Kaalia vs Nekusar vs Yawgmoth vs K'rrik | Halloween Special 2022

Decklists

Deck & Commander Strategies

K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
Focuses on using life as a resource to cast black spells cheaply, enabling fast reanimation and spell loops with Skirge Familiar to generate overwhelming board presence and win.
Kaalia of the Vast
Seeks to quickly cheat powerful demons and angels into play and assemble combos like Underworld Breach with Twinflame and Dualcaster Mage to create infinite hasty creatures and win through combat damage.
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
Utilizes undying creature loops combined with sacrifice outlets and card draw to grind opponents down, often winning through incremental life drain and looping creatures like Death Greeter.
Nekusar, the Mindrazer
A wheels and storm deck that leverages wheels like Windfall, Echo of Eons, and Mind Twist to draw cards and deal damage to opponents, with backup win lines involving Oracle of Mul Daya, Underworld Breach, and Brain Freeze.

Gameplay Insights

1
Kaalia’s use of Opposition Agent to exile Nekusar’s Imperial Seal disrupted his tutoring capabilities and slowed down his combo assembly.
2
The combo finish involving Underworld Breach escaping Lion's Eye Diamond and Twinflame with Dualcaster Mage created an infinite hasty token loop, leading to an immediate and decisive victory.
3
Yawgmoth’s strategy of leveraging Doom Whisperer for surveilling and Ayara, First of Locthwain for incremental life drain showed a strong midgame plan, but was unable to keep pace with Kaalia’s explosive combo.
4
Nekusar’s early Mystic Remora and wheels provided card advantage but was vulnerable to disruption and ultimately outpaced by Kaalia’s fast combo.
5
The initial game’s fast-paced combo win highlighted the importance of speed and disruption in cEDH pods.

Notable Cards

Underworld Breach
Twinflame
Dualcaster Mage
Opposition Agent
Imperial Seal
Mana Vault
Lion's Eye Diamond
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
Mystic Remora
Doom Whisperer
Ayara, First of Locthwain

Gameplay Summary

The game started with all four players establishing early mana and deploying key pieces of their respective strategies.

K'rrik quickly established a fast mana base with Command Beacon, Mana Vault, and Imperial Seal, enabling an early K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth on the battlefield.

Kaalia leveraged a strong opening hand including Sol Ring, Opposition Agent, and Peer Into the Abyss to set up a powerful combo involving Underworld Breach, Lion's Eye Diamond, and Dualcaster Mage to generate infinite hasty tokens via Twinflame, ultimately winning through a massive combat phase. Yawgmoth, Thran Physician focused on a resilient undying creature loop strategy, casting Blood Artist and other value creatures to drain opponents while surveilling with Doom Whisperer.

Nekusar, the Mindrazer employed a wheels-and-storm plan with cards like Mystic Remora, Imperial Seal, and Echo of Eons to draw through their deck and deal incremental damage.

However, the oppressive disruption from Kaalia’s Opposition Agent slowed Nekusar’s setup.

Ultimately, Kaalia’s explosive combo finish outpaced the other decks’ grind and incremental wins.

The second game began similarly with early mana ramp and Nekusar casting wheels, while Yawgmoth developed board presence with Ayara and Gravecrawler, but the first game’s quick outcome was the highlight.

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