Curiosity Jumped the Shark - S1E7 | cEDH | Urza v Shabraz/Brallin v Tevesh/Thrasios v Birgi

Deck Strategies

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  Urza, Lord High Artificer

  Focuses on artifact synergy, generating mana with Urza's abilities and mana rocks to cast powerful spells quickly. The deck aims to control the board and generate value through card draw and artifact combos.

• 

  Birgi, God of Storytelling

  Utilizes red spells and mana generation to create aggressive board states and enables storm combos or burn spells to close out the game rapidly.

• 

  Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools

  Leverages blue and black control elements with card draw and disruption, aiming to lock opponents down while assembling a winning combo or overwhelming them with incremental advantage.

• 

  Thrasios, Triton Hero

  A versatile commander that uses efficient mana fixing and card selection to build incremental advantages and execute combos or value-based win conditions.

• 

  Brallin, Skyshark Rider

  Aggressively attacks while generating card advantage through combat damage triggers and spell casts, aiming to win through combat damage and tempo.

• 

  Shabraz, the Skyshark

  Combines evasion and combat damage triggers to pressure opponents, using disruption and incremental advantage to maintain board presence and close out the game.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Players used card draw and discard spells like Windfall and Brainstorm to sculpt their hands and fuel graveyard or combo synergies.

• 2

  Renegade Tactics combined with Crash Through was used to create unblockable attacks and draw multiple cards, enabling a strong offensive and card advantage engine.

• 3

  Smothering Tithe was immediately targeted with Trophy to prevent mana acceleration, highlighting the high priority of resource denial in competitive play.

• 4

  The use of Pass in Flames flashback allowed for multiple spells to be cast in one turn, increasing the storm count and pressure on opponents.

• 5

  Force of Negation and Veil of Summer were key reactive spells to protect combo pieces and preserve board state under opponent disruption.

• 6

  Players carefully managed their mana and triggers, such as Jeweled Amulet charge counters and Crypt rolls, to maximize efficiency and avoid damage where possible.

• 7

  The game featured a strong interplay of combat and spell-based interactions, with attackers being made unblockable and opponents forced into difficult blocking decisions.

• 8

  Board control and resource denial were pivotal, as seen with Chromatic Lantern and Chrome Mox being used to cast multiple spells and maintain tempo.

Notable Cards

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  Jeweled Lotus

• 

  Mana Crypt

• 

  Brainstorm

• 

  Windfall

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  Smothering Tithe

• 

  Mystic Remora

• 

  Renegade Tactics

• 

  Crash Through

• 

  Force of Negation

• 

  Veil of Summer

• 

  Skullclamp

• 

  Phantasmal Image

• 

  Proteus Staff

Summary

The game began with all players setting up their mana bases and early plays, with key artifacts like Jeweled Lotus, Mana Crypt, and various mana rocks accelerating the board development. Early turns featured card draw spells such as Brainstorm and Preordain, and players established powerful board states with permanents like Mystic Remora and Smothering Tithe. A significant moment occurred when a Windfall reshuffled hands, leading to strategic discards and redraws that shaped the midgame plans. Players leveraged various combos and interactions, including casting spells like Renegade Tactics and Crash Through to enable unblockable attackers and card drawing, while also protecting their boards with counters and removal spells.