WE TRY TO BEAT A $400 DRAGON DECK - Lord of Pain vs Zinnia vs Palladia vs Hakbal - Manasplaining #14

Deck Strategies

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  Hakbal of the Surging Soul

  Focuses on Muro tribal synergy by exploring with creatures to grow them and ramp lands, aiming to outvalue opponents through incremental board development and card advantage.

• 

  Palladia-Mors, the Ruiner

  Aggressive dragon tribal deck that uses flying, vigilance, and trample to apply pressure, protected by hexproof until damage is dealt, aiming to win through combat damage.

• 

  Zinnia, Valley's Voice

  Swarm strategy that generates numerous 1/1 tokens using the offspring mechanic and boosts them based on token count, overwhelming opponents with wide boards.

• 

  The Lord of Pain

  Group slug deck that punishes opponents by dealing damage when they cast spells and preventing life gain, aiming to slowly chip away and control the game tempo.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The Lord of Pain’s ability to deal damage whenever an opponent casts their first spell each turn created a taxing environment that discouraged heavy spell casting and influenced opponent sequencing.

• 2

  Metallic Mimic’s synergy with the Wet Boys tribal theme was critical for enhancing creature power and toughness, enabling more effective combat phases.

• 3

  Hakbal’s explore mechanic allowed for steady growth and resource acceleration, which was pivotal in maintaining board presence and enabling multiple land drops per turn.

• 4

  Deploying Palladia-Mors early and protecting her with hexproof until she deals damage made her a significant threat that opponents had to prioritize removing, otherwise risking heavy combat damage.

• 5

  Zinnia’s offspring tokens combined with power buffs created a potential for overwhelming board states, requiring opponents to carefully manage token generation and removal.

Notable Cards

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  Metallic Mimic

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  Mosswort Bridge

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  Swiftfoot Boots

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  Auriok Champion

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  Glacial Fortress

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  Ornithopter of Paradise

Summary

The game began with all four players setting up their mana bases and early board states, each aiming to develop their unique strategies around their commanders. Palladia-Mors, the Ruiner focused on aggressive flying dragons with vigilance and trample, leveraging her hexproof ability to maintain pressure. The Lord of Pain employed a group slug approach, aiming to slowly chip away at opponents' life totals by punishing their spell casts and denying them life gain. Hakbal of the Surging Soul developed a Muro tribal synergy, using its explore mechanic to grow creatures and ramp lands onto the battlefield, building a resilient and expanding board presence. Zinnia, Valley's Voice centered on creating numerous 1/1 tokens through her offspring mechanic and boosting them with her commander’s power-based buff, aiming for a wide swarm strategy to overwhelm opponents. Early turns featured players deploying key mana rocks and creatures such as Metallic Mimic, which enhanced tribal synergies by granting additional +1/+1 counters to other Wet Boys creatures, and ramp lands like Mosswort Bridge with its hideaway ability setting up future powerful plays. The game saw significant tension as players balanced board development with tactical damage distribution, notably The Lord of Pain's ability to damage players when they cast spells, creating a taxing environment for spell-heavy decks. A pivotal moment was the emergence of Palladia-Mors as a flying 6/6 vigilance trampler with hexproof, forcing opponents to carefully consider removal options. Meanwhile, Hakbal’s Muro creatures grew steadily through exploring, enabling land plays and card draw, while Zinnia’s token generation threatened to flood the board. The game’s progression illustrated a dynamic interplay of tribal synergies, incremental damage, and board control efforts, with each player leveraging their commander’s strengths to advance their win conditions.