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Part 24
Magic: The Gathering Arena

Part 24

Part 24 of the Magic: The Gathering Arena guide covers duels against Ob Nixilis and Garruk, detailing their decks and strategies.

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Part 24 of the Magic: The Gathering Arena guide covers duels against Ob Nixilis and Garruk, detailing their decks and strategies.

Walkthrough
  1. 1
    Duel 5-4: Scorn of Ob Nixilis
    1. Ob Nixilis uses a demonic (black) life loss deck.
  2. 2
    Key creatures include Corpse Hauler, Demon of Death's Gate, Death Cultist, Indulgent Tormentor, Renegade Demon, Soulcage Fiend, Tenacious Dead, and Zof Shade.
  3. 3
    Instants include Wring Flesh.
  4. 4
    Sorceries include Covenant of Blood, Marsh Casualties, and Sign in Blood.
  5. 5
    Lands include Swamp.
  6. 6
    Ob Nixilis's strategy involves using cards like Death Cultist and Tenacious Dead for early presence, potentially sacrificing them for life loss or regeneration.
  7. 7
    He aims to deploy larger demons like Renegade Demon, Soulcage Fiend, or Demon of Death's Gate, which has an alternate summoning requirement of 6 life and 3 black sacrifices.
  8. 8
    Zof Shade can be powered up with 3 mana for +2/+2.
  9. 9
    Control is maintained with Covenant of Blood, Wring Flesh (target gets -3/-1), and Marsh Casualties (all creatures player controls get -1/-1 or -2/-2).
  10. 10
    Sign in Blood provides average draw power.
  11. 11
    Tenacious Dead offers average stay power.
  12. 12
    Demon of Death's Gate and Renegade Demon contribute to good strength.
  13. 13
    Corpse Hauler is noted for poor retrieval.
  14. 14
    Planeswalker difficulty swaps Renegade Demon for Halo Hunter (5/3), which can destroy an Angel upon entering play. Halo Hunter has the same CMC as Renegade Demon.
  15. 15
    Demon of Death's Gate is a 9/9; noncombat damage is effective as other creatures' toughness maxes out at 3.
  16. 16
    Consider cards like Agent of the Fates, Auger Spree, Anger of the Gods, Blood Tribute, Covenant of Blood, Ground Assault, Inferno Titan, Prey Upon, Skymark Roc, Siege Dragon, or Young Wolf to counter Ob Nixilis's strategy.
  17. 17
    Multiplayer boosters that may help include Vapor Snag and Vicious Hunger.
  • Duel 5-5a: Garruk
    1. Garruk uses a green beast beatdown deck.
    2. Creatures include Garruk's Companion, Garruk's Packleader, Hollowhenge Beast, Rampaging Baloths, Runeclaw Bear, and Slaughterhorn.
    3. Enchantments include Triumph of Ferocity.
    4. Instants include Beast Within.
    5. Sorceries include Harmonize and Nature's Lore.
    6. Lands include Bayou, Forest, Golgari Guildgate, and Swamp.
    7. Garruk uses Harmonize (draw 3 cards) and Nature's Lore for land acquisition.
    8. Garruk's Packleader (4/4) allows drawing a card when a creature with 3+ power enters play.
    9. Rampaging Baloths (6/6) spawns 4/4 tokens with its Landfall ability.
    10. Bayous are green/black lands that enter untapped.
    11. Garruk's deck has poor control, relying on Beast Within.
    12. Draw power is good, with Harmonize, Triumph of Ferocity, and Garruk's Packleader.
    13. Speed and stay power are average.
    14. Strength is good.
    15. Synergy is average.
    16. Retrieval is average, with Nature's Lore.
    17. Planeswalker difficulty adds Cultivate (an upgrade from Nature's Lore) and replaces Rampaging Baloths with Thragtusk (which creates a 3/3 token on death).
    18. Garruk focuses solely on beatdowns and does not use noncombat damage.
    • Tips
    • Be aware that indestructible cards are not destroyed if their toughness reaches zero, but this does not apply to creatures that regenerate. Regenerated creatures will be sent to the graveyard if targeted.
    • Cards like Skeletal Wurm and Drudge Skeletons may not be effective against Ob Nixilis, especially if forced to regenerate in the first main phase by cards like Valakut, Cosi's Ravager, and Vent Sentinel.
    • For Ob Nixilis, consider using cards that can deal with large creatures or provide life gain/loss mitigation.
    • For Garruk, focus on controlling the board and dealing with his large creatures and tokens.

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