From the Brim to the Trim - Flooding Budgets and Wrenching Opponents Alike!

July 27, 2023 by Arnaud Gompertz

Let's get that stew on fire. First, we'll get rid of everything too spicy. Any card above $1 must go! By now, you wonderful people are used to that butchering, and sadly there are quite a lot of nice spells we must say goodbye to. I would have loved to stick some swords onto a giant Crab and go bash faces unimpeded. Oh well...

Then there are the "almost-did-it" (Maybe I should trademark this). There are once more a slew of cards that wade between $1 and $2. I'll get to them in a moment, but there's something I'd like to address first. Since I've started writing for this series, I've regularly seen cards hovering above and then below (or vice versa) the $1 point. While this pricetag has been chosen arbitrarily in the first place, I can't encourage you enough to keep an eye out for the cheapest cards if you want to try treading this treacherous route yourself. You never know what jewels might suddenly become available!

At any rate, here are a few nice spells below $2 you could consider adding if you wanted to up the ante a bit.

• Blue Sun's Zenith: At $1.05, that great draw outlet barely made it. Since you're likely to play the long game, you're bound to draw a decent amount of cards with that baby.
• Mystic Sanctuary: Usually, this would be a no-brainer for any mono-blue deck. Getting any instant or sorcery back is no joke.
• Slip Out the Back: Protect your commander while boosting it? Don't mind if I do!
• Grafted Exoskeleton: Infect on a big beater. Need I say more?
• Gauntlet of Power and Caged Sun: Both serve the same purpose: double your mana. Since Charix can become quite hungry, that would be a nice addition.
• Basilisk Collar: Lifegain and threat to other players' creatures ? What's not to love here?
• Winged Boots: Evasion and protection in a tight bundle. Life is simple. Life is beautiful.

With all of these solid but sadly out-of-budget solutions out of the way, we're left with a decent package of 176 cards. On to the veggies! Or seafood?

Second Trim: Cardward Scissorhands

As usual, let's assess our assets.

Draw: 28 (wooohooo!).
Ramp: 23
Removal: 11
Board wipes: 9

Looks like this section will make for a lot of trimming. Now then, we want to sink quite a lot of mana into Charix while making sure we can conveniently protect it. That means a big ramp package, with probably around 14-15 cards, and a decent flow of card draw to keep the action going. Onwards then, to cuts, to cuts!

Some of you might frown at a few of these choices. In particular, why cut Mind Spring when I sang high praise of Blue Sun's Zenith earlier? Simple: the first is a sorcery, the other an instant. Horses of the Bruinen might also be tempting (don't judge), but the cost is just too high. I really like that a lot of these removal spells care about turning a creature into a big pile of nothing rather than getting rid of it altogether. It adds in some zest!

That was more difficult than I thought, and I fear I have kept a few too many in each category. Oh well. If worst comes to worst, I guess some of them will have to become trim fodder.

With that out of the way (and some order made with the mana base) we're down to... oh. Still 169 cards. Quite a way to go it seems.

Third Trim: Cutting Off The Rough Edges

Now that the tedious stuff is out of the way, it's time to delve into the magical world of Charix, Lord of Crabs. It seems that brewers have decided to take one of two distinct paths to build with this Leviathan. One is the classic Voltron route, with a slew of Equipment and Auras to make it truly mighty. The other is focused on whatever Crab creatures you could cram in.

Sadly, Crabs aren't revered for their sheer power, and a lot of the cards still in the list are little more than draft chaff. While thematic and possibly fun, I doubt they would make a functional deck in the end. As sad as it is, the Crabs and their related outlets have to go.

That means you'll have to bid adieu to spells such as Adaptive Automaton, Call to the Kindred, Chromeshell Crab, Drownyard Behemoth, Scuttletide or Vexing Scuttler. Frankly, I'm not sad to see them go, as their sheer number has trimmed down our list by 27 cards, excusez du peu! 

With this out of the way, let's have a look at the other categories.

First, boost outlets. There's hardly anything to cut here. I'll remove the Hero's Heirloom, a bit too mana-intensive for what it does, but that's it. Second, evasion. With 17 spells to grant our commander the ability to smack in wherever it pleases, not counting the lands, I feel some cuts are in order here. Third, Protection: Again, 13 spells might be a tad too much. Fourth, Counterspells: Nice and thematic with blue they are, but there are just too many. Fifth: The rest, the miscellaneous, the varied, the things, the stuff.

On to it.

Before we get to the Grand Finale, I'd like to say a word about that Ring Tempts You mechanic. Although I have a profound distaste for anything related to Universes Beyond, I must say the first level of the Ring is absolutely perfect in this brew. While the other three abilities are less relevant (although looting is always good), the first one guarantees that your commander will be nigh unblockable, except by pesky 0 power critters. That's bound to leave a mark.

I also want to insist on the importance of Ensnare and Gush. These two cards allow you to bring back Islands to your hand, and therefore control the +X/-X you'll be giving Charix. Fathom Seer and Thwart could eventually find a room as well.

With that, we're left with 110 cards. Let's get rid of those final 10!

Final Trim: Heart-Wrenching Choices

Well, I was really hoping that we'd be able to keep all of the goodies, but it looks like our hefty draw and ramp package will have to be axed slightly more.

As usual, in this final stretch, there is no good or bad choice. All of these cards have their own merit. Still, 10 we have too many, and 10 will have to go down.

• Fumble: I really wanted to make this work, but in the end I fear it's a bit too situational and clunky.
• Ichthyomorphosis: What a name, what a name! Sadly, three mana to turn a creature into a Fish is one too many.
• Consuming Tide: I don't really like leaving choices to my opponents, and I'm not certain the card draw will trigger every time. Plus, we're trying to play conservatively. Worth a shot, but not here.
• Scourge of Fleets: I really wanted it to stay, but seven mana is a lot to pay, and we have other ways to deal with the board.
• Sky Diamondand Everflowing Chalice: Probably the two worst rocks left on the list, and I'd rather bring some more Islands to the field.
• Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor: A tad too expensive for the protection granted.
• Ring of Evos Isle: The boost is nice but slow. And the overall cost – 2 to cast, 1 to equip, 2 to protect – starts to add up.
• Treasure Cruise: Given our conservative plays, I'm not 100% we'll have enough Delve material to truly benefit from it.
• Island: With all of our cuts, the list stands at an average 2.81 without the mana base, I guess we can make do with one less land.

And... done! Behold our magnificent Crab in all of its cheap glory!

After all this hard work, I'd like to hear from you, dear readers. Is there some hidden gem I should have included? Where did you take Charix to? Any spicy ideas for an alternative build?

Since summer holidays are approaching fast, I'll be submitting a weird poll this week. You get to choose not one, but two commanders! To up the ante, I've paired them up. I'm really looking forward to seeing who wins this time!

See you in two weeks!

Arnaud Gompertz

Arnaud Gompertz has been playing Magic since 4th Edition, back in 1995. He's been an assiduous EDH enthusiast since 2012, with a soft spot for unusual and casual Commanders. He'll always favour spectacular plays against a boring path to victory. Aside from mistreating cardboard, he's a dedicated board games player, loves a challenging video game and occasionally tries to sing with his choir.