Deck & Commander Strategies
Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools & Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker
Midrange control deck aiming to grind value through Ishai's growing counters and token generation with Tevesh, breaking parity with stax effects like Humility and winning through Ad Nauseam combos.
Hinata, Dawn-Crowned
Midrange control deck focused on board control, counterspells, and disrupting opponents while setting up a combo finish with cards like Breach and Dualcaster Mage.
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator & Tana, the Bloodsower
Temur Pirates deck aiming to ramp into a pirate combo involving Malcolm and Glint-Horn Buccaneer to generate game-winning treasure and damage bursts.
Ao, the Dawn Sky
Light stax midrange deck using value creatures, small stax effects, and death triggers to gradually gain advantage and win through incremental board dominance.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Adam’s early use of Windfall to refresh hands while establishing mana acceleration gave him a strong opening tempo advantage.
- 2
The exchange of Ishai control via Gilded Drake added complexity to combat and counterplay, forcing players to adapt their targeting and responses.
- 3
Cal’s Finale of Devastation to fetch Glint-Horn Buccaneer threatened a pirate combo win, but Adam's timely Winds of Rebuke bounce disrupted the sequence and prevented a combo finish.
- 4
Charles activating Homeward Path to return control of stolen creatures was a pivotal moment that reset board control dynamics and protected him from Cal’s stolen threats.
- 5
Multiple triggers from Ishai and Paladin Class rapidly increased creature power and toughness, creating large threats that needed to be managed carefully by opponents.
- 6
Shinta’s use of counterspells like Mental Misstep and Flusterstorm effectively slowed down Cal’s aggressive ramp and combo attempts.
Notable Cards
-
Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker
-
Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools
-
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator
-
Tana, the Bloodsower
-
Hinata, Dawn-Crowned
-
Gilded Drake
-
Glint-Horn Buccaneer
-
Windfall
-
Mana Vault
-
Paladin Class
-
Homeward Path
-
Winds of Rebuke
-
Serra Ascendant
-
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
-
Finale of Devastation
Gameplay Summary
The game started with Adam establishing a strong mana base and early board presence using cards like Mana Vault, Windfall, and his commanders Ishai and Tevesh Szat.
Adam's deck focused on accruing incremental value through Ishai's counters and stax effects, while generating tokens with Tevesh.
Shinta’s Hinata deck aimed to control the board and disrupt opponents with counterspells and removal while threatening a combo finish with Breach or Dualcaster Mage.
Cal’s Malcolm and Tana deck sought to assemble a pirate-themed combo involving Glint-Horn Buccaneer, using green ramp and utility creatures like Gilded Drake to manipulate the board.
Charles piloted Ao, the Dawn Sky, employing light stax elements and value creatures like Serra Ascendant and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben to slow opponents and gain life, while leveraging death triggers and efficient equipment to close the game. Early exchanges involved aggressive counterplay, with Ishai getting multiple counters and becoming a significant threat.
Gilded Drake’s exchange of control with Ishai added complex layers to the battlefield dynamics, as players jockeyed for creature control.
Cal’s use of Glint-Horn Buccaneer and Finale of Devastation threatened to break open the game with a large pirate attack, but Adam’s timely Winds of Rebuke disrupted this plan.
A critical moment occurred when Charles activated Homeward Path, restoring creature control to original owners and preventing Cal from leveraging stolen threats, shifting the balance back to Adam and Charles.
The game featured a tension-filled interplay of stax, value accumulation, and combo threats, with players carefully navigating board states to avoid falling victim to sudden combos or overwhelming aggression.
