Spikes Can Play a Little Casual Commander, as a Treat | Commander Gameplay S5E9

Deck & Commander Strategies

• 

  Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle

  Ramp aggressively and use land interactions to grow Arixmethes into a massive threat. Supplement with board wipes that Arixmethes can dodge, leveraging his unique ability to survive wipes and dominate the board.

• 

  Gishath, Sun's Avatar

  Deploy a dinosaur tribal deck that floods the battlefield with dinosaurs through combat triggers and combat-focused spells, aiming to overwhelm opponents with large creatures and repeated combat steps.

• 

  Kangee, Aerie Keeper

  Build a shapeshifter tribal deck that maximizes creature type diversity with changelings, using lords and flexible type changers like Mistform Mask to create powerful synergies and aggressive combat phases.

• 

  Kykar, Wind's Fury

  Utilize enchantments and spells to trigger token generation and damage effects, leveraging Guttersnipe and Impact Tremors to chip away at opponents while ramping mana and casting multiple spells per turn.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Jim's early use of Strip Mine and land ramp spells allowed him to control the mana landscape and prepare for Arixmethes to grow large.

• 2

  Eliot's casting of Gishath triggered a powerful board flood, putting multiple dinosaurs into play and swinging the tempo in his favor.

• 3

  Bill cleverly used Mistform Mask to temporarily change Standard Bearer's creature type to sliver, maximizing tribal synergies during combat.

• 4

  Maddy's Impact Tremors and Guttersnipe generated incremental damage through spell casting and token triggers, pressuring opponents steadily.

• 5

  The interaction of Jim tutoring for Crush of Tentacles set up a potential board wipe that synergized well with Arixmethes' ability to survive wipes, demonstrating a key turning point.

• 6

  Combat damage exchanges and triggered abilities early in the game established the board state momentum for the dinosaur and shapeshifter tribal decks.

Notable Cards

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  Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle

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  Gishath, Sun's Avatar

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  Strip Mine

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  Impact Tremors

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  Guttersnipe

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  Mistform Mask

• 

  Standard Bearer

• 

  Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath

• 

  Crush of Tentacles

Gameplay Summary