Top 10 Abused Commanders for Brawl on Arena

Brawl is coming to Magic Arena in a few months and with it will come a whole new meta to build around. I'm pumped to have a different way to play Magic with the cards I've collected on Arena. I'm a huge Commander fan, so Brawl is just one step closer to the dream of playing Commander from the comfort of my own home at any time I feel like playing. I couldn't be more excited to see Brawl come to Arena!

Arena, for me, is all about being able to play some Magic when I get some time. The highest rank I've achieved is Gold because I only care about the end of month rewards. I work and have a family to care for, so I don't have all the time in the world to grind to high levels of Standard play, nor do I have the desire to play against the same decks every other game. It's not uncommon to see the same few decks every other game you play and the meta ends up getting dry pretty quick. I expect this same thing to happen with Brawl, but the beauty of a singleton format is that games don't feel the same every time you play as variance is higher with a singleton deck. I wanted to take some time, before Throne of Eldraine releases, to remind you of the commanders you're going to see a lot of so you can plan accordingly when Brawl releases.

In no particular order, here are my predictions for "Top 10 Most Abused Commanders for Brawl on Arena" (prior to Throne of Eldraine spoilers).

10. Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God

The poster boy of War of the Spark, Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God is a card that lots of people have been trying to make work in Standard since his release. Don't get me wrong, Bolas is a sweet card and I'm sure I'll give him a shot here and there, too. I imagine we'll see Bolas all over the place as Brawl provides a slower environment to let Bolas hang on the battlefield a little longer and always have access to Bolas whenever he is removed from the battlefield. And having an ultimate that wins the game, if you get to it, is a good reason why many people will flock to Bolas' side.

9. Teferi, Time Raveler

The good news is, one Teferi is rotating with the release of Throne of Eldraine. Unfortunately, we'll have a long ways to go before the next one is out of sight. Teferi is one of the strongest cards in Standard and I don't expect it to be any different in Brawl. Being able to shut off instants and draw cards the turn he hits the battlefield is a big deal in slower formats. Teferi is going to fit right into the meta without a problem. Start grabbing your Veils of Summer and Fry's to deal with this one right away.

8. Feather, the Redeemed

Feather is another card that's just on the brink of being busted in Standard. Feather is an easy to build around Commander that you'll always have access to with Brawl. Honestly, I'm looking forward to seeing all the combat tricks we don't normally see in Standard because of Feather decks, but be ready to bounce, exile, and destroy Feather a bunch with Brawl's release.

7. Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord

Another standard powerhouse, but a little on the edge with rotation. Sorin loses a lot of key vampires with Standard rotation happening, but we don't know what's coming with Throne of Eldraine yet. Power level-wise, Sorin is quite strong, especially when you always have access to him from the Command Zone. A Vampire tribal deck will be tried a bunch with Brawl's release and Sorin will be your best Commander for the deck.

6. Yarok, the Desecrated

Yarok is a powerhouse of a card. Standard is a little too quick for him, currently, but Brawl and Commander are the place for Yarok to live. I said no particular order earlier, but I expect Yarok (and Teferi) to be the top two most played Commanders in Brawl on Arena. It's hard to beat the amount of value Yarok gives you on a single card and, hey, you can play Risen Reef in this deck, too.

5. Chulane, Teller of Tales

Now, I know I said prior to Throne of Eldraine spoilers earlier, but I guarantee Chulane is going to see a ton of play with Brawl. If Chulane and Yarok could be partner commanders, there wouldn't be a better team! Bant is a great color combination for creatures with flash and enter the battlefield abilities which makes Chulane a great Commander to lead the instant speed, value centered, bully of a deck. Thank goodness the "Explore" mechanic is rotating out before Chulane releases.

4. Prime Speaker Vannifar

Honestly, I'm really excited to have a place where Prime Speaker Vannifar can have some use on Arena. I know we're going to see a bunch of her, but I think these Neoform sorts of decks will be fun to see... for about a week. Tutors lower the variance on a deck and having a tutor in the Command Zone leads to the same play pattern each game. I imagine there will be a list of "toolbox creatures for Vannifar" releasing shortly into Brawl and we'll see the exact same ten creatures tutored every game.

3. Nissa, Who Shakes the World

Ramp in the Command Zone is always a good thing in Commander and I don't see that being any different in Brawl. With the upside of being able to tutor out all the forests from your deck to boot, Nissa is going to make for a strong contender and popular Commander to play with Brawl. The one benefit is that Nissa will be stuck to just green cards, but mono green stompy with Leyline of Abundance and Finale of Devastation will be a strong core of cards to Nissa's big green deck.

2. Davriel, Rogue Shawdowmage

Some of the most overpriced cards in all of Magic are cards that make opponents discard and/or mill. Kitchen table players love to make opponents lose cards they really wanted to play even though mill and discard aren't necessarily the best or strongest way to play the game. I don't doubt Davriel will be a common Commander in Brawl because of his rarity and easy to build deck. Players just need to type "discard" into the search function and click every card that applies, add 26 swamps, and shuffle up. Grab your Tamiyo, Collector of Tales to watch Davriel players insta-concede.

1. Niv-Mizzet, Reborn

Yes, the floor for Niv-Mizzet is a five mana 6/6 flying creature, but the ceiling is a five mana 6/6 flying creature that draws you ten cards! Playing multicolor cards is super fun and five color Commander decks are a blast! I imagine we'll see Niv-Mizzet all over the place with players jamming every two colored card they own into the deck and shuffling up. Niv-Mizzet goes up in value in singleton, too, because you won't hit copies of the same two colored card in the Brawl format. Grab your Chromatic Lantern destroying cards and get ready to hunt some dragons at the release of Brawl.

Heads or Tails?

And that is my "Top 10 Most Abused Commander for Brawl on Arena"(prior to Throne of Eldraine spoilers). There are many potential Commanders to choose from, but some cards are just more strong than others.

"Call  it in the air!"

Leave a comment with either:

Heads: I disagree and here are my picks for most abused Commanders.

-or-

Tails: I agree and this is why.

Do some checking of the legendary creatures and planeswalkers in your collection and leave a comment for all of us for what you think will be the most played Commanders on release day.

And remember, my friends, there are so many potential Commanders to play with when Throne of Eldraine releases and we aren't even in spoiler season for the set! Brawl lets you play with legendary creatures and planeswalkers and we just had a set with 36 unique planeswalkers released. Get ready to see the same ten Commanders in Brawl, but don't forget about playing one of the literally one hundred other Commanders! Check out some of the "Tails Brews Brawl" articles at the release of Throne of Eldraine for ideas.