Animar vs Roon vs Riku vs Meren EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

• 

  Animar, Soul of Elements

  Animar aims to build +1/+1 counters quickly by casting low-cost creatures and spells, using synergy to generate massive value and command a strong board presence that can finish opponents with commander damage.

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  Roon of the Hidden Realm

  Roon utilizes blink effects to reuse enter-the-battlefield triggers, generating value from creatures like Eternal Witness and Wall of Omens, while also controlling the board with versatile answers like Venser, Shaper Savior.

• 

  Riku of Two Reflections

  Riku copies powerful spells and creatures to double value, leveraging ramp and token generation to overwhelm opponents, and using clone effects to replicate key threats and utility creatures.

• 

  Meren of Clan Nel Toth

  Meren focuses on sacrificing creatures, accumulating experience counters to bring back more impactful creatures from the graveyard, and using effects like Birthing Pod to tutor and maintain board presence through recursion.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The Animar player effectively used Cloud of Faeries and Dreamstalker to untap lands and cast multiple creatures in a turn, rapidly growing Animar's counters.

• 2

  The timely use of Swan Song to counter Tooth and Nail saved Animar from a potentially game-ending combo.

• 3

  Kevin's Roon deck maximized value by blinking key creatures like Eternal Witness and Voidmage Husher, enabling repeated disruption and recursion.

• 4

  David's Meren deck utilized Birthing Pod and sacrifice synergies to generate experience counters quickly, but was disrupted by counterspells and exile effects.

• 5

  Brian's Riku deck leveraged cloning and spell copying to accelerate board development and ramp, but faced challenges from Animar's aggressive pressure.

• 6

  The casting of Ulamog by Animar was a major turning point, exiling crucial creatures and hindering opponents' strategies.

• 7

  Time Spiral was used at a critical moment to shuffle graveyards and untap resources, allowing Animar to continue applying pressure with a refreshed hand and board.

• 8

  The interaction between sacrifice outlets and recursion highlighted the importance of combo pieces, with Meren's player unable to complete infinite loops due to lack of a sac outlet in play.

• 9

  Kevin's use of Thousand-Year Elixir and Soul Ring helped enable multiple activations of Roon's ability, increasing tempo through repeated blink triggers.

Notable Cards

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  Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

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  Birthing Pod

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  Cloud of Faeries

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  Oracle of Mul Daya

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  Time Spiral

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  Venser, Shaper Savant

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  Seedborn Muse

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  Tooth and Nail

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  Swords to Plowshares

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  Walking Ballista

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  Puppeteer Clique

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  Crop Rotation

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  Soul of the Harvest

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  Bloom Tender

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  Stony Silence

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  Chromatic Lantern

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  Parallel Lives

Summary

The game opened with all players establishing their mana bases and early board presence. The Animar player focused on rapidly building counters through multiple creatures and spells that synergize with Animar's ability to grow stronger with each cast. Early turns saw key plays such as casting Cloud of Faeries and Oracle of Mul Daya to accelerate Animar's growth, while opponents developed their own strategies including Roon's blink synergies, Riku's copying spells, and Meren's graveyard recursion and sacrifice outlets. A pivotal moment came when Animar cast Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger to exile key opposing creatures, attempting to curb their momentum, while also leveraging Time Spiral to reset the board and untap resources to push ahead. Despite attempts by Kevin's Roon deck to stabilize with blink effects and Brian's Riku deck copying powerful spells, Animar's aggressive counter growth and card draw engines allowed a strong tempo advantage. David's Meren deck utilized Birthing Pod and sacrifice effects to generate experience counters and recur threats, but was hindered by disruption and lack of a full infinite combo. The game featured a dynamic interplay of board wipes, tutoring, and tempo swings, with Animar leveraging powerful green ramp and value creatures to maintain pressure and secure the win through commander damage and overwhelming board presence.