Obosh, the PreypiercerObosh, the Preypiercer | Art by Daarken

Greetings and salutations my dear brewers, and welcome to a prickling iteration of From the Brim to the Trim. I'm Arnaud, and I'm delighted to take you on a journey of scalding burns, nasty roasts and smoldering pains.

Last time, we parted ways with the usual poll. The savviest among you may have noticed that these three commanders were already featured in past polls, without prevailing. There are a lot of spicy commanders I want to build trimmed versions of, so expect more of those in the future.

Also, a huge thanks to all of you who took the time to vote. This poll came close to the 200 threshold, and such engagement makes me positively happy.

Third place went to Talrand, Sky Summoner, earning 35 votes (19%). Drakes begone, don't look back, and close the door on your way out. The second spot was awarded to The Gitrog, Ravenous RideThe Gitrog, Ravenous Ride, a very fun commander that makes use of what would otherwise be considered pure chaff.

Alas, with 70 votes (38%), it came close, but not close enough. The winner, by a close margin with 79 votes (43%), is therefore none other than Obosh, the PreypiercerObosh, the Preypiercer.

This is a fiery boy! 3/5 for is not extremely impressive, but when you take its second ability into account, you stop smiling and you start frowning.

One may be more used to see this Horror used as a Companion, but don't be fooled: having a damage doubler in the command zone, albeit one with a significant restriction, is nothing to scoff at.

Without further ado, let's drop each and every card from the regular and budget sections on this commander's page straight into Archidekt.

350 cards. A good plump start. Let's begin.

First Trim – Trashing All the Rubies

To all the newcomers who read this column for the first time, a warm welcome. Knowing that this is read not only by EDHREC old-timers but also by fresh eyes is part of what keeps me going.

This series is all about building very budget decks, following one simple rule: no card worth $1.11 and more may be included. There is a kind of schadenfreudian joy in wiping decks worth hundreds of dollars with a pile of synergistic jank.

Giving the axe to the cards worth more than $2.00 already brings the list down to a much more manageable 259 cards.

Let's first have a look at the best stuff in the $1.11-$2.00 range, just in case you want to indulge yourself a tiny-teensy bit:

• Rampaging FerocidonRampaging Ferocidon: Negating lifegain is surprisingly annoying. Getting pinged for two – assuming Obosh is out – every time a creature enters can range from annoying to life-threatening.
• Pain MagnificationPain Magnification: With the proper setup, this can wreck entire hands.
• Star of ExtinctionStar of Extinction: Too bad Toralf, God of FuryToralf, God of Fury is such an expensive card.
• AnathemancerAnathemancer: I wouldn't be surprised if this hit someone for at least 10, if not much, much more.
• Chandra, Dressed to KillChandra, Dressed to Kill: Rather cheap ramp and ping all in one.
• BoltwaveBoltwave: Dealing six damage for a puny ? What a bargain!

This leaves five cards in the $1.00-$1.10 range:

• Magus of the WheelMagus of the Wheel: I'm not sure how relevant wheels will be here.
• Sulfurous SpringsSulfurous Springs: Painlands are as cheap as they are underplayed.
• Fabled PassageFabled Passage: This is a pleasant surprise. I don't know how long it will remain below the threshold though.
• Rakdos SignetRakdos Signet: Wait, Signets are above a dollar? What is this world?
• End the FestivitiesEnd the Festivities: Asymmetrical for . Yes please.

With these initial cuts, the list is already down to 242 cards. Onwards.

Second Trim – Charred Veggies

Well, well, well... It's been a while since I had to revamp Archidekt's categories this much. Initially, the list was arbitrarily split between burn and removal spells, all jumbled in one category or the other with no clear distinction.

I've decided to reorganize all that a bit:

• Removal concerns only the spells that either deal damage only to single creatures, or remove other types of permanents.
• Bolts include spells that deal a set amount of damage to any target or to players specifically.
• Pingers include all outlets that can dish regular small amounts of damage.
• Other Burn includes whatever I couldn't fit in one of these categories.

For now, I'd like to focus on the usual veggies. After clearing things out, here are how things stand:

There's a massive number of removal spells. Since the list already contains a lot of Bolts, I'm going to shrink this to a maximum of ten such outlets.

I like to make a proper distinction between Card Draw, which increases the final number of cards you have in hand after casting a spell, and Quality Advantage, which sculpts the hand without actually giving you more cards in the end. I have a rather strong preference for the first option.

Finally, the Wipes counter has to go down. There are a decent number of small-fry pingers that can leave without hindering the build.

Let's cut.

After trimming the land base to a healthy 36 lands, the list now hosts 167 cards. There's still a long road ahead.

Third Trim – Shaping the Fires

This is the point of the brew process where all the tedious parts have been taken care of, and all that's left is defining the preferred course of action. All that's left... As if this was going to be an easy feat.

Looking at the list, I see two distinct directions:

• Playing a bunch of direct damage spells, hoping to double their effect with Obosh, to burn the table to a crisp.
• Using and abusing pingers of all sorts, with consistent and deadly prickling.

Both are good, and so I'm going to keep the best of two worlds, with a focus on reducing mana costs. Ideally, I'd like to keep most of the spells in the 1-3 mana range. Obosh already costs a hefty five mana to cast, and is likely to become a prime target for removal as soon as it hits the battlefield.

Protection outlets are far and between in these colors, so I believe the proper course of action is setting up prior to casting the Horror. If it survives one full rotation, great.

If not, at least you'll have some outlets on the battlefield ready to throw a bunch of damage around. For this reason, I will also keep a bunch of cards that provide a similar effect.

I'm also going to focus on spells that deal damage to multiple opponents at once. Some of the cards in the build synergize rather well with these effects, especially Chandra's SpitfireChandra's Spitfire and Cryptborn HorrorCryptborn Horror.

A quick glance at the other categories shows:

• A bunch of generic burn outlets. I'll apply the same logic as for the Bolts.
• Spell copying: Since the list is focusing more on pingers, these are not as relevant.
• Damage Doublers: I like the idea of having alternate/additional Obosh effects.
• X Spells: Usually way too expensive for what they actually bring to the table.
• A bunch of miscellaneous spells. Not much to save here.

Let's cut, and cut deep.

And with that, the list is down to 107 cards. Let's move on to the final snips.

Final Trim – Do I really have to?

At this point of the brew, there aren't really that many bad cards left. Therefore the following cuts are mostly a matter of personal taste.

• Fiery InscriptionFiery Inscription: I'm all for more GuttersnipeGuttersnipes in the deck, but introducing the Ring mechanic feels more annoying that interesting.
• Ball LightningBall Lightning: Iconic, but assuming you'll get it to deal 12 damage to someone sound a bit like wishful thinking.
• Lightning SkelementalLightning Skelemental: Same reasoning. I like the discard potential, but I'd rather burn people.
• Harsh MentorHarsh Mentor: Excellent card, but it costs two mana. I'd rather spend my early turns ramping than becoming the center of the attention. And this will attract unwanted attention.
• Invoke CalamityInvoke Calamity: I love the recursion, but it's really very very colored.
• Tunneling GeopedeTunneling Geopede: I'm not 100% certain you will hit a land drop each and every turn. So this makes it one of the weakest pingers in this brew.
• Flame SlashFlame Slash: Great mana-to-damage ratio, but also sorcery speed.

And with this, I give you:

Additional Trim – A Look Into the Past

Today, we're heading back to January 2025, with a brew focused on Duke Ulder RavengardDuke Ulder Ravengard.

Let's see how well the deck endured in almost a year and half:

• Pinnacle MonkPinnacle Monk: $1.33
• Sejiri ShelterSejiri Shelter: $1.52
• Agrus Kos, Eternal SoldierAgrus Kos, Eternal Soldier: $1.64
• Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid: $1.73
• Flameshadow ConjuringFlameshadow Conjuring: $3.92 (!!)
• Aerial ExtortionistAerial Extortionist: $4.05 (!!)

It could be worse, much worse. In fact I believe this is one of the best results achieved in a long while.

Let's replace these with the following:

• Furycalm SnarlFurycalm Snarl and Path of AncestryPath of Ancestry: To replace the lost MDFCs
• Spirited CompanionSpirited Companion: Looks like a nice doggo to give myriad to.
• Circuit MenderCircuit Mender: Same, but with a bug.
• Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act: It's cheap at the moment, I'm not letting this go!

And yes, that's only five cards, but I realized my final brew had an extra one. So this mends it as well!

You can find the updated list here.

Conclusion

I hope you liked as much as I did this fun journey into mass-pinging land.

I'd love to hear from you. Do you play Obosh? Any hidden gems or spicy techs?

Let me know in the comments below, and I'll see you in two weeks!

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