Commander Gameplay #36 - Vito v. Kathril v. Zur v. Storrev [CASUAL EDH GAMEPLAY]

Deck Strategies

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  Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose

  A mono-black lifegain deck that uses life gain triggers to drain opponents' life, combined with sacrifice and recursion synergies to control the board and generate incremental advantage.

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  Kathril, Aspect Warper

  An Abzan-colored deck focused on filling the graveyard with creatures having key keywords, then reanimating them en masse or using Kathril's ability to grow a single creature tall for a lethal threat.

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  Zur the Enchanter

  An Esper control toolbox deck that uses Zur to cheat in powerful enchantments and creatures, aiming for a non-traditional win condition through enchantment synergies and life gain combos.

• 

  Storrev, Devkarin Lich

  A Golgari recursion deck that uses Storrev to repeatedly return creatures and planeswalkers to hand, combined with token generation and Liliana planeswalker synergies to grind out the game through board control and incremental advantage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The use of Enchanted Evening by Zur to turn all permanents into enchantments synergized well with his toolbox strategy and life gain triggers, disrupting opponents' plans.

• 2

  Vito's lifegain and sacrifice synergies allowed Spencer to chip away at opponents’ life totals while maintaining board presence with tokens and creatures.

• 3

  Storrev's combination of Liliana's recursion and Avenger of Zendikar's token generation created a growing board presence that pressured all opponents.

• 4

  The timing of Aura of Silence and Deathrite Shaman effectively disrupted Vito's key sacrifice and recursion plays, slowing down his momentum.

• 5

  Players carefully managed paying or refusing to pay for Smothering Tithe and Mystic Remora, impacting card draw and resource availability, demonstrating the importance of resource denial in multiplayer EDH.

Notable Cards

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  Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose

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  Kathril, Aspect Warper

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  Zur the Enchanter

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  Storrev, Devkarin Lich

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  Yawgmoth's Will

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  Bolas's Citadel

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  Enchanted Evening

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  Avenger of Zendikar

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  Liliana of the Dark Realms

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  Bastion of Remembrance

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  Aura of Silence

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  Deathrite Shaman

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  Smothering Tithe

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  Mystic Remora

Summary

The game began with all players ramping and developing their boards, with Vito focusing on lifegain and incremental damage through creatures like Zulaport Cutthroat and Bastion of Remembrance. Kathril aimed to fill the graveyard with key creatures and then either reanimate them or grow her board tall using keyword counters. Zur played a toolbox/control style, leveraging enchantments and his commander to cheat in powerful creatures and generate value, while Storrev used recursion and token generation with creatures like Avenger of Zendikar and Liliana of the Dark Realms to maintain board presence. Key turning points included Josh's Zur player casting Enchanted Evening, turning all permanents into enchantments, which synergized with his control elements and life gain triggers. Spencer's Vito deck leveraged Yawgmoth's Will and Bolas's Citadel to generate value and apply pressure, though he faced disruption from Zur's Deathrite Shaman and Aura of Silence. Grayson's Storrev deck produced a large token army through Avenger of Zendikar and utilized Liliana's abilities to maintain resources and control the board. The game saw a slow grind with multiple life gain and drain triggers, incremental damage, and careful resource management. The interplay of enchantment-based effects, recursion, life manipulation, and creature combat shaped the midgame, with each player trying to establish their win conditions while disrupting others.