Belbe vs Aesi vs Ramos vs Zara EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

• 

  Belbe, Corrupted Observer

  Generate large amounts of colorless mana from casting Eldrazi and colorless spells to cast powerful threats and overwhelm opponents with massive creatures.

• 

  Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait

  Ramp mana and gain life through avatars and card draw engines to outlast opponents and gain incremental advantage.

• 

  Ramos, Dragon Engine

  Accumulate +1/+1 counters on Ramos through casting spells, then use the counters to generate large amounts of mana for casting key creatures and spells.

• 

  Zara, Renegade Recruiter

  Steal and flicker opponent’s creatures to gain board advantage and disrupt enemy plans while maintaining aggressive pressure.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Kilby's Deathrite Shaman was used repeatedly to exile key ramp spells from opponents and deal damage to all players, providing both tempo and incremental damage.

• 2

  Kevin's use of Quasiduplicate to create multiple copies of his entire team greatly increased his board presence, enabling overwhelming attacks.

• 3

  The counterspell on Return of the Wildspeaker was a crucial disruption that limited Kilby’s ability to draw cards and recover from board pressure.

• 4

  Ramos’ ability to build up +1/+1 counters and convert them into mana allowed for casting multiple impactful spells in a single turn, swinging momentum.

• 5

  Zara’s ability to steal and flicker creatures introduced complex board interactions that forced opponents to adapt and delayed their win conditions.

Notable Cards

• 

  Belbe, Corrupted Observer

• 

  Desolation Twin

• 

  Zendikar Resurgent

• 

  Quasiduplicate

• 

  Return of the Wildspeaker

• 

  Pollywog Symbiote

• 

  Deathrite Shaman

• 

  Wilderness Reclamation

Summary

The game began with each player establishing their mana base and developing their board states cautiously. Early plays involved ramp and card draw, with Kilby utilizing Belbe, Corrupted Observer to generate colorless mana and cast threats like Horizon Stone and Desolation Twin, while Kevin leveraged Zara, Renegade Recruiter to steal and deploy key creatures such as Stumpfskull Hydra. Habib, playing Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait, focused on ramp and life gain through cards like Burdened Suns Avatar, while the narrator with Ramos, Dragon Engine, built up +1/+1 counters on Ramos to fuel powerful spells. A pivotal moment occurred when Kilby attempted a massive card draw with Return of the Wildspeaker but was countered by Kevin's Arcane Denial, slowing his momentum. Kevin further solidified his board by creating multiple tokens with Quasiduplicate, copying his creatures and overwhelming opponents. Kilby recovered by casting Zendikar Resurgent and generating large Eldrazi tokens, but Habib disrupted this by destroying the Resurgent with Reclamation Sage. The narrator then capitalized on a large mana pool from Ramos to cast multiple utility creatures and mutate Scoot Swarm, steadily increasing Ramos' counters and board presence. Combat phases became chaotic with multiple swings and creature trades, and strategic use of flicker effects and removal spells kept the balance tense. The game revolved around managing board control while building towards each commander’s win condition through incremental advantage and combo potential.