Kotis, the Fangkeeper vs Wolverine, Best There Is Liliana, Heretical Healer vs Breena, the Demagogue

Deck Strategies

• 

  Kotis, the Fangkeeper

  Utilizes mutation mechanics and equipment to grow creatures, destroy opposing enchantments and artifacts, and generate value through combat damage and creature interactions.

• 

  Wolverine, Best There Is

  Aggressive beatdown with resilience; repeatedly returns to the battlefield to apply combat pressure, supported by combat buffs and regeneration effects.

• 

  Liliana, Heretical Healer // Liliana, Defiant Necromancer

  Sacrifice and recursion theme leveraging Liliana's ability to transform and recur creatures, enabling board control and incremental advantage.

• 

  Breena, the Demagogue

  Focuses on +1/+1 counters and card draw by attacking and manipulating creature counters, generating incremental advantage to outvalue opponents.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Max utilized Kotis' mutation ability to repeatedly destroy key artifacts and enchantments, disrupting opponents' strategies and maintaining board control.

• 2

  Max took advantage of Bloodchief Ascension and Phyrexian Arena for continuous incremental life drain and card draw, synergizing well with his control elements.

• 3

  Repeated board wipes such as Damnation and Toxic Deluge reset the board state, but Kotis' indestructibility and regeneration effects allowed him to maintain presence.

• 4

  Wolverine’s repeated returns to the battlefield pressured opponents but was vulnerable to targeted removal and mass sacrifice effects like Shoulders to the Field and Blighted Fen.

• 5

  Breena’s synergy with +1/+1 counters and card draw through combat kept the deck relevant throughout the game, although it struggled against mass removal.

• 6

  Arj’s use of Sheoldred, the True Scriptures forced opponents to discard and mill, creating disruption and attrition that shaped late-game interactions.

• 7

  Max’s use of Torment of Hailfire served as a large-scale threat forcing opponents to take damage or sacrifice resources, though it was played conservatively with a relatively low X value.

• 8

  Strategic timing of equipping and mutation spells maximized Kotis’ impact, often swinging the tempo in Max’s favor by recovering or growing creatures after board wipes.

Notable Cards

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  Damnation

• 

  Bloodchief Ascension

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  Rancor

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  Twilight Prophet

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  Torment of Hailfire

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  Blackblade Reforged

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  Ravenous Chupacabra

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  Swords to Plowshares

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  Toxic Deluge

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  Cabal Coffers

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  Sword of the Animist

• 

  Tragic Arrogance

Summary

The game began with players establishing ramp and board presence, including early plays of mana acceleration such as Sol Ring, Elvish Deep Shadow, and Cabal Coffers. Liliana, Heretical Healer was deployed early, providing recursion and sacrifice synergies. Kotis, the Fangkeeper demonstrated a heavy interaction with +1/+1 counters and removal through mutation and equipment like Rancor and Blackblade Reforged, while maximizing value from creatures like Sawdust Demolisher and Ravenous Chupacabra. Wolverine, Best There Is focused on aggressive combat and resilience, repeatedly returning to the battlefield despite repeated removal. Breena, the Demagogue leveraged +1/+1 counters and card draw to maintain pressure and value.