Deck & Commander Strategies
Elsha, Threefold Master
Leverages combat and monk token generation to build board presence, using unblockability and ward to protect key legendary creatures and apply pressure through combat.
Nethroi, Apex of Death
Uses mutate to repeatedly bring back creatures from the graveyard, exploiting modular and zero-zero tokens to create a recursive aristocrat-style combo loop that generates value and board control.
Nikya of the Old Ways
A creature-only gruul ramp deck that focuses on casting large, impactful creatures to overwhelm opponents, avoiding non-creature spells entirely.
Jodah, the Unifier
A deck built exclusively around legendary cards, leveraging synergies among legendary permanents to control the board and generate value.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Jim's use of Death's Oasis significantly amplified Nethroi's mutate recursion by milling and returning creatures, enabling a strong looping aristocrat effect.
- 2
Bill's decision to ramp into large creatures and use Cactus Folk to grant haste and trample allowed for aggressive board presence and quick pressure.
- 3
Jan's protection of legendary creatures with ward and unblockability effects ensured Elsha's creatures could safely attack and maintain board control.
- 4
The early play of modular creatures and zero-zero tokens by Jim synergized well with Nethroi's mutate ability, setting up multiple recursive triggers.
- 5
Jerry's focus on legendary permanents maintained a steady flow of threats and blockers, balancing between defense and offense effectively.
Notable Cards
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Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
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Death's Oasis
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Fanatic of Xenagos
Gameplay Summary
The game opened with players establishing their early boards and mana bases, quickly revealing the unique themes of their decks.
Jerry's Jodah deck focused on legendary permanents, Jan's Elsha deck aimed to generate value through combat and monks, Bill's Nikya deck ramped into large creatures while avoiding non-creature spells, and Jim's Nethroi deck employed a graveyard-centric mutate strategy to recycle and reuse creatures repeatedly.
Key early plays included Ragavan and various modular creatures that interacted well with Nethroi's mutation ability. As the game progressed, Jim began to set up his mutation loops with Nethroi, repeatedly bringing back creatures from the graveyard while triggering sacrifice effects to generate incremental advantage.
Bill's Nikya deck ramped aggressively, casting big creatures like Cactus Folk, which granted haste and trample to other big creatures, putting pressure on opponents.
Jan's Elsha made use of ward and unblockability effects to protect her legendary creatures and push through damage, while Jerry's Jodah used his legendary synergy to stabilize and generate board presence. A pivotal moment came when Jim cast Death's Oasis, an enchantment that synergized with his mutate and sacrifice theme, enabling him to mill cards and recur creatures efficiently, fueling his aristocrat-style combo loop.
Meanwhile, the other players jockeyed for position, using combat tricks and ward abilities to keep their threats safe.
The interaction of Nethroi's mutate recursion and graveyard shuffling was a game-changing dynamic, steadily overwhelming the board and leading Jim towards victory.
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