Deck & Commander Strategies
Smaug, the Impenetrable
Generate treasure tokens to ramp into powerful dragons and threats, leveraging Smothering Tithe and Rhystic Study for massive card advantage and resource denial.
Thorin, King of Durin's Folk
Aggressively build a dwarf tribal army that creates treasure tokens and buffs dwarves with equipment to overwhelm opponents through combat damage.
Bard, King of Dale
Utilize recruiting triggers to draw cards and create numerous one-one human soldier tokens, aiming to win by overwhelming opponents with a wide token board and sustained card advantage.
The Lord of the Eagles
Deploy a suite of flyers, including flash creatures, to maintain board control and card advantage, reducing the cost of aerial threats and protecting key creatures to dominate the skies.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Alex's use of reanimation to bring back Terror of the Peaks established a major threat that punishes opponents for targeting it and adds incremental damage output with each new creature.
- 2
Jake's early aggressive Ragavan plays generated treasure tokens and card advantage, accelerating his dwarf tribal strategy effectively.
- 3
Al’s recruiting mechanic with Bard triggered off opponents' spells to generate tokens while cycling through his deck, maintaining pressure and card flow.
- 4
Ryan leveraged flash-speed flyers and Lord of the Eagles' cost reduction to maintain tempo and keep the board state favorable despite opponents’ aggression.
- 5
The interaction between treasure production and card draw engines created high resource density, enabling explosive turns and complex combat decisions.
- 6
Players carefully managed their hand sizes and board presence to avoid triggering restrictions on creatures like Vantress Gargoyle, showcasing nuanced strategic awareness.
Notable Cards
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Smothering Tithe
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Rhystic Study
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Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
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Terror of the Peaks
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Consecrated Sphinx
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Faithless Looting
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Path of Ancestry
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Siren Stormtamer
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Vantress Gargoyle
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Reanimate
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Strike It Rich
Gameplay Summary
The game begins with each player setting up their distinct Hobbit-themed decks.
Alex runs Smaug, the Impenetrable, focusing on treasure generation and leveraging Smothering Tithe alongside card draw tools like Rhystic Study.
Jake pilots Thorin, King of Durin's Folk, playing an aggressive dwarf tribal strategy that creates and buffs dwarves, supported by treasure tokens and equipment synergies.
Al uses Bard, King of Dale, a token and card draw-focused deck that generates wide boards of human soldier tokens through recruiting mechanics.
Ryan commands The Lord of the Eagles, running a flyer-heavy deck that uses flash speed plays and card draw from creatures like Consecrated Sphinx to maintain aerial dominance and tempo. Early turns see Jake's aggressive starts with Ragavan and treasure production, while Al develops a token army with Bard and triggers recruiting off opponents' spells.
Alex sets up Smaug's treasure engine and reanimates powerful threats like Terror of the Peaks, which punishes opponents for targeting it and deals incremental damage with each new creature.
Ryan deploys evasive flyers that keep opponents on their toes and capitalize on Lord of the Eagles' cost reduction and flash synergy.
The interaction between token generation, treasure creation, and heavy flyers creates a dynamic board state, with pivotal moments including the reanimation of high-impact creatures and the locking down of opponents via treasure and card advantage.
The game appears to hinge on the balance between Jake's aggressive dwarf swarm, Al's token and card draw synergy, Alex's treasure-fueled threats, and Ryan's aerial control, culminating in complex board interactions and combat phases rich with tactical decisions.
![Smaug! In cEDH? Which One? [cEDH GAUNTLET] SMAUG v KINNAN v TYMNA\DARGO v ROG\THRASIOS thumbnail](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F4CbX8zwRME/sddefault.jpg)
