Zedruu vs Arjun vs Grand Arbiter vs Heliod EDH / CMDR for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

• 

  Zedruu the Greathearted

  Utilizes enchantment-based control and political strategies by donating permanents to opponents while drawing cards, controlling the board with enchantments like Ghostly Prison and Stranglehold, and recurring key enchantments with creatures like Academy Rector.

• 

  Arjun, the Shifting Flame

  Focuses on massive card draw through Arjun's ability combined with incremental board presence from Chasm Skulker, while aiming to generate large mana pools for explosive spells and maintaining hand size with card draw spells and wheel effects.

• 

  Grand Arbiter Augustin IV

  Imposes taxing effects on opponents to slow down their plays, uses land tax to gain card advantage, and leverages control elements to maintain board presence and disrupt opponents' strategies.

• 

  Heliod, God of the Sun

  Builds a wide board of creatures and tokens, enhances them with equipment and auras like Angelic Destiny to overwhelm opponents quickly, and capitalizes on Heliod's indestructibility and life-linking abilities.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Vanessa leveraged land tax repeatedly to maintain a strong card advantage, which was pivotal in outpacing other players' resources.

• 2

  Louie effectively used equipment like Swiftfoot Boots and Angelic Destiny to protect key creatures from control effects and to push through significant damage.

• 3

  The Zedruu player used enchantments like Ghostly Prison and Stranglehold to discourage attacks and prevent opponents from taking extra turns, which slowed down more aggressive strategies.

• 4

  Vince's attempt at explosive mana generation with Mana Geyser was countered by timely Swan Song, demonstrating the importance of interaction in high-powered games.

• 5

  Strategic use of Imprison in the Moon to neutralize threatening creatures like Chasm Skulker significantly shifted the balance of power.

• 6

  The combination of Academy Rector and enchantment recursion provided the Zedruu player with key tools to maintain board control and pressure opponents.

Notable Cards

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  Ghostly Prison

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  Stranglehold

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  Mystic Remora

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  Chasm Skulker

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  Land Tax

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  Angelic Destiny

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  Academy Rector

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  Swan Song

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  Mana Geyser

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  Supreme Verdict

Summary

The game opened with players establishing their mana bases and early board presence, with Vanessa's Grand Arbiter Augustin IV deck focusing on land tax to generate card advantage, while Louie developed a Heliod, God of the Sun deck with aggressive equipment and tokens. Meanwhile, Vince's Arjun, the Shifting Flame deck began accumulating card draw and incremental board development through Chasm Skulker and Mystical Remora, and the Zedruu player set up enchantment-based control and political tools. Early interactions revolved around card advantage engines and taxing effects, with Vanessa's Grand Arbiter imposing costs on opponents and Zedruu leveraging enchantments like Ghostly Prison and Stranglehold to slow aggressive plays and prevent extra turns by blue decks. A key turning point came when Louie equipped Heliod's Knight with powerful equipment like Swiftfoot Boots and Sword of the Animist, enabling significant early damage and board control. Vanessa used land tax repeatedly to maintain card advantage and employed Imprison in the Moon to neutralize Vince's Chasm Skulker. Vince tried to generate a large mana pool with cards like Mana Geyser but was thwarted by Vanessa's timely Swan Song and Grand Arbiter's taxing presence. The Zedruu player capitalized on enchantment recursion with Academy Rector and used Ghostly Prison and Stranglehold to protect their life total and disrupt opponents' strategies. The game featured multiple board wipes and strategic plays to maintain tempo and control, with players carefully managing resources to leverage their commanders' strengths. The win condition for each player centered on either overwhelming board presence (Heliod), controlling the game through taxing and disruption (Grand Arbiter), or leveraging enchantment synergies and political plays (Zedruu and Arjun).