Deck & Commander Strategies
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
Utilizes undying creatures and sacrifice synergies to generate incremental value and control the board, aiming to overwhelm opponents with resilient threats and resource advantage.
Saskia the Unyielding
Focuses on casting creatures whose power and toughness add up to seven to trigger Wild Pair, allowing the deck to cheat powerful creatures into play and apply aggressive pressure with a toolbox approach.
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
Employs low-cost evasive creatures and ninjutsu to deal damage and reveal cards from opponents’ decks, generating card advantage and leveraging time walk effects to gain extra turns.
Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix and Tymna the Weaver (Aetherlich)
Ramp life total aggressively to enable Lich effects and powerful combos, combining card draw and mana ramp to outvalue opponents over time.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Casting Deathgreeter early gave Bill a steady life gain engine that synergized with his sacrifice strategy.
- 2
Eliot’s use of Yuriko’s ninjutsu to attack and reveal cards immediately applied pressure and provided valuable information on his hand.
- 3
Alex’s play of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth created potent mana synergy for Bill’s Yawgmoth deck, accelerating his sacrifice plan.
- 4
Jim’s Wild Pair strategy centered on carefully sequencing creatures to trigger Wild Pair and deploy threats directly onto the battlefield.
- 5
Players focused on developing their mana bases efficiently to enable casting their commanders and supporting spells quickly.
- 6
Early combat was used to chip away at opponents and test defenses without overcommitting, preserving resources for later turns.
Notable Cards
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Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
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Deathgreeter
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Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
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Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
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Wild Pair
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Cloud Pirates
Gameplay Summary
The game started with players establishing their board states and mana bases, with Bill playing a Deathgreeter to gain life whenever creatures die, setting up his mono-black sacrifice-based Yawgmoth, Thran Physician deck.
Early turns featured cautious development, with players deploying lands and low-cost creatures.
Eliot's Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow deck focused on aggressive ninja attacks combined with evasive creatures to trigger Yuriko’s ability and reveal cards from the opponent's deck, generating card advantage through damage.
Bill successfully cast Yawgmoth early, aiming to leverage undying creatures to create a resilient sacrifice engine. Jim’s Saskia Wild Pair deck aimed to trigger Wild Pair by casting creatures whose power and toughness add up to seven, enabling a toolbox style of play.
Alex piloted a complex 4-color Aetherlich build centered on Tymna the Weaver and Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix, focusing on ramping life total to abuse Lich effects.
A key moment was when Eliot ninjutsued Yuriko into combat, revealing an island and drawing attention to his hand composition.
Bill's strategic play of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth by Alex synergized with Yawgmoth’s deck, enhancing black mana production and facilitating sacrifice plays.
The early combat phases mostly involved chip damage and setting up for bigger plays, with Yuriko’s ninja assaults and Yawgmoth’s board development providing the main threats on the table.