PHYREXIAN PRAETORS EDH!! | Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines vs Jin-Gitaxias v Sheoldred v Urabrask

Deck Strategies

• 

  Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines

  Focus on controlling opponents' board states by imposing negative counters and diminishing their creatures' effectiveness, maintaining a tough defensive posture while leveraging powerful white control and blink effects.

• 

  Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant

  Counterspell tribal deck aiming to tax opponents heavily by making spells cost more and copying key instant and sorcery spells to maintain tight control over the game.

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  Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

  Mono-black life-drain deck that punishes opponents for drawing cards, slowly draining life while maintaining board presence through recursion and disruption.

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  Urabrask, Heretic Praetor

  Aggressive red exile-and-play deck that disrupts opponents by exiling cards and playing them, accelerating mana to establish early threats and pressure opponents.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Players utilized exile mechanics early to disrupt hands and board states, particularly Urabrask’s exile ability combined with playing exiled cards.

• 2

  Jin-Gitaxias’s strategy of taxing spells and copying them proved pivotal in controlling the pace and limiting opponents' responses.

• 3

  Grand Abolisher was used effectively to prevent instant-speed interaction during opponents’ turns, allowing safe execution of key plays.

• 4

  Players negotiated temporary non-aggression agreements to focus on controlling the most threatening decks before turning on each other.

• 5

  Sheoldred’s life drain ability synergized with opponents’ card draws, steadily weakening their life totals while maintaining board control.

Notable Cards

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  Grand Abolisher

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  Chrome Mox

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  Jet Medallion

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  Sword of the Animist

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  Noble Hierarch

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  Manifold Key

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  Wandering Archaic // Explore the Vastlands

Summary

The game began with each player establishing their board states cautiously, with a strong focus on resource management and interaction. Urabrask used his exile-and-play mechanic to disrupt opponents early, while Elesh Norn aimed to control the board by making opponents' permanents enter with negative counters and limiting their effectiveness. Jin-Gitaxias employed a counterspell-heavy control strategy, taxing opponents and copying key spells to maintain dominance. Sheoldred capitalized on life-draining effects triggered by card draws to slowly chip away at opponents' health. Early turns saw careful plays with mana acceleration and setting up defensive positions, such as Grand Abolisher preventing opponents’ instant-speed responses and duplicate spell copying by Jin-Gitaxias to maintain control. A key turning point was when players started to enforce mutual agreements to avoid early aggression, highlighting the threat posed by each commander’s disruptive capabilities. The game featured complex interactions revolving around countering spells, exile mechanics, and taxing opponents’ actions. The win condition revolved around leveraging these control elements to either out-resource or outlast opponents, with Sheoldred’s life drain and Elesh Norn’s board control being particularly lethal threats.