Count to 20 with Becca Scott and Joe Johnson! | Obeka | MacCready | Voja | Amalia | MTG EDH Gameplay

Deck Strategies

• 

  Amalia Benavides Aguirre

  A vampire life gain and drain deck that aims to accumulate life and then trigger a powerful life total threshold to cause a board wipe or massive damage, finishing opponents with commander damage.

• 

  Obeka, Brute Chronologist

  A control-oriented deck leveraging Obeka’s ability to end opponents’ turns prematurely, disrupting their plans and stalling for advantage.

• 

  MacCready, Lamplight Mayor

  A tempo deck that uses deathtouch creatures with power 2 or less to deter blocks and punish attackers with life drain, controlling combat and generating incremental life gain.

• 

  Voja, Jaws of the Conclave

  A token-focused deck generating large numbers of wolves and elves to overwhelm opponents, aiming for wide board presence and synergies that boost token strength.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  MacCready’s ability to grant deathtouch to small creatures forced opponents to carefully consider attacks and blocks, providing effective board control early on.

• 2

  Amalia’s life gain and drain synergy steadily pressured opponents by increasing life totals and dealing incremental damage, setting up for a potential game-ending trigger at 20 life.

• 3

  The use of Ghostly Prison helped protect key players from early aggression, allowing ramp and setup turns to unfold safely.

• 4

  Obeka’s ability to end turns early was held in reserve, indicating a strategic choice to disrupt at critical moments rather than immediately.

• 5

  Voja’s token generation created a persistent threat that demanded board answers, keeping pressure on opponents to manage wide boards.

Notable Cards

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  MacCready, Lamplight Mayor

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  Obeka, Brute Chronologist

• 

  Amalia Benavides Aguirre

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  Voja, Jaws of the Conclave

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  Ghostly Prison

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  Sol Ring

• 

  Soul Warden

• 

  Mesa Enchantress

Summary

The game began with each player establishing their board with lands and early creatures supporting their respective strategies. MacCready, Lamplight Mayor created a taxing board presence by making creatures with power 2 or less gain deathtouch and punishing attackers with higher power by draining life. Obeka, Brute Chronologist introduced the potential to end opponents' turns early, although no disruptive plays were made initially. Voja, Jaws of the Conclave focused on producing a large army of wolves and elves, aiming for wide board presence. Amalia Benavides Aguirre worked a vampire life gain and drain strategy, with a win condition linked to reaching 20 life to trigger a powerful effect and finish off opponents with commander damage. Mid-game developments saw players ramping mana and deploying impactful enchantments and creatures to accelerate their plans. Realm Walker was used to consistently reveal and leverage elf synergy, while Ghostly Prison was deployed to deter early aggression. Notable was the interaction between MacCready's deathtouch creatures and life drain triggers, which set a threatening tempo that forced cautious attacks. The life gain and drain loops from Amalia's deck generated incremental advantage, while Voja's token generation threatened to overwhelm the board with volume. The game featured key life gain and loss triggers from various sources, along with mana acceleration artifacts like Sol Ring and treasure tokens to enable mid-to-late game plays. The tension built as players aimed to push their life totals or board states to trigger their win conditions, particularly Amalia's target of 20 life to trigger a game-ending effect.