Kamahl//Jeska vs Gavi vs Animar vs Xyris [EDH/Commander, Magic The Gathering Gameplay] 2021

Deck Strategies

• 

  Animar, Soul of Elements

  Ramp quickly with Animar's cost reduction to cast large, synergistic creatures that dominate the board and overwhelm opponents through combat.

• 

  Gavi, Nest Warden

  Utilize cycling spells to draw multiple cards and create token creatures, aiming to assemble a combo or draw the entire deck to win.

• 

  Kamahl, Heart of Krosa // Jeska, Thrice Reborn

  Flood the board with elves to generate a large army and win through combat damage, while leveraging possible infinite mana combos for explosive wins.

• 

  Xyris, the Writhing Storm

  Draw large numbers of cards with wheels to create snake tokens and convert those tokens into mana to continue wheel effects, dealing damage incrementally with token triggers and sacrifice outlets.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The early use of Astral Slide by the Gavi player to protect key creatures and create recurring value was pivotal in maintaining board presence.

• 2

  Animar's ability to untap lands via Peregrine Drake enabled a strong mana acceleration loop that facilitated casting powerful creatures early.

• 3

  The Xyris player used wheel effects to create multiple snake tokens each time cards were drawn, synergizing with sacrifice outlets to steadily chip away at opponents' life totals.

• 4

  The Kamahl/Jesska deck focused on defensive plays initially, equipping Lightning Greaves to protect key creatures and setting up for a turn where a large board presence could be established.

• 5

  Interactions involving bounce spells and responses on the stack, such as bouncing Fervor to counter a key play, demonstrated strategic timing to disrupt opponents' tempo.

Notable Cards

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  Animar, Soul of Elements

• 

  Gavi, Nest Warden

• 

  Kamahl, Heart of Krosa

• 

  Jeska, Thrice Reborn

• 

  Xyris, the Writhing Storm

• 

  Valiant Rescuer

• 

  Astral Slide

• 

  Lightning Greaves

• 

  Impact Tremors

• 

  Goblin Bombardment

• 

  Kodama's Reach

Summary

The game begins with a multi-player Commander match featuring four distinct decks, each pursuing its own strategy. Calvin pilots an Animar, Soul of Elements deck, focused on ramping into large, synergistic creatures to overwhelm opponents. The Gavi, Nest Warden deck uses cycling spells to draw through the library repeatedly and set up combo win conditions. Aiden's Kamahl, Heart of Krosa and Jeska, Thrice Reborn deck employs a classic elf tribal strategy aiming to flood the board and win via combat damage, with potential infinite mana combos. Jake's Xyris, the Writhing Storm deck leverages wheels and token generation to deal incremental damage through cards like Impact Tremors or Goblin Bombardment. Early turns consist of players developing mana bases and establishing board presence; key plays include casting Animar to accelerate creature deployment and Gavi with cycling synergies to generate tokens and card draw.