Deck & Commander Strategies
Cid, Timeless Artificer
An Azorius artifact and thopter-focused deck that cycles various Sid characters, generates multiple thopter tokens, and uses anthem effects to pump those tokens for wide, evasive board presence.
Squall, SeeD Mercenary
A Gruul-based aggressive deck that focuses on attacking with a single creature to trigger double strike and reanimates permanents with mana value three or less from the graveyard, leveraging combat damage for value and board impact.
Yuna, Grand Summoner
A Bant counter-themed deck centered on casting large creatures that enter with additional counters and grow further when permanents with counters die, aiming to overwhelm opponents with big threats empowered by +1/+1 counters.
Hope Estheim
A life gain and mill deck that gains life each turn to mill opponents proportionally, gradually depleting their libraries while maintaining board presence through synergistic creatures.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Casting Squall triggered Arbent Warrior of Darkness, granting multiple +1/+1 counters and menace plus vigilance, significantly increasing board threat level.
- 2
The Sphere Grid's ability to place +1/+1 counters on creatures dealing combat damage synergized well with aggressive attacks, enhancing creature toughness and evasion.
- 3
Using Key to the City to make creatures unblockable enabled effective damage and card draw, maintaining pressure and resource advantage.
- 4
The removal of Squall Mercenary with a spell that generated multiple creature tokens shifted board control and forced players to adjust their attack plans.
- 5
Yuna's interaction with creatures dying and transferring counters helped maintain a growing board state despite removal spells and combat damage.
- 6
Hope's life gain and milling strategy created incremental pressure by mill triggers tied to life gained, although early milling was minimal at first.
- 7
Cid's cycling of various Sid characters and artifact synergies laid the groundwork for a token-based offensive, supported by anthem effects to boost thopter tokens.
Notable Cards
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Squall, SeeD Mercenary
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Yuna, Grand Summoner
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Cid, Timeless Artificer
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Hope Estheim
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Esper Sentinel
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Sphere Grid
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Key to the City
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Get Lost
Gameplay Summary
The multiplayer Commander game featuring four Final Fantasy-themed decks unfolded with each player pursuing distinct strategies aligned with their commanders.
Early turns saw ramping and board development, with key plays such as Squall's aggressive attacks and reanimation, Yuna focusing on counters and big creatures, Cid building a thopter-based artifact synergy, and Hope leveraging life gain and milling.
A pivotal moment occurred when Squall Mercenary was cast, triggering multiple counters and granting menace and vigilance due to Arbent Warrior of Darkness, substantially increasing board pressure.
The interaction of Sphere Grid further enhanced creatures with counters, boosting their combat potential.
A strategic removal of Squall's threat with a mass creature token generation shifted momentum, while Yuna's ability to add counters and benefit from creatures dying kept her board resilient.
The game showcased combat-centric plays, counter synergies, and artifact interactions, with players balancing aggression and defense in pursuit of board dominance and incremental advantage.
