Deck & Commander Strategies
Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
Build a Merfolk tribal board with multiple tap synergies to generate card advantage and enable unblockable attacks, culminating in powerful alpha strikes via overrun effects.
Tayam, Luminous Enigma
Use low-cost permanents and enchantments to control the board while gaining incremental value from the commander’s ability to bounce and replay permanents.
Anowon, the Ruin Thief
Mill opponents and capitalize on graveyard interactions to disrupt and generate advantage, turning milled cards into card draw and weapon transformations.
Borborygmos Enraged
Ramp aggressively and use landfall triggers to deal direct damage by sacrificing lands, creating large Elemental tokens to finish the game quickly.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Kumena’s use of tapping multiple Merfolk to both draw cards and make the commander unblockable was crucial for maintaining offensive pressure and card advantage.
- 2
Anowon’s milling triggered valuable card draw through Sphinx’s Tutelage and weapon transformations, increasing board presence while disrupting opponents’ resources.
- 3
Borborygmos leveraged ramp to cast large Elemental tokens quickly and used landfall effects to threaten massive damage, putting pressure on all opponents simultaneously.
- 4
Tayam’s bounce and replay effects, such as returning Celestial Sanctuary, were effective in maintaining board control and resetting key enchantments.
- 5
The interaction around Curse of Bounty was pivotal, as it allowed Kumena to untap permanents and maintain tempo, especially during combat phases.
- 6
Barrel’s Expertise was used strategically to remove a key permanent and cast a Merfolk for free, exemplifying efficient use of resources midgame.
Notable Cards
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Curse of Bounty
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Crucible of Worlds
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Sphinx's Tutelage
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Vanquisher's Banner
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Heroic Intervention
Gameplay Summary
The game began with each player establishing their board through steady land drops and early plays that set the stage for their respective strategies.
Kumena focused on building a Merfolk tribal army, leveraging tap abilities and multiple overrun effects to generate card draw and evasive attackers.
Tayam aimed to control the board with cheap permanents and enchantments while generating value through his commander’s abilities.
Anowon took a more rogue-like approach, milling opponents and utilizing graveyard interactions to disrupt the game.
Borborygmos Enraged centered on ramping aggressively and leveraging landfall triggers to deal massive damage by throwing lands at opponents' faces. Early combat exchanges involved Kumena consistently applying pressure through unblockable attacks and card draw.
Key plays included casting Deep Root Waters to generate tokens and tapping Merfolk for buffs and evasion.
Anowon’s milling triggered card draw and weapon transformations, increasing the threat level while disrupting opponents.
Borborygmos quickly ramped into powerful Elemental tokens and began swinging big, threatening large chunks of damage.
Tayam provided board control and bounce effects to manage threats.
The game’s tempo shifted as players balanced aggression with interaction, with Kumena’s Overrun synergies and Borborygmos’ explosive landfall damage serving as primary win conditions.
The interactions around Curse of Bounty and defensive blocks highlighted the tactical depth and timing importance in the midgame phase.
