Lier vs. Yoshi & Kraum - CDF 2025 - Day 1 - R6 - Duel Commander│MTG│bitzelberg

Deck Strategies

• 

  Lier, Disciple of the Drowned

  A Mono-Blue Storm deck that aims to generate massive amounts of mana by resolving multiple High Tide spells, then winning via Brain Freeze. Lier prevents opponents from countering spells, enabling the player to use bounce and untap spells on their own spells to maximize mana production and storm count.

• 

  Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

  Likely a Boros aggressive or tempo deck that tries to establish board presence early and apply pressure. The deck may include disruption but struggles against the storm combo's quick mana generation and non-counterable spells.

• 

  Kraum, Ludevic's Opus

  Less emphasized in the video, but typically Kraum decks leverage card draw from combat damage and spellcasting to maintain tempo and generate value, possibly supporting a midrange or control strategy.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Lier’s ability to make spells uncounterable changes the typical storm interaction by allowing the player to bounce and untap their own spells to generate more mana without fear of disruption.

• 2

  The Mono-Blue Storm deck carefully sequences High Tide and untap spells to maximize mana pools and storm count for a lethal Brain Freeze combo.

• 3

  Intuition and Merchant Scroll are crucial for finding combo pieces like Turnabout and High Tide, enabling the storm player to maintain consistency.

• 4

  The opponent’s slower start and reliance on counterspells or disruption is less effective against Lier’s ability, forcing them to find alternative ways to interact.

• 5

  Tracking mana and storm count with visual aids (d20 dice) helps in managing complex storm lines and resource allocation.

Notable Cards

• 

  Lier, Disciple of the Drowned

• 

  High Tide

• 

  Brain Freeze

• 

  Merchant Scroll

• 

  Mental Misstep

• 

  Preordain

• 

  Turnabout

• 

  Candelabra of Tawnos

• 

  Intuition

• 

  Frantic Search

• 

  Hidden Strings

Summary

The game features a dynamic duel commander match between three distinct decks: a Mono-Blue Storm deck led by Lier, Disciple of the Drowned, a Boros-themed deck with Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful, and a deck featuring Kraum, Ludevic's Opus. The Mono-Blue Storm deck focuses on assembling high mana counts through multiple High Tide spells and leveraging that mana to execute a Brain Freeze win condition. Early turns show the Storm player casting key spells like Mental Misstep and Preordain to set up the combo, with careful mana management and storm count tracking being crucial. Lier's ability to prevent counterspells creates an interesting dynamic where the player can use bounce and untap spells like Rewind and Unwind on their own spells to generate additional mana, making the combo more resilient and explosive. The Boros/Yoshimaru deck appears slower in the early game, struggling to establish a tempo against the fast combo setup. The deck may rely on disruption and combat damage but is challenged by the Blue Storm's ability to deny interaction. The Kraum deck is mentioned but does not appear to be the primary focus of the early gameplay. Key turning points involve the Storm player casting multiple High Tide spells and leveraging cards like Merchant Scroll and Intuition to find crucial combo pieces such as Turnabout and Candleabra, further fueling the mana production and storm count. The game highlights the unique interplay of Lier’s anti-counter ability combined with a mono-blue spell-heavy deck aiming to storm off primarily through Brain Freeze.