Secret Commanders with The Nitpicking Nerds - Ep 65

Deck Strategies

• 

  Chainer, Nightmare Adept

  Utilizes discard and graveyard recursion, turning discarded cards into valuable creatures with the help of secret commanders. The deck aims to create a loop with Decaying Time to churn through the deck and ping opponents, generating incremental advantage and board control.

• 

  Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon

  Focuses on equipping a powerful secret commander artifact, Colossus Hammer, onto a strong creature to create a big threat that can quickly close the game. The deck also uses aura and equipment tutoring to assemble game-winning combos.

• 

  Tocasia, Dig Site Mentor

  Centers on assembling a critical flying indestructible creature, Imperial Archangel, and protecting it with numerous auras to prevent damage and removal. The deck aims to lock down opponents by making the Archangel untouchable and eventually winning through damage prevention and board dominance.

• 

  Ramos, Dragon Engine

  Leverages proliferate mechanics and counters synergy to ramp mana and control the board. The secret commander Door to Nothingness aims to create multiple copies or triggers to force opponents to lose the game, generating a potent alternate win condition.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Using Sterling Grove to grant shroud to other enchantments protected critical auras from removal, enabling a durable defensive strategy around the Imperial Archangel.

• 2

  The synergy between discard effects and the currency converter allowed for continuous value generation by exiling and returning cards, fueling treasure tokens and creature tokens.

• 3

  Proliferate from Atraxa was used not only to grow counters but also to accelerate Ramos’s mana ramp and overall board development.

• 4

  The player with Kellan prioritized equipping Colossus Hammer early to create a large threat that could bypass flying but intimidate opponents into reacting quickly.

• 5

  Players actively used tutors to assemble key pieces at crucial moments, reflecting a heavy focus on consistency and combo assembly over raw aggression.

• 6

  Strategic attacks were timed carefully to chip away at opponents before critical threats like unkillable auras or artifact combos could fully establish, showing awareness of shifting board states.

Notable Cards

• 

  Colossus Hammer

• 

  Atraxa, Praetors' Voice

• 

  Currency Converter

• 

  Fabricate

• 

  Sterling Grove

• 

  Door to Nothingness

• 

  Esper Sentinel

Summary

The game began with players setting up their mana bases and early board states, with initial plays focusing on ramp and utility lands. Early aggression was seen with Atraxa being played to start dealing incremental damage and proliferating counters, establishing board presence. One key early strategy involved building up enchantments and auras to protect a key creature, Imperial Archangel, making it unkillable and preventing damage. Another player focused on creating treasure tokens and cycling cards to fuel a graveyard and discard synergy, while also enabling artifact and enchantment interactions. The player with Ramos aimed to leverage proliferate and counters to accelerate their engine, while others set up combo or control pieces such as currency converters and tutors to find critical cards. Throughout the game, players attempted to disrupt each other's plans with discard effects and kept the pressure on by attacking and proliferating. The pivotal moment came from the synergy between enchantments and the protection of an indestructible flyer, shifting the board state to favor a near-impervious threat. The game’s outcome was influenced heavily by the ability to generate value from the graveyard and the stack, with multiple players trying to assemble combos or lock opponents down with powerful equipment and enchantments. The matches featured strategic interaction around key cards and the timing of spells to maximize value and control the pace of the game.