Deck Strategies
Prime Speaker Vannifar
Utilizes a combo strategy revolving around sacrificing creatures to tutor for others with Prime Speaker Vannifar's ability, generating value through creature-based synergies and eventually establishing a powerful board state by chaining creature fetches.
Niv-Mizzet, Parun
Focuses on controlling the game by drawing cards and dealing damage through Niv-Mizzet’s triggered abilities, supported by efficient spells and artifacts to stabilize and incrementally wear down opponents.
Karador, Ghost Chieftain
Leverages graveyard recursion and sacrifice synergies, using Birthing Pod to tutor creatures and maintain board presence, while Life from the Loam allows for land recursion and control over the battlefield.
Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Maximizes value by casting permanents from the graveyard each turn, combining token generation, removal, and recursion effects to maintain board control and outvalue opponents over time.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Dom leveraged Prime Speaker Vannifar’s ability multiple times in a turn, sacrificing creatures to tutor up higher-impact creatures, quickly building a threatening board state.
- 2
John used Life from the Loam repeatedly to recur lands and maintain mana consistency while fueling Karador’s graveyard recursion strategy.
- 3
Dean maximized Niv-Mizzet’s damage and card draw triggers by chaining spells like Gutshot, Lightning Bolt, and Faceless Looting to incrementally weaken opponents and gain card advantage.
- 4
Steve’s use of Muldrotha to repeatedly replay removal and value creatures from the graveyard kept opponents off-balance and controlled the pace of the game.
- 5
The use of Strip Mine to remove Dom’s Ancient Tomb was a pivotal disruption, slowing down his aggressive ramp and tempo development.
- 6
Sacrificing creatures like Burnished Heart and Hangarback Walker to generate value tokens or mana helped maintain board presence and fueled Vannifar’s combo chain.
- 7
John's timely sacrifice of creatures to exile key cards from Dean’s graveyard prevented potential combos and kept him in the game longer.
Notable Cards
Prime Speaker Vannifar
Niv-Mizzet, Parun
Karador, Ghost Chieftain
Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Birthing Pod
Life from the Loam
Demonic Tutor
Lightning Bolt
Animate Dead
Bounding Krasis
Breaching Hippocamp
Deceiver Exarch
Strip Mine
Summary
The game began with each player establishing their early mana base and deploying key creatures and ramp spells to accelerate their strategies. Dean, playing Niv-Mizzet, Parun, focused on drawing cards and dealing incremental damage through Niv-Mizzet's triggered abilities while assembling a control-oriented board with spells like Lightning Grieves and Faceless Looting. Dom piloted Prime Speaker Vannifar and utilized her ability to sacrifice creatures and tutor for others, creating value chains by fetching creatures like Bounding Krasis and Breaching Hippocamp, enabling him to generate significant board presence and tempo. John, on Karador, Ghost Chieftain, leveraged his graveyard recursion and Birthing Pod to maintain a resilient board state, often reanimating creatures like Plaguecrafter and using Life from the Loam to manipulate lands. Steve, commanding Muldrotha, the Gravetide, capitalized on the extensive value from playing permanents from the graveyard, generating tokens, and using removal effects such as Massacre Worm to control the board.