Commander Masters pre-con battle! EP: 17 Commodore Guff v Sliver Gravemother v Zhulodok v Anikthea

Deck Strategies

• 

  Commodore Guff

  Build and support multiple planeswalkers to generate wizard tokens, increase planeswalker loyalty counters, draw cards, and deal damage to opponents based on planeswalker count.

• 

  Sliver Gravemother

  Swarm the board with slivers and repeatedly resurrect them from the graveyard via Encore, leveraging slivers' shared abilities for strong board control and resilience.

• 

  Zhulodok, Void Gorger

  Cast high-cost colorless Eldrazi spells to trigger Cascade Cascade, allowing multiple spells to be cast for free in succession, overwhelming opponents with Eldrazi threats.

• 

  Anikthea, Hand of Erebos

  Control the battlefield with enchantments, exile key enchantments from the graveyard, and create 3/3 zombie tokens that copy those enchantments, blending graveyard recursion with incremental advantage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Commodore Guff’s ability to place loyalty counters on planeswalkers and generate wizard tokens early provided significant ramp and card advantage.

• 2

  Sliver Gravemother’s Encore mechanic allowed for repeated resurrection of sliver tokens, pressuring opponents with continuous attacks.

• 3

  Zhulodok’s Cascade Cascade mechanic enabled explosive turns by casting multiple Eldrazi spells in succession, accelerating board presence.

• 4

  Anikthea’s exile ability synergized well with the enchantment-heavy deck, turning graveyard resources into valuable zombie token threats.

• 5

  Early mana ramp through mana rocks like Mind Stone and Soul Ring enabled players to accelerate their game plans rapidly.

• 6

  Players used strategic creature type choices (e.g., choosing 'Slithers' or 'Cats') to optimize the effects of cards like Pillar of Origins, impacting deck synergy and mana usage.

Notable Cards

• 

  Pillar of Origins

• 

  Oath of Gideon

• 

  Mind Stone

• 

  Unstable Obelisk

• 

  Tyrite Sanctum

• 

  Nessian Wanderer

Summary

The game began with each player deploying their respective pre-constructed decks from Commander Masters, each showcasing unique synergies and strategies. Commodore Guff focused on accumulating and leveraging planeswalkers, generating wizard tokens, and using his abilities to draw cards and deal damage proportional to the number of planeswalkers controlled. Sliver Gravemother aimed to flood the board with sliver creatures and utilize her Encore ability to repeatedly resurrect slivers from the graveyard, creating a persistent and resilient swarm. Zhulodok, Void Gorger played an Eldrazi-focused, colorless cascade deck, aiming to chain powerful, high-cost Eldrazi spells through his Cascade Cascade ability, overwhelming opponents with multiple threats. Anikthea, Hand of Erebos employed an enchantment-centric strategy to exile non-Aura enchantments from the graveyard and create zombie tokens that replicated those enchantments, blending graveyard recursion with board presence.