THE BATTLE FOR MIDDLE EARTH BEGINS | Gandalf, Sauron, Eowyn, Frodo Worst Possible Commander Show #64

Deck Strategies

• 

  Sauron, the Dark Lord

  Control the board with mass Orc token generation triggered by opponents' spells, leveraging the Ring's tempting mechanic to draw cards and maintain hand advantage, while using powerful mass removal spells to dominate the battlefield.

• Gandalf the Gray

  Cast and copy multiple instant and sorcery spells using blink effects like Displacer Kitten and powerful spells like Display of Power to control the game state and deal damage to opponents efficiently.

• 

  Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit & Sam, Loyal Attendant

  Generate incremental advantage by producing food tokens and gaining life, then leveraging artifact synergies such as Academy Manufactor to create clues and treasures, enabling a combo finish with Marionette Master through artifact sacrifice.

• 

  Éowyn, Shieldmaiden

  Flood the board with human tokens using Éowyn’s token generation and support cards like Cathars' Crusade to pump creatures, aiming to overwhelm opponents with a large, aggressive army.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Treebeard's deck maximized value by creating multiple food tokens each turn, which synergized with artifact production and triggered Marionette Master for potential lethal damage.

• 2

  Blake's Gandalf deck used Displacer Kitten to consistently blink Gandalf, allowing repeated choice of his versatile abilities and enabling multiple spell copies with Display of Power for significant board impact.

• 3

  Shea’s Éowyn deck combined token generation with Cathars' Crusade to rapidly grow an overwhelming human army, leveraging the synergy between token creation and +1/+1 counters.

• 4

  Sauron’s control elements forced opponents to sacrifice legendary permanents to target him and punished spell casting with Orc token generation, applying pressure while drawing cards through the Ring's tempting mechanic.

• 5

  Doubling Season in Treebeard's deck amplified token generation, increasing food tokens and clues, accelerating the deck's combo potential and board presence.

Notable Cards

• 

  Academy Manufactor

• 

  Marionette Master

• 

  Displacer Kitten

• 

  Display of Power

• 

  Cathars' Crusade

• 

  Doubling Season

• 

  Prosperous Innkeeper

• 

  Tireless Tracker

• 

  Sam, Loyal Attendant

• 

  Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit

Summary

The game opened with a thematic Middle-earth setup featuring characters like Sauron, Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, and Éowyn as commanders. Early turns focused on land drops and ramping with artifacts and token generation. Treebeard's Sam and Frodo deck generated incremental advantage through food tokens and life gain, synergizing with artifacts like Academy Manufactor to create clues and treasures, aiming for a token-sack combo with Marionette Master. Blake's Gandalf deck aimed to leverage instant and sorcery spells with powerful copy effects, using cards like Displacer Kitten and Display of Power to maximize spell doubling and repeated damage. Shea’s Éowyn deck focused on building a human token army, utilizing synergies with Cathars' Crusade and Anointed Procession to quickly grow an overwhelming board state. Meanwhile, CGB’s Sauron deck threatened to control the board with mass Orc generation and punishing opponents for casting spells through the Ring's tempting mechanic.