The Spikes are Desperate for an Egg in this Trying Commander Game pt. 2 | Gameplay S5E7

The game began with each player developing their board and mana bases carefully, with early plays including ramp spells like Sol Ring and mana-producing artifacts.

Jim on Yarok Aluren Intruder Alarm established an early board presence with Mox Diamond and Carpet of Flowers, aiming to accelerate his combo-oriented strategy.

Eliot, piloting Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger, applied pressure by casting Kroxa early, discarding key cards, and leveraging graveyard recursion and aggressive threats.

Bill on Atla Palani, Nest Tender focused on land drops and generating treasure tokens to fuel his shuffle-and-recast strategy, while Jan on Elsha of the Infinite set up with mana rocks and card selection tools such as Sensei's Divining Top and Enlightened Tutor to enable his top-deck manipulation playstyle. A pivotal moment occurred when Jim’s Gilded Drake was countered and exiled via Reality Shift, thwarting his attempt to steal Elsha.

Jan capitalized on Teferi, Time Raveler to maintain control and efficiently bounce artifacts like Mox Opal for value, setting up a powerful top-deck manipulation loop with Sensei's Divining Top under Elsha's triggered abilities.

Eliot tried to disrupt Jan’s board with Pyroblast but was countered, allowing Jan to continue assembling his combo.

Meanwhile, Bill’s use of Eladamri’s Call to find Mirror Entity hinted at a potential wide board or shuffle synergy, but the main focus remained on Jan’s growing advantage through Elsha's ability to cast instants and sorceries at instant speed and manipulate the top of his deck for incremental card advantage and control. The game’s trajectory favored Jan’s Elsha deck as it gained momentum through incremental advantage and control elements, while other players struggled to establish overwhelming board states or combos.

The interaction between Elsha’s top-deck manipulation, protection from disruption via Teferi, and artifact recursion set the stage for a strong finish.

Kroxa’s aggressive early pressure and Jim’s combo attempts provided tension but were ultimately held in check by timely counters and disruption.