Phenax vs Xenagos vs Xenagos vs Tajic EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

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  Phenax, God of Deception

  Control and mill-based strategy focusing on self-mill to fuel reanimation and disruption, utilizing counters and artifact synergies to control the board and gain incremental advantage.

• 

  Xenagos, God of Revels

  Aggressive combat-focused deck leveraging Xenagos’ ability to grant haste and power boosts for big attacks, combined with ramp and token generation to overwhelm opponents quickly.

• 

  Tajic, Blade of the Legion

  Mono-red aggressive build focused on creating and leveraging tokens, mentor triggers, and impactful combat damage to steadily chip away at opponents’ life totals.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The Phenax player’s early use of Memory Lapse and Swan Song to counter key threats like Xenagos and Sneak Attack effectively slowed down aggressive starts.

• 2

  Copying creatures with Fairy Artisan provided valuable board presence and synergy for the Phenax deck but was vulnerable to combat and triggered abilities.

• 3

  Chandra's Ignition was a game-changing play that dealt massive damage across players and creatures, turning the tide in favor of the player casting it.

• 4

  Greater Good sacrificed big creatures to refill hand and draw multiple cards, enabling explosive midgame turns and facilitating Eldrazi threats.

• 5

  The two Xenagos decks coordinated aggressive swings, applying pressure that made it difficult for control strategies to stabilize.

• 6

  Mentor of the Meek and Tamiyo's Journal in the Tajic deck supported card draw and incremental value, helping sustain pressure through tokens and small creatures.

Notable Cards

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  Sneak Attack

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  Blightsteel Colossus

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  Greater Good

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  See the Unwritten

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  Impact Tremors

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  Tamiyo's Journal

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  Chandra's Ignition

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  Thousand-Year Elixir

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  Mirrormade

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  Moldgraf Monstrosity

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  Tyrant's Familiar

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  Giant Adephage

Summary

The game featured four indestructible commanders, with two players piloting Xenagos, God of Revels decks, one with Phenax, God of Deception, and another with Tajic, Blade of the Legion. Early turns focused on ramp and establishing board presence, with the Phenax player prioritizing disruption and control by countering key Xenagos plays like Sneak Attack and Giant Adephage. The Xenagos players leveraged their commander triggers to boost attackers and pressure opponents through aggressive swings. Meanwhile, the Tajic player developed a mono-red aggressive board with mentors and token generators, applying steady damage and value. As the midgame unfolded, the Phenax player used self-mill and artifact recursion to build synergy, copying creatures like Fairy Artisan to generate value. However, the double Xenagos decks combined their aggressive creatures with combat triggers to overwhelm opponents, notably swinging with boosted creatures and sacrificing for card advantage. Key moments included a devastating Chandra's Ignition that damaged all opponents, and a Greater Good sacrifice sequence that allowed the second Xenagos pilot to refill their hand and cascade into powerful Eldrazi threats. Ultimately, the Phenax player was unable to stabilize against the combined pressure of the other players’ threats and was eliminated as the Xenagos decks capitalized on their synergy and board state to secure victory.