Actually Busted Commander! Hinata vs Geralf vs Syr Gwyn vs Mazirek - WPCS #140

Deck Strategies

• 

  Geralf, the Fleshwright

  Generate a large zombie army by casting multiple spells each turn, then use synergy with cards like Agatha's Soul Cauldron to grant abilities to zombies, enabling powerful combos through sacrificing zombies and drawing cards to storm off for the win.

• 

  Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale

  Create a resilient Knight tribal board, equipping Knights with zero-cost equipment and using Knights' Charge to return Knights from the graveyard to the battlefield, while draining opponents through combat damage and life gain.

• 

  Hinata, Dawn-Crowned

  Control the board with spell-heavy Jeskai colors, focusing on mass removal and spells that target multiple permanents at reduced costs, disrupting opponents and wiping boards to maintain control and capitalize on spell advantage.

• 

  Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest

  Build +1/+1 counter synergies and sacrifice outlets, using creatures like Basking Rootwalla with adapt and Blood Artist to generate tokens and drain opponents, aiming for infinite combos through sacrifice triggers and large creature growth.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Geralf's ability to create multiple zombies per turn combined with Agatha's Soul Cauldron allowed him to grant activated abilities to all zombies, enabling powerful sacrifice and card draw combos that can quickly end games.

• 2

  Mazirek's incremental growth through sacrifice and +1/+1 counters on creatures like Basking Rootwalla set up potential infinite combos when paired with sacrifice outlets and Blood Artist to drain life.

• 3

  Syr Gwyn's strategy of recurring Knights from the graveyard with Knights' Charge provided resilience to board wipes, maintaining pressure on opponents through combat damage and life gain.

• 4

  Hinata's use of multi-target spells at reduced costs enabled effective board control, slowing down opponents' strategies and resetting the game state to stay in control.

• 5

  The game highlighted the importance of timing board wipes and managing token swarms to prevent explosive combo turns from Geralf and Mazirek.

Notable Cards

• 

  Agatha's Soul Cauldron

• 

  Ashnod's Altar

• 

  Blood Artist

• 

  Knights' Charge

• 

  Basking Rootwalla

• 

  Colossus Hammer

• 

  Arcane Signet

• 

  Bitterblossom

Summary

The game began with players developing their mana bases and setting up early board presence. Geralf the Fleshwright quickly established a zombie token engine by casting multiple spells, leveraging his ability to create and buff zombies each time additional spells were cast. Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest focused on building an incremental sacrifice and counter synergy, using creatures like Basking Rootwalla to generate tokens and grow his board state exponentially. Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale aimed to flood the board with Knights and recurring them through Knights' Charge, establishing a resilient army. Hinata, Dawn-Crowned played a spell-heavy control strategy with a focus on board wipes and manipulation, using spells that target multiple permanents and spells that reduce costs based on the number of targets hit. As the game progressed, Geralf's deck began to storm off, generating massive numbers of zombies and using cards like Agatha's Soul Cauldron to grant powerful activated abilities to his swarm, enabling lethal card draws and combo lines involving sacrifice outlets such as Ashnod's Altar. Meanwhile, Mazirek's accumulation of +1/+1 counters and sacrifice tokens threatened to spiral into an infinite combo with cards like Blood Artist. Syr Gwyn maintained pressure with combat damage and recurring Knights, while Hinata controlled the pace with mass removal and spell control. The pivotal turning points involved Geralf erupting with an overwhelming zombie storm and Mazirek threatening to close the game with infinite sacrifice combos. The interplay of large creature swarms, sacrifice synergies, and mass removal defined the dynamic flow of the match.