Yargle vs Bruse Tarl / Kydele vs Hapatra vs Sliver Queen

Deck Strategies

• 

  Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder / Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix

  Generate card advantage through double strike damage and equipment, then win by dealing large amounts of commander damage quickly.

• 

  Yargle, Glutton of Urborg

  Play Yargle early and boost it with double strike and infect enhancers like Tainted Strike and Grafted Exoskeleton to eliminate players through infect damage.

• 

  Sliver Queen

  Build a defensive board of slivers to protect the commander, then pump and grant evasion to slivers to one-shot opponents with commander damage.

• 

  Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons

  Use -1/-1 counters and snake token generation combined with death trigger outlets to control the board and win via commander damage triggers.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Bill's use of Snapcaster Mage to bounce Hapatra delayed Nate's poison counter generation and board control.

• 2

  Adam's Mental Misstep countered Bill's Mystical Tutor, preventing a crucial card search and slowing down card advantage buildup.

• 3

  Nate L. equipping Sword of Truth and Justice to Yargle was a key offensive play but was countered by Bill's Path to Exile, highlighting the importance of interaction in a commander damage meta.

• 4

  Hapatra's combat damage triggers created deathtouch snakes that effectively weakened Adam's board, demonstrating synergy between -1/-1 counters and board control.

• 5

  Players balanced aggressive early plays with protection of their commanders, as losing them would severely hinder their win conditions.

Notable Cards

• 

  Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder

• 

  Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix

• 

  Yargle, Glutton of Urborg

• 

  Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons

• 

  Sliver Queen

• 

  Sword of Truth and Justice

• 

  Snapcaster Mage

• 

  Mental Misstep

• 

  Path to Exile

• 

  Nest of Scarabs

Summary

The game began with players deploying their commanders and setting up their mana bases quickly to leverage their commander damage strategies. Bill used Bruse Tarl and Kydele to generate card advantage and aimed to equip Bruse with powerful equipment to double strike and finish opponents through commander damage. Nate L. focused on Yargle, Glutton of Urborg, seeking to combo infect damage with equipment like Sword of Truth and Justice to swiftly eliminate players. Adam piloted Sliver Queen, building a defensive sliver army to protect himself before overwhelming opponents with evasive and boosted slivers. The second Nate played Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons, using -1/-1 counter synergies and snake tokens to control the board and assemble combos involving Nest of Scarabs and Death Trigger outlets to win via commander damage triggers. Early turns saw aggressive plays such as Bill tutoring and casting spells to ramp and draw cards, Nate L. equipping Yargle with Sword of Truth and Justice before it was exiled by Bill's Path to Exile, and Adam establishing ramp and defensive slivers. Hapatra began applying pressure by dealing combat damage and generating deathtouch snake tokens, weakening Adam's board. Key moments included Bill's use of Snapcaster Mage to bounce Hapatra, Adam's Mental Misstep stopping Bill's Mystical Tutor, and Nate L.'s Sword of Truth and Justice being removed, slowing infect damage plans. The game revolved around players balancing aggression with protecting their commanders, setting up combos, and manipulating board states to gain advantage in this high-power commander damage-focused match.