cEDH League live Gameplay Week 5: Niv Mizzet vs Ob Nixilis vs Karador vs Tasha

Deck Strategies

• 

  Niv-Mizzet, Parun

  Control the board with instant and sorcery interactions while using Niv-Mizzet’s triggered damage and card draw to maintain card advantage and eliminate threats, aiming to win through repeated burn and drawing key spells.

• 

  Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin

  Ramp aggressively with artifacts like Jeweled Lotus and Mana Crypt, protecting key cards with disruption like Deflecting Swat, then take advantage of Ob Nixilis’s card draw and bleed effects to drain opponents’ life totals quickly.

• 

  Karador, Ghost Chieftain

  Use sacrifice outlets and graveyard recursion to assemble Protean Hulk and other combos, generating infinite mana and eventually winning through a combo finish involving creature synergies and infinite loops.

• 

  Tasha, the Witch Queen

  Leverage artifact ramp and powerful disruption like Imperial Seal and Mana Crypt to control the early game, setting up for a mill or combo finish by manipulating opponents’ libraries and board state.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Niv-Mizzet’s pilot carefully pointed triggered damage at opposing dorks and threats to minimize Ob Nixilis’s advantage, knowing giving free value to Ob Nixilis could be game-ending.

• 2

  Ob Nixilis’s slow early game was a deliberate sandbag to protect his Jeweled Lotus and ramp into a powerful second turn play with Deflecting Swat backup.

• 3

  Karador’s deck was focused on assembling Protean Hulk and using sacrifice effects to generate infinite mana, aiming for a combo finish.

• 4

  The use of artifacts like Wishclaw Talisman sparked tense decisions about who to grant it to, as giving it to a combo deck like Karador could accelerate their win.

• 5

  Players were wary of early wheel effects or mass discard that could disrupt fragile hands, influencing cautious early plays.

• 6

  Library of Alexandria was noted as less impactful in the current meta compared to newer draw effects due to the damage cost and opponents’ ability to punish it.

Notable Cards

• 

  Jeweled Lotus

• 

  Deflecting Swat

• 

  Protean Hulk

• 

  Vampiric Tutor

• 

  Imperial Seal

• 

  Mana Crypt

• 

  Wishclaw Talisman

• 

  Fierce Guardianship

• 

  Library of Alexandria

Summary

The game started with a cautious pace as players mulliganed and set up their early board states. Niv-Mizzet, Parun aimed to control the early game through card draw and selective damage, focusing on pointing triggers at the most threatening creatures or players, especially targeting Ob Nixilis to prevent him from gaining advantage. Ob Nixilis began slowly, sandbagging a Jeweled Lotus, planning a powerful explosive turn once he could protect it with Deflecting Swat and other interaction. Karador, Ghost Chieftain looked to assemble a Protean Hulk combo with sacrifice outlets like Viscera Seer and cards to generate infinite mana, while Tasha, the Witch Queen focused on artifact ramp and disruption, including early plays such as Mana Crypt and Imperial Seal to accelerate and potentially prepare for a wheel or mill-based strategy.