Our Halloween Episode! Valgavoth vs Braids vs Mothman vs Varina - WPCS #128

Deck Strategies

• 

  Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls

  Punish opponents for losing life by growing a powerful flying demon that draws cards with every life loss trigger, aiming to outvalue opponents through incremental card advantage.

• 

  Braids, Arisen Nightmare

  Force opponents to sacrifice permanents each turn by sacrificing own artifacts, creatures, or other permanents, drawing cards and draining opponents' board presence and life.

• 

  Varina, Lich Queen

  Create and grow a zombie army by exiling cards from graveyards, gaining life and drawing cards to maintain pressure and win through overwhelming board presence.

• 

  The Wise Mothman

  Mill cards from all players' libraries to generate board advantage by putting counters on creatures and growing board state through mill-driven synergies.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Sacrificing Braids at the end of a turn was used tactically to force opponents into multiple sacrifices, amplifying loss of board presence and enabling significant card draw.

• 2

  Karak Parasite combined with card draw effects was a crucial source of continuous damage to opponents, synergizing well with life-loss triggers.

• 3

  The milling strategy with The Wise Mothman leveraged non-land card discard to place counters on creatures, effectively turning milling into board development rather than just disruption.

• 4

  Varina's zombie tokens and card draw/discard mechanic added a steady stream of creatures and life gain, helping to maintain board presence amidst sacrifice and mill effects.

Notable Cards

• 

  Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls

• 

  Braids, Arisen Nightmare

• 

  Varina, Lich Queen

• 

  The Wise Mothman

• 

  Mind Stone

• 

  Lightning Greaves

Summary

The game began with each player setting up their respective strategies, focusing on synergies that involve drawing cards and forcing opponents to sacrifice or mill cards. Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls, aimed to punish opponents for losing life by accumulating counters and drawing cards. Braids, Arisen Nightmare, applied pressure by forcing opponents to sacrifice permanents or lose life, feeding into card draw. Varina, Lich Queen, focused on creating and growing a zombie army to outpace the others, while The Wise Mothman used mill mechanics to generate board presence and disrupt opponents' libraries. Early turns saw players developing their boards and applying incremental pressure through their commanders' abilities and supporting permanents like Karak Parasite and Alter of the Brood. A key moment unfolded when Braids entered the battlefield, enabling a chain of sacrifices that forced opponents to lose creatures and life, accelerating card draw and damage triggers. The game escalated with players leveraging life loss, mill, and sacrifice synergies to fuel their engines. Notably, the sacrifice of Braids itself was used strategically to force opponents into tough choices, further advancing the board state and card advantage. The interplay of these mechanics created a tense and dynamic battle for control and resources.