Deck & Commander Strategies
Grub, Storied Matriarch
Builds a goblin token army and leverages sacrifice outlets alongside card draw engines like Black Market Connections to drain opponents and control the board.
Ashling, the Limitless
Uses evoke creatures and Birthing Pod to generate value, control the board, and gain life while creating token copies for repeated effects.
Maralen, Fae Ascendent
Disrupts opponents by exiling cards from their libraries, aiming to lock down their options and limit their ability to cast spells.
The Master of Keys
Focuses on milling opponents and graveyard recursion, utilizing spells that manipulate libraries and graveyards to gain advantage.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Chris’s use of Black Market Connections to pay life for card draw and mana generation was crucial in maintaining tempo and fueling multiple spell casts in a single turn.
- 2
The synergy between Grub's token creation and sacrifice outlets like Bogart Mischief allowed Chris to drain opponents effectively and clear the board simultaneously.
- 3
Desmond's play with Ashling's evoke and Birthing Pod created strong board presence and life gain, but was ultimately overwhelmed by Chris's token and drain combo.
- 4
Kuzno’s Maralen disrupted opponents by exiling cards from their libraries but was unable to find impactful spells to shift the momentum decisively.
- 5
Josh’s The Master of Keys deck attempted to control the game through milling and enchantments like Monologue Tax and Imprisoned in the Moon but struggled to keep pace with the aggressive token strategies.
Notable Cards
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Black Market Connections
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Birthing Pod
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Living Death
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Monologue Tax
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Imprisoned in the Moon
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Lamentation
Gameplay Summary
The game began with players developing their mana bases and early board presence.
Chris, piloting Grub, Storied Matriarch, steadily built up a board with multiple goblin tokens and exploited Black Market Connections to draw cards and generate mana.
Desmond, on Ashling, the Limitless, utilized evoke creatures and Birthing Pod to maintain board control and life gain.
Kuzno leveraged Maralen, Fae Ascendent to disrupt opponents by exiling cards from their libraries, while Josh, on The Master of Keys, focused on milling and graveyard interactions. As the game progressed, Chris capitalized on his board state by casting multiple goblin synergies including Siege Gang Lieutenant and Mog War Marshal, generating tokens and draining opponents with Bogart Mischief and Bogart Cursecatcher triggers.
He executed a powerful mass sacrifice sequence, utilizing his tokens and commander’s abilities to deal substantial damage and eventually eliminate Josh and Kuzno from the game.
In a pivotal moment, Chris cast Living Death to refresh the board, swapping creatures and maintaining pressure alongside Desmond.
The gameplay showcased a strong token sacrifice and drain strategy from the Grub deck, with significant disruption from Maralen and potent evocation and sacrifice synergies from Ashling, while The Master of Keys attempted a milling and control approach but fell short against the aggressive token play.
