commander · Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale
Knight's Charge (B19).
A Mardu Knights tribal equipment Brawl deck led by Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale, equip freely with Syr Gwyn's commander-equip discount, attack with Knights to draw cards and gain life, and overwhelm opponents with a heavily armed warrior tribe.
The Commanders
Knight's Charge is a Mardu Brawl deck built around Knights tribal and equipment synergies. Syr Gwyn fixes equipment's two biggest problems at once: she attaches gear for free when Knights attack, and she draws a card whenever an equipped creature attacks. You end up with an aggressive army that pays for itself just by swinging.
Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale costs {3}{R}{W}{B} and is a 5/5 Human Knight with vigilance, menace, and haste. Knights you control have "{T}: Attach target Equipment you control to this creature. Activate only if this creature attacked this turn." Whenever an equipped creature you control attacks, draw a card and lose 1 life. The commander-equip ability lets any Knight pick up any equipment by attacking and tapping, no mana required. Add the draw trigger and your army grows, equips itself, and refuels your hand every turn.
Key Cards
Embercleave
The deck's most powerful equipment. Embercleave costs {4}{R}{R} but reduces by {1} for each attacking creature. In a deck that regularly attacks with four or five creatures, Embercleave costs two or one mana and arrives with flash, so you cast it during the attack step and hand an attacker double strike and trample before blockers are declared. Syr Gwyn can then distribute Embercleave to any Knight who attacked, for free, through her commander-equip ability. Double strike on Syr Gwyn herself is 10 trampling first-strike damage plus 10 regular strike.
Belle of the Brawl
Wide attacks that pump Syr Gwyn. Belle of the Brawl is a 3/2 Knight for {2}{B} that gives Syr Gwyn +1/+0 for each other Knight that attacks. In a wide attack with five Knights, Syr Gwyn becomes an 11/5 vigilance menace haste threat. Belle rewards the deck's whole plan of swinging with every Knight, and the more Knights you send in, the bigger Syr Gwyn gets. With Syr Gwyn's draw trigger on each equipped creature, a five-Knight attack draws five cards and swings for lethal.
Worthy Knight
Passive token generation from Knights casting. Whenever you cast a Knight spell, Worthy Knight creates a 1/1 Human Soldier token. In a deck full of Knight spells, Worthy Knight generates a stream of blockers and extra attack declarations. Those extra attackers contribute to Belle of the Brawl's Syr Gwyn pump. In a Brawl format game with a 60-card singleton deck, Worthy Knight triggers on almost every creature in the deck, generating one to two tokens per game turn in the mid game.
The Great Henge
The deck's biggest late-game power spike. The Great Henge costs {7}{G}{G} but reduces by the greatest power among creatures you control. With Syr Gwyn at 5+ power, it costs {G}{G} for an artifact that taps for {G}{G} plus 2 life, puts a +1/+1 counter on each nontoken creature entering, and draws you a card each time a nontoken creature enters. In a Brawl game, The Great Henge makes every creature spell draw a card and grow your board faster than any single effect available. It's the card that turns fair Knight games into overwhelming snowball games.
How to Play
The deck is aggressive, so attack on turn three at the latest. Syr Gwyn lands on turn five with haste and swings right away, handing equipment to the best attacker before blockers. Each attack should draw at least one card from Syr Gwyn's trigger. Equip Embercleave to the highest-power attacker mid-combat for the surprise double strike that opponents rarely play around. In the mid game, the draw off equipped attacks keeps your hand full even as you keep pushing. Win by outpacing opponents in the first five turns before they stabilize, using Belle of the Brawl's pump to swing for lethal before they can find an answer.
