Araumi vs Goreclaw vs Horde of Notions vs Syr Gwyn EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

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  Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma

  Aggressive stompy strategy focused on playing large creatures quickly, using Goreclaw's ability to reduce creature costs and pump attack power, while applying pressure with trample and combat tricks.

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  Araumi of the Dead Tide

  Graveyard recursion and token generation through Encore, repeatedly reanimating powerful creatures like Grave Titan to overwhelm opponents with zombie tokens.

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  Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale

  Knight tribal synergy, enhancing knights with Urza's Incubator and other anthem effects, focusing on resilient creatures with first strike and combat buffs to control combat.

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  Horde of Notions

  Ramp and card draw focused deck that seeks to stabilize with mana acceleration and draw engines like Soul of the Harvest, deploying elemental creatures and leveraging green and blue spells.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The use of Encore by Araumi to create multiple token copies of Grave Titan was pivotal, enabling a large zombie army and consistent board presence despite sacrificing the original creatures at end of turn.

• 2

  Goreclaw's aggressive swings were amplified by combat pumps and trample, forcing opponents into difficult blocks and damage calculations, but was temporarily slowed by a well-timed Unsubstantiate bounce.

• 3

  Syr Gwyn's knight synergy with Urza's Incubator naming knights and Circle of Loyalty provided strong anthem effects, allowing knights to survive combat and control the board through first strike and damage mitigation.

• 4

  Horde of Notions struggled early with mana fixing but turned the corner with Soul of the Harvest, which helped draw into lands and sustain ramp, enabling deployment of impactful creatures to remain competitive.

• 5

  The interplay of multiple combat damage sources and token creation led to complex attack and block decisions, highlighting the importance of careful timing and resource management in multiplayer Commander games.

Notable Cards

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  Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma

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  Araumi of the Dead Tide

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  Grave Titan

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  Urza's Incubator

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  Soul of the Harvest

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  Overgrowth Elemental

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  Thunderfoot Baloth

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  Return of the Wildspeaker

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  Land Tax

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  Tortured Existence

Summary

The game featured four distinct decks led by Horde of Notions, Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma, Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale, and Araumi of the Dead Tide. Early on, Goreclaw established a strong board presence by rapidly deploying creatures and utilizing combat pumps and trample to apply pressure, notably hitting opponents multiple times and forcing blocks that favored his aggressive strategy. Araumi leveraged graveyard recursion through Encore, generating multiple Grave Titan tokens and swarming the board with zombies, creating a significant threat of wide board presence. Syr Gwyn focused on a knight tribal theme, utilizing cards like Urza's Incubator and Circle of Loyalty to enhance knight synergy and board development, while also deploying resilient creatures and buffs. Throughout the midgame, key interactions shaped the battlefield: Goreclaw's aggressive creature attacks were countered with various blockers and removal, including an Unsubstantiate bounce on Goreclaw himself, slowing down his momentum. Araumi's ability to exile cards to reanimate threats repeatedly built a formidable army, while Syr Gwyn's knights locked down combat with first strike and pump effects. The player piloting Horde of Notions struggled initially with mana fixing but stabilized with card draw from Soul of the Harvest and ramp creatures, eventually putting a solid board presence with Overgrowth Elemental and Leafkin Druid. The game’s dynamics revolved around Goreclaw's early aggression, Araumi's graveyard-based token flood, and Syr Gwyn's synergistic knight control, culminating in a tense multi-front battle where maintaining board presence and resource management were critical.