In EDH, there are a ton of different fun themes you can build around. Whether you’re a fan of typal strategies, token decks, or Artifacts, there’s something for everyone.
There are even Commander options that blend a bunch of themes together. Brenard, Ginger Sculptor definitely fits the mold, making it quite an interesting legend to have in the command zone. This card is a value engine with tons of combo upside, and there are a variety of different ways to maximize it.
MTG Brenard, Ginger Sculptor
At a baseline, Brenard gets most of its power from its second ability. Being able to make token copies of any of your nontoken creatures that die is a nice bonus by itself. Even though these tokens are small, retriggering powerful enters effects can pull you far ahead.
With this in mind, simple value-generating creatures like Solemn Simulacrum and Eternal Witness make for premium inclusions. When paired with any sacrifice outlet, you have the luxury of producing token copies right away with Brenard and getting double triggers. Alternatively, Evoke creatures like Mulldrifter and Solitude can even trigger Brenard’s second ability even without a sacrifice outlet in play.
Thanks to Brenard’s combination of abilities, you’re also heavily incentivized to incorporate Golem and Food synergies into your deck. Simple Golem payoffs like Wing Splicer and Darksteel Splicer synergize with Brenard’s buff ability while also giving all of your Food Golem tokens potent keywords. The more Golem payoffs or typal rewards like Obelisk of Urd you get on board, the stronger your board presence becomes.
Of course, since Brenard’s created tokens are Food, there’s easy ways to double up on your token creation. Academy Manufactor and Peregrin Took reward you further every time you make a Food token copy of another creature with Brenard. From there, creating token copies of monsters like Avenger of Zendikar or Myr Battlesphere should put you in a commanding position.
As you continue to flood the board with Food Golem tokens, any token doublers like Elspeth, Storm Slayer or Parallel Lives can quickly get out of hand. Growing Ranks, Sundering Growth, and other simple Populate sources also help pull you far ahead. With enough tokens already on board, Second Harvest can singlehandedly demolish any hope of your opponents coming back. Throw in some disruptive elements like Hour of Reckoning and protections spells like Rootbound Defenses, and you’ve got a deck!
Casting these cards becomes easier once you’ve assembled your engine, too. Inspiring Statuary and Affinity staples like Thought Monitor can help make your big payoffs cheap, while drawing deeper into your deck.
Executing Infinite Combos
While Brenard is plenty powerful as a Commander just at face value, he gets even stronger when you add some infinite combos into the mix. The best and most versatile combo option comes when you play Brenard alongside Eternal Scourge and Ashnod’s Altar. Since Eternal Scourge can be cast from Exile, Brenard’s ability will essentially net four colorless mana for Ashnod’s Altar to create. You’ll net one mana each time you recast Eternal Scourge, creating infinite mana, enters, and dies triggers. Once you have infinite mana, you then get to recast Eternal Scourge over and over without needing to sacrifice the token copy.
In addition to Eternal Scourge, Sam Loyal Attendant is another creature that enables some cool infinite combos. By reducing the cost of all activations of your Foods, you can easily generate infinite mana with a token copy of Farrelite Priest or Bog Initiate. Replace these creatures with Soldevi Simulacrum, and you’ve got yourself an infinitely large Trampler.
Cheap and Powerful
Between its basic synergies and infinite combos, Brenard, Ginger Sculptor is quite a formidable Commander. While he’s at his best in the command zone, Brenard does also make for a nice inclusion in the 99 of Ich-Tekik, Salvage Splicer and Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker Partner decks. Even Atagatog decks can get good value from Brenard’s token production.
Despite this, Brenard still doesn’t quite get the respect he deserves. He accounts for less than 9,000 decks as the Commander according to EDHREC and appears in the 99 of less than 2,400 decks. The good news is that Brenard’s ability to fall under the radar has helped him maintain a very cheap price tag. Players can easily get their hands on copies from The List for under $1, which is a steal for such a potent mythic. So, whether you’re into token-themed decks, Food strategies, or gnarly infinite combos, Brenard delivers on all fronts.
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