Deck Strategies
Etrata, Deadly Fugitive
Use Etrata's ability to exile and steal creatures, combined with tutors and wheel effects, to generate value and build a large army for a lethal attack or combo finish.
Sauron, the Dark Lord
Apply pressure with minor engine creatures and control elements, leveraging classic goodstuff and disruption to maintain board presence and slowly chip opponents’ life totals.
Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker & Vial Smasher the Fierce
Grow Ishai quickly through spell casting and use Vial Smasher to deal additional damage, aiming to keep tempo and threat level high while disrupting opponents.
Tymna the Weaver & Kraum, Ludevic's Opus
Utilize card draw from combat damage and efficient tutors to assemble a powerful bluefarm style deck that controls the game via disruption and incremental advantage, looking to win through value and selective combo pieces.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Using Opposition Agent to steal tutoring spells like Vampiric Tutor effectively shuts down opponents’ ability to find combos or key cards.
- 2
Sacrificing Lotus Petal to generate multiple triggers on Talion and Ishai accelerated board development and card advantage.
- 3
Choosing to develop Ishai early despite being last in turn order was a calculated risk to maintain tempo and pressure in the mid-game.
- 4
The interplay between Talion’s incremental card draw and life loss created a slow but steady advantage that allowed for sustained pressure against midrange decks.
- 5
Players showed cautious respect to large early threats, such as the significant flying creature from Ishai’s deck, affecting their willingness to commit resources or tap out.
Notable Cards
Opposition Agent
Vampiric Tutor
Windfall
Lotus Petal
Imperial Seal
Ancient Tomb
Mana Crypt
Morphic Pool
Summary
The game started with players setting up their mana bases and early board presence, with key plays involving ramp and efficient creatures. Tymna and Kraum’s bluefarm deck quickly established board control using cards like Opposition Agent to disrupt opponents' tutoring and stealing critical spells such as Windfall. Etrata's strategy focused on leveraging her ability to exile and steal creatures, combining this with potent tutors like Vampiric Tutor to find key win conditions or interaction pieces. Sauron's list applied steady pressure through a combination of minor engines and efficient creatures, while Ishai and Vial Smasher aimed to grow their threat quickly and take advantage of the slower early game pace. The presence of Talion, Chief of the Harpers, on the battlefield added incremental card draw and life drain effects, enabling sustained value for the bluefarm deck.