Marchesa vs Omnath vs Chainer vs Sasaya EDH / CMDR game play from MagicFest Montreal

Deck Strategies

• 

  Marchesa, the Black Rose

  Marchesa focuses on dethrone mechanics and manipulating +1/+1 counters to protect and recur creatures with death triggers, enabling sustained board control and incremental damage through recurring threats.

• 

  Omnath, Locus of the Roil

  Omnath leverages landfall triggers to generate value, draw cards, and accumulate +1/+1 counters, creating a large and resilient board while ramping aggressively with land-fetching spells.

• 

  Chainer, Nightmare Adept

  Chainer utilizes graveyard recursion to bring back threats and uses discard and sacrifice synergies to maintain pressure and disrupt opponents, often aiming to reanimate powerful creatures for value and combat advantage.

• 

  Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant

  Sasaya's deck focuses on ramping lands and forest tribal synergies to accelerate mana production and overwhelm opponents through explosive land drops and the transformation into Sasaya's Essence to generate massive mana.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Marchesa's dethrone ability synergized well with recurring creatures, allowing incremental board pressure and life swing through +1/+1 counters.

• 2

  Omnath's multiple landfall triggers from spells like Growth Spiral and Myriad Landscape rapidly increased board presence and card advantage, making it a key value engine.

• 3

  Chainer effectively used graveyard recursion combined with discard to maintain board presence and disrupt opponents' plans.

• 4

  The countering of the Tooth and Nail with suspend prevented a potentially game-ending combo, buying time for other players to stabilize.

• 5

  Royal Elemental's undying ability posed a persistent threat on board, forcing opponents to find answers quickly.

• 6

  Players carefully managed life totals and damage assignments to avoid letting any one player snowball uncontrollably early in the game.

• 7

  Sacrificing creatures with +1/+1 counters to Marchesa's ability allowed creatures to return stronger, maintaining board control and pressure.

• 8

  The interaction of land ramp, card draw, and +1/+1 counter manipulation was central to the evolving board state and combat dynamics.

Notable Cards

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  Mystic Remora

• 

  Risen Reef

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  Avenger of Zendikar

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  Craterhoof Behemoth

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  Shifting Shadow

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  Thought Vessel

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  Chainer, Nightmare Adept

• 

  Tooth and Nail

• 

  Profane Command

• 

  Chaos Warp

• 

  Beast Within

• 

  Myriad Landscape

• 

  Courser of Kruphix

• 

  Basalt Monolith

Summary

The game featured a four-player Commander match with Marchesa, the Black Rose; Omnath, Locus of the Roil; Chainer, Nightmare Adept; and Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant as commanders. Early turns saw players developing their mana bases and establishing board presence through ramp and value creatures like Mystic Remora and Royal Elemental. Omnath capitalized on landfall triggers and counters to grow in power while generating card advantage. Marchesa utilized dethrone and +1/+1 counters to control the board and apply pressure, while Chainer made use of graveyard recursion and discard synergies to maintain threats. Sasaya focused on ramping lands and leveraging forest tribal synergies to accelerate its game plan. A pivotal moment occurred when Chainer successfully cast and then countered a Tooth and Nail for entwined Avenger of Zendikar and Craterhoof Behemoth, stalling a strong combo threat. Meanwhile, Marchesa's dethrone triggers and recurring creatures kept opponents on edge, especially as creatures repeatedly returned from the graveyard with +1/+1 counters. Omnath's landfall triggers and incremental growth from myriad landscapes and Risen Reef created a significant board presence that was difficult for others to deal with. The interaction between creatures with death triggers, sacrifice effects, and counter manipulation was a constant theme, with Marchesa and Chainer leveraging these synergies. The game featured tactical trading of damage and control elements, with players carefully managing resources and life totals until a clear win condition emerged via overwhelming board presence and commander damage.