Lazav vs Evra vs Seizan vs Vial Smasher | Ikra EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

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  Seizan, Perverter of Truth

  Seizan’s deck focuses on surveil and card advantage, enabling control over the top of the deck and maximizing value from spells and creatures while maintaining board presence.

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  Evra, Halcyon Witness

  Evra’s deck plays a white-based lifegain and token generation strategy, aiming to stabilize the board and outvalue opponents with incremental life gain and defensive creatures.

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  Lazav, the Multifarious

  Lazav aims to copy powerful creatures on the battlefield, using their abilities and stats to overwhelm opponents, while also leveraging mill and discard effects to disrupt the game.

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  Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper

  Ikra Shidiqi’s deck revolves around lifegain and punishing opponents for attacking, often using lifelink creatures and stax elements like Oath of Liege to maintain control and generate advantage.

• 

  Vial Smasher the Fierce

  Vial Smasher complements Ikra by dealing damage whenever a noncreature spell is cast, creating pressure on opponents and supporting aggressive, spell-focused gameplay.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The board wipe triggered after Trevor cast Damnation changed the tempo significantly, forcing players to rebuild their board states.

• 2

  Trevor’s use of Surveil and Sizin triggered multiple card draws, creating a large hand advantage while losing some life, a calculated risk that kept him ahead.

• 3

  Harry’s interaction with Lazav copying Phyrexian Dreadnought led to a powerful aggressive play, swinging for lethal damage that was difficult to block.

• 4

  The counter war involving Vial Smasher’s triggered damage and spell casting highlighted the importance of timing and stack management in multiplayer Commander games.

• 5

  Matt’s use of Underworld Dreams with Cabal Coffers threatened to drain opponents heavily but was countered effectively by removal, showcasing the delicate balance of political and tactical plays.

• 6

  The repeated use of Howling Mine effects sparked a race to leverage card advantage, pushing players to draw and play aggressively to capitalize on the extra cards.

Notable Cards

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  Howling Mine

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  Font of Mythos

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  Phyrexian Dreadnought

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  Underworld Dreams

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  Mirage Mirror

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  Caged Sun

Summary

The game began with a typical setup of ramp and early plays from all four commanders: Seizan, Evra, Lazav, and Ikra Shidiqi partnered with Vial Smasher. Early turns saw players establishing board presence and drawing cards through various effects such as Howling Mine, Font of Mythos, and Sizin, Perverter of Truth. Key early plays included Matt’s mono-black group hug style deck utilizing Liliana, the Dark Realms to fetch Swamps and underworld dreams to tax opponents. Trevor, playing Seizan, leveraged the card draw and surveil mechanics to maintain a steady flow of cards and control over the game state. The game featured strategic interactions involving counters and combat damage manipulated by Lazav copying powerful creatures like Phyrexian Dreadnought and drawing cards with Lozad, a key card for Harry’s deck.