MIDIAN FEAT. @MentalMisplay / HOWLING SALT MINE - S16E8 - ETALI v BRUSE/THRAS v SISAY v SARUMAN VOD

Deck Strategies

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  Etali, Primal Conqueror

  Aggressive combat-focused deck that aims to deal damage through commander attacks, often capitalizing on Etali's ability to cast spells from opponents' decks to gain card advantage and tempo.

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  Thrasios, Triton Hero

  A combo and value engine deck that uses infinite mana combos and card draw engines to dig through the deck and assemble win conditions, often supported by Food Chain and other mana accelerants.

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  Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder

  A combat and token synergy deck that uses Bruse Tarl and Tana as a duo to double strike and overwhelm opponents through combat damage and token creation.

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  Sisay, Weatherlight Captain

  Legend tribal and toolbox deck that fetches key legendary permanents to generate value and assemble combos or powerful board states.

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  Saruman of Many Colors

  A five-color control and combo deck that leverages the versatility of access to all colors to deploy powerful spells, interact with opponents, and assemble game-winning combos.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The casting of Dockside Extortionist created an overwhelming mana advantage that was crucial to enabling the combo-heavy late game.

• 2

  Playing around opposing counterspells by timing key spells such as Fastest Oracle and using tutors allowed the player to maintain card advantage and secure the win.

• 3

  Using protective spells like Force of Negation and Flusterstorm in response to disruption was pivotal in preserving the winning combo sequence.

• 4

  Discarding cards strategically with Windfall to limit opponents' retaliation showed high-level resource denial and timing.

• 5

  The interaction of multiple tutors (Vampiric Tutor, Imperial Seal, Mystical Tutor) enabled precise deck manipulation to assemble the combo pieces efficiently.

Notable Cards

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  Dockside Extortionist

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  Mystic Remora

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  Manglehorn

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  Vampiric Tutor

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  Imperial Seal

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  Force of Negation

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  Mystical Tutor

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  Flusterstorm

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  Food Chain

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  Phantasmal Image

Summary

The game started with players setting up their mana bases and early board presence, including ramp spells like Wild Growth and Soul Ring, as well as disruptive elements such as Manglehorn and Mystic Remora. Early combat damage was exchanged, and players jockeyed for card advantage and board control. A pivotal moment occurred when a player cast Dockside Extortionist, generating a massive number of Treasure tokens, significantly accelerating their mana resources. This explosive mana advantage enabled powerful plays such as casting Thrasios, Triton Hero, and setting up combos involving cards like Dark Side and Food Chain. The board state became highly interactive with counters, removal, and spells like Vampiric Tutor and Imperial Seal being used to sculpt hands and maintain tempo. The game's climax involved a complex stack interaction where a player used Force of Negation, Mystical Tutor, Flusterstorm, and Breakthrough to protect a key combo piece, Fastest Oracle, from disruption. Despite heavy counterspell action, the player successfully resolved their spell chain, drawing through their deck and securing a winning sequence. The game ended with the deck's ability to leverage massive Treasure generation and card draw combos to overwhelm opponents, highlighting the importance of timing and resource management in high-powered Commander gameplay.