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EDH/Commander Gameplay #18 - Ixhel vs Ovika vs Atraxa

White Rose Commander

Commanders featured in this video Reviewed & Verified

Decklists

Deck Strategies

  • Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa

    Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa

    Utilizes poison counters and proliferate to gradually weaken opponents while leveraging the synergy between infect and counter manipulation to create lethal board states.

  • Atraxa, Grand Unifier

    Atraxa, Grand Unifier

    Built solely from the 'All Will Be One' set, focuses on exploiting the Prosper mechanic to exile and cast cards from opponents’ libraries, alongside proliferate and poison counters to control the board and gain incremental advantage.

  • Ovika, Enigma Goliath

    Ovika, Enigma Goliath

    Aims to buff and copy small creatures, generating numerous tokens with haste to apply fast, unblockable damage and leverage multiple combat triggers for a quick finish.

Gameplay Insights

  • 1

    Sacrificing creatures to trigger proliferate effects was a key tactical move that accelerated poison counter accumulation and disrupted opponents’ boards.

  • 2

    Using the exile-and-play Prosper mechanic allowed the Atraxa player to access opponents’ cards, creating unique resource advantages and keeping pressure on the table.

  • 3

    Bounce effects like repulse were used strategically to delay threats but required careful timing to avoid worsening the player's own poison counter situation.

  • 4

    Unblockable creatures combined with haste tokens enabled surprise lethal damage swings, forcing opponents to prioritize removal or blockers early.

  • 5

    Counterspell usage was critical in maintaining tempo and disrupting combo or high-value plays, especially around proliferate triggers and key poison counter enablers.

Notable Cards

  • Goblin Electromancer

    Goblin Electromancer

  • Mind Stone

    Mind Stone

  • Stealth Mission

    Stealth Mission

  • Thrill of Possibility

    Thrill of Possibility

Summary

The game started with all three players adopting Phyrexian-themed decks, each focusing on different aspects of the popular mechanics from the 'All Will Be One' set. Early turns were marked by careful ramping, board development, and establishing key creatures with proliferate and poison counters playing a central role. Atraxa, Grand Unifier's player leveraged the set's cards strictly from the bundle, focusing on proliferating poison counters and utilizing the exile-and-play mechanic from the new 'Prosper' ability to maintain card advantage and pressure. Ixhel's player demonstrated aggressive poison counter application combined with proliferate triggers, while Ovika's deck aimed for synergy through multiple copies and buffs to small creatures, aiming to overwhelm opponents with unblockable threats and token generation. A pivotal moment occurred when one player repeatedly sacrificed creatures to trigger proliferate effects and poison counters, rapidly escalating the game's toxicity level and board state pressure. This sequencing forced opponents into defensive positions and led to exchanges where poison counters steadily accumulated. Strategic use of counterspells and bounce effects (for example, returning key threats to hand) slowed down tempo but did not prevent the eventual escalation of damage and poison counters. Towards the midgame, unblockable creatures combined with buffs and haste-giving tokens allowed for aggressive swings, putting players on the brink of defeat. The tension increased as players juggled the new exile-play mechanic, toxic counters, and proliferate interactions, culminating in a high-stakes combat phase that would decide the outcome.

Description

Episode 18 is here!

Only three of us for this game and we felt like embracing phyrexia a little bit. Nick is debuting his Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa unedited precon deck; Matt is running a deck helmed by Atraxa, Grand Unifier that is built purely from a set box and bundle of All Will Be One; and Alex has swapped out the commander of his Balmor, Battlemage Captain deck to run it with Ovika, Enigma Goliath.

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Check out the deck lists below, and browse our other decks.

Deck Lists

Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa (Nick) www.moxfield.com/decks/mLyio5zHwkydOXL6dFeE9g

Ovika, Enigma Goliath (Alex) www.moxfield.com/decks/fqNSfU2fIU-ZqV37AA5KQw

Atraxa, Gran Unifier (Matt) www.moxfield.com/decks/oIvO5QNVQ0-DIL9ptB2BVA This is a list edited since the game, however the adjustments can be seen in the history


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Editing - Matt

Music

Rise by Punch Deck | soundcloud.com/punch-deck Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US