Zo-Zu vs Daretti vs Selvala vs Oketra EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

• 

  Zo-Zu the Punisher

  Punish opponents for playing lands by dealing damage, using burn spells and landfall triggers to control the pace and chip away at opponents' life totals.

• 

  Daretti, Scrap Savant

  Artifact-based midrange and combo, recurring artifacts for value and assembling combos like Mindslaver to control opponents’ turns and win through board dominance.

• 

  Selvala, Heart of the Wilds

  Mana ramp and card draw synergy, generating huge amounts of mana to cast large creatures and combos, particularly using Paradox Engine and big finishers like Ulamog.

• 

  Oketra the True

  Token generation and equipment synergy, building a wide board of Soldier tokens and equipping them to apply pressure and create a resilient army.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Zo-Zu's constant land punishment kept everyone under pressure, forcing players to carefully consider their land drops to avoid life loss.

• 2

  Selvala's use of Paradox Engine and mana ramp enabled casting huge threats and drawing through decks rapidly, creating a strong late-game advantage.

• 3

  Daretti's Mindslaver acquisition and use to control an opponent's turn was a key strategic moment, allowing him to disrupt other players’ plans and gain tempo.

• 4

  Pat's repeated use of Miracles and Treat to place powerful Angel tokens at the top of his library gave Oketra's player a recurring threat that demanded answers.

• 5

  The board wipe with Blasphemous Act significantly shifted the board state, forcing players to rebuild and reassess threats, benefiting those with resilient tokens or artifact synergies.

• 6

  The sacrifice of Goblin tokens via Siege-Gang Commander to prevent Adam from gaining life during combat was an effective tactical move to mitigate his life gain from Wormcoil Engine.

Notable Cards

• 

  Sulfuric Vortex

• 

  Grim Monolith

• 

  Wheel of Fortune

• 

  Paradox Engine

• 

  Stoneforge Mystic

• 

  Sword of Feast and Famine

• 

  Lightning Greaves

• 

  Siege-Gang Commander

• 

  Arcbound Ravager

• 

  Genesis Hydra

• 

  Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

• 

  Mindslaver

• 

  Oracle of Mul Daya

• 

  Rishkar's Expertise

Summary

The game began with each player establishing their board and ramping mana. Zo-Zu the Punisher quickly set the tone by punishing opponents for playing lands, dealing incremental damage with cards like Sulfuric Vortex and Flame Tongue Kavu to keep pressure on the table. Selvala, Heart of the Wilds focused on generating massive amounts of mana, casting powerful creatures like Genesis Hydra and utilizing Paradox Engine combos to draw cards and untap permanents, ramping aggressively into big threats like Ulamog and Vorenklex. Oketra the True's player developed a token army with Soldier tokens, leveraging equipment such as Lightning Greaves and Sword of Feast and Famine to create a resilient board presence. Meanwhile, Daretti, Scrap Savant used artifact synergies, recurring powerful artifacts and assembling combo pieces like Mindslaver to seize control of opponents’ turns and stabilize the board with creatures like Wormcoil Engine and Arcbound Ravager.