My Brago combo-control deck that's been my pet project for a few years. Continually a work in progress.
I recognize that the most competitive way to build this deck is probably more stax-oriented, but I want to be able to play a single person more than once without them refusing to interact with me ever again, so I'm explicitly avoiding cards like Meekstone, Tangle Wire, or Winter Orb. Other than that, suggestions are welcome.
The point of the deck is to combo off using Strionic Resonator, 2+ mana-production via mana-rocks (or Treachery), and a card-drawing ETB effect. If you have 3+ mana-production, just play Blue Sun's Zenith after drawing your deck and making infinite mana (against multiple opponents, go down to 0 cards in deck, cast BSZ with a Brago trigger on the stack, resolve BSZ and put it into your library, copy the Brago trigger with Resonator, let the Brago trigger resolve targeting Resonator, mana rocks, and a source that draws one card, draw BSZ, wash-rinse-repeat until you're out of opponents). If you have only 2 untappable mana available, just draw most of your deck, then chain out cards during your second main phase (For example, presuming you have Sol Ring in play, Mana Crypt into Mana Vault into Grim Monolith into Gilded Lotus into Tezzeret untapping stuff into Teferi into Treachery and so on and so forth) until you can pass the turn with a tremendous amount of permission up and try to win on your next combat step. If you can play Reliquary Tower, great, if not just discard down to all counterspells. Resonator, Brago, 2 targetable mana and Nevermaker/Riftwing Cloudskate/Venser, Shaper Savant should also shore up the game. Oblivion Ring and Detention Sphere work as well, due to the way the triggers can be stacked. For those who aren't familiar, it works like this:
- Brago deals combat damage. Put his trigger on the stack. Target whatever you like, except for Oblivion Ring.
- Tap Sol Ring to pay for Strionic Resonator's activated ability. Target Brago's triggered ability.
- Let Strionic Resonator's ability resolve, putting a copy of Brago's ability on the stack, targeting Strionic Resonator, Sol Ring, and Oblivion Ring.
- Let the copy of Brago's ability resolve, flickering the three permanents. Resonator and Sol Ring come into play untapped. Oblivion Ring's ETB triggered ability goes on the stack*. Target an opponent's permanent.
- Use Sol Ring and Strionic Resonator to again copy Brago's initial ability, which is still on the bottom of the stack. Same targets. Let Resonator's ability resolve, placing the copy on the stack.
- Let the copy resolve, causing Oblivion Ring to leave the battlefield and enter the battlefield. Since new spells and abilities can't be put on the stack between when an ability starts resolving and when that ability finishes resolving, it is at this point that Oblivion Ring's LTB trigger goes on the stack, simultaneously with its ETB trigger. You may stack the triggers however you choose. Stack the LTB trigger on top of the ETB trigger. Target another of your opponents' permanents with the ETB trigger.
- Let Oblivion Ring's LTB trigger resolve. Since there are no cards in exile for it to affect, nothing happens.
- Repeat steps 5-7 until you have an Oblivion Ring ETB ability targeting each of your opponents' nonland permanents on the stack.
- Let the ETB triggers resolve, exiling your opponents' boards.
- Let Brago's initial triggered ability resolve. Since you didn't target Oblivion Ring, you don't have to exile one of your own permanents.
*If Oblivion Ring was exiling something at the beginning of this whole process, stack its LTB trigger on top of the ETB trigger and let it resolve, putting that permanent back into play. You can re-target it with another ETB trigger during step 8.
Other than that, the deck is just filled with valuable, mostly blink-able stuff that allows for card advantage, selection, disruption, protection, ramp, and recursion--many of which are combo pieces pulling double-duty.
In multiplayer, the goal is to sit back and gain advantage by drawing/filtering, avoiding posing a threat and interacting when necessary to protect yourself, until it's time to combo off. Haste is very valuable since it allows you to go off on the same turn you play Brago, only worrying about opponents' instants rather than giving each opponent a full turn to respond. In 1v1, feel free to tempo out much more savagely, throwing down Brago and some targets and just drowning them in value. You can also just lock them out by nullifying their draw step with Brago + Nevermaker, if you happen to get that combo online.
The Island percentage is high in order to support cards like Cryptic Command and other blue-saturated counterspells, and also because I like the card Soldevi Excavations.
Currently on the fence about Cloudshift/Ghostway/Eerie Interlude, as I may be including too many of that kind of effect.
On my acquire list: Force of Will, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Command Beacon, Marsh Flats, Misty Rainforest, Scalding Tarn
Thanks for reading, and +1 If you like the list!