Deck & Commander Strategies
Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
Ramp quickly with mana dorks and artifacts to generate huge amounts of mana, then use Basalt Monolith or Hullbreaker Horror to produce infinite mana, draw the entire deck with Thrasios, and win through massive Finale of Devastation or drawing opponents out with a fairy mastermind loop.
Elsha of the Infinite
Cast Elsha early to gain value by casting creature spells from the top of the deck at instant speed, then set up a Sensei's Divining Top loop combined with cost reducers to draw the entire deck and win by brain freezing opponents.
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh & Thrasios, Triton Hero
Leverage mana dorks and infinite mana combos involving Mana Cradle and untap effects to generate infinite mana, then draw through the deck with Thrasios and close the game with Finale of Devastation.
Etali, Primal Conqueror
Cast Etali early and use its ability to exile and cast spells from opponents' decks, ideally chaining multiple Etali casts with copy effects or Food Chain combos to exile entire libraries and win.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Kinnan's early infinite mana setup on turn three was a major threat but was effectively disrupted by targeted removal and counterspells to prevent the immediate combo finish.
- 2
Etali’s flips during the combat phase aimed to find removal or impactful spells but failed to hit relevant answers, limiting his ability to pressure the table.
- 3
Elsha used her ability to phase out Etali temporarily, disrupting his ability to act and gaining a tempo advantage.
- 4
Rograkh/Thrasios player utilized multiple copy effects to mimic threats on board, generating value without immediately committing to combo lines to avoid early disruption.
- 5
Players prioritized killing mana dorks and artifact ramp pieces to prevent opponents from assembling infinite mana combos, highlighting the importance of resource denial in cEDH.
- 6
Despite having a counterspell available, the Etali player chose not to counter Kinnan’s Basalt Monolith due to a lack of mana to pay upkeep and the high potential cost of allowing infinite mana.
- 7
The game showed a recurring theme of bluffing and testing opponents’ willingness to disrupt key combo pieces, with Kinnan’s player leveraging the threat of infinite mana to dictate other players' responses.
Notable Cards
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Basalt Monolith
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Hullbreaker Horror
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Sensei's Divining Top
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Finale of Devastation
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Lion's Eye Diamond
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Mockingbird
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Snapcaster Mage
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Displacer Kitten
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Survival of the Fittest
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Dualcaster Mage
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Molten Duplication
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City of Traitors
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Mox Diamond
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Mox Opal
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Ancient Tomb
Gameplay Summary
The game began with aggressive mana ramp and early board development from all players, particularly the Kinnan player who quickly generated massive mana using artifact and mana dork synergies.
Kinnan established a threatening board presence by casting Basalt Monolith and activating infinite mana combos, but opponents responded with targeted removal and tempo plays to delay his combo.
Etali's player attempted to leverage the commander’s ability to flip and hit impactful spells, though lacking immediate removal slowed this plan.
Elsha's deck aimed to generate value by casting spells from the top of the library at instant speed, preparing for a Sensei's Divining Top loop to draw out opponents, while Rograkh and Thrasios focused on abusing mana dorks and infinite mana combos involving mana cradle and draw engines to close the game with Finale of Devastation.
A pivotal moment occurred when Kinnan set up a massive mana engine but was disrupted by removal and counterspells, forcing him to delay his infinite combo.
Etali’s flips failed to hit removal, limiting his threat level, and he was phased out temporarily by Elsha’s response.
Elsha used her unique ability to disrupt opponents while setting up her own win condition.
Meanwhile, the Rograkh/Thrasios player used copy effects and untap synergies to generate value but held back on committing to combos early.
The game unfolded as a tense battle of resource denial and combo assembly, with players carefully choosing when to go all-in or disrupt others.
The narrative suggests Kinnan’s mana engine was the primary threat, with the other decks trying to respond or build their own paths to victory.
