Innistrad Remastered 🧛 High-Powered Commander! | Commander Arcade #20 - Magic the Gathering EDH

Deck Strategies

• 

  Edgar Markov

  Builds a vampire horde using Eminence to create tokens whenever a vampire spell is cast, overwhelming opponents with aggressive vampire synergy and life gain from lifelink creatures.

• 

  Liesa, Shroud of Dusk

  Utilizes a life payment based commander tax and deals incremental damage to all players when spells are cast, aiming to control the game by leveraging life manipulation and damage triggers.

• 

  Grolnok, the Omnivore

  Focuses on self-milling to deplete its own library, setting up a win condition based on having no cards left in the deck, supported by graveyard synergies and recursion.

• 

  Halana and Alena, Partners

  Uses +1/+1 counters and grants creatures haste to apply rapid pressure, aiming to win through aggressive combat and strengthening creatures via counters and combat tricks.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Edgar Markov’s Eminence ability effectively generated vampire tokens early, enabling sustained board presence and pressure on opponents.

• 2

  Liesa’s life payment to cast her commander and damage triggers created a taxing environment, disrupting opponents’ tempo and slowly draining life totals.

• 3

  Grolnok’s strategy of self-milling to win by decking out required careful resource management and patience, forcing opponents to consider long-term threats.

• 4

  Halana and Alena capitalized on +1/+1 counters and haste to create aggressive swings, making combat a central focus of the game.

• 5

  The inclusion of Saorin, Lord of Innistrad provided a powerful Planeswalker synergy, generating lifelink vampire tokens and enabling board control through removal and recursion.

• 6

  Ramp artifacts like Mindstone and Talisman of Hierarchy facilitated early deployment of threats and mana acceleration, crucial for maintaining pressure.

• 7

  The strategic use of life gain and loss interactions, especially with cards like Veto Thorn of the Dusk Rose, added depth to combat and resource management decisions.

Notable Cards

• 

  Edgar Markov

• 

  Liesa, Shroud of Dusk

• 

  Grolnok, the Omnivore

• 

  Halana and Alena, Partners

• 

  Indulgent Aristocrat

• 

  Talisman of Hierarchy

• 

  Arcane Signet

• 

  Ruby, Daring Tracker

Summary

The game featured a tense and thematic battle among four Innistrad commanders, each leveraging their unique strengths. Edgar Markov quickly established a vampire token army, taking advantage of his Eminence ability to flood the board with creatures and apply pressure on opponents. Liesa, Shroud of Dusk, controlled the pace with life payment and damage triggers, aiming to outlast opponents by managing life totals and spell damage. Grolnok, the Omnivore, focused on self-milling to empty the library, setting up a win condition based on having no cards left in the deck. Meanwhile, Halana and Alena aggressively built a board state with +1/+1 counters and haste, pushing for fast, impactful attacks and leveraging creature synergies to keep up the momentum. Early plays included ramp and card draw spells, with key creatures and Planeswalkers like Saorin, Lord of Innistrad, boosting vampire armies and providing resilience. The interplay between Edgar Markov’s vampire tokens and Liesa’s life-drain damage created a dynamic battlefield where damage and life swings were frequent. Grolnok’s self-mill strategy presented a slow but inevitable threat, while Halana and Alena’s aggressive counters and haste threatened to close out the game quickly. The game’s tension arose from balancing these win conditions and managing board presence against multiple threats, creating an exciting and strategic Innistrad-themed showdown.