Deck & Commander Strategies
Azusa, Lost but Seeking
Ramp aggressively by playing multiple lands each turn to generate elemental tokens with landfall triggers, using spells like Sigarda's Horizon and Arc of Veraska to accelerate mana and card draw, aiming to overwhelm opponents through a growing board and landfall synergies.
Ghired, Conclave Exile
Create larger rhino tokens and use token doubling effects like Anointed Procession to populate and multiply tokens. Combine this with burn effects from Warstorm Surge and Terror of the Peaks to control the board and finish opponents with direct damage and overwhelming token presence.
Krenko, Mob Boss
Explode early with goblin token generation using creatures like Goblin Lackey, Beetleback Chief, and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, leveraging mana acceleration from Ruby Medallion to generate a massive army quickly and win with overwhelming combat damage or burn spells like Fervor and Throne of the God-Pharaoh.
Hazezon Tamar
Swarm the battlefield with many small tokens by exploiting landfall triggers combined with token generators such as Voice of Plenty and Sakura-Tribe Elder. Build a wide board to apply pressure and capitalize on incremental value from token synergies.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Krenko's early token generation was turbocharged by Goblin Lackey and Beetleback Chief, enabling explosive token creation and early combat threats.
- 2
Azusa’s strategy of ramping and seeking lands each turn allowed steady token production but struggled against board wipes.
- 3
Ghired’s use of Garruk's Belligerence to clear opposing tokens while populating twice as many rhinos with Anointed Procession decisively swung the game in his favor.
- 4
Deflecting Swat was used strategically to redirect a burn spell targeting a critical mana source, preserving key ramp elements.
- 5
Despite Krenko’s early aggression, the board wipe and token multiplication effects from Ghired led to a dominant late-game presence that forced concessions.
Notable Cards
-
Goblin Lackey
-
Beetleback Chief
-
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
-
Ruby Medallion
-
Anointed Procession
-
Warstorm Surge
-
Terror of the Peaks
-
Sakura-Tribe Elder
-
Fervor
-
Throne of the God-Pharaoh
Gameplay Summary
The game featured a classic Naya token battle among four commanders, each with distinct strategies.
Krenko, Mob Boss, led the aggressive goblin tribal deck, quickly generating a wide board of goblin tokens with synergy between Goblin Lackey, Beetleback Chief, and Krenko’s ability to flood the battlefield.
Azusa, Lost but Seeking, focused on ramping aggressively with landfall and mana acceleration, creating elemental tokens and searching for additional lands to maintain pressure.
Hazezon Tamar aimed to swarm the board with many small tokens by leveraging his landfall synergy and token generators like Voice of Plenty, while Ghired, Conclave Exile, emphasized producing larger rhino tokens and enhancing them with burn effects like Warstorm Surge and Terror of the Peaks for a more midrange token strategy. A key turning point came when Ghired cast Garruk's Belligerence with a high mana investment, which triggered a massive board wipe that destroyed many tokens from Azusa and Krenko’s sides, but due to Anointed Procession, Ghired was able to populate twice as many rhino tokens, effectively overwhelming the board.
This decisive swing led to Ghired’s victory as the opponents conceded, recognizing the futility of contesting the overwhelming token presence.
Throughout the game, the interplay between token generation, ramp, and combat damage shaped the tempo, with Krenko providing early aggression and Ghired stabilizing and finishing with a devastating late-game board state. The game showcased the strengths and weaknesses of each deck archetype: Krenko’s explosive but fragile token swarm, Azusa’s steady ramp and landfall synergy, Hazezon’s wide token spread with incremental value, and Ghired’s powerful midrange token build that converted board wipes into overwhelming advantage.
The strategic use of populates and token multipliers was crucial in turning the tide in Ghired’s favor.