Deck Strategies
Aminatou, the Fateshifter
A control-oriented deck leveraging blink effects and value plays to manipulate the top of the deck and generate card advantage, aiming to outvalue opponents and win through incremental advantage.
Urza, Lord High Artificer
A fast artifact-centric combo deck that generates massive mana and card advantage through Urza’s ability, looking to assemble a combo or overwhelm opponents with artifact synergies.
Jeska, Thrice Reborn / Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker
A partner deck focusing on aggressive combat damage and incremental growth of Ishai, applying pressure while disrupting opponents through Jeska’s haste and damage triggers.
Tymna the Weaver / Kraum, Ludevic's Opus
A partner deck that excels at drawing cards through combat damage and disruption, combining Tymna’s card draw with Kraum’s damage and card draw triggers to maintain tempo and pressure.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Players carefully managed the Vault of Champions fish tokens, balancing feeding them to sustain value versus letting them die to avoid overextending.
- 2
Gilded Drake was used effectively to steal a major threat from Urza, showcasing the importance of targeted disruption in cEDH.
- 3
The use of counterspells like Swan Song and Force of Will at critical moments prevented opponents from establishing dominance, highlighting the reactive nature of this meta.
- 4
Life payments were strategically made to maintain artifact mana and fish token presence, demonstrating the willingness to pay small costs for long-term advantage.
- 5
The game featured complex interactions involving multiple layers of responses with spells like Merchant Scroll and Force of Will, reflecting the deep stack management typical in high-level cEDH.
- 6
Aggressive combat damage was a consistent source of pressure, particularly from flying creatures and growing partners, forcing players to respond or risk losing significant life.
Notable Cards
Vault of Champions
Gilded Drake
Merchant Scroll
Force of Will
Pact of Negation
Swan Song
Talisman of Progress
Summary
The game started with players establishing early board presence and ramping mana sources, with several casting low-cost creatures and setting up their strategies. The interaction centered around managing resources like fish tokens from Vault of Champions and maintaining tempo through card draw and counterspells. Early aggression was present, particularly with damage dealt by flying creatures like Vault of Champions tokens, while players carefully balanced feeding the fish mechanic to maximize value. A pivotal moment came when a Gilded Drake was cast to disrupt Urza's board, forcing responses and trading key creatures. Throughout the midgame, players exchanged card advantage spells, including Ristic Study and Merchant Scroll, while counterspells such as Swan Song protected critical plays. The game also featured multiple life payments to manage fish tokens and treasure artifacts, showcasing the high-stakes resource management typical of cEDH games. Despite some players struggling to find impactful plays, the board state evolved with threats like Dragon Magistrate and Sarulf Ascendant, increasing pressure on opponents. The interaction remained tight with a focus on disruption, mana acceleration, and incremental damage, leading up to complex turns involving Force of Will and Pact of Negation to protect key spells. The game was poised for a climactic shift as players jockeyed for position, but due to the transcript cut-off, the final outcome is not detailed.
