Part 28

Guide to Magic: The Gathering Arena's Part 28, covering the Predator and Prey duel. Learn about Captain Vronos' artifact deck and Garruk's strategy.

Alright, let's dive into Part 28 of your Magic: The Gathering Arena journey! This section focuses on a duel called 'Predator and Prey,' pitting Captain Vronos against Garruk. Vronos is all about artifacts, and Garruk's got his own tricks up his sleeve. We'll break down their decks and how to tackle this challenge.

Captain Vronos' Deck: Artifact Synergy

Captain Vronos runs a deck packed with artifact creatures and noncreature artifacts. The synergy here is incredible, making cards like Cranial Plating super powerful. When equipped, Cranial Plating gets +1/+0 for each artifact you control, which can quickly turn a small creature into a huge threat. Plus, cards like Frogmite and Myr Enforcer can become free to cast once you have enough artifacts on the field. Keep an eye out for Sanctum Gargoyle and Sharuum the Hegemon – these guys let you bring artifacts back from your graveyard. A common combo is using Sharuum to grab Sanctum Gargoyle, which then lets you add another Sharuum to your hand, ensuring you can keep bringing them back even if they get destroyed.

Decklist Breakdown (Captain Vronos):

• Artifact Creatures [29]: [×4] Arcbound Worker, [×4] Court Homunculus, [×3] Esperzoa, [×4] Etherium Sculptor, [×4] Frogmite, [×2] Myr Enforcer, [×4] Sanctum Gargoyle, [×2] Sharuum the Hegemon, [×2] Tower Gargoyle
• Noncreature Artifacts [6]: [×3] Æther Spellbomb, [×3] Cranial Plating
• Enchantments [3]: [×3] Oblivion Ring
• Lands [24]: [×4] Ancient Den, [×4] Arcane Sanctum, [×4] Esper Panorama, [×2] Island, [×5] Plains, [×4] Seat of the Synod, [×1] Swamp

Planeswalker Difficulty Adjustments for Vronos:

When you bump up the difficulty to Planeswalker, Vronos' deck gets some serious upgrades. Etherium Sculptor is often swapped out for Mox Opal, which gives you extra mana for free! The flyer Esperzoa is replaced by Master of Etherium, a creature whose power and toughness match the number of artifacts you control – making it a massive threat. The Esper Stormblade also gets swapped in, gaining +1/+1 and flying when another multicolored permanent is on the field. Since Tower Gargoyle is gone, this means a duplicate Stormblade will trigger its ability.

Garruk's Strategy: Overcoming Flyers and Removal

Garruk's deck struggles a bit with flyers, so he often has to rely on brute force. Cards like Prey Upon and Consume Strength are key for him to pick off smaller creatures and start clearing the board before Vronos can deploy big threats like Sharuum. A smart move is to use Consume Strength on a creature that isn't attacking or blocking – this way, Garruk gets its power boost and can use it to take down an opponent's attacker or blocker, essentially killing two birds with one stone.

Planeswalker Difficulty Adjustments for Garruk:

On Planeswalker difficulty, Garruk's deck gets closer to the main story's style, featuring more direct removal like Putrefy and Dark Hatchling. He also gets a solid attacker in Putrid Leech and a persistent threat in Spiritmonger. His powerful board wipe, In Garruk's Wake, makes a comeback too. While these changes are good, they can sometimes be more expensive mana-wise than what they replaced. Rampant Growth is swapped for Cultivate to help with mana, but you might still face some dead draws. Don't be afraid to restart the duel if the opening hand is really bad.

Key Matchup Tips:

On higher difficulties, the opponent can sometimes get ahead early with cards like Mox Opal and cheap artifact creatures. However, Garruk can still be a force with Putrid Leech and Dreg Mangler, which can be cast quickly thanks to Cultivate. Be careful not to overuse the Leech's temporary +2/+2 ability, as Garruk has no way to gain life back. Spiritmonger is a huge threat with its regeneration and +1/+1 counters, but it's best used offensively to force your opponent's flyers to block it, fueling its growth. Æther Spellbombs are always a problem, but with Putrefy available for artifact and creature removal, Garruk isn't completely helpless. If Garruk manages to cast 'In Garruk's Wake,' it often signals the end for Vronos. Just remember that Sharuum can quickly establish a strong board presence with Sanctum Gargoyle, so don't miss your chance to strike! A good tip is to regenerate Spiritmonger before nuking the field with 'In Garruk's Wake.' Anything targeted by Oblivion Ring will also stick around, which is useful since Putrefy can't destroy those.

Achievements

While there aren't specific achievements tied directly to this duel, remember that Steam achievements are unlocked by completing various in-game feats. There's no in-game reward, but they're a nice way to show off your accomplishments on your Steam profile. You can check them from the main menu.