Deck & Commander Strategies
Sakashima of a Thousand Faces, Miara, Thorn of the Glade & Gyruda, Doom of Depths
This three-headed commander deck focuses on casting Gyruda to mill cards from all players, fueling a cloning combo with Sakashima to copy Gyruda and other key creatures, ultimately overwhelming the board with Demon Krakens and other threats generated through milling and cloning synergies.
Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign
Yennett’s deck aims to manipulate the top of the library and cast spells with odd converted mana costs for free, leveraging creatures like Aminatou for top-deck control and generating incremental advantage through value-heavy, low-cost creatures and spells.
Vorel of the Hull Clade
Vorel’s deck uses a combination of burn spells and unsummon effects to control the board and deal damage based on hand size, focusing on incremental damage and tempo disruption to weaken opponents over time.
Arcades, the Strategist
Arcades capitalizes on walls and creatures with defender, turning them into attackers through card draw and combat buffs. It aims to assemble a soft combo with cards like Axebane Guardian and High Alert to generate massive damage while protecting key combo pieces with interaction.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Casting Gyruda early triggered a powerful mass mill that significantly disrupted opponents’ hands and fueled cloning combos.
- 2
Arcades leveraged wall creatures and ramp spells to draw cards and protect combo pieces, balancing between aggressive and defensive plays.
- 3
Yennett’s top-deck manipulation allowed free casting of odd-cost spells, generating incremental board advantage and forcing opponents into awkward attack decisions.
- 4
Vorel applied pressure through burn spells triggered by opponents’ large hand sizes, combining removal with incremental damage.
- 5
Players carefully timed combat attacks to trigger Yennett’s ability and maximize value while managing threats like Archfiend of Depravity and Demon Krakens.
- 6
The cloning and milling synergy of Sakashima’s deck was the main win condition, forcing opponents to respond quickly or be overwhelmed by Demon Kraken tokens.
Notable Cards
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Gyruda, Doom of Depths
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Sakashima of a Thousand Faces
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Miara, Thorn of the Glade
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Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign
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Arcades, the Strategist
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Vorel of the Hull Clade
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Archfiend of Depravity
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Growing Rites of Itlimoc // Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun
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Howling Mine
Gameplay Summary
The game started with players establishing their mana bases and early board presence, with Arcades setting up walls and ramp, Yennett focusing on top-deck manipulation to cast odd-cost spells for free, Vorel preparing a burn-centric hand size strategy, and the three-headed commander deck of Sakashima, Miara, and Gyruda aiming to leverage cloning and milling combos.
Early turns featured typical development, including Arcades drawing cards off walls and setting up defenses, while Yennett deployed utility creatures like Aminatou to manipulate the deck and prepare for powerful top-deck plays. A pivotal moment came when Gyruda, Doom of Depths, entered the battlefield, triggering a mass mill that disrupted opponents’ hands and boards while fueling the cloning strategy by milling for more clones.
This forced sacrifices and board shifts, with players responding by removing threats like Archfiend of Depravity using board control spells.
Arcades continued to develop its wall synergy and combo pieces, while Vorel utilized burn spells and hand-size damage triggers to pressure opponents.
The game’s tension revolved around the cloning and milling combo from the three-headed deck and Yennett’s manipulation of the top of the library, balanced against Arcades’ resilient wall-based combos and Vorel’s incremental burn strategy.
Key interactions included multiple combat attacks triggering Yennett’s ability, and players carefully managing resources to either stabilize or push for lethal damage.