̶U̶P̶ DOWNGRADED PRECONS from Lost Caverns of Ixalan

Deck Strategies

• 

  Hakbal of the Surging Soul

  A merfolk tribal deck focusing on synergy through +1/+1 counters and controlling the tempo by tapping opponents' creatures, ramping with artifacts like Sol Ring, and deploying creatures that grow with each new merfolk entering the battlefield.

• 

  Admiral Brass, Unsinkable

  Aggressive pirate tribal deck that boosts other pirates and uses combat damage triggers to gain control of opponent's nonland permanents, while disrupting opponents by tapping down key creatures.

• 

  Pantlaza, Sun-Favored

  Dinosaur tribal deck leveraging the discover mechanic to find and cast large threats efficiently, capitalizing on ramp and powerful creatures to dominate the battlefield.

• 

  Clavileño, First of the Blessed

  Vampire tribal deck that generates tokens on creature death, taps down opponents' creatures to hinder their plays, and uses synergy between vampires and demons to overwhelm opponents.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The vampire deck effectively used the tapping mechanic from Merchant Raiders to keep opponents' creatures tapped, slowing down their ability to respond or attack.

• 2

  The dinosaur deck's use of the discover mechanic allowed for efficient casting of threats like Raging Regisaur, maintaining pressure while ramping.

• 3

  Admiral Brass capitalized on dealing combat damage with multiple pirates to gain control of powerful nonland permanents, shifting board control in the pirate player's favor.

• 4

  The interaction between Charismatic Conqueror and adversaries' untapped creatures created a tactical choice for opponents, forcing them to either tap their permanents or allow vampire tokens to be created.

• 5

  Malcolm, the Alluring provided card advantage and potential free casting through its cumulative counters, synergizing well with the pirate deck's disruption.

Notable Cards

• 

  Admiral Brass, Unsinkable

• 

  Charismatic Conqueror

• 

  Merchant Raiders

• 

  Raging Regisaur

Summary

The game began with all four players deploying their tribal preconstructed decks centered around pirates, vampires, merfolk, and dinosaurs. Early turns focused on land development and establishing board presence with key tribal synergy pieces like Deep Root Elite for Merfolk and Charismatic Conqueror for Vampires, which created a dynamic of tapping and untapping permanents to control the board state. The vampire player leveraged token generation and tapping effects to slow opponents, while the dinosaur deck used the discover mechanic to ramp and cast powerful threats like Raging Regisaur. The pirate deck capitalized on aggressive tapping and control elements through Admiral Brass, who enhanced other pirates and allowed theft of opponents' nonland permanents after dealing combat damage with multiple pirates.