Jank No More - The Legendary Power of Vanilla

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brothers Yamazaki" href="#" target="_blank">Brothers Yamazaki</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://ronspearsart.com/">Ron Spears</a>)</h6>
<h1>Let Me Introduce My Brothers</h1>
<p>Welcome back to EDHREC, and to <em>Conditions Allow</em>. This article series focuses on legendary creatures with a drawback, and tries to turn them into a strength. This week, we're taking a look at one creature that really wants to be many. Commander is a singleton format, and that is exactly why <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brothers Yamazaki" href="#" target="_blank">Brothers Yamazaki</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a challenge to build around.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brothers Yamazaki"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brothers Yamazaki" href="#" target="_blank">Brothers Yamazaki</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a mono-red legend from <em>Kamigawa</em>. There are two different versions of this card, each representing one of the brothers. Both have the same effect: if you control exactly two creatures named <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brothers Yamazaki" href="#" target="_blank">Brothers Yamazaki</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, then the “legend rule” doesn’t apply. Separately, each other creature named <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brothers Yamazaki" href="#" target="_blank">Brothers Yamazaki</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has haste and get +2/+2. All told, we can get a pair of 4/3’s with haste and <em>Bushido 1.</em> This isn’t much, but the challenge of building around a commander that wants to have multiple copies of itself may lead us down some interesting paths. Let’s see where we end up.</span></p>
<hr />
<h2>Can You Tell Us Apart?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Flameshadow Conjuring"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Twinflame"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heat Shimmer"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There aren’t many commanders like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brothers Yamazaki" href="#" target="_blank">Brothers Yamazaki</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, so let’s dive right into their EDHREC page. Right at the top of the High Synergy Cards is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flameshadow Conjuring" href="#" target="_blank">Flameshadow Conjuring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This enchantment effectively lets us pay four mana to cast two 4/3s with haste by producing a token copy of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brothers Yamazaki" href="#" target="_blank">Brothers Yamazaki</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> whenever it enters the battlefield. Because of the Brothers' own effect, we don’t have to worry about the legend rule destroying the token. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of course, one copy of an effect is never enough. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Twinflame" href="#" target="_blank">Twinflame</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heat Shimmer" href="#" target="_blank">Heat Shimmer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are both one-shot effects that do the same thing as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flameshadow Conjuring" href="#" target="_blank">Flameshadow Conjuring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. To help all these cards have a longer-lasting impact, we can use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sundial of the Infinite" href="#" target="_blank">Sundial of the Infinite</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to make the tokens stick around.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bonus Round"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Howl of the Horde"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Helm of the Host"></div></div>
<p>The EDHREC page is also cluttered with spells that copy other spells. These could push <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Twinflame" href="#" target="_blank">Twinflame</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> into a much higher-impact spell, since the power buff our commander gives other copies of itself will be compounded with each additional token. However, as soon as we have two or more tokens, the legend rule will kick back into effect, and we'll be left with only a single <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brothers Yamazaki" href="#" target="_blank">Brothers Yamazaki</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. We'll have to dig a little deeper before we start forming a strategy.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You have to look surprisingly far down the EDHREC page before finding <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Host" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Host</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This Equipment doesn't have to worry about the legend rule at all, since the tokens it creates are not legendary. It may seem slow to produce only one token at the beginning of each of our combat phases, but this is more reliable than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flameshadow Conjuring" href="#" target="_blank">Flameshadow Conjuring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. To really make reliable use of that enchantment, we need to have our commander enter the field every turn, and red is not a color that easily supports bounce or flicker effects. If we were playing blue, we might rely on bouncing, or use a little <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temporal Mastery" href="#" target="_blank">Temporal Mastery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to get multiple combat phases in a row. In red, however, we must rely on a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Relentless Assault" href="#" target="_blank">Relentless Assault</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<hr />
<h2>The Brothers' War</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Relentless Assault"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fury of the Horde"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="World at War"></div></div>
<p>There are quite a few sorceries that grant extra combat steps. In conjunction with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Host" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Host</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, every additional combat phase will create a new <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brothers Yamazaki" href="#" target="_blank">Brothers Yamazaki</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> token. Each makes the others stronger, until we have an unstoppable army. This strategy also takes advantage of the copy spells I mentioned earlier. Just remember that the untap clause of each of these copied spells will not happen between each extra combat, but occur right when the copied spell resolves, so each new token will probably be attacking alone. Still, this can put a sizable dent in one opponent's life total, while setting us up to quickly run away with the game on subsequent turns.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thrill of Possibility"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tormenting Voice"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Past in Flames"></div></div>
<p>The copy spells will also help us put all of these pieces together. As many others have explained before, copying a spell doesn't require you to pay the extra costs again, so <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tormenting Voice" href="#" target="_blank">Tormenting Voice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrill of Possibility" href="#" target="_blank">Thrill of Possibility</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> become actual card advantage. Red also has a couple of options for getting instants or sorceries back from the graveyard: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Past in Flames" href="#" target="_blank">Past in Flames</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is quite well-known, but you may not be as familiar with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anarchist" href="#" target="_blank">Anarchist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Including these cards means we don't have to worry as much about discarding our key extra combat cards, or using the copy spells to dig for them.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Family Heirlooms</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gamble"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Godo, Bandit Warlord"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All of this revolves around <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Host" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Host</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. There are enough copy spells, extra combat phases, and draw for us to expect to be able to put those pieces together. Trying to draw a single artifact is much harder, however. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gamble" href="#" target="_blank">Gamble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> helps, but isn’t exactly reliable. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Godo, Bandit Warlord" href="#" target="_blank">Godo, Bandit Warlord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a much better way of finding our key piece of Equipment, and it also gives us an extra combat phase the first time he attacks in a turn. In conjunction with the high density of draw effects, we should be able to find <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Host" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Host</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> fairly regularly.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If we can't put one combo together, though, maybe we can find the pieces for another. So far we’ve found a way to make a lot of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brothers Yamazaki" href="#" target="_blank">Brothers Yamazaki</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but with the help of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flameshadow Conjuring" href="#" target="_blank">Flameshadow Conjuring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloudstone Curio" href="#" target="_blank">Cloudstone Curio</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mana Echoes" href="#" target="_blank">Mana Echoes</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> we can create many, many more. </span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Flameshadow Conjuring"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloudstone Curio"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mana Echoes"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloudstone Curio" href="#" target="_blank">Cloudstone Curio</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> lets us use the tokens created by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flameshadow Conjuring" href="#" target="_blank">Flameshadow Conjuring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to return the original <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brothers Yamazaki" href="#" target="_blank">Brothers Yamazaki</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> back to our hand. We can then recast it to create another token, and so on. The mana to continually recast our commander and trigger <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flameshadow Conjuring" href="#" target="_blank">Flameshadow Conjuring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> comes from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mana Echoes" href="#" target="_blank">Mana Echoes</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which creates more mana the more tokens we have. Even though the mana it creates is all colorless, we can filter it into red with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prismite" href="#" target="_blank">Prismite</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gemstone Array" href="#" target="_blank">Gemstone Array</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This does run us back into the legend rule problem, though. I resisted using <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror Gallery" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror Gallery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in my article about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Linessa, Zephyr Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Linessa, Zephyr Mage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but it's the only card that allows us to do what we want here, so it gets a spot.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zealous Conscripts"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reckless Fireweaver"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anarchist"></div></div>
<p>If we do ever manage to get all of these cards on the field at the same time, we will get an infinite number of creatures, all with haste. There are other ways we can use it, however. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zealous Conscripts" href="#" target="_blank">Zealous Conscripts</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can steal every creature on the field, or continually untap one of our own. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx" href="#" target="_blank">Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can easily provide the mana needed to activate <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aggravated Assault" href="#" target="_blank">Aggravated Assault</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> repeatedly, or to use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Endless Atlas" href="#" target="_blank">Endless Atlas</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to draw into the final card you need to win. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anarchist" href="#" target="_blank">Anarchist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> would let us cast any spell in our deck as many times as we'd like, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reckless Fireweaver" href="#" target="_blank">Reckless Fireweaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> simply wins the game.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Fuel for the Clan</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thran Dynamo"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hedron Archive"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mana Geyser"></div></div>
<p>This is an extremely mana-hungry deck. We need a lot to cast our copy spells and extra combat spells in a single turn, or to keep activating <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aggravated Assault" href="#" target="_blank">Aggravated Assault</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Getting up to a critical amount of mana is vital, and we have two ways to do it: traditional mana rocks like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thran Dynamo" href="#" target="_blank">Thran Dynamo</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> do a lot of work getting us there, and red also has access to a number of rituals that can push us up to enough mana to go off several turns before our opponents are expecting it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Brothers Yamazaki" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Brothers Yamazaki
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Abbot of Keral Keep
*1 Dire Fleet Daredevil
*1 Ghitu Chronicler
*1 Keldon Marauders
*1 Prismite
*1 Reckless Fireweaver
*1 Combat Celebrant
*1 Ghitu Journeymage
*1 Kessig Malcontents
*1 Magus of the Wheel
*1 Seasoned Pyromancer
*1 Anarchist
*1 Flamerush Rider
*1 Zealous Conscripts
*1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Expedition Map
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Endless Atlas
*1 Fire Diamond
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Ruby Medallion
*1 Sundial of the Infinite
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Cloudstone Curio
*1 Unstable Obelisk
*1 Gemstone Array
*1 Hedron Archive
*1 Thran Dynamo
*1 Ur-Golem&#039;s Eye
*1 Conjurer&#039;s Closet
*1 Mirror Gallery
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Tectonic Reformation
*1 Aggravated Assault
*1 Flameshadow Conjuring
*1 Mana Echoes
*1 Outpost Siege
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Chandra, Flamecaller
[/Planeswalkers]
[Instants]
*1 Battle Hymn
*1 Desperate Ritual
*1 Increasing Vengeance
*1 Pyretic Ritual
*1 Thrill of Possibility
*1 Chaos Warp
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 By Force
*1 Faithless Looting
*1 Gamble
*1 Magmatic Insight
*1 Vandalblast
*1 Cathartic Reunion
*1 Tormenting Voice
*1 Twinflame
*1 Wild Guess
*1 Bonus Round
*1 Heat Shimmer
*1 Howl of the Horde
*1 Past in Flames
*1 Relentless Assault
*1 Seize the Day
*1 Hour of Devastation
*1 Mana Geyser
*1 World at War
*1 Fury of the Horde
*1 Blasphemous Act
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Buried Ruin
*1 Forgotten Cave
*1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
*1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
*1 Smoldering Crater
*29 Mountain
[/Lands]"></span></div>

<hr />
<p>This deck was a lot of fun to put together, and ended up feeling much stronger than I thought would be possible. Extra combats wasn't a direction I thought I would end up going, but it ended up being an exciting direction to pursue. The deck would be stronger if it was focused strictly around that strategy, instead of sharing space with a complicated combo. The two don't share cards, but I wanted to highlight both approaches I thought had some potential.</p>
<p>Let me know which you find more exciting! Do you prefer complicated combos, or more straightforward combat? Let me know in the comments, where you can also tell me about any cards you think would be a good fit that I missed. As always, thank you for reading.</p>


creature

Jank No More - The Legendary Power of Vanilla

Conditions Allow - Brothers Yamazaki