This deck aims to function as a control deck, breaking parity with Brago's blink ability. This deck then looks to finish the game with its infinite combos.
Ramp:
The first step for this is ramp. Being Azorius means we will have to mainly rely on mana rocks. We will use this as an advantage as Brago will let us have explosive turns by doubling the output of our mana rocks. This is why you rely on want to avoid tapped mana rocks as we won't be able to get value from them. There are also cards like
Stoic Farmer
and
Solemn Simulacrum
which will fetch lands into play. Normally there a bit too slow, but if we are blinking them for value they will get much better
Card Draw:
The Card draw in the deck is possibly the most important part as you always want to have cards in your hands. Most of our card draw comes in the form of creatures entering the battlefield. For example cards like
Cloudblazer
and
Sea Gate Oracle
. A card like
Mulldrifter
is even better as you can cast it for its evoke cost then blink it at instant speed with the trigger on the stack, keeping the Mulldrifter and four cards. However, the single best card for this is
Mystic Remora
. While regarded as a clunky
Rhystic Study
, Brago can blink it, resetting the age counters from its cumulative upkeep.
While drawing cards is great, we can also get specific cards with
Trinket Mage
Tribute Mage
Spellseeker
.
Trinket Mage
normally goes and finds one of our ramp artifacts, however, if we are starved for lands we can fetch
Ancient Den
or
Seat of the Synod
Finally
Recruiter of the Guard
can grab any of these tutors, or any other facet of our deck.
Protection:
As you become the envy of the table due to your blinking shenanigans, it's very likely they will try to stop your engine. Thus this category will let us protect Brago and ensure he gets through for his trigger. First, we have the commander staples
Swiftfoot Boots
and
Lightning Greaves
. These do a great job at protecting Brago but we have other options.
Whispersilk Cloak
is better than the previous two as it also gives Brago evasion. Other options we have are instant-speed blink effects like
Cloudshift
or
Ephemerate
. These serve a dual purpose in our deck. Either to blink a creature to save it for removal or to keep the engine running by reusing another ETB effect.
Evasion
If Brago doesn't connect with one of your opponents then you won't get any value, so this section is all about giving him the best shot to do so.
Whispersilk Cloak
also previously mentioned works great but so do auras such as
Unquestioned Authority
which also serve as a card draw effect. The last card I want to mention is
Whirler Rogue
as you can make Brago evasive turn after turn.
Control
As Brago itself is an engine, the longer you run it the better position you will be in. Thus this deck looks to shut down its opponent's plans as well. Cards like
Stonehorn Dignitary
,
Glen Elendra Archmage
and
Lavinia of the Tenth
stop your opponent's plans in their tracks. In addition, this deck runs 5 other counterspells; a notable inclusion being
Rebuff the Wicked
as no one will think you have a counterspell when your leaving up 1 white.
Removal
This deck has many removal options and you will need them if you wish to shut down the crazy stuff your opponents are doing. Both
Skyclave Apparition
and
Amphin Mutineer
give your opponents a token creture in exchange but
Nevermaker
,
Reflector Mage
Venser, Shaper Savant
will remove those tokens and any pesky permanent with Venser also acting like a remand.
Act of Authority
and
Elspeth Conquers Death
will exile almost anything. However, the real star is Reality Acid as this hits all permanent and also gets around hexproof as when blinking it doesn't target the permanent to reattach. Even better are cards like
Treachery
which will keep stealing permanents while untapping your lands for free. (Note Binking a stolen permanent under control of treachery will give you permanent control over it.)
Value
This category consists of enablers (
Yorion, Sky Nomad
and
Eldrazi Displacer
but also enhancers like
Panharmonicon
. This just increases the effectiveness of all the other cards on our list.
Combo
Now that we've locked down the game, how do we win?
The three most common combos are:
Brago, King Eternal + Strionic Resonator
/Brago, King Eternal + Lithoform Engine
.
This combo works by attacking with Brago, then copy its triggered ability with one of the cards then resolving the copy; untapping your non-land permanents (including the combo piece) then using 2 mana worth of mana rocks to pay for the trigger and copy the original and so on.
With three mana worth of mana rocks, this makes infinite mana, with a card like
Wall of Omens
you can draw your deck and win with a
Thassa's Oracle
or my preferred way is to mill my opponents with an
Altar of the Brood
. (Note You can choose to blink any number of non-land permanents with Brago's ability so you don't have to mill your whole deck)
Deadeye Navigator + Peregrine Drake
or Eldrazi Displacer + Peregrine Drake
This will create infinite mana and infinite ETB's.
(Note you will need a land that will tap for colourless mana for the second combo)
Brago, King Eternal
+
Archaeomancer
/
Mnemonic Wall
+ An Extra Turn Spell (ie:
Time Warp
)
This gives you infinite turns, you should be able to win the game from here.
This deck only plays the first two but could easily substitute a card for
Time Warp
to run the final combo.
Happy Deckbuilding!
