CAN NINJAS CLIMB OVER WALLS? Yuriko Arcades Archimandrite Zada | Worst Possible Commander Show #45

Deck Strategies

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  The Archimandrite

  A tribal deck focused on advisors, artificers, and monks that gains life from maintaining a large hand. The deck uses life gain to pump its creatures and draw cards, aiming to overwhelm opponents with large, vigilant creatures buffed by life gain synergies.

• 

  Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

  A ninja tribal deck that uses Ninjutsu to replace unblocked creatures and trigger Yuriko's ability, dealing damage to opponents equal to revealed cards' mana costs. The deck aims to deal incremental damage through evasive ninjas and capitalize on powerful spells revealed.

• 

  Arcades, the Strategist

  A walls tribal deck that draws cards when defenders enter the battlefield and allows creatures with defender to attack using their toughness. The deck employs defensive walls and combat tricks like myriad to generate multiple attacks and control the board.

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  Zada, Hedron Grinder

  A goblin tribal deck that exploits Zada's ability to copy instant and sorcery spells targeting it, applying pump and other effects to all goblins. The deck aims to flood the board with goblins and use cheap spells to boost their power and overwhelm opponents.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Yuriko's Ninjutsu ability enabled early unblockable damage and life loss triggers by revealing high converted mana cost cards, leading to a quick shift in momentum.

• 2

  The Archimandrite's synergy of gaining life from a large hand and pumping tribal creatures created a strong board presence, threatening lethal swings when combined with Illusions of Grandeur.

• 3

  Arcades leveraged walls and defenders effectively by drawing cards and enabling creatures with defender to attack using toughness, employing myriad to multiply attack phases.

• 4

  Zada's ability to copy single-target spells across all goblins allowed for explosive board-wide buffs, making each instant or sorcery a potential game-changer when timed correctly.

• 5

  Early combat interactions highlighted the importance of unblockable creatures and evasion in this game, with players balancing aggression and defense carefully.

Notable Cards

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  Illusions of Grandeur

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  Temporal Trespass

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  Slither Blade

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  Wall of Junk

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  Goblin Engineer

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  Monastery Swiftspear

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  Thought Vessel

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  Wall of Denial

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  Sensei's Divining Top

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  Mind Stone

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  Whirlwind of Thought

Summary

The game began with players establishing their board states and developing their tribal synergies. The Archimandrite player focused on accumulating cards in hand to gain life and pump their advisors, artificers, and monks, aiming to leverage Illusions of Grandeur for a massive life gain and board-wide creature buffs. Meanwhile, the Yuriko player began applying pressure with unblockable ninjas, using Ninjutsu to replace unblocked creatures and trigger Yuriko's damage-dealing ability by revealing high converted mana cost cards. The Arcades player utilized walls and defenders, drawing cards and enabling their creatures to attack thanks to Arcades' ability, while also using combat tricks like Legion's Loyalty to grant myriad and create multiple attackers. The Zada player ramped up with goblin tribal synergies, casting instant and sorcery spells targeting Zada to copy effects across all goblins, aiming for a wide and aggressive board presence. Early combat skirmishes featured Yuriko's ninjas dealing damage and triggering life loss for opponents, including an early lethal hit caused by revealing a high-cost card. Defensive plays from Arcades slowed aggression somewhat, but the relentless goblin swarm and aggressive prowess triggers kept the pressure on. The game showcased a dynamic interplay between aggressive tribal strategies and defensive walls, with key moments revolving around Yuriko's unblockable damage triggers and the Archimandrite's potential for explosive life gain and creature buffs. The match was set for a tense balance of board control, with each deck leveraging its unique tribal mechanics and synergies to push for victory.