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    Braids, Arisen Nightmare
    Commander Guide

    Braids, Arisen Nightmare Commander Deck Guide

    B mana

    Braids, Arisen Nightmare turns an end-step sacrifice into matching sacrifices from your opponents or life loss for them and cards for you.

    Last updated: October 20262 min read

    What Braids, Arisen Nightmare does

    Braids, Arisen Nightmare turns an end-step sacrifice into matching sacrifices from your opponents or life loss for them and cards for you.

    At the beginning of your end step, you may sacrifice an artifact, creature, enchantment, land, or planeswalker. Each opponent then chooses whether to sacrifice something sharing a card type with yours. Anyone who declines loses 2 life, and you draw a card for each of them. That makes your choice of sacrifice matter: a creature might be easy for the table to match, while an artifact could leave fewer opponents willing to pay.

    The deck wants permanents that have already done their job or can come back cheaply. Ichor Wellspring supplies cards on both ends, while Reassembling Skeleton gives you repeatable fodder. The appeal is getting useful decisions every turn without needing to attack: you manage your resources, read opposing boards, and keep turning expendable permanents into cards or smaller enemy boards.

    How Braids, Arisen Nightmare plays

    Early on, develop your mana and find something you're happy to sacrifice. Ichor Wellspring replaces itself when it enters, while Reassembling Skeleton offers fodder you can recover later. Aim to cast Braids with a permanent ready for that turn's end step.

    In the middle turns, choose sacrifices around opposing boards. Keep mana available to rebuild your fodder, and use Deadly Dispute or Corrupted Conviction when their immediate cards matter more than saving a creature for Braids.

    You win by sustaining that exchange. Braids chips away at opponents who decline, and Bastion of Remembrance adds life loss whenever your creatures die. Keep those turns coming rather than spending everything at once.

    Build Braids, Arisen Nightmare from your collection

    The builder starts with Braids, Arisen Nightmare as your commander and fills the 99 from cards you own.

    Build with this commander

    Key staples

    Synergy pieces

    • Bastion of Remembrance

      Bastion of Remembrance

      Brings a creature token to sacrifice, then turns your creatures dying into life loss for every opponent and life gain for you.

    • Accursed Marauder

      Accursed Marauder

      Makes each player sacrifice a nontoken creature; you can sacrifice the Marauder itself or keep it for Braids by sacrificing something else.

    • Corrupted Conviction

      Corrupted Conviction

      Trades a creature for two immediate cards, giving you a draw option that doesn't depend on opponents' choices.

    • Gravecrawler

      Gravecrawler

      Provides reusable creature fodder, provided you control a Zombie when you want to cast it from your graveyard.

    • Reassembling Skeleton

      Reassembling Skeleton

      Returns from your graveyard tapped for {1}{B}, letting you keep feeding Braids without spending another card.

    • Ichor Wellspring

      Ichor Wellspring

      Draws when it enters and again when sacrificed from the battlefield, making it a useful artifact to offer Braids.

    • Bloodghast

      Bloodghast

      Returns from your graveyard when a land enters under your control, turning land drops into fresh sacrifice fodder.

    Staples in these colors

    • Solemn Simulacrum

      Solemn Simulacrum

      Finds a basic land tapped on entry and can draw when it dies, though sacrificing it to Braids lets opponents match either artifact or creature.

    • Feed the Swarm

      Feed the Swarm

      Destroys an opposing creature or enchantment you need gone, at a life cost equal to its mana value.

    • Victimize

      Victimize

      Trades a creature on your battlefield for two targeted creature cards from your graveyard, returning both tapped.

    • Deadly Dispute

      Deadly Dispute

      Sacrifices an artifact or creature for two cards and a Treasure, which you can spend for mana or save for Braids.

    • Night's Whisper

      Night's Whisper

      Draws two cards for 2 life without requiring sacrifice fodder or cooperation from your opponents.

    Card images and card data courtesy of Scryfall. Magic: The Gathering is © Wizards of the Coast. ManaBuilder is unaffiliated with Wizards of the Coast.

    The numbers

    • 10 Draw
    • 13 Ramp
    • 35 Lands
    • 29 Theme
    • 3 Wipes
    • 9 Removal
    • 1 Commander
    Draw
    Count 10
    Ramp
    Count 13
    Lands
    Count 35
    Theme
    Count 29
    Wipes
    Count 3
    Removal
    Count 9
    Commander
    Count 1

    Reference build for Braids, Arisen Nightmare: 100 cards including the commander.

    Sample decks

    Budget build (~$38)

    For the budget build, lean on the supplied cards' straightforward exchanges. Use Solemn Simulacrum to develop a basic land, then sacrifice it when its death draw is worth more than its board presence. Ichor Wellspring is a cleaner artifact offering when opponents have creatures to spare. Alternate Reassembling Skeleton and Bloodghast as your recurring fodder, saving land drops for Bloodghast when practical. Bastion of Remembrance rewards those creature deaths and helps offset life spent on Night's Whisper or Feed the Swarm. Accursed Marauder pressures nontoken creatures, while Victimize rebuilds two creatures from your graveyard after you've stocked it through sacrifices.

    Decklist · 100 cards

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    Upgraded build (~$499)

    For the upgraded build, keep the same repeatable-sacrifice foundation rather than treating Braids as guaranteed draw. Reassembling Skeleton gives you a mana-based recovery option, while Bloodghast rewards continued land drops. Gravecrawler needs a Zombie on your battlefield before you can recast it, so check that condition before sacrificing it. Use Ichor Wellspring when an artifact sacrifice puts opponents in a harder spot than a creature would. Deadly Dispute supplies immediate cards and a Treasure; Night's Whisper draws without consuming a permanent. Feed the Swarm handles a specific creature or enchantment, and Victimize lets you turn expendable fodder into two returned creatures.

    Decklist · 100 cards

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    Braids, Arisen Nightmare FAQ

    Frequently Asked Questions

    No. In a four-player game, you draw three only if you sacrifice a permanent and all three opponents decline to sacrifice a matching permanent. Each opponent decides separately, so you can draw anywhere from zero to three cards.
    Each opponent can sacrifice an artifact or a creature. Their permanent only needs to share one card type with yours, not every type. Solemn Simulacrum therefore gives opponents more ways to match than Ichor Wellspring does.
    No. A permanent sacrificed to pay for Deadly Dispute is already gone and can't also be sacrificed to Braids. You need separate fodder, though the Treasure from Deadly Dispute can be your Braids sacrifice.
    You don't have to sacrifice anything; the ability says you may. You can sacrifice Braids herself because she's a creature. Her ability still makes opponents choose whether to sacrifice a creature, with life loss and draws for those who don't.
    No. Braids doesn't require the sacrificed permanent to be untapped or able to attack or block. Reassembling Skeleton returning tapped is fine, and Bloodghast and Gravecrawler being unable to block doesn't stop them from serving as fodder.

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