Commander Gameplay #29 - Neyith v. Tinybones v. Chainer, Dementia Master v. Raff Capashen [MtG]

Deck Strategies

• Neyith, of the Dire Hunt

  A Gruul fight tribal deck that combines aggressive creature combat and goodstuff ramp to dominate the board through creature fights and efficient threats.

• 

  Tinybones, Trinket Thief

  A monoblack disruption deck focusing on discard, removal, and incremental advantage through Tinybones' ability to draw cards and drain life with opponents discarding.

• 

  Chainer, Dementia Master

  Mono-black reanimation deck that fills the graveyard and recurs powerful creatures by paying life, leveraging creatures like Crick, Son of Yawgmoth and Harvester of Souls to control the board.

• 

  Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage

  A combo and control deck centered on flash creatures and spell copying, using Raff's ability to generate card advantage and disrupt opponents while assembling combos.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Mark's use of Smallpox and Death Cloud effectively disrupted all opponents by forcing sacrifices and discards, weakening their boards and hands simultaneously.

• 2

  Danny's use of flash and counterspells, including flashing in Raff and negating key spells like Necropotence and Decree of Pain, maintained control and card advantage.

• 3

  Randall maximized value from Outpost Siege by exiling powerful creatures and casting them ahead of curve, leveraging fight and ramp synergies to maintain board presence.

• 4

  Devon's sequencing of Chainer reanimation combined with life payment to bring back impactful creatures allowed for continuous pressure and creature utility despite board wipes.

• 5

  The double Decree of Pain board wipe by Mark and Danny caused a significant swing in card advantage, with Danny drawing six cards and resetting the board, demonstrating the potency of spell-copying in control strategies.

• 6

  Players had to carefully manage their life totals as many powerful spells required life payments, balancing aggression with survival.

• 7

  Tinybones' ability to draw cards on opponents' discards and life loss created incremental advantage that sustained Mark's disruption and control over the game.

Notable Cards

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  Tinybones, Trinket Thief

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  Chainer, Dementia Master

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  Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage

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  Domri, Anarch of Bolas

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  Outpost Siege

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  Decree of Pain

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  Smallpox

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  Necropotence

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  Gilded Lotus

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  Noxious Gearhulk

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  Harvester of Souls

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  Vilis, Broker of Blood

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  Death Cloud

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  Kytheon, Hero of Akros // Gideon, Battle-Forged

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  Ravager Wurm

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  Kessig Wolf Run

Summary

The game featured four diverse Commander decks with distinct strategies, creating a dynamic and interaction-heavy match. Early turns saw players establishing their boards with ramp and disruption, such as Mark's Tinybones, Trinket Thief deploying discard and removal spells, and Randall's Neyith, of the Dire Hunt focusing on fight tribal synergies with ramp and creatures. Devon's Chainer, Dementia Master utilized graveyard recursion and life payment to cast powerful creatures like Crick, Son of Yawgmoth and Harvester of Souls, while Danny's Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage employed flash and spell-copying to control the board and dig through his deck. Key turning points included multiple board wipes—most notably Mark's Decree of Pain and its copy by Danny—resetting the board and causing significant card draw swings. Mark's use of Smallpox and Hymn to Tourach further disrupted opponents' resources, while Devon's reanimation of Noxious Gearhulk to destroy Raff highlighted the intensity of creature interactions. Randall leveraged Outpost Siege repeatedly to exile and cast powerful threats like Dragonlord Atarka and Teamer Sabretooth, enabling strong board presence. The game was marked by intense resource management, discard and sacrifice effects, and careful timing with flash spells and counterspells. The interplay of graveyard recursion, discard, and fight mechanics shaped the battle, with Tinybones and Neyith's aggressive disruption contrasting Raff's combo and control elements.