Deck & Commander Strategies
Kenrith, the Returned King
A five-color deck aiming to establish early value engines and use multiple copies of Smothering Tide combined with Kenrith's abilities to out-resource opponents before finishing with a variety of instant-speed win lines.
Cecil//Barnabas
A four-color deck that leverages its commanders for value, then sets up explosive Ad Nauseam or Underworld Breach combos to win by drawing large amounts of cards or milling opponents' libraries.
Tymna the Weaver // Dargo, the Shipwrecker
A Mardu partners deck that accumulates incremental advantage through Tymna's card draw and Dargo's sacrifice synergy, aiming to win by repeatedly sacrificing Dargo to an altar and milling out opponents.
Etali, Primal Conqueror
A Turbo Gruul deck focused on casting Etali early and copying it multiple times to chain attacks, eventually enabling the Food Chain combo with Squee to generate infinite creature mana and exile opponents' libraries.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Using Force Negation to protect the Ad Nauseam cast was critical to enabling a massive card draw without disruption, leading directly to the combo finish.
- 2
The aggressive use of mana acceleration such as Mox Opal, Lotus Pedal, and Mox Amber allowed explosive early turns and quick setup of combo lines.
- 3
Sacrificing Dargo repeatedly to an altar was a key synergy for the Tymna//Dargo deck to generate a mill-based win condition.
- 4
The player piloting Etali faced significant disruption early on, including counterspells, slowing down the intended fast combo chain.
- 5
Brain Freeze was used creatively to self-mill large portions of the library to set up Underworld Breach recursion and fast combo execution.
Notable Cards
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Ad Nauseam
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Underworld Breach
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Brain Freeze
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Force of Will
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Mox Opal
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Demonic Tutor
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City of Traitors
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Cabal Ritual
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Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
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Tinder Wall
Gameplay Summary
The first game featured a high-powered multiplayer cEDH match with Kenrith, the Returned King, Cecil//Barnabas, Tymna//Dargo, and Etali as the commanders.
The game started with aggressive mana acceleration and early plays, including ramp spells and value creatures like Ragavan and Lotus Pedal.
Interaction was heavy early on, with counterspells such as Force of Will and Force Negation coming down to disrupt key plays like casting Atali.
A pivotal moment occurred when the player piloting Cecil//Barnabas established an Ad Nauseam turn protected by Force Negation, enabling a massive card draw that led to a quick combo win using Underworld Breach and Brain Freeze to mill out opponents.
The game was notable for quick tempo swings and precise counterplay that dictated the flow of the game.
