Aminatou vs Esika vs Ishkanah vs Zacama [EDH/Commander, Magic The Gathering Gameplay] 2021

Deck Strategies

• 

  Zacama, Primal Calamity

  Ramp heavily early game to cast Zacama and use Sanctum of Eternity to generate infinite mana, then win by dealing damage with Shivan Gorge or leveraging Blind Obedience.

• 

  Ishkanah, Grafwidow

  Utilize multiple combos including infinite mana with Chain of Smog and Witherbloom Apprentice or Protein Hulk lines to win, leveraging Ishkanah's spider tokens for board presence and control.

• 

  Esika, God of the Tree

  Play a superfriends build that generates value from planeswalkers, aiming to combo out with Aminatou, Felidar Guardian, Doubling Season, and Nicol Bolas to overwhelm opponents.

• 

  Aminatou, the Fateshifter

  Control and disrupt the board using blink effects and card advantage, aiming to assemble a blink combo with Deadeye Navigator and Peregrine Drake or similar to generate infinite value and win.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Calvin’s use of Doubling Season early on amplified planeswalker value, setting a strong late-game advantage for Esika's superfriends strategy.

• 2

  Foley’s timely casting of Confounding Conundrum disrupted Zacama’s ramp and combo setup, significantly slowing his progress.

• 3

  Use of Manic Crypt by multiple players provided additional card draw but also introduced life loss risk, which was managed carefully.

• 4

  Guy’s ramp and Sylvan Library engine helped accelerate mana while providing card selection, enabling Zacama's combo potential.

• 5

  The board wipe from Calvin’s Supreme Verdict reset the board, disrupting early development and forcing players to rebuild their strategies.

• 6

  Foley’s early deployment of Witherbloom Apprentice and tutors aimed at assembling combos and enabling infinite mana lines with Ishkanah.

• 7

  Attack phases were used strategically to chip away at opponents’ life totals while players focused on assembling combos or controlling the board.

Notable Cards

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  Confounding Conundrum

• 

  Dark Confidant

• 

  Sylvan Library

• 

  Doubling Season

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  Sanctum of Eternity

• 

  Chain of Smog

• 

  Felidar Guardian

• 

  Deadeye Navigator

• 

  Peregrine Drake

• 

  Blind Obedience

• 

  Shivan Gorge

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  Gift of Paradise

• 

  Supreme Verdict

• 

  Witherbloom Apprentice

Summary

The game began with all four players establishing their mana bases and developing their board states cautiously. Zacama ramped early with mana dorks and enchantments to set up his big mana combo, aiming to generate infinite mana with Sanctum of Eternity and win through Shivan Gorge or Blind Obedience. Ishkanah focused on assembling one of her three combo lines, including infinite mana combos and the use of Chain of Smog, while also leveraging the green-black Protein Hulk strategy. Esika's superfriends deck aimed to control the board with powerful planeswalkers and planned to use combos involving Aminatou and Felidar Guardian alongside Doubling Season and Nicol Bolas to close the game. Aminatou's deck played a disruptive midrange control game with blink combos involving Deadeye Navigator and Peregrine Drake to eventually win through infinite blink interactions.