EDH Gameplay - Episode 35: Atraxa VS Ezuri VS Rakdos VS Nekusar

Deck Strategies

• 

  Atraxa, Praetors' Voice

  A counter-focused deck that aims to proliferate various types of counters to build a resilient board state, often combining planeswalkers and creatures with +1/+1 counters to overwhelm opponents.

• 

  Ezuri, Claw of Progress

  A creature-based strategy centered on elves and +1/+1 counters, generating card advantage and board control through combat damage triggers and evolving creatures.

• 

  Rakdos, the Showstopper

  An aggressive midrange deck that disrupts opponents by destroying creatures and creatures entering the battlefield, using fast mana and removal to control the board and deal damage.

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  Nekusar, the Mindrazer

  A wheel and discard deck focused on forcing opponents to draw and discard cards to deal incremental damage via enchantments like Underworld Dreams, aiming to drain life totals gradually.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Nekusar's use of Underworld Dreams combined with multiple wheel effects caused devastating life loss and forced heavy discards, significantly impacting all players and leading to Nekusar's own elimination.

• 2

  Rakdos leveraged aggressive attacks and efficient creature destruction to maintain board control, capitalizing on the chaos generated by wheel effects.

• 3

  Atraxa's proliferation and counter synergy were slowed by constant discard and life loss effects, limiting the deck's usual resilience.

• 4

  The timing of wheels and discard spells was crucial, as players needed to manage their hand sizes and life totals carefully to survive the incremental damage.

• 5

  Strategic use of removal spells like Go for the Throat and creature destruction from Rakdos allowed key threats to be neutralized before they could stabilize the board.

Notable Cards

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  Underworld Dreams

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  Blighted Agent

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  Chromatic Lantern

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  Jace, the Mind Sculptor

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  Bond of Revival

Summary

The game featured a four-player free-for-all with Atraxa, Praetors' Voice; Ezuri, Claw of Progress; Rakdos, the Showstopper; and Nekusar, the Mindrazer. Early turns involved setting up mana bases, deploying key creatures, and preparing important enchantments and artifacts. Nekusar used Underworld Dreams and Wheel effects to force heavy discard and damage, which began to take a toll on players' life totals. Rakdos capitalized on aggressive plays, including using Bloodstained Mire and other lands to ramp quickly and cast his commander to disrupt opponents' boards. Atraxa focused on proliferating counters and establishing a resilient board presence, while Ezuri worked on building up his elves and drawing cards through combat damage and abilities. A pivotal moment came when multiple wheels and Underworld Dreams caused massive life loss across the table, eliminating Nekusar from the game due to cumulative damage. Rakdos then swung aggressively to reduce another player's life total drastically. However, the damage from the wheels and recurring discard effects eventually caught up with others as well. The game concluded when the player piloting Rakdos managed to survive the damage and emerge victorious, leveraging his aggressive disruption and timely attacks alongside the attrition caused by Nekusar's wheels and Underworld Dreams.