Deck Strategies
Ratchet, Field Medic // Ratchet, Rescue Racer
Focuses on gaining life to recur artifact cards from the graveyard to the battlefield, generating card advantage and board presence through artifact synergies and life gain triggers.
Blaster, Combat DJ // Blaster, Morale Booster
Builds up artifact creatures with +1/+1 counters and uses sacrifice outlets to grow threats and maximize counter stacking, aiming for overwhelming board presence.
Soundwave, Sonic Spy // Soundwave, Superior Captain
Generates numerous tokens, often unblockable or evasive, and uses graveyard spells to gain incremental value and pressure opponents through repeated spellcasts from opponents’ graveyards.
Cyclonus, the Saboteur // Cyclonus, Cybertronian Fighter
Takes extra beginning phases to double trigger upkeep and draw effects, aiming to leverage these additional phases for card advantage and potential win conditions like Triskaidekaphile.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Using Rune Crab to mill opponents early enabled graveyard synergies and powered multiple players’ strategies by providing key cards for recursion or flashback.
- 2
Ratchet’s life gain triggers paired with artifact recursion created a strong engine that drew cards and stabilized his board state.
- 3
Blaster’s combination of +1/+1 counter doublers and artifact sacrifice outlets allowed for scalable threats that could grow out of control if unchecked.
- 4
Cyclonus’s extra beginning phases were leveraged to double upkeep triggers, improving card draw and enabling potential unexpected win conditions.
- 5
Strategic trading of creatures and careful management of life totals were essential to maintaining board presence and avoiding early elimination.
Notable Cards
Implement of Improvement
Aetherflux Reservoir
Arcane Signet
Branching Evolution
Keen Duelist
Vanguard Suppressor
Summary
The game featured four players piloting decks themed around Transformers commanders, each leveraging their unique synergies. Early turns involved setting up mana bases and establishing key pieces like Rune Crab to mill opponents and artifact creatures such as Mirror Retriever to generate value. Ratchet's deck focused on life gain and artifact recursion, using cards like Implement of Improvement and Aetherflux Reservoir to stabilize and draw cards. Melissa's Blaster deck aimed to build up artifact creatures with +1/+1 counters and sacrifice outlets to grow threats exponentially, while MTG Nerd Girl's Soundwave deck generated tokens and utilized graveyard spells for repeated value. Veggie Wagon's Cyclonus deck exploited extra beginning phases for doubling triggers and aimed for sneaky wins with cards like Triskaidekaphile. The milling strategy from Rune Crab proved pivotal early on, fueling graveyard interactions for several players. Key plays included Ratchet casting his commander to recur artifacts and gain life, and Blaster leveraging +1/+1 counters and artifact synergy to threaten the board. The game was marked by incremental advantage gained through value engines and strategic trading, with players carefully managing combat, life totals, and graveyard interactions to position themselves for a late-game win.