Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Fain, the Broker
Fain, the Broker
Legendary Creature — Human Warlock · {2}{B} · Black commander
{T}, Sacrifice a creature: Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature.
{T}, Remove a counter from a creature you control: Create a Treasure token.
{T}, Sacrifice an artifact: Create a 2/1 white and black Inkling creature token with flying.
{3}{B}: Untap Fain.
Build a Fain, the Broker deck →
What Fain, the Broker actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- Activated ability{T}, Sacrifice a creature: Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature.
- Activated ability{T}, Remove a counter from a creature you control: Create a Treasure token.
- Activated ability{T}, Sacrifice an artifact: Create a 2/1 white and black Inkling creature token with flying.
- Activated ability{3}{B}: Untap Fain.
What a Fain, the Broker deck needs
Plays as aristocrats. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.
- artifacts (its text counts them)
- expendable creatures and tokens to sacrifice (the commander is a sacrifice outlet)
- artifact and Treasure payoffs (it makes Treasures, Clues or Food on repeat)
- creatures that grow with +1/+1 counters and counter payoffs (it spreads counters across your team)
- token payoffs — anthems, sacrifice outlets and go-wide finishers (it makes tokens on repeat)
- haste and untap effects that reach the commander (a tap ability is unusable the turn it lands)
The Fain, the Broker deck plan
The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.
- 8× Put haste on the commander the turn it resolves — a tap ability is unusable otherwise
- 5× Untap the commander so the tap ability is an engine, not a one-shot
- 22× A permanent of the exact NON-creature type the commander counts — artifacts for an artifact commander, enchantments for an enchantress
- 16× Creatures you are happy to sacrifice — a free sac outlet on the commander is worthless with nothing to feed it
- 14× Put +1/+1 counters on creatures you control, or multiply the ones already there
- 12× Make creature tokens — a static anthem or a go-wide commander needs a board to be wide
- 4× A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
Best cards for Fain, the Broker
Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.
Put haste on the commander the turn it resolves — a tap ability is unusable otherwise
- Thousand-Year Elixir3 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
- Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
- Akroma's Memorial7 mana
- Lavaspur Boots1 mana
- Sting, the Glinting Dagger2 mana
- Haunted Cloak3 mana
- Sword of Vengeance3 mana
Untap the commander so the tap ability is an engine, not a one-shot
- Sting, the Glinting Dagger2 mana
- Umbral Mantle3 mana
- Genji Glove5 mana
- Honor-Worn Shaku3 mana
- Sword of the Paruns4 mana
- Deserted Temple0 mana
- Leyline Dowser2 mana
- Pip-Boy 30001 mana
A permanent of the exact NON-creature type the commander counts — artifacts for an artifact commander, enchantments for an enchantress
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- Everflowing Chalice0 mana
- Lotus Petal0 mana
- Mox Amber0 mana
- Mox Diamond0 mana
- Mox Opal0 mana
- Lion's Eye Diamond0 mana
- Ornithopter0 mana
Creatures you are happy to sacrifice — a free sac outlet on the commander is worthless with nothing to feed it
- Nurgle's Rot1 mana
- Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead5 mana
- Phyrexian Triniform9 mana
- Exquisite Huntmaster4 mana
- Grixis Slavedriver6 mana
- Liliana, Heretical Healer // Liliana, Defiant Necromancer3 mana
- Hangarback Walker0 mana
- Enduring Tenacity4 mana
Put +1/+1 counters on creatures you control, or multiply the ones already there
- Blightbelly Rat2 mana
- Scheming Aspirant2 mana
- Glistening Sphere3 mana
- Walking Ballista0 mana
- Forge of Heroes0 mana
- Hangarback Walker0 mana
- Stonecoil Serpent0 mana
- Opal Palace0 mana
Make creature tokens — a static anthem or a go-wide commander needs a board to be wide
- Replicating Ring3 mana
- Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate0 mana
- Andúril, Flame of the West3 mana
- Field of the Dead0 mana
- Fountainport0 mana
- Grave Titan6 mana
- Phyrexian Triniform9 mana
- Spawnbed Protector7 mana
A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- Heraldic Banner3 mana
- Chief of the Foundry3 mana
- Caged Sun6 mana
- Eldrazi Monument5 mana
- Heroes' Podium5 mana
- Endurance Bobblehead3 mana
- Skorpekh Lord3 mana
- Mikaeus, the Unhallowed6 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Defile1 mana
- Tragic Slip1 mana
- Infernal Grasp2 mana
- Fatal Push1 mana
- Bitter Triumph2 mana
- Black Sun's Twilight1 mana
- Cut Down1 mana
- Erebos's Intervention1 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Demonic Tutor2 mana
- Diabolic Intent2 mana
- Vampiric Tutor1 mana
- Imperial Seal1 mana
- Demonic Consultation1 mana
- Grim Tutor3 mana
- Tainted Pact2 mana
- Scheming Symmetry1 mana
Combos with Fain, the Broker
Known combos from Commander Spellbook that Fain, the Broker is a piece of, and how many decks list them.
- Fain, the Broker + Puppeteer Clique + Ashnod's Altar947 decks
- Fain, the Broker + Necrotic Ooze + Devoted Druid204 decks
- Fain, the Broker + Necrotic Ooze + Cinderhaze Wretch147 decks
- Fain, the Broker + Ashnod's Altar + Haunted One + Relic Of Legends113 decks
- Fain, the Broker + Thornbite Staff + Pitiless Plunderer + Ashnod's Altar103 decks
- Fain, the Broker + Marvin, Murderous Mimic + Devoted Druid91 decks
Build this deck in the Arcane Forge →
Arcane Foundry is free to join and every tool is included: the Arcane Forge deck builder, the ARCANE Analyzer that scores a deck by simulating games rather than counting staples, a card scanner, a collection vault, and live webcam Commander tables.
Read the guide · Browse all commanders · Pricing