Deck & Commander Strategies
Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Generate large numbers of tokens and enhance them with +1/+1 counters to overwhelm opponents with a growing army.
Karlach, Fury of Avernus
Use Treasure generation and mana ramp to quickly deploy creatures and repeatedly attack with haste-enabled threats, leveraging direct damage and combat synergies.
Mathas, Fiend Seeker
Win through repeated exile and recasting of creatures each turn, maximizing value from creature death and recursion effects.
Criminal Past
Control the board with a thematic, mostly creature-light approach referencing Baldur's Gate, focusing on effects that disrupt opponents while maintaining a thematic flavor.
Wayta, Trainer Prodigy
Exploit the enraged mechanic by pinging creatures to trigger beneficial effects like token creation and mentor triggers, building board presence through synergy.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Karlach’s strategy to generate and crack multiple Treasures each turn allowed for explosive mana growth, enabling multiple threats and combat phases within a single turn.
- 2
The use of Descent into Avernus created a recurring life loss and Treasure creation loop that pressured all players and accelerated the game's tempo toward aggressive plays.
- 3
Wa’s decision to have creatures ping themselves to generate insect tokens leveraged the enraged mechanic to steadily increase board presence despite opponents’ removal options.
- 4
Tenuous Truce enchantment was a key political tool to enable mutual card draw, subtly influencing player interactions and pacing the game.
- 5
Mathas’s win condition of repeated creature exile and recast required careful timing and graveyard management, creating tension around removing and protecting key creatures.
- 6
Intimidation’s effect on combat restrictions forced players to reconsider blocking strategies, allowing unblockable attacks and swinging combat momentum.
Notable Cards
-
Descent into Avernus
-
Saber Ants
-
Tenuous Truce
-
Intimidation
-
Mind Stone
-
Kinjalli's Caller
-
Sunpetal Grove
Gameplay Summary
The game began with players establishing their mana bases and deploying early threats, including token generators and utility creatures.
The pod quickly escalated as players leveraged their commanders’ synergies: Hakbal focused on tokens and +1/+1 counters, Karlach accelerated with Treasure generation and direct damage, Mathas aimed to win through repeated creature rotations, and Criminal Past played a thematic, creature-light control style.
Early plays like Descent into Avernus and Kinjalli's Caller stirred the board state, with multiple players generating treasures and setting up their strategies. As the game progressed, Karlach's aggressive mana ramp and Treasure token production allowed for rapid deployment of threats like Saber Ants and Intimidation, which pressured opponents with repeated combat phases and unblockable attacks against non-black artifact creatures.
Meanwhile, Hakbal’s token army and counter synergies grew steadily.
A notable turning point was when players began to lose life from various effects, including Descent into Avernus, pushing the game toward a tense low-life scenario.
The game featured dynamic combat interactions, with Wa’s enraged pings producing insect tokens and triggering mentor abilities, while Mathas sought to capitalize on spells that exiled and recast creatures.
The tension culminated in rapid exchanges of damage and card draw, with players balancing aggressive board presence against survival and card advantage.
