POST BAN cEDH: JOLLY BALLOON MAN v. THE EIGHTH DOCTOR v. KINNAN v. KENRITH

Deck Strategies

• 

  The Jolly Balloon Man

  A Boros deck focusing on creature damage through copying effects and aggressive board presence, aiming to close out games by dealing direct damage with copied creatures and leveraging cards like Mana Echoes for mana ramp.

• 

  The Eighth Doctor

  A control-oriented deck utilizing reanimation and graveyard synergy to assemble combos and disrupt opponents, focusing on controlling the board state and extracting value from the graveyard.

• 

  Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy

  A combo-centric deck focused on generating infinite mana using artifact and land interactions such as Basalt Monolith and Mirage Mirror, enabling big creature plays or infinite mana combos to win the game.

• 

  Kenrith, the Returned King

  A highly versatile utility deck capable of generating infinite mana, drawing cards, and reanimating creatures, winning through a variety of combos and powerful interactions.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Kinnan’s combination of Basalt Monolith and Mirage Mirror effectively created infinite mana, forcing the table to prioritize containment strategies and negotiate mutually beneficial agreements to delay wins.

• 2

  The Jolly Balloon Man’s early Mana Echoes on turn two significantly accelerated mana production, setting up for aggressive creature-based damage output but also drawing attention as a potential threat.

• 3

  Players used political negotiation to avoid immediate conflict, such as agreeing not to crack certain mana artifacts or kill key combo pieces, highlighting the strategic depth of cEDH multiplayer interactions.

• 4

  The presence of multiple infinite mana combos created a tense atmosphere where players had to balance developing their own plans against disrupting others, leading to extended turns and cautious play.

• 5

  Efficient use of tutors and artifact ramp (e.g., Trophy Mage fetching Commander Sphere) was key to assembling combos quickly, demonstrating the importance of card selection and sequence in cEDH.

Notable Cards

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  Basalt Monolith

• 

  Mirage Mirror

• 

  Mana Echoes

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  Trophy Mage

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  Chromatic Lantern

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  Survival of the Fittest

Summary

The game featured a highly interactive and extended cEDH match between four powerful commanders: The Jolly Balloon Man, The Eighth Doctor, Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy, and Kenrith, the Returned King. Early turns saw aggressive mana acceleration and setup plays, with Kinnan quickly establishing a dangerous board presence by assembling a combo involving Basalt Monolith and Mirage Mirror to generate infinite mana. This prompted the table to focus on containing Kinnan's potential to win through infinite mana and large creatures. Meanwhile, The Jolly Balloon Man player aimed to leverage creature-copying damage strategies, getting early value from cards like Mana Echoes and Ranger Captain to build a threatening board state. The Eighth Doctor focused on control and reanimation, trying to assemble combos from the graveyard while disrupting opponents' plans. Kenrith was positioned as a versatile deck capable of multiple win conditions including infinite mana and reanimation, adding complexity to the table dynamics. Key moments revolved around Kinnan’s combo pieces enabling infinite mana, which forced other players to negotiate and delay their actions to avoid triggering Ken’s lethal potential. The Jolly Balloon Man’s early Mana Echoes on turn two was pivotal for ramping into threats, but the presence of infinite mana on the board kept pressure high. Tactical decisions included offers to not activate combos in exchange for peace and survival, reflecting the tense political nature of the match. The game was marked by long turns and careful resource management, with players balancing aggressive combo development against the need to prevent being eliminated prematurely. The final outcome was heavily influenced by how well players handled Kinnan’s infinite mana threat and whether The Jolly Balloon Man could capitalize on creature damage before being overwhelmed.