The Lord of Pain vs Ruric Thar vs Xantcha vs The Jolly Balloon Man EDH / CMDR game play

Deck Strategies

• 

  The Jolly Balloon Man

  This deck focuses on creating token copies of key creatures, taking advantage of their enter the battlefield effects and using them for offense and defense.

• 

  The Lord of Pain

  The Lord of Pain deck aims to control the board with a mix of creature removal and board wipes, and capitalizes on the pain mechanic to deal direct damage to opponents.

• 

  Xantcha, Sleeper Agent

  This deck uses Xantcha's ability to force opponents to attack each other, while gaining card advantage and manipulating the board state.

• 

  Ruric Thar, the Unbowed

  Ruric Thar's deck is a ramp and big creature deck, which discourages non-creature spells due to Ruric Thar's punishing ability.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The casting of Bitter Feud drastically increased the pace of the game, doubling damage between paired players and leading to quick eliminations.

• 2

  The Plague Wind played by The Lord of Pain player was a crucial turning point, wiping the board and resetting the game state.

• 3

  The clever use of Deflecting Palm by the Jolly Balloon Man player to redirect damage was a game-changing move that helped secure the victory.

• 4

  Restoration Angel was used effectively in the endgame to finish off the last opponent, demonstrating the power of efficient creature abilities in Commander.

Notable Cards

• 

  Bitter Feud

• 

  Plague Wind

• 

  Deflecting Palm

• 

  Restoration Angel

• 

  Xantcha, Sleeper Agent

• 

  Ruric Thar, the Unbowed

Summary

This game was a tense and exhilarating showdown between four unique commanders. The game started off with all players developing their board states and ramping their mana with various means. Ruric Thar and Xantcha were the first to create notable threats on the board. The Lord of Pain player drew into a Plague Wind, which resulted in a game-wide board wipe. However, the real turning point came when Bitter Feud was cast, which doubled damage between paired players. This led to a surge in aggression and quick eliminations. Eventually, the Jolly Balloon Man player managed to take advantage of the weakened state of his opponents, using Restoration Angel to finish off the last opponent and secure the victory.