Bringing Our “A” Game - Commander A-Z - EDH Gameplay Ep 137

Deck & Commander Strategies

• 

  Atraxa, Praetors' Voice

  Utilizes a counter-based theme with exactly one of each counter type in the deck, leveraging proliferate and unique interactions to apply pressure and control the board.

• 

  Atemsis, All-Seeing

  A mono-blue deck composed solely of cards starting with the letter A (except basic lands), aiming to assemble a diverse mana curve to trigger a big non-combat damage combo for a one-shot kill.

• 

  Axelrod Gunnarson

  Forces opponents to create multiple creatures and then uses damage redirection effects like Shandra's Ignition to translate damage from those creatures directly to opponents’ life totals.

• 

  Aang, Airbending Master

  Focuses on ETB triggers and airbending synergies to generate large creatures and overwhelming board presence that opponents struggle to stop.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The symmetrical effect of Genesis Chamber forced all players to consider token generation carefully, as tokens benefit everyone but could be leveraged for sacrifice and damage combos.

• 2

  Deadly Designs provided a slow, incremental removal option that anyone could advance, creating a political tension around when to trigger the destructive effect.

• 3

  Aang’s player prioritized increasing counters on creatures to maximize their board threat while balancing the risk of enabling opponents' combos.

• 4

  Atraxa’s unique singleton counter theme required players to adapt to unconventional proliferate interactions and anticipate unexpected synergies.

• 5

  Atemsis’s deckbuilding restriction to 'A' cards introduced an additional challenge to assembling combos, emphasizing careful hand management and sequencing.

• 6

  Axelrod Gunnarson’s strategy of forcing creatures on opponents and then redirecting damage added a layer of indirect pressure that opponents needed to mitigate quickly.

Notable Cards

• 

  Genesis Chamber

• 

  Scheming Aspirant

• 

  Yahenni, Undying Partisan

• 

  Deadly Designs

• 

  Arcane Signet

• 

  Heraldic Banner

Gameplay Summary