Deck Strategies
Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
Ramp aggressively to generate massive amounts of mana with Kinnan's ability, then leverage infinite combos involving artifacts like Basalt Monolith and mana filtering to generate infinite colorless and colored mana for a combo finish, often using Thassa's Oracle as a win condition.
Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
Utilize Sisay's ability to fetch legendary creatures and artifacts to build a toolbox of answers and threats, playing a midrange game focused on interaction and incremental advantage, while controlling the board and disrupting opponents' combo lines.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
The presence of three Kinnan decks led to a cautious approach where players avoided overly aggressive plays to prevent enabling opponents’ combos.
- 2
Deploying disruption like Manglehorn early helped slow down the ramp strategies of opposing Kenans and Sisay, creating a more midrange, grindy game.
- 3
Leaving a Basalt Monolith on the battlefield was a critical risk; it forced the table to remain vigilant for combo attempts involving mana filtering or cloning effects.
- 4
Players balanced their plays between ramping for combo potential and maintaining interaction to prevent opponents from winning too quickly.
- 5
Sisay’s midrange strategy with toolbox creatures and card advantage engines allowed for sustained pressure and control, countering the explosive potential of Kinnan combos.
Notable Cards
Basalt Monolith
Thassa's Oracle
Mox Amber
Sensei's Divining Top
Ignoble Hierarch
Looter il-Kor
Manglehorn
Summary
The game opened with a cautious and slow early game, as all four players—three piloting Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy decks and one on Sisay, Weatherlight Captain—focused on setting up mana bases and deploying utility creatures like Looter il-Kor and Ignoble Hierarch. The presence of multiple Kinnan decks created a tense dynamic where aggressive plays were tempered by the risk of enabling opponents' combos. Early board states featured disruptive pieces such as Manglehorn to slow down artifact and mana ramp strategies. Mid-game saw the Sisay player developing a more midrange strategy with card advantage engines like Sensei's Divining Top to keep pace with the ramp-heavy Kinnan decks. A critical turning point occurred when a Kinnan player dropped a Basalt Monolith, signaling a potential infinite mana combo. This forced all players to remain alert as the Monolith threatened to spiral into a game-ending play if paired with mana filtering or cloning effects, which are common in Kinnan builds. The tension heightened as another Kinnan player held a Thassa's Oracle and a Mox Amber, hinting at a possible combo finish if the mana could be generated. Despite these threats, the game maintained a measured pace as the players navigated interaction and disruption, with the Sisay player leveraging their toolbox style to control the board state. The game was poised on a knife-edge between explosive combo turns and resilient midrange control, emphasizing skillful navigation of resources and timing.
