From the Brim to the Trim - Nerfing Budgets and Shrinking Opponents Alike
September 27, 2023 by
Arnaud Gompertz 
(Shalai and Hallar | Art by Mila Pesic)
Shalalalala, Shalalalala, Shalalalala... Haaaaaaa(llar)!
Greetings and salutations from a country which recently scored 96 points in a match against Namibia. I'm Arnaud, and I'm thrilled to take you on a journey of uncanny brews, budget cards, and usage of EDHREC’s filtering features.
Two weeks ago, we left Delina and her delightful Shenanigans, passing the torch to three new candidates. This time around the scores were much tighter, with all potential contenders reaching more than 30% of the votes. Samut, Vizier of Naktamun and Emmara, Soul of the Accord came close, earning respectively 110 and 115 supporters. Close to each other, and close to the winner, yet Shalai and Hallar took the win in the end, with 135 fans.
Once again, my utmost thanks to all of you who participated (and to all you readers in general). Your readership and participation are what makes this column live!
Now then, let's meet today's challenger, and see what we can do with them...
This is one spicy commander. Stats are decent, but let's be honest, you didn't choose this pair to Voltron it out, you want to abuse that second ability, right? The one that screams COMBOOOOOOOOOOOO!
While I get the feeling that without many of the expensive key pieces needed to turn them into an unstoppable killing machine, there might just be enough to turn the deck into a decent haymaker.
And maybe some sneaky, under-the-radar tactics? Let's find out.
First Trim - The Cardboard Chainsaw Massacre
Hopefully by now most of you are familiar with the premises of this series, but in case you're new, here's a quick recap (and a warm welcome). We take all cards from the commander's page, cut everything costing more than $1, and work our way down to the final fated 100. While I'm trying to keep as many cards as possible into the list by playing on the "Cheapest prices" and basing the evaluation on TCGPlayer, keep in mind that said prices are an average, and that you may very well stumble across deals that allow you to fit them into the deck.
As usual, let's address some great cards under $2 that almost made it into the list, from cheapest to most expensive:
- Beast Within: Come on, $1.08? Are you kidding me? I should have waited one more day before committing to this list...
- Keen Sense: At $1.13, this is a no brainer. It will draw you a ton of cards if you manage to slap it on your commander and keep it alive.
- Sol Ring: No comment.
- Gyre Sage: A decent dork on its own, and a fun synergy with Shalai and Hallar. Auto-in if not for the price.
- Evolution Sage: Combo-enabler it is not, and yet this is a classic of +1/+1 counters shenanigans.
- Hardened Scales: Wilds of Eldraine helped drop the price of this beauty; yet another smidge and it could make it in.
- Silkguard: Versatility is the word. Buff your team and/or protect your stuff, while maybe pinging with your commander. Beautiful.
- Mayael's Aria: Clearly, you're playing this for the first ability. We're more likely to go wide than tall. With that being said... you never know!
- Defiler of Vigor: This card's price has dipped into the abyss from the time it was revealed. A solid, solid inclusion.
Well well well. From the initial 276 cards, we're left with only 125 after the axe cut. I guess that's a new record folks!
Once more, I'm surprised at how expensive the average deck can be. Like we did with Belbe, Corrupted Observer a few articles ago, I might dab into the "Cheap" filter on EDHREC to see if there are some hidden gems worth adding to the final list.
And we haven't yet trimmed any of the veggies...
Second Trim - Cardward Scissorhands
All right, let's assess the situation.
- Draw: 7. Ouch, that's not quite enough, we'll have to stuff some cheap stuffing if we want to do stuff here.
- Ramp: 21. That's good. The deck is bound to be mana-intensive, so we need the boost.
- Removal: 11. More than decent, we'll cut the worst and keep the classics. I love Cankerbloom's versatility here!
- Wipes: 1. Again, a smidge low for my taste, we'll see if we can add a few (maybe not). Why does Damning Verdict have to be almost $6???
With that in mind, we really only have two categories to trim a bit. Let's get to it.
| Ramp | Removal |
| Commander's Sphere | Abrade |
| Boros Signet | Collective Effort |
| Gruul Signet | Hull Breach |
| Llanowar Elves | Lightning Bolt |
| Rampant Growth | Return to Nature |
| Talisman of Conviction | |
| Talisman of Unity |
Now, that was the easy part. Now to address the Elephant in the room.
We need some card draw. Badly. So let's be methodical about this.
First, I'll have a look at Shalai and Hallar's page, see if there is anything missing with the Cheap filter, and... well, that's a start.
First, let's add Leinore, Autumn Sovereign. Granted, the advantage isn't guaranteed, but she combines card draw with synergy with our commander. Good enough.
Then, there's Thrill of Possibility. Let's add the whole suite while we're at it: Bitter Reunion and Tormenting Voice, in. I'd gladly add Wild Guess, but the double red is somewhat discouraging.
Finally, let's have a look at what spells allow us to draw two cards in our budget. Mask of Memory looks quite good in here with our commander's built-in evasion, and Humble Defector is a nice political tool. Love Song of Night and Day is lovely and fits the theme decently enough Sold.
Aaaah, I feel much better. Fourteen ways to somewhat renew our hand makes me so much more comfortable.
After giving the mana base the usual makeup, we end up with 125 cards. Fun how the deck's card count remained equal. On to the fun part!
Third Trim - Cutting off the rough edges
Come round, take a seat, fill your mug with spiced tea, for there is much to discuss.
See, Shalai and Hallar is probably the most potentially competitive commander we have dealt with insofar. There are currently 22 combos involving this commander, many of which are actually quite budget: Lifelink with Cleric Class on Level 2, Trelasarra, Moon Dancer, Ajani's Pridemate, Celestial Unicorn or Gideon's Company to name just a few.
While probably somewhat efficient, there are a few reasons I'd like to forego this route entirely.
First, you'll notice that, insofar, none of these combo pieces figure in our list.
Second, adding them in would imply a significant overhaul of the deck, as we would need several ways to provide lifelink as well. While still in budget, that would probably go against the philosophy of this build process.
Third, I'm not a fan of adding infinite combos in a budget list, especially ones involving the commander.
So then, what strategies are we left with? More balanced ones.
In essence, we want to achieve a decently threatening board while benefiting from the repeated pinging courtesy of our beloved pair. Getting increasingly more +1/+1 counters on some menacing creatures is bound to pay off at some point.
I've also noticed a few Staxy spells that I'll probably get rid of. Let's have our fun, and let opponents have theirs!
With that in mind, let's cut some of the more dubious spells to get to the final 10. I want to keep the most versatile effects, ideally serving multiple purposes.
| Creatures | Enchantments | Planeswalkers | Sorceries/Instants |
This is it, on to the final 10, and... maybe more?
Final Trim - Heart-Wrenching Choices
Here it is, final stretch, last mile, ultimate effort, you name it. Let's make some tough decisions.
- Death's Presence: On paper, it looks quite good. But 6 mana is a lot for an enchantment that will probably trigger once, maybe twice at best.
- Emergent Woodwurm: I want to love this card, and the backup plan sounds neat. But the mana cost is prohibitive, and we're not a particularly hasty deck.
- Loyal Guardian: With enough stuff on the board, it can snowball quite fast. Thing is, I'm not 100% sure it will yield effects on a sufficiently broad scale.
- Fyndhorn Elves: The curve by not has dipped below the three-mana average mark, so we can cut a mana dork.
- Forest: Same reason. And yes, cutting a land is always an easy choice, especially when starting on a higher count.
- Hindervines: A fun Fog, but we want to be on the more aggressive side.
- Renata, Called to the Hunt: A smidge too expensive for this effect.
- Invigorating Surge, Solidarity of Heroes and Visions of Dominance: : While in theory these could deal up to a gazillion damage, I fear that they will mostly add a couple counters at best most of the time.
And here we are, our final 100.
Shallar, countering pair
View on Archidekt
Buy this decklist from TCGplayer
View this decklist on Archidekt
Conclusion
Before we part ways, I'd like to add a few suggestions for this build that were nowhere to be seen on the original page.
First, creatures with Tribute. Since you get to pick the opponent who makes the choice, you can conveniently try to wiggle in some politics to either get a monster and smash someone else in the face, or get the effect of the card. Nessian Wilds Ravager, Oracle of Bones, Nessian Demolok look like solid inclusions.
Second, Outland Colossus looks interesting. Stats are more than decent for its bulk, and it can become downright monstrous if it connects.
Third, creatures with Monstrosity, especially Polukranos, World Eater, Vitality Hunter and Hydra Broodmaster. All abilities with X which boost their host, have a decent effect and act like a Fireball in conjunction with the commander.
Last, Hydras, and more generally creatures with X in their cost and entering with X +1/+1 counters. If you have the mana, they become terrifying haymakers.
That's why I love this commander, there are several paths to explore, all leading to some kind of dramatic damage havoc.
This is why I'm particularly keen on hearing from you this week. Is there a specific route you'd potentially take Shalai and Hallar to? What are your hidden gems? Are there unexpected strategies you have discovered? Please, let me know below. Let's chat, people!
Oh, and don't forget to vote.
See you in two weeks!
Read more:
- From the Brim to the Trim - Splitting Budgets and Overwhelming Opponents Alike
- Commander Mechanic - THE Shalai and Hallar High-Power, Infinite Combo, cEDH Deck
- Commander Dependency in cEDH
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.
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