Magic: The Gathering Commander Gameplay EDH | Aron v Ardenn/Thrasios v Alena v Atla

Deck Strategies

• 

  Aron, Benalia's Ruin

  An aristocrats-style deck focused on creating and sacrificing tokens to grow creatures and gain value, winning through overwhelming board presence and recursive threats.

• 

  Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist

  Auras and equipment voltron deck that attaches multiple buffs to creatures and players, using Ardenn’s ability to redistribute these attachments to maximize damage and protection.

• 

  Alela, Artful Provocateur

  An enchantment and artifact synergy deck that generates flying fairy tokens and gains incremental advantage through card draw and board control, aiming to win via air superiority.

• 

  Atla Palani, Nest Tender

  A deck centered on egg tokens and powerful creature flips, using extra combat phases and creature recursion to apply continuous pressure and overwhelm opponents.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Smuggler's Share was crucial for mana ramp and card draw, triggering on opponents drawing multiple cards and playing multiple lands.

• 2

  Ardenn’s ability to move auras and equipment at the beginning of combat allowed flexible targeting for maximizing damage and protection.

• 3

  Atla Palani’s egg tokens and the ability to flip creatures like Hellkite Charger created opportunities for multiple combat phases, increasing damage output significantly.

• 4

  Aron’s use of sacrificing tokens to grow his board and repeatedly recur creatures maintained pressure and resilience despite board wipes.

• 5

  Alela's enchantment-based token generation and card draw combo provided steady incremental advantage, while Propaganda slowed aggressive attacks.

• 6

  Strategic use of removal such as Utter End and Path to Exile helped keep the board in check and disrupted key threats at important moments.

Notable Cards

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  Smuggler's Share

• 

  Unflinching Courage

• 

  Rhythm of the Wild

• 

  Authority of the Consuls

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  Halo Fountain

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  Thornbite Staff

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  Hellkite Charger

• 

  Coastal Piracy

Summary

The game opened with each player establishing their board presence by deploying ramp spells and early creatures. Aron focused on creating a swarm of tokens and leveraging sacrifice effects around his commander to grow his board and protect it. Ardenn quickly equipped auras and equipment to his commander, using its ability to move them around and applying pressure with trample and lifelink. Alela aimed to generate flying tokens through enchantments and artifacts while drawing cards with Coastal Piracy, establishing a defensive air force. Atla Palani focused on generating eggs and leveraging powerful creature flips and combat phases to gain an advantage. Key moments included Ardenn using Unflinching Courage to boost his commander, and Aron utilizing nested shambler and rivals' Soul Tender to generate tokens and recurring creatures. Mark’s Alela deck used enchantments like Authority of the Consuls and Coastal Piracy to control the board and draw cards. The game saw multiple interactions involving Smuggler's Share, which rewarded opponents drawing multiple cards by generating treasure tokens, leading to increased mana acceleration. A pivotal sequence involved Atla Palani flipping into Hellkite Charger, enabling extra combat phases to push damage, while Aron used his commander’s ability to sack tokens and pump his creatures for a large alpha strike. The game was dynamic with board wipes, targeted removal like Utter End and Path to Exile, and continual token generation shaping the board state.