Aliens Take Over the Forest | Blind Commander #2

Deck Strategies

• 

  Hazel of the Rootbloom

  Utilizes token creation and copying abilities combined with life payment and untapping tokens to generate diverse mana, enabling explosive board development and overwhelming opponents with squirrel token swarms.

• 

  Bonny Pall, Clearcutter

  Focuses on land ramp and card draw through attacking with token Blue Ox creatures whose power and toughness scale with lands controlled, enabling continuous land deployment from hand or graveyard.

• 

  Bello, Bard of the Brambles

  Leverages the ability to animate non-equipment artifacts and non-artifact enchantments with high mana value into indestructible, hasty Elemental creatures, drawing cards when they deal combat damage to maintain advantage.

• 

  Abaddon the Despoiler

  Employs a cascade-based spellcasting approach triggered by opponents' life loss each turn, combining trample threats and graveyard recursion of tokens to maintain board presence and pressure.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Hazel of the Rootbloom's ability to create and copy tokens each upkeep sets up a snowballing board state that can fuel both mana production and offensive pressure.

• 2

  Bonny Pall's synergy with lands and token creation allows for card draw and repeated land drops, accelerating the deck's overall game plan.

• 3

  Abaddon the Despoiler's cascade mechanic tied to opponents' life loss adds a dynamic layer of spellcasting that can quickly overwhelm the board with powerful effects and recurring tokens.

• 4

  Bello's transformation of large non-equipment artifacts and enchantments into indestructible hasty creatures provides a resilient and aggressive avenue to convert utility permanents into lethal threats.

• 5

  Early deployment of mana ramp artifacts like Arcane Signet and Soul Ring by multiple players underscores the importance of accelerating mana to enable timely casting of commanders and powerful spells.

• 6

  Scoot Swarm's token multiplication based on land count presents a growing threat that can dominate the battlefield if left unchecked.

Notable Cards

• 

  Hazel of the Rootbloom

• 

  Bonny Pall, Clearcutter

• 

  Bello, Bard of the Brambles

• 

  Abaddon the Despoiler

• 

  Arcane Signet

• 

  Rootbound Crag

• 

  Temple of Mystery

Summary

The game began with players unveiling their commanders, each bringing a unique thematic and mechanical identity to the table. Hazel of the Rootbloom set the stage for a token and mana ramp strategy by creating and copying squirrel tokens, leveraging life payment and untapping tokens to generate diverse mana. Bonny Pall, Clearcutter focused on land ramp and card draw, creating Blue Ox tokens with power and toughness equal to lands controlled, and enabling land recursion from hand or graveyard. Bello, Bard of the Brambles brought a synergy-heavy approach, turning non-equipment artifacts and enchantments with high mana value into indestructible, hasty Elemental creatures that draw cards upon dealing combat damage. Abaddon the Despoiler introduced a cascading spells strategy fueled by opponents' life loss, with powerful trample presence and graveyard recursion of tokens, adding a chaotic and aggressive dimension to the game. Early turns featured ramping artifacts, lands, and creatures like Layered Hydra and Scoot Swarm, setting up board presence and resource acceleration. Key moments included Bonny Pall's creation of token Blue Oxen, which combined with land plays to fuel card draw and deployment of threats. Abaddon's cascade spells and graveyard recursion started to impact the board tempo significantly, applying pressure with large creatures and recurring tokens. Hazel's token generation hinted at an explosive midgame where token copies and mana acceleration could overwhelm opponents. Bello's ability to animate artifacts and enchantments foreshadowed a late-game plan to convert utility permanents into lethal attackers, capitalizing on card advantage and combat damage triggers. The game was shaping towards a multi-faceted battle of resource management, token swarms, and explosive spellcasting to outpace opponents and achieve victory.