At a glance
- Format: Brawl (100-card)
- Commander: Etrata, the Silencer
- Colors: Blue / Black (UB)
- Archetype: Dimir assassin-control alt-win (budget)
- Power tier: competitive
- Competitive Brawl: ✅ Legal
Strategy
Etrata is the whole win condition: swing unblockable, exile a creature with a hit counter each connect, and once three exiled cards carry counters the opponent loses. This playable-now build keeps that core intact with cheap pieces — Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves give the re-cast Etrata haste and protection so she swings the turn she lands, while a deep pile of card selection (Brainstorm, Ponder, Consider, Chart a Course, Behold the Multiverse, Night’s Whisper) re-finds and re-draws her every time she shuffles herself away. A dense removal, counter, and cheap-sweeper shell (Cry of the Carnarium, Golden Demise, Languish, Aetherize) stalls the board while the slow three-swing clock ticks. Owned finishers Vein Ripper, Consuming Aberration, and Massacre Wurm close games where Etrata whiffs.
Upgrade path
This is the playable-now build: every nonland card is already owned or a cheap uncommon/common craft, and the ONLY rare/mythic wildcard you spend is the commander Etrata, the Silencer herself (1 craft). The premium tutor package (Vampiric Tutor, Grim Tutor, Beseech the Mirror, Increasing Ambition, Emeritus of Woe // Demonic Tutor), the Helm of the Host redundancy combo, and bombs like Sheoldred / Dauthi Voidwalker / Baleful Strix / Toxic Deluge / Cyclonic Rift are the IDEAL upgrade path — swap them in from data/decks_json/brawl-etrata.json as wildcards allow. Here their roles are covered by owned/craftable stand-ins (extra card draw for the tutors, Cry of the Carnarium + Golden Demise for the wraths, Ravenous Chupacabra + Eliminate + Cast Down for the removal, owned Enduring Curiosity / Raven Eagle for the threats).
Cards
Decklist
Paste straight into MTG Arena (or Moxfield/Archidekt):
Commander
1 Etrata, the Silencer
Deck
1 Arcane Signet
1 Mind Stone
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Guardian Idol
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Slip Out the Back
1 Undying Malice
1 Not Dead After All
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Read the Bones
1 Night's Whisper
1 Preacher of the Schism
1 Midnight Reaper
1 Deep-Cavern Bat
1 Dusk Legion Zealot
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Consider
1 Kaito, Cunning Infiltrator
1 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
1 Fatal Push
1 Bloodchief's Thirst
1 Cut Down
1 Go for the Throat
1 Infernal Grasp
1 Heartless Act
1 Bitter Triumph
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Feed the Swarm
1 Bake into a Pie
1 Languish
1 Counterspell
1 An Offer You Can't Refuse
1 Negate
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Vein Ripper
1 Consuming Aberration
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Gifted Aetherborn
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Qarsi Revenant
1 Dimir Locket
1 Prophetic Prism
1 Cry of the Carnarium
1 Golden Demise
1 Aetherize
1 Eliminate
1 Cast Down
1 Ravenous Chupacabra
1 Sinister Sabotage
1 Saw It Coming
1 Make Disappear
1 Chart a Course
1 Behold the Multiverse
1 Thirst for Discovery
1 Divination
1 Deduce
1 Enduring Curiosity
1 Nightveil Sprite
1 Raven Eagle
1 Command Tower
1 Demolition Field
1 Undercity Sewers
1 Restless Reef
1 Watery Grave
1 Gloomlake Verge
1 Underground River
11 Island
19 Swamp
Ideal build (upgrade target)
The power-ceiling build (multi-agent workflow output) — every premium payoff and the full combo/synergy package. The current list is the playable-now budget version; craft toward this as your wildcards come in.
Crafts to reach the ideal: 21 (6 mythic, 12 rare, 3 other)
- Mythic: Beseech the Mirror, Damnation, Emeritus of Woe // Demonic Tutor, Grim Tutor, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Vampiric Tutor
- Rare: Archmage’s Charm, Baleful Mastery, Baleful Strix, Cyclonic Rift, Helm of the Host, Increasing Ambition, Murderous Rider // Swift End, Otawara, Soaring City, Swan Song, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Tale’s End, Toxic Deluge
- Other: Dauthi Voidwalker, Dimir Signet, Talisman of Dominance
Full ideal list (paste into Arena):
Commander
1 Etrata, the Silencer
Deck
1 Arcane Signet
1 Dimir Signet
1 Mind Stone
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Guardian Idol
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Helm of the Host
1 Slip Out the Back
1 Undying Malice
1 Not Dead After All
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Beseech the Mirror
1 Grim Tutor
1 Increasing Ambition
1 Emeritus of Woe
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Read the Bones
1 Night's Whisper
1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
1 Preacher of the Schism
1 Midnight Reaper
1 Deep-Cavern Bat
1 Dusk Legion Zealot
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Consider
1 Kaito, Cunning Infiltrator
1 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
1 Fatal Push
1 Bloodchief's Thirst
1 Cut Down
1 Go for the Throat
1 Infernal Grasp
1 Heartless Act
1 Bitter Triumph
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Baleful Mastery
1 Feed the Swarm
1 Bake into a Pie
1 Murderous Rider
1 Damnation
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Languish
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Counterspell
1 An Offer You Can't Refuse
1 Negate
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Swan Song
1 Archmage's Charm
1 Tale's End
1 Vein Ripper
1 Consuming Aberration
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Dauthi Voidwalker
1 Baleful Strix
1 Gifted Aetherborn
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Qarsi Revenant
1 Command Tower
1 Otawara, Soaring City
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
1 Demolition Field
1 Watery Grave
1 Gloomlake Verge
1 Underground River
8 Island
22 Swamp
Card images & data via Scryfall.