T&K: Bear-Weaver

Commander / EDH* Competitive Control Hatebears Midrange Stax

Azurel_The_Ceaseless_Brewer

Land (32)

• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Badlands
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Forbidden Orchard
• 1x Gemstone Caverns
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Island
• 1x Luxury Suite
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Morphic Pool
• 1x Plateau
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Scrubland
• 1x Sea of Clouds
• 1x Snow-Covered Island
• 1x Snow-Covered Plains
• 1x Snow-Covered Swamp
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Tundra
• 1x Underground Sea
• 1x Volcanic Island

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Imperial Seal
• 1x Not Forgotten
• 1x Praetor's Grasp
• 1x Sudden Demise

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Rest in Peace
• 1x Rhystic Study

Instant (23)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Delay
• 1x Demonic Consultation
• 1x Dispel
• 1x Dovin's Veto
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Fierce Guardianship
• 1x Fire Covenant
• 1x Flusterstorm
• 1x Force of Negation
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Mental Misstep
• 1x Negate
• 1x Pyroblast
• 1x Red Elemental Blast
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Tainted Pact
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Wear / Tear

Artifact (13)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Cursed Totem
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Grim Monolith
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Creativity
• 1x Talisman of Dominance
• 1x Talisman of Progress

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Ashiok, Dream Render
• 1x Jace, Wielder of Mysteries

Commanders (2)

Creature (20)

• 1x Aven Mindcensor
• 1x Azra Oddsmaker
• 1x Consecrated Sphinx
• 1x Containment Priest
• 1x Dockside Extortionist
• 1x Drannith Magistrate
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Gilded Drake
• 1x Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
• 1x Hushwing Gryff
• 1x Kambal, Consul of Allocation
• 1x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
• 1x Kunoros, Hound of Athreos
• 1x Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
• 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 1x Loyal Apprentice
• 1x Loyal Drake
• 1x Samurai of the Pale Curtain
• 1x Serra Ascendant
• 1x Stormscape Familiar

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Maybeboard

Creature (14)

• 1x Boonweaver Giant
• 1x Brazen Borrower
• 1x Cloud of Faeries
• 1x Dark Confidant
• 1x Faerie Macabre
• 1x Felidar Guardian
• 1x Graveborn Muse
• 1x Harsh Mentor
• 1x Inferno Titan
• 1x Izzet Staticaster
• 1x Plague Engineer
• 1x Ruin Raider
• 1x Thassa's Oracle
• 1x Thief of Sanity

Instant (5)

• 1x Disenchant
• 1x Drown in the Loch
• 1x Plunge into Darkness
• 1x Ravenous Trap
• 1x Tale's End

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Narset, Parter of Veils
• 1x Saheeli Rai

Sorcery (2)

• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Meltdown

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Abduction
• 1x Aura of Silence
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Stranglehold

Artifact (2)

• 1x Damping Matrix
• 1x Grafdigger's Cage

Land (1)

• 1x Silent Clearing

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Intro: Brief History & Why to Play

Hello and welcome! If you're a connoisseur of tempo-control too then you'll enjoy this deck.

Bit of backstory before more specifics. I'm sure you wonder, "Why not Tymna/Thrasios, Bloodpod (Tymna/Tana), or even Curious Control (Thrasios/Vial)". Well my savvy reader, the answer is just this: meta. I originally considered BloodPod as I did not have a Partners deck yet, but I found out how crucial having was in previous games to combat fast combo decks like Breakfast-Hulk. So I decided to explore Tymna and Kraum as an answer to prevailing Flash-Hulk (and storm) strategies.

Originally the idea was to run Boonweaver as it is essentially a 2-card combo with Goblin Bombardment that could win through most common stax pieces, particularly our own. From there it was just adding creatures with soft stax like abilities that also synergized with the Tymna beat-down plan. So cards like Thalia, Harsh Mentor, and Kambal. I still wanted a good top-end similar to what some BloodPod lists ran, so in came Elesh Norn, Consecrated Sphinx, & Inferno Titan. Eventually Boonweaver was retired and Copycat was adopted as it allowed me to run more prolific stax like Rest in Peace and Grafdigger's Cage. After about a year we have continued to adapt to the meta, now incorporating Jace, Wielder of Mysteries in order to run more stax and reduce anti-synergy, an eternal sub-theme.

The core of this deck is Tymna the Weaver. With the Bears + Weaver engine, the goal is to build momentum while slowing opponents down until you can start drawing 2-3 cards per turn in the mid-game. Because a certain density of creatures is needed to achieve this, compact wincons are built around. Since it leans into Tymna more than other variants, pilots should be prepared for longer, grindier games. Therefore this is recommended for those who have played control in other formats and/or know the overall CEDH meta well.

Kraum: Manly, Mythical, & Legendary

Although he serves as a useful grind engine both with and without Tymna (as well as a pseudo Rule of Law), there's a bit more to this undead fellow. While the main Kraum play is really just tutoring in response to trigger (similar to tutoring before Tymna draw effect), what matters is how you use it. What is valuable here is that you can Vampiric Tutor or Mystical Tutor for a counter/removal on an opponent's turn when you have gained more knowledge to play around. There is also Sensei's Divining Top now for more Kraum plays.

Single Card Discussion

I'm sure a few seem questionable so I'll elaborate. I try & update once a month (or when a new set releases), so anything that stays usually has had positive results. This will apply to Maybeboard as well since metas change & some cards may come in/out depending on how the deck plays out over time:

Notable Inclusions Show

Harsh Mentor : This can work as "pseudo-stax", as it HURTS Breakfast-Hulk combos as they need to mill 20+ cards (40+ life loss) with Nomads en-Kor; Dramatic-Scepter lines similar issue; Gitrog Monster to an extent when they discard thru their creature outlets; Teferi(The Chain Veil); Kiki combos; Top-Sight combo; and even just 3 life-loss to fetches in a grindy game adds up.

Ruin Raider : Yea I know, why "worse" Dark Confidant. One thing people over-look about this type of deck is how important combat is once you have a firm grasp on opponents but just can't combo yet. While in other decks that have a lot less creatures & rely on fast-combo I'd agree, Bob is better. In a world of Thrasios, Triton Hero and mana dorks a plenty though, favorably attacking to gain Tymna triggers is valuable. With enough 2 drop creatures you can also draw the turn you play Raider. Kraum also helps trigger Raid in case there's a ground stall.

Kambal, Consul of Allocation : Kambal fills a similar role as Mentor yet offers more. Feeds us life to pay into Tymna, and can block Tymnas forever. Also good against Shimmer Zur; Storm/Isochron Scepter combo; Bomber-man combo (Auriok Salvagers & Lion's Eye Diamond); CVT as they need to recast Teferi, Temporal Archmage multiple times; and Elsha (Sensei's Divining Top loops).

Hushbringer : Good vs. Flash-Hulk strategies, as well as manual Breakfast lines involving Dread Return & Angel. Also shuts off Gilded Drake and Kiki-Jiki.

Grand Arbiter Augustin IV : 1-sided stax that also reduces the cost of both Tymna & Kraum. He also helps us cast our top end, notably Consecrated Sphinx, & Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. Can also reduce the mana needed for both halves of the Copy-Cat combo.

Serra Ascendant : Low-cost beater. Even if you don't play it in the first few turns it is usually active as Bear-weaver is usually the beat-down deck & should have larger creatures to prevent attacks. After 1-2 swings with Serra it is unlikely it will be turned off due to having less than 30 life.

Sudden Demise : Pseudo 1-sided board wipe if played right, comparable to Fire Covenant. Normally just call green with x= 1 (or 3 if Thrasios/Yisan/Oakhame Adversary is on board).

Tainted Pact : Great way of finding the missing combo piece or interaction. Included to speed up the deck at the cost of manabase being weaker to Blood Moon.

Cavern of Souls : Many of our creatures are actually Human, including Tymna, so resolving a Lavinia, Azorius Renegade, or Containment Priest can be crucial.

Cursed Totem : One of the main reasons to play Bear-weaver. Shuts down many of the current Hulk decks, as well as Gitrog, Yisan/Selvala, and Najeela to an extent.

Inferno Titan : A way to repeatably perform a "1-sided board wipe" vs other Tymna or Najeela decks for example.

Notable Exclusions Show

Laboratory Maniac : Despite running Tainted Pact, I believe there are better homes for Lab Man, mainly Kess and Breakfast Hulk.

Tarnished Citadel : Not a fan of this land in 3-4 color grindy decks. Normally fetching correctly can provide enough colors.

Toxic Deluge : I'm sure a meta exists where this is a necessary evil, but on average this deck would rather force its opponents to cast it. Sudden Demise, Fire Covenant, Cyclonic Rift & Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite should be enough.

Notion Thief & Wheel of Fortune esque effects : Although this deck does have an A+B combo in the form of CopyCat, I believe Notion-Wheel is better in decks that can produce infinite mana easily and have an outlet in the Command Zone.

Chain of Vapor : Although efficient removal, giving our opponents the option of bouncing key stax or threats is not favorable here.

Possible Wincons

1. Jace, Wielder of Mysteries + Demonic Consultation/Tainted Pact: With this the plan is to exile your deck first, then activate Jace to win.

2. Praetor's Grasp: Nothing flashy here either. Sure it can grab tutors, interaction, or even stax, but most likely it will grab a Jace or even Thassa's Oracle. This is usually after your Jace has been countered or perhaps wheeled away.

3. Creature beats: Although this deck has pulled this off enough times to count, it is not usually the primary goal. That being said it is certainly common to eliminate at least 1 player while trying to dig for cards with Tymna.

Honorable Mention:

Boonweaver Giant searches Abduction (Gift of Immortality previously) which enables infinite dmg with Goblin Bombardment.

Saheeli & Felidar Guardian combo by making infinite cats. Felidar blinks Saheeli which lets you copy again. Important to note that you can combo off with 6 mana sources if you cast Felidar first blinking one of them (so 2 to now 3 available mana), then cast Saheeli. Still a viable combo to include in this shell if you decide you don't need Hushbringer & Hushwing Gryff in your meta.

Mulligan Plan (in progress)

Being a non-green midrange deck, you'll usually want to keep a hand of at least 2-3 lands, a few hate pieces, and the rest interaction. Anything with just lands, ramp, & tutors is usually a mull imo since this deck wants to land stax turns 2-3 and have interaction until it can land Tymna, Kruam, or another card-advantage engine. Mulling down to 5 or 6 is probably fine here if your hand is just 2-3 mana sources & interaction.

Deck Strengths & Weaknesses (in progress)

Strengths: Bearweaver at its core is an anti-Storm, anti-AdNaus deck, with many tools to combat Hulk combo decks (namely Containment Priest, Cursed Totem, Linvala, Rest In Peace, Grafdigger's Cage & Aven Mindcensor). Against any Esper/Grixis deck it can play a few stax pieces then pressure life totals enough where AdNaus/Necropotence is unprofitable without Angel's Grace.

Weaknesses: Mainly decks that operate outside of what our stax can cover & also have a midrange plan. Things like Ruric Thar, Najeela, and Yuriko can be problematic if unanswered.

TLDR: Game plan is stax in the form of hate-bears mostly that synergise with Tymna. Then assemble Jace-Con in the midgame; or play Kraum & Co. of beaters and win in the red-zone.

Additions:

Serra Ascendant & GAIV (3/19/18): sucessful

Azra Oddsmaker tested (5/25/18)-(7/11/18): sucessful

Plague Engineer (5/29/19): testing

Saheeli/Felidar combo (8/1/18)-(5/1/19): successful

Lavinia, Azorius Renegade (1/25/19)-(8/1/19) sucessful

Thief of Sanity (1/25/19) - (1/16/20) cut

Narset & Ashiok (7/1/19) testing

Drown in the Loch & Hushbringer (12/18/19) testing

Spell Snare & Hushwing Gryff (1/17/20) testing

Kunoros (2/1/20) testing

Date added	6 years
Last updated	4 years
Splash colors	BR
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 0 Mythic Rares 54 - 0 Rares 21 - 0 Uncommons 7 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.18
Tokens	Bird 2/2 U, Spirit 1/1 C, Spirit 1/1 W, Thopter 1/1 C, Treasure
Folders	EDH Resources, Ones to Watch, References, Next Commanders, cEDH Recs