RODENT* RUMBLE! - Mabel vs. Cruelclaw vs. Wick vs. Zoraline | MTG Commander

Deck Strategies

• 

  Wick, the Whorled Mind

  Build a rat tribal board that creates and grows snail tokens. Sacrifice these snails to deal damage to all players, leveraging token growth and sacrifice outlets for board control and damage.

• 

  The Infamous Cruelclaw

  Use evasive combat damage to exile cards from the top of the library, then cast powerful spells from exile by discarding cards to gain tempo and overwhelming board presence quickly.

• 

  Zoraline, Cosmos Caller

  Gain life through attacking with bats and vampires, then drain opponents' life totals. Recurring small nonland permanents from the graveyard to maintain board presence and control.

• 

  Mabel, Heir to Cragflame

  Swarm the board with mice creatures that get +1/+1 from Mabel. Create a legendary equipment token to boost attackers with vigilance, trample, and haste, pushing for aggressive board presence and damage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Removing Passionate Archaeologist early was crucial to prevent additional damage triggers from spells cast from exile.

• 2

  The Infamous Cruelclaw’s unblockable attacks enabled casting powerful spells from exile, maintaining pressure and tempo.

• 3

  Wick’s synergy of rat tokens generating snails that grow and can be sacrificed for damage created a persistent threat to all players.

• 4

  Zoraline’s life gain and drain combined with graveyard recursion allowed her to stabilize and slowly chip away at opponents.

• 5

  Mabel’s ability to generate multiple mice and equip a legendary equipment token provided a solid aggressive strategy focused on board-wide buffs and combat advantage.

Notable Cards

• 

  Passionate Archaeologist

• 

  Malakir Familiar

• 

  Esper Sentinel

• 

  Shattered Sanctum

Summary

The game began with players deploying their unique commanders and ramping up their board states cautiously. Wick, the Whorled Mind started building a synergy around rats and snails, generating and growing snail tokens to later sacrifice for damage. The Infamous Cruelclaw focused on evasion and casting powerful spells from exile by exiling cards off the top of the library whenever it dealt combat damage. Zoraline, Cosmos Caller leveraged a life-gain and drain strategy, using bats and vampires to steadily weaken opponents while recurring small nonland permanents from the graveyard. Mabel, Heir to Cragflame aimed to swarm the board with mice, boosting them and equipping a legendary artifact token to create a strong aggressive presence. Throughout the early turns, players established board presence and disrupted each other's strategies. The Infamous Cruelclaw's unblockable attacks and ability to cast from exile put constant pressure on opponents, while Zoraline's life manipulation threatened incremental life swings. Wick's growing snails and sacrifice outlets promised potential board-wide damage. Mabel sought to gather a critical mass of mice and equip them for aggressive swings, aiming to storm the battlefield with multiple creatures. Key moments included removal of problematic enchantments like Passionate Archaeologist to prevent damage triggers and tactical use of lands and abilities to maximize mana and attack options. The game was a tense interplay of incremental advantages, resource management, and timing attacks around each commander’s strengths.