Only Saruman Reads His Cards! - Lord of the Rings Commander - EDH Gameplay Ep 146 thumbnail Blurred backdrop thumbnail

Only Saruman Reads His Cards! - Lord of the Rings Commander - EDH Gameplay Ep 146

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Commanders featured in this Gameplay Reviewed & Verified

Decklists

Deck & Commander Strategies

  • Legolas Greenleaf

    Legolas Greenleaf

    Utilizes a high density of legendary creatures to trigger powerful synergy effects, drawing cards, and gaining counters for sustained value and board presence.

  • Frodo, Sauron's Bane

    Frodo, Sauron's Bane

    Leverages the ring temptation mechanic to incrementally weaken opponents and eventually win by making an opponent lose the game after they are tempted four times.

  • Lord of the Nazgûl

    Lord of the Nazgûl

    Focuses on casting multiple sorceries and instants to grow a board of wraith tokens and gain power through the ring temptation triggers, aiming for overwhelming board presence.

  • Gimli, Mournful Avenger

    Gimli, Mournful Avenger

    Centers on creatures dying to trigger Gimli's indestructibility and fight abilities, controlling the board through repeated creature deaths and avenging with combat damage.

Gameplay Insights

  • 1

    The ring temptation mechanic played a central role, with multiple players being tempted repeatedly to power up their boards or trigger loss conditions.

  • 2

    Gimli's ability to gain indestructibility based on creature deaths encouraged aggressive trading and board control tactics.

  • 3

    Early plays like Chittering Dispatcher combined with Impact Tremors dealt incremental damage to opponents whenever creatures entered the battlefield, influencing combat decisions.

  • 4

    Sacrificing utility creatures like Wild Cantor for mana ramp enabled explosive plays and helped maintain tempo.

  • 5

    Players carefully monitored the ringbearer status to maximize triggers and pressure opponents, especially with Frodo's lethal damage condition when ring tempted four or more times.

Notable Cards

  • Frodo, Sauron's Bane

    Frodo, Sauron's Bane

  • Lord of the Nazgûl

    Lord of the Nazgûl

  • Chittering Dispatcher

    Chittering Dispatcher

  • Impact Tremors

    Impact Tremors

  • Gimli, Mournful Avenger

    Gimli, Mournful Avenger

  • Universal Automaton

    Universal Automaton

Gameplay Summary

The game began with each player deploying early board presence through their respective commanders and supportive creatures, setting the stage for their unique Lord of the Rings-themed strategies.

Frodo, Sauron's Bane started off by gradually tempting players with the ring mechanic, which was pivotal to its win condition of causing opponents to lose the game after multiple temptations.

The Lord of the Nazgûl deck focused on accumulating wraith creatures by using sorceries and instants to reach the nine temptations, growing a formidable board state.

Legolas Greenleaf capitalized on a synergy of legendary creatures to generate card advantage and incremental value while trying to maintain tempo.

Gimli, Mournful Avenger played a resilient strategy centered on creatures dying and triggering Gimli's indestructibility and fight abilities to control the board and punish opponents.

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