OUR FASTEST GAME EVER?! – Obeka vs Stella Lee vs Nekusar vs Kalamax – Manasplaining #17

Deck Strategies

• 

  Obeka, Splitter of Seconds

  Focuses on dealing combat damage to trigger multiple additional upkeep phases, enabling powerful upkeep triggers and combos to quickly generate overwhelming board and card advantage.

• 

  Kalamax, the Stormsire

  Aims to copy instants spells when Kalamax is tapped, gaining +1/+1 counters and growing into a big threat that can be flung to finish the game, leveraging aggressive spell casting.

• 

  Nekusar, the Mindrazer

  Uses forced card draws to deal damage to opponents each turn, combined with discard and hand disruption to control the table and slowly drain opponent life totals.

• 

  Stella Lee, Wild Card

  An instant-sorcery focused deck that exiles cards to play them next turn and copies instants and sorceries to maximize spell output and value, emphasizing cheap, repetitive spell casting.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Defense Grid significantly slowed down reactive plays by increasing the cost of spells on opponents' turns, shaping the tempo of the game.

• 2

  Obeka’s ability to generate multiple additional upkeep phases was exploited immediately after dealing combat damage, allowing rapid triggering of upkeep-dependent effects.

• 3

  Kalamax’s growth via copying instants created a looming threat that pressured opponents to act quickly or be overwhelmed.

• 4

  The interaction between bounce lands and spell recursion enabled Stella Lee to maintain a steady flow of spells, enhancing her deck’s synergy.

• 5

  Nekusar’s damage from forced draws combined with discard disruption maintained continuous pressure on opponents’ resources.

• 6

  Playing multiple cheap instants and sorceries in sequence allowed Stella Lee to meet her commander’s copy activation conditions, maximizing spell output.

• 7

  The game’s pace was accelerated by early mana ramp and artifact plays, enabling explosive turns and rapid board development.

Notable Cards

• 

  Defense Grid

• 

  Obeka, Splitter of Seconds

• 

  Kalamax, the Stormsire

• 

  Nekusar, the Mindrazer

• 

  Stella Lee, Wild Card

• 

  Merchant Scroll

• 

  Wasteland

• 

  Mind Stone

• 

  Courser of Kruphix

• 

  Zenith Chronicler

Summary

The game started with all players aiming for a fast-paced, combo-heavy playstyle, each piloting aggressive and synergy-driven decks. Kalamax quickly established a board presence with elemental and spell-copying mechanics, growing his threat size with each instant cast. Stella Lee leveraged a cascade of cheap instants and sorceries to maintain tempo and card advantage, while Nekusar focused on forcing card draws from opponents to deal incremental damage and disrupt their hands. Obeka, with its unique ability to grant extra upkeep phases upon dealing combat damage, aimed to exploit this for additional value and tempo swings. Early turns saw rapid land drops, mana acceleration, and the deployment of key artifacts like Defense Grid to hinder opponents' reactive plays. Obeka managed to hit early combat damage, triggering multiple upkeep phases that fueled a flurry of upkeep-based effects. Meanwhile, Nekusar's strategy pressured the table with damage from forced draws, while Kalamax and Stella Lee continued to chain spells and generate advantage. The game escalated quickly as spells were copied and triggered repeatedly, with notable plays involving bounce lands, recursive spell casting, and leveraging tokens. The climax featured Obeka capitalizing on numerous upkeep triggers to overwhelm opponents, while Nekusar's damage from card draw and Stella Lee's spell-slinging kept the pace frantic. Ultimately, the synergy around Obeka’s multiple upkeep steps and spell interactions led to a swift and decisive victory, making this one of the fastest games played on the channel.