Grazilaxx vs Acererak vs Bruenor vs Delina [EDH/Commander, Magic The Gathering Gameplay] 2021

Deck Strategies

• 

  Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar

  Utilizes a swarm of unblockable or evasive creatures to draw extra cards and chain extra turns, effectively out-valuing opponents with incremental advantage.

• 

  Acererak the Archlich

  Focuses on dungeon exploration synergy, ramping with Cabal Coffers and Heartless Summoning to generate large amounts of mana, aiming to create infinite combos involving treasures and recurring his commander to dominate the board.

• 

  Bruenor Battlehammer

  Aggressive equipment matters build that boosts creatures with powerful equipment like Colossus Hammer and uses combat tricks to quickly deal lethal damage.

• 

  Delina, Wild Mage

  Spell-slinging deck that uses spells like Warstorm Surge and token generation to deal damage and create multiple attacker copies, leveraging spells to control the board and push damage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Acererak’s use of Heartless Summoning drastically reduced his commander’s casting cost, enabling multiple dungeon ventures and creating infinite mana combos with treasure tokens.

• 2

  Bruenor’s application of Colossus Hammer combined with equipment protection allowed for threatening combat damage early, forcing opponents to address the equipment quickly or risk lethal swings.

• 3

  Grazilaxx’s strategy of building a board of evasive creatures to chain extra turns was a strong value engine, but required careful timing to avoid being shut down by the other aggressive decks.

• 4

  Delina leveraged Warstorm Surge and token generation to maximize damage output through spells, creating multiple attackers to overwhelm opponents and making each spell cast a potential board swing.

• 5

  The use of Sundial of the Infinite by Delina’s player to skip end steps prevented some negative triggers and enabled additional combat phases, showcasing a smart timing play.

• 6

  Interactions involving dungeon exploration and card draw created complex board states that rewarded careful resource management and sequencing, particularly for Acererak’s deck.

Notable Cards

• 

  Acererak the Archlich

• 

  Heartless Summoning

• 

  Cabal Coffers

• 

  Colossus Hammer

• 

  Swiftfoot Boots

• 

  Warstorm Surge

• 

  Sundial of the Infinite

• 

  Thought Vessel

• 

  Runaway Steam-Kin

Summary

The game began with four distinct strategies vying for control: Grazilaxx pushing a value and extra turn engine with small evasive creatures, Acererak focusing on a powerful dungeon-centric combo engine, Bruenor applying aggressive equipment-based combat pressure, and Delina channeling spell-slinging damage with token generation. Early turns saw Acererak ramp aggressively with Cabal Coffers and Heartless Summoning to quickly deploy his commander and dive into dungeons, setting up for an infinite mana and treasure token combo. Meanwhile, Bruenor equipped Colossus Hammer and Swiftfoot Boots to enhance his creatures, aiming to close out the game with heavy swings. Grazilaxx developed his board with evasive creatures to fuel extra turns and card draw, while Delina built up with spells like Warstorm Surge to maximize damage output and create token copies for additional pressure. Midgame pivoted around Acererak's ability to repeatedly venture through dungeons, generating mana and treasures to outpace others. This forced opponents to respond quickly, but Bruenor’s equipment boosts and Delina’s direct damage spells kept the board tense. Grazilaxx’s incremental advantage through extra turns kept him in the running by capitalizing on his commander's draw trigger. Key turning points included Acererak locking in infinite mana combos and recurring threats, Bruenor leveraging Colossus Hammer to threaten lethal damage, and Delina leveraging spells to clear blockers and push damage. The game’s tempo swung multiple times, but Acererak’s synergy with dungeon exploration and mana ramp proved decisive in overwhelming the board and securing victory.