Christmas Combat! Zedruu vs Freyalise vs Saffi vs Sai EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

• 

  Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury

  Ramp quickly with elves and create a wide board of elf tokens, then use +1 abilities to generate more tokens and overwhelm opponents with large trampling creatures.

• 

  Zedruu the Greathearted

  Control the table by gifting opponents curses that generate card advantage and gold tokens, using crawlspace and other control elements to slow enemy attacks.

• 

  Saffi Eriksdotter

  Utilize sacrifice and recursion synergies to draw cards and maintain board presence by repeatedly bringing back key creatures like Renegade Rallier.

• 

  Sai, Master Thopterist

  Generate thopter tokens from casting artifacts, build an artifact-based army with equipment and artifact creatures, and apply aerial pressure.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Freyalise's player used the combination of Wirewood Lodge and Llanowar Tribe Elder to generate mana and untap creatures for additional value.

• 2

  Zedruu used Curse of Opulence effectively to generate gold tokens and card draw while attacking with Bizarre Trader and controlling the board with Crawlspace.

• 3

  Saffi's player maximized value from sacrifice outlets, dumping creatures to Greater Good and recursion with Renegade Rallier to maintain card advantage and board presence.

• 4

  Sai's repeated casting and re-equipping of Swiftfoot Boots on his commander and artifact creatures allowed for resilient flying threats and consistent token production.

• 5

  Freyalise’s timely destruction of Trading Post slowed Sai’s recursion engine, shifting momentum towards a token swarm strategy supported by equipment like Sword of the Animist.

• 6

  Players made careful attack decisions, often trading off tokens and creatures to minimize losses, demonstrating cautious board control rather than all-out aggression early on.

Notable Cards

• 

  Mosswort Bridge

• 

  Curse of Opulence

• 

  Renegade Rallier

• 

  Trading Post

• 

  Sword of the Animist

• 

  Wirewood Lodge

• 

  Greater Good

• 

  Swiftfoot Boots

• 

  Howling Mine

Summary

The game began with all four players establishing their mana bases and early board presence. Freyalise's player focused on ramping with elves and generating tokens to build a strong board, while Zedruu aimed to control the game by gifting opponents curses and drawing cards through gold tokens. Saffi's player worked on reanimator and sacrifice synergies, using creatures like Renegade Rallier and Greater Good to maintain resilience. Sai's player built a totemic artifact engine, generating thopter tokens and leveraging artifact synergies with cards like Trading Post and Swiftfoot Boots. Key turning points included Freyalise's aggressive token production and board flood, which pressured opponents significantly, forcing defensive plays. Zedruu's use of Curse of Opulence and Crawlspace helped manage the board and hinder attacks. Saffi's sacrifice and recursion strategy allowed for card draw and board presence recovery, while Sai's artifact army posed consistent aerial threats. A pivotal moment came when Freyalise destroyed Trading Post to cut off Sai's recursion, slowing down the artifact engine. Despite that, Sai kept pressuring with thopters and protective equipment. The game featured careful combat decisions, with frequent blocking and fog effects to mitigate damage. Freyalise's continual token generation and eventual equipment of Sword of the Animist to Dwinnin, Guilt Leaf Dean indicated a push towards a combat-heavy finish, leveraging large elf tokens and trample to overwhelm opponents.