Deck & Commander Strategies
Aurelia, the Warleader
Utilizes Aurelia's ability with flicker effects to generate extra combat phases, allowing for multiple attacks and clearing the board through aggressive combat.
Kenrith, the Returned King
A midrange value deck that builds board presence and accumulates advantage engines like Smothering Tithe to overwhelm opponents over time.
Hinata, Dawn-Crowned
Applies light stax effects to disrupt opponents while assembling combos involving Dualcaster Mage and Underworld Breach to win through infinite spell casting and damage.
Thrasios, Triton Hero and Vial Smasher the Fierce
Races to assemble a Hermit Druid combo early, aiming to win by decking opponents or executing powerful combo lines quickly.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Hinata's pilot leveraged a powerful graveyard recursion combo using Underworld Breach and Lion's Eye Diamond to repeatedly cast Brain Freeze and mill the entire table.
- 2
Deflecting Swat was used cleverly to counter Mana Drain by redirecting it onto itself, allowing an Intuition to resolve and setup the combo.
- 3
Aurelia's player used multiple combat steps effectively to apply pressure early on, but was unable to close out the game before Hinata's combo went off.
- 4
The game featured tight interaction with Force of Negation countering Smothering Tithe and significant disruption from Drannith Magistrate and other stax elements.
- 5
The final winning sequence involved escaping spells from the graveyard to generate infinite Dualcaster Mage tokens with haste using Twinflame, enabling a swift attack to end the game.
Notable Cards
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Jeweled Lotus
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Underworld Breach
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Lion's Eye Diamond
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Brain Freeze
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Twinflame
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Dualcaster Mage
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Smothering Tithe
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Dockside Extortionist
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Rhystic Study
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Force of Negation
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Birthing Pod
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Spellseeker
Gameplay Summary
The game began with each player developing their board with mana accelerants and key creatures, setting up their respective strategies.
Aurelia’s pilot focused on leveraging Aurelia’s ability combined with flicker effects to generate multiple combat phases and aggressive attacks.
Kenrith’s deck built value through midrange plays and engines such as Smothering Tithe, aiming to overwhelm opponents with resource advantage.
Hinata’s pilot applied light stax effects to disrupt opponents while setting up a combo finish using spells and creatures like Dualcaster Mage and Breach.
The Thrasios and Vial Smasher deck aimed to quickly assemble a Hermit Druid combo to win through an explosive combo finish. A pivotal moment occurred when Hinata’s pilot executed a sequence involving Underworld Breach, Lion’s Eye Diamond, and Brain Freeze to mill the table extensively.
This was followed by a combo utilizing Twinflame and Dualcaster Mage to create infinite hasty creatures and win via combat damage.
The game was characterized by intense interaction, including counterspells, artifact/enchantment removal, and disruption to hinder opponent plans.
Hinata’s combo line ultimately prevailed by out-tempoing the others and capitalizing on graveyard recursion and spell copy synergies for a swift and decisive victory.
