EP: 25 Etali v Gitrog v Shalai/Hallar v Sisay [EDH gameplay]

Deck Strategies

• 

  Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness

  Exile cards from opponents' libraries and cast them for free to generate overwhelming value, aiming to flip into Etali’s infect form to poison opponents and win through poison counters.

• 

  The Gitrog Monster

  Sacrifice lands to draw cards and enable graveyard interactions, leveraging land recursion and additional land drops to maintain card advantage and control the board.

• 

  Shalai and Hallar

  Generate and accumulate +1/+1 counters on creatures to deal direct damage to opponents while maintaining a flying, vigilant board presence to apply continuous pressure.

• 

  Sisay, Weatherlight Captain

  Search the library for legendary permanents and deploy them to assemble a powerful and synergistic board state, focusing on legendary creature toolbox value and mana fixing.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Etali’s ability to exile and cast multiple spells from opponents’ libraries without paying mana costs provided sudden bursts of tempo and threatened to close the game quickly.

• 2

  The Gitrog Monster’s sacrifice land upkeep requirement was mitigated by sacrificing lands to draw cards and maintaining card advantage, showing effective resource management.

• 3

  Shalai and Hallar converted +1/+1 counters into direct damage, creating a steady, incremental threat that pressured opponents over time rather than relying on a single combo.

• 4

  Sisay’s ability to tutor legendary permanents allowed for flexible responses and assembling powerful synergies, which helped stabilize the board against aggressive strategies.

• 5

  Early ramp and mana fixing were critical for all decks, enabling their respective commanders and key spells to come down on curve and execute their strategies effectively.

Notable Cards

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  Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness

• 

  The Gitrog Monster

• 

  Shalai and Hallar

• 

  Sisay, Weatherlight Captain

• 

  Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

• 

  Cavern of Souls

Summary

The game featured four distinct commanders each showcasing different strategies. Etali, Primal Conqueror focused on exiling cards from opponents' libraries to cast spells for free, aiming to flip into his infect form to apply poison counters and close out the game quickly. The Gitrog Monster deck leveraged land sacrifices and graveyard recursion to draw cards and maintain board presence through land-based synergies. Shalai and Hallar pushed a counter-based strategy, generating +1/+1 counters to trigger damage output directly to opponents, steadily chipping away at life totals. Sisay, Weatherlight Captain took a legendary creature toolbox approach, searching the library for legendary permanents to deploy and build a strong board state. Early turns saw ramp and mana fixing with players establishing their boards carefully. Ragavan and other value creatures helped accelerate Etali’s game plan, while Gitrog focused on land drops and sacrificing lands to draw cards and gain advantage. Shalai and Hallar aimed to build counter stacks and utilize vigilance and flying to apply pressure, and Sisay used lands and legendary creatures to assemble powerful board states. Key moments included Etali exiling multiple spells and casting them for free, and Gitrog’s continuous card draw from land sacrifices keeping the deck fueled. The interplay between counters from Shalai and Hallar and Sisay’s legendary creatures created dynamic board tension. The game ultimately revolved around Etali’s potential to end the game with poison counters and the board control maintained by Gitrog and Sisay.