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Ran and Shaw

TLA · rare · Released 2025-11-21

Power

brawl
tier-2tier-1Build-around bomb
commander
tier-2tier-1Build-around bomb

Tier shown as baseline → best-case (in its ideal shell).

Derived from the 7 atoms below.

over

above rate

incremental

minor value alone

build around

needs a shell

takes over

can take over a game

rigid

one mode

narrow

situational

fragile

easily answered

Commander Bracket

1Precon2Core3Upgraded4Optimized5cEDH

Archetypes

positive:
tokens-go-widegraveyard-matters
negative:

No active conflicts.

Roles

evasive-threatmidrange-threattoken-produceranthemattack-trigger

Risks

requires-graveyard-densityconditional-triggersorcery-speed-only

Mechanics

mech-firebending

Typal

synergy:
dragon
anti:

Structural

triggered-abilityactivated-abilitystatic-ability

Rationale

Ran and Shaw is a 5cmc 4/4 flying Dragon with firebending 2 (attack-triggered {R}{R} burst) and a conditional ETB that copies itself when cast with 3+ Dragon/Lesson cards in the graveyard, creating a non-legendary token — a powerful payoff in Dragon typal graveyard-fueled builds. The activated +2/+0 anthem turns a token army of Dragons into a lethal swing. Signature in Dragon typal where self-mill or combat attrition fuels the copy condition; requires setup and is not reliably explosive outside Dragon-heavy shells.

Learnings (3)

  • The ETB copy trigger requires Ran and Shaw to have been *cast* (not reanimated or flickered), so reanimator lines won't generate the token copy.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

  • The token copy condition counts both Dragon AND Lesson cards in the graveyard, which is an unusual cross-type synergy — Avatar sets with Lesson cards could exploit this in non-Dragon builds, though that niche is narrow.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

  • Firebending 2 generates {R}{R} during combat only, making it primarily a combat-phase mana source rather than a general accelerant — it cannot help cast Ran and Shaw itself.

    tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6

Popularity

  • EDHREC rank: #8,906