GNARLY COUNTERS AND STAX - S5E2 - CECILY/SOPHINA v TEVESH/THRASIOS v THRASIOS/ISHAI v YURIKO

Deck Strategies

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  Cecily, Haunted Mage / Sophina, Spearsage Deserter

  A stax and discard synergy deck that uses stax pieces like Blind Obedience alongside discard outlets such as Survival of the Fittest to control the board and generate card advantage while disrupting opponents.

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  Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker

  A counter-based deck that grows Ishai with each opponent's spell, aiming to become a large evasive threat and close out games through combat damage.

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  Thrasios, Triton Hero

  A value-focused midrange deck utilizing Thrasios's card advantage and mana fixing to assemble combos or incremental value plays to control the game state.

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  Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

  A ninja tribal deck that uses ninjutsu and evasive creatures to deal damage, triggering card draws and leveraging stealth to chip away at opponents while maintaining pressure.

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  Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools

  A storm and reanimation deck that aims to generate large amounts of mana quickly, cast spells that reanimate or disrupt opponents, and leverage Tevesh's abilities to control the board and finish the game.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The early stax pieces like Blind Obedience and Aethersworn Canonist significantly slowed down opponents, buying time for stax players to establish dominance.

• 2

  Tevesh Szat's repeated activations and combination of reanimation alongside Commandeer allowed for strong disruption and value generation in the midgame.

• 3

  Yuriko's ninjutsu triggers were maximized by stacking attacks and careful sequencing, allowing for efficient card draw and damage.

• 4

  Survival of the Fittest was used to great effect to filter and assemble key creatures for both value and disruption.

• 5

  Players carefully managed their mana and resources to keep key cards like Lotus Petal and Ancient Tomb active for explosive turns while avoiding overextension into board wipes or counters.

Notable Cards

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  Blind Obedience

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  Survival of the Fittest

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  Sensei's Divining Top

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  Mystic Remora

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  Ghostly Pilferer

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  Peregrine Drake

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  Entomb

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  Commandeer

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  Dark Confidant

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  Ninja of the Deep Hours

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  Laboratory Maniac

Summary

The game started with players setting up their mana bases and early board presence, with notable stax elements like Blind Obedience and Survival of the Fittest being deployed early to disrupt opponents' plans. The players gradually developed their boards with key creatures and utility artifacts such as Sensei's Divining Top and Chrome Ox, while also leveraging card draw engines like Mystic Remora and Skullclamp to maintain hand advantage. As the game progressed, players employed a mix of stax lockdown and value generation, with Tevesh Szat and Thrasios repeatedly activating their abilities to gain incremental advantages. Yuriko's ninja tribal strategy attempted to capitalize on evasive damage and draw triggers, while Ishai's deck sought to grow her counters for a potent late-game threat.