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Zada, Hedron Grinder has always been a fantastic card to build around inMagic: The Gathering’s Commander format, and now she’s leapedMagic: Arenain the form of a new Brawl deck. The jump to Brawl means Zada doesn’t have access to some of the most powerful Goblins in Magic, but she does have access to plenty of strong buff spells.
With Zada at the helm, this newBrawl deckwants to go wide with tokens before using Zada’s triggered ability to buff your army to the moon. This deck is aggressive with a capital A, and it’s not uncommon for your victory to come in a single explosive attack.
Kick in the Door
Mountains (38)
Zada, Hedron Grinder Brawl Deck Themes
Let’s start with the commander, Zada, Hedron Grinder. Zada is a beneficent Goblin Ally in that she’llbestow whatever spell you cast that specifically targets her with every other creature under your control. Thus, the best way to build a Zada deck is to fill it full of instants and sorceries that can buff Zada. Once Zada gets the buff, so too would everyone else.
SinceZada’s ability is multiplicative,the more creatures you have, the better. Thus you’ll see a lot of cards in MTG: Arena’s Zada Brawl deck that produce creature tokens. Usually those token generators produce Goblins, but not always.
It’s more important for the deck to have a lot of creatures for Zada to buff than for those creatures to be strictly Goblins. That said, Zada is a Goblin, and with cards like Goblin Warchief and Goblin Trashmaster, there’sa whiff of a Goblin subthemein this brawl deck.
Finally,the deck is full of instants and sorceries, so cards that trigger upon seeing an instant or sorcery cast (such as creatures possessing the prowess ability) is a tertiary theme that could be expanded on, although isn’t strictly necessary for Zada to be effective.
Zada, Hedron Grinder Brawl Deck Analysis
Most of the deck is one or two-mana spells, making Zada, Hedron Grinderan exceptionally aggressive deck. The idea here is togo all-out from the very first turn, playing as many creatures as possible to chip away at your opponent’s health. Zada should be played no later than turn four, and then planning begins on a final assault using whatever buff spells you have.
Don’t feel like you need to preserve your buff spellsuntil Zada arrives. Use those spells topreserve your precious creaturesand to trade favorably in order tokeep the pressure on.
Even a few tokens can be game-endingfor your opponent with Zada on the table. Four tokens, Zada, and Invigorated Rampage are enough damage to defeat an opponent without blockers. Throw on another buff spell or copy it using Twinferno, and it’s likely lights out.
Aggressive strategies don’t always pan out. If you run out of cards or your opponent casts a timely Pyroclasm, then you could be in big trouble. However,the biggest problem aggressive decks like Zada face is simply running out of cards. If your opponent isn’t killed after your big play, then what do you do?
Zada has a unique solution to keeping your hand full. Cards likeRenegade Tactics,Ancestral Anger,Rile, andFlick a Coincan refill your entire hand with Zada’s help (provided you’ve got creatures besides Zada, of course).
This is why it’svitally important for you to preserve your creatures. Without creatures, these spells can’t refill your hand with Zada’s help.
Ensuring Zada has an army to command aretoken-generating spellslikeDragon Fodder,Krenko’s Command,Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin, andBattle Cry Goblin.Young Pyromanceris a special case whereby each spell cast produces an additional Elemental token. These cards help Zada to ‘go wide’ with tokens and multiply the power of each buff spell cast.
You might want toconsider a mulligan if you don’t draw at least one token-generating card. The deck has relatively few actual creatures, so without one of these cards, Zada will be severely hampered.
Rile
Mountains (8)
With a little extra cash to spend, it’s possible tovastly improve this deck’s power. To that end, we’re going to get rid of a few cards that are generally fine but could be better.
Electrostatic InfantryandMonastery Swiftspearare both great cards, but there are better options for those with a few extra tickets. Ral’s Reinforcements provides Elementals, not Goblins, and if we’re not getting our preferred humanoid then we might as well get something like haste out of the deal (more on that later).
Goblin Trashmasterimproves each Goblin’s power and toughness, but Zada would prefer to have more Goblins rather than bigger Goblins.Coldsteel Heartcomes into play tapped, so we can replace this artifact with one that doesn’t hurt our tempo.
Rush of AdrenalineandHeightened Reflexesoffer relatively small buffs that could be replaced by spells that simply draw more cards.Unleash Furyis undeniably good but doesn’t function well on its own outside of a few narrow applications.
Rilecan draw cards, but it requires you to deal damage to your own creatures. Zada would survive, but your army of 1/1 tokens would not (unless they had help from something like Infuriate or Titan’s Strength). As you’ll soon see, there are less risky spells to help you draw cards.
And finally,eight Mountainsare getting the boot. They’ll largely be replaced by other lands that offer token generation, mana generation, or other equally helpful abilities.
Zada, Hedron Grinder Brawl Deck Upgrades
For upgrades, we’re going to give Zadaa few later-game optionsin case things stall, but alsoreplace the cards abovewith something that has way more bite.
Reason
Arena of Glory
Arena of Glory offers a creature haste with very few downsides. If you have it, it’s certainly worth replacing a Mountain for.
Den of the Bugbear
A land with few downsides and can become a token-generating Goblin at the cost of four mana. Great for any Goblin deck, but particularly good for Zada.
Forgotten Cave
There’s likely to be a time when you’d rather draw anything other than another land. Cycling allows Forgotten Cave to be transformed into potentially something more useful.
Jaya, Fiery Negotiator
Our one suggested Planeswalker is Jaya, Fiery Negotiator. A tad expensive for Zada at four mana, she provides two 1/1 Monks with prowess straight away. If you don’t need those Monks, you may start digging through your deck to find those coveted buff spells or use Jaya to start removing defending creatures. If you manage to get her Emblem down, its game over for your opponent.
Krenko, Mob Boss
It’s better to have more Goblins than bigger Goblins. Krenko, Mob Boss is the king of making more Goblins.
Might of the Meek
You’re not likely to ever have a Mouse in play, so don’t expect that +1 power. But you will at least give your team trample and draw a card without having to deal one damage to everyone as Rile does.
Mutavault
A land that turns into a 2/2 on demand. It’s a land when you need mana and can be a creature when Zada is around to multiply spells.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
One of the best lands every printed, Nykthos is a staple card of any mono-colored EDH or Brawl deck. If you have it, use it.
Pinnacle Monk
Five is a lot of mana to request for simply replaying a buff spell, but with something like Nykthos or Birgi on the table, five mana isn’t that much. And even if it is, the other side of this card is a land you can play untapped for the low price of three life.
Rabid Gnaw
Rabid Gnaw is an awesome instant from Bloomburrow that can often result in a one-sided board wipe with the help of Zada. Toss it on Zada, then watch as your creatures deal damage to your opponent’s creatures en masse.
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Ragavan can be a little easier to come by on Magic: Arena than the real-life version of Magic, but it’s still a pricey card. Feel free to keep Monastery Swiftspear if Ragavan is out of your price range. But if this Monkey is within your means, you should play it. The power of a first-turn Ragavan cannot be overstated.
Rally at the Hornburg
A replacement for Ral’s Reinforcements. They’re Humans, but at least they’ll have haste.
Ruby Medallion
Faster than Coldsteel Heart, Ruby Medallion doesn’t require tapping to reduce the cost of Zada and any red card that has a generic mana cost.
Runaway Steam-Kin
Runaway Steam-Kin gets a +1/+1 counter whenever a red spell is cast rather than an instant or sorcery as with Electrostatic Infantry. Plus, you can sacrifice those tokens for mana later on, allowing for an explosive turn.
Sazacap’s Brew
When combined with Zada’s ability, Sazacap’s Brew can win games. Zada copies this spell for each creature you have, giving them +2/+0 and also causing you to discard a card to draw two more. This allows you to cycle through your deck to find more buff spells to cast onto Zada. This does come at the cost of giving your opponent a bunch of 1/1 Fish tokens, but they come into play tapped and thus can’t block.
Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
Sokenzan is either a fancy mountain or a source of two hasty 1/1 Spirit tokens. A great card for Zada.
Three Tree City
Make a bunch of mana with a bunch of Goblins in play. Maybe not quite as good as Nykthos, but still a very good land.
