Prossh vs Maelstrom Wanderer vs Licia vs Haldan | Pako EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

• 

  Pako, Arcane Retriever

  Pako’s deck focuses on aggressive combat with repeated attacks, using his ability to exile cards and gain +1/+1 counters to grow into a massive threat. The deck maximizes non-creature spells to fuel Pako’s counters and uses extra combat steps to overwhelm opponents and close out the game quickly.

• 

  Maelstrom Wanderer

  Maelstrom Wanderer aims to cascade into powerful creatures and spells, generating large board presence and combos. The deck leverages cascade triggers to find critical pieces like Tooth and Nail and Craterhoof Behemoth to push for a game-winning swing.

• 

  Licia, Sanguine Tribune

  Licia’s deck builds value by paying life to place +1/+1 counters on itself, gaining incremental power and life through lifelink and double strike synergies. It uses creatures that benefit from life gain and life payment triggers to control the board and sustain through damage.

• 

  Prossh, Skyraider of Kher

  Prossh’s deck focuses on producing a large army of Kobold tokens upon casting Prossh, then leveraging sacrifice and token synergies to deal damage. It plays a midrange aggressive strategy, aiming to overwhelm opponents with both commander damage and token swarms.

• 

  Haldan, Avid Arcanist

  Haldan acts as a utility commander, enabling spell recursion and interaction through flicker and stealing spells from exile. The deck uses artifacts and spells to control the board state and create advantage through repeated use of powerful spells.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Adam’s repeated use of Pako’s exile ability to consistently hit multiple non-creature spells allowed Pako to quickly grow into a huge threat, demonstrating the importance of non-creature spell density in Pako decks.

• 2

  Countering Maelstrom Wanderer with Pyroblast was a crucial disruption, delaying Scott’s ability to cascade into game-winning creatures and spells.

• 3

  Omar’s use of Licia’s life payment ability to put counters on his commander while simultaneously gaining life through synergies helped stabilize his life total and maintain board presence.

• 4

  Prossh player’s decision not to overcommit to an all-in attack early prevented them from becoming vulnerable to board wipes and counters, showing careful timing and patience.

• 5

  Adam’s use of Seize the Day to gain extra combat phases with Pako maximized damage output and helped close the game decisively.

• 6

  The interaction between Haldan’s flicker ability and stolen spells from exile provided valuable utility and control elements, enabling recurring threats and answers.

Notable Cards

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  Pako, Arcane Retriever

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  Maelstrom Wanderer

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  Licia, Sanguine Tribune

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  Prossh, Skyraider of Kher

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  Cyclonic Rift

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  Tooth and Nail

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  Craterhoof Behemoth

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  Seize the Day

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  Children of Korlis

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  Allosaurus Shepherd

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  Survival of the Fittest

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  Fierce Guardianship

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  Faithless Looting

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  Exploration

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  Wheel of Fortune

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  Wild Growth

Summary

The game started with a flurry of mana ramp and early board development from all players. Adam, piloting Pako, Arcane Retriever, quickly established a strong board presence by repeatedly attacking with Pako and exiling cards from the top of his library to place +1/+1 counters on Pako, steadily growing him into a lethal threat. Scott’s Maelstrom Wanderer deck aimed to cascade into powerful creatures and spells, setting up a combo-centric strategy with cards like Tooth and Nail and Craterhoof Behemoth. Omar’s Licia, Sanguine Tribune deck focused on incrementally growing Licia’s counters by paying life and leveraging synergy with creatures like Children of Korlis and Bruce Tarl, gaining life and board control. The Prossh player developed a token army with Kobolds, preparing for a big explosive attack but carefully avoided overcommitting early to stay safe from board wipes or counters.