Deck Strategies
Neriv, Heart of the Storm
Focuses on doubling damage from creatures that enter the battlefield to quickly pressure opponents and close out games through high-impact combat damage.
Teval, the Balanced Scale
Uses milling and land recursion to generate zombie tokens and maintain board presence, leveraging graveyard resources to outvalue opponents.
Betor, Ancestor's Voice
Gains life to grow creatures with +1/+1 counters and recasts creatures from the graveyard, creating a resilient and growing board state.
Ureni of the Unwritten
Ramp and mill heavily to cheat dragons onto the battlefield from the library, combining landfall triggers and graveyard recursion for explosive plays.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Mar’s use of Neriv’s damage doubling synergized well with creatures entering the battlefield, creating significant pressure on opponents.
- 2
Mike’s aggressive milling and landfall ramp enabled him to cheat multiple dragons onto the battlefield quickly, turning the tide with explosive plays.
- 3
Eric’s life gain synergy with Betor allowed him to distribute +1/+1 counters effectively, growing his board while also leveraging graveyard recursion.
- 4
Belle’s milling and land recursion with Teval generated zombie tokens which helped maintain board presence and create incremental advantage.
- 5
The interaction between life gain triggers and life loss effects (notably with Dena, Soul Steeper) created a constant attrition dynamic among players.
- 6
Use of cards like Silven Library and Elemental Bond maximized card draw and board development, fueling each player’s strategy.
- 7
Strategic land sacrifices and fetches (such as Marsh Flats to Temple Garden) and mana acceleration were critical to enabling the bigger dragon spells early.
Notable Cards
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Neriv, Heart of the Storm
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Teval, the Balanced Scale
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Betor, Ancestor's Voice
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Ureni of the Unwritten
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Cultivate
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Reanimate
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Elemental Bond
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Exemplar of Light
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Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
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Growth Spiral
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Esper Sentinel
Summary
The game began with all four players developing their boards while focusing on their spirit dragon commanders and synergistic tribal strategies. Mar with Neriv, Heart of the Storm, ramped quickly and set up an engine to double damage from creatures that entered the battlefield. Belle’s Teval, the Balanced Scale, leveraged mill and land recursion to create zombie tokens and maintain board presence, while Eric’s Betor, Ancestor's Voice, centered around life gain and distributing +1/+1 counters to grow his creatures and recast creatures from the graveyard. Mike piloted Ureni of the Unwritten, generating value by cheating dragons from the top cards of his library and using heavy landfall synergy to ramp and mill aggressively. Key turning points included Mike’s explosive landfall plays and massive milling to fuel his graveyard interactions, enabling powerful reanimation and board presence. Eric's life gain and counter distribution proved pivotal in growing his board and pressuring opponents. Belle’s continuous milling and zombie token creation, combined with land recursion, kept her resilient against aggressive swings. Mar’s damage doubling from Neriv threatened to end the game quickly once creatures started dealing combat damage, making his threats particularly dangerous. The interplay of life gain, milling, and reanimation created a dynamic and interactive board state with multiple win conditions vying for dominance.
