A Tribute to the Good Boys and Girls in Magic - International Dog Day - Episode 63

Deck Strategies

• 

  Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd

  Utilizes flicker abilities to repeatedly exile and return creatures, generating value from enter-the-battlefield effects, counters, and tokens to overwhelm opponents.

• 

  Rin and Seri, Inseparable

  Plays a dog and cat tribal theme creating token creatures of the opposite type and leveraging the large number of creatures to deal damage and gain life through the commander’s activated ability.

• 

  Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful // Sakashima of a Thousand Faces

  Focuses on legendary synergy, placing counters on Yoshimaru whenever another legendary permanent enters and generating value from unique legendary interactions.

• 

  Karvanista, Loyal Lupari

  Supports humans on the battlefield by granting them indestructibility and pumping their stats, turning them into formidable attackers that can dominate the board.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Using Phelia’s flicker ability on Circuit Mender to gain life and draw cards created strong incremental advantage and helped maintain a healthy life total while refilling the hand.

• 2

  Casting creatures with Biofages mana ability generated additional +1/+1 counters, boosting the power of creatures and synergizing well with counter subthemes.

• 3

  Rin and Seri’s token creation balanced dog and cat tribal strategies, enabling flexible board states that could deal damage and gain life simultaneously.

• 4

  The decision to take damage from attacks rather than block was strategically used to avoid losing valuable creatures or triggering unfavorable effects.

• 5

  Stonic Resonator’s ability to copy triggered abilities provided opportunities to double key effects such as card draw or counter placement, amplifying the overall deck synergy.

Notable Cards

• 

  Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd

• 

  Rin and Seri, Inseparable

• 

  Circuit Mender

• 

  Hardened Scales

• 

  Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

• 

  Sakashima of a Thousand Faces

• 

  Karvanista, Loyal Lupari // Lupari Shield

• 

  Toski, Bearer of Secrets

Summary

The game featured a thematic dog-centric Commander lineup that showcased synergies between creatures and token generation. Early turns focused on ramping and setting up boards with creatures like Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd generating value through flickering and tokens, and Rin and Seri, Inseparable producing cat tokens alongside dogs to leverage damage and life gain. Key interactions included flicker effects on creatures like Circuit Mender for life gain and card draw, and the use of counters to enhance creatures via Biofages and Hardened Scales. Combat damage from token swarms pressured opponents, with players carefully deciding when to block or take damage to avoid losing key creatures or triggering beneficial effects. The game’s turning points involved leveraging token generation and flicker combos that increased board presence and resilience, setting up for larger swings in damage or incremental value via counters and triggered abilities. The match emphasized synergy between dogs and cats, with Rin and Seri acting as a powerful engine for incremental damage and life gain while Phelia's flicker effects maximized creature value over multiple turns.