<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bruenor Battlehammer" href="#" target="_blank">Bruenor Battlehammer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.waynereynolds.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wayne Reynolds</a></em></p>
<p>I've covered a lot of ground in Pauper Commander decks, tapping into as many corners of the format as possible. But to my surprise, it seems like I've never built an Equipment deck. That's quite the miss, because now that I'm looking into it, an Equipment deck seems more than viable in pEDH, and there's even the perfect commander for it: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bruenor Battlehammer" href="#" target="_blank">Bruenor Battlehammer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bruenor Battlehammer"></div></div>
<h2>What Does Bruenor Battlehammer Do?</h2>
<p>This Dwarf Warrior gives +2/+0 to our creatures for every Equipment attached to them. Even in Commander, +2/+0 is pretty significant, and that can add up fast when there's a million little Equipment that equip for one mana.</p>
<p>And we can pay even less to attach them, because Bruenor also lets us equip one weapon for nothing every single turn. Certain Equipment can cost six mana to use, and Bruenor bypasses that entirely! There's a strong deck here for sure.</p>
<h2>Tools of the Trade</h2>
<p>Unsurprisingly, the #1 thing needed for an Equipment deck is Equipment. We do have a ton of options at common rarity, but that's not to say that all of them are good options. There's a pretty severe falloff when we get to, say, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flayer Husk" href="#" target="_blank">Flayer Husk</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Still, there's some solid picks, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goldvein Pick" href="#" target="_blank">Goldvein Pick</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prying Blade" href="#" target="_blank">Prying Blade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can really churn out a lot of mana and build a steady advantage.</p>
<p>Then, cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Haunted Cloak" href="#" target="_blank">Haunted Cloak</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brass Knuckles" href="#" target="_blank">Brass Knuckles</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> give us really valuable keywords, cause if we're going big, we need trample for sure. Or maybe there's just some cards that give solid buffs, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slagwurm Armor" href="#" target="_blank">Slagwurm Armor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armory of Iroas" href="#" target="_blank">Armory of Iroas</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Greatsword of Tyr" href="#" target="_blank">Greatsword of Tyr</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goldvein Pick"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Haunted Cloak"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Slagwurm Armor"></div></div>
<p>Technically, every single piece of Equipment gives a buff because of Bruenor, which is why we're happy to play what would otherwise be scrap, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bonesplitter" href="#" target="_blank">Bonesplitter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spidersilk Net" href="#" target="_blank">Spidersilk Net</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ceremonial Knife" href="#" target="_blank">Ceremonial Knife</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Those cards aren't good, but we absolutely need a high density of Equipment, because otherwise our deck does nothing. So even if they're just there to give +2/+0, that's enough.</p>
<p>Besides, they'll help out some other cards that care about Equipment, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Champion of the Flame" href="#" target="_blank">Champion of the Flame</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sunspear Shikari" href="#" target="_blank">Sunspear Shikari</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. So even though the cards are mediocre on their own, in great enough numbers, they can do a lot.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bonesplitter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spidersilk Net"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Champion of the Flame"></div></div>
<p>The most important Equipment, however, are the evasion pieces. Those creatures have to get through, and the best way to reliably do this is with flying. Luckily, there's about a million sets of wings we can toss in here: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cobbled Wings" href="#" target="_blank">Cobbled Wings</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cliffhaven Kitesail" href="#" target="_blank">Cliffhaven Kitesail</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fleetfeather Sandals" href="#" target="_blank">Fleetfeather Sandals</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloak of the Bat" href="#" target="_blank">Cloak of the Bat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, there are actually a ton of great options.</p>
<p>Of course, the holy grail of Pauper evasion Equipment is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whispersilk Cloak" href="#" target="_blank">Whispersilk Cloak</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, as usual. Not much beats being completely unblockable. But be warned, once Whispersilk is equipped to your creature, you can't equip anything else because of the shroud it gives the equipped creature. So make sure you equip Whispersilk last.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cobbled Wings"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloak of the Bat"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Whispersilk Cloak"></div></div>
<h2>Sly and Sneaky</h2>
<p>However, we can do even better than flying if we forget about having evasion on the Equipment, and get it from the creature instead. Pauper lacks a lot of things, but one thing it has in abundance is white creatures with shadow. There are actually seven Pauper-legal creatures with shadow in our colors, plus an Aura that grants the keyword. That's spectacular, because 90% of the time, shadow means unblockable. Plus, there's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gingerbrute" href="#" target="_blank">Gingerbrute</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as a bonus, a cookie-shaped sneak.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soltari Visionary"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Augur il-Vec"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gingerbrute"></div></div>
<p>Things are going great so far. We've got a million Equipment and unblockable creatures - a powerhouse if I've ever seen one. Now why don't we double their power and throw them at our opponents?</p>
<p>Double strike is a key ability in any Equipment deck, especially ones that are built around making one or two huge creatures. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temur Battle Rage" href="#" target="_blank">Temur Battle Rage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the classic, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Uncaged Fury" href="#" target="_blank">Uncaged Fury</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Double Cleave" href="#" target="_blank">Double Cleave</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Raking Claws" href="#" target="_blank">Raking Claws</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> all do the same trick. We should have no problem creating a creature with 10 or more power, and double strike will, well, double that. So then we're up to 20 damage with one swing.</p>
<p>Half a life total, and almost lethal with commander damage.</p>
<p>But we can make it 40 by employing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fling" href="#" target="_blank">Fling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thud" href="#" target="_blank">Thud</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, two cards that are probably used to end opponents more often than any other card. I mean, I almost never see <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fling" href="#" target="_blank">Fling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> being used when the damage wouldn't be lethal. If you see that card being played, the game is about to get very dramatic.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Temur Battle Rage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Double Cleave"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fling"></div></div>
<h2>Gotcha!</h2>
<p>Right, so we've got a big creature that gets bigger, and then we throw it at someone's face for the win. Easy peasy, right, cause what could go wrong? Oh yeah, removal.</p>
<p>If we play all our cards (literally) on one creature, it's gonna be a massive target for kill spells, and those could knock us out of the game. However, we can dodge the consequences of our shaky game plan with some protection like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Your Temple Is Under Attack" href="#" target="_blank">Your Temple Is Under Attack</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shelter" href="#" target="_blank">Shelter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gods Willing" href="#" target="_blank">Gods Willing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emerge Unscathed" href="#" target="_blank">Emerge Unscathed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Benevolent Blessing" href="#" target="_blank">Benevolent Blessing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>If our opponents are foolish enough to wait till the last second with their removal, we can hopefully catch them off guard using these cards, and secure a solid victory.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Your Temple Is Under Attack"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shelter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gods Willing"></div></div>
<p>There's not much more to the deck, just a bit of card draw, ramp, and some removal of our own. For a red and white deck, I like to use discard-draw like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Big Score" href="#" target="_blank">Big Score</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unexpected Windfall" href="#" target="_blank">Unexpected Windfall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cathartic Reunion" href="#" target="_blank">Cathartic Reunion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. In this deck especially, we'll have a lot of cards that we'd like to trade out for others, and those spells make it very efficient. Removal is just some white exile like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Banishing Light" href="#" target="_blank">Banishing Light</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crib Swap" href="#" target="_blank">Crib Swap</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, cards that get the job done with no nonsense.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Big Score"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Unexpected Windfall"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crib Swap"></div></div>
<h2>Bruenor Battlehammer Pauper Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pauper Commander - Bruenor Battlehammer" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Bruenor Battlehammer
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Armory of Iroas
*1 Beamtown Beatstick
*1 Bonesplitter
*1 Boots of Speed
*1 Boros Signet
*1 Brass Knuckles
*1 Ceremonial Knife
*1 Cliffhaven Kitesail
*1 Cloak of the Bat
*1 Cobbled Wings
*1 Explorer&#039;s Scope
*1 Fleetfeather Sandals
*1 Gilded Pinions
*1 Gimli&#039;s Axe
*1 Goldvein Pick
*1 Golem-Skin Gauntlets
*1 Greataxe
*1 Greatsword of Tyr
*1 Haunted Cloak
*1 Javelin of Lightning
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Prying Blade
*1 Red Mage&#039;s Rapier
*1 Slagwurm Armor
*1 Spidersilk Net
*1 Trailblazer&#039;s Torch
*1 Vorrac Battlehorns
*1 Wedding Invitation
*1 Whispersilk Cloak
*1 Wings of Hubris
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Augur il-Vec
*1 Bladegraft Aspirant
*1 Champion of the Flame
*1 Gingerbrute
*1 Goblin Gaveleer
*1 Leonin Elder
*1 Militant Inquisitor
*1 Myr Adapter
*1 Myrsmith
*1 Oliphaunt
*1 Soltari Foot Soldier
*1 Soltari Trooper
*1 Soltari Visionary
*1 Sunspear Shikari
*1 Tin Street Dodger
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Banishing Light
*1 Benevolent Blessing
*1 Bloodfire Infusion
*1 Etali&#039;s Favor
*1 Temporal Isolation
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Battlefield Improvisation
*1 Big Score
*1 Crib Swap
*1 Double Cleave
*1 Fling
*1 Gods Willing
*1 Lightning Bolt
*1 Raking Claws
*1 Shelter
*1 Slash of Light
*1 Temur Battle Rage
*1 Uncaged Fury
*1 Unexpected Windfall
*1 Your Temple Is Under Attack
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Cathartic Reunion
*1 Glimpse the Impossible
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Command Tower
*16 Mountain
*15 Plains
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<p>Generally, the best pEDH decks are the simplest ones. All we're doing here is putting Equipment on a creature and swinging with it. If we want to, we can cast some instants and buff our creatures, or play some fun combat tricks, but that's not totally necessary.</p>
<p>Heck, even our commander, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bruenor Battlehammer" href="#" target="_blank">Bruenor Battlehammer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, isn't totally necessary. Yeah, he powers up our creatures a lot, but this deck is still very playable without him, and I think that's a key feature.</p>
<p>The deck runs smoothly even when things might not be going smooth. We can always draw some cards, play some Equipment, and swing in for just a bit more damage. Then when things are going our way, and we have some mana and our commander on the board, we can swing in with an unblockable creature, give it double strike, and Fling it at our last opponent for the win!</p>


bruenor

Pauper Commander - Boros Equipment With Bruenor Battlehammer

Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Set Review - Gold