Favorite Commanders of 2023 | Commander VS | Magic: the Gathering Gameplay

Deck Strategies

• 

  Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant

  This deck aims to increase life total and put pressure on the board with a variety of creatures. The ultimate goal is to reach 111 life and utilize Bilbo's ability to put all creature cards from the deck into play.

• 

  Atraxa, Grand Unifier

  This deck focuses on ramping mana and drawing cards through proliferating charge counters on artifacts, and eventually overwhelming the opponents with a swarm of tokens or large creatures.

• 

  Aragorn, the Uniter

  This deck aims to play a high number of red spells to trigger Aragorn's ability, dealing damage to opponents and controlling the board state.

• 

  Lurrus of the Dream-Den

  This deck focuses on low-cost spells to take advantage of Lurrus's ability to cast spells from the graveyard, generating value and maintaining card advantage.

• 

  Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff

  This deck aims to play multiple spells each turn, generating mana and card advantage through Lotho's ability, and putting pressure on the board with a steady stream of creatures.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff player's use of Mox Amber and Lotho's ability to generate significant mana and card advantage early in the game was a key moment.

• 2

  The Rhystic Study played by the Atraxa, Grand Unifier player provided a significant card advantage, forcing the other players to carefully consider their plays.

• 3

  The Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant player's attempts to increase their life total and pressure the board with creatures was a notable strategy, though it met with resistance from the other players.

Notable Cards

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  Mox Amber

• 

  Arcane Signet

• 

  Talisman of Dominance

• 

  Skullclamp

• 

  Rhystic Study

Summary

The game started with each player showcasing their chosen commander and discussing their deck strategies. The gameplay quickly ramped up with the players casting their commanders and low-cost spells to establish board presence. The player with the Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff deck was able to generate a significant amount of mana and card advantage early on, utilizing the abilities of Lotho and Lurrus of the Dream-Den to great effect. The player with the Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant deck attempted to increase their life total and put pressure on the board with creatures, but met resistance from the other players. Despite a strong start from the Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff player, the game's outcome was not clear from the available information.