Duel Commander | MU 071721 | Round 2: Leovold vs Hogaak thumbnail Blurred backdrop thumbnail
Duel Commander PH profile icon

Duel Commander | MU 071721 | Round 2: Leovold vs Hogaak

Duel Commander PH


Commanders featured in this Gameplay Reviewed & Verified

Deck & Commander Strategies

  • Leovold, Emissary of Trest

    Leovold, Emissary of Trest

    Leovold's deck focuses on controlling opponents' card draw and maintaining card advantage through disruption and selective spellcasting. It aims to lock down the board and outvalue opponents over time by limiting their options and filtering its own draws.

  • Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis

    Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis

    Hogaak's deck centers on graveyard recursion and fast, aggressive creature deployment. It leverages the graveyard as a resource to repeatedly cast Hogaak and other powerful creatures, overwhelming opponents with raw board presence and synergies that capitalize on creature-based combos.

Gameplay Insights

  • 1

    Hogaak's ability to repeatedly recur from the graveyard created constant pressure that forced Leovold to use resources defensively rather than advancing its own board state.

  • 2

    Leovold's disruption of opponents' card draws slowed Hogaak's consistency but was not enough to prevent the eventual overwhelming board presence.

  • 3

    Timing removal spells carefully was critical for Leovold to survive long enough to find answers, but the raw aggression and recursion of Hogaak's deck proved decisive.

  • 4

    Land destruction elements from Leovold's deck helped delay Hogaak's explosive starts but could not fully stop the graveyard-based recursion engine.

Notable Cards

  • Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis

    Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis

  • Leovold, Emissary of Trest

    Leovold, Emissary of Trest

  • Force of Vigor

    Force of Vigor

  • Thoughtseize

    Thoughtseize

  • Wasteland

    Wasteland

Gameplay Summary

The game pitted two distinctive Duel Commander decks against each other, with Leovold, Emissary of Trest facing off against Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis.

Early turns involved players setting up their mana bases and deploying key creatures, with Hogaak looking to quickly establish a graveyard-centric board presence.

Leovold's deck sought to disrupt and control the pace through card advantage and locking down opponents' draws.

The pivotal moments revolved around Hogaak successfully recurring powerful creatures from the graveyard to apply relentless pressure, while Leovold attempted to stabilize through selective disruption and card filtering. As the game progressed, Hogaak's aggressive graveyard recursion proved difficult to contain, forcing Leovold to rely on timed removal and strategic sequencing of spells.

The turning point came when Hogaak managed to assemble a critical mass of threats on the battlefield, overwhelming Leovold's defenses.

The game concluded with Hogaak delivering a decisive blow, showcasing the deck's ability to leverage graveyard synergies and raw power to close out matches swiftly in Duel Commander format.

Watch on YouTube