We Turned Random Commanders into CEDH Decks!

Deck Strategies

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  Vilis, Broker of Blood

  Utilizes life as a resource to cast multiple spells rapidly, combining Ad Nauseam with reanimation and card draw engines to assemble lethal combos centered around draining opponents' life totals.

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  Titania, Protector of Argoth

  Leverages Gaea's Cradle and Food Chain to generate massive mana, ramping aggressively with creatures and disrupting opponents to close out the game with overwhelming board states.

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  Nezahal, Primal Tide

  Employs control and card advantage tools to manage the board, using its commander’s ability to protect itself while setting up blue-based combos to finish the game.

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  Yahenni, Undying Partisan

  Runs a turbo Ad Nauseam build that aims to quickly generate resources and combo off before opponents can interact, utilizing reanimation and disruption to maintain speed and resilience.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Leveraging K'rrik's ability to pay life instead of mana enabled casting multiple spells in a turn to fuel card draw and combo sequences.

• 2

  Using Peer into the Abyss as a massive card draw spell set up a lethal loop by drawing nearly the entire deck and enabling multiple reanimation triggers.

• 3

  Reclamation Sage’s timely removal of Sensei's Divining Top disrupted opponents’ card selection and slowed their progress.

• 4

  The use of The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale created a taxing board state that pressured aggressive decks relying on creatures.

• 5

  Aggressive ramp and mana generation with Gaea’s Cradle and Food Chain allowed for early explosive plays and board presence.

• 6

  Disruption spells like Duress and counters were key to delaying opponents’ interaction, preserving combo windows.

Notable Cards

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  K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth

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  Peer into the Abyss

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  Chainer, Dementia Master

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  Gray Merchant of Asphodel

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  Gaea's Cradle

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  Food Chain

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  Reclamation Sage

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  The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

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  Sensei's Divining Top

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  Ad Nauseam

Summary

The game featured four players piloting highly tuned cEDH decks built around randomly assigned commanders: Vilis, Broker of Blood; Titania, Protector of Argoth; Nezahal, Primal Tide; and Yahenni, Undying Partisan. Vilis’s pilot executed a blistering start by leveraging fast mana and life-payment synergies through K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth to cast multiple spells in a single turn. The key turn involved casting Peer into the Abyss to draw a massive number of cards, enabling a lethal combo loop with Chainer, Dementia Master and Gray Merchant of Asphodel to drain the table and win by turn three. This game highlighted how life payment and card draw synergies can create explosive win conditions in cEDH. In the second game, Titania’s deck aimed to capitalize on Gaea's Cradle and Food Chain to generate overwhelming amounts of mana and board presence. Early plays included ramp creatures and mana acceleration, with strategic disruption like Reclamation Sage to handle threats such as Sensei's Divining Top. Meanwhile, Nezahal’s control-oriented deck tried to establish board control and card advantage with early interaction and powerful lock pieces like The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale. Yahenni’s deck sought a fast combo kill via Ad Nauseam and reanimation, supported by disruption and efficient resource generation. The gameplay demonstrated the interplay between proactive ramp, control elements, and fast combo decks in a high-powered multiplayer setting, with Vilis’s deck showing the most explosive potential for a quick finish.