Commander VS S6E8: Surrak vs Rhys vs Volrath vs Sygg [MTG]

Deck Strategies

• 

  Volrath the Fallen

  Focus on high-cost creatures and equipment that grant haste and evasion to quickly deal damage. Use powerful creatures like Draco to dominate the battlefield and leverage equipment like Swiftfoot Boots and Key to the City for protection and unblockability.

• 

  Surrak Dragonclaw

  Utilize a blink-centric strategy with odd-cost creatures to repeatedly trigger enter-the-battlefield effects, gaining incremental advantage and maintaining board presence. Use trample and aggressive combat to close out games.

• 

  Rhys the Redeemed

  Build a token swarm using odd-cost token generators and anthem effects to overwhelm opponents. Control the board by producing numerous creatures and enhancing them to push through damage.

• 

  Sygg, River Cutthroat

  Play a Rogue tribal deck focused on evasion and card draw by encouraging opponents to attack each other. Use unblockable and menacing Rogues to deal damage and employ milling as a secondary win condition with a small number of dedicated cards.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Building decks with strict odd or even mana costs forced players to dig deeper into their card pools and adapt their usual strategies to fit the restriction.

• 2

  Volrath's reliance on equipment to grant haste and unblockability allowed for early aggression and quick damage bursts despite some high casting costs in the deck.

• 3

  Surrak's blink synergy made use of odd-cost creatures with powerful ETB effects, gaining incremental advantage over time and maintaining board presence.

• 4

  Rhys leveraged multiple token generators and anthem effects to flood the battlefield, capitalizing on the odd mana cost restriction by selecting the most efficient token producers.

• 5

  Sygg's strategy to encourage opponents to attack each other helped keep his hand replenished and positioned him to strike with unblockable threats and milling cards, adding a unique angle to the game.

• 6

  The odd/even restriction created interesting deck-building challenges, such as limiting some powerful cards but opening opportunities for synergies not normally emphasized.

Notable Cards

• 

  Draco

• 

  Swiftfoot Boots

• 

  Key to the City

• 

  Squirrel Nest

• 

  Doubling Season

• 

  Stinkdrinker Bandit

• 

  White Sun's Zenith

• 

  Crystalline Crawler

• 

  Evolutionary Leap

Summary

The game featured four players each using a deck built under a unique restriction: two players built decks using only cards with even converted mana costs, while the other two used only cards with odd converted mana costs. Volrath the Fallen's deck focused on utilizing high-casting-cost creatures like Draco and heavy equipment to rapidly apply pressure with a haste and evasion theme. Surrak Dragonclaw's deck employed a blink strategy, leveraging enter-the-battlefield effects with odd-cost creatures and spells to generate value and maintain board presence. Rhys the Redeemed piloted a token-centric deck, flooding the board with odd-cost token generators and synergizing with anthem effects to overwhelm opponents. Sygg, River Cutthroat's deck was centered around a Rogue tribal strategy, aiming to draw cards by encouraging opponents to attack each other while using unblockable and menacing creatures to chip away at life totals and mill opponents as a secondary win condition. The interplay between these archetypes led to a dynamic game where board control, timing of key spells, and maximizing synergy with the odd/even restriction dictated the flow. Critical moments included Volrath getting equipped for quick damage, Rhys building a wide token army, and Sygg capitalizing on opponents' aggression to keep his hand full and pressure opponents with evasive threats. The win condition varied by deck but generally revolved around overwhelming damage through combat or milling in Sygg's case.