Reyhan & Yoshimaru vs Shorikai vs Isshin vs Hinata [EDH/Commander, MTG Gameplay 2022]

Deck Strategies

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  Isshin, Two Heavens as One

  Leverages doubling combat triggers to maximize damage output and generate multiple combat-based benefits, often combined with melee and extra combat phases for explosive turns.

• 

  Reyhan, Last of the Abzan

  Focuses on growing creatures through +1/+1 counters with Hardened Scales synergy and redistributing those counters to maintain board presence and enable potent creature-based combos.

• 

  Shorikai, Genesis Engine

  Uses artifact and vehicle synergies to generate card advantage and ramp, aiming to overwhelm opponents with efficient board development and repeated vehicle activations.

• 

  Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

  Builds around placing +1/+1 counters on creatures whenever a legendary creature enters the battlefield, creating a Hardened Scales style counter growth deck that scales quickly.

• 

  Hinata, Dawn-Crowned

  Manipulates the cost of spells to accelerate casting of key threats while slowing opponents, combined with a Jeskai color set to support control elements and tempo plays.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Isshin's ability to double all combat triggers synergizes powerfully with melee and extra combat, greatly increasing the effectiveness of aggressive strategies.

• 2

  Reyhan's synergy with Hardened Scales quickly amplifies creature counters, allowing for rapid board development and resilience through counter redistribution.

• 3

  Shorikai, Genesis Engine provides consistent card advantage and supports a vehicle-centric strategy that can quickly accelerate board state and resource generation.

• 4

  Hinata's cost manipulation of spells acts as both an offensive acceleration tool and a defensive tempo control by increasing opponents' spell costs.

• 5

  Early deployment of Devoted Druid and its potential for infinite mana combos demonstrates the importance of combo-enabling creatures in the meta.

• 6

  Players prioritize ramp and board development in the early turns to set up high-impact plays in mid to late game combat phases.

Notable Cards

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  Magma Opus

• 

  Devoted Druid

• 

  Hardened Scales

• 

  Command Tower

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  Forbidden Orchard

• 

  Skycloud Expanse

• 

  Goldspan Dragon

Summary

The game starts with players developing their boards through early land drops and deploying key pieces like Reyhan, Last of the Abzan, and Shorikai, Genesis Engine. Reyhan's deck utilizes a counter-focused strategy amplified by Hardened Scales to rapidly grow creatures and generate significant value, while Shorikai enables continuous card advantage and synergizes with vehicles. Isshin, Two Heavens as One doubles combat triggers, creating explosive combat phases that maximize damage and token generation. Hinata, Dawn-Crowned manipulates spell costs to accelerate its own casting and hinder opponents' plays, contributing to a tempo advantage. Early turns feature ramping and setting up foundational synergies, such as Devoted Druid enabling infinite mana combos and Reyhan growing counters quickly. The board state intensifies around turn 4 to 6 as players start to leverage their commanders' unique abilities, with Isshin doubling triggers and Reyhan's counters making creatures formidable threats. Key moments include deploying Magma Opus for card advantage and utility and establishing board presence with aggressive creatures and vehicles. The game dynamics pivot around combat phases where Isshin's doubling ability synergizes with melees and multiple attacks, aiming to close out the game through overwhelming combat damage and synergy-driven combos. The players showcase a mix of ramp, synergy exploitation, and combat maximization as their paths to victory.