cEDH Gameplay | E2 | Animar vs Urza vs Yuriko vs Ruric Thar | Magic: the Gathering by KingdomsTV

Deck Strategies

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  Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

  A ninja-themed deck focused on dealing commander damage through evasive creatures and ninjutsu triggers, combined with disruption and creature theft via cards like Gilded Drake to destabilize opponents.

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  Urza, Lord High Artificer

  An artifact-centric deck that accelerates mana using Urza’s ability and artifacts like Jeweled Lotus, enabling quick deployment of powerful spells and generating card advantage via artifact synergies.

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  Animar, Soul of Elements

  A creature-combo deck that ramps aggressively and uses tutors like Imperial Recruiter to find combo pieces, aiming to overwhelm opponents with resilient creatures and efficient combos.

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  Ruric Thar, the Unbowed

  An aggressive creature-focused deck that punishes players for casting noncreature spells, applying consistent combat pressure with big creatures and disruption like Beast Within.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Using multiple Gilded Drake exchanges to steal opponent’s key creatures such as Urza and disrupt their board state.

• 2

  Casting Null Rod early to severely hinder Urza’s artifact-based mana generation and combos.

• 3

  Leveraging Jeweled Lotus on turn one to accelerate Urza’s deployment of powerful spells.

• 4

  Repeatedly bouncing Urza with Crystal Shard and Yuriko’s triggers to prevent Urza from stabilizing.

• 5

  Aggressive attacks with Ruric Thar targeting Urza to punish his heavy noncreature spell usage.

• 6

  Utilizing tutors like Mystical Tutor and Imperial Recruiter to find key pieces and maintain consistent pressure.

• 7

  Stacking multiple Fierce Guardianships on the stack reflecting intense counterspell battles typical in cEDH.

Notable Cards

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  Jeweled Lotus

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  Null Rod

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  Gilded Drake

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  Crystal Shard

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  Manglehorn

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  Imperial Recruiter

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  Opposition Agent

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  Carpet of Flowers

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  Green Sun's Zenith

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  Back to Basics

Summary

The game featured a high-powered cEDH match between four commanders: Animar, Yuriko, Urza, and Ruric Thar. Early turns saw aggressive ramp and disruption, with key plays like Jeweled Lotus enabling Urza to cast powerful spells quickly, and Null Rod and Manglehorn providing artifact hate that slowed Urza's artifact-centric strategy. Yuriko leveraged evasive creatures and Gilded Drake exchanges to disrupt opponents and chip away at their life totals through commander damage and ninjutsu triggers. Animar focused on assembling creatures and utilizing tutors like Imperial Recruiter to find crucial combo pieces, while Ruric Thar applied pressure with his aggressive beatdown style, often swinging to punish noncreature spells and slow opponents. A pivotal moment was the interaction of multiple Fierce Guardianships on the stack, showcasing the intense back-and-forth counterplay typical of cEDH. Gilded Drake exchanges and bounce spells like Crystal Shard kept board control dynamic, while Urza’s ability to generate mana and recur artifacts made him a formidable threat. Despite some strong board states, players had to adapt quickly to removal and disruption, leading to a tense midgame. Ultimately, the game featured multiple combat phases with Yuriko and Ruric Thar dealing commander damage, trading creatures through Gilded Drake, and utilizing powerful tutors and disruption to maintain tempo and control. The game ended with Animar’s player losing to the cumulative pressure of damage and disruption, illustrating the fine balance of aggression and control in cEDH.