Commander VS: Meren vs Kaalia vs Derevi vs Freyalise [Commander Anthology]

Deck Strategies

• 

  Meren of Clan Nel Toth

  Utilizes graveyard recursion and experience counters to generate incremental creature advantage and value over the course of the game.

• 

  Kaalia of the Vast

  Cheats powerful Angels, Demons, and Dragons into play by attacking, aiming for early aggressive board presence and game-ending threats.

• 

  Derevi, Empyrial Tactician

  Controls the board through tapping and untapping creatures and permanents, leveraging flying creatures and disruption to outmaneuver opponents.

• 

  Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury

  Focuses on ramping mana and creating tokens to overwhelm opponents, utilizing planeswalker abilities to enhance board presence and synergy.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Meren's graveyard recursion proved pivotal in maintaining board presence and pressuring opponents through incremental advantage.

• 2

  Kaalia's strategy to cheat high-impact threats into play forced other players to prioritize removal early, shifting the game's tempo.

• 3

  Derevi's tapping and untapping interactions effectively disrupted Kaalia's aggression and slowed down enemy development.

• 4

  Freyalise capitalized on ramp and token generation to build a resilient board state, threatening to snowball if left unchecked.

Notable Cards

• 

  Meren of Clan Nel Toth

• 

  Kaalia of the Vast

• 

  Derevi, Empyrial Tactician

• 

  Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury

• 

  Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider

Summary

The game featured a four-player Commander match with Meren of Clan Nel Toth, Kaalia of the Vast, Derevi, Empyrial Tactician, and Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury. Early turns saw players developing their boards and setting up their respective strategies. Meren leveraged her graveyard recursion to generate incremental advantage by reanimating creatures and building experience counters. Kaalia aimed to quickly deploy powerful Angels, Demons, and Dragons by cheating them into play through combat damage. Derevi focused on tapping and untapping mechanics to control the board and generate value from flying creatures and disruption. Freyalise built a ramp and token presence, aiming for overwhelming board states and synergy with her planeswalker abilities. Key turning points included Meren stabilizing the board with repeated creature recursion and experience counters, which pressured opponents continuously. Kaalia's ability to drop high-impact threats quickly forced opponents to respond aggressively, shifting the pace of the game. Derevi's control elements slowed down Kaalia's rush and chipped away at other players' resources, while Freyalise's ramp and board presence set up a potential snowball effect. The match climaxed as Meren's graveyard-based value and Kaalia's devastating creatures clashed, with players carefully timing their removal and combat steps. Ultimately, the game illustrated the diverse approaches of these commanders, blending graveyard recursion, aggressive cheating of threats, control, and ramp/token strategies in a dynamic multiplayer environment.