Deck & Commander Strategies
Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Focuses on Muruk tribal synergy by exploring each combat to put +1/+1 counters on creatures, ramping lands from hand or drawing cards if no land is played, aiming to grow a resilient board and gain incremental advantage.
Aminatou, Veil Piercer
Utilizes surveil for deck manipulation and enchants Miracle cards to reduce casting costs, enabling efficient plays and card filtering to maintain hand advantage and control the tempo.
Pantlaza, Sun-Favored
Leverages dinosaur tribal synergy by generating additional dinosaur tokens when dinosaurs enter the battlefield and discovering new cards based on toughness, ramping aggressively and building a large threatening board.
The Wise Mothman
Acts as a group-hug commander distributing rad counters to all players, which mills cards each turn and causes life loss with non-land cards milled, while growing creatures with +1/+1 counters based on mill triggers, creating a mill-and-counter synergy.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
The Wise Mothman's rad counter mechanic created a unique tension where all players had to balance the benefits of counters with the damage and milling inflicted, influencing defensive and offensive plays.
- 2
Pantlaza's discover ability upon dinosaur ETB triggered powerful card advantage and ramp, accelerating the board state significantly when timed properly.
- 3
Hakbal's exploring triggered consistent +1/+1 counters on Muruk creatures, enabling steady incremental growth and additional land drops or draws, which helped maintain momentum.
- 4
Players avoided playing Islands early to reduce the risk of Island Walk triggers and potential unblockable attacks, showing careful land management.
- 5
Bloatfly Swarm's interaction with counters prevented damage to itself and distributed rad counters, synergizing well with the group's mill and counter strategies.
- 6
The use of ramp spells such as Far Seek and Migration Path early in the game ensured players could cast higher-cost creatures and commanders on curve, setting up their mid-game plans.
Notable Cards
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The Wise Mothman
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Bloatfly Swarm
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Pantlaza, Sun-Favored
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Hakbal of the Surging Soul
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Migration Path
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Aminatou, Veil Piercer
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Swiftfoot Boots
Gameplay Summary
The game started with four players piloting slightly upgraded commander preconstructed decks, each focused on their commanders' unique mechanics.
Early turns involved establishing mana bases and ramping, with key plays including the deployment of ramp spells like Far Seek and Migration Path and setting up board presence with creatures such as Bloatfly Swarm and Silent Hall Creeper.
The Wise Mothman proved pivotal, distributing rad counters to all players and enabling a mill-and-counter synergy that steadily pressured everyone, including its controller.
This led to a tense dynamic where players had to carefully manage rad counters to avoid excessive life loss while leveraging the counters to grow creatures. Pantlaza, Sun-Favored accelerated the board state by generating additional dinosaurs and discovering new cards, fueling a powerful dinosaur tribal synergy.
Hakbal of the Surging Soul contributed incremental growth through exploring each combat, adding counters to Muruk creatures and enabling land drops or card draws.
Aminatou, Veil Piercer provided card filtering and enchantment synergy, with Miracle cards reducing casting costs and enabling value plays.
Key moments included the casting of multiple ramp spells, the strategic timing of creature attacks to maximize counter placement, and the management of rad counters that dictated how much mill damage players absorbed.
The game unfolded as a balance of resource development, incremental board growth, and attrition through rad counters and mill, with players jockeying for board control and card advantage.
![Lost Caverns of Ixalan Pack Tactics!! ft Hakbal, Pantlaza, Clavileno, and Brass [Commander Gameplay] thumbnail](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mf_8w8n7c2g/sddefault.jpg)
