Just recently I had a conversation during a commander event about Brawl and several of the players had not come across the format before. It reminded me of just how much fun this can be and I thought it would be a nice idea to have a little look at how it works, so here we go...
HOW TO PLAY BRAWL
Brawl is a little like Standard, a little like Commander, and a uniquely exciting deck-brewing challenge.
First of all, choose your champion! Build a deck around a specific legendary creature or planeswalker from the Standard card pool, and battle against friends in one-on-one or multiplayer free-for-all games.
YOUR DECK
1 commander card (any legendary creature or planeswalker from a set currently in Standard)
59 other cards (also from sets currently in Standard)
Only one copy of any card, except for basic lands
The color identity of all cards in your deck must fall within the color identity of your commander (color identity encompasses colored mana symbols in both the card's cost and its rules text—for example, Shalai, Voice of Plenty's color identity is green-white).
Exception: if your commander is colorless, you can play unlimited copies of any one type of basic land.
THE GAME
2–6 players
With 3 or more players, start at 30 life; with only 2 players, start at 25 life
The first mulligan is to seven cards, then each mulligan afterward results in one fewer card (six, five, four etc.)
All commanders start in their command zone
Commanders can be cast for their mana cost, plus 2 mana more for each time they've been put back in the command zone
Last player standing wins
COLOR IDENTITY
A card's color identity is not quite the same as a card's color: it can come from any part of that card, including its casting cost and any mana symbols in its rules text. Every card in your Brawl deck must only use mana symbols that also appear on your commander. (Colorless cards are allowed in any deck.)
EXAMPLES
Kazarov, Sengir Pureblood has a black mana cost and an activated ability that requires red mana. Kazarov, Sengir Pureblood's color identity is black and red.
Lifecrafter's Bestiary is a colorless artifact with a triggered ability that requires green mana. So Lifecrafter's Bestiary's color identity is green.
COMMAND ZONE
This is the special game zone where your commander resides when it is not in play. Each commander starts the game face up in its controller's command zone. A commander can be cast from the command zone, as though it were in your hand, for its normal costs, plus an additional two mana for each previous time it's been cast from the command zone this game. If your commander would change zones (i.e., be put into your library, hand, graveyard, or exile from anywhere), you may return it to your command zone instead.
STANDARD
Any card that appears in a
Standard-legal Magic set (with the exception of the banned cards listed below) can be put into a Brawl deck.
BRAWL BANNED CARDS
The following cards are banned in Brawl and cannot be included in your deck or used as your commander:
Drannith Magistrate
Lutri, the Spellchaser
Oko, Thief of Crowns
Omnath, Locus of Creation
Runed Halo
Sorcerous Spyglass
Winota, Joiner of Forces
Pithing Needle
Note: The regular Standard banned list does not apply to Brawl. If a card from a Standard-legal set isn't listed here, it's fine to use.
