Ken, Burning Brawler | Voltron / Spellslinging - The Brewery [S08E21]

[@bradsimpson8724]

A quick note about the extra combat sorceries at 5:55 - Most of these don't work with the Shoryuken ability. World at War is an exception(and DOES work), but most extra combat sorceries specify being cast during a main phase in some way, which cannot apply because Ken's ability triggers during the assign damage step of the combat phase. There's nothing stopping you from hard-casting those spells in your second main phase because you saved your mana due to Ken's freebies, but you will be disappointed if you think Ken is going to let you skip out on paying for them. I figured this out the hard way, so I want to share it so you guys don't have to.

[@TheCommanderTavern]

Thanks a lot for the clarification! I'll pin this comment to help avoid any future confusion.

[@bradsimpson8724]

This is still one of my favourite commanders; something about it just scratches the happy parts of my brain(no shortage of Street Fighter II nostalgia, I suspect). While our Equipment-heavy mindset for Voltron is comparable, I went a bit of a different direction with the sorceries. When I was a kid, Ken's signature uppercut was commonly known as the Dragon Punch. So I built it as a Dragon's Approach deck. This gave me access to Thrumming Stone as an alternate win condition. I will always love punching for big spells, but Voltron strategies can be fragile, and with stuff like Locket of Yesterdays and Ruby Medallion(I am wholeheartedly on-board with artifact protection/recursion), even if Ken turns into a focused target on the table, Dragon's Approach can get pretty damn close to free.

[@TheCommanderTavern]

Ooh!!! Absolutely love the concept of Dragon's Approach here! Super genius and flavorful!

[@bradsimpson8724]

@@TheCommanderTavern I really like it, and it's a deck that I can give to my kids, who are still learning the game; the lines are both consistent and pretty self-explanatory. Livaan is also a dragon you can tutor for, who serves to further buff Ken's power. Also, just saying... Approach of the Second Sun is a 7CMC sorcery that synergizes nicely with sorcery-speed looting effects that gets DA copies into your yard. Ken seems like a guy who would want to announce his intention to win like that, and even if you just sit in the corner and spam fireballs, the occasional hurricane kick mixes things up.

[@TheCommanderTavern]

@@bradsimpson8724 Hell yeah! It's awesome that you're getting your kids into the game.

[@Mediamatix]

[Seize the day] needs to be in the arcane themed secret lair edition for maximum fighting game flavor ("Round Two").

[@bradsimpson8724]

I don't want to rain on your parade, but Seize The Day doesn't work with the Shoryuken ability. From the Rulings: If you somehow cast Seize the Day during an opponent’s main phase, that opponent attacks during the resulting combat phase, since it’s still that player’s turn. If you somehow cast it not during a main phase at all, all that happens is you untap the target creature. Unfortunately, this is true of most extra-combat sorceries; there's typically a qualifier in the text specifying that they have to be cast in your (typically post-combat) main phase. In this case specifically, Seize The Day is essentially a 4CMC "untap target creature" spell, with a corner-case political perk of giving an opponent an extra combat phase if you were to cast it off the damage trigger while blocking. World At War is an exception that does work to grant an additional combat phase if it resolves from Ken's ability, and has the upside of Rebound on your next upkeep. I wanted an earlier iteration of my Ken deck to have a "Round Two!" theme, and learned the hard way that it doesn't work well if reliant on his ability.

[@crovax1375]

Trailblazer's Boots would be a decent alternative to Prowler's Helm since most decks play non-basics. Does the lack of card draw in these colors hurt this strategy?

[@TheCommanderTavern]

This is why I put in so many loot effects. You could cast them for no mana if you wanted to, but you can dig through the deck for the wincons while also filling the graveyard with things to get back with the reanimation spells.

[@noahpatch1483]

I’d like to see how you build Guile!

[@mizzogames]

Triple Strike, I would like to see that in legal format haha

[@TheCommanderTavern]

100% big same!

[@hotepanthony3910]

Just to confirm, you're saying I can play a sorcery as a result of blocking via shoryuken? There's no speed/priority restraints?

[@TheCommanderTavern]

Exactly, because the trigger is letting you do so. Remember that rules are only broken if a card allows it to be broken.

[@hotepanthony3910]

@@TheCommanderTavern incredible! Thanks!

[@TheCommanderTavern]

@@hotepanthony3910 You're welcome!

[@Sinistra359]

Just did this the other day. Blocked with Ken and then I casted a board wipe lol

[@TheCommanderTavern]

@@Sinistra359 Glorious, right? I hope you shouted "SHORYUKEN!!!" when you pulled it off 💥💪

[@Mediamatix]

Now I expect you to complete the set. x)

[@TheCommanderTavern]

No spoilers, but notice that there are 4 episodes left of this current season of The Brewery 😉

[@jasontsabunimt6680]

I think I might do this but with dragons approach

[@TheCommanderTavern]

Ooh! That's a cool idea!

[@gilbertoriveramedia8437]

Playing swords with SF characters is a flavor fail.

[@TheCommanderTavern]

They literally had a Universes Within reprint, so flavor is irrelevant.

[@gilbertoriveramedia8437]

@@TheCommanderTavern true. Play Aisha. No swords in street fighter.

[@Darko201027]

I'd love to see your ken burning brawler decklist! What would you choose to be in it?

[@TheCommanderTavern]

@@Darko201027 Is the link in the description not working?

[@gilbertoriveramedia8437]

@@Darko201027 perhaps you will