Deck Strategies
Bello, Bard of the Brambles
Transforms non-equipment and non-Aura enchantments and artifacts with mana value 4 or greater into indestructible, hasty Elemental creatures to apply aggressive pressure, drawing cards on combat damage to maintain hand advantage.
Winter, Cynical Opportunist
Utilizes milling to fill the graveyard and then exiles cards with diverse types to cheat powerful permanents onto the battlefield with finality counters, leveraging graveyard synergy and recursion to overwhelm opponents.
Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Focuses on merfolk tribal synergy, generating tokens and ramping via exploring and land drops, while proliferating counters to enhance creatures and permanents, gaining incremental advantages over time.
Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser
Uses vigilance and the suspect mechanic to impose menace and block restrictions on opponent creatures, disrupting defensive lines and enabling aggressive combat, while drawing cards from combat damage dealt by opponents' creatures.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Bello's conversion of enchantments and artifacts into indestructible, hasty Elementals created a resilient and fast-paced offensive that pressured opponents early.
- 2
Winter's milling strategy was crucial in setting up graveyard recursion, forcing opponents to respond to threats emerging from exile and finality counters.
- 3
Hakbal's token generation combined with proliferate created exponential growth in board presence, enhancing both offensive and defensive capabilities.
- 4
Nelly Borca's suspect mechanic complicated blocking decisions, allowing her team to bypass blockers by granting menace and preventing creatures from blocking, which shifted combat dynamics significantly.
- 5
Ghostly Prison was used effectively to tax attackers and protect key players while the board state developed.
- 6
Proliferate was employed to maximize counters on creatures and permanents, amplifying their impact and synergy within Hakbal's deck.
Notable Cards
Reliquary Tower
Undergrowth Stadium
Stitcher's Supplier
Ghostly Prison
Kiora's Follower
Necroblossom Snarl
Summary
The game featured four upgraded preconstructed decks led by Bello, Winter, Hakbal, and Nelly Borca. Early turns focused on ramping mana and establishing board presence, with players playing lands and deploying early creatures or utility enchantments. Bello leveraged his ability to turn non-equipment and non-Aura enchantments with high mana value into indestructible, hasty Elemental creatures, enabling aggressive swings and card draw upon dealing combat damage. Winter took a mill-centric approach, using cards like Stitcher's Supplier to fill the graveyard and then utilizing the exile mechanic to cheat permanents into play with finality counters, gaining value from graveyard interactions. Hakbal capitalized on his merfolk synergy, generating tokens and exploring with his creatures, while also ramping aggressively to play key spells and proliferate counters. Nelly Borca used vigilance and a unique suspect mechanic that gave menace and blocked restriction to targeted creatures, disrupting opponents' blockers and providing card draw when combat damage was dealt by creatures controlled by opponents to others. A pivotal moment was when Winter began milling heavily and threatening to bring out powerful permanents from the graveyard, forcing opponents to adjust their strategies. Meanwhile, Bello's aggressive Elementals and Hakbal's proliferating merfolk applied consistent pressure. Nelly's ability to impose menace on multiple creatures created a chaotic combat environment where blockers were limited, enabling aggressive attacks. The gameplay revolved around carefully balancing aggression with board control and resource management, with each player leveraging their commanders' unique mechanics to outpace the others. The match showcased a dynamic interplay of graveyard recursion, token generation, and combat manipulation, culminating in a tense battle for dominance as players tried to exploit their deck's strengths while mitigating threats posed by others.