Hey! This is my Brago Deck! :D
I'm always interested in alternative win con's or interesting interaction that could find a place in this deck, so if you have suggestions, I would love to hear them! :D
The land base is very greedy - I'm fully aware of this, however this is also why the average cmc is at approximately 3.35..ish (if you don't include Force of Will and the other cards with alternative casting costs that can be utilised). this combined with the general drawing power/access to scrying i believe, helps smoothen out the play experience as a whole.
First the 'Combos' and general win conditions of the deck:
Combo's
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Brago, King Eternal and the general value engine of the deck: the commander itself is obviously quite strong, and if left alone even for a turn or 2, can generate a lot of card advantage using cards like Mulldrifter or setting opponents back with Reflector Mage.
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Brago, King Eternal + Strionic Resonator: essentially Brago going infinite with enough mana rocks (like Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, ect). this results in not just infinite mana, but infinite flickers, turning the previous general value into essentially get what you want put your opponents back so far that its essentially over in the next few turns.
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Teferi, Time Raveler + Azor, the Lawbringer & or Stonehorn Dignitary: Teferi prevents anything from being cast as instant, and Azor makes it so they cant cast on their turn, effectively locking them out of the game from that point onwards. Only activated abilities can be used at this point. Stonehorn Dignitary is like salt of the wound, taking even their combat away from them/1 opponent.
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Mechanized Production + Myr Battlesphere/Malcator, Purity Overseer/Whirler Rogue: essentially a flat wincon, flickering token creators and then enchanting a token (once there are 8 in play) to try and take the game.
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Archaeomancer + Time Warp: utilizing Brago, King Eternals flickers, we can repeatedly get back time warp, taking infinite turns.
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Altar of the Brood: quite probably the weakest of the win conditions, as Brago, King Eternal flickers things, we slowly mill out the opponents, this also works with the Strionic Resonator as well as Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines and Virtue of Knowledge. the issue with this is that its only graveyard, and although there is a Angel of Finality in the board to help exile graveyards, running something like Rest in Peace prevents the Archaeomancer combo above.
Card Choices
Mulldrifter vs Cloudblazer: This is less a "vs" and more a I don't have more room, and don't want to cut anything more. As far as choosing between them both goes. The reason Mulldrifter was chosen was because I personally prefer the flexibility in its casting cost, effectively turning it into a Divination. This decision was also made with the mana base in mind. Mulldrifter if I'm mana screwed, may allow me to dig my way out, however Cloudblazer cant do this. It's not that I don't like Cloudblazer it's just in this version of this deck, I think Mulldrifter is a better fit.
Ghostway VS Eerie Interlude: For this it came down to why exactly I was including one of these cards and the situations I would prefer to use it in. This is an answer to board wipes.. something this deck doesn't enjoy all that much. Because Eerie Interlude targets, If Lightning Greaves or Whispersilk Cloak is on say, Brago, King Eternal, ill have to move the Lightning Greaves around preemptively. Ghostway allows me to ignore this. In the case of tokens, Both situations have them being destroyed. Obviosuly this card also acts as an additional "blink" effect. this also applies to Teferi's Protection.
Tribute Mage vs Trinket Mage: This is probably a contentious decision and will take a bit to explain. Trinket Mage would get Mana Vault, Sol Ring, Mana Crypt & Altar of the Brood. so effectively, just ramp and probably the weakest of my win cons. alternatively Tribute Mage will fetch Azorius Signet, Grim Monolith, Lightning Greaves, Strionic Resonator & Talisman of Progress. Or, it gets protection for major creature pieces for the game, ramp as well as part of our infinite combo. This also means that Strionic Resonator & Lightning Greaves effectively have 4 fetches for them in the deck.
Vedalken Orrery: This inclusion was more for the multiplayer aspect of commander, being able to pass your turn and decide to react whenever you want is a powerful permission to have... leaving casting your spells to the last second. If this was strictly a 1v1 scenario, I probably wouldn't include it in the deck list in favor for more competitive cards, but as commander is typically a multiplayer format, I feel that the pro's outweigh the con's.
Panharmonicon: I have opted to pick up and include Virtue of Knowledge and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines instead as although they do cost 1 mana more, they both bring a little extra something that Panharmonicon doesnt. In the case of Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines a vigilance blocker that also prevents other Panharmonicon effects from our opponents from activating. and in the case of Virtue of Knowledge provides a cheaper interaction via an alternative casting cost (similar to the Mulldrifter reasoning). lastly and not terribly important regarding the overall workings of the deck. Panharmonicon is creatures and artifacts only, whereas the other 2 are just any permanent (so enchantments and planeswalkers).
Running 2 land destruction... lands.. just to get rid of any pesky Maze of Ith's or Kor Haven's that might pop up on the opponents side of the field. we are also running these ourselves as well to prevent any voltron comanders from getting to us. in addition, we are also running Access Tunnel and Rogue's Passage to help Brago, King Eternal to get through and attack.
The Cutting Board
Cards that I am Considering cutting:
Cryptic Command - I already have a few counters, (4 i believe unless i'm not counting Glen Elendra Archmage, and given its higher mana cost, it may be worth just removing in favor of another land?
Jace, the Mind Sculptor - Though a really strong cards, It doesn't do much for the overall game plan of the deck. and although a fatesteal + Brainstorm per turn is cool, i'm really on the fence about this one.
Treachery, Sower of Temptation and Duplicant: they all provide their own bit of flavor when it comes to taking the opponents creatures, Duplicant is nice because its an exile effect, Treachery is nice because it has the same land uptap effect as Peregrine Drake and Sower of Temptation is nice due to its lower cost. the concern is that i don't need all 3 and although I don't mind cutting Sower of Temptation, I also don't want to remove too many creatures. so i fell some efficiency could be made here but really unsure as to which is the right choice.
