Elenda Saint of Dusk Brawl
Standard BrawlDeck Strategy
A 100-card Brawl deck led by Cecil, Dark Knight, rebuilt as a strict mono-black plus artifacts shell: every white card and every mixed-color card except the commander has been cut, and the mana base is now all Swamps.
Cecil, Dark Knight wears Pact Weapon, Darksteel Plate, Shadowspear, Swiftfoot Boots, Excalibur II, Captain America's Shield, Cloak and Dagger Entwined, Dragonfire Blade, Iron Man Armor, and Dissection Tools to become a protected, evasive commander-damage threat. The sacrifice package of Witch's Oven, Village Rites, Deadly Dispute, and Chainer's Edict triggers Blood Artist, Bastion of Remembrance, and Marauding Blight-Priest to drain the table, while Cauldron Familiar plus Witch's Oven creates a repeatable drain loop. Bloodthirsty Aerialist and Silversmote Ghoul reward all that lifegain, and Midnight Reaper plus Phyrexian Arena keep your hand full after sweepers.
Keep hands with 2-4 lands, at least one equipment or early creature, and one removal spell. Snap-keep a hand with Pact Weapon or another equipment plus a cheap creature. Mulligan hands that are all expensive spells, have no interaction, or have fewer than two lands.
Early game: deploy cheap creatures such as Greedy Freebooter, Deep-Cavern Bat, Dusk Legion Zealot, and Cauldron Familiar, and set up Witch's Oven or Village Rites to start draining. Mid game: suit up Cecil with Pact Weapon and protection, clear blockers with Dismember, Feed the Swarm, Hero's Downfall, Infernal Grasp, Eliminate, and Doom Reigns Supreme, and pull ahead with Phyrexian Arena, Read the Bones, and Midnight Reaper. Late game: stabilize with Blasphemous Edict, then finish with commander damage, Massacre Wurm, Demon of Loathing, Nightmare, or Rise of the Dark Realms.
Artifact removal can slow the equipment plan. Edict and sacrifice effects punish Voltron strategies. Graveyard hate can answer Cauldron Familiar loops and Rise of the Dark Realms. Fast combo and heavy token decks can race you if you tap out for expensive spells. As a mono-black deck you have no way to answer resolved enchantments, so prioritize discard like Duress and Agonizing Remorse.
| Type | Rarity | Card Name | Mana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creatures (33) | Rare | Abyssal Harvester | |
| Mythic Rare | Alpharael, Stonechosen | ||
| Rare | Angel of the Dire Hour | ||
| Rare | Angelic Guardian | ||
| Rare | Arahbo, the First Fang | ||
| Rare | Aven Interrupter | ||
| Rare | Belladonna Took | ||
| Rare | Bulwark Ox | ||
| Rare | Cecil, Dark Knight | ||
| Rare | Cloak and Dagger, Entwined | ||
| Rare | Conciliator's Duelist | ||
| Rare | Demon of Loathing | ||
| Rare | Elenda, Saint of Dusk | ||
| Mythic Rare | Emeritus of Woe | ||
| Rare | Giada, Font of Hope | ||
| Rare | Goring Ceratops | ||
| Rare | Grave Researcher | ||
| Rare | High-Society Hunter | ||
| Rare | Horobi, Death's Wail | ||
| Rare | Inspiring Commander | ||
| Rare | Leonin Warleader | ||
| Rare | Lord Skitter, Sewer King | ||
| Mythic Rare | Lyra Dawnbringer | ||
| Mythic Rare | Massacre Wurm | ||
| Rare | Midnight Reaper | ||
| Rare | Nightmare | ||
| Rare | Rat King, Verminister | ||
| Rare | Regal Caracal | ||
| Rare | Sinkhole Surveyor | ||
| Rare | Skyknight Squire | ||
| Rare | Solemn Simulacrum | ||
| Rare | Sunstar Chaplain | ||
| Mythic Rare | Technodrome | ||
| Instants (4) | Rare | Dawn's Truce | |
| Mythic Rare | Dismember | ||
| Uncommon | Hero's Downfall | ||
| Uncommon | Reprieve | ||
| Sorceries (9) | Rare | Avatar's Wrath | |
| Rare | Blasphemous Edict | ||
| Rare | Bloodline Bidding | ||
| Common | Feed the Swarm | ||
| Rare | Fumigate | ||
| Rare | Practiced Offense | ||
| Mythic Rare | Rise of the Dark Realms | ||
| Rare | Starfall Invocation | ||
| Mythic Rare | Winds of Abandon | ||
| Artifacts (14) | Mythic Rare | Agatha's Soul Cauldron | |
| Common | Arcane Signet | ||
| Rare | Captain America's Shield | ||
| Rare | Celestial Armor | ||
| Mythic Rare | Cursecloth Wrappings | ||
| Rare | Darksteel Plate | ||
| Rare | Dissection Tools | ||
| Rare | Dragonfire Blade | ||
| Rare | Excalibur II | ||
| Mythic Rare | Iron Man Armor | ||
| Rare | Lifecraft Engine | ||
| Mythic Rare | Pact Weapon | ||
| Rare | Shadowspear | ||
| Uncommon | Swiftfoot Boots | ||
| Enchantments (5) | Mythic Rare | Angelic Destiny | |
| Rare | Doom Reigns Supreme | ||
| Rare | Glorifying Verse | ||
| Rare | Leyline of Sanctity | ||
| Rare | Phyrexian Arena | ||
| Lands (34) | Common | Evolving Wilds | |
| Rare | Godless Shrine | ||
| Basic Land | Plains | ||
| Uncommon | Secluded Courtyard | ||
| Rare | Shattered Sanctum | ||
| Basic Land | Swamp | ||
| Rare | Temple of Silence |