CEDH Gameplay! Kess Dissident Mage v Korvold Fae-Cursed King v Gev Scaled Scorh v Rakdos the Muscle

Deck Strategies

• 

  Kess, Dissident Mage

  Kess focuses on a spell-slinging strategy, using instant and sorcery recursion to control the board and generate value, aiming to win through a combination of burn spells and powerful combo interactions.

• 

  Korvold, Fae-Cursed King

  Korvold leverages sacrifice and draw synergies to create an overwhelming advantage, typically winning by draining opponents' life totals through repeated sacrifice triggers and card advantage.

• 

  Gev, Scaled Scorch

  Gev utilizes a lizard tribal deck that deals incremental damage and builds board presence through +1/+1 counters and trigger effects to chip away at opponents while maintaining pressure.

• 

  Rakdos, the Muscle

  Rakdos focuses on aggressive plays with Treasure generation and sacrifice outlets to maintain board control and apply pressure, aiming for quick damage and resource advantage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Korvold’s use of Orcish Bowmasters triggered multiple sacrifice and damage effects, forcing opponents to respond quickly.

• 2

  Rhystic Study was a pivotal card, enabling Korvold to maintain card advantage despite opponents’ attempts at disruption.

• 3

  Players used Vexing Shusher and other counterspell enablers to protect key spells, highlighting the importance of spell interaction in cEDH.

• 4

  The incremental damage from Gev’s lizards and Rakdos’s Treasure generation kept constant pressure, influencing opponents' attack and block decisions.

• 5

  Kess’s repeated recursion of burn spells showed the deck’s resilience but also its reliance on finding the right spells at the right time.

• 6

  Targeting Korvold’s early board presence was a priority for opponents, demonstrating the threat level of his sacrifice synergies.

Notable Cards

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  Orcish Bowmasters

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  Chromatic Lantern

• 

  Rhystic Study

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  Vexing Shusher

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  Burnt Offering

• 

  Fire Covenant

Summary

The game started slowly with players developing their mana bases and playing early creatures and utility spells. Kess focused on assembling a powerful spell-based engine using cards like Vexing Shusher and Burnt Offering, while Korvold worked on building a strong board presence with sacrifice synergies, including Orcish Bowmasters and Chromatic Lantern. Gev, with a lizard tribal theme, applied incremental damage and counters, and Rakdos attempted to leverage aggression and card draw through Treasure generation. A key turning point occurred when Korvold triggered multiple sacrifice effects combined with card draw engines such as Rhystic Study to gain significant advantage, prompting Gev to prioritize removing Korvold's threats. Kess attempted to disrupt others with targeted burn and spells but struggled to gain tempo. The game showed typical cEDH tension with players managing resources tightly and waiting for openings. Ultimately, Korvold's ability to generate card advantage and drain opponents through sacrifice interactions positioned him strongly, while Kess's reactive spells and Gev's incremental damage shaped the pace of the match.