Deck & Commander Strategies
Teval, the Balanced Scale
Mill cards to generate zombie tokens and recur lands from the graveyard, creating a growing board presence to overwhelm opponents.
Felothar the Steadfast
Convert creature toughness into combat damage and allow defenders to attack, using high toughness creatures and equipment to deal heavy damage.
Ureni of the Unwritten
Cheat out large dragons with impactful enter-the-battlefield effects, blinking and copying creatures to maximize damage and value.
Shiko and Narset, Unified
Cast numerous cantrips to generate card advantage, produce tokens, and assemble a lethal board state through incremental value.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Felothar's ability to let defender creatures attack and assign combat damage based on toughness created unexpected offensive threats that disrupted opponents' usual defense plans.
- 2
Teval's combination of milling cards and creating zombie tokens generated a persistent threat that pressured opponents even while its main pieces were targeted for removal.
- 3
The use of equipment like Swiftfoot Boots on Felothar ensured evasion and protection, enabling continuous damage output from creatures that normally would be hindered.
- 4
Ureni's strategy of blinking and copying dragons provided strong value but required time to assemble, making it vulnerable to early pressure from Felothar's aggressive board.
- 5
Shiko and Narset's reliance on cantrips and tokens aimed for a late-game overwhelming push but was interrupted by targeted removal and combat damage before reaching critical mass.
Notable Cards
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Felothar the Steadfast
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Teval, the Balanced Scale
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Swiftfoot Boots
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Elemental Bond
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Cover of Darkness
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Parapet Thrasher
Gameplay Summary
The game featured an intense clash between four upgraded Tarkir precon decks, each with distinct strategies.
Early turns saw players ramping and setting up their boards with key lands and utility creatures.
Teval, the Balanced Scale focused on milling cards to generate zombie tokens and recurring lands, steadily growing a board presence.
Felothar the Steadfast leveraged its unique ability to assign combat damage based on toughness, allowing even defender creatures to become offensive threats.
This led to aggressive swings with creatures that normally would not attack, pressuring opponents heavily.
Ureni of the Unwritten aimed to cheat out large dragons and capitalize on their enter-the-battlefield triggers, while Shiko and Narset sought to maximize cantrips and token creation for a lethal strike.
A pivotal moment occurred when Felothar enabled multiple defenders to attack, dealing significant commander damage and destabilizing opponents' defenses.
Meanwhile, Teval's milling and token generation kept a steady pace of threats, but was slowed down by targeted removal and key creature destruction.
Ureni and Shiko both worked towards assembling their combos and value engines, though Felothar's aggressive board state and removal disrupted these plans.
Ultimately, Felothar's ability to convert high toughness creatures into damage dealers and the use of equipment like Swiftfoot Boots allowed it to maintain pressure and close out the game, showcasing a powerful synergy between toughness-based combat and evasion.
