EDH BUDGET COMMANDER BATTLE WITH GATHERING THE MAGIC! JASMINE BOREAL v QUEZA v ZADA v ANIMAR

Deck Strategies

• 

  Queza, Augur of Agonies

  Draw cards consistently and drain opponents' life to generate incremental advantage and whittle down their life totals.

• 

  Zada, Hedron Grinder

  Create many small tokens and cast cheap spells that can be copied by Zada to maximize damage output quickly.

• 

  Animar, Soul of Elements

  Build up creature counters on Animar and deploy creatures cheaply to overwhelm opponents with large threats.

• 

  Jasmine Boreal of the Seven

  Make vanilla creatures unblockable by creatures with abilities, enabling a swarm of otherwise weak creatures to deal damage effectively.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Jasmine Boreal’s ability to grant unblockability to vanilla creatures created a unique threat that opponents had to address despite the creatures’ lack of abilities.

• 2

  Animar’s early ramp and token generation allowed him to develop a threatening board presence quickly despite playing a budget deck.

• 3

  Zada’s strategy of casting cheap spells to create and buff tokens emphasized maximizing value from low-cost cards over flashy combos.

• 4

  Queza’s incremental life loss strategy pressured opponents but was somewhat hindered by a lack of board presence, highlighting the challenge of balancing card draw and board control in budget builds.

Notable Cards

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  Arcane Signet

• 

  Forbidden Friendship

• 

  Loyal Apprentice

• 

  Indulging Patrician

• 

  Elite Vanguard

Summary

The game started with each player developing their board state cautiously, reflecting their budget deck constraints. Queza focused on drawing cards and draining opponents' life, while Zada generated small tokens and aimed to amplify cheap spells. Animar sought to build up creature counters and deploy large threats efficiently, and Jasmine Boreal leveraged her ability to make vanilla creatures unblockable, turning otherwise weak creatures into formidable attackers. Early plays involved ramping mana and setting up key enchantments and creatures to support each commander’s plan. As the game progressed, Animar quickly amassed a substantial board presence with multiple creatures and ramp artifacts, positioning to dominate with large creatures. Jasmine began applying pressure with evasive creatures that opponents struggled to block due to her commander’s static ability. Zada contributed by creating haste tokens and copying spells, aiming for explosive turns. Queza used life loss effects to chip away at opponents, though with limited board presence. The tension increased as mana pools grew and players prepared for impactful combat phases, with Jasmine’s unblockable creatures and Animar’s growing threats as pivotal forces shaping the midgame dynamics.