Entering the battlefield is something that’s become increasingly potent in recent years in MTG. It’s no longer something that creatures just do, as they tend to enter with a bang.
It means that flickering creatures is more beneficial than ever before, and it means that looking into flickering them, or blinking them, in Commander can be obnoxiously powerful.
Meet your commander
Brago, King Eternal
Brago, King Eternal
Flying
Whenever Brago deals combat damage to a player, exile any number of target nonland permanents you control, then return those cards to the battlefield under their owner's control.
is a four-mana blue and white 2/4 with flying that reads “Whenever Brago, King Eternal deals combat damage to a player, exile any number of target nonland permanents you control, then return those cards to the battlefield under their owner’s control.”
Basically, as long as you can get Brago to hit someone else, you get to flicker as many of your nonland permanents as you’d like, and either take advantage of their enter the battlefield triggers, or just enjoy the fact that they’re now untapped following a big old attack.
It’s also a huge amount of fun, and along with being powerful on a base level, is also something you can completely abuse to generate more value than any single opponent can actually deal with.
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The best creatures for Brago
First up, other ways to flicker your creatures, and also benefit from doing so, are a huge part of what makes Brago so dangerous. To that end,
Soulherder
Soulherder
Whenever a creature is exiled from the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
At the beginning of your end step, you may exile another target creature you control, then return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control.
is an essential part of any flicker deck because they help you flicker things, and they get really big really quickly.
You’ve then got the cards that you actually want to flicker.
Reflector Mage
Reflector Mage
When this creature enters, return target creature an opponent controls to its owner's hand. That creature's owner can't cast spells with the same name as that creature until your next turn.
is going to help you stop everyone in their tracks by simply not allowing them to play creatures anymore.
Cloudblazer
Cloudblazer
Flying
When this creature enters, you gain 2 life and draw two cards.
is perfect if you’re looking for a bit of life and card draw. Then you’ve got
Sun Titan
Sun Titan
Vigilance
Whenever this creature enters or attacks, you may return target permanent card with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
, which can allow you to recollect a bunch of your cards from the graveyard with ease.
Finally, we really like silly infinite combos, and if you put
Peregrine Drake
Peregrine Drake
Flying
When this creature enters, untap up to five lands.
,
Deadeye Navigator
Deadeye Navigator
Soulbond (You may pair this creature with another unpaired creature when either enters. They remain paired for as long as you control both of them.)
As long as Deadeye Navigator is paired with another creature, each of those creatures has "{1}{U}: Exile this creature, then return it to the battlefield under your control."
, and
Thought-Knot Seer
Thought-Knot Seer
({C} represents colorless mana.)
When this creature enters, target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it and exile that card.
When this creature leaves the battlefield, target opponent draws a card.
on the battlefield at the same time, you can effectively make every other opponent draw their entire decks and then lose the game. It’s not fair, for them, but it is funny.
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The best support cards for Brago
Disorder in the Court
Disorder in the Court
Exile X target creatures, then investigate X times. Return the exiled cards to the battlefield tapped under their owners' control at the beginning of the next end step. (To investigate, create a Clue token. It's an artifact with "{2}, Sacrifice this token: Draw a card.")
and
Eerie Interlude
Eerie Interlude
Exile any number of target creatures you control. Return those cards to the battlefield under their owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
are part of a collection of cards that’ll help you protect your cards at instant speed. This is great for avoiding board wipes, and we’re a big fan of doing that for fairly obvious reasons.
You’ve then got engines like
Conjurer’s Closet
Conjurer’s Closet
At the beginning of your end step, you may exile target creature you control, then return that card to the battlefield under your control.
and
Teleportation Circle
Teleportation Circle
At the beginning of your end step, exile up to one target artifact or creature you control, then return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control.
. While only exiling things once a turn isn’t inherently broken, it does lead to plenty of seemingly fair ways to get more triggers going for you, or simply to reset the position of any powerful cards that you’re worried about needing to block with.
Then you’ve got absurd cards like
Spine of Ish Sah
Spine of Ish Sah
When this artifact enters, destroy target permanent.
When this artifact is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, return it to its owner's hand.
and
Meteor Golem
Meteor Golem
When this creature enters, destroy target nonland permanent an opponent controls.
. While they’re pricey, the ability to constantly flicker them in order to take out whatever you need removing is huge. When you throw all of this together you end up with a deck that is incredibly flexible, surprisingly resilient, and ultimately very powerful. Who could ask for more?
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