We Play Modern Decks in Commander | Commander Clash S11 E3

Deck Strategies

• 

  Reyhan, Last of the Abzan

  A Modern Jund-inspired deck focusing on efficient creatures and removal spells to control the board while applying steady pressure. The deck aims to use powerful, proven Modern cards to win through attrition and midrange dominance.

• 

  Heliod, Sun-Crowned

  A Mono-white Soul Sisters deck that gains life whenever creatures enter the battlefield, stacking life-gain triggers to grow creatures like Ajani's Pridemate and eventually win through overwhelming board presence and sustained life advantage.

• 

  Nymris, Oona's Trickster

  A Blue-Black Faeries deck that uses flash creatures and disruption spells to control opponents' turns, generate incremental card advantage, and lock down the game with tempo plays and efficient removal.

• 

  Atogatog

  A Five-color Affinity deck that leverages artifact synergies and sacrifice outlets to generate value and deal damage quickly, aiming to combo off or overwhelm opponents through artifact interactions.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The Faeries player’s use of Leyline of Anticipation and Bitterblossom early on created a significant tempo advantage that pressured opponents heavily.

• 2

  Soul Sisters' life-gain synergies proved difficult to overcome, especially when combined with resilient creatures that grew with each life gain.

• 3

  Atogatog’s artifact sacrifice combo threats forced opponents to prioritize artifact removal and disruption to prevent a quick loss.

• 4

  Jund’s traditional removal and creature threats had to adapt to the slower, life-focused and tempo-driven strategies, creating a tense balance between aggression and control.

• 5

  The meta-game of this match highlighted how Modern archetypes translate into Commander, with some decks gaining card advantage through flash and disruption, while others relied on incremental life gain or artifact synergies.

Notable Cards

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  Leyline of Anticipation

• 

  Bitterblossom

• 

  Fatal Push

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  Ajani's Pridemate

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  Soul Warden

• 

  Kindred Dominance

• 

  Go for the Throat

Summary

The game features a four-player Commander match where each deck is inspired by a popular Modern constructed archetype, adapted into the Commander format. Richard pilots a Jund-style deck centered around efficient creatures and removal, aiming to leverage the raw power and disruption typical of Modern Jund. Phil plays a mono-white Soul Sisters deck focused on gaining life through creatures entering the battlefield and using life-gain synergies to stabilize and eventually win through incremental advantages. Krim pilots a blue-black Faeries deck led by Nymris, Oona's Trickster, which capitalizes on flash creatures, disruption, and tempo plays on opponents' turns. Seth pilots a five-color Affinity deck using Atogatog, focusing on artifact synergies and sacrificing artifacts for value and damage output. Early turns see the Faeries deck establishing a defensive and disruptive presence with cards like Leyline of Anticipation and Bitterblossom, frustrating opponents’ attempts to develop their boards. The Soul Sisters deck aims to stabilize using life-gain creatures, while Atogatog's artifact combos threaten to accelerate damage quickly. Jund tries to apply pressure through removal and resilient creatures. Key moments include the Faeries player maintaining strong card advantage and board control, the Soul Sisters player leveraging life gain to deter aggression, and Atogatog threatening combos to close out the game. The interplay between disruption, life gain, and artifact synergies creates a dynamic pacing, with each deck seeking to exploit its unique strengths to outlast or outpace the others.