Zedruu vs Esika vs Edgar vs Prosper EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

• 

  Zedruu the Greathearted

  A control and pillow-fort style deck that uses enchantments and artifacts to disrupt opponents while gaining incremental value. It aims to stabilize through card draw and life manipulation, eventually winning through attrition or combos.

• 

  Esika, God of the Tree // The Prismatic Bridge

  Ramp and top-deck manipulation focused on cheating large creatures and planeswalkers into play with The Prismatic Bridge. The deck uses powerful spells like Brilliant Ultimatum to generate overwhelming board states and control the battlefield.

• 

  Edgar Markov

  Aggressive vampire tribal deck that generates tokens through eminence triggers, applying early board pressure and leveraging life drain effects to finish opponents quickly.

• 

  Prosper, Tome-Bound

  Treasure generation and cascade-focused deck that builds mana advantage while casting multiple spells per turn. It utilizes exile-based recursion and value spells to maintain momentum and overwhelm opponents with card advantage and damage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Edgar Markov's early token generation and life drain through Malakir Bloodwitch significantly shifted board control and life totals, pressuring opponents effectively.

• 2

  Esika's use of Brilliant Ultimatum to fetch multiple powerful permanents in one turn created a substantial board presence and resource advantage.

• 3

  Prosper's treasure generation and cascade spells allowed for explosive turns, though a key misplay with Cut to Ribbons reduced removal efficiency against Esika's threats.

• 4

  Zedruu's placement of Torpor Orb and other control elements delayed opponents’ combos but was ultimately overwhelmed by aggressive board states and recursion.

• 5

  Jean-François's activation of Kinin to exile problematic creatures demonstrated good timing of interactive plays, though some removal opportunities were missed later in the game.

Notable Cards

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  Form of the Dragon

• 

  Skullclamp

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  Faithless Looting

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  Torpor Orb

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  Brilliant Ultimatum

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  Malakir Bloodwitch

• 

  Marionette Master

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  Darksteel Relic

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  Coalition Relic

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  Oko, Thief of Crowns

• 

  Teferi, Temporal Archmage

Summary

The game started with a typical ramp and setup phase, with players developing their mana bases and deploying early threats. Edgar Markov quickly established board presence with tokens generated from his eminence triggers, while Prosper utilized treasure generation and cascade spells to build resources. Zedruu focused on control elements, such as casting Torpor Orb and other disruptive enchantments, alongside ramp and card draw. Esika leveraged ramp and powerful top-deck manipulation, culminating in a Brilliant Ultimatum that fetched multiple impactful permanents including Morophon, Vorinclex, and Sagarda, creating a strong board state. Midgame saw Edgar Markov's aggressive vampire tokens gaining significant life and dealing damage, including a key play with Malakir Bloodwitch draining life from opponents. Prosper continued building treasure tokens and casting spells from exile, maintaining pressure with consistent damage output. Zedruu's control elements helped mitigate some threats but eventually fell to Edgar's life drain. Esika's Prismatic Bridge ability consistently provided value by cheating in powerful creatures and planeswalkers, including Oko and Teferi, enabling board control and untapping permanents for further plays. There were critical moments such as Charles (Prosper) mistakenly using Cut to Ribbons instead of removal on a key threat, which allowed Esika to maintain board control. The game showcased a dynamic interplay of aggressive vampire tribal, treasure-based cascade combos, and powerful top-deck manipulation with versatile answers and threats.