Deck Strategies
Tymna the Weaver & Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator
Reanimator and value-focused deck leveraging fast mana and card draw engines like Consecrated Sphinx and Tymna triggers, aiming to outvalue opponents and win through Thassa’s Oracle combos.
Toxrill, the Corrosive
Control and disruption build with counterspells, wheels, and sweepers, setting up a midgame lock or combo with Notion Thief and Windfall to steal games.
Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder & Thrasios, Triton Hero
Advantage Blue Pod combo deck that uses Birthing Pod to find combo pieces like Emiel the Blessed, with disruption and value creatures to close out games.
Wort, the Raidmother
Food Chain combo deck focused on generating treasures and infinite mana through Food Chain combos, using artifacts and spells like Dockside Extortionist to ramp and enable combo kills.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Baal's use of early counterspells like Force of Will and Flusterstorm to protect key permanents like Dockside Extortionist and his mana rocks prevented Hélder from going off early with Wort’s combo.
- 2
The double Consecrated Sphinx setup between Baal and David created an explosive card draw loop that heavily shifted the game's tempo and allowed Baal to find a winning Thassa’s Oracle combo.
- 3
Leite’s choice to cast Timetwister to refill hands rather than Toxic Deluge was a strategic gamble aiming to keep pace against Baal’s fast start, but ultimately Baal’s countermagic and card draw outpaced the disruption.
- 4
Baal casting Grand Abolisher at a critical moment allowed him to freely cast Mystic Remora and set up his winning oracle combo without fear of interruption, a rare and impactful resolution in a counterspell-heavy game.
- 5
Hélder’s Food Chain deck repeatedly mulliganed to aggressive one-land hands but leveraged tutors and early mana acceleration to rapidly assemble combo pieces, demonstrating the deck’s explosive potential despite early setbacks.
Notable Cards
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator
Tymna the Weaver
Consecrated Sphinx
Dockside Extortionist
Birthing Pod
Emiel the Blessed
Food Chain
Mystical Tutor
Timetwister
Force of Will
Flusterstorm
Veil of Summer
Mana Crypt
Jeweled Lotus
Notion Thief
Windfall
Summary
The game opened with Baal on Tymna and Malcolm Reanimator establishing early mana and card draw engines, quickly casting a turn 1 Malcolm and following up with Tymna and a hard-cast Consecrated Sphinx. The interaction-heavy Toxrill deck, piloted by Leite, tried to disrupt Baal’s rapid development with counterspells and a timely Timetwister to refill hands. David’s Advantage Blue Pod deck aimed to assemble a combo using Birthing Pod and Emiel the Blessed, while Hélder’s Wort the Raidmother Food Chain build sought to generate treasures and combo off. A pivotal moment occurred when Baal and David both had Consecrated Sphinx on the battlefield, resulting in a massive card draw chain that saw Baal draw over 40 cards, enabling him to find a Thassa’s Oracle and win on devotion with a near-empty library despite heavy table interaction. In the postgame, the players immediately started a new match where Hélder managed to go first with a Food Chain combo hand featuring Mana Crypt and Altar of the Brood. Baal kept a similarly explosive hand with fast mana and interaction, capable of casting both Tymna and Malcolm on turn 1. Leite aimed for a turn 2 Toxrill and potential Notion Thief plus Windfall lock. The early turns set the stage for high-powered combo interactions and counterspell wars, highlighting the aggressive and reactive dynamics of these builds.