Deck Strategies
Svyelun of Sea and Sky
A tempo-oriented Merfolk tribal deck that uses Cavern of Souls to safely cast Merfolk spells, ramp artifacts like Medallion, and creatures with evasion to chip away at opponents. The deck aims to maintain board presence and card advantage while disrupting the opponent's mana base.
Old Gnawbone
An aggressive, artifact and treasure-centric deck that uses mana acceleration from lands and artifacts, combined with token and creature synergies enhanced by Garrick's Uprising and Doubling Season. It focuses on overwhelming the opponent with large trampling creatures and massive life gain through artifact sacrifices.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Using Cavern of Souls early to ensure Merfolk spells resolve without counterspells was key for Svyelun's early board development.
- 2
Tyler's use of Garrick's Uprising to grant trample enabled his creatures to apply consistent pressure and made blocking difficult.
- 3
Casting Doubling Season greatly amplified the value of tokens and treasures, accelerating both board presence and life gain.
- 4
The combination of artifact synergies and life gain engines like Great Henge allowed Old Gnawbone to establish a nearly unassailable life total.
- 5
Spreading Seas was a solid disruption play but ultimately insufficient to stem the avalanche of threats generated by the Old Gnawbone deck.
- 6
Old Gnawbone's ability to destroy artifacts on attack (via Koga) helped to slow down Svyelun's artifact ramp and disruption.
Notable Cards
Old Gnawbone
Svyelun of Sea and Sky
Doubling Season
Spreading Seas
Cavern of Souls
Summary
The game began with Svyelun of Sea and Sky establishing a solid early board presence by playing multiple islands and deploying key creatures like Saon and River Sneak. Svyelun leveraged Cavern of Souls to protect Merfolk spells and used Medallion, Hexcatcher, and Arcane Signet to ramp mana and maintain tempo. Old Gnawbone responded by developing a strong board with lands, mana artifacts, and creatures such as Fangren Marauder, Koga, Titan Ape, and Old Gnawbone itself, while also benefiting from Garrick's Uprising granting trampling to his creatures. Tyler’s deck gained a massive advantage with a Doubling Season and various artifact synergies, including generating treasures and massive life gain through cards like Great Henge, allowing him to reach over 100 life. Despite Svyelun’s attempts to disrupt with Spreading Seas and some blocking, Old Gnawbone’s overwhelming board and artifact synergies proved too powerful. The game ended when Svyelun conceded, recognizing the insurmountable advantage Tyler had built.
