"Ye do what ye has to do"

According to the Forgotten Realms Wiki, that's the catch-phrase for our weapons-loving lord up there. Tells us a lot about his character, doesn't it? Bruenor's about practicality, preferring to solve his problems in the direct manner: cleaving them in two. The Dwarven King's mistrust of magic ties right into his cardboard avatar. Bruenor Battlehammer doesn't ask for instant-speed shenanigans or combo engines, though I can think of a few. He only requests an instrument of stabbing, slicing, bruising, or bludgeoning. He's not picky. Any armament will do. But the more you can provide, the better he'll be at pounding your foes into oblivion.

Bruenor Battlehammer's desire to suit up and vanquish enemies via combat seats him comfortably in the "Battlecruiser"/"Voltron" Commander archetype. These decks aim to build up one massive threat, ideally one that cannot be interacted with, and send it at their enemies Godzilla-style. Stomp, stomp, stomp. Some of the most well-known Voltron Commanders have a built-in measures of protection (Uril, the Miststalker, Zurgo, Helmsmasher), work to actively make themselves more dangerous (Bruna, Light of Alabaster, Thraximundar), or simply start out gigantic and efficient (Ruhan of the Fomori, Traxos, Scourge of Kroog). Priority one is to pour all efforts into your threat. Shield it from harm, help it get in for damage, and make sure it hits as hard as possible. Ideally, your general will be killing opponents in a single, mighty swing.

When it comes to our general, Bruenor Battlehammer can't protect himself directly, though he certainly makes it easier for Darksteel Plate and the like to do so. His stats are respectable for his 4-mana value, but not exactly towering. Bruenor fits right into category two: a battlecruiser-commander that works to make itself more dangerous over time via its abilities. In this case, we get a power bonus for suiting up creatures with equipment and a means to make that equipping process much easier. What's especially nice is how, much like Rafiq of the Many, Bruenor's abilities can benefit creatures outside of himself. This gifts the foot soldiers in our army the opportunity to become threats right alongside their commander.

Commander's Plate by Volkan Baga

Let's explore some specifics:

1. Clearly, Bruenor Battlehammer wants us to maximize the sheer number of equipment we include in our deck, as his power bonus stacks for each. This means that, where possible, we'll look for equipment-based approaches to necessary deck functions such as ramp (Sword of the Animist, Sword of Hearth and Home), removal (Heartseeker, Sunforger), and protection (Darksteel Plate, Whispersilk Cloak). Equipment that can act as substitutes for other spells essentially plays double-duty in our deck.

2. Bruenor's initial power bump is nice and all, but it's his second ability to get excited about. Many of the biggest, splashiest equipment are hampered by having incredibly high equip costs. This makes your game plan both slower and more vulnerable to instant-speed removal in response to you trying to equip something. If you spend the majority of your mana on an Equip cost and your foe Terminates the creature in response, they've hit you with a pseudo-Time Walk. Fortunately, Bruenor Battlehammer lets you get your first equip cost in for free, opening the door for major artillery like Argentum Armor, Colossus Hammer, and Kaldra Compleat. This also speeds up our repeated ability to shoot down enemy creatures with Heartseeker.

3. Equipment's biggest drawback is an intuitive one. A sword's not dangerous if there's no one around to hold it. Bruenor Battlehammer puts us in an odd position of wanting as many equipment as we can get, but all that equipment needs a similar number of creatures to wield it. In order to maintain this balance, we're shooting for cards that can serve multiple roles. Living weapons (Batterskull) immediately spring to mind, as they provide their own bodies to wield them. Halvar, God of Battle // Sword of Realms offers us both a creature or an Equipment, whichever we'd find most useful at the time. And if we can squeeze troopers out of lands that become creatures (Needle Spires), or even better, make creatures (Den of the Bugbear, Kjeldoran Outpost), we'll help ensure our arsenal is never lonely without even having to use up spell slots!

4. That said, not all our creatures can be two-cards-in-one. Fear not though, for an outright plethora of equipment-supporting creatures have been printed in the last few years. Each of these soldiers directly work to either provide (Stonehewer Giant, Godo, Bandit Warlord), enhance (Leonin Shikari, Reyav, Master Smith) or grant straight-up card advantage (Puresteel Paladin, Sram, Senior Edificer for our go-to permanent type. Each creature works to directly synergize with an Equipment-themed game plan, meaning they're not only happy to wield weapons, but actively make them better as they do so.

5. That Bruenor Battlehammer helps us get around Equip costs is nice, but sadly limited to only our first Equip each turn. That simply won't do. We seek to build the ultimate armored machine of destruction, and thus will need a variety of means to 'cheat' the equip cost. Cards like Armory Automaton and Balan, Wandering Knight are happy to take up this mantle, with plenty of additional budget options like Auriok Windwaker and Brass Squire around to help out if the coffers aren't as full as we'd like. *Sigh* And let's face it, they seldom are.

Heartseeker by Michael Sutfin

"Shot through the heart, and you're to blame,

Darlin', you give love, a bad name!"

Okay, so we've covered our bases: We want weapons. Lots of weapons. And we want creatures to wield them. Creatures who fashion themselves as weapons enthusiasts. Let's set up a recruitment table at the local town Renaissance Faire and start building an army. Alongside our general Bruenor Battlehammer, there's sure to be quite the melee in store!

Grab yourself a tankard of strong Dwarven ale and get ready for battle!

Bruenor Battlehammer by Russ Nicholson

King of the Armory | Commander | Matthew Lotti

• Commander (1)
• 1 Bruenor Battlehammer

• Creatures (21)
• 1 Akiri, Fearless Voyager
• 1 Armored Skyhunter
• 1 Armory Automaton
• 1 Balan, Wandering Knight
• 1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
• 1 Guardian of Faith
• 1 Halvar, God of Battle // Sword of Realms
• 1 Heavenly Blademaster
• 1 Kemba, Kha Regent
• 1 Koll, the Forgemaster
• 1 Leonin Shikari
• 1 Puresteel Paladin
• 1 Relic Seeker
• 1 Reyav, Master Smith
• 1 Spikeshot Elder
• 1 Sram, Senior Edificer
• 1 Stone Haven Outfitter
• 1 Stoneforge Mystic
• 1 Stonehewer Giant
• 1 Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle
• 1 Wyleth, Soul of Steel

• Instants (6)
• 1 Blacksmith's Skill
• 1 Boros Charm
• 1 Heliod's Intervention
• 1 Order // Chaos
• 1 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Unleash Fury

• Sorceries (6)
• 1 Chandra's Ignition
• 1 Emeria's Call
• 1 Open the Armory
• 1 Phyrexian Rebirth
• 1 Search for Glory
• 1 Steelshaper's Gift

• Enchantments (3)
• 1 Fighter Class
• 1 On Thin Ice
• 1 Sigarda's Aid

• Artifacts (28)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Argentum Armor
• 1 Batterskull
• 1 Blackblade Reforged
• 1 Bloodforged Battle-Axe
• 1 Boros Signet
• 1 Colossus Hammer
• 1 Commander's Plate
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Darksteel Plate
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Heartseeker
• 1 Hedron Archive
• 1 Kaldra Compleat
• 1 Lightning Greaves
• 1 Liquimetal Torque
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Nettlecyst
• 1 Shadowspear
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Sunforger
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1 Sword of Hearth and Home
• 1 Sword of the Animist
• 1 Talisman of Conviction
• 1 Whispersilk Cloak
• 1 Worldslayer

• Lands (36)
• 8 Snow-Covered Mountain
• 9 Snow-Covered Plains
• 1 Arid Mesa
• 1 Axgard Armory
• 1 Bonders' Enclave
• 1 Castle Ardenvale
• 1 Cave of the Frost Dragon
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Den of the Bugbear
• 1 Fabled Passage
• 1 Faceless Haven
• 1 Kher Keep
• 1 Kjeldoran Outpost
• 1 Mutavault
• 1 Needle Spires
• 1 Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway
• 1 Prismatic Vista
• 1 Rugged Prairie
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Spectator Seating
• 1 Urza's Saga

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In review, we're a Voltron-strategy, but one that can pivot into turning any creature into a combat-centric threat if the situation calls for it. It's a big deal that Commanders need only 21 damage to an opponent vs the 40+ required from a common foot soldier, so we're aiming for Bruenor Battlehammer to deliver the final blow. That said, because he's a generous king, happy to grant power boosts to any subject willing to take up arms, Bruenor can certainly make our bread-n-butter creatures into contenders. At the end of the day, a dead opponent is a dead opponent. If it takes 40+ damage to get there, then so be it.

Let the battle begin.

Locked and Loaded: Among our army, our creatures fall into the following camps: Those who manage the armory, those who enhance the armory, those who restock the armory, and those who employ said armory to deliver swift death onto the skulls of our enemies. Let's start things off with those who curate to the inventory. Stoneforge Mystic, Stonehewer Giant, Godo, Bandit Warlord, Relic Seeker, and Armored Skyhunter all help us find weaponry. Ideally, weaponry that best fits the situation at hand. Each of these cards has the potential to generate value on its own, making them efficient seekers as well as efficient wielders of Equipment. They're some of our greatest assets, as we run a flexible assortment of weaponry to deal with a variety of situations.

Next up, our Equipment-enhancers. These creatures seek to make our already-deadly arsenal even more lethal. Creatures like Reyav, Master Smith, Leonin Shikari, Halvar, God of Battle // Sword of Realms, and Koll, the Forgermaster all provide added benefits from a surplus of weapons. The more we have, the more benefits we stand to reap.

Third, the troops who ensure we keep the weapons-train chugging along. Puresteel Paladin, Sram, Senior Edificer, Akiri, Fearless Voyager, Stone Haven Outfitter, Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle, and Wyleth, Soul of Steel help us maintain card advantage as we bash in for damage. Boros is notorious for lacking pure card draw, but there are a surprisingly high number of Equipment-flavored methods to generate card advantage.

Finally, we want creatures who turn downright-scary after being Equipped, and thus provide us the most value for doing so. Kemba, Kha Regent, for example, can generate entire armies with enough support. More combat-aligned figures include Balan, Wandering Knight and Heavenly Blademaster. Spikeshot Elder also becomes an outright removal machine-gun with enough Equipment support, keeping blockers clear or simply shooting opponents straight to the face.

Finally, while Teferi's Protection is, no doubt, the stronger defensive card, the fact that Guardian of Faith can save your team from mass removal while also providing a body is not to be overlooked. Especially in a deck that wants bodies to pick up all its weapons. In addition, the phasing effect of Guardian of Faith allows your equipped-creatures to hang onto their weaponry in response to a board wipe, rather than having you need to re-equip them. Guardian of Faith also happens to be significantly cheaper than Teferi's Protection. Honestly, the more I play with this card, the more of a staple I can see it becoming. Guardian of Faith currently stands around $3.00, and baring reprints, I can only see it going up in value. I recommend you grab yours now.

Armed to the Teeth: We've discussed our combatants. Now it's time to explore our armory. Starting with a bang, let's first detail the expensive equipment that Bruenor Battlehammer helps us easily haul into battle. Colossus Hammer, Argentum Armor, Kaldra Compleat, Blackblade Reforged, and Commander's Plate all significantly benefit from an Equip-cost reduction, turning something small into an immediate monster. On this same note, expensive interaction like Heartseeker and Sunforger suddenly speed up tremendously, with Shadowspear included to ensure nothing gets in the way of our removal.

But bloodletting need not be the only application we have in mind. Powerful equipment like Sword of the Animist, Sword of Feast and Famine, and Sword of Hearth of Home provide repeated ramp with additional benefit frosting on top. Picture repeated attacks via Sword of Hearth of Home with a Stoneforge Mystic out and the imagination goes wild!

We also employ utility-based Equipment to tackle a range of board states and threats. On one hand, we'll want our attackers to be protected. This is where Whispersilk Cloak, Swiftfoot Boots, Lightning Greaves, and Darksteel Plate come in. Batterskull, Nettlecyst, and the aforementioned Kaldra Compleat all provide their own bodies, serving as sizable threats in their own right. As we're an attack-happy deck at heart, Bloodforged Battle-Axe is likely to have copious offspring in the wake our of frequent assaults. Each baby axe only adds to the fire.

When it comes to win-cons, if we're able to gift Bruenor Battlehammer (or really any creature) the blessing of a Darksteel Plate, suddenly Worldslayer becomes a very real win condition, as it'll wipe out all lands in addition to everything else, leaving us with an Indestructible creature who's happy to wipe the board each and every turn until all opponents are solidly dead.

Finally, we want to include additional means to fetch said weaponry, so cards like Fighter Class, Steelshaper's Gift, and Open the Armory further ensure we have the right tool for the job, regardless of board state.

Supporting Spells: Sigarda's Aid is the prime example of a niche card, perfectly fitting the archetype it was designed for and little else. But downright silly within that archetype. It's why the card was $1 on release, and above $10 now. Much like Bruenor Battlehammer, it allows us to bypass expensive equip-costs. But at Instant-speed. I don't see this powerhouse getting any cheaper in the future without a reprint, so if you need one, I strongly recommend you pick it up now.

The remainder of our supporting spells serve two roles: shoring up areas where we're lacking, and juicy Sunforger targets that are solid on their own, but even better when we can tutor for them.

Category one sees cards like Chandra's Ignition, Phrexian Rebirth, and Heliod's Intervention. Each of these cards is powerful and clears the board of threats. And in the case of Chandra's Ignition and Phyrexian Rebirth, leaving something dangerous behind. Heliod's Intervention also benefits from the inclusion of Liquimetal Torque as a mana rock, helping to remove any problematic nonland permanent.

Category two contains tasty tutoring targets to tackle tense tactics. Isn't alliteration fun? Boros Charm, Blacksmith's Skill, Swords to Plowshares, and Order // Chaos are all fetch-able via Sunforger and can play a variety of offensive and/or defensive roles. Similarly, our deck's heavy lean toward Legendary permanents and plethora of Snow-Covered lands makes Search for Glory an excellent tutor for removal (On Thin Ice), Equipment (Blackblade Reforged, Sword of the Animist, Shadowspear, Kaldra Compleat), or a bunch of Legendary creatures (Halvar, God of Battle, Koll, the Forgemaster, Godo, Bandit Warlord, Kemba, Kha Regent, Akiri, Fearless Voyager, Reyav, Master Smith, Balan, Wandering Knight, and Wyleth, Soul of Steel.

Mana Support and Rocks: Poor ole' Boros has never been the pinnacle of ramp or land fetching. We bring in a hearty number of Equipment to make up for it, but atop that, we also plan for our lands to be ready to pick up swords and shields, themselves.

Ramp-wise, outside of our aforementioned Equipment, we bring in rocky staples like Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Mind Stone, Boros Signet, Fellwar Stone, and Talisman of Convinction. These are pivotal to keep pace, even with the multitude of Equipment-based draw we pack into this build. We're stretching for Sword of the Animist and Sword of Feast and Famine for ramp, so we take what we can get.

When it comes to our proper lands, things get a bit more interesting. Historically, "Man-Lands" have been slower than their counterparts. Cards like Den of the Bugbear and Cave of the Frost Dragon challenge that theme, albeit only in the early game. As our deck outright requires creatures with which to wield wacky weaponry (again, isn't alliteration fun?), we also bring in man-lands like Needle Spires[/card, [card]Faceless Haven, and Mutavault to pick up Equipment. Other lands like Castle Ardenvale, Kjeldoran Outpost, Kher Keep, and Urza's Saga repeatedly produce their own creatures as troops for our army.

Blackblade Reforged by Chris Rahn

Budget Options: Magic: The Gathering can be expensive, so here are some substitutes for players who'd rather not break the bank on cardboard. All cards over $20 will be noted and recommended for swap-outs. If anything seems interesting, regardless of price tag, give them a roll in the main! Creativity is an oft-forgotten cornerstone of Commander. One of the aspects that makes it special. Mix and match card choices to your heart's content!

Luckily for us, when it comes to Budget-options for Equipment, the bounty is rich!

Creatures: Stoneforge Mystic : $70.00

Fortunately for us, only Stoneforge Mystic breaks through the budget barrier for our creature count. An absolute multitude of budget creatures are waiting on the sidelines to take her place, each with their own Equipment-flavored ability to bring to the table.

When it comes to direct tutoring, Steelshaper Apprentice is a slow but effective trooper. Auriok Windwalker also just barely avoided the cut, which is a testament to how many Equipment-synergies are out there. On that same note, creatures like Brass Squire and Kazuul's Tollkeeper are perfectly acceptable means to get around expensive Equip costs.

If you're feeling something with a bit more "Oomph", consider cards like Swiftblade Vindicator, Vulshok Battlemaster, Tiana, Ship's Caretaker, Icingdeath, Frost Tyrant, Valduk, Keeper of Flame, Cavalier of Dawn, and Nahiri, Heir of Ancients to get the most out of your armory.

Supporting Spells: Steelshaper's Gift: $30.00, Commander's Plate: $23.00, Shadowspear: $20.00

No surprise, the most efficient tutor for Equipment, Steelshaper's Gift, breaks the budget. We'd be hard-pressed to come up with a more effective tutor (Forging of the Tyrite Sword is slow), so instead, let's focus on potent Equipment! For example, Masterwork of Ingenuity can copy something powerful, Meteoric Mace provides ample value via Cascade, and All That Glitters can provide an insane power/toughness boost in such an artifact-heavy deck.

Finally, while it's a risky venture, our deck does run a fair number of legendary creatures and equipment, making Urza's Ruinous Blast a potential option.

Mana Options: Prismatic Vista: $32.00, Urza's Saga: $26.00, Arid Mesa: $21.00. Sacred Foundry: $20.00

No surprise that our mana base is the most expensive component of our deck. However, seeing Arid Mesa cheaper than both Prismatic Vista (more of a 'nice-to-have' than necessity, here) and Urza's Saga is encouraging. I'd recommend you pick up your Arid Mesas now while they're still roughly $21.00, as I doubt they'll be reprinted again in the near future.

As for the other pricy lands, considering we're looking to maximize our creature-count, I'd bring in more man-lands. Cards like Crawling Barrens, Blinkmoth Nexus, and Ghitu Encampment may not be exciting, but they'll happily pick up an Equipment and smash face after a board wipe sweeps the table.

Open the Armory by Steve Prescott

What's especially crazy is how our budget options barely even explore the tip of the iceberg when it comes to viable, flashy equipment! Many of the "Sword-Cycle" (Sword of Sinew and Steel, Sword of Body and Mind, Sword of War and Peace) all fall below $20 and would make potent additions to our deck. Numerous other equipment like Loxodon Warhammer, Godsend, and Mask of Memory are similarly inexpensive and warrant exploration.

No matter what weaponry you choose, the fact that such a vast assortment is available is something to praise. Bruenor Battlehammer provides competitive viability to a variety of budgets, largely due to how many Equipments are out there. The sheer variety means that no player should ever be without options. What's more, said variety also grants players the creative freedom to stock their armory with the arms and armaments that most appeal to them!

When it comes to Commander, it's my opinion that the 'optimal' is never as important as the 'personal'. Play what makes you happy. It's part of what makes this game of ours so badass.

Thanks for reading, and may that legendary weapon always be within your reach!

-Matt-

@Intrepid_Tautog