PRECON SHOWDOWN! | 1st Birthday Commander! | Atraxa v Imotekh v Kaalia v Kadena

Deck Strategies

• 

  Kaalia of the Vast

  Aggressively cheats powerful Angels, Demons, and Dragons into play when attacking to quickly pressure opponents and close the game via combat damage.

• 

  Atraxa, Praetors' Voice

  Focuses on accumulating +1/+1 counters and proliferating them to create a large, resilient board with flying, vigilance, and deathtouch, controlling the board through incremental growth.

• 

  Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer

  Utilizes morph creatures to deploy threats at instant speed, generating tempo and value, flipping creatures face up for additional effects, and maintaining board presence through surprise plays.

• 

  Imotekh the Stormlord

  Leverages artifact synergies and graveyard interactions to create numerous Necron Warrior tokens, aiming to overwhelm opponents with artifact-based creatures and value from artifact recursion.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Atraxa’s use of proliferate on +1/+1 counters created a snowball effect that was difficult for opponents to counter effectively.

• 2

  Kaalia’s ability to cheat powerful Angels, Demons, and Dragons onto the battlefield during combat created immediate board threats that forced others to respond.

• 3

  Kadena’s instant-speed morph plays allowed for flexible blocking and surprise attacks that shifted the board state unexpectedly.

• 4

  Imotekh’s synergy with artifacts entering and leaving the battlefield generated a steady stream of token creatures, putting continuous pressure on opponents.

• 5

  Political plays and timing of board wipes were crucial, as players balanced between aggressive attacks and defensive setups to avoid becoming the main target.

• 6

  Early game ramp and mana fixing, such as playing dual lands and artifact ramp, set the stage for the midgame surge in board presence and pressure.

Notable Cards

• 

  Atraxa, Praetors' Voice

• 

  Kaalia of the Vast

• 

  Imotekh the Stormlord

• 

  Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer

• 

  Hardened Scales

• 

  Chronomancer

Summary

The game began with the four players each piloting a different preconstructed Commander deck: Kaalia of the Vast, Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer, and Imotekh the Stormlord. Early turns were focused on ramping mana and establishing board presence. Kaalia aimed to pressure opponents quickly by cheating out powerful Angels, Demons, and Dragons. Atraxa steadily built up +1/+1 counters and leveraged her proliferate ability to strengthen her army. Kadena revolved around deploying and flipping Dwarf creatures to generate value and tempo. Imotekh focused on artifact synergies, generating Necron Warrior tokens from artifact interactions and graveyard plays. The game featured tense moments with political maneuvering, especially from Tom playing Atraxa, who was a known political player, while the other players jockeyed for board control and survival. As the midgame progressed, key turning points included Atraxa establishing a formidable flying threat with multiple counters and vigilance, while Imotekh flooded the board with artifact-based tokens, threatening to overwhelm others. Kaalia's aggressive strategy led to early combat damage and creature cheats, but the other decks' resilience made direct kills challenging. Kadena's ability to play creatures at instant speed and flip them face up added surprise blockers and attackers, shifting tempo unexpectedly. The game climaxed with a complex interaction of board wipes, counter plays, and token swarms. Ultimately, the winner emerged by leveraging Atraxa's proliferate and counter synergy to outpace opponents, demonstrating the power of her deck’s incremental growth and board control in a multiplayer environment.