Chulane vs Zada vs Karador vs Ephara EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

• 

  Karador, Ghost Chieftain

  Utilizes graveyard recursion to repeatedly bring back creatures and value engines, aiming to establish combos with cards like Animate Dead, Sun Titan, and Blood Artist to control the board and drain opponents' life.

• 

  Zada, Hedron Grinder

  Focuses on casting numerous instant and sorcery spells targeting Zada to create wide board swings by copying spells across all goblin creatures, often aiming for explosive damage or mass removal combos.

• 

  Chulane, Teller of Tales

  Leverages creature spells to generate card advantage and ramp, enabling a steady stream of creatures to swarm the board and maintain pressure while digging for key combo pieces or value creatures.

• 

  Ephara, God of the Polis

  Controls the board through card draw triggered by creature plays and uses protective abilities to maintain a stable board state, often generating incremental advantage and defensive plays.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The mass copying of Chandra's Ignition by Zada led to a devastating board wipe that reshaped the game and forced players to rebuild from near-scratch.

• 2

  Karador's graveyard recursion combo was a central pivot, enabling repeated value through Animate Dead and Sun Titan, which was temporarily disrupted by Cyclonic Rift but ultimately resilient.

• 3

  Ephara's player used protection effects and careful blocking deals to survive volatile board states and maintain card draw advantage.

• 4

  Timing and sequencing of recursion spells and sacrifice outlets like Viscera Seer were crucial for maximizing the combo potential and maintaining board presence.

• 5

  Players leveraged the Salt Skitter repeatedly returning to the battlefield to generate incremental card draw and maintain tempo.

Notable Cards

• 

  Hermit Druid

• 

  Animate Dead

• 

  Sun Titan

• 

  Blood Artist

• 

  Cyclonic Rift

• 

  Chandra's Ignition

• 

  Agent of Treachery

Summary

The game began with a typical ramp and setup phase, with each player developing their mana base and deploying early creatures. Key early plays included Karador utilizing Hermit Druid to fuel graveyard recursion and Chulane generating card advantage through creature casts. The board state steadily grew with various utility creatures, ramp spells, and interaction. A pivotal moment occurred when Loic (Zada) cast a spell that copied Chandra's Ignition multiple times, resulting in a massive board wipe that dealt heavy damage to most players but left Dom (Ephara) mostly unscathed due to protection granted by his commander. This significantly shifted the board dynamics, forcing players to rebuild and adjust their strategies. Following this, Karador's player executed a strong graveyard recursion combo involving Animate Dead, Reville Ark, Sun Titan, Recruiter of the Guard, and Blood Artist to establish a resilient board presence with recurring creatures and combo synergy. Although Dom attempted to disrupt this with an overloaded Cyclonic Rift, Karador was able to recover by tutoring for Eternal Witness and continuing to develop threats. Ephara's recurring draw triggers and Chulane's card advantage continued to pressure the table, but the interaction of graveyard recursion, token generation, and removal spells kept the game intense and dynamic. The game highlighted the power of recursion combos blended with token and control elements, with each player leveraging their commander's strengths to maintain tempo and board presence.