Today, Wizards put out an article detailing the current state of MTG Arena formats and play rates across them. They did a similar post last year and there were many details that weren't exactly surprising. Standard remains the most popular format by a wide margin with Best-of-1 being preferred over Best-of-3 by a large number of players. Timeless is the newest addition to the list and, as one might expect, has the lowest adoption rate of the official formats. One detail stood out, however, as a significant change over last year's data, and that is the play rate associated with Brawl.
What is Brawl?
If you’re not familiar, Brawl is a format that is similar to Commander, but it includes only the cards available on Arena. You select a commander to helm your deck which can be any legendary creature or (unlike the Commander format) a planeswalker. You have access to your commander at all times as a sort-of eighth card in your hand and if it is killed or exiled, you can return it to its starting location, the “command zone,” and recast it with an additional two mana “commander tax” added to its casting cost.
On Arena, Brawl is not tied to the ranked ladder in any way.
The Two Types of Brawl
Standard Brawl was the first iteration of Brawl and it was intended to capture the appeal of Commander but with a rotating card pool. You're limited to the cards that are legal in Standard and your deck is made up of 60 cards with singleton rules (only one copy of each card other than basic lands). This type of Brawl is still available on Arena and was once simply called “Brawl,” but it has waned in popularity so much that its younger sibling, Historic Brawl, has taken up the name of just “Brawl,” and is truly the default in the format.
For the remainder of this article, and nearly any other writing that you find on the subject, the word “Brawl” will simply be used to reference the format formerly called Historic Brawl. This Brawl opens legality up to all cards on the client aside from a select ban list and the deck is comprised of 100 cards instead of a mere 60. These decks are often built around synergy with the selected commander since it's the only guarantee in any given game.
Should You Play Brawl?
Brawl is an excellent format for casual players and deck builders like myself who want to experiment with cards that aren’t competitive in other formats. It’s also a great way for players to experience Magic in an environment divorced from the rank system while still completing their dailies and earning experience towards their mastery passes.
If you have a considerable collection on MTGA, I would recommend trying Brawl or watching the Brawl content that is available on this platform and others. The gameplay is dynamic and interesting with a complex matchmaking algorithm that attempts to match decks of even power level with one another. While the matchmaking system is not always perfect, the power level of some commanders like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria or Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy requires them to pair against each other rather than more niche commanders like Finn, the Fangbearer or Malcolm, the Eyes. In general, this system works better than it ever has and allows for generally well-positioned games and the team at Wizards is clearly focused on maintaining this especially as the popularity of the format grows.
If you’re all-in on the competitive scene, this format probably isn’t a good fit.
But What Commander Should I Play?
The joy of the dynamic matchmaking and wide open card pool is that any legal commander can be viable if the deck you build has appropriately competitive cards included. Be sure to prioritize cards that can draw cards and ramp spells that enable you to cast your commander on or ahead of curve as often as possible. Since it is always in your hand, make sure you have a gameplan to get it online.
Starter decks are available on the MTGA store to get started and using them as jumping-off points to get you started is not a bad idea at all. Don’t be afraid to upgrade them the same way you would upgrade a preconstructed deck and make it your own.
I would recommend finding a character you’ve always enjoyed or a card that brings you joy and try building around it, no matter how ineffective the card might appear at first glance. Since the ladder isn’t a concern, don’t stress your win rate and just fill it with cards that make you smile and iterate as you go.
Don’t Be Afraid to Netdeck
In any format, there are plenty of enthusiastic players and content creators who are more than happy to share their creations with anyone who will listen, and Brawl is no different. Don’t be afraid to filter through the Brawl videos here and grab inspiration, or look through popular Brawl lists on YouTube or Twitch.
I've included a handful of my favorite brawl decks to, hopefully, give some inspiration to your brewings and musings. Below is my pride and joy, Nethroi, Apex of Death. The deck features a strong reanimation package that's reliant on heavy self-mill to get its engine off the ground. When building the deck, I prioritized powerful creatures with low stat lines like Hornet Queen and Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite while also including every mutation creature that was legal in the color combo.
Another build you might like is a recent creation built around Malcolm, the Eyes. This deck features a heavy artifact token theme designed to take advantage of all the clue tokens Malcolm generates with Trash for Treasure or Transmutation Font to cheat out bombs like Nexus of Becoming or Portal to Phyrexia. It's a blast even if it is a bit tough to pull off sometimes. Also, don't sleep on Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer. That card's a beast.
Conclusion
I've recently been intrigued by Brawl as my community on Twitch has encouraged me to participate as it matches my casual sensibilities. I primarily play against viewers as part of my Friday shows “Fight Me Friday,” and the matches are consistently a blast. I'd recommend giving it a try as a palate cleanser after long stints of Standard ladder grinding or at times when you're just feeling burnt out on your other formats of choice. It plays very differently from anything else on the client, and when you've got a sick list you want to show off, pop on over to https://www.twitch.tv/HamHocks42 and show me how it plays.
Thanks for reading, and happy brewing!