Salt Con 10K - Day 1 Round 5 - Marnues v Kinnan v Yuriko v T&T - Mind Over Meta

Deck Strategies

• 

  Marneus Calgar

  A midrange deck that aims to establish a strong board presence using impactful creatures and spells, leveraging synergy to control the game and finish with powerful attacks.

• 

  Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy

  Ramp-focused deck that accelerates mana production through creatures and artifacts to generate large amounts of mana quickly, enabling explosive plays and infinite mana combos.

• 

  Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

  A ninja tribal deck that uses ninjutsu to sneak in unblockable attackers, generating treasure tokens and dealing incremental damage while disrupting opponents.

• 

  Thrasios, Triton Hero & Tymna the Weaver

  A value-oriented deck that prioritizes card advantage and interaction, using Thrasios's ability to filter draws and Tymna's to gain incremental advantage through combat damage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Kinnan's infinite combo involving Basalt Monolith was a major turning point, allowing infinite colorless mana generation and facilitating game-winning plays.

• 2

  Yuriko's use of ninjutsu and treasure token generation added continuous pressure but was limited by lack of interaction in the early game.

• 3

  Players carefully navigated complex card interactions and priority passing, including judge rulings on tricky card resolutions like Limb Doll's Vault.

• 4

  Mana development and sequencing were critical, with players needing to balance ramping with setting up interaction and defenses against combos.

• 5

  The Thrasios/Tymna deck aimed to maximize card advantage and interaction, potentially disrupting opponents' combos and stabilizing the board.

Notable Cards

• 

  Basalt Monolith

• 

  Mox Diamond

• 

  Prosperous Thief

• 

  Flooded Strand

• 

  Watery Grave

• 

  Tithe

Summary

The game featured a diverse set of commanders including Marneus Calgar, Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy, Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow, and a Thrasios/Tymna deck. Early turns saw players developing their mana bases while setting up key pieces such as Mox Diamond and Chromox to ramp into powerful plays. Kinnan successfully established a strong mana ramp engine, leveraging mana creatures and artifact synergy to accelerate his board state. Yuriko focused on stealthy ninjutsu plays, generating treasure tokens and aiming to chip away at opponents through evasive damage. The Thrasios/Tymna deck sought value through card advantage and interaction, while Marneus Calgar's deck prepared for a mid-game presence with impactful creatures and spells. A pivotal turning point came when the player controlling Kinnan activated a combo with Basalt Monolith to generate infinite colorless mana, enabling a decisive advantage by untapping key pieces repeatedly. This mana surge allowed fetching lands and possibly casting high-impact spells ahead of others. Meanwhile, Yuriko's ninja tactics and stealth attacks continued to pressure opponents but lacked immediate interaction to disrupt the combo. The game unfolded with careful sequencing and priority passing, as players attempted to navigate around interaction and maximize their board development. The infinite mana combo hinted at a likely win condition through overwhelming mana generation and subsequent lethal plays or combo finishes.