Deck Strategies
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
Control the board with stax elements like Winter Orb and Aura of Silence, ramp aggressively with mana dorks, and execute an infinite turn combo with Nexus of Fate triggered by Cephalid Illusionist and Naru Meha, Master Wizard.
Kambal, Consul of Allocation
Drain opponents' life through Kambal's taxing triggers, maintain life advantage, and win via infinite ETB combos involving Leonin Relic-Warder, Animate Dead, and a ping effect creature for incremental damage.
Aminatou, the Fateshifter
Leverage Aminatou's blink ability to generate infinite ETB triggers using creatures like Felidar Guardian, mill opponents with Altar of the Brood, and utilize mana consultation lines combined with Laboratory Maniac for a combo finish.
Yahenni, Undying Partisan
Use reanimation and sacrifice synergies with creatures like Reassembling Skeleton and mana engines like Phyrexian Altar to create infinite ETB loops, aiming to drain opponents' resources and close out the game.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Joseph used Derevi’s enter-the-battlefield trigger to untap lands and cast a Brainstorm, optimizing card selection while paying life to Bill’s Kambal triggers.
- 2
Bill leveraged Kambal’s life drain triggers effectively to gain incremental life while keeping opponents’ life totals low, enabling his combo setup.
- 3
Adam made a pivotal play casting Force of Will to counter Joseph’s Pact of Negation, allowing his Toxic Deluge to clear the board and reset the game state.
- 4
Nate’s early aggressive mana acceleration with Dark Ritual and Mana Crypt allowed him to establish board presence quickly with Yahenni and reanimation targets.
- 5
The board wipe from Toxic Deluge significantly shifted momentum, demonstrating the importance of timely mass removal in stax and combo matchups.
- 6
Players carefully managed life totals and card advantage, with multiple counterspells and protection effects influencing the flow and tempo of the game.
Notable Cards
Nexus of Fate
Aura of Silence
Ad Nauseam
Leonin Relic-Warder
Animate Dead
Felidar Guardian
Altar of the Brood
Mana Crypt
Dark Ritual
Toxic Deluge
Force of Will
Peregrine Drake
Midnight Reaper
Pact of Negation
Summary
The game starts with all four players developing their boards and setting up their strategies. Joseph on Derevi focuses on a stack-oriented Bant deck, aiming to slow the board with stax pieces and generate infinite turns through Nexus of Fate combo. Bill on Kambal applies pressure by lowering opponents' life totals and gaining life, planning to leverage Ad Nauseam or Necropotence for card advantage and ultimately infinite ETB triggers with Leonin Relic-Warder and Animate Dead. Adam pilots Aminatou, utilizing blink combos with Flickerwisp and Altar of the Brood to mill opponents out, opting for a classic mana consultation line without Thassa's Oracle. Nate plays Yahenni, emphasizing reanimation combos with creatures like Reassembling Skeleton and mana generators to create infinite ETB loops and win through value and damage.