Tale of Two Commanders 2

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GoldGhost012

4 December 2013

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Tale of Two Commanders #2: Saprolings Smash vs. Creature Explosions

That’s right, Rith's Saproling horde takes on Tymaret's burning mortar creatures.

Welcome to the second installment of Tale of Two Commanders. This is the second article of the little tournament between my three decks to see who will win the honor of being the deck I use to battle the decks of other users. To refresh everyone's memories (and because I didn't do it in the last article), the three decks in contention are:

Excuse Me, But There's A Dragon Eating Your Face

Commander / EDH GoldGhost012

SCORE: 66 | 104 COMMENTS | 14393 VIEWS | IN 39 FOLDERS

Tymaret's Mortars of Death

Commander / EDH GoldGhost012

SCORE: 6 | 20 COMMENTS | 2350 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS

deck-large: Dude, You Just Got Crushed By Plants

In the last article, Excuse Me, But There's A Dragon Eating Your Face defeated Tymaret's Mortars of Death. Today, in Tale of Two Commanders #2, the competing decks will be

Tymaret's Mortars of Death

Commander / EDH GoldGhost012

SCORE: 6 | 20 COMMENTS | 2350 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS

As those who already read the last article know, Tymaret excels at sacrificing stuff for damage and removal, especially with Grave Pact and Act of Treason-like effects. Tymaret himself was able to able to deal quite a bit of damage last match by himself. If it doesn’t run out of steam or get overrun by massive hordes of Saprolings, Tymaret should be able to pull off a win. On the other hand, Plants are very good at producing massive amounts of Saprolings and buffing them. Even if they don’t get buffed, would you want 20 Saprolings growing every turn, just waiting for an opportunity to rush you? T will stand for Tymaret (shocker, right?) and P will stand for Plants. The thought processes of T will be italicized while P will be bolded.

Disclaimer: Both these decks are played by me on the Tappedout playtester. I am definitely not a MTG pro. Far from it. I WILL make mistakes and misplays. This is for me to improve my skills as well as for the viewers.

Let's Begin

P wins the roll and will go first. He mulligans a hand of Forest, Seed Spark, Borborygmos, Thallid, Primeval Bounty, Elspeth, Knight-Errant and Wolfbriar Elemental. There definitely isn't enough land in this hand, and I don’t trust the strength of my "topdecking for lands" powers. Although it is cool that Google Docs can correctly spellcheck Borborygmos! Even if spellcheck isn’t apparently a word... Anyways, back on topic. He keeps a hand of Primordial Hydra, Sylvan Scrying, Pendelhaven, Spike Weaver, Flash Foliage, and Sacred Foundry. Land, a good defense, and a future bomb. Let's do it. T keeps a hand of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Kokusho, the Evening Star, Yawgmoth's Will, Rakdos Signet, Sol Ring, Phyrexian Tower, and Phyrexian Altar. Looks like we got the whole Phyrexian aspect here... And Google Docs can correctly spell Yawgmoth! Wow! I don't know why I'm so excited! Hopefully we'll have some fodder for Tymaret, the Murder King soon.*

Turn 1

P plays Sacred Foundry tapped.

T draws Swamp, which he plays. He then taps it to cast Sol Ring, which he then taps to cast Rakdos Signet. Turn 1 mana acceleration doesn’t get much better than that.

Turn 2

P draws Thallid Germinator. He then plays Pendelhaven, then casts Sylvan Scrying to look through his library and add Wooded Bastion to his hand, then shuffles his library.

T draws Grave Pact. Soon... He then plays Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, taps Sol Ring to activate the ability of Rakdos Signet, adding BR to his mana pool, leaving one colorless mana floating. He then taps Swamp and Urborg and spends the mana from the signet to cast Grave Pact. Never mind, now! Let the sacrificing shenanigans begin!

Turn 3

P draws Coat of Arms. That Grave Pact could be a problem soon if I can't get enough creatures out. Plays Wooded Bastion, then casts Thallid Germinator. It’s a start...

T draws Blood Crypt. He plays Phyrexian Tower, then taps his lands, Sol Ring, and Rakdos Signet to cast Kokusho, the Evening Star. Grave Pact and Kokusho on turn three make a huge threat. Let's see his response.

Turn 4

During P's upkeep, Thallid Germinator gets a spore counter (1). He draws Trostani, Selesnya's Voice. Well, I can play Primordial Hydra, but that'll only put 1 counter on him, and Kokusho can fly over him. It's safer to just surprise block. Passes.

T draws Swamp. He plays Blood Crypt, which he has enter untapped (P: 40, T: 38). I'll play Tymaret now because he has mana open, and he could have a kill spell. He then taps his Swamp to activate the ability of Rakdos Signet, then casts his Commander, Tymaret, the Murder King for the first time. He then attacks with Kokusho, the Evening Star. In response, P casts Flash Foliage, creating a 1/1 Saproling token that automatically blocks Kokusho. P also draws a card, which is a Plains. Mana! Yay! Kokusho kills the Saproling token. Well, that didn't quite go as planned. Whatever, still have a 5/5 dragon with a nasty ability, a sac outlet, and Grave Pact. He then taps Sol Ring and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to cast Phyrexian Altar.

Turn 5

During P's upkeep, Thallid Germinator gets a spore counter (2). He draws True Conviction. Not exactly what I need right now, but it'll be good later. Plays Plains, then taps Pendelhaven to activate Wooded Bastion's ability, adding GG to his mana pool. He then taps Sacred Foundry and Plains and spends the floating mana to cast Trostani, Selesnya's Voice. Looks like a prime time for some shenanigans. I really need to get rid of Trostani before he starts gaining tons of life. During his end step, T sacrifices Kokusho, the Evening Star to activate Tymaret, the Murder King's first ability (P: 38, T: 38). Kokusho’s ability triggers (P: 33, T: 43). With Kokusho's death, Grave Pact’s ability triggers, and P sacrifices Thallid Germinator. Best part is, I can bring Kokusho back with Yawgmoth's Will!

T draws Anger. He plays Swamp, then taps Sol Ring to activate the ability of Rakdos Signet, adding BR to his mana pool, leaving one colorless mana floating. He then taps a Swamp to play Anger. He attacks with Anger and Tymaret, the Murder King. No matter what I do, this is a lose-lose situation. If I block one of his creatures, Trostani will kill it and I'll be forced to sacrifice her. If I don't block, he'll sacrifice Anger to Tymaret in the second main phase anyway, hitting me for six damage and still forcing me to sacrifice Trostani. I might as well kill Tymaret now. P blocks Tymaret with Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, which kills Tymaret (P: 31, T: 43). Tymaret goes to T's graveyard. With Tymaret's death, Grave Pact's ability triggers, and P sacrifices Trostani. I'm really loving Grave Pact. During his second main phase, T taps Swamp and Phyrexian Tower to activate Tymaret's second ability, sacrificing Anger to return Tymaret from his graveyard to his hand. Grave Pact triggers, but P has no creatures to sacrifice. T taps Blood Crypt and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to cast Tymaret, the Murder King. Since it was cast from his hand and not from the Command Zone, T doesn't have to play the Commander tax.

Turn 6

P draws Doubling Season. The one enchantment I almost always want more than anything, and I can't play it. Figures. Might as well make the Hydra. Taps Pendelhaven to activate Wooded Bastion's effect, adding GG to his mana pool. He then taps Sacred Foundry and Plains and spends the floating mana to cast Primordial Hydra. Since X=2, the Hydra comes into play with 2 +1/+1 counters as a 2/2. Now I can block if I really need to.

T draws Swamp. He plays Swamp, then taps three Swamps to play Yawgmoth's Will. He then taps Sol Ring to activate the ability of Rakdos Signet, adding BR to his mana pool, leaving one colorless mana floating, and taps Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Phyrexian Tower, and Blood Crypt to cast Kokusho, the Evening Star from his graveyard. Thanks to the ability of Anger in T's graveyard, Kokusho has haste. Attacks with Tymaret, the Murder King and Kokusho, no blocks (P: 24, T: 43; P: 2 Commander Damage, T: 0 Commander Damage).

Turn 7

During P's upkeep, Primordial Hydra’s effect triggers, doubling the number of +1/+1 counters on it to 4, making it a 4/4. He draws Growing Ranks, then attacks with the Hydra (P: 24, T: 41). Taps Pendelhaven to activate Wooded Bastion's effect, adding GG to his mana pool. He then taps Sacred Foundry and Plains and spends the floating mana to cast Spike Weaver. Spike Weaver enters the battlefield with 3 +1/+1 counters on it, making it a 3/3. I really wish Doubling Season was on the battlefield right now...

T draws Swamp. He attacks with Kokusho, the Evening Star (P: 19, T: 41). He sacrifices Tymaret, the Murder King to activate Phyrexian Altar's effect, adding B to his mana pool. Tymaret goes to T's graveyard. Grave Pact triggers, and P sacrifices Spike Weaver. T taps Swamp and spends the floating B to activate Tymaret's second ability, sacrificing Kokusho to return Tymaret from his graveyard to his hand. Kokusho's effect triggers (P: 14, T: 46). Kokusho's death triggers Grave Pact, and P sacrifices Primordial Hydra. He then taps Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to activate the effect of Rakdos Signet, adding BR to his mana pool which he then spends to cast Tymaret. Since it was cast from his hand and not from the Command Zone, T doesn't have to play the Commander tax.

Turn 8

P draws Cavern of Souls, which he plays, naming Fungus. Well, I can't do anything else but Doubling Season. Hopefully he won't get a creature next turn. Taps everything to cast Doubling Season.

T draws Mass Mutiny. This will come in very handy soon. Nothing else I can do but attack. Attacks with Tymaret, the Murder King (P: 12, T: 46; P: 4 Commander Damage, T: 0 Commander Damage).

Turn 9

S draws Sunpetal Grove, which he plays. Well, I don't really have anything else to play right now, so... Taps everything to cast Rith, the Awakener. Hopefully he doesn't remove it... This is one creature I won't bother with Grave Pacting.*

T draws Mountain, which he plays. He then taps Sol Ring to activate the ability of Rakdos Signet, adding BR to his mana pool, leaving one colorless mana floating, and taps Mountain and a Swamp to cast Mass Mutiny, taking control of P's Rith, the Awakener. It gains haste, and Rith and Tymaret, the Murder King attack (P: 4, T: 46; P: 12 Commander Damage, T: 0 Commander Damage). During his second main phase, T taps Blood Crypt and Phyrexian Tower and sacrifices Rith to activate Tymaret's first ability (P: 2, T: 46). Rith goes to P's Command Zone. If only I had another creature... Next turn. Just barely survived that. I'll need a topdeck of the century to win now though.

Turn 10

P draws Aura Mutation ... Topdeck of the century? Taps Sacred Foundry, Cavern of Souls, Pendelhaven, and Wooded Bastion to cast Growing Ranks. So, is he just playing stuff to play stuff? He didn't play a creature, so I wonder what else he has in his hand.

T draws Attrition. I wanted a creature, not more removal! He taps three Swamps to cast Attrition, then attacks with Tymaret, the Murder King. In response, P casts Aura Mutation, destroying Grave Pact and getting 4 1/1 Saproling tokens. Doubling Season triggers, making 4 more 1/1 Saproling tokens for a total of 8. Yay, creatures! And no more Grave Pact! CENSORED!! 2 Saproling tokens block Tymaret, all three creatures die. Tymaret goes to the Command Zone. T taps Sol Ring to activate the ability of Rakdos Signet, adding BR to his mana pool, leaving one colorless mana floating, and taps Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to cast his Commander, Tymaret, the Murder King for the second time.

Turn 11

During P's upkeep, Growing Ranks populates a Saproling token. Doubling Season triggers, making another Saproling token for a total of 2. He draws Volt Charge then casts True Conviction. Insert a solid minute of T screaming "NO!" P attacks with 6 Saproling tokens, no blocks (P: 14, T: 36).

T draws Cabal Coffers. Really? Plays Cabal Coffers, then attacks with Tymaret. P blocks with a Saproling, both die (P: 16, T: 36). T taps Sol Ring to activate the ability of Rakdos Signet, adding BR to his mana pool, leaving one colorless mana floating, and taps three Swamps to cast his Commander, Tymaret, the Murder King for the third time.

Turn 12

During P's upkeep, Growing Ranks populates a Saproling token. Doubling Season triggers, making another Saproling token for a total of 2. He draws Scatter the Seeds, then casts Coat of Arms. There's a total of 9 Saprolings on the battlefield, so all Saprolings get +8/+8. Swings with 7 9/9 double strike lifelinking Saprolings for lethal.

deck-large: Dude, You Just Got Crushed by Plants

wins the game!

Afterwards

Well. Didn't quite see that coming. Despite Tymaret getting him down to 2 life, within range of another one of Tymaret's mortars, Plants was able to come back in a huge way for the win with a huge topdeck. Aura Mutation definitely was the key card in the win, destroying the Grave Pact that had been decimating all of his forces. And of course, you can't go wrong with a horde of Saprolings (is 9 Saprolings a horde?), especially when they're buffed up with True Conviction and Coat of Arms.

Greatest Contributors: Aura Mutation, Doubling Season, True Conviction, Coat of Arms

Once again, Tymaret just ran out of steam, just managing to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. One more creature and he could have pulled off the win. It was bad luck to keep drawing lands, I guess. This situation is where Endless Cockroaches would've been nice. Hopefully I didn't mess up any plays again. Tymaret has now been eliminated from the tournament.

Greatest Contributors: Grave Pact, Tymaret, the Murder King, Kokusho, the Evening Star

Lessons to Take Away From This:

Grave Pact + sac outlet = Complete Annihilation.

Doubling Season is probably the best way to spawn massive amounts of tokens.

Never underestimate the power of Saprolings.

deck: Dude, You Just Got Crushed By Plants: (1-0)

Tymaret's Mortars of Death: (0-2, eliminated)

Next article, we'll have the final showdown to show who will come out on top: Dragons or Plants. The winner of the next article will face your decks. No pressure.

Thanks for reading! I tried to incorporate some suggestions some users had suggested. Be sure to tell me anything that bugs you about the article. Didn't like my long sentences about what exactly was tapped to cast or activate abilities? Let me know, and I'll do my best to fix it. Also, don't be afraid to point out any mistakes I made so that I can learn and attempt not to make the same mistake.

Once again, please wait to submit decks until the next article is submitted. Thank you and have a nice day.