BorosLegendary Creature — Human AllyBruse Tarl, Boorish Herder
Mana value4Rank#7,214PartnerYes
The Commander
Whenever Bruse Tarl enters or attacks, target creature you control gains double strike and lifelink until end of turn.
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.)
Guide
Gameplan
Bruse Tarl turns one big creature into a one-shot kill machine, granting double strike and lifelink every time he enters or attacks. Build a Voltron shell that suits up a single attacker, swing for lethal commander damage, and use the lifelink buffer to stabilize while you set up. Partner lets you splash a third or fourth color of support by pairing him with another partner legend.
Strengths
- Repeatable double strike effectively doubles your best attacker's power and combat triggers
- Lifelink gain stabilizes you against aggro and racing strategies
- Partner gives huge deckbuilding flexibility and access to a second command-zone threat
- Cheap to recast at four mana, keeping the trigger online after removal
- Doubles damage from trample/infect/poison and any 'when this deals combat damage' payoffs
Weaknesses
- Only buffs one creature, so single-target removal or blockers shut down your turn
- Bruse himself has no evasion and a small body, making his attack trigger easy to chump
- Reliant on having a quality creature already in play to target
- Vulnerable to board wipes that erase your invested Voltron threat
- Boros/RW lacks strong card advantage and ramp without going wide
Key Cards
- Sword of Feast and Famine — Evasion plus protection and ramp on an attacker that Bruse doubles, enabling explosive turns.
- Embercleave — Cheap to cast after a wide turn and stacks first/double strike damage for one-shot kills.
- Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh — Premier partner that adds combo and value lines while remaining a cheap, easy command-zone presence.
- Akroma's Memorial — Grants evasion and protection so your doubled attacker reliably connects.
- Duelist's Heritage — A second double strike source and combat backup if Bruse is removed.
- Berserkers' Onslaught — Anthem-style double strike for your whole team to push a go-wide finish.
Upgrade Path
Tighten the curve with premium evasion equipment (Sword suite, Lightning Greaves, Whispersilk Cloak) and protection like Swiftfoot Boots and Heroic Intervention to keep your threat alive. Choose a partner that patches Boros weaknesses—Tymna the Weaver for card draw, Kraum for cards and evasion, or Rograkh for cheap combo enablers—and add fast mana like Sol Ring, Fellwar Stone, and Smothering Tithe. Finish with redundant double-strike and overrun effects so the deck still wins after a wipe.
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
- ▸One-shot commander damage with a double-strike, evasive Voltron threat
- ▸Trample/Embercleave alpha strikes that double through blockers
- ▸Infect or poison doubled to lethal in a single attack
- ▸Lifelink-fueled grind that buries opponents while you race them
Archetypes
- Voltron — Doubling power and lifelink on one suited-up creature lets you kill via commander damage fast.
- Aggro — Repeatable combat buffs plus partner pressure support a low-curve beatdown plan.
- Equipment — Boros equipment payoffs synergize with double strike to multiply trigger and damage value.
- Tokens/Go-Wide — With anthems and overrun effects, doubling one swinger or pairing with a token partner closes games.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (RW), by popularity.
