Kodama | Livio vs Marath vs Ardenn | Tana vs Titania EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

• 

  Kodama of the East Tree

  Ramp aggressively with lands and mana dorks to enable powerful land combos like Thespian Stage and Dark Depths, creating large creatures and leveraging card draw spells to overwhelm opponents.

• 

  Marath, Will of the Wild

  Utilize Marath’s ability to distribute +1/+1 counters and remove them for damage or tokens, combined with equipment to increase damage output and board presence.

• 

  Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist

  Focus on equipment tribal synergies, equipping Ardenn and other creatures with impactful auras and artifacts to boost combat effectiveness and generate value through combat triggers.

• 

  Tana, the Bloodsower

  Token generation combined with sacrificing creatures for value, leveraging synergy with elves and ramp spells to maintain pressure and board presence.

• 

  Titania, Protector of Argoth

  Utilize lands as a resource to generate elemental tokens, ramp into powerful spells, and overwhelm opponents with token swarms.

• 

  Livio, Oathsworn Sentinel

  Support a Selesnya (green-white) token and anthem strategy, enhancing creatures with equipment and auras to maintain board control and generate incremental advantages.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The use of Thespian Stage copying Dark Depths to create a 20/20 flying indestructible token was a key turning point that dramatically increased board presence.

• 2

  Strategic removal of artifact and enchantment sources such as Nature's Claim on Birthing Pod and Manglehorn on Sword of Feast and Famine helped stem opponents' momentum.

• 3

  Rishkar's Expertise was leveraged effectively to draw a large number of cards, enabling a powerful follow-up play with Song of the Dryads to neutralize a major threat.

• 4

  Ardenn’s ability to transfer equipment to itself and other creatures maximized the value of the equipment tribal synergy, increasing combat damage output.

• 5

  Players carefully managed combat steps to maximize damage while minimizing loss, including blocking trades and using triggers to generate card advantage.

Notable Cards

• 

  Dark Depths

• 

  Lightning Greaves

• 

  Sword of Feast and Famine

• 

  Survival of the Fittest

• 

  Rishkar's Expertise

• 

  Song of the Dryads

• 

  Nature's Claim

• 

  Manglehorn

• 

  Ephemerate

• 

  Skullclamp

• 

  Birthing Pod

• 

  Crucible of Worlds

• 

  Anger

• 

  Steelshaper's Gift

Summary

The game began with each player developing their board and ramping mana, setting the stage for mid-game interactions. Early plays included ramp spells, creature deployments, and equipment attachments, notably Ardenn being equipped with Lightning Greaves and Sword of Feast and Famine. Players used Survival of the Fittest and various mana accelerants to find key creatures and maintain pressure. A pivotal moment occurred when the player piloting Kodama of the East Tree used the combo of Thespian Stage and Dark Depths to create a massive 20/20 indestructible flying creature, significantly shifting board presence. Mid-game saw aggressive combat steps, including multiple attempts to chip away at opponents' life totals and strategic removal plays such as Nature's Claim on a Birthing Pod and Manglehorn destroying key artifacts. The player controlling Kodama leveraged Rishkar's Expertise to draw a large number of cards and cast Song of the Dryads to neutralize Jesper’s Meredith commander by turning it into a Forest, effectively removing it from the offense. The game’s tempo swung back and forth with recurring threats, artifact synergies with Marath, and equipment tribal synergies with Ardenn, but the massive creature and card advantage generated by Kodama's pilot put them in a dominant position as the game transitioned into later turns.