Pantlaza, Sun-Favored 🆚 Thalia and Gitrog Monster 🆚 Herigast, Erupting Nullkite 🆚 Maelstrom Wanderer

Deck Strategies

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  Pantlaza, Sun-Favored

  Ramp quickly and leverage dinosaur tribal synergies to flood the board with dinosaurs, using the commander’s discover ability to find more ramp and creatures.

• 

  Thalia and The Gitrog Monster

  Utilize landfall and aristocrat synergies to generate tokens, sacrifice creatures for value, and control the board while drawing cards and pressuring opponents.

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  Herigast, Erupting Nullkite

  Discount casting of large Eldrazi creatures using emerge, enabling fast deployment of high-impact threats to dominate the board.

• 

  Maelstrom Wanderer

  Cast big spells with cascade triggers to generate value and disrupt opponents, using extra mana and cascade to chain multiple powerful spells in a single turn.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The use of cascade by Maelstrom Wanderer to chain multiple powerful spells, including Blasphemous Act, created a major board reset that shifted the game tempo.

• 2

  Will's Flame Shadow Conjuring allowed him to create haste copies of creatures, enabling aggressive attacks and timely responses after board wipes.

• 3

  Cliff’s sacrifice of creatures and lands triggered strong aristocrat synergies from Thalia and Gitrog Monster to maintain card advantage and board presence.

• 4

  Adam’s use of Elvish Piper to cheat in large creatures like Paragen Drake helped accelerate his mana base and board development.

• 5

  The casting and subsequent destruction of Ulamog the Defiler was a pivotal moment, as it exiled a large portion of Will’s library but was negated by a well-timed removal spell.

• 6

  The interplay between token generation, sacrifice effects, and cascade spells kept all players reactive and adaptive throughout the game.

Notable Cards

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  Pantlaza, Sun-Favored

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  Thalia and The Gitrog Monster

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  Herigast, Erupting Nullkite

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  Maelstrom Wanderer

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  Elvish Piper

• 

  Blasphemous Act

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  Terror of the Peaks

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  Sundering Eruption // Volcanic Fissure

• 

  Stroke of Midnight

Summary

The game started with a strong focus on ramping and setting up powerful commanders. Will, playing Pantlaza, Sun-Favored, aimed to ramp quickly and generate dinosaur tokens through his Commander's ability, enabling a strong tribal presence. Cliff's Thalia and The Gitrog Monster deck leveraged landfall triggers and aristocrat synergies to create tokens and generate value through sacrifice. The Herigast, Erupting Nullkite deck, piloted by the narrator, focused on casting big Eldrazi creatures at a discount using the emerge mechanic, setting up board presence and control. Adam's Maelstrom Wanderer deck aimed to cast big spells and utilize cascade triggers to maintain tempo and pressure opponents with splashy plays. Early in the game, ramp and Commander deployment shaped the board state. Will's Pantlaza helped discover additional dinosaurs, enabling him to build a large board. Cliff's Thalia and Gitrog Monster applied pressure through token generation and sacrifice, while Adam used cascade to generate value and disrupt opponents. A key turning point was Adam's casting of Maelstrom Wanderer, cascading into multiple spells including Blasphemous Act, which wiped the board and reset the game state. Will then leveraged his dinosaurs and additional spells like Shadow Conjuring to rebuild quickly, while Cliff cast powerful aristocrat creatures to regain board control. The game saw significant interaction with spells like Ulamog the Defiler being cast to exile a large portion of Will's library, only to be destroyed by a well-timed strike from Cliff. The interplay of massive creatures, cascade spells, and landfall triggers kept the game dynamic and volatile, with players constantly adapting to board wipes and threats. The game was centered on establishing dominant board presence through large creatures and token generation, with win conditions revolving around overwhelming opponents via combat damage and value engine synergies.