Zedruu vs Arcades vs Nicol Bolas vs Slimefoot EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

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  Nicol Bolas, the Ravager // Nicol Bolas, the Arisen

  Control and disruption-focused deck leveraging powerful spells, removal, and tutors to neutralize threats and gain card advantage, aiming to dominate the game through attrition and high-impact spells.

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  Zedruu the Greathearted

  A political and enchantment-centric deck that uses gifting and enchantments like Curse of Opulence for value generation and card draw, while leveraging Land Tax and Rhystic Study to maintain resource advantage.

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  Slimefoot, the Stowaway

  A saproling tribal deck that creates board presence through token generation and sacrifice synergies, applying pressure with equipment and recurring creatures to chip away at opponents' life totals.

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  Arcades, the Strategist

  A defensive deck that turns walls and high-toughness creatures into offensive threats, gaining life and controlling the board with ramp and flicker effects, aiming to win through overwhelming board presence and combat damage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Kevin’s use of Imprison in the Moon to shut down Sarah Ascendant was a crucial early play that hampered Adam’s Arcades strategy.

• 2

  Cryptic Command was effectively used by Kevin to tap down Adam’s attackers and gain card advantage, disrupting Arcades’s tempo.

• 3

  Adam utilized Eerie Interlude to flicker creatures and protect his board from sacrifice and removal effects, maintaining pressure.

• 4

  Fred’s Slimefoot repeatedly attacked Kevin despite Propaganda being active, showing a focused aggression strategy to wear down a key opponent.

• 5

  The Zedruu player leveraged enchantment synergies and political plays, including casting Treachery to steal opponents’ creatures and generate value.

• 6

  Players managed the tax effects from Rhystic Study and other similar enchantments carefully, paying extra costs or countering spells to maintain tempo.

Notable Cards

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  Land Tax

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  Curse of Opulence

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  Cryptic Command

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  Eerie Interlude

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  Rhystic Study

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  Treachery

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  Propaganda

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  Wall of Reverence

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  Carrion Feeder

Summary

The game opened with all four commanders developing their boards and ramping mana. Kevin's Nicol Bolas deck focused on disruption and control, using powerful spells like Imprison in the Moon to neutralize threats such as Sarah Ascendant early on. Adam's Arcades deck aimed to leverage walls and large creatures, enhancing defenses and gaining life through cards like Wall of Reverence and Sarah Ascendant. Fred piloted Slimefoot with saproling synergies and equipment to pressure opponents, while the Zedruu player prioritized enchantments and political gameplay, casting cards like Curse of Opulence to generate value and using Land Tax for card advantage. Early combat involved aggressive swings from Arcades and Slimefoot, with damage and life gain shaping the board state.