Teval, the Balanced Scaled | Miirym, Sentinel Wurm | Neriv, Heart of the Storm | Betor, Kin to All

Deck Strategies

• 

  Neriv, Heart of the Storm

  Aggressively cast and protect dragons while utilizing storm and equipment to maximize damage output. The deck focuses on consistent creature pressure and benefiting from the storm mechanic to draw cards and control the board.

• 

  Betor, Kin to All

  A midrange deck that uses ramp and creature recursion to establish board presence. It relies on synergy with creatures that produce value when other creatures enter or leave the battlefield, aiming to outvalue opponents over time.

• Miirym, Sentinel Wurm

  Utilizes ramp and aggressive creatures to quickly develop the board. The deck incorporates flicker and token generation strategies, often using Sneak Attack to cheat powerful creatures into play repeatedly for value.

• 

  Teval, the Balanced Scale

  Centers around +1/+1 counters and token generation, creating a growing army of creatures that benefit from anthem effects and recursion. The deck uses synergy between counters, tokens, and sacrifice outlets to dominate the battlefield.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Eric's use of Avenger of Zendikar to flood the board with plant tokens combined with anthem effects created an overwhelming board state that was difficult to answer.

• 2

  The timing of Living Death allowed multiple players to recur key creatures simultaneously, drastically shifting the board presence and prolonging the game.

• 3

  Sneak Attack was effectively used to cheat out high-impact dragons like Ancient Silver Dragon multiple times, generating significant tempo and value.

• 4

  Ghostly Flicker was a pivotal response during combat to save major threats and generate additional token copies, preventing lethal damage and maintaining board pressure.

• 5

  Eric's strategic use of removal spells such as Assassin's Trophy to protect his key creatures during combat was critical in maintaining dominance on the battlefield.

Notable Cards

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  Avenger of Zendikar

• 

  Living Death

• 

  Sneak Attack

• 

  Lightning Greaves

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  Ghostly Flicker

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  Assassin's Trophy

• 

  Cursed Mirror

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  Floral Evoker

• 

  Bloodghast

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  Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire

Summary

The game began with players developing their mana bases and deploying early ramp and utility creatures. Eric, playing a deck centered around Taval, the Balanced Scale, established board presence with mana rocks and creature tokens, leveraging cards like Soul Ring and Avenger of Zendikar to build a formidable army of plant tokens. Shane, commanding Neriv, Heart of the Storm, used equipment like Lightning Greaves to protect key creatures and applied pressure with aggressive attacks. The gameplay featured multiple board wipes and strategic creature recurrences, notably with Living Death being cast to return important creatures to the battlefield. The use of flicker effects and Sneak Attack allowed for repeated value from powerful dragons and utility creatures, while Eric’s deck synergized heavily with +1/+1 counters and token generation to overwhelm opponents. The game’s turning point came when Eric leveraged a large token army boosted by Avenger of Zendikar and multiple anthem effects, combined with targeted removal of key opposing threats, leading to a decisive combat phase that eliminated Shane and another opponent. Eric secured victory by maintaining board control and steadily increasing his advantage through synergy between tokens, counters, and recurring threats.