Upgrading Commander Precon - Growing Threat (Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos)

In March of the Machine, we had 4 precon Commander decks. Today, we'll show you how to upgrade Growing Threat: a deck focused on the Incubate mechanic with Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos as the commander!

Growing Threat List and Strategy

This deck comes in the Orzhov color combination, and has a wide array of Phyrexian creatures and artifact creatures to trigger Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos. We have a few sacrifice sources so that this commander's second ability Proliferates +1/+1 counters on the Incubate tokens we'll create.

We also have the alternative commander Moira and Teshar, which recovers the creatures we sacrifice when we cast Historic spells. They will be the commander on our alternative list, considering they have an interesting potential. However, in this case, they still have a lot of synergy with our current commander and also with the broad mechanics in this deck.

Cards We Removed

One critique there is to say about this precon deck is that it was released with a very similar build to what Commander was a while ago: if it is a gigantic creature and makes the least amount of sense in the deck in question, it is added to the list. We removed the creatures with an absurdly high mana cost and some heavier mana rocks, and in their place we added Phyrexian creatures which, despite smaller, have more synergy with Incubate.

As much as Brimaz considers the creatures' mana cost in his ability, if we can Proliferate the +1/+1 counters well, we don't need to add creatures that are very heavy. We prefer quality to size. We also removed 3 basic lands - considering we lowered our curve, it is fair we reduce the number of lands, which was a bit higher than usual.

Interacting with Incubate and Phyrexians

We bring several cards that will have synergy both with Phyrexians and Incubate. To interact with Phyrexians, we use the enchantments Phyrexian Awakening and Sculpted Perfection, which work parallel to Incubate by giving our Phyrexians Vigilance and +1/+1, respectively. Vigilance is the most important buff because it allows us to be aggressive, but we can still block if we'd like to.

As creatures, we have Grafted Butcher, which also buffs Phyrexians, and can be a finisher if the board is big enough, considering it gives the evasion of Fear to our Phyrexians. It also works as a sacrifice source while it is in the graveyard through its ability to Reanimate itself.

We also brought a few cards that create Phyrexian tokens. Skrelv's Hive will create a token every turn that can be useful as fuel to our sacrifice engines, consequently triggering Brimaz' second ability.

Ria Ivor, Bane of Bladehold, besides buffing our attacking creatures, can also create several Phyrexian Mite tokens, allowing us to kill opponents with Poison counters. Alongside Skrelv's Hive, these same tokens can have Lifelink, giving us more resilience throughout the game. We also have Mondrak, Glory Dominus to double both the number of Mites and the Incubate triggers we'll create with our cards.

Finally, we have the cards that interact directly with Incubate. Progenitor Exarch can create several tokens, but, in the worst-case scenario, it can be cast for 3 mana and create just one Incubate 3 token. It is a strong creature for this deck's theme, considering it allows us to transform one of these tokens without forcing us to pay for its activation cost. Essence of Orthodoxy is one of the stars in this deck, considering we are working with the Phyrexian creature type.

It is important to note that it doesn't limit its ability to non-token creatures, which means the Phyrexian Mites we create also trigger Essence of Orthodoxy, which will create even more Incubate tokens.

Norn's Inquisitor will potentially be another buff card, giving another counter to Incubate tokens as soon as they transform into creatures. Last but not least, we have the Mother of Machines herself: Elesh Norn. Even though she is a great defensive resource while she is a creature, in this deck we'll try to work with her other side more - The Argent Etchings.

Her 3 effects are incredible to our strategy; the first will transform all our Incubate tokens, the second will be a possible win condition (and if it isn't, its attack will be a very problematic for our opponents), and the third will be a global removal that won't harm us as much, after all, this is a deck that focuses on Phyrexians and artifacts. It is a card that couldn't be missing from this list, and is one of, if not this deck's absolute star.

Sacrifice Sources and Recovering Resources

Brimaz Proliferates at the beginning of the end step if one of your Phyrexians has died. Considering this, besides the cards already present in this deck, we added more sacrifice sources to trigger this effect not only on our turn, but also on our opponents' turns.

We added Throne of Geth, which can sacrifice one of the Incubate tokens and Proliferate the others. Aron, Benalia's Ruin can also grant an AoE buff that is almost as efficient as Proliferating its ability, and has this same goal: sacrificing a creature to grow the others. Bloated Processor answers cards well, not only because it doesn't require you to tap it to activate its sacrifice ability, but also because it only sacrifices Phyrexians - which shouldn't be an issue in our list. Furthermore, it also creates an Incubate token equal to its power when it dies.

We have Tarrian's Journal to draw cards, which can transform into The Tomb of Aclazotz and also recover lost creatures, but with a Finality counter - in case it leaves the battlefield in any way, it is exiled. To also recover creatures, we have Terror of Towashi, which can Reanimate our creatures for 2 mana when it attacks, and, if the creature in question isn't Phyrexian, it becomes Phyrexian thanks to its effect. Most times, a 4/3 body with Deathtouch will force your opponents against the wall, and they will probably not know whether they should block it or not.

Removals and Others

To access more cards, we use Phyrexian Arena - both because of its utility and its Phyrexia flavor. We also have a few other removals to interact with the board. We added target removals, such as Generous Gift and Damn - I'll highlight Damn, which can become a global removal with its Overload alternative.

Speaking of global removals, we added some that will be quite useful considering this deck's mechanics. We use Sunfall, which, even though it exiles creatures, it exiles all of them, and also creates an Incubate token equal to the number of creatures exiled this way. It can create an enormous token that can be transformed and still defeat an opponent, depending on the situation it is used.

Finally, we have White Sun's Twilight, which rewards us with Phyrexian Mite tokens with Toxic 1 in case X is 5 or more, and can Infect opponents this way and apply pressure with Brimaz' Proliferate.

This is our final list! We made some changes that are interesting enough to make this deck even more consistent and fun to pilot, but we kept its essence and the main mechanic theme. Even though we changed around 20% of this list, it is still possible to take a lot from the original list.

This is an alternative list with Moira and Teshar, with a blink mechanic - by blinking the Reanimated creature, it loses the effect of leaving the game and being exiled. This deck has several excellent creatures to Reanimate, and also a few combos, such as Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward and Animate Dead. It is an entirely different concept than the deck initially presented in this article.

It was quite interesting to find cards for this deck, considering it has been a while since it has been released. Several cards released after it was were added to this list, making it even more interactive and fun to pilot. It is a very fair deck that, with even more radical changes, could get even stronger.

Did you like this list? Would you use the alternative commander? Or build this deck with Toxic? Comment down below!