Deck & Commander Strategies
Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir
A Knight tribal deck that relies on playing knights to generate card advantage and create tokens, building a wide board and attacking for incremental value and damage.
Kaervek the Merciless
A punisher deck that punishes opponents for casting spells by dealing damage equal to the spell's mana value, combined with direct damage spells and removal to control the board and pressure life totals.
Dina, Soul Steeper
A life gain and drain deck that gains life to draw cards and uses life loss effects to weaken opponents, aiming to outlast or out-value opponents through incremental life swings.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
John’s use of Sidar Jabari to draw cards and create tokens with knights helped maintain pressure and card advantage throughout the game.
- 2
Corey’s Kaervek punished opponents every time they cast spells, effectively discouraging excessive spell casting and dealing incremental damage.
- 3
Dylan’s life gain strategy was hindered by Corey's artifact destruction and burn spells, limiting his ability to leverage life gain synergies.
- 4
The board wipe that removed all creatures with power greater than one was a pivotal moment, drastically reducing board presence and slowing the game tempo.
- 5
Exiling John’s commander temporarily with Kaervek’s ability was a strong play to limit John's knight recursion and board development.
- 6
John’s repeated commander recasts and aggressive attacks with knights kept consistent pressure on opponents despite setbacks.
Notable Cards
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Vampire Nighthawk
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Wayfarer's Bauble
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Radiant Fountain
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Simulacrum
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Stormfist Crusader
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Breath of Malfegor
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Fiery Confluence
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Well of Lost Dreams
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Vanquisher's Banner
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Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
Gameplay Summary
The game started with typical ramp and mana development from all three players.
John, playing a Knight tribal deck, focused on casting knights to draw cards and create tokens, leveraging his commander’s ability to generate value from knight attacks.
Corey's Kaervek the Merciless punisher deck dealt damage to opponents whenever they cast spells, using creatures like Vampire Nighthawk and burn spells to chip away at life totals.
Dylan piloted an upgraded Dina, Soul Steeper life-gain deck, aiming to drain life from opponents and capitalize on life-gain synergies to draw cards and stabilize. Early skirmishes featured Corey casting burn and punisher spells, while John tried to develop a board of knights supported by anthem effects and card draw.
Dylan attempted to gain life and maintain board presence but was disrupted by Corey's removal and burn spells.
A pivotal moment occurred when John wiped the board of creatures with a mass removal spell, significantly slowing down the board state, though Corey's and Dylan's key creatures with lower power survived.
Later, Corey used Kaervek's exile ability to remove John's commander temporarily, while John responded with card advantage plays and aggressive attacks with knights.
The game saw a back and forth of damage, life gain, and board wipes as each player sought to push their deck's advantage towards a win condition either through combat damage, attrition, or life drain.
