Early Access Lost Caverns of Ixalan | EDH Gameplay Ep 28

Deck Strategies

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  Clavileño, First of the Blessed

  A value-oriented Orzhov deck focused on creature sacrifice and incremental advantage through efficient creatures and synergy with Conquistador tribal themes.

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  Pantlaza, Sun-Favored

  A Dinosaur tribal deck aiming to ramp aggressively and deploy large creatures that become more powerful as more lands enter the battlefield.

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  Hakbal of the Surging Soul

  A Merfolk tribal deck leveraging exploration mechanics to put counters on creatures, draw cards, and play lands early, culminating in unblockable damage and strong board presence.

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  Admiral Brass, Unsinkable

  A Pirate tribal deck that generates treasures, recurs pirates from the graveyard, and uses synergistic creatures to maintain tempo and disrupt opponents.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The Merfolk player's use of exploration triggers on multiple creatures each combat step created a powerful engine for card draw and land deployment, significantly speeding up their board development.

• 2

  Making Merfolk unblockable through +1/+1 counters and Hakbal's abilities allowed for efficient damage that opponents struggled to block or mitigate early on.

• 3

  The Pirate deck's early artifact ramp and pirate recursion kept pressure on opponents despite the fast card draw and aggression from other decks.

• 4

  The Dinosaur deck's play of Topiary Stomper, which requires seven lands to attack or block, highlighted the deck's slower but powerful late-game potential needing careful ramping.

• 5

  Discarding synergistic cards like Distant Melody and Arm Mounted Anchor when lacking board state was a necessary evil to cycle towards impactful plays.

• 6

  The Vampire deck's combination of Legion Lieutenant and Welcoming Vampire provided steady card draw and board pressure, showcasing strong synergy in a tribal build.

Notable Cards

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  Cold-Eyed Selkie

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  Welcoming Vampire

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  Legion Lieutenant

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  Admiral Brass, Unsinkable

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  Pantlaza, Sun-Favored

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  Topiary Stomper

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  Fathom Fleet Captain

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  Distant Melody

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  Faithless Looting

Summary

The game begins with players establishing their early board states centered on their tribal themes from the Lost Caverns of Ixalan set. The Merfolk player, leveraging Hackbal of the Surging Soul, rapidly develops a board full of explorers and counters, drawing multiple cards and accelerating land drops through repeated exploration triggers. Meanwhile, the Vampire deck uses synergies between Legion Lieutenant and Welcoming Vampire to both pump its creatures and draw cards, steadily building pressure with flying threats. The Pirate deck focuses on creating treasures and recurring pirates with Admiral Brass, maintaining board presence and potential aggression. The Dinosaur deck plays a slower curve, ramping and deploying key creatures like Topiary Stomper, aiming to hit a critical mass of lands to unlock its full potential. Midgame sees a critical turning point when the Merfolk player uses a combination of exploring and counters to make their creatures unblockable, swinging for significant damage and drawing more cards, threatening to overwhelm opponents quickly. The aggressive card draw and evasive threats force the other players to respond or lose life rapidly. The Pirate player uses artifact ramp and synergistic creatures to generate incremental advantage, while the Dinosaur player struggles to accelerate their mana base but prepares for a late-game dominance once their lands and threats align. The Vampire deck keeps applying incremental pressure with pumped flyers and card draw, aiming to outvalue opponents in the mid to late game. The game’s tension revolves around whether the Dinosaur player can stabilize and the Pirate deck can disrupt fast enough to counter the explosive Merfolk strategy. Overall, the game showcases tribal synergies and new Ixalan mechanics, with exploration and counters enabling card advantage and damage output. The Merfolk deck’s ability to repeatedly trigger exploration and draw cards proves to be a significant tempo swing, while the Pirate and Vampire decks rely on incremental value and pressure. The Dinosaur deck’s ramp and big creatures provide a looming threat but require time to come online, creating a dynamic battlefield where timing and interaction are crucial.