Deck Strategies
Hashaton, Scarab's Fist
Win by discarding Aethertorch Oracle and then putting it directly into play with Hashaton's ability, securing an immediate game-ending effect that bypasses interaction.
Kess, Dissident Mage
Leverage graveyard recursion to repeatedly cast powerful spells, using counterspells and disruption like Demonic Consultation to control the board and prevent opponents from executing combos.
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
Utilize Derevi's flicker and untap abilities to generate infinite mana and card draw, often through combos involving Birds of Paradise and The One Ring, to outvalue opponents and win through advantage.
Tivit, Seller of Secrets
Aim to win by generating infinite turns with Tivit's abilities, using Time Spiral and other spells to take repeated actions and overwhelm opponents, often attempting early explosive wins.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Early aggressive win attempts, like Tivit's turn-two Time Spiral, can be effectively countered by coordinated group disruption and exile effects such as Demonic Consultation.
- 2
Kess's use of graveyard recursion combined with counterspells like Flusterstorm and Pact of Negation allowed her to maintain control and prevent explosive plays from other commanders.
- 3
The presence of multiple blue decks led to a meta where proactive combo wins were difficult, resulting in a longer, grindy mid-range game where board presence and incremental advantage determined the pace.
- 4
Psychic Frog and Gilded Drake interactions introduced strong tempo plays, forcing opponents to carefully consider card retention and mana usage to avoid losing key resources.
- 5
Players had to balance between pushing for fast combo wins and holding back to avoid being countered or disrupted, showcasing nuanced decision-making under heavy interaction.
Notable Cards
Demonic Consultation
Flusterstorm
Pact of Negation
Psychic Frog
Gilded Drake
The One Ring
Time Spiral
Mox Opal
Mana Vault
Summary
The game started with a high-tension early interaction when Tivit, Seller of Secrets attempted a bold turn-two Time Spiral win, leveraging his deck's infinite turn potential. However, the table quickly coordinated to counter this aggressive early win attempt, with Kess, Dissident Mage, using Demonic Consultation to exile critical cards from Tivit's deck, severely limiting his options. Despite the disruption, the game evolved into a mid-range battle with all four commanders trying to establish their board states carefully, reflecting a typical control-heavy cEDH environment where nothing happens easily. Hashaton, Scarab's Fist aimed to win by discarding Aethertorch Oracle and deploying it via his commander ability for an uncontested victory, but the opponents' vigilance stifled early combos. Derevi, Empyrial Tactician sought to leverage her untap abilities and infinite mana combos with cards like Birds of Paradise and The One Ring to draw out the game and secure a win. Kess, utilizing graveyard recursion and spells like Flusterstorm and Pact of Negation, played a controlling role, disrupting opponents' strategies and protecting her own win conditions. The game was marked by tight resource management, critical counterplays, and a strong meta-awareness that prevented any one player from quickly closing out, showcasing a classic mid-range cEDH stalemate among four blue decks.