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Musashi's Mosh Pit [Primer]

Commander / EDH Aggro Bracket 4 Double Trigger Group Slug Humans Midrange Multiplayer Primer RBW (Mardu) Tokens Vigilance

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Land (35)

Artifact (6)

Creature (32)

Sorcery (3)

Commander (1)

Commander: foil Isshin, Two Heavens as One

Instant (14)

Enchantment (9)

Nitōichi - Two Swords As One:

As a nod to Miyamoto Musashi, Isshin makes use of Musashi's Nitōichi -Two Swords As One- dueling style. "In this technique, the swordsman uses both a large sword and a 'companion sword' at the same time, such as a katana with a wakizashi."

Isshin's ability, art, and name are all flavorful nods to Musashi's unique dueling style. Isshin doubles all attack triggers in a manner that lend themselves well to relentless offense or hardy defense. In unison, these capabilities should let the deck either become the beat down once boards are cleared, or play defensively and politically, forcing the rest of the table to fight each other. Isshin can lean heavily into various avenues such as Offense/Go Wide with tokens, Exalted and Equipment dueling, or Forced Combat Control and Pillow Fort.

This deck changed a lot in the years since I brewed it, and is focused on Going Wide with a Group Slug component. I initially incorporated some of the pillow fort elements, but felt that they watered down the aggressive focus I was aiming for. I've had a lot of fun playing and evolving this deck over the years, and am exited for future developments.

"A man cannot understand the art he is studying if he only looks for the end result without taking the time to delve deeply into the reasoning of the study."

"Fixation is the way to death. Fluidity is the way to life."

My custom Musashi sleeves. The source image is a woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

My Moxfield version of the deck - This version is always most up to date, especially during spoiler season. Spoilers tend to get added to Moxfield within a day of being posted online.

Custom categories are enabled for deck sorting

I received some rather unexpected, but welcome feedback on this deck when I saw that someone posted to /r/EDH on Reddit that they used my deck as a base for theirs, but were getting dismantled fairly early. This section of the primer is intended for newer players and players that may be newer to playing Aggro.

Disclaimer: I play with a fairly consistent play-group, so a lot of my approach is informed by those experiences, and my occasional visit to LGSs in my area. When I play this deck, I tend to look for a couple of things in opening hands, especially in context of the other decks around the table:

  • I tend to swing at whichever board I think will provide the least resistance, whether it means smaller creatures or total bodies on board, and/or are tapped out for mana for possible removal/interaction. On occasion this may mean swinging out at other token strats that are behind on board development, or more combo/spell-slinger based strategies that will have fewer and smaller creatures.

  • When playing against other token strategies, I tend to keep hands that are heavier on removal and ramp, but have at least 1 token producing creature that I can start building my own presence with once boards are cleared.

  • If I'm playing against spell-slingers or other strategies that may commit to a squishier creature board, I will try to keep hands with a couple more creatures and an anthem if possible.

  • Starting with some kind of board protection spell, whether it's Teferi's Protection, Clever Concealment, Dolmen Gate, or even just a Tibalt's Trickery are all very helpful to maintaining momentum. I try to keep hands that have at least 1 protection effect.

  • If I am one of the more aggressive decks at the table, I will tend to lean into that and build as much momentum as possible. Either I become the Big Bad and get focused, or I gain too much momentum to meaningfully interact with.

  • If I am not the only token strat at the table, I may slow roll my board deployment a bit and accelerate once a few removal spells have hit around the table.

  • I try to keep the curve for this deck as low as possible so I can: muscle out early aggro momentum, rebuild my board quickly and efficiently in the event of wipes and removal, and hold mana up for cheap removal and interaction.

  • The deck utilizes various forms of group slug effects such as Impact Tremorsfoil or Mishra, Claimed by Gix   as a means of squeezing out damage from token swarms entering the battlefield, or swarming as declared attackers. Having group slug helps take some of the pressure off combat damage being the primary means of closing out games.

I think it is cool that others have used this deck as a primer for their own, but I highly encourage people to tune to their metas and play-groups. This deck is not intended to be a "Be-All, End-All" for Isshin token strats, but is hopefully a helpful starting point.

This section needs to be cleaned up to match the rest of the primer formatting, but that's for Future Me to do.

  • Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate (FDN:476) #Attack_Trigger, #Recursion
  • Arabella, Abandoned Doll (DSK) #Attack_Trigger #Damage_Sluggers
  • Aurelia, the Warleader (MUL) #Attack_Trigger #Extra_Combat
  • Boros Charm (GTC) #Aggro #Interaction #Protection
  • Brave the Sands (KTK) #Anthem
  • Brazen Cannonade (J22) #Draw
  • Breath of Fury (C16) #Combo #Extra_Combat
  • Brimaz, King of Oreskos (BNG) #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Brutal Hordechief (FRF) #Attack_Trigger #Damage_Slugger #Interaction
  • Caesar, Legion's Emperor (PIP) f #Attack_Trigger #Damage_Slugger #Draw #Tokens
  • Calamity's Wake (BRO) #Draw #Removal
  • Caltrops #Attack_Trigger #Interaction
  • Captain Lannery Storm (SLD) f #Attack_Trigger #Ramp
  • Captain's Claws (OGW) #Aggro #Tokens
  • Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher (LCC:26) #Attack_Trigger #Interaction #Recursion
  • Caustic Bronco (OTJ) #Attack_Trigger #Damage_Slugger #Draw
  • Chivalric Alliance (MOC) #Attack_Trigger #Draw
  • City on Fire (SLD) f #Interaction
  • Connecting the Dots (MKM:403) f #Attack_Trigger #Draw
  • Council's Judgment (2XM) #Removal
  • Curse of Opulence #Attack_Trigger #Ramp
  • Dalkovan Packbeasts (TDM) #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Damn (MH2:449) f #Removal
  • Delina, Wild Mage (AFR) f #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Devilish Valet (SNC:423) #Damage_Slugger
  • Diamond Pick-Axe (LCI) #Attack_Trigger #Ramp
  • Dismantling Wave #Removal
  • Divine Visitation (2X2) #Tokens
  • Dollmaker's Shop / Porcelain Gallery (DSK) #Anthem #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest (BLB:291) #Attack_Trigger #Damage_Slugger #Draw #Interaction
  • Duelist's Heritage #Anthem #Attack_Trigger
  • Echoing Assault (BLC) #Anthem #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Eerie Interlude (SOI) f #Protection
  • Enduring Courage (DSK:378) f #Anthem
  • Fanatical Devotion (NMS)
  • Fear of Missing Out (DSK) #Extra_Combat
  • Fervent Charge #Anthem #Attack_Trigger
  • Flawless Maneuver (C20) #Protection CMC:0
  • Galadriel's Dismissal (LTC) #Interaction #Protection #Removal
  • Giggling Skitterspike (DSC) #Attack_Trigger #Damage_Sluggers
  • Grand Crescendo (NCC) #Protection #Tokens
  • Great Train Heist (OTJ) #Anthem #Extra_Combat #Ramp
  • Grim Reaper's Sprint (PIP) #Extra_Combat
  • Gruesome Realization (BRO) #Draw #Removal
  • Hammers of Moradin (CLB) f #Attack_Trigger #Interaction #Tokens
  • Hanweir Battlements (EMN) #Anthem #Land #Tokens
  • Hanweir Garrison #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Hellrider (MM3) f #Attack_Trigger #Damage_Slugger
  • Hideous Taskmaster (M3C) #Anthem #Attack_Trigger #Interaction #Removal
  • Horn of the Mark (LTR:378) #Value
  • Idol of Oblivion #Draw #Tokens
  • Inkshield (C21) #Protection #Tokens
  • Inquisitorial Rosette (40K) #Anthem #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Inti, Seneschal of the Sun (LCI:295) f #Attack_Trigger #Draw
  • Jacked Rabbit (BLC) #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Kaya, Geist Hunter (VOW:280) f #Anthem #Interaction #Tokens
  • Keldon Twilight #Interaction
  • Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin (WAR) #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Last One Standing (BBD) #Removal
  • Launch the Fleet (40K) #Aggro #Tokens
  • Lavaspur Boots (OTJ)
  • Lightmine Field #Attack_Trigger #Interaction
  • Luminous Broodmoth #Anthem #Recursion
  • Mardu Ascendancy f #Attack_Trigger #Protection #Tokens
  • Necropotence (WOT) #Draw
  • Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser (MKC) f #Anthem #Attack_Trigger #Draw #Interaction
  • Night's Whisper (EMA) #Draw
  • Oblation (C21) #Draw #Protection #Removal
  • Ogre Battledriver (M14) f #Anthem
  • Paladin Elizabeth Taggerdy (PIP) #Attack_Trigger #Draw
  • Path to Exile #Removal
  • Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd (MH3) #Attack_Trigger #Interaction
  • Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury (MH3) #Attack_Trigger #Damage_Slugger #Removal
  • Pip-Boy 3000 (PIP)
  • Promise of Loyalty #Removal
  • Purphoros, God of the Forge (MYS1) #Anthem #Damage_Slugger
  • Redoubled Stormsinger (TDC) #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Reprieve (LTR) #Interaction #Protection
  • Roaming Throne (LCI) #Value
  • Rottenmouth Viper (BLB)
  • Ruinous Ultimatum (IKO) #Removal
  • Sardian Avenger (BRC:43) #Attack_Trigger #Interaction
  • Scapegoat (STH) #Protection
  • Seize the Spotlight (NCC) #Draw #Interaction #Ramp #Treasure_Purse
  • Shared Animosity (C20) #Anthem #Attack_Trigger
  • Signal Pest (MBS) #Anthem #Attack_Trigger
  • Skyknight Vanguard #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Slaughter the Strong (CMR) #Removal
  • Spitting Dilophosaurus (REX) #Attack_Trigger #Interaction
  • Star Athlete (DSC:0057) #Attack_Trigger #Damage_Slugger #Draw #Ineraction #Removal
  • Strength-Testing Hammer (UNF:479) #Attack_Trigger
  • Stroke of Midnight (WOE) f #Removal
  • Sun Titan (DDL) f #Attack_Trigger #Recursion
  • Swiftfoot Boots (BRR) f #Protection
  • Sword of the Animist (C17) #Attack_Trigger #Ramp
  • Talisman of Hierarchy (H1R) f #Ramp
  • The Master, Multiplied (WHO) #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Throne of the God-Pharaoh (AKH) #Interaction
  • Tocasia's Welcome (BRO) #Draw
  • Tome of Legends #Draw
  • Tomik, Wielder of Law (MKM) #Attack_Trigger #Draw #Interaction
  • Toxic Deluge (C13) #Removal
  • Trouble in Pairs (MKC)
  • Tymna the Weaver (C16) f #Draw
  • Unquenchable Fury (NEC:63) #Attack_Trigger
  • Urborg Scavengers (MAT:65) #Attack_Trigger #Interaction
  • Vandalblast (TSR) #Removal
  • Warren Warleader (BLB) #Anthem #Attack_Trigger #Tokens
  • Wear / Tear (DGM) #Removal
  • Within Range (TDC) #Attack_Trigger #Damage_Slugger #Tokens

  • Connecting the Dots - Has a high ceiling to impulse draw a decent chunk of cards, & quickly replenish once our hand is light.

  • Sword of the Animist - Cut as of October 2023 for Fellwar Stone. The total of 4 mana to cast, equip, then swing felt very telegraphed the more I played it. This was in the deck since some of its earliest iterations, but felt slower and less useful as I removed more basics from the deck.

  • Cunning Rhetoric - The effect wasn't much of a deterrant in my meta, especially since it triggered per opponent, instead of per creature attacking.

  • Florian, Voldaren Scion - Florian could be great card advantage for a deck that aims to play aggressively and throw a lot of combat damage around, or Isshin builds that utilize more Group Slug effects like Vicious Conquistador.

  • Guardian of Faith - Flexible board protection. Definitely a budget option for players who may not want to pick up a copy of Terferi's Protection yet.

  • Phyrexian Arena - Something I had in initial drafts of the deck. The more I play tested it, and played the deck, the more I felt that it was out of place pacing-wise. In early game it competed with ramp, getting Isshin online, or curving into a creature for Isshin to improve on Turn 3 or 4. Beyond a Turn 4 play, this felt clunky and slow.

  • Shared Animosity - A board full of tokens gets that much scarier. Would be more useful for smashing through other board states, especially if my creatures lack evasion.

  • Decadent Dragon - Some might say it's "Goldspan at home", but the adventure provides some additional utility.

  • Faith's Reward - Boardwipe insurance that hits all my permanents. I'd like to include it, but 4 cmc kinda sucks to hold up, and creatures are more vulnerable to board wipes than other permanents in my meta.

  • Fireflux Squad - A card I had a lot of fun playing for a decent chunk of this deck's initial 4-5 months. It shined best with a token producing attacker on board, but benefits from having a "may ability" trigger. As fun as it was, felt very Boom or Bust in terms of what it would dig out. I finally cut it for more consistency at the 4 drop slot.

  • Kardur, Doomscourge

  • Mangara, the Diplomat - Dissuades attacks, since it could lead to drawing 2 cards. Also gives spell-slingers something to pause and consider. Swapped out since it my opponents typically removed him or found ways to play around him. Could be great in metas with a greater abundance of spell slinger strategies.

  • Marton Stromgald - I swapped him out for Purphoros, God of the Forge. I figured that Purphoros has the upside of being Indestructible, is a beefier Impact Tremorsfoil, can add some Firebreathing if I have the mana up, and is a much beefier body than Marton when it is a creature.

  • Smothering Tithe - It's good. That much is obvious and not much else needs to be said lol. If I'm lacking for mana or taxing effects, then I know what could help fix that.

  • Etali, Primal Storm

  • Sun Titan - I had this in the initial build, but eventually cut it for some other effect around 5cmc. It's slower than Custodi Soulcaller in some ways, but has the upside of recurring other permanents in addition to creatures.

Eldrazi Titans and Annihilator Drazis are obviously worth mentioning, but are not my personal playstyle, and are cards I wouldn't pick up. Additionally, I think the steep CMCs of most Eldrazi aren't worth it, especially in Mardu colors.

  • As of Modern Horizons 3, I'm now breaking this rule for Hideous Taskmaster specifically lol. Taskmaster seems like a great top-end finisher. If it didn't have Haste, I probably wouldn't have considered it as much.

Rocks

The deck is fairly low to the ground, and in post-Dragonstorm updates is now leaner than it was at any point in the past 3 years. I've found that I prefer having a T2 creature a bit more than a mana rock in most cases, since I don't feel I get mana-screwed with this deck often. If I do, I'll lean into the cheaper & least multi-color intensive options I have a available to me.

The Treasure Purse

These cards aren't ramp in the traditional sense, but have an even higher ceiling thanks to Isshin. This is better named the "Treasure Purse". Although Treasure is helpful for mana acceleration at any point of the game, the Treasure producers all do some extra work with Professional Face-Breaker's impulse draw ability.

  • Deadly Dispute
  • Generous Plunderer - An excellent recent addition, especially as more artifact heavy strategies become prevalent in the metas I play in.
  • Kellogg, Dangerous Mind - Pumping out 2 treasures per swing with Isshin active will be spicy. Treasures can be utilized for creature theft if needed.
  • Professional Face-Breaker - Complimentary to Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Captain Lannery Storm, and Battle Angels of Tyr since it can pump out Treasures with them.
  • Battle Angels of Tyr - More so of a "catch up" mechanic than ramp, but does help generate a bit of Treasure. Will most likely be used against whomever is running the most Green ramp.
  • Rev, Tithe Extractor - Kinda like another Professional Face-Breaker with different upside.
  • Goldlust Triad
  • Goldspan Dragon - A card that essentially pays for itself the turn that it swings with Isshin on board. It really takes the top off the Treasure production by making all my Treasures tap for an additional mana.

Value Ramp

  • Land Tax - After playing the deck for three years, I decided this was a much needed upgrade in the ramp department. I play in a meta where Green is very prevalent, so it's not uncommon to be behind on a land drop or two by comparison. As of March 2024, the deck runs 9 basics to enable a few activations.

I could split hairs a bit, but this is my umbrella for "burst" draw (2 or more cards in 1 instance), Cantrips (1 for 1), and repeated Draw:

Under Consideration

  • Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor - A group hug/slug. Gives my opponents the option to attack each other and benefit from it at a cost. Could be a potential swap with Tymna. TBD.
  • Necropotence
  • Painful Truths
  • Tocasia's Welcome - Complimentary to all of the token creature production. Recently swapped out to try Braids, Arisen Nightmare.
  • Tymna the Weaver *f-etch* - Tymna synergizes with swinging at multiple opponents, which will become easier with token swarms. Early on she may help us draw off attacking the least defended opponent(s). Swapped with Hellrider as of 2/13/23. Wanted one more damage dealing attack trigger.

Removal

Board wipes and spells that destroy or exile single to multiple targets. When possible, I try to make the wipe and multi-target removal be as asymmetrical as possible:

Under Consideration

Interaction

I tend to think of "Interaction" as any effects that prevent opponents from interacting with my board, spells being cast, or their own resources as intended.

Under consideration

  • Mana Tithe - Who ever expects a white counter spell? Just gotta hope they're tapped out for follow up responses.

  • Pyroblast - Blue Mages Hate This One Weird Trick

  • Reprieve

  • Smothering Tithe - I have a copy. It's an obvious include because it's so good. Will wait and see which 4-5cmc creature or enchantment feels most lackluster as a potential swap.

Here are the meat and potatoes of Isshin's attack trigger doubling for offense and defense

Offense - The Katana

Creature Token creation

Painful slices

Cards that punch heavily on their own, or frontload a lot of damage before blocks. Helps make combat damage more viable by softening up opponents.

Anthems and Buffs

Defense - the Wakizashi

This is a section that originally consisted of pillow-fort effects, but I've since shifted to focus more on board and creature protection.

These are all routes for Isshin that I think are cool and worth mentioning. This is not a comprehensive list of additional archetypes, but may be expanded upon as newer variants solidify.

My initial build had a sprinkling of Exalted, but I decided against this route since board states in my meta tend to get gummed up, and I already have a couple of Voltron type builds.

This route could utilize equipment and its support with Exalted to go very tall with a single creature.

Exalted Triggers

Samurai & Warrior "Exalted" from Neon Dynasty

I won't name them all, but a few examples

Maybe instead of being full on aggro, give the rest of the table better incentive to fight eachother, or force them to.

Curses

Goad

Monarch

Forced Combat

Forced Combat Payoffs

Not a definitive list, but generally some types of effects that could work with forced combats as creatures may block and die:

Rattlesnakes

More Musashi quotes that lend themselves to the concepts for brewing with Isshin-

  • "In battle, if you you make your opponent flinch, you have already won."

  • “If you do not control the enemy, the enemy will control you”

  • “The important thing in strategy is to suppress the enemy's useful actions but allow his useless actions”

Updates Add

Post-Tarkir updates, milestones, & future plans — March 30, 2025
Edit

I figured I'd take the content for two potential updates and lump them into one. Before I wrote this up, I knew that this would be a bit of a lengthier and more verbose update. Thankfully, accordion panels exist:

Our return to Tarkir was just about everything I could have hoped for and more. The original Tarkir block is one of my absolute favorites, since it was one of the first new planes that debuted around the time I first got into the game. As much as I could wax poetic about how happy I am with this return, and all of the nostalgia, I'd rather wax poetic about the updates that Isshin got instead.

I never thought that Isshin, as a commander, would feast so heavily from a single set. This is a great time for new and enfranchised Isshin players alike. Prior to Dragonstorm, some of the most recent edits I made focused on adding a few more 2 drop creatures, to help speed up board presence. I was especially happy to add more 2 drop creatures, and focused on making the deck a bit leaner, and honing in a bit more on creature token production. This set, I swapped in 9 cards:

Edits

  • Ainok Strike Leader replaced Flawless Maneuver - This was a tough swap. This was almost Dalkovan Packbeasts, but the lower MV & additional protection effect were hard to pass up.

  • Sinkhole Surveyor replaced Hammers of Moradin - Getting a bit leaner on MV, & is an early game play that can quickly start pumping out tokens, or can become a heavy hitter in the air.

  • Voice of Victory replaced Inti, Seneschal of the Sun - Easy 1:1 MV swap. VoV can be early token production & protection against spot removal, & is a quick cast in mid-late game after board wipes.

  • Redoubled Stormsinger replaced Enduring Courage - Trying this out for now as a means to get another "Army in a Can" effect. Enduring Courage was cool, and could take its spot back.

  • Will of the Mardu replaced Seize the Spotlight - Another 1:1 MV swap. I figured Will could be another means of leeching off other go-wide decks in certain match ups. The instant speed certainly sets up all kinds of shenanigans, especially with Impact Tremorsfoil effects on board.

  • Windcrag Siege replaced Aurelia, the Warleader - A big trimming on both MV and color investment. I think Karlach, Fury of Avernus does plenty as my one and only extra combat effect. Windcrag Siege is more so a back up Isshin if he's been removed enough, but can certainly be the extra gas to push triggers even more.

  • Zurgo Stormrender replaced Mardu Ascendancy - A quick 1:1 MV/color swap. I think Zurgo will be a pretty popular Mardu tokens commander in his own right, esp with the "leaves the battlefield" wording that works so well with both Mobilize and Myriad. I like that he's token production, group slug, & draw all in one.

  • Within Range replaced Giggling Skitterspike - Another quick 1:1 MV swap that was probably Brutal Hordechief at a prior update. Another group slug option that also creates a couple of bodies on ETB.

  • Goldlust Triad replaced Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest - The last 1:1 MV swap, & less color investment. Dragonhawk was okay, but I think I wouldn't mind going a bit deeper on teh Treasure production subtheme for this deck.

Additional considerations

  • Dalkovan Packbeasts - Mobilize 3 on a hefty Vigilance body is tempting.

  • Avenger of the Fallen - An interesting option that will likely be better in other formats, and other decks that care more about intentional GY investment.

  • Mardu Siegebreaker - I love the design of this card. As much as I'd like to include it in Isshin, I think this card is most at home in a deck that can exile creatures with a mixture of: ETB triggers, combat damage triggers, & death/leave the battlefield triggers. It's probably for the better that this creature isn't Legendary, as much as I wish it was, otherwise I would've brewed this up as a commander. I still might brew this up as a Rule 0 commander.

  • Elspeth, Storm Slayer - She is probably the chase mythic for this set. I'll likely include her in an upcoming proxy batch and try her out then.

A couple of days ago, this deck reached a couple of milestones that I never imagined that it would when I brewed it up three years ago. Between the Tapped Out version of this deck, and its Moxfield counterpart, the Musashi's Mosh Pit deck surpassed a combined 1k likes and 125k views across both versions.

To build on this milestone, I will be recording a deck tech/deck study podcast episode about Musashi's Mosh Pit. My best friend wolfsack (the person that got me on Tapped Out some 11 years ago), recently started the Mages of Magic podcast, and asked me to be one of his co-hosts. We are barely getting started, but are working on recording some more episodes soon. I'm looking forward to translating my writing into occasional podcasts.

Once Isshin's episode is recorded I'll link it in the primer. Cheers to this deck's first 3 years, and here's to many more.

Dragonstorm Updates — March 20, 2025
Edit
2024 Updates — Feb. 8, 2024
Edit
All 2023 Updates — Nov. 30, 2023
Edit
All 2022 Updates — Nov. 29, 2023
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