Thrasios & Ravos vs. Malcolm - Relic Fest 2024 - R13 - Duel Commander - EDH│MTG│bitzelberg

Deck Strategies

• 

  Malcolm, the Eyes

  A fast Izzet Burn deck that aims to disrupt opponents' mana bases with cards like Blood Moon while dealing quick, efficient damage using burn spells to close out the game before opponents can set up their combos.

• 

  Thrasios, Triton Hero & Ravos, Soultender

  A combo-centric deck leveraging card draw and recursion, aiming to assemble a deterministic combo involving Safekeeper and possibly other cards like Shuko and Devoted Druid to generate infinite value or damage and win the game.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Early Blood Moon disrupted the combo deck’s mana base, significantly hindering its ability to execute combo strategies.

• 2

  Fire and Ice and Organic Discharge were used effectively to remove key creatures, maintaining board control for the Burn deck.

• 3

  The Burn deck prioritized quick and efficient damage, leveraging spells like Wild Slash and Lightning Fury to finish the game rapidly.

• 4

  The combo deck’s failure to hit land drops and the countering of key plays like Stoneforge Mystic slowed down its game plan considerably.

• 5

  The combo deck’s reliance on Safekeeper for a deterministic win was thwarted due to disruptive pressure and lack of resources.

Notable Cards

• 

  Blood Moon

• 

  Wild Slash

• 

  Shuko

• 

  Birthing Pod

• 

  Brainstorm

• 

  Force Spike

Summary

The game began with a fast-paced duel between a combo-oriented Thrasios & Ravos deck and a Malcolm, the Eyes deck focused on Izzet Burn strategies. Early on, the Burn player established a strong tempo advantage by playing disruptive spells like Blood Moon and Fire and Ice, effectively locking down the opponent's mana base and key creatures. The Blood Moon proved pivotal, shutting down non-basic lands and cutting off resources for the combo deck. Despite attempts to develop the board with creatures such as Thrasios and Brisela, and setting up combo pieces like Safekeeper and Shuko, the combo player struggled to find the necessary lands and answers to the persistent disruption. The Burn deck maintained pressure with spells like Wild Slash and Lightning Fury, quickly reducing the opponent's life total and forcing concessions. The game concluded rapidly with the Burn deck's efficient damage spells overwhelming the combo deck before it could assemble a winning setup.