Deck & Commander Strategies
Auntie Ool, Cursewretch
Punishes opponents for targeting it by imposing minus one minus one counters, generating card draw or life loss. The deck aims to control the board through ward interactions and incremental advantage from counters.
Doran, Besieged by Time
Focuses on creatures with high toughness, reducing their casting cost and boosting their combat stats based on power-toughness differences to dominate combat phases.
Ashling, the Limitless
Uses evoke to create token copies of elementals, generating board presence through repeated sacrifice and token generation, enabling overwhelming elemental swarms.
Maralen, Fae Ascendant
Exiles cards from opponents’ libraries when elves or fairies enter play, allowing free casting of those spells based on the number of elves and fairies controlled, generating card advantage and disruptive plays.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Auntie Ool’s ward ability created a strong defensive deterrent, forcing opponents to carefully consider removing or targeting her commander due to the penalty of minus one minus one counters.
- 2
Doran’s ability made creatures with higher toughness more cost-effective and more threatening in combat, encouraging strategic deployment of creatures with skewed toughness-power ratios.
- 3
Ashling’s evoke mechanic combined with token copying allowed for efficient board development and recurring threats that pressured opponents while maintaining tempo.
- 4
Maralen’s exile and cast mechanic provided a unique way to cheat spells into play, leveraging board presence of elves and fairies to generate card advantage and disrupt opponents’ plans.
- 5
Players focused on incremental setup plays early on, including land drops and counter manipulation, ensuring that their commanders’ synergies could be fully exploited in the mid to late game.
Notable Cards
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Auntie Ool, Cursewretch
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Doran, Besieged by Time
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Ashling, the Limitless
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Maralen, Fae Ascendant
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Crashing Drawbridge
Gameplay Summary
The game began with players introducing their decks built around the new Lorin Eclipse precon commanders and two custom-built precons designed to complement them.
Auntie Ool, Cursewretch, featured a unique ward ability that punished opponents for targeting it by forcing minus one minus one counters on their creatures, drawing cards or draining life based on who controlled the affected creatures.
Doran, Besieged by Time, focused on creatures with high toughness, offering cast cost reduction and combat boosts based on the power-toughness difference.
Ashling, the Limitless, leveraged evoke mechanics to create token copies of elemental creatures, aiming to build a formidable elemental board state.
Maralen, Fae Ascendant, sought to exile cards from opponents' libraries and cast them for free based on the number of elves and fairies controlled, promising explosive mid to late game turns with significant card advantage and tempo swings. Early turns featured players establishing mana bases and setting up key pieces like exploration effects and counter manipulation with creatures such as Channel Initiate and Lenor Elves.
Auntie Ool's ward ability created a defensive deterrent against direct removal or targeting, while Doran’s deck looked to capitalize on toughness-based creatures that gained combat bonuses.
Ashling began developing the board with elementals primed for evoke and token creation, preparing for token swarms and repeated value.
Meanwhile, Maralen’s strategy of exiling cards and cheating them into play was poised to disrupt opponents and gain free spells, setting a stage for a powerful mid-game.
The game showcased a mix of synergy exploitation, defensive setups, and incremental advantage plays, with pivotal moments revolving around managing minus one counters, token generation, and land drops that fueled each commander’s unique strengths.
