MTG Commander | Lord of Pain vs Selvala vs Oskar vs Tyvar | TTJ ep 73

Deck Strategies

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  The Lord of Pain

  Punishes opponents by dealing damage equal to the mana value of spells they cast while preventing life gain, aiming to slowly chip away at opponents' life totals and control the pace of the game.

• 

  Selvala, Heart of the Wilds

  A mono-green ramp deck that plays and sacrifices elves and creatures to generate massive amounts of mana and card draw, enabling the casting of large creatures quickly to overwhelm opponents.

• 

  Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer

  Utilizes discard and flash mechanics along with madness to cast spells at instant speed, generating value by discarding and reusing cards to control the board and disrupt opponents.

• 

  Tyvar, the Pummeler

  Focuses on a fast and wide elf tribal strategy, ramping quickly and using pump effects to build a large board state that can deliver significant combat damage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Oskar used his discard outlet to exile a key threat and recast it with flash, temporarily removing The Lord of Pain from the battlefield and reducing incoming damage.

• 2

  Players carefully navigated The Lord of Pain's damage triggers by choosing who to target when casting spells, showing strategic targeting to minimize harm.

• 3

  Selvala’s sacrifice of creatures to draw cards and ramp mana enabled explosive board development, key to maintaining pressure and resource advantage.

• 4

  Tyvar built a wide board quickly and used pump spells to increase combat threat, demonstrating aggressive synergy between elves and combat tricks.

• 5

  The presence of Font of Mythos increased card draw for all players, accelerating the game pace and creating more dynamic turns.

Notable Cards

• 

  The Lord of Pain

• 

  Selvala, Heart of the Wilds

• 

  Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer

• 

  Tyvar, the Pummeler

• 

  Ledger Shredder

• 

  Font of Mythos

• 

  Underworld Dreams

• 

  Dark Ritual

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  Fierce Guardianship

Summary

The game starts with players establishing their mana bases and early board presence. Selvala, Heart of the Wilds, quickly develops a board of elves and other creatures to ramp into significant threats, aiming to play large creatures fast. Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer focuses on discarding cards to fuel his flash and madness spells, using synergy with creatures like Ledger Shredder and Mr. Bubble to draw and discard effectively. The Lord of Pain presents a consistent threat by punishing opponents for casting spells through damage and preventing life gain, applying continuous pressure. Tyvar, the Pummeler builds a fast and wide board with elves and pumps, incorporating mana acceleration and token generation to push for combat damage. The turning point comes when Oskar uses his discard outlet to exile and recast powerful spells, directly targeting the Lord of Pain to temporarily remove it from the battlefield, alleviating some pressure. Meanwhile, Selvala and Tyvar continue to grow their boards, with Selvala sacrificing creatures to draw and ramp and Tyvar leveraging combat tricks to increase power. The game sees significant card advantage plays and board development, with players balancing aggression and resource management. The Lord of Pain's damage triggers force careful sequencing and targeting decisions. Although the game is still early, the player piloting Selvala seems poised to leverage big creatures, while Oskar's flash and madness combo potential and Tyvar's aggressive wide board strategy suggest multiple paths to victory.