Staple Remover – Counterspell

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a> | By <a href="https://diterlizzi.com/">Tony DiTerlizzi</a>)</h6>
<h1>The Little Negate that Could</h1>
Welcome back to The Toolbox! Here, we take a look at underplayed cards and evaluate where they ought to see more play. Today we’re taking a look at a neglected <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Negate" href="#" target="_blank">Negate</a> that can be played in quite literally any deck: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a>!
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Null Brooch"></div></div>
Don't be surprised if you've never heard of this Exodus card before; it is over 20 years old at this point. For those that weren't playing the game before I was alive, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a> is so interesting because it's a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Negate" href="#" target="_blank">Negate</a> that can just sit on board. The drawback with Brooch is that you also have to discard your hand when countering a spell. This makes it a difficult card to work with, but, as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark Confidant" href="#" target="_blank">Dark Confidant</a>'s flavor text says, "Greatness, at any cost." So, let's take a look at the top commanders from EDHREC to see where <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a> is played!
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hazoret the Fervent"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Malfegor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arcum Dagsson"></div></div>
This is going to be one of the most hotly contended articles that I have written just due to the cost of discarding your hand to counter a single spell. The thing is, there are certain decks, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hazoret the Fervent" href="#" target="_blank">Hazoret the Fervent</a>, that actively want to discard their hand, so having a way to do this and interact at the same time is a huge bonus. There're also decks like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Malfegor" href="#" target="_blank">Malfegor</a> where the drawback becomes pretty irrelevant after you've cast him, as he clears your hand anyway.
Then there's the final of the top three commanders, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcum Dagsson" href="#" target="_blank">Arcum Dagsson</a>. While this may not seem like a great fit with the overall gameplan of the deck, there is some logic for including it. For instance, using <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcum Dagsson" href="#" target="_blank">Arcum Dagsson</a> to turn a Thopter token into <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a> to counter a problematic <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merciless Eviction" href="#" target="_blank">Merciless Eviction</a> can be a game-winning play. Brooch is definitely more limited in this deck, but I understand why some are choosing to include it.
In Commander, having an empty hand is very dangerous, considering how much a game state can change in just a single turn cycle. I do think that there are some decks that can work around or even benefit off of this 'drawback', though, so let's get into it!
<hr />
<h2>Minions!</h2>
I have not played against many <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Balthor the Defiled" href="#" target="_blank">Balthor the Defiled</a> decks, but they are always interesting to play against! For those who haven't seen Balthor in action, he aims to be a repeatable <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Living Death" href="#" target="_blank">Living Death</a> that doesn't wipe the board. He also gives a buff to Minions, but this is pretty minor compared to the power of his activated ability. Let's take a look at why I think Balthor should be playing <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a>!
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Balthor the Defiled"></div></div>
The main distinguishing factor between Balthor and other options, such as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chainer, Dementia Master" href="#" target="_blank">Chainer, Dementia Master</a>, is that Balthor aims to go much wider in his reanimation. The reason I bring this up is because discarding a hand filled with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Massacre Wurm" href="#" target="_blank">Massacre Wurm</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Abhorrent Overlord" href="#" target="_blank">Abhorrent Overlord</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Razaketh, the Foulblooded" href="#" target="_blank">Razaketh, the Foulblooded</a> is way better with Balthor at the helm since he can just reanimate them all at once. Having <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a> as a discard outlet also gives the opportunity for the deck to have more play at instant speed through Brooch itself, and reanimating a bunch of threats out of nowhere! Once Hellbent, Brooch can also just be used as a repeatable <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Negate" href="#" target="_blank">Negate</a> to counter any pesky <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merciless Eviction" href="#" target="_blank">Merciless Eviction</a>s that would otherwise wipe the board permanently.
To some, this may seem like a bit of a stretch, but I think it’s genuinely worth the inclusion. Having a mass discard outlet that <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Negate" href="#" target="_blank">Negate</a>s something seems way better than just cycling a card with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necromancer&#039;s Stockpile" href="#" target="_blank">Necromancer&#039;s Stockpile</a>! If you haven't had the pleasure to see a deck like this in action, taking a look at the decklist may be the best place to see all the great value you can get with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a>!
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Monster Mash" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Balthor the Defiled
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Abhorrent Overlord
*1 Apprentice Necromancer
*1 Ayara, First of Locthwain
*1 Corpse Connoisseur
*1 Crypt Ghast
*1 Cryptbreaker
*1 Doom Whisperer
*1 Doomed Necromancer
*1 Fleshbag Marauder
*1 Golgari Thug
*1 Grave Titan
*1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
*1 Harvester of Souls
*1 K&#039;rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
*1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
*1 Magus of the Coffers
*1 Mogis&#039;s Marauder
*1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
*1 Overseer of the Damned
*1 Plaguecrafter
*1 Razaketh, the Foulblooded
*1 Rune-Scarred Demon
*1 Scion of Darkness
*1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
*1 Shriekmaw
*1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Stinkweed Imp
*1 Syr Konrad, the Grim
*1 Undead Gladiator
*1 Vilis, Broker of Blood
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Cast Down
*1 Dark Ritual
*1 Darkblast
*1 Force of Despair
*1 Mausoleum Secrets
*1 Price of Fame
*1 Songs of the Damned
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Blood for Bones
*1 Buried Alive
*1 Diabolic Tutor
*1 Dread Return
*1 Living Death
*1 Morality Shift
*1 Ransack the Lab
*1 Reanimate
*1 Rise of the Dark Realms
*1 Stitch Together
*1 Victimize
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Caged Sun
*1 Hedron Archive
*1 Null Brooch
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Thran Dynamo
*1 Worn Powerstone
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Animate Dead
*1 Arguel&#039;s Blood Fast
*1 Liliana&#039;s Contract
*1 Necromancer&#039;s Stockpile
*1 Phyrexian Arena
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Liliana, Untouched by Death
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Cabal Coffers
*1 Cabal Stronghold
*1 Crypt of Agadeem
*1 Dakmor Salvage
*1 Desert of the Glorified
*1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
*1 Memorial to Folly
*1 Witch&#039;s Cottage
*28 Swamp
[/Lands]"></div> 

<hr />
<h2>Graveyard? More like Extended Hand!</h2>
If you haven't read Andrew's edition of <a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/ultra-budget-brews-damia-sage-of-stone/">Ultra Budget Brews</a> that highlights why <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a> works so well with Damia, you should definitely take a look! This is actually where I got the inspiration for going with Damia over <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Muldrotha, the Gravetide" href="#" target="_blank">Muldrotha, the Gravetide</a>, even though I think that Brooch would work well with either of them. For those that haven't seen this Gorgon, she loves drawing cards so much that in your upkeep she refills your hand to a full seven cards! She's also Sultai and has deathtouch, but the draw is the important part. Why would she want a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a>?
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Damia, Sage of Stone"></div></div>
Having Damia refill your hand every turn makes discarding actively beneficial to dig even deeper into your deck. The timing on pitching your hand with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a> is very important, though, because Damia getting hit by a removal spell is backbreaking with her mana cost. So viewing it more as an onboard way to always have some piece of interaction to protect Damia, and as a reset button for your hand, makes it much more justifiable.
There are also the synergies available with the aforementioned <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Muldrotha, the Gravetide" href="#" target="_blank">Muldrotha, the Gravetide</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seedborn Muse" href="#" target="_blank">Seedborn Muse</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ramunap Excavator" href="#" target="_blank">Ramunap Excavator</a>. This deck is so sweet, and it's open to customization to be tuned to exactly what you want! If you don't believe that this card is worth a slot, take a look at the decklist!
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Monster Mash 2" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Damia, Sage of Stone
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Acidic Slime
*1 Avenger of Zendikar
*1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
*1 Birds of Paradise
*1 Coiling Oracle
*1 Consecrated Sphinx
*1 Deathrite Shaman
*1 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
*1 Eternal Witness
*1 Laboratory Maniac
*1 Llanowar Elves
*1 Muldrotha, the Gravetide
*1 Nyxbloom Ancient
*1 Oracle of Mul Daya
*1 Ramunap Excavator
*1 Reclamation Sage
*1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
*1 Seedborn Muse
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid
*1 Thassa&#039;s Oracle
*1 The Gitrog Monster
*1 Wayward Swordtooth
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Assassin&#039;s Trophy
*1 Beast Within
*1 Counterspell
*1 Cyclonic Rift
*1 Growth Spiral
*1 Krosan Grip
*1 Mystical Tutor
*1 Putrefy
*1 Sultai Charm
*1 Swan Song
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Casualties of War
*1 Cultivate
*1 Demonic Tutor
*1 Emergent Ultimatum
*1 Explosive Vegetation
*1 Farseek
*1 Kodama&#039;s Reach
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Skyshroud Claim
*1 Torment of Hailfire
*1 Toxic Deluge
*1 Villainous Wealth
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Chromatic Lantern
*1 Dimir Signet
*1 Golgari Signet
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Null Brooch
*1 Simic Signet
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Burgeoning
*1 Exploration
*1 Leyline of Anticipation
*1 Rhystic Study
*1 Sylvan Library
*1 Wilderness Reclamation
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Vraska the Unseen
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Breeding Pool
*1 Command Tower
*1 Drowned Catacomb
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Golgari Rot Farm
*1 Hinterland Harbor
*1 Opulent Palace
*1 Overgrown Tomb
*1 Polluted Delta
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Simic Growth Chamber
*1 Temple of Mystery
*1 Temple of the False God
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
*1 Watery Grave
*1 Woodland Cemetery
*1 Zagoth Triome
*5 Island
*3 Swamp
*10 Forest
[/Lands]"></div> 

<hr />
<h2>Wheels on the Bus</h2>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rielle, the Everwise" href="#" target="_blank">This sweet grandma</a> just wants to make sure that you've had enough cards to draw. Rielle has got to be one of my favorite cards from Ikoria; she just refills your hand as soon as you discard for the first time each turn. You don't mess with her, though: she gets extremely powerful from all the instants and sorceries in the bin.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rielle, the Everwise"></div></div>
With Grandma wanting to give you more cards when you discard, discarding your hand to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a> acts as a wheel. Rielle is already commonly running <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Forbid" href="#" target="_blank">Forbid</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tolarian Winds" href="#" target="_blank">Tolarian Winds</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Negate" href="#" target="_blank">Negate</a>. An activation of Brooch with Rielle out is quite literally just a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tolarian Winds" href="#" target="_blank">Tolarian Winds</a> stapled to a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Negate" href="#" target="_blank">Negate</a>, and for half the mana!
This deck is all about constantly just clearing your hand to buff Rielle, and Brooch being a repeatable, colorless source of discard that stays on the field is great for when you just draw a hand of lands. At worst, you can just discard it to something else anyway! If you don't believe me, take a look at how sweet this decklist is!
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Have Some Cookies" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Rielle, the Everwise
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Baral, Chief of Compliance
*1 Brallin, Skyshark Rider
*1 Dockside Extortionist
*1 Glint-Horn Buccaneer
*1 Jace&#039;s Archivist
*1 Laboratory Maniac
*1 Magus of the Bazaar
*1 Magus of the Wheel
*1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
*1 Psychosis Crawler
*1 Surly Badgersaur
*1 Thassa&#039;s Oracle
*1 The Locust God
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Brainstorm
*1 Channeled Force
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Counterspell
*1 Cyclonic Rift
*1 Dangerous Wager
*1 Fateful Showdown
*1 Fierce Guardianship
*1 Firestorm
*1 Foil
*1 Forbid
*1 Frantic Search
*1 Izzet Charm
*1 Muddle the Mixture
*1 Mystical Tutor
*1 Narset&#039;s Reversal
*1 Negate
*1 Rites of Refusal
*1 Swan Song
*1 Thrill of Possibility
*1 Tolarian Winds
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Blasphemous Act
*1 Breakthrough
*1 Burning Inquiry
*1 Careful Study
*1 Cathartic Reunion
*1 Chandra&#039;s Ignition
*1 Faithless Looting
*1 Gamble
*1 Gitaxian Probe
*1 Ponder
*1 Reforge the Soul
*1 Turbulent Dreams
*1 Wheel of Fortune
*1 Windfall
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Izzet Signet
*1 Library of Leng
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Mana Crypt
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Null Brooch
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Talisman of Creativity
*1 Thought Vessel
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Ominous Seas
*1 Rhystic Study
*1 Teferi&#039;s Ageless Insight
*1 Underworld Breach
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Narset, Parter of Veils
*1 Teferi, Master of Time
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Ash Barrens
*1 Cephalid Coliseum
*1 Command Tower
*1 Desolate Lighthouse
*1 Fiery Islet
*1 Forgotten Cave
*1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
*1 Lonely Sandbar
*1 Mystic Sanctuary
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Scalding Tarn
*1 Shivan Reef
*1 Steam Vents
*1 Sulfur Falls
*1 Temple of Epiphany
*11 Island
*7 Mountain
[/Lands]"></div> 

<hr />
<h2>Null</h2>
Thank you all for your continued support of the series! I hope that you all enjoyed reading this installment, and I hope that you have found a new home for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a>. Do you think these commanders pair well with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Brooch" href="#" target="_blank">Null Brooch</a>? Do you think I’m overestimating this card, or do you agree it’s highly underrated? What other cards are you hoping to see get their place in the limelight? Let’s talk about it in the comments below. Everyone please stay safe and have a great week!

null brooch

Staple Remover – Counterspell

The Toolbox - Null Brooch

Ultra Budget Brews - Damia, Sage of Stone