Red Deck Wins vs. Hogaak Aggro [Duel Commander-EDH]

Commanders featured in this Gameplay Reviewed & Verified

Deck & Commander Strategies

Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
Aggressive red deck focused on early damage, leveraging efficient creatures and burn spells to quickly reduce opponents' life totals before they can stabilize.
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
Midrange graveyard-centric aggro deck aiming to flood the board with powerful creatures through dredge and recursion, applying constant pressure while disrupting opposing strategies.

Gameplay Insights

1
The Red Deck Wins player prioritized early aggression and burn spells to maintain tempo and prevent Hogaak from assembling a critical mass of creatures.
2
Collective Brutality served as a pivotal card disrupting Hogaak's graveyard interactions and maintaining board control.
3
Hogaak's player balanced between deploying threats and managing resources carefully, using graveyard recursion and resilient creatures to sustain pressure despite disruption.
4
Decisions around blocking and damage assignment, especially involving creatures with first strike and equipment interactions, were crucial in determining combat outcomes.
5
The Red Deck Wins deck's ability to apply consistent pressure forced Hogaak to make suboptimal plays, which ultimately limited its effectiveness.

Notable Cards

Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
Collective Brutality
Bonecrusher Giant // Stomp
Lightning Bolt
Firebolt

Gameplay Summary

The game featured a duel between a classic Red Deck Wins strategy led by Kari Zev, Skyship Raider and a midrange aggro deck piloted by Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis.

Early turns saw the Red Deck Wins player establishing board presence with aggressive creatures and direct damage spells like Lightning Bolt and Firebolt, aiming to chip away at the opponent's life total quickly.

Meanwhile, the Hogaak player developed a graveyard-focused strategy, utilizing dredge-like mechanics and synergistic creatures to maintain pressure and resilience.

A key moment in the match was the Red Deck Wins player drawing Collective Brutality, which provided valuable disruption against Hogaak's graveyard strategies, enabling control over the board state.

Despite heavy disruption and pressure from the red deck, Hogaak managed to deploy threats such as Bonecrusher Giant and other creatures to contest the board and force trades.

Watch on YouTube