Legendary Creature — Kraken

Brinelin, the Moon Kraken

Mana value8EDHREC#5,211PartnerYes

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The Commander

When Brinelin enters and whenever you cast a spell with mana value 6 or greater, you may return target nonland permanent to its owner's hand.

Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.)

Guide

Gameplan

Brinelin is a mono-blue control/big-spells deck that uses expensive spells to repeatedly bounce threats, blockers, and problem permanents. You ramp into 6+ mana value bombs, generate value off every cast, and grind the table down before closing with a haymaker or large evasive threat. Partner lets you pair Brinelin with another partner commander for added flexibility.

Strengths

Repeatable, flexible removal that hits any nonland permanent including commanders and protected threats
Mono-blue access to the best counterspells, card draw, and ramp rocks
Each big-mana spell becomes two-for-one value, smoothing out tempo
Partner ability adds deckbuilding flexibility and an extra command-zone body

Weaknesses

Eight mana is a steep cost and Brinelin dies easily to removal once on board
Bounce only delays permanents rather than permanently answering them
Mono-blue struggles with enchantments and answering resolved problems beyond tempo
High curve makes you vulnerable to fast aggro and stax before you stabilize

Key Cards

High Tide — Doubles your blue mana to cast multiple 6+ MV spells in one turn for repeated bounce triggers.
Thassa, Deep-Dwelling — Blinks Brinelin to re-trigger its enter ability and taps down threats each turn.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon — An 8-mana bomb that triggers Brinelin while providing board control and a win condition.
Cyclonic Rift — Six-mana overload doubles as a bounce trigger and a near-game-ending tempo swing.
Cultivator Colossus — Big-MV creature that triggers Brinelin and refills your hand by dumping lands.
Blatant Thievery — Steals multiple permanents while satisfying Brinelin's cast trigger for extra value.

Upgrade Path

Lower your curve's clunkiness by adding efficient ramp (Sol Ring, mana rocks, High Tide) and the strongest blue interaction (Force of Negation, Mana Drain, Fierce Guardianship) so you reliably hit 6+ MV spells while protecting Brinelin. Add blink and untap enablers like Thassa, Deep-Dwelling and Ghostly Flicker to abuse the enter trigger, and lean into a tight win package such as Cyclonic Rift overload into a beatdown or an infinite-mana High Tide loop. Choosing a strong partner can expand your answers and add a more reliable closing combo.

Core Cards

The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.

Win Conditions

▸Beating down with Brinelin and other large evasive sea creatures
▸Resolving game-ending bombs like Ugin or an overloaded Cyclonic Rift then closing out
▸Infinite or near-infinite mana with High Tide effects to bounce the table repeatedly and attack
▸Mill or alternative wincon attached to a partner commander's color or strategy

Archetypes

Control — Counterspells plus repeatable bounce let you police the table while building toward bombs.
Big Mana / Ramp — Brinelin rewards casting expensive spells, so ramping into 6+ MV payoffs is the core engine.
Tempo — Bouncing blockers and threats each big cast keeps opponents off balance and clears the way for attacks.
Blink — Flickering Brinelin re-triggers its enter ability for repeated free bounces.