Daretti vs Ghalta vs Atraxa vs Derevi EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

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  Daretti, Scrap Savant

  Focuses on artifact synergies, utilizing artifact ramp and powerful artifact creatures like Blightsteel Colossus. Uses sacrifice and recursion effects alongside board wipes to maintain control and cheat out big threats quickly.

• 

  Derevi, Empyrial Tactician

  Leverages combat phases and untapping lands for multiple attacks and mana generation. Uses exalted triggers and artifact combos to apply heavy commander damage rapidly, often with evasive creatures.

• 

  Atraxa, Praetors' Voice

  Builds a proliferate-based fungal counter theme enhanced by Doubling Season to generate large numbers of tokens and counters. Uses incremental value and token synergy to exert long-term board dominance and win through infect or attrition.

• 

  Ghalta, Primal Hunger

  A green stompy deck aiming to cast large creatures with death touch and overwhelm opponents with powerful combat threats. Uses ramp and synergy with creatures like Hornet Queen to control the board and apply pressure.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The use of Blasphemous Act by Daretti to wipe the board was crucial in resetting the game state and enabling a fresh push with artifact threats.

• 2

  Derevi’s ability to untap lands and gain extra combat phases was leveraged to deliver significant commander damage, which pressured multiple opponents simultaneously.

• 3

  Atraxa’s proliferate and Doubling Season combo steadily increased spore counters and token counts, allowing the player to finish an opponent with a surprising infect-based kill.

• 4

  The cloning of Blightsteel Colossus using Fblthp the Lost created a formidable board presence that demanded immediate attention from other players but also accelerated the infect damage clock.

• 5

  The presence of multiple death touch creatures like Thornweld Archer and Daggerback Basilisk discouraged attacks and controlled the pace of combat throughout the game.

Notable Cards

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  Blightsteel Colossus

• 

  Staff of Domination

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  Thran Temporal Gateway

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  Blasphemous Act

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  Doubling Season

• 

  Mold Shambler

• 

  Hornet Queen

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  Exquisite Firecraft

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  Skullclamp

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  Song of the Dryads

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  Force of Will

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  Sunpetal Grove

• 

  Seaside Citadel

Summary

The game features a dynamic four-player Commander match with Daretti, Derevi, Atraxa, and Ghalta as the commanders. Early turns are focused on ramping and setting up board presence, with Jon (Atraxa) building a fungal-themed proliferate strategy, accumulating spore counters and leveraging Doubling Season. Adam (Derevi) utilizes his commander’s ability for additional combat phases and untapping lands, generating significant pressure with combat damage and artifact synergies, including copies of Blightsteel Colossus. Steve (Ghalta) plays a green stompy deck with powerful creatures and death touch blockers, while the Daretti player sets up artifact synergies with Staff of Domination and Thran Temporal Gateway to cheat out big threats like Blightsteel Colossus. Key turning points include Daretti’s Blasphemous Act board wipe, which clears the board and resets the pace, and the deployment of multiple massive infect threats, primarily through Blightsteel Colossus and its clone via Fblthp the Lost. Derevi’s multiple combat phases and exalted triggers rack up commander damage quickly, culminating in the Daretti player’s eventual fall to infect damage. Atraxa’s proliferate engine steadily grows counters on her fungal tokens and lands, eventually finishing off Adam with infect damage after a series of proliferations and combat damage steps. The game highlights the tension between infect damage, combat damage, and board control, ending with the infect strategy proving decisive.