1 Tix Decks | Commander Clash | S10 E19

Deck Strategies

• 

  Brion Stoutarm

  Use Brion's ability to sacrifice stolen creatures to deal damage directly to opponents, leveraging cheap steal effects to take control of opponents' creatures and throw them as damage.

• 

  Ghalta, Primal Hunger

  Ramp into big green creatures cheaply available in the budget format, aiming to overwhelm opponents with large threats and use Ghalta's cost reduction to play massive creatures early.

• 

  Gadwick, the Wizened

  Play a blue tempo/control deck that uses cheap cantrips and counterspells to draw cards and disrupt opponents, slowly gaining card advantage and controlling the board.

• 

  Dralnu, Lich Lord

  A spellslinger deck that casts and sacrifices instants and sorceries to draw cards and leverage Dralnu's damage-based draw ability, focusing on spell interactions and incremental advantage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Players had to creatively cut powerful cards to meet the strict budget, resulting in a deck filled with unexpected budget gems and mostly basic lands.

• 2

  Brion Stoutarm's ability to steal and sacrifice creatures created political tension, especially with Ghalta being a prime target for theft and damage redirection.

• 3

  The blue players' counterspells significantly slowed down the green ramp decks, forcing careful timing and sequencing of plays.

• 4

  Despite budget constraints, some cards like Sylvan Library and Casella Blade of Golden Knight were included as cheap online options that provided card advantage or combat utility.

• 5

  The combination of steal effects and fling damage led to dynamic combat phases, where board state control shifted rapidly depending on who controlled key creatures.

• 6

  Resource management and mulligan decisions were critical given the limited mana ramp and spells available, influencing early tempo and development.

Notable Cards

• 

  Act of Treason

• 

  Ghalta, Primal Hunger

• 

  Faithless Looting

• 

  Sylvan Library

• 

  Essence Scatter

• 

  Frantic Search

Summary

In this Commander Clash game, each player piloted a deck built under the extreme budget restriction of costing only one ticket (roughly $1) on Magic Online. Seth ran Brion Stoutarm, focusing on stealing creatures with steal effects like Act of Treason and flinging them at opponents with Brion's ability. Richard chose Ghalta, Primal Hunger, leveraging big green creatures and maximizing the value of cheap ramp and creatures to smash opponents. Karim played Gadwick, the Wizened, aiming for a classic blue tempo and control game with cheap spells to draw cards and control the board. Tim piloted Dralnu, Lich Lord, a spellslinger deck that utilized low-cost instants and sorceries and sought to leverage Dralnu's ability to draw cards equal to the number of spells sacrificed when taking damage. The game unfolded with players navigating the severe budget constraints, leading to an unusual card pool and minimal mana ramp options, mostly relying on basic lands and very cheap cards. Brion's strategy to steal and fling creatures added a layer of political tension, especially with Ghalta on the battlefield as a potential target. The blue decks (Gadwick and Dralnu) posed a significant counterspell threat, making it challenging for the green decks to resolve their larger threats. Early turns saw careful resource management and attempts to establish board presence despite the limited card quality. The interaction of steal effects and large creatures like Ghalta created dynamic combat phases and shifting alliances. The match highlighted how even with extreme budget restrictions, each deck's identity and synergy remained intact, culminating in a battle of attrition and tactical maneuvering rather than explosive combos or high-powered plays.