Deck & Commander Strategies
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
Mono-white stax that leverages Elesh Norn’s ability to double enters-the-battlefield triggers to break parity and lock opponents down with disruption and resource denial.
Jeska, Thrice Reborn // Tymna the Weaver
A Mad Farm deck that uses early mana acceleration and card draw engines to either storm off quickly with Ad Nauseam or grind advantage using Jeska and Tymna’s synergy.
Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty
Mono-red storm deck that uses rituals and mana rocks to build a large mana pool and storm count, enabling explosive combo turns to finish the game.
Tayam, Luminous Enigma
Abzan stax control deck that uses taxing and disruptive effects like Drannith Magistrate and Opposition Agent to control the board before winning with various combos.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Sean used flicker effects like Ephemerate to protect key permanents and disrupt Jeska’s damage triggers, maintaining tempo and board presence.
- 2
Ryan’s overloaded Damnation was a critical reset that allowed him to clear the board and then use Wheel of Fortune to refill hands, enabling fresh storm lines.
- 3
Drake’s repeated activations of Harnfel to exile cards from the top of his library enabled him to cast powerful spells from exile and fuel his storm combo efficiently.
- 4
Anthony’s timely deployment of Opposition Agent disrupted Drake’s Wheel of Fortune play, though it was removed quickly by a Lightning Bolt, highlighting the delicate balance of disruption and combo in cEDH.
- 5
Sean’s Ranger-Captain of Eos was sacrificed in response to Jeska’s ability to lock opponents out of casting non-creature spells, showing skilled use of stax pieces to control the game flow.
Notable Cards
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Esper Sentinel
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Ranger-Captain of Eos
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Mana Crypt
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Jeska, Thrice Reborn
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Tymna the Weaver
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Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty
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Urza's Saga
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Jeweled Lotus
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Opposition Agent
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Drannith Magistrate
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Wheel of Fortune
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Seething Song
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Rite of Flame
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Past in Flames
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Aetherflux Reservoir
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Damnation
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Ephemerate
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Recommission
Gameplay Summary
The game began with a tense early setup as each player developed their board state in line with their deck strategy.
Sean, on Elesh Norn, established early board presence with Esper Sentinel and stax elements like Ranger-Captain of Eos, aiming to lock down opponents' options.
Ryan's Tymna/Jeska deck leveraged early mana acceleration and card draw, playing Jeska to chip away at opponents while maintaining card advantage.
Drake, piloting Birgi, focused on quickly assembling mana rocks and storm enablers such as Urza's Saga and Jeweled Lotus to build up for a powerful storm finish.
Anthony, on Tayam, deployed stax pieces like Drannith Magistrate and Opposition Agent to disrupt opponents and stabilize the board before comboing out. A pivotal moment occurred when Ryan cast an overloaded Damnation, wiping the board and resetting the game state, but he quickly rebounded by drawing and casting a Wheel of Fortune with a Fork, refilling hands and fueling Drake's storm combo potential.
Drake capitalized on this by activating Harnfel multiple times to exile key cards and casting a flurry of rituals and spells such as Seething Song, Rite of Flame, and Past in Flames, setting up a massive storm count.
He assembled Aetherflux Reservoir and other combo pieces to gain life and dig through his deck, aiming to close out the game.
Throughout, Sean's Elesh Norn deck applied pressure and disruption, including stax locks and flicker effects to maintain board control.
The game showcased high-level interactions between stax disruption, storm combo lines, and control elements with each player jockeying for position to execute their win condition.
