Deck & Commander Strategies
Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin
Combines Rakdos colors to assemble a damage combo using Mana Barbs and All Will Be One, leveraging life loss triggers and mana rocks to generate infinite damage.
Sauron, the Dark Lord
A Grixis control-style deck that uses incremental resource denial and value generation, including taxing opponents with discard and leveraging attrition to win long-term.
Saruman of Many Colors
An Esper deck that capitalizes on graveyard theft and copying spells for value, combining card advantage engines with disruption to control the game flow.
Slicer, Hired Muscle // Slicer, High-Speed Antagonist
A mono-red aggro deck that aims to apply early pressure by quickly deploying its commander and forcing opponents to trade damage, capitalizing on aggressive attacks and transformation triggers.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Using Torpor Orb early to shut down enter-the-battlefield triggers and slow down opponents’ value engines was a key tempo play.
- 2
The red aggro deck's strategy of forcing opponents to damage each other shifted the focus away from direct board control and created tension around life totals.
- 3
The Winfall effect was a pivotal moment, refreshing hands and enabling multiple players to refill their resources simultaneously, which accelerated the midgame interactions.
- 4
Despite limited black mana sources, Ob Nixilis's player prioritized assembling combo pieces while managing life loss carefully due to the aggressive board state.
- 5
Saruman’s ability to copy spells from opponents’ graveyards created continuous value, making it difficult for others to maintain card advantage without disruption.
Notable Cards
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Torpor Orb
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All Will Be One
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Gemstone Caverns
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Grim Monolith
Gameplay Summary
The game features four distinct commanders from the new Lord of the Rings set alongside established cEDH staples, creating a dynamic and interactive pod.
Early turns see players developing their mana bases and deploying key pieces like Torpor Orb and various mana rocks to establish tempo.
The red aggro deck led by Slicer applies early pressure by transforming its commander and dealing incremental damage to opponents, forcing careful life total management.
Meanwhile, the Esper-style Saruman deck leverages graveyard interactions to generate value, stealing impactful spells and maintaining card advantage.
Ob Nixilis's Rakdos deck aims to assemble a combo involving Mana Barbs and All Will Be One, threatening an infinite damage loop, but the deck must carefully navigate life loss and mana constraints.
Sauron, the Dark Lord, focuses on incremental resource denial and value, creating a slow but steady attrition strategy.
A pivotal moment occurs when a player employs a winfall effect to reset hands, refreshing resources and accelerating the game state, while others respond with tutors and protective artifacts to maintain board presence.
The game balances aggression with resource denial and combo potential, ultimately revolving around who can establish their win condition first while managing the chaos of multiple aggressive threats on the battlefield.
