EDH Gameplay | Live @ F2F Edmonton | The Rani v Marchesa v Maren v Athreos #edh #commander | EP39

Deck Strategies

• 

  Marchesa, the Black Rose

  Leverages dethrone and +1/+1 counters to create a resilient board that recurs creatures with undying and other counters-based synergies.

• 

  Meren of Clan Nel Toth

  Utilizes sac outlets and graveyard recursion to grind value by reanimating creatures repeatedly, aiming to overwhelm opponents through attrition and synergy.

• 

  Athreos, God of Passage

  Employs a token strategy with Shadowborn Apostles combined with life gain and sacrifice mechanics to control combat and generate incremental advantage.

• 

  The Rani

  Plays a Grixis control and manipulation deck focused on board control, ramp, and disruption to outvalue opponents and seize the game.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Marchesa’s dethrone and +1/+1 counter synergy was pivotal in maintaining board pressure and recurring key creatures for sustained aggression.

• 2

  Meren’s use of Razicth and sac outlets allowed for consistent value extraction from creatures dying and returning, enabling a resilient board state.

• 3

  Athreos’s Shadowborn Apostles token generation provided a unique approach to combat control by forcing attacks and leveraging life gain triggers.

• 4

  The Rani’s steady ramp and Grixis manipulation spells helped stabilize the board early, setting up for impactful midgame plays.

• 5

  The players showed restraint in targeting each other initially, opting to build board states and wait for the right moment to strike, indicating a cautious meta-game awareness.

Notable Cards

• 

  Marchesa, the Black Rose

• 

  Soul Warden

• 

  Enduring Courage

• 

  Skyclave Shadowcat

• 

  Expedition Map

• 

  Thought Vessel

Summary

The game began with players establishing their mana bases and deploying early ramp and utility creatures, setting the stage for a midrange battle centered around board presence and value from counters and recursion. Marchesa, the Black Rose, quickly asserted pressure by swinging with a 3/4 creature boosted by dethrone triggers, targeting the player with the highest life total to maximize damage potential. Meren of Clan Nel Toth focused on graveyard recursion through sac outlets and reanimation, tutoring key creatures like Razicth to maintain board presence and incremental advantage. Athreos, God of Passage, introduced a unique army strategy using Shadowborn Apostles to generate multiple tokens, leveraging life gain and sacrifice synergies to control the flow of combat and board state. Meanwhile, The Rani’s player emphasized manipulating the board with Grixis colors and spell interactions, ramping steadily to deploy impactful spells and creatures.