to help cut down on equip costs. Leonin Shikari is lovely as well.

March 31, 2017 9:33 p.m.

Forkbeard says... #13

Thanks TheRealness! Jor is definitely badass, would be interested to see your decklist.

Between Stonehewer Giant, Sigarda's Aid, Puresteel Paladin and the sheer amount of ramp/gas in here I found that further equip for free cards were unnecessary. I used to run Nahiri but found that she usually grabbed 1 item from the graveyard (the +2 ability was never really useful in my strategy) and would then be promptly targeted. She's cool, just not the best use of 5 mana IMO.

As for Sword of the Animist & Leonin Shikari, I ran both of those cards for a while as well. Animist was ok but ultimately underwhelming in my experience - the land boost + deck thinning factor is alluring, but I decided that I just didn't need the additional ramp & the +1/+1 is negligible so I took it out and I haven't been missing it. Leonin's ability is definitely cool and seemed like a no-brainer inclusion when I put the deck together, but in my experience I didn't find the equip at instant speed useful at all. It's not like your opponents can't see it coming so there's no sneaky combat tricks there. If I have the mana available to equip during my main phase, I equip!

Now...Inquisitor's Flail. I should really try to fit this in, I agree that it's a powerhouse. The double damage to equipped creature makes me nervous, but ideally it shouldn't matter if I use it strategically (e.g. make sure Akiri is indestructible or has evasion).

Anyway, great suggestions. I always appreciate the food for thought!

April 1, 2017 3 p.m.

Romer says... #14

Oooh, yes it would definitely be cool to test out Inquisitor's Flail. You're right, this deck has a bunch of ways to avoid the drawback to your own creatures.

April 1, 2017 5:18 p.m.

conlonsmith says... #15

You and I used the same Commander pair! I loved seeing your deck for the novelty of equipment use instead of robots and vehicles like mine. Akiri reminds me of a circus acrobat and Bruce reminds me of a strongman you'd see in old-timey circus photos; I named my deck "Cirque de Moteur" because of all that. I'd love it if you give me some feedback on it!

May 16, 2017 1 p.m.

conlonsmith says... #16

why have Arid Mesa in the deck when you could go with the less expensive Evolving Wilds? Buried Ruin, Inventors' Fair, and Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion are favorite picks of mine and will be going into my deck asap

May 16, 2017 1:15 p.m.

conlonsmith says... #17

imagine Darksteel Forge + Mycosynth Lattice + late game Hellkite Tyrant!! wow that'd be something

May 16, 2017 1:21 p.m.

Forkbeard says... #18

Thanks for the suggestion conlonsmith, I hadn't thought of Mycosynth + Hellkite Tyrant...very evil, I like it! Arid Mesa is generally better due to Wilds/Expanse lands coming into play tapped. That said, Mesa is totally a luxury land and isn't necessary at all - once in a blue moon the colour fixing is a godsend but 2 colour decks are generally ok and thinning the deck by 1 card is negligible to say the least.

Checking out your deck now, cheers.

May 16, 2017 4:54 p.m.

cmsrDPM says... #19

I play a very similar deck (except for most of the swords and O-Naginata). I love more people playing the Boros threat. Perhaps you would like Vorrac Battlehorns as trample and anti-menace can be surprisingly threatening.

May 23, 2017 1:39 p.m.

Forkbeard says... #20

Thanks cmsrDPM, it's a fun + effective deck, I'm enjoying it! I can safely say that I've never even seen Vorrac Battlehorns before, interesting.

May 23, 2017 2:50 p.m.

Gleeock says... #21

I love those simple-commander spearhead decks. Question, is your most common target with Enlightened Tutor sigarda's aid? I find that card to be ridiculous in Sram. Also due my love of mass destruction I have to mention Worldslayer :) Not sure that you are swinging quite as much indestructible but regardless.

May 24, 2017 3:57 p.m.

Forkbeard says... #22

Seeing as this style of deck has a somewhat limited game plan, I typically use Enlightened Tutor to fetch a sword with relevant protection. I do love Sigarda's Aid though, it can do serious work. Worldslayer is definitely sweet, I'm not sure I can justify it in this particular list but I love the card. Thanks Gleeock!

May 24, 2017 5:41 p.m.

lclark209 says... #23

Sunforger really likes Mistveil Plains

June 9, 2017 2:17 p.m.

Forkbeard says... #24

Hey that's a great idea lclark209, nice one!

June 10, 2017 2:18 p.m.

Treehugger003 says... #25

I would like to second Godo, Bandit Warlord, Akiri has vigilance so you can get a second attack in.

Some other cards that I like for this combination.

Prowler's Helm Nobody generally runs walls so it usually works wonders.

Fate Forgotten Instant speed exile artifact/enchantment.

Pyroblast just because there are a ton of blue players in my meta and countering their stuff is hilarious.

Tormod's Crypt is an artifact graveyard hate. This is meta dependent. I actually run this and Rest in Peace just because there are a ton of reanimator decks in my meta.

I like the deck. Your deck is probably higher end/faster than mine. I will be stealing some of your card draw ideas.

Tree

August 16, 2017 2:04 p.m.