Light Paws vs Edric vs Niv-Mizzet vs Ur-Dragon | CM S2 E11 | Magic the Gathering Commander Gameplay

Deck Strategies

• 

  The Ur-Dragon

  Ramp mana aggressively to cast powerful dragons and overwhelm opponents with large threats and dragon synergies.

• 

  Niv-Mizzet, Parun

  Control the board with spells and draw cards through damage triggers, leveraging Niv-Mizzet’s ability to generate card advantage and deal direct damage.

• 

  Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice

  Assemble Tron lands to cast Voltron equipment and enchantments, gain incremental advantages through life gain, and apply pressure with a growing commander.

• 

  Edric, Spymaster of Trest

  Attack with multiple unblockable creatures to draw cards and generate overwhelming card advantage, using tempo to outpace opponents.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Edric’s strategy of attacking with unblockable creatures to maximize card draw pressured opponents to avoid combat damage and disrupted their plans.

• 2

  The use of Wheel of Fortune effectively reset hands, allowing the Ur-Dragon player to refill resources while potentially disrupting opponents' strategies.

• 3

  Playing Time Warp granted an extra turn, demonstrating a strategic shift towards gaining tempo and setting up a potential win condition.

• 4

  Response spells like Pongify and Rapid Hybridization were key to managing problematic creatures and preventing snowballing board states.

• 5

  Light-Paws’s life gain triggers combined with equipment and enchantments created incremental threats that demanded constant attention.

• 6

  Players avoided attacking Edric to prevent fueling his card draw engine, showcasing situational threat assessment and target priority.

Notable Cards

• 

  Wheel of Fortune

• 

  Pongify

• 

  Rapid Hybridization

• 

  Time Warp

• 

  Arcane Denial

• 

  Laboratory Maniac

• 

  Two-Headed Hellkite

• 

  Gemstone Caverns

• 

  Yavimaya Hollow

• 

  Talisman of Creativity

Summary

The game began with players establishing their mana bases and early board presence, with Edric focusing on drawing cards through combat damage and unblockable creatures, while Light-Paws aimed to assemble Tron lands to power out Voltron threats. The Ur-Dragon player pursued a classic strategy of ramping mana to cast big dragons, while Niv-Mizzet sought to control the board and generate card advantage through damage triggers. Early interactions included Edric drawing multiple cards and applying pressure with unblockable creatures, while Light-Paws set up life gain synergies to grow threats. The Ur-Dragon player deployed key dragons and artifacts to enhance their board state. A notable turning point was the casting of Wheel of Fortune by the Ur-Dragon player, disrupting opponents' hands and refilling theirs. Responses such as Pongify and Rapid Hybridization were used to manage threats. The game saw strategic attacks and defense, with players careful to avoid empowering Edric's draw engine or Light-Paws's life gain triggers. The play of Time Warp to gain extra turns indicated attempts to seize tempo and set up winning plays, while card interactions like Arcane Denial and balance spells were used to maintain control. The game remained dynamic, with players balancing aggression and board control to position for a decisive strike.