More than meets the eye! Grimlock vs Savra vs Kethis vs Vish Kal EDH / CMDR game play for Magic

Deck Strategies

• 

  Grimlock, Dinobot Leader

  Ramp into powerful creatures and protect them with equipment like Lightning Greaves, focusing on aggressive board development and combat damage.

• 

  Savra, Queen of the Golgari

  Leverages sacrifice outlets and graveyard recursion to drain opponents’ resources, using multiple Grave Pacts and Dread Return to maintain board control and generate value.

• 

  Kethis, the Hidden Hand

  Utilizes Survival of the Fittest and undying creatures to tutor and recur threats, building a resilient board state with synergistic +1/+1 counters and creature recursion.

• 

  Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter

  Focuses on board control through sacrifice triggers and graveyard recursion, using cards like Grave Pact and Beacon of Unrest to disrupt opponents and repeatedly regain creatures.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Max repeatedly activating Survival of the Fittest to tutor critical creatures and build a graveyard-centric engine was a central element of his strategy.

• 2

  Ben’s use of Rise of the Dark Realms to flood the board with creatures from all graveyards created a massive swing in board presence and forced opponents to respond.

• 3

  Malcolm’s timing of Grave Pact triggers combined with sacrifice effects like Ben’s led to multiple rounds of mass creature sacrifices, clearing the board and enabling Vish Kal’s control.

• 4

  MJ’s equipping of Forerunner of the Empire with Lightning Greaves allowed for protected attacks and efficient card draw via Lifecrafter's Bestiary, helping Grimlock stabilize.

• 5

  The complex interactions involving undying creatures and multiple graveyard triggers created a convoluted state where creatures continually changed controllers, illustrating the synergy depth in Kethis and Vish Kal decks.

• 6

  Malcolm’s Merciless Eviction cast at a key moment to exile Ben’s creatures helped reset the board and shift momentum.

Notable Cards

• 

  Survival of the Fittest

• 

  Grave Pact

• 

  Rise of the Dark Realms

• 

  Beacon of Unrest

• 

  Lightning Greaves

• 

  Dread Return

• 

  Nissa, Vastwood Seer // Nissa, Sage Animist

• 

  Merciless Eviction

Summary

The game featured four distinct decks piloted by Grimlock, Savra, Kethis, and Vish Kal, each establishing their board presence early. Max (Kethis) leveraged Survival of the Fittest repeatedly to tutor key creatures like Nissa and Rishkar, building synergy with undying and +1/+1 counters. Malcolm (Vish Kal) utilized graveyard interactions supported by cards like Grave Pact and Beacon of Unrest to control the board, taking advantage of creature deaths to force opponent sacrifices and recurring threats like Hirobi, Death's Whale. Ben (Savra) focused heavily on sacrifice and recursion, casting multiple Grave Pacts and Dread Return to maintain pressure and recover threats, culminating in a powerful Rise of the Dark Realms that flooded the battlefield with creatures from all graveyards. MJ (Grimlock) struggled initially but eventually assembled a strong board with efficient ramp and creatures like Forerunner of the Empire, equipping them with Lightning Greaves to protect key attackers.