Karador vs Gisa & Geralf vs Selvala vs Melek EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

• 

  Karador, Ghost Chieftain

  Utilizes graveyard recursion and sacrifice synergies to outvalue opponents and control the board, often winning through attrition or a large board presence.

• 

  Gisa and Geralf

  Focuses on zombie tribal and graveyard recursion, using sacrifice outlets and zombie tokens to swarm opponents and create resilient threats.

• 

  Selvala, Explorer Returned

  Ramp-heavy elf tribal deck that aims to generate huge amounts of green mana quickly, enabling combos that draw the entire deck and flood the board with creatures for a massive finish.

• 

  Melek, Izzet Paragon

  Spell-slinging deck that leverages card draw, cantrips, and instant/sorcery synergies to control the game and find powerful spells or combos.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Tony's use of Selvala to generate mana combined with Priest of Titania and Umbral Mantle created a powerful infinite mana combo that quickly ended the game.

• 2

  Karador's player aggressively targeted Dawn's Leilan of the Void early to disrupt Dawn's graveyard recursion, but this removal may have inadvertently allowed Tony’s combo to proceed unchecked.

• 3

  The destruction of Sensei's Divining Top by Reclamation Sage was a key interaction that slowed Harry's Melek deck but was insufficient to stop the combo rush.

• 4

  Tony's sequence of casting Fierce Empath and Soul of the Harvest enabled massive card draw, which was critical for assembling the win condition.

• 5

  The game featured a swift shift in tempo once infinite mana was established, demonstrating how quickly the board state can collapse in the face of powerful combos.

Notable Cards

• 

  Priest of Titania

• 

  Umbral Mantle

• 

  Soul of the Harvest

• 

  Concordant Crossroads

• 

  Craterhoof Behemoth

• 

  Karmic Guide

• 

  Mindslicer

• 

  Reclamation Sage

• 

  Selvala, Explorer Returned

Summary

The game began with a typical setup of ramp and early plays, with each player developing their mana base and deploying early threats. Karador's player took an aggressive approach by casting Reclamation Sage to destroy key pieces of Dawn's Gisa and Geralf deck, while also setting up graveyard synergy with cards like Intomb and Karmic Guide to bring back Mindslicer. Dawn focused on building a zombie army and controlling the board, but struggled to establish a strong presence. Tony, piloting Selvala, Explorer Returned, quickly ramped into a powerful combo involving Priest of Titania and Umbral Mantle, generating infinite green mana. This allowed him to chain creatures like Fierce Empath to find Soul of the Harvest and other draw engines, eventually drawing his entire deck and assembling a lethal board with Concordant Crossroads and Craterhoof Behemoth. Harry’s Melek deck showed potential with card draw spells and utility creatures but was unable to keep pace with the explosive combo. The game ended swiftly after Tony executed his infinite mana combo, overwhelming the table with an enormous attack.