Tails vs Garna vs Nicol Bolas vs Ghave EDH / CMDR game play

Deck Strategies

• 

  Eight-and-a-Half-Tails

  A tempo and protection-based deck that uses equipment like Swiftfoot Boots and creatures with evasion to apply pressure, leveraging incremental value from creatures like Solemn Simulacrum and battlefield control.

• 

  Nicol Bolas

  A control-oriented deck focusing on disruption and card advantage, utilizing spells like Steam Augury and removal to control the board, while selecting high-impact spells and creatures to slowly dominate the game.

• 

  Ghave, Guru of Spores

  A token and sacrifice synergy deck that generates numerous +1/+1 counters and tokens, using sacrifice outlets and interaction with graveyard recursion to overwhelm opponents.

• 

  Garna, the Bloodflame

  A sacrifice and recursion deck that leverages Garna's ability to return creatures from the graveyard, combined with sacrifice outlets like Carrion Feeder to drain opponents’ life and generate card advantage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Trevor’s use of Crux of Fate effectively reset the board, removing nearly all non-dragon creatures and forcing players to rebuild their board states.

• 2

  Harry maximized Garna’s value by repeatedly sacrificing creatures to Carrion Feeder and re-casting Garna to trigger life drain and card draw, maintaining board presence despite board wipes.

• 3

  Trevor’s strategic use of Steam Augury to manipulate his draws allowed him to optimize his plays and maintain card advantage, notably saving important cards with Steam Augury’s pile selection.

• 4

  Matt’s use of equipment such as Swiftfoot Boots and Hammer of Nazahn on small creatures created evasive threats that pressured opponents consistently.

• 5

  Mike’s deployment of Grave Pact combined with token generation from Ghave created a constant threat of forced sacrifice, applying pressure on other players' boards.

Notable Cards

• 

  Crux of Fate

• 

  Garna, the Bloodflame

• 

  Carrion Feeder

• 

  Extractor Demon

• 

  Solemn Simulacrum

• 

  Lightning Greaves

• 

  Chromatic Lantern

• 

  Steam Augury

• 

  Stinkweed Imp

• 

  Talisman of Creativity

• 

  Dragon Tempest

Summary

The game featured four distinct decks led by Nicol Bolas, Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Ghave, Guru of Spores, and Garna, the Bloodflame, each employing unique strategies that shaped the flow of the match. Early game ramp and setup were crucial, with players deploying mana rocks and creatures like Solemn Simulacrum and Chromatic Lantern to accelerate their plans. A pivotal moment occurred when Trevor cast Crux of Fate, wiping the board of all non-dragon creatures, which significantly reset the board state and forced players to adapt quickly. Harry’s Garna deck capitalized on sacrifice synergies, repeatedly sacrificing creatures to Carrion Feeder and utilizing Garna’s triggered ability to draw cards and maintain pressure, while also using cards like Extractor Demon to mill himself and create additional value from the graveyard interactions.