Deck Strategies
Gregor, Shrewd Magistrate
Focuses on controlling the board with disruption and generating incremental advantage through spells and creatures that tax opponents, leveraging Esper colors for efficient interaction.
Dargo, the Shipwrecker
Aggressive red-based deck aiming to disrupt opponents by destroying artifacts and lands, while leveraging Thrasios for card advantage and ramp to fuel combo or beatdown strategies.
Thrasios, Triton Hero and Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful
A toolbox combo deck that uses Thrasios's card draw and mana ramp capabilities alongside Yoshimaru's recursion and cheap creatures to assemble combos quickly and protect key pieces.
Nadu, Winged Wisdom
A value-oriented deck that leverages flying creatures and life gain to stabilize the board, using card draw and interaction to outlast opponents and find a winning combo or beatdown.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Players prioritized protecting key combo pieces with counterspells such as Force of Will and Force of Negation to maintain board presence and tempo.
- 2
The interaction between multiple triggers from equipment and creatures like Fleshbreaker created incremental advantage by forcing all players to lose life and discard cards.
- 3
Utilization of recursion and tutoring effects enabled players to recover critical components and maintain pressure despite disruption.
- 4
Mana acceleration through artifacts and creatures allowed for explosive turns that shifted board control quickly.
- 5
Players carefully timed their fetch land activations and triggers to optimize mana development and card draw.
Notable Cards
Mana Crypt
Birds of Paradise
Force of Will
Force of Negation
Defense Grid
Umbral Mantle
Sword of the Animist
Enlightened Tutor
Mystic Remora
Esper Sentinel
Summary
The game started with each player establishing their mana bases and early board presence, with several players ramping quickly via Birds of Paradise and mana rocks such as Mana Crypt and Soul Ring. Early interaction included defensive plays like Defense Grid and Glaring Fleshbreaker, with key cards like Force of Will and Force of Negation being used to protect combos or disrupt opponents. Throughout the midgame, players developed their boards with creatures and equipment such as Umbral Mantle and Sword of the Animist, setting up for value engines and combo sequences. Notable was the use of card draw and recursion effects, including Tamiyo, Sculptor of Fates and Enlightened Tutor, which helped maintain resources and find key pieces.