Isshin, Two Heavens As One - Eiganjo Uprising v1.4

Commander / EDH Myriad RBW (Mardu) Tokens

KBK7101

Attack Triggers (27)

• 1x Signal Pest
• 1x Ainok Strike Leader
• 1x Arabella, Abandoned Doll
• 1x Circle of Flame
• 1x Skyknight Vanguard
• 1x Voice of Victory
• 1x Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
• 1x Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon *f-pre*
• 1x Dalkovan Packbeasts
• 1x Hammers of Moradin
• 1x Hanweir Garrison  ^Meld
• 1x Mardu Ascendancy
• 1x Redoubled Stormsinger
• 1x Windcrag Siege
• 1x Zurgo, Thunder's Decree
• 1x Battle Angels of Tyr
• 1x Bone-Cairn Butcher
• 1x Elturel Survivors
• 1x Firemane Commando
• 1x Hero of Bladehold
• 1x Leonin Warleader
• 1x Mishra, Claimed by Gix  ^Meld
• 1x Winota, Joiner of ForcesGC
• 1x Within Range
• 1x Goldlust Triad
• 1x Ronin Cliffrider
• 1x Sun Titan

Ramp (9)

• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Battle Angels of Tyr
• 1x Goldlust Triad

Protection (7)

• 1x Ainok Strike Leader
• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Flawless Maneuver
• 1x Teferi's ProtectionGC
• 1x Clever Concealment

Board Wipe (3)

• 1x Damn
• 1x Winds of Abandon
• 1x Ronin Cliffrider

Combat Tricks (1)

• 1x Reconnaissance

Land (34)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Blightstep Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Brightclimb Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Field of Ruin
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Luxury Suite
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 4x Mountain
• 1x Pillarverge Pathway  ^Flip
• 5x Plains
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Savai Triome
• 1x Shattered Sanctum
• 1x Silent Clearing
• 1x Slayers' Stronghold
• 1x Spectator Seating
• 1x Sunbaked Canyon
• 1x Sundown Pass
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Vault of Champions

Card Draw (10)

• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Chivalric Alliance
• 1x Glimmer Lens
• 1x Plumb the Forbidden
• 1x Enduring Innocence
• 1x Mentor of the Meek
• 1x Tocasia's Welcome
• 1x Zurgo Stormrender
• 1x Battle Angels of Tyr
• 1x Firemane Commando

ETB/Attack Damage (6)

• 1x Arabella, Abandoned Doll
• 1x Impact Tremors
• 1x Warleader's Call
• 1x Mishra, Claimed by Gix  ^Meld
• 1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
• 1x Within Range

Defense (3)

• 1x Circle of Flame
• 1x Voice of Victory
• 1x Iroas, God of Victory

Recovery (1)

• 1x Sun Titan

Commander (1)

Tokens (22)

• 1x Ainok Strike Leader
• 1x Skyknight Vanguard
• 1x Voice of Victory
• 1x Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
• 1x Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon *f-pre*
• 1x Dalkovan Packbeasts
• 1x Hammers of Moradin
• 1x Hanweir Garrison  ^Meld
• 1x Kaya, Geist Hunter
• 1x Mardu Ascendancy
• 1x Redoubled Stormsinger
• 1x Zurgo Stormrender
• 1x Zurgo, Thunder's Decree
• 1x Battle Angels of Tyr
• 1x Bone-Cairn Butcher
• 1x Elturel Survivors
• 1x Hero of Bladehold
• 1x Leonin Warleader
• 1x Mondrak, Glory Dominus
• 1x Within Range
• 1x Goldlust Triad
• 1x Thalisse, Reverent Medium

Removal (8)

• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Damn
• 1x Fracture
• 1x Winds of Abandon
• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Crackling Doom
• 1x Oblation

Haste (4)

• 1x Slayers' Stronghold
• 1x Emblem of the Warmind
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots

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Maybeboard

Other (19)

• 1x Vault of the Archangel
• 1x Paladin Class
• 1x Brave the Sands
• 1x Despark
• 1x Dolmen Gate
• 1x Transmogrant's Crown
• 1x Vanishing Verse
• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Devilish Valet
• 1x Fervor
• 1x Flawless Maneuver
• 1x Linden, the Steadfast Queen
• 1x Soltari Champion
• 1x Wear / Tear
• 1x Brazen Cannonade
• 1x Dihada, Binder of Wills
• 1x Ogre Battledriver
• 1x Eldrazi Monument
• 1x Rabble Rousing

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Updated - 5/14/25

In the time it takes most to master one blade, he mastered two.

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Hello and welcome to my newly updated Isshin, Two Heavens as One deck! After an admittedly fairly long period of dormancy, the deck is back and updated with all the new, wonderful cards from 2024 and Tarkir: Dragonstorm! This deck is all about three things - tokens, burn damage and attacking! Very fast and very aggro, this deck doesn't pull it's punches and tries to go to war as soon as possible!

Please do not recommend any Universes Beyond cards. They will not be considered for the deck.

I'd love any and all feedback. Thanks!

{W}{B}{R}{W}{B}{R}{W}{B}{R}{W}{B}{R}{W}{B}{R}{W}{B}{R}{W}{B}{R}{W}{B}{R}{W}{B}{R}{W}{B}{R}

LORE

Two different visions of freedom clashed at the gates of the Imperial Palace.

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Due to the massive influx of new commanders these past few years, many of them don't get much more than a blurb on Magic's official website. Isshin is one of those characters. Not quoted or referred to on any card other than his own, the following paragraph, copied straight from the official MTG article about Neon Dynasty commanders, is the extent of the backstory that we have.

• Isshin began his career as the bodyguard for an Imperial statesman in rural Kamigawa. He loved his work and found his employer to be an honorable man, but then the emperor disappeared, splintering the central government. Being so far from Eiganjo, Isshin thought they would be safe, but the chaos left his lord destitute, and Isshin was dismissed. He was wandering the countryside doing odd jobs when he was hired by a blacksmith in Sokenzanshi. There, he learned of the Asari Uprisers, a group dedicated to overthrowing the Imperials and putting the government into the hands of the people. Now, he fights alongside them hoping to bring freedom to the land.

Curious about other commanders from Neon Dynasty? The original article is linked below! (I know. I really should have hyperlinks enabled by now. I'm sorry!)

https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/legends-kamigawa-neon-dynasty-2022-02-11

COMMANDER/GAMEPLAN

“Go! Show them your fury!”

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Isshin, Two Heavens as One is probably one of the simplest commanders ever printed.

He essentially reads:

• If something you control has an attack trigger, it triggers twice.

That's it. Very straightforward.

Because of this, Isshin decks tend to be super aggro decks that lean extremely heavily on attacking. There are still a few different ways to build Isshin, though. Cards like Blood Reckoning and Circle of Flame could lean you more towards a political deck where you try and dissuade opponents from attacking you while making them attack each other. Decks that utilize the Exalted ability also have some potential as well. Equipment themes with Swords of X and Y would be fairly good, too.

This deck, however, is focused on making lots and lots of tokens. Cards like Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Leonin Warleader, Hero of Bladehold and anything with Myriad or the new Mobilize mechanic are some of the strongest cards this deck has to offer. When attacking with any of these while Isshin is on the board, your board state can get out of control very quickly. If all those tokens weren't enough... Kaya, Geist Hunter and Thallise, Reverent Medium can essentially double them! Add in cards like Impact Tremors, Purphoros, God of the Forge, Warleader's Call, Arabella, Abandoned Doll and Mishra, Claimed by Gix   and you might even close out the game before blockers are even declared!

So, put simply, our gameplan:

• Build up decent boardstate of one or two token generators

• Cast Isshin

• Attack!!

• Either kill everyone with token army or from burn damage from Impact Tremors and Hellrider type effects

PLANESWALKERS

Kaya, Geist Hunter. Her -2 is the big draw here as it's basically a one turn Anointed Procession. Fantastic ability for what this deck wants to do. Her +1 is good for getting her back up to 2 loyalty and I don't think her ultimate is ever going to be relevant because I expect that she'll draw massive hate due to her token doubling effect.

CREATURES

Since Isshin cares about the attack triggers of permanents you control, this deck naturally has a lot of creatures. They're basically broken into two categories: attackers and non-attackers.

• Non-attackers

Mentor of the Meek and Enduring Innocence offer us some pretty steady card draw from all of our token generation

Speaking of tokens, Thalisse, Reverent Medium is fantastic at creating tokens (provided you have another means to make them beforehand). She sort of acts like a budget Anointed Procession and this deck and can set up some seriously explosive turns. Pair with any sort of Impact Tremors effect or Kaya, Geist Hunter and live the dream of needing two playmats for your boardstate! Speaking of token doubling, I got super lucky and pulled a Mondrak, Glory Dominus from my ONE box. This card needs no explanation. Make tokens? Make double tokens! It can also protect itself, which is super nice. Iroas, God of Victory *list* is an incredible card for aggro decks. Not only does it give your creatures Menace, making it more difficult to block efficiently, but it also prevents all damage that would be dealt to your attacking creatures. No more worries of losing important pieces!

The last non-attacker is part of this deck's back up plan, ETB burn damage/attack trigger damage. Purphoros, God of the Forge is a classic that does damage to each opponent when creatures enter the battlefield under your control. No further explanation needed.

• Attackers

Winota, Joiner of ForcesGC is one of the most powerful cards from Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths and a Game Changer for a reason. Her insane attack trigger led to her being banned in the Pioneer format. Now imagine getting her ban-worthy attack trigger TWICE for each non-human attacker with Isshin! The deck only has about ten or so other humans, but the most important one here is Thalisse, Reverent Medium for the token generating reasons listed above.

Signal Pest offers damage buffs to attacking creatures and only costs 1. Pretty straightforward.

Ronin Cliffrider is one of this deck's versions of removal/board wipes. With Isshin on the board, an attacking Ronin deals 2 damage to each creature opponents control, wiping the board of any small creatures and helping to clear the way for the majority of your forces to connect with damage.

Sun Titan is great recovery for Isshin. It can recur a permanent that costs 3MV or less straight to the battlefield when it ETBs and when it attacks. With Isshin, an attacking Sun Titan can get you back two cards, quickly rebuilding your board. The low curve of this deck means that hopefully most of the stuff in the graveyard will be applicable.

The Brothers' War instant classic Mishra, Claimed by Gix  , on the other hand, doesn't care about ETB triggers but instead cares about large amounts of creatures attacking! A perfect fit for this deck. With all the token generation this deck provides, it's easy to see why actual combat damage might not even matter in some games. (Don't forget that Purphoros offers a board wide damage pump, too!) A new addition to the deck is Arabella, Abandoned Doll from Duskmourn. Very similar to Mishra's effect and will only count the smaller tokens but she only costs two mana! Plus, she also offers some lifegain back, which is nice.

Firemane Commando is a great here. Attacking to draw cards? Easy include. Can also play a bit of defense because it lets opponents draw if they don't attack us.

Finally, we have the main course... the token generators! Skyknight Vanguard, Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Hanweir Garrison  , Hero of Bladehold, and Leonin Warleader all have attack triggers that create one or multiple tokens. With Isshin doubling the attack triggers of any of these cards, it's easy to see why I focused this deck into a token theme. The new Ainok Strike Leader also offers up some token protection as well. Redoubled Stormsinger is essentially a token doubler and gets insane with Isshin on the field.

Special mentions go out to these last few creatures, and a mechanic that I can't wait to see more of... creatures with Myriad! Hammers of Moradin, Battle Angels of Tyr, Elturel Survivors and Goldlust Triad all have attack triggers that create copies of themselves attacking each other opponent. Combine this with Isshin... and these cards all create four copies of itself in a full four player game! Hammers of Moradin gets an extra special mention as it can tap down opponents creatures to help ensure combat damage gets through, an effect that gets doubled by Isshin! Battle Angels of Tyr is something that should've been added into the deck a long time ago, but better late than never! With it's lifegaining, treasure making AND card drawing abilites, these angels are one of the allstars of any Isshin deck that includes them. The new Goldlust Triad is also a fantastic ramp engine.

In this new section, another special mention goes out to the Tarkir: Dragonstorm mechanic Mobilize! This new mechanic offers up insane token generation with the downside of having to lose all the tokens at the end of the turn. This is kinda unfortunate but it's not as big of a deal for this deck as you might think. More tokens means more ETB/attack burn damage which can possibly end the game on it's own, so the tokens dying isn't that bad. In fact, cards like Plumb the Forbidden and Skullclamp is even more powerful with these kinds of tokens. Voice of Victory makes two (four with Isshin) attacking tokens and also prevents opponents from playing cards during our turn, which is fantastic for making sure our plans go smoothly. Dalkovan Packbeasts makes SIX tokens with Isshin. It doesn't do anything else past that but the amount of tokens it generates is great for our ETB/attack damage plan. Bone-Cairn Butcher has Mobilize 2 like Voice of Victory does, but gives our attacking tokens deathtouch, making blocking more difficult for our opponents. The last two cards here are both new versions of Zurgo, Zurgo Stormrender and Zurgo, Thunder's Decree. Stormrender is an incredible card draw engine for Myriad and Mobilize effects. Again, making both Skullclamp and Plumb the Forbidden even better. On the flip side, Thunder's Decree just totally stops the Mobilize downside from happening, letting us keep all the Warrior tokens. Great for building up a board presense to unleash havoc the following turn.

ENCHANTMENTS

This deck currently runs a decent amount of enchantments.

Emblem of the Warmind grants haste to all the creatures we have on the board. Great for huge, go-wide token turns!

Impact Tremors and Warleader's Call are more of our core back-up plan of draining the table if/when combat isn't going our way. Damage when creatures ETB or when they attack. Pretty straightforward. Just the way I like it! Also part of the back up plan, Within Range can drain opponent's life totals very quickly and even generates us a few tokens to help.

Mardu Ascendancy is another way to generate tokens. Does this deck have too many of those effects? Maybe! Am I worried about it? Nope!

Circle of Flame basically prevents other token armies from attacking us. Two damage to each creature that attacks (with Isshin on board) will kill most small creatures if they dare come at us.

For card draw, we have Tocasia's Welcome. Sure, the once-per-turn clause is a bit disappointing but it's very reliable and people should hopefully be less inclined to remove something that "only" gets us one card. Along with that , the new Chivalric Alliance has the chance to become an Isshin staple. Attack with two or more creatures to draw a card (or two with Isshin)? Easy include!

Reconnaissance is an old card from Exodus that should definitely at least be considered for Isshin builds (or aggro builds of any deck, for that matter). It lets us, for zero mana remove one of our creatures from combat. Avoiding bad blocks? Check. Basically giving our creatures vigiliance? Check! Great, underrated gem.

A special mention goes to the new Windcrag Siege from Tarkir: Dragonstorm. It's an enchantment that has the same exact effect that Isshin does! Instant include from the moment it was spoiled.

INSTANTS AND SORCERIES

This deck runs a pretty decent amount of instants/sorceries.

For removal, there's the tried and true classics, Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile. Alongside that, there are the newer Modern Horizons cards Damn and Winds of Abandon. Both of which have alternate casting modes that could be board wipes instead of targeted removal. Chaos Warp and Oblation are hybrid protection/removal. They don't destroy the target but instead just shuffle away into the deck and give you some sort of benefit back. Can be used just for normal removal, to curry favor with opponents or to use on your own tokens in a pinch. Lastly, there's Crackling Doom and Fracture. Fracture is a newer card from Strixhaven that can hit multiple different card types and Crackling Doom can be a three-for-one piece of removal. I feel like I'm never satisfied with my removal suite in this deck and would always love some opinions on tweaking it!

For card draw, it's pretty light because all of our other card draw sources are permanents who's effects get doubled with Isshin. Just Plumb the Forbidden. A very efficient card for making the most out of your board before a wipe.

For protection, there's Teferi's ProtectionGC, Boros Charm, Flawless Maneuver and Clever Concealment. We'll be trying to amass a large army with this deck so the more ways we can find to protect it, the better.

ARTIFACTS

Other than the obligatory mana rocks, this deck runs only a handful of artifacts.

Skullclamp probably doesn't need explaining when in a token deck. Card draw galore!

Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves are for protection and haste giving. Usually to Isshin or some creature with an attack trigger that we need to trigger that turn.

Sword of the Animist is INSANE in Isshin decks. With this and Isshin on the field, you'll think you're playing {GU} with all the ramping you'll be doing!

Glimmer Lens is another way to increase the card draw capability of the deck, something that's been a bit of a weak point in previous builds.

LANDS

As usual, I don't really have anything to say about manabases other than "use whichever ones you like!". There are a few standouts, though...

Savai Triome for it's obvious triple basic land types.

Slayers' Stronghold for it's ability to grant a creature haste. A very strong ability on a land.

Basic land art was an obvious choice for me. I adore the full art NEO basics. I chose the Swamp and Mountain to represent the city and chose the Plains to represent the countryside, which all tie into Isshin's lore.

KEY CARDS

There are no shortage of ways to build Isshin. Voltron, tokens, Exalted, politics, taxes/control... there are, however, a few cards that I think should at least be considered when building your own Isshin deck.

• If token generating is your game, then cards like Leonin Warleader are the kinds of cards you should look for!

• Kaya, Geist Hunter are two cards that I think are underrated in Isshin decks. Toss in something like Mondrak, Glory Dominus and/or Thalisse, Reverent Medium and you might need a second playmat!

• If you're looking to drain your opponent down, cards like Impact Tremors, Mishra, Claimed by Gix   are perfect!

• Sword of the Animist will make you think you're playing green by netting you two lands per attack!

When it all comes down to it, though, basically anything that has an attack trigger is viable in Isshin decks. Find some hidden gems and go crazy!

GAMES PLAYED

Nothing quite yet! Will update after it sees gameplay!

SUPPLIES

Proxies - 0

Sleeves - Dragon Shield Matte Art- The Great Wave (Anniversary Edition)

Deck Box - Ultimate Guard Boulder 100+ - Artist Series 2 : In Icy Bloom

Playmat - Ultimate Guard - The Shogun's Journey playmat

OTHER DECKS IN THE CYCLE

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Satsuki, the Living Lore - Into the Story (v1.0)

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SCORE: 35 | 6 COMMENTS | 1991 VIEWS | IN 15 FOLDERS

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Goro-Goro and Satoru - Explosive Entry (v0.3)

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SCORE: 20 | 13 COMMENTS | 1633 VIEWS | IN 9 FOLDERS

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Also have a deck for Genku, Future Shaper, but that deck isn't public yet.

“I fear I have run out of worthy opponents.”

That's everything! Any thoughts, comments or suggestions are welcome below! Please keep in mind that I don't really have a playgroup at the moment and the only experience I get these days is goldfishing/playtesting/solitaire and playing a tweaked version of the deck on Arena's Historic Brawl format.

Top Ranked	Achieved #26 position overall 2 years ago Achieved #20 position in Commander / EDH 2 years ago Achieved #2 position in Commander / EDH RBW (Mardu) 2 years ago Achieved #2 position in Commander / EDH Tokens 2 years ago
Date added	2 years
Last updated	4 weeks
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 50 - 0 Rares 25 - 0 Uncommons 5 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.82
Tokens	Cat 1/1 W w/ Lifelink, Copy Clone, Gnome 1/1 C, Goblin 1/1 R, Human 1/1 R, Human 1/1 W, Knight 2/2 WU, Rebel 2/2 R, Soldier 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 W, Treasure, Warrior 1/1 R
Folders	All Decks, Kamigawa, Plane of Past and Future, Decks Other People Made, Interesting Decks, Isshin, Two Heavens as One, Neat deck, Commander, Saved, Ideas, Potential