CROWS FEAT. @MentalMisplay / HOWLING SALT MINE - S16E7 - SARUMAN v ETALI v BRUSE/THRAS v CORMELA

Deck Strategies

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  Etali, Primal Conqueror

  Utilizes Food Chain to generate infinite mana and repeatedly cast Etali. The deck focuses on exiling opponents' cards and dealing massive damage through this recurring creature, supported by Eldritch Evolution to assemble combo pieces like Dualcaster Mage and Twinflame.

• 

  Thrasios, Triton Hero

  A value and ramp-based deck focused on efficient mana generation and card advantage, supporting a toolbox style that uses interaction and powerful creatures or spells to control the board and build towards a win condition.

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  Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder / Thras

  Aggressive combat-focused deck that aims to double strike and pump creatures to deal large amounts of combat damage quickly, often leveraging synergy with combat triggers and protection spells.

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  Cormela, Glamour Thief

  A control and tempo deck that uses counterspells and bounce effects to disrupt opponents while slowly building advantage with incremental value plays.

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  Saruman of Many Colors

  A versatile five-color deck that leverages powerful interaction, ramp, and card draw to support various combo or value engines, adapting to threats and opportunities in the game.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The Etali player carefully protected their Food Chain combo by making key spells uncounterable and using shushers to prevent counters.

• 2

  Repeated resolving of Etali's attack triggers created a lethal board state by exiling opponents' libraries and generating overwhelming advantage.

• 3

  Players used card draw spells like Windfall and Chain of Vapor early to increase options and fuel their decks’ engines.

• 4

  Eldritch Evolution was strategically used to tutor combo pieces, enabling a lethal infinite combo setup despite heavy interaction.

• 5

  Despite holding multiple interaction spells, opponents were unable to stop the Etali combo due to recursion and protection effects.

Notable Cards

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  Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness

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  Food Chain

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  Eldritch Evolution

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  Dualcaster Mage

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  Twinflame

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  Mental Misstep

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  Chain of Vapor

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  Windfall

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  Vexing Shusher

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  Talisman of Creativity

Summary

The game featured a dynamic multiplayer Commander match with Saruman of Many Colors, Etali, Primal Conqueror, Thrasios, Triton Hero, Bruse Tarl with Thras, and Cormela, Glamour Thief. Early turns saw players developing their mana bases and drawing multiple cards through spells like Windfall and Chain of Vapor, creating a high-card advantage environment. A key turning point occurred when Etali's player established a Food Chain combo, enabling repeated casting of Etali to exile and attack, making Etali a major threat on the battlefield. The game rapidly escalated as players deployed interaction spells, including counters and shushers, but the Etali player managed to protect their combo with uncounterability effects and recursive plays from the graveyard. Eldritch Evolution was used to tutor key combo pieces like Dualcaster Mage and Twinflame, aiming to create infinite combat triggers and damage. Despite significant interaction and disruption from opponents, the Etali player sealed the game by repeatedly casting Etali, leveraging the food chain mana engine and combo synergy to exile opponents’ libraries and secure victory.