Part 27

Navigate Expansion Duels in Magic: The Gathering Arena Part 27. Learn strategies for Boragor's black noncombat damage deck and Grinth's mill/damage strategy.

Alright, let's dive into Part 27 of our Magic: The Gathering Arena journey! This section focuses on two tricky Expansion Duels: 'Pick Up The Trail' and 'Mind of a Hunter'. We'll break down the decks you'll face and how to beat them.

EXPANSION DUEL 2: PICK UP THE TRAIL

This duel features Boragor, Hermit of Xathrid, who's running a black deck all about noncombat damage and using the swamp to his advantage. The more lands he has, the more he can wipe the board with Mutilate, drain your life with Corrupt, and power up his creatures.

Boragor's Deck Breakdown:

• Creatures [19]: Bog Raiders (x4), Cadaver Imp (x3), Crypt Ripper (x3), Festering Goblin (x3), Howling Banshee, Nightmare (x2)
• Enchantments [3]: Quag Sickness (x3)
• Sorceries [14]: Corrupt (x4), Mutilate (x3), Sign in Blood (x4), Vicious Hunger (x3)
• Lands [24]: Swamp (x24)

Key Strengths & Weaknesses:

• Control: Good (Corrupt, Mutilate, Vicious Hunger)
• Draw Power: Poor (Sign in Blood)
• Speed: Mediocre
• Stay Power: Poor
• Strength: Good (Nightmare, Crypt Ripper)
• Synergy: Good
• Retrieval: Poor (Cadaver Imp)

Planeswalker Difficulty Changes:

On Planeswalker difficulty, Boragor swaps out Quag Sickness for Tendrils of Corruption. This version of Corrupt costs 4 mana and can't target players, but it's great for clearing out his creatures with toughness 4 or 5 early on.

Strategy Against Boragor:

Boragor's deck relies heavily on noncombat damage and graveyard recursion with Cadaver Imp. While hand destruction can be a double-edged sword, it's pretty effective here since his deck has plenty of discard targets. The main threats are Nightmare and Crypt Ripper. If you can deal with those, especially the Crypt Ripper when it's just a 2/2, you're in good shape. His hand advantage comes from Sign in Blood and Cadaver Imp, so if you can disrupt that, his deck slows down considerably. Even without creatures out, he can still use Mutilate effectively.

Pro Tip: If you don't want to mess with his hand, focus on life gain and quick creature removal like Reprisal, Divine Verdict, or Flesh to Dust. His creatures, besides Nightmare, are pretty weak, so noncombat damage spells work well too.

EXPANSION DUEL 3: MIND OF A HUNTER

Next up is Grinth, who's using a red deck that aims to mill your library and hit you with direct damage. He's got a bunch of artifacts that force both players to draw cards, which fuels his direct damage spells.

Grinth's Deck Breakdown:

• Creatures [10]: Adamaro, First to Desire (x2), Pilgrim's Eye (x4), Runed Servitor (x4)
• Artifacts [10]: Font of Mythos (x4), Howling Mine (x4), Temple Bell (x2)
• Instants [16]: Magma Spray (x4), Runeflare Trap (x4), Searing Spear (x4), Sudden Impact (x4)
• Lands [24]: Mountain (x24)

Key Strengths & Weaknesses:

• Control: Poor (Runeflare Trap)
• Draw Power: Great (Font of Mythos, Howling Mine, Temple Bell, Runed Servitor)
• Speed: Average
• Stay Power: Poor
• Strength: Poor (Adamaro, First to Desire)
• Synergy: Good
• Retrieval: None

Planeswalker Difficulty Changes:

On Planeswalker difficulty, Grinth swaps out the single-target Magma Spray for the board-clearing Anger of the Gods. Both cards exile what they kill, so your smaller creatures might be gone for good.

Strategy Against Grinth:

The biggest threat here is Adamaro, First to Desire. Its power and toughness are based on the number of cards you have in hand. With artifacts like Font of Mythos and Howling Mine, Grinth can easily pump up Adamaro, making it a huge threat early on. Be careful, because the more cards you draw, the stronger it gets!

Countering the Mill: Since Grinth's artifacts draw cards for both players, you can use this to your advantage. Cards like Elixir of Immortality can shuffle your graveyard back into your deck and give you some life. You can also try a mill strategy yourself! Low-cost cards like Tome Scour, Hedron Crab, and Chill of Forboding can quickly deplete Grinth's library before he can do too much damage.

Alternative Strategies: If you don't want to go the mill route, focus on life gain. Cards like Lone Missionary combined with Rhox Faithmender can double your life gain, helping you survive the onslaught of direct damage. You can also destroy Grinth's artifacts directly with cards like...