Sift Through Sands - Stonebrow, Krosan Hero & Sygg, River Guide

Stonebrow, Krosan Hero & Sygg, River Guide | Art by Ron Spears & Larry MacDougall
Of Hooves and Fins
Hello, all! This is Sift Through Sands, an article series exploring how similar card packages work in two different budget-friendly decks so we can better understand how decks function. This week, in a bit of a departure from previous entries, we'll be exploring the concept of combat, and how maximizing value from combat-based triggers ensures a deck's success. To do so, we're going to look at two underdogs of days past: Stonebrow, Krosan Hero
Our Picks
Stoney and Syggie here show their age when compared to recent legends. Although they may seem simple, they serve as signposts, letting our opponents figure out the composition of our decks rather quickly. Stonebrow likes creatures with trample, Sygg likes Merfolk. That being said, a pile of tramplers and a pile of Merfolk don't make a well-composed deck. Both of these commanders, however, ensure that combat damage will be dealt, either by buffing creatures or by protecting them from being blockers. If we structure the decks around combat damage and attacking, we can use our commanders to full value and allow our decks to compete against other commanders. Let's start with our Centaur!
Stonebrow Rocks
View on ArchidektCommander (1)
Artifact (5)
Creature (34)
- 1 Aberrant
- 1 Atalan Jackal
- 1 Boartusk Liege
- 1 Borborygmos
- 1 Charging Badger
- 1 Deus of Calamity
- 1 Dragonborn Champion
- 1 Emerald Dragon
- 1 Froghemoth
- 1 General Marhault Elsdragon
- 1 Giant Solifuge
- 1 Gorilla Berserkers
- 1 Gruul Spellbreaker
- 1 Hellspark Elemental
- 1 Hornbash Mentor
- 1 Hystrodon
- 1 Impetuous Devils
- 1 Managorger Hydra
- 1 Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion
- 1 Neyith of the Dire Hunt
- 1 Polis Crusher
- 1 Prophetic Flamespeaker
- 1 Proud Wildbonder
- 1 Quartzwood Crasher
- 1 Skizzik
- 1 Slith Predator
- 1 Spawnwrithe
- 1 Stromkirk Occultist
- 1 Tana, the Bloodsower
- 1 Tempting Licid
- 1 Tervigon
- 1 Toralf, God of Fury
- 1 Wilderness Elemental
- 1 Wilson, Refined Grizzly
Enchantment (6)
Instant (6)
Sorcery (11)
Planeswalker (3)
Land (34)
- 1 Cinder Glade
- 1 Fabled Passage
- 7 Forest
- 1 Forgotten Cave
- 1 Game Trail
- 1 Gnottvold Slumbermound
- 1 Kazandu Refuge
- 1 Looming Spires
- 1 Mosswort Bridge
- 8 Mountain
- 1 Mountain Valley
- 1 Racers' Ring
- 1 Rootbound Crag
- 1 Rugged Highlands
- 1 Sheltered Thicket
- 1 Spinerock Knoll
- 1 Temple of Abandon
- 1 Tranquil Thicket
- 1 Treetop Village
- 1 War Room
- 1 Wooded Ridgeline
Playing Stonebrow
Stonebrow
Having larger creatures in play will get the ball rolling (or stone, if you will). General Marhault Elsdragon
Since we'll often have large creatures, forcing blocks is a good way to pick off small creatures that may be essential to our opponents. Ram Through
Where Stonebrow
River Friend
View on ArchidektCommander (1)
Artifact (9)
Creature (28)
- 1 Coral Fighters
- 1 Fallowsage
- 1 Galina's Knight
- 1 Harpoon Sniper
- 1 Judge of Currents
- 1 Library Larcenist
- 1 Merfolk Looter
- 1 Merfolk Skyscout
- 1 Merfolk Spy
- 1 Merrow Reejerey
- 1 Overtaker
- 1 Puresight Merrow
- 1 Riptide Pilferer
- 1 Rootwater Hunter
- 1 Rootwater Thief
- 1 Scroll Thief
- 1 Seafloor Oracle
- 1 Sejiri Merfolk
- 1 Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep
- 1 Stonybrook Banneret
- 1 Stonybrook Schoolmaster
- 1 Surgespanner
- 1 Svyelun of Sea and Sky
- 1 Unsettled Mariner
- 1 Veteran of the Depths
- 1 Vodalian War Machine
- 1 Wake Thrasher
- 1 Windrider Patrol
Instant (9)
Sorcery (3)
Planeswalker (1)
Land (36)
- 1 Azorius Chancery
- 1 Calciform Pools
- 1 Fabled Passage
- 1 Flood Plain
- 1 Gates of Istfell
- 1 Glacial Fortress
- 1 Halimar Depths
- 1 Idyllic Beachfront
- 1 Irrigated Farmland
- 9 Island
- 1 Isolated Watchtower
- 1 Nimbus Maze
- 8 Plains
- 1 Port Town
- 1 Prairie Stream
- 1 Sejiri Steppe
- 1 Svyelunite Temple
- 1 Temple of Enlightenment
- 1 Terrain Generator
- 1 Wanderwine Hub
- 1 War Room
Playing Sygg
Many of our Merfolk have combat damage triggers, and using Sygg to guarantee they hit is the name of the game. Coral Fighters
Many Merfolk care about tapping and untapping permanents. What better way to ensure that than constantly attacking? Surgespanner
Beefing our creatures (or just Sygg) up with Voltron cards helps make up for the lack of large creatures in the deck. While we can build up large threats incrementally, giving a particularly threatening Merfolk Steel of the Godhead
Both of these decks have multiple cards that care about combat damage to creatures and players, blocking, becoming tapped, and so forth. Aggro decks suffer from simplicity, as more complex strategies can outpace a combat-centric deck easily by not needing to interact with an opponent's creatures. By including many cards that benefit from the guaranteed actions of combat, and building upon that synergy, aggro decks can compete by making a simple attacker much more dangerous when an opponent blocking or taking damage are both unfavorable choices. Using this kind of overarching deckbuilding strategy will give many decks a facelift, and commanders that force combat especially can benefit from this. Below, I've included a list of the attack and damage trigger cards in both decks:
Notable Cards
View on ArchidektAttack (11)
Combat Damage (31)
- 1 Aberramt
- 1 Atalan Jackal
- 1 Borborygmos
- 1 Coral Fighters
- 1 Delif's Cube
- 1 Deus of Calamity
- 1 Froghemoth
- 1 Goldvein Pick
- 1 Hunter's Insight
- 1 Hystrodon
- 1 Mask of Memory
- 1 Mask of the Schemer
- 1 Merfolk Spy
- 1 Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion
- 1 Noble Purpose
- 1 One with Nature
- 1 Prophetic Flamespeaker
- 1 Quartzwood Crasher
- 1 Quietus Spike
- 1 Riptide Pilferer
- 1 Rootwater Thief
- 1 Scepter of Celebration
- 1 Scroll Thief
- 1 Seafloor Oracle
- 1 Slith Predator
- 1 Spawnwrithe
- 1 Staggering Insight
- 1 Stromkirk Occultist
- 1 Tana, the Bloodsower
- 1 Tervigon
- 1 Windrider Patrol
I hope you all enjoyed this week's entry! I wanted to try something a little different by examining cards that function similarly, rather than the same exact package. Maybe I will again! I'd love to know whether you've played around with an unusual tribal choice, or a keyword deck like Stonebrow! Let me know and I'll be back soon enough with more fun decks.