HOW MANY BALLOON COPIES!? – Jolly Balloon Man vs Arabella vs Kona vs Mindskinner – Manasplaining #09

Deck Strategies

• 

  The Jolly Balloon Man

  Creates red 1/1 balloon creature tokens that copy other creatures controlled, focusing on overwhelming the board with balloon copies and leveraging populate triggers for explosive token generation.

• 

  Arabella, Abandoned Doll

  Swarm the board with small creatures and generate damage and life gain based on creatures with power two or less, utilizing a synergy of cheap creatures and incremental damage to opponents.

• 

  Kona, Rescue Beastie

  Utilizes Kona's ability to deploy permanents directly from hand during the second main phase if Kona is tapped, enabling rapid and uncosted board development with a variety of permanents.

• 

  The Mindskinner

  Focuses on a mill strategy that prevents damage to itself but mills opponents whenever damage would be dealt by sources controlled, aiming to deplete opponents' libraries while avoiding direct damage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The use of Alter of the Brood early on creates consistent milling pressure on all opponents whenever permanents enter the battlefield, synergizing well with token generation and Kona's ability to put permanents onto the battlefield.

• 2

  The Jolly Balloon Man's potential to generate numerous balloon token copies was acknowledged but initially held back to avoid early hostility, showing strategic restraint to manage table dynamics.

• 3

  Arabella leverages the power of numerous low-power creatures for incremental life gain and damage, emphasizing the value of swarming with small creatures in this meta.

• 4

  Kona's ability to cheat permanents onto the battlefield accelerates board presence with unusual permanents that can disrupt opponents or enhance the player's board.

• 5

  The Mindskinner requires set up to trigger its milling effect through damage prevention, highlighting a unique mill approach compared to traditional direct mill spells.

• 6

  Players used a combination of mana artifacts and enchantments like Spring Leaf Drum and Carpet of Flowers to fix mana and ramp, enabling early deployment of key cards and commanders.

Notable Cards

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  Carpet of Flowers

• 

  Arcane Denial

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  Enter the Enigma

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  Boros Signet

Summary

The game begins with players deploying their unique Duskmourne-themed decks, each with distinct strategies centered around their commanders. Early turns see development of mana bases and key artifacts, such as Alter of the Brood, which triggers milling effects whenever permanents enter the battlefield, setting a slow but steady graveyard pressure. The Jolly Balloon Man establishes his presence but initially refrains from aggressive copying or attacking, focusing on board setup. Arabella, Abandoned Doll, leverages a swarm of small creatures to deal damage and gain life, slowly building a board presence. Kona, Rescue Beastie takes advantage of its ability to place permanents directly from hand onto the battlefield, accelerating board development with unusual and cost-free permanents. Meanwhile, The Mindskinner aims to mill opponents by redirecting damage, though it requires careful setup to start dealing damage to trigger its mill effect.