Deck & Commander Strategies
Admiral Brass, Unsinkable
Build a pirate token army supported by treasure generation and use extra turns from Timestream Navigator to overwhelm opponents with repeated attacks.
Pantlaza, Sun-Favored
Utilize the commander’s Discover ability to quickly deploy powerful creatures and ramp spells, creating explosive board states to pressure opponents early.
Clavileño, First of the Blessed
Establish a vampire tribal presence and convert dying vampires into large demons, generating incremental advantage and lifegain while applying steady combat pressure.
Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Cast numerous merfolk and grow them using the commander’s explore triggers, leveraging tribal synergies and cards like Emperor Mihail II and Kumena to build a resilient board.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Ryan’s use of Wave Goodbye to bounce all creatures was a critical reset that hindered aggressive boards and allowed him to stabilize.
- 2
Zeb’s exploitation of extra turns from Timestream Navigator created additional combat phases to apply pressure and generate treasures for further plays.
- 3
Justin’s casting of March of the Canonized with X=4 generated a large army of lifelinking vampire tokens, significantly enhancing his board presence and survivability.
- 4
Ryan’s synergy of casting multiple merfolk through Emperor Mihail II and activating Kumena’s ability to draw cards allowed him to maintain card advantage despite removal.
- 5
The interaction of tribal synergies and death triggers (vampires turning into demons) provided Justin with continuous board development and incremental lifegain.
- 6
Zeb’s use of Feed the Swarm to remove a key threat (Kumena) slowed Ryan’s momentum but did not fully stop his development due to card draw from triggered abilities.
Notable Cards
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Timestream Navigator
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March of the Canonized
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Wave Goodbye
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Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
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Emperor Mihail II
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Feed the Swarm
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Deathgorge Scavenger
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Corsair Captain
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Dusk Legion Zealot
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Nighthawk Scavenger
Gameplay Summary
The game opened with each player developing their board and ramping into their commanders and synergies.
Zeb, piloting Admiral Brass, focused on building a pirate token army supported by treasure generation and extra turns via Timestream Navigator.
Emma’s Pantlaza deck aimed to create explosive board states quickly, utilizing the commander’s Discover ability to chain powerful creatures like Deathgorge Scavenger and ramp spells.
Justin’s Clavileño deck established a vampire tribal presence and leveraged death triggers to transform vampires into large demons, generating incremental advantage and lifegain.
Ryan’s Hakbal deck centered on deploying merfolk and using the commander’s explore ability to grow the board and generate value through Emperor Mihail II and Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca. A pivotal moment occurred when Ryan cast Wave Goodbye to bounce all creatures, resetting the board and slowing aggressive momentum, particularly against Zeb’s pirate tokens and Justin’s vampires.
Zeb capitalized on extra turns to further pressure opponents with multiple attacks and treasure creation.
Justin responded by casting March of the Canonized to flood the battlefield with lifelinking vampire tokens, significantly boosting his defenses and offensive potential.
Ryan continued to leverage powerful tribal synergies by casting Kumena and Merfolk Mistbinder through Emperor Mihail II, enhancing his board presence.
Zeb disrupted Ryan’s growth by using Feed the Swarm to remove Kumena, though Ryan compensated by drawing multiple cards and maintaining board development.
The game displayed a dynamic interplay of tribal synergies, tempo swings, and removal, with each player working toward their respective win conditions through incremental board states and combat damage.
![Lost Caverns of Ixalan Pack Tactics!! ft Hakbal, Pantlaza, Clavileno, and Brass [Commander Gameplay] thumbnail](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mf_8w8n7c2g/sddefault.jpg)
