Varina 🆚 Huatli 🆚 Ukkima 🆚 Kasla | EDH Commander Gameplay

Deck Strategies

• 

  Varina, Lich Queen

  Generate zombies by exiling cards from the graveyard, then use sacrifice effects and drain triggers to control the board and chip away at opponents.

• 

  Huatli, Poet of Unity // Roar of the Fifth People

  Aggressively deploy dinosaur creatures with haste and utilize synergy effects that trigger when creatures enter the battlefield to overwhelm opponents through combat damage.

• 

  Ukkima, Stalking Shadow / Kasla, the Broken Halo

  Build +1/+1 counters on commanders and creatures to create large threats and use combat damage or other synergies to close out the game.

• 

  Cazur, Ruthless Stalker

  Generate token creatures and use convoke spells to cast powerful board wipes and creatures, controlling the board while building a defensive position.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Ashley’s timely use of Heroic Intervention protected her board from a mass removal spell, allowing her to maintain battlefield presence and momentum.

• 2

  Jeff’s use of +1/+1 counters and commander damage was effective early but could not withstand Ashley’s dinosaur aggression and board control.

• 3

  Will’s zombie token generation and sacrifice synergies provided incremental value but struggled to keep pace with explosive dinosaur combat damage.

• 4

  The convoke strategy enabled the narrator to cast impactful spells like Hour of Reckoning, but its effectiveness was limited by opponents' protective responses.

• 5

  Combat decisions, such as Will allowing damage to draw and discard from Varina’s ability and Ashley prioritizing damage on Jeff to eliminate a player, shaped the flow and outcome of the game.

Notable Cards

• 

  Varina, Lich Queen

• 

  Huatli, Poet of Unity // Roar of the Fifth People

• 

  Ukkima, Stalking Shadow

• 

  Kasla, the Broken Halo

• 

  Cazur, Ruthless Stalker

• 

  Corpse Knight

• 

  Curious Altisaur

• 

  Heroic Intervention

• 

  Hour of Reckoning

• 

  Scavenging Ooze

• 

  Bloom Tender

• 

  Illusionist's Gambit

Summary

The game began with each player establishing their board state according to their deck strategies. Will, playing Varina, Lich Queen, focused on creating zombie tokens by exiling cards from his graveyard and using sacrifice synergies. Ashley, piloting Huatli, Poet of Unity, played a dinosaur tribal deck centered on aggressive combat and synergy with creatures entering tapped or with haste. Jeff wielded Ukkima, Stalking Shadow alongside Kasla, the Broken Halo, leveraging +1/+1 counters and counters-based interactions to grow threats and pressure opponents. The narrator played a deck built around Cazur, Ruthless Stalker with a focus on token generation and convoke spells. Early combat saw several players chipping away at each other's life totals while developing their boards with utility creatures and ramp. A pivotal moment occurred when a board wipe attempt with Hour of Reckoning was thwarted by Ashley's Heroic Intervention, allowing her to maintain her threatening dinosaur board presence. Ashley capitalized on this advantage by casting powerful creatures like Gishath, Sun's Avatar, and Primal Calamity, swinging aggressively to force opponents into unfavorable blocks and damage trades. Jeff was eventually eliminated after taking a heavy hit from Ashley's coordinated attacks. Will and the narrator struggled to keep pace as Ashley's dinosaurs dominated the late game with haste and card draw fueled by Curious Altisaur and other synergy pieces. With all players low on life, Ashley closed out the game through overwhelming damage output from her dinosaur army, demonstrating the raw aggression and synergy of her deck.