The Third Doctor vs Zurgo vs Najeela vs Marneus

Decklists

Deck & Commander Strategies

The Third Doctor
A Sultai value and combo deck aiming to win through Food Chain plus Eternal Scourge or Thassa's Oracle, supported by card draw and disruption.
Zurgo Stormrender
An aggressive Mardu deck leveraging tokens, equipment, and powerful creatures like Ragavan to generate value and pressure opponents, with win conditions including combo loops and burn.
Najeela, the Blade-Blossom
A five-color goodstuff deck utilizing token production, combat triggers, and combo finishers like Ad Nauseam or Underworld Breach to overwhelm opponents.
Marneus Calgar
An Esper control and value deck that generates tokens and card advantage, using Marneus to double token triggers and win with combos such as Thassa's Oracle or Hullbreaker Horror loops.

Gameplay Insights

1
Tyler used Amphibian Downpour's storm trigger to bounce multiple critical creatures simultaneously, effectively resetting the board and stalling aggressive strategies.
2
Jon's use of Demonic Consultation to find Saw in Half removed Ragavan, a high-impact threat, demonstrating a timely and precise tutor play to shift momentum.
3
The Third Doctor player carefully protected their Food Chain combo with Pact of Negation and responded to disruption with additional counterspells, emphasizing the tight control aspect of their deck.
4
Marneus Calgar's ability to double token generation created significant card advantage, forcing opponents to prioritize removal or disruption against his board presence.
5
The presence of Opposition Agent significantly complicated tutoring and card searches for multiple players, adding a layer of interaction and contention over key cards.

Notable Cards

Food Chain
Eternal Scourge
Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
Amphibian Downpour
Opposition Agent
Demonic Consultation
Saw in Half
Lightning Greaves
Mindbreak Trap

Gameplay Summary

The game opened with each player establishing their mana base and early board presence, with aggressive plays from Zurgo Stormrender and incremental value generation from The Third Doctor and Marneus Calgar.

Early combat damage and treasure token production from Ragavan put pressure on opponents, while Marneus and Zurgo sought to leverage token synergies and equipment like Lightning Greaves to protect their key threats.

A pivotal moment came when Tyler, playing Marneus Calgar, flashed in multiple copies of Amphibian Downpour, effectively resetting the board by bouncing key creatures including Adeline and Deathrite Shaman, which stalled the aggressive momentum of Jon's Zurgo deck and Dan's Najeela tokens. The Third Doctor player focused on assembling a Food Chain combo, protected by Pact of Negation and other countermagic, but was repeatedly disrupted by Tyler's interaction including Mindbreak Trap on Endurance.

Meanwhile, Jon executed a clever Demonic Consultation to find Saw in Half, successfully removing the powerful Ragavan from the board and neutralizing a significant threat.

Tyler's Marneus Calgar also made a strong impact by copying token generators and generating card advantage, although Jon's Opposition Agent hindered other players' tutoring.

The game featured a tense back-and-forth with multiple attempts to establish combos and control the board, highlighting the complex interplay of value engines, disruption, and combat tactics typical of competitive EDH.

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