Ironman completely POPS OFF! | WPCS #132 | Commander Mtg Magic: the Gathering

Deck Strategies

• 

  Ms. Bumbleflower

  A group hug deck that supports all players by granting card draw and +1/+1 counters, aiming to win through Simic Ascendancy by amassing 20 growth counters on it for an alternate win.

• 

  Braids, Arisen Nightmare

  A sacrifice-themed deck that forces opponents to sacrifice permanents each turn, leveraging Gravecrawler and Fiend Artisan for recursive sacrifice loops and incremental damage with creatures like Sir Conrad.

• 

  Arcades, the Strategist

  A Defender-based deck that turns defensive creatures into offensive threats by dealing damage equal to their toughness and granting them flying, using cards like Tower Defense to simulate a Craterhoof-like finisher.

• 

  Iron Man, Titan of Innovation

  An artifact synergy deck focused on sacrificing artifacts to tutor and deploy more powerful artifacts, enhanced by energy mechanics for additional value and combos, aiming to generate explosive board states.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Shay's use of Braids to force sacrifices repeatedly pressured opponents and fueled a recursive loop with Gravecrawler and Fiend Artisan, creating strong board presence and incremental damage.

• 2

  Ben's Defender synergy combined with Tower Defense effectively turned defensive creatures into a powerful offensive threat mirroring Craterhoof's effect, leveraging flying Defenders to bypass blockers.

• 3

  Iron Man's artifact sacrifice and tutor ability allowed Brent to chain artifact plays, ramping into impactful artifact creatures and energy payoffs to maintain board advantage.

• 4

  Ms. Bumbleflower's group hug approach complicated the game state by sharing card draw while quietly building towards a Simic Ascendancy alternate win condition, balancing diplomacy with a deadly surprise.

Notable Cards

• 

  Simic Ascendancy

• 

  Gravecrawler

• 

  Fiend Artisan

• 

  Tower Defense

• 

  Iron Man, Titan of Innovation

• 

  Urza's Saga

• 

  Chasm Skulker

• 

  Talisman of Curiosity

Summary

The game began with all four players ramping mana and developing their boards cautiously. Shay (Braids, Arisen Nightmare) quickly established a strong sacrifice theme, utilizing Braids' end step ability to force opponents into sacrificing permanents or losing life, and setting up combos with cards like Gravecrawler and Fiend Artisan to generate recurring value and pressure. Ben (Arcades, the Strategist) focused on a defensive strategy leveraging Defenders with flying and Tower Defense to turn his creatures into an offensive threat, aiming to overwhelm opponents with a large trample attack. CovertGoBlue (Ms. Bumbleflower) played a group hug style, distributing card draw to opponents while growing creatures with +1/+1 counters and aiming for a Simic Ascendancy alternate win condition by accumulating growth counters. Brent (Iron Man, Titan of Innovation) pursued artifact synergy, using Iron Man's ability to sacrifice artifacts and tutor for increasingly powerful artifacts, supplemented by energy mechanics for added utility and combo potential.