Musashi's Mosh Pit [Primer]

Commander / EDH* Crow_Umbra

SCORE: 301 | 148 COMMENTS | 41670 VIEWS | IN 119 FOLDERS


KBK7101 says... #1

Really excited to build around Isshin. We finally got our Mardu Samurai commander and he does not disappoint! While doing my own research, I found cards like Circle of Flame, Shiny Impetus, Search the Premises, Angelic Exaltation and Cunning Rhetoric all seem pretty decent. Winota, Joiner of Forces seems like a game-changer for this deck, too.

Hesitation is defeat!

February 3, 2022 12:19 p.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #2

Thank you for the suggestions KBK7101! You and I are definitely on the same page with the suggestions you made. I have a very extensive Maybe List on my Moxfield version of this deck-list. I also updated with a couple edits.

I'm thinking of swapping out Dreadhorde Arcanist for another 2cmc creature or removal spell. Perhaps that can be a slot for Circle of Flame.

February 3, 2022 2:25 p.m.

Angry_Potatoes says... #3

Revenge of Ravens seems fun

February 4, 2022 6:54 p.m.

KBK7101 says... #4

Depending on the kind of spells you run, Velomachus Lorehold might be great, too!

February 4, 2022 7:55 p.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #5

Thank you for the suggestions, I appreciate them.

Angry_Potatoes- Revenge of Ravens is a fun one for sure. I had it in the very first draft of the deck (a whole entire 48 hours ago lol), and swapped it out for something a bit more proactive like spot removal or Thorough Investigation.

KBK7101 - Oooooo Velomachus is definitely spicy. So far I'm mostly playing removal, with a bit of value like Night's Whisper sprinkled in. I'll definitely keep him on my radar.

February 4, 2022 8:15 p.m.

SufferFromEDHD says... #6

Beat me to it! I'll be posting my list tomorrow. Your list is SOLID. Some ideas to spitball:

Fervent Charge or Anthem of Rakdos. Neat triggers but might not be strong enough.

Duelist's Heritage good value.

Blade of Selves myriad is strong.

Sublime Archangel I've been pondering this one. Gonna test it out.

February 5, 2022 1:20 a.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #7

Thank you SufferFromEDHD! Haha yeah, I was typing away feverishly over the past couple of days instead of doing my actual work. Once I found the Five Rings and other Musashi quotes last night I couldn't stop and wrote the rest lol.

Anthem of Rakdos looks spicy, I hadn't seen that one before. I also have a similar feeling about Fervent Charge +2/+2, with the upside of doubling from Isshin is cool and all, but the triple color cost can be tricky to pull off and is kinda worthless without a decent board. Even with a huge board, Fervent Charge might not be that worth it. As I'm writing this out, I'm realizing that Fervent Charge feels more like Win-More fluff.

Blade of Selves is great! I definitely have it slated as a future pickup when I do some upgrades after more irl playing.

I had Cathedral of War, Sublime Archangel, and 3 other Exalted creatures in the very first draft of my deck. I took them out mostly because I don't think Exalted would be as viable in my meta. Board states can get gummed up and stalemate-y, so I figured going wide for offense/defense and forcing combat would be more viable. I can agree that Exalted could be really cool with Isshin. I figured Adriana, Captain of the Guard as a Melee anthem could fit a similar role as Sublime Archangel for what my deck wants to do.

February 5, 2022 2:09 a.m. Edited.

Rolska says... #8

I know you said that you're not a fan of Eldrazi - which is fair enough. The only one I really like is Ulamog's Crusher because it just seems strong but not ridiculous like most bigger Eldrazi are. That being said, Eldrazi Conscription I think is worth a look at. Having someone like Iroas, God of Victory become a 17/14 with Trample and Annihilator 2 (Annihilator 4 with Isshin, Two Heavens as One ) is pretty fun.

Still basically an Eldrazi though. So that aside, below are a few cards I'm interested in that you've not mentioned yet, though you've mentioned most of what I found as well.

Hoarding Ogre - 2x Treasure is great for early pressure and mana fixing in a three color deck. With Isshin, Two Triggers as One you'll be getting 2x-6x Treasure per attack (averaging about 4). Absolutely fantastic with Isshin, alright on its own. Monetarily cheap as well.

Conspiracy Theorist is much like Audacious Thief but instead of life.

Keldon Twilight and Total War are really on-theme for a take on the curse/politics route one can take Isshin.

Fable of the Mirror-Breaker  Flip // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki  Flip works much the same as Hoarding Ogre, almost a free Thrill of Possibility, and create a token before the Combat Phase even begins allowing for additional "When Attacking" triggers.

February 8, 2022 2:12 a.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #9

Thank you for the suggestions Rolska, these are all pretty solid. Also, thank you for reading through my primer lol.

I should list Eldrazi Conscription in the upgrades section. Definitely very powerful, & Ulamog's Crusher isn't the worst of the bunch. A dude in my playgroup plays a couple of the Titans in his Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy deck, but he can get them out stupidly early.

Hoarding Ogre also seems like it has a lot of potential. Admittedly, I slept on the D20 & Dungeon Venturing mechanics until I started play-testing them with Isshin. I'm very excited for Delina, Wild Mage in particular.

I replaced Audacious Thief with Nadaar, Selfless Paladin earlier today. I like the potential value upside from the Dungeon Venturing, & his Anthem.

I currently run Conspiracy Theorist in my Alesha deck. Some times it feels good, sometimes it feels clunky. I've also considered Cheering Fanatic for some 2cmc "ramp"/value.

You're the second person to recommend the Kiki-Jiki fable to me lol. I need to update the maybe list. I like the Looting upside on it for sure.

As for Keldon Twilight and Total War, I like both suggestions, but have a trickier time play testing those effects in just solo testing. I'll definitely keep them in my back pocket as I start to play some games with this deck in the next month or so. I want to give Thorough Investigation a chance, but am eyeing that as a potential swap-out slot

February 8, 2022 3:05 a.m.

Rolska says... #10

I've got a few more suggestions for you.

  • Instead of, or in addition to, Baleful Mastery have you considered Dire Tactics ? Most of the viable attack triggers we run in your deck and in my budget version (shameless self advertisement) are humans, including the man himself. This means that, besides the mana cost being slightly more restrictive, Dire Tactics's downside is almost a non-issue. Assuming both Baleful Mastery and Dire Tactics are in their optimal and worst case scenarios, it seems like Dire Tactics has it. Unless of course you don't have the specific combination of mana. Baleful does hit planeswalkers though, so that might just be up to a local meta thing.

  • Unquenchable Fury was leaked a while ago, but not put into the database here on Tappedout so I didn't suggest it. However, this hits Reliquary Tower users and Blue decks really hard upon the declaration of attack. It also recurs itself to your hand. With as close to colorless manacost as possible. Awesome card.

February 10, 2022 12:23 a.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #11

Thanks for the additional suggestions Rolska! Here are my quick thoughts:

  • I like Baleful Mastery, and don't necessarily see the reduced cost as a drawback. In the times I've used it, I usually give the draw to one my opponents that's either in last place, or someone that can also dig for answers/removal to threats on the table. I try to make that aspect of Baleful Mastery "collaborative" if possible. Dire Tactics is cool, and if it did replace another piece of removal, maybe Infernal Grasp instead? I prefer to have Exile removal when possible to hose Grave Yard strats and indestructible creatures. We don't have many planeswalkers in my meta, but people rarely run planeswalker hate because of that. After a quick look, 10 of the 24 creatures in my deck are Human (Isshin included), with possibility of making Human tokens.

  • Unquenchable Fury is great, and something I'll likely slot in on my first round of upgrades after I've played the deck IRL a few times. I have the deck in my Considering List in the Moxfield version of my deck list. I have a hard time letting my TappedOut profile go, and Moxfield doesn't have a deck-cycling feature lol

I'll take a look at your deck and see what you're cooking up. Thank you again for your suggestions and input.

February 10, 2022 2:31 a.m.

Archon of Cruelty: gets ETB trigger and double attack trigger, ditto for Grave Titan, Sun Titan, Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger, and Inferno Titan

Aurelia, the Warleader: 3 combat phases = lol

Lucille: seems strong

Chief Jim Hopper: help for draw

Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder: can be make some fun board states with Isshin

there are tons of create tokens on attack and they can increase your field presence.

This is my isshin list Obi-Wan Can Blow Me, let me know what you think!

February 10, 2022 9:55 p.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #13

Thanks for the suggestions DawnsRayofLight.

Archon of Cruelty is a cool card for sure. As I mentioned in one of my comments on Rolska's Isshin Twin Triggers deck, I avoid playing 6+ cmc cards, or only play 1-2 in decks that lack green. I don't mind playing a couple 6 cmc cards, but for me personally, there's a point in games where I'd rather be able to play multiple cards per turn, rather than a splashy bomb that's vulnerable to removal if it doesn't have Haste or an ETB effect.

I had Sun Titan in my original draft, but subbed it out. I've played Grave Titan and Archon of Cruelty in my Araumi of the Dead Tide deck, and I generally like them, but am considering swapping one of them out in that deck if I don't take it apart first lol.

On a similar note, I'm already eyeing Etali as a potential swap out. Every time I play it, it either gets removed immediately or stolen, since my playgroup plays a lot of single target removal.

Aurelia, the Warleader is cool, but without a Vigilance anthem, your board won't get the benefit of the 3rd combat. Also she's expensive money-wise, and I don't currently own a copy. I cut the extra combat stuff from my deck in favor of a bit more draw and removal.

As for Lucille and Chief Jim Hopper, they're both good, but I'm going to wait for their MtG reskin versions to be printed in the next 6 months or so. I'm a bit snobby and don't want Walking Dead or Stranger Things in my decks.

February 10, 2022 10:25 p.m.

Wouldn't the untap also be a part of the attack trigger for Aurelia? It should go off twice, both for an additional attack phase and untapping is part of that, yeah?

February 10, 2022 10:38 p.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #15

Not necessarily without Vigilance, also noted in this reddit comment thread. The triggers would go:

Aurelia attacks with Isshin on board, getting an additional combat trigger to give you three combats:

  • 1st combat all creatures attack, there is an additional combat phase. Untap all creatures after this combat
  • 2nd combat all creatures attack. Any creatures without Vigilance will be tapped and cannot attack in subsequent combats.
  • 3rd combat, only creatures with Vigilance can attack at this point since they did not tap in the second combat.
February 10, 2022 10:49 p.m.

Ah, Appreciate that research.

February 10, 2022 10:58 p.m.

VildeChaye says... #17

Pretty cool deck! My suggestion would be Blade of Selves. Feel free to checkout my take on Isshin :D

February 13, 2022 2:09 p.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #18

Thanks for the suggestion VildeChaye! I have Blade of Selves listed in the "Considerations, Swap Outs, and Upgrades" section of my primer. Seems like it could be a fun include.

February 13, 2022 2:28 p.m.

thom-le says... #19

I always think of Dolmen Gate for decks that wants to attack, maybe it could be helpful in this one too.

February 16, 2022 3:53 a.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #20

Thanks for the suggestion thom-le. I used to run Dolmen Gate in an older copy of my Alesha deck, & it was pretty useful there.

I have considered cutting Mind Stone or a land to squeeze in one more card.

February 16, 2022 10:41 a.m.

KBK7101 says... #21

Was playing an Isshin Historic Brawl deck on Arena earlier. Tome of Legends works really well. Probably a bit too low impact for this deck, though.

February 18, 2022 7:53 p.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #22

Thanks for the suggestion KBK7101, I'm always looking for drawing options in colors & strats that aren't typically known for them lol. I think finding the right types and mix of draw effects have big impact on how well-oiled a deck can be.

February 18, 2022 8:05 p.m.

KBK7101 says... #23

Yeah, I think that card might have some potential in Isshin decks. After two or three turns of attacks, I had like nine counters on it. Sure it's only one card per turn cycle, but reliable card draw is reliable card draw! Lol

February 18, 2022 8:21 p.m.

Crow_Umbra says... #24

Oh for sure. Depending on the deck, I'm always looking for that sweet spot of repeatable vs burst and cantrip type effects.

February 18, 2022 8:27 p.m.

I'm working on a similar deck, same commander and some similar cards, I took some inspiration from you.

And I thought I would share some things I found, first is Haazda Marshal to help create more tokens.

Chainflail Centipede is really simple, it is just something to buff your attacking creature.

Cavalcade of Calamity I think this is a really nice addition, because of all the tokens you will be creating. for every 1/1 token that attacks, it will deal damage to the player or planeswalker, and of course with Isshin, Two Heavens as One it will double it

And finally The Restoration of Eiganjo  Flip this is another token creating creature.

Hope some of these suggestions are useful. I am rather new to magic the gathering deck building and wish to improve by giving and receiving suggestions and tips.

February 21, 2022 3:25 p.m.

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