Season 18, Episode 21: Brew Session (Orcish Bowmasters) + Flashback (Chrome Host Seedshark)

Orcish Bowmasters was flagged early on as one of the top Modern cards from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth — and, it turns out, one of the most powerful Commander cards to boot. Everyone loved the base stats (a guaranteed 1/1! a free ping! instant speed!) and the potential for so much more. The only problem? No one could actually name a deck where Bowmasters fit.

One week after release, questions are beginning to be answered. Is Bowmasters strong enough on rate to slot into fair, low synergy decks? For Rakdos Scam and BG Rock players, the answer seems to be yes. But the ceiling on Bowmasters is much higher, and its baseline strength opens up many further brewing possibilities.

Today on Faithless Brewing, cavedan and Manacymbal tumble down the rabbit hole of Bowmaster brews, going deep into the world of Slitherwisp Flash, go-wide strategies with Convoke or Winota, and good old fashioned Sacrifice synergies. But we don’t stop there. Down in the icy depths, far beneath the iceberg, more adventurous brews await with forced card draw and “wheel” effects, from Narset + Dark Deal, to Burning Inquiry, and even Waste Not. Many of these strategies have already found success, and there’s still so much further to go.

Long term, it’s unclear whether Bowmasters has Modern legs. But what about their legs? They don’t need those. All we know for sure is that meat’s back on the menu, and we’re here for it. Happy brewing!

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Decklists for this episode can be viewed at FaithlessBrewing.com

Decklists

Rakdos Scam by yungdingo (5-0)

Esper Goryo’s by Gab Nassif (5-0)

BG Rock with Saga by ElectricBob (5-0)

Golgari Yawgmoth by Xerk (Challenge Winner)

Rakdos Sac by aspiringspike

4c Slitherwisp by MordeToLight

UB Narset Wheels by wutup (T16 Modern Challenge)

Burning Inquiry Breach by benchsummer (4-1)

Flumph Combo by Iamthelaw2004