Skullbriar 1v1

1v1 Commander Aggro BG (Golgari) Counters Voltron

KingFat

Creature (22)

• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Brawn
• 1x Corpsejack Menace
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Evolution Sage
• 1x Fertilid
• 1x Forgotten Ancient
• 1x Fungal Behemoth
• 1x Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
• 1x Jugan, the Rising Star
• 1x Leyline Prowler
• 1x Mowu, Loyal Companion
• 1x Predator Ooze
• 1x Reyhan, Last of the Abzan *f-etch*
• 1x Rhonas the Indomitable
• 1x Runic Armasaur
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Scavenging Ooze
• 1x Ulvenwald Tracker
• 1x Varolz, the Scar-Striped
• 1x Vulturous Zombie
• 1x Winding Constrictor

Artifact (9)

• 1x Bow of Nylea
• 1x Champion's Helm
• 1x Golgari Signet
• 1x Loxodon Warhammer
• 1x Ring of Kalonia
• 1x That Which Was Taken
• 1x Trailblazer's Boots
• 1x Whip of Erebos
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Land (37)

• 1x Barren Moor
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 10x Forest
• 1x Forge of Heroes
• 1x Golgari Guildgate
• 1x Grim Backwoods
• 1x Jungle Hollow
• 1x Llanowar Reborn
• 1x Mosswort Bridge
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 12x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Wood
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Tranquil Thicket

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Blessings of Nature
• 1x Casualties of War
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Harmonize
• 1x Increasing Savagery
• 1x Jarad's Orders
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Search for Tomorrow
• 1x Time of Need
• 1x Treasured Find

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Vraska, Swarm's Eminence
• 1x Vraska the Unseen

Commander (1)

Instant (12)

• 1x Heroic Intervention
• 1x Hero's Downfall
• 1x Inspiring Call
• 1x Krosan Grip
• 1x Momentous Fall
• 1x Nature's Claim
• 1x Putrefy
• 1x Reincarnation
• 1x Savage Summoning
• 1x Solidarity of Heroes
• 1x Tainted Strike
• 1x Unlikely Aid

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Evolutionary Escalation
• 1x Hardened Scales
• 1x Myth Unbound
• 1x Ordeal of Nylea
• 1x Phyrexian Scriptures
• 1x Rancor
• 1x Unspeakable Symbol

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Maybeboard

Land (17)

• 1x Blooming Marsh
• 1x Cathedral of War
• 1x Centaur Garden
• 1x Gemstone Caverns
• 1x Gilt-Leaf Palace
• 1x Hissing Quagmire
• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Pendelhaven
• 1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 1x Temple of Malady
• 1x Tomb of Urami
• 1x Twilight Mire
• 1x Urborg
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Woodland Cemetery

Sorcery (7)

• 1x Ashes to Ashes
• 1x Driven / Despair
• 1x Life from the Loam
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Rishkar's Expertise
• 1x Stitch Together

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Canopy Cover
• 1x Eternal Thirst
• 1x Greater Good
• 1x Unspeakable Symbol

Creature (6)

• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Fleshbag Marauder
• 1x Kalonian Hydra
• 1x Obsessive Skinner
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Yavimaya Elder

Instant (2)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Not of this World

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My first attempt at a competitive 1v1 deck. Edited now to play better in a free-for-all setting too.

This strategy uses Skullbriar, the Walking Grave in a sort of Voltron strategy. Unlike most Voltron decks, you don't need to get a ton of auras and equipments on Skullbriar - he boosts himself just by dealing damage! Thanks to his unique and awesome ability, he can stay boosted even if leaving play. Thus, there's a lot of +1/+1 counter cards that wouldn't usually be considered too great, but become very strong with Skullbriar!

Since Skullbriar needs to actually deal damage to a play to boost himself, there's a lot of evasion effects here, like Whispersilk Cloak, Filth + Urborg, and Rogue's Passage. Trample is also a good way to make sure Skullbriar deals damage, so Brawn and Ring of Kalonia are here for those.

Completely unassisted, Skullbriar will win the game in six hits via commanader damage. First he hits for 1, then 2, then 3, 4, 5, and the final hit of 6 deals exactly 21 commander damage. Of course, much of the strategy here is to speed that up. Since you can usually drop Skullbriar on turn two (sometimes turn one with Elvish Spirit Guide or Chancellor of the Tangle!) it's easy for things to get going quickly.

Some card choices explained:

That Which Was Taken: Since Skullbriar keeps ALL counters, you can give him a divinity counter with this. As long as you keep That Which Was Taken in play, Skullbriar will be indestructible. Pretty mana intensive, however. I'm considering cutting it, but it's my one do-it-because-it's-cool card for the deck.

Jarad's Orders: A great tutor, and loads the grave with Brawn or Filth. You can also search for Varolz, the Scar-Striped and put something nice in the grave to scavenge. Preferably a high power, low mana card like Rhonas the Indomitable.

Vraska the Unseen: Not super impactful right away. She mostly is there as removal. However, if you get her ultimate off, those assassin tokens will have an easy time dealing damage thanks to all the evasion in this deck.

Evolutionary Escalation: If I have no creatures, this doesn't do anything, so it's not much risk. With Skullbriar, this is scary.

Lands: The land base is lacking right now - the maybeboard has the many lands I'd like to pick up and try in here at some point. I'm working on it!

Date added	7 years
Last updated	5 years
Exclude colors	WUR
Legality	This deck is 1v1 Commander legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 27 - 0 Rares 31 - 0 Uncommons 15 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.05
Tokens	Assassin 1/1 B w/ Planeswalker Deathtouch, Assassin 1/1 B w/ Player Killer