Deck & Commander Strategies
Ayula, Queen Among Bears
Aggro bear tribal deck focused on generating bears with +1/+1 counters, using fight effects and anthem boosts to overwhelm opponents in combat.
Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
Mono-green token and artifact synergy deck aiming to flood the board with tokens and pump them for an overrun-style victory.
Captain Ripley Vance
Storm-inspired deck using fast mana and multiple spells per turn to control the board and close out games with burn spells and combo finishes.
Vial Smasher the Fierce & Tymna the Weaver
A partner combo deck that uses Tymna for card draw through combat damage and Vial Smasher to deal incremental damage on spell casts, deploying powerful angels and demons to dominate the board and win through combat damage.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Strategic use of Break Through the Line to make key creatures unblockable enabled effective damage and card draw triggers via Tymna.
- 2
Removing ramp pieces like Karametra's Acolyte with Path to Exile was crucial to slowing down opponent board development and mana acceleration.
- 3
Deploying Archfiend of Depravity early disrupted opponents' boards by forcing sacrifices, allowing the Vial Smasher deck to maintain board control.
- 4
Captain Vance's use of fast mana and spell casting triggers helped ramp into impactful plays like casting Neheb and generating storm-like burn damage.
- 5
The decision to use Strionic Resonator on Tymna's ability maximized card draw each combat phase, fueling the Vial Smasher player's hand advantage.
- 6
Sacrificing tokens to Archfiend of Depravity's effect generated incremental value and kept the token decks' boards manageable.
- 7
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle triggered multiple times to deal incidental damage during mana ramp, influencing players' life totals early.
- 8
Combat interactions were carefully navigated, with blockers being sacrificed to deny card draws, showing tactical decisions beyond simple damage trading.
- 9
Gilded Lotus and Thrann Dynamo provided essential ramp to enable casting high-cost angels and spells in the midgame.
- 10
Timing of anthem effects like Gaea's Anthem was pivotal for Ayula to push through significant combat damage and pressure opponents.
Notable Cards
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Keeper of Fables
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Mycoloth
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Neheb, the Eternal
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Kaalia of the Vast
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Archfiend of Depravity
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Avacyn, Angel of Hope
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Archangel of Thune
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Mana Vault
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Mana Geyser
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Jeska's Will
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Tome of Legends
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Strionic Resonator
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Chaos Warp
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Gilded Lotus
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Break Through the Line
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Electrostatic Field
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Steel Overseer
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Descendants' Path
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Reclamation Sage
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Runeclaw Bear
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Path to Exile
Gameplay Summary
The game began with all four players establishing their board states and ramping mana.
Ayula, Queen Among Bears quickly set up a bear tribal board with +1/+1 counters and token generation, while Oviya Pashiri focused on token creation and artifact synergy.
Captain Ripley Vance aimed to generate storm-like combos, casting powerful spells like Neheb, the Eternal and generating large amounts of mana with Mana Geyser.
Tymna the Weaver and Vial Smasher the Fierce leveraged card draw and damage triggers combined with powerful angels and demons such as Archfiend of Depravity and Avacyn, Angel of Hope to control the board and push through damage.
Early combat featured strategic attacks and blocks that curtailed card draws and board development, with key removals like Path to Exile on ramp creatures and Chaos Warp interaction resetting key threats. Midgame saw the Tymna/Vial Smasher player establishing a strong board presence with lifelink angels and synergy pieces like Archangel of Thune, boosting their creatures while dealing incremental damage through Vial Smasher's triggered damage.
Meanwhile, Captain Vance controlled the pace with fast mana and spells, including casting his commander and utilizing cards like Harnfel, Horn of Bounty and Cleansing Fire to manage threats and generate value.
The bear tribal and token decks continued to develop their boards, with Oviya reaching critical mass with Mycoloth devouring creatures and generating tokens, and Ayula enhancing her bears with anthem effects.
The game featured a tense atmosphere with players balancing aggression and survival, setting up multiple win conditions involving combat damage, token overwhelm, and storm-like burn finishes.
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