{"ops":[{"insert":"My favorite bracket 2. Easy to play, it's surprisingly solid. Jonathan Bailey the catboy is overshadowed by Y'shtola, but I prefer him as a commander. The biggest issue with playing G'raha in a control-style is how much it eats your life as the game goes on. But he has a built-in replenishing method with lifelink, so I play around that, making this deck almost voltron.\n\nBasic play: cast a spell, make a Hero, and attack with your commander. Easy peasy.\n\nIt shouldn't need to be said, but use your turn for artifacts and sorceries. Save instants for opponents' turns to maximize your board. Lots of ways to make G'raha stronger and protect him with equipment and auras to give you better lifegain so you can keep this process up. On Serra's Wings is excellent here, letting you attack with G'raha and block to get more life. I tend not to bother attacking with my Heroes until I have Teysa on the board to give them vigilance and lifelink--this is one of your wincons. Get a bigger board with your token doublers, Exalted Sunborn and Kaya Geist Hunter, and use your copy spells on Exalted for ridiculously big boards very fast.\n\nPapalymo is your best friend, recovering your life as you make more Heroes, and Y'Shtola does the same (her card draw is nice too, of course). Soul Warden and Bastion of Remembrance do the same. Cleric Class is something to consider if you have it, as you'll gain plenty of life and it's nice to get those +1/+1 counters when you do. There are better counterspells to include, so play around with those based on what you have on-hand (Mana Sculpt is great here since G'raha is a Wizard). If your pod dislikes counterspells, simple early cantrips to give G'raha hexproof until you get your equipment can be very effective, like Octopus Form or Enter the Avatar State. I favor a lot of ramp since casting a mana rock triggers G'raha, so it never is unwelcome. Try not to overextend. You only need one spell a turn to get your Hero token, and there's nothing worse than being unable to play a counterspell that could save you because you're tapped out of mana.\n\nEchocasting Symposium is a lot of fun, as even when you cast it for free you can still pay the life to get a big Hero, if you have the life to spare. If Exalted isn't on the board yet, it's best to use your copy spells on Soul Warden or your card draw creatures like Archmage Emeritus since a copy of a Hero token comes in as a 1/1. You can consider a copier like Ember Island Production to make a non-legendary Papalymo or Y'shtola, but this is far from necessary.\n\nAkroma's Will is a crazy finisher when you get it; just be aware that if you have an aura attached to G'raha you'll lost it, since the protection from all colors applies there. Exsanguinate and River's Rebuke speak for themselves. Moment of Reckoning is almost a finisher too, getting you an enormous Hero and removing four problem cards all at once, but you can always use it to bring back a friend from the grave if Y'shtola or Papalymo got some hate. Champions from Beyond and Divine Visitation are all banger wincons, too. With Divine Visitation your Heroes become Angels, and still get their counters.\n\nVery, very easy to skew this deck into a higher bracket with game changers or combos like Exquisite Blood, but G'raha was really made for a 2-3 bracket, and thrives here, imo. I steer away from the toxicity of stax decks but of course there are plenty of ways to incorporate them here if you wish. More token doublers are always welcome if you have them, and depending on your pod, you might want a few more board wipes.\n\nOverall, a fun and flexible commander to play with.\n"}]}