WHO'S THE BEST COMMANDER IN ZENDIKAR RISING FOR cEDH - Play to Win Gameplay

Deck Strategies

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  Omnath, Locus of Creation

  A flexible food chain combo deck that can win via food chain loops or through flicker-based infinite combos involving Dualcaster Mage and heat shimmer effects, as well as treasure token generation with Dockside Extortionist.

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  Tazri, Beacon of Unity

  A five-color party deck focusing on assembling infinite mana combos and winning through Demonic Consultation with Thassa's Oracle or by drawing the entire deck with Thrasios.

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  Yasharn, Implacable Earth

  A stax-oriented deck that aims to control the game by locking down opponent resources and key mana-producing lands, winning either through overwhelming board presence or submission due to hard locks.

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  Zareth San, the Trickster

  A blue-black control deck leveraging counterspells and disruption to protect a combo finish with Thassa's Oracle, relying on consultation effects for fast and compact wins.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Yasharn's static ability effectively shut down multiple crucial mana sources and land untapping, significantly hampering opponents' ability to execute their combos and ramp strategies.

• 2

  The Omnath player leveraged Dockside Extortionist to generate multiple treasure tokens quickly, applying early pressure and enabling combo attempts.

• 3

  Tazri's deck struggled when the Thassa's Oracle was exiled, revealing a lack of backup win conditions in the initial build; this was acknowledged and addressed in an updated version of the deck.

• 4

  Key counterspell interactions, including the use of Force of Will to counter Demonic Consultation and subsequent attempts, created tense moments and delayed combo resolutions.

• 5

  Sigil Tracer's ability to copy spells was recognized as a powerful tool for breaking counterspell chains, although it did not fully realize its potential in this game due to timely counters.

• 6

  Resource management and timing of stax pieces like Tangle Wire and Winter Orb played a pivotal role in controlling the tempo and limiting explosive plays from opponents.

Notable Cards

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  Dockside Extortionist

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  Demonic Consultation

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  Thassa's Oracle

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  Dualcaster Mage

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  Tazri, Beacon of Unity

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  Yasharn, Implacable Earth

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  Force of Will

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  Tangle Wire

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  Winter Orb

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  Carpet of Flowers

Summary

In a competitive Zendikar Rising Commander showdown, four distinct decks battled to determine the best cEDH commander from the set. The game started with typical ramp and setup plays from all players. The Omnath deck showcased its versatility by ramping quickly and assembling key pieces like Dockside Extortionist to generate treasure tokens, while the Tazri deck utilized party mechanics and attempted to set up infinite mana combos with cards like Thassa's Oracle and Demonic Consultation. Yasharn's stax deck applied pressure by locking down opponent resources with static effects that prevented land untapping and restricted mana access, effectively stalling aggressive plays and shutting down key combo lines. Meanwhile, the Zareth San deck played a more traditional blue-black control style, aiming to disrupt opponents and win with a compact combo using Thassa's Oracle.