Magic: The Gathering Commander Gameplay EDH | Marrow-Gnawer vs. Ivy vs. Ghalta vs. Volo | Ep. 9

Deck Strategies

• 

  Marrow-Gnawer

  Swarm the board with numerous rat tokens and rat tribal synergy, then pump the entire army to overwhelm opponents through combat damage, leveraging cards like Patriarch's Bidding and Obelisk of Urd.

• 

  Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief

  Focus on mutate creatures to trigger multiple draw and token generation effects, using spells and abilities to create a wide, evasive board that draws cards and maintains pressure.

• 

  Ghalta, Primal Hunger

  Ramp aggressively into large, trample creatures to apply heavy pressure, while gaining card advantage through creatures like Elder Gargaroth and synergies with Garruk's Uprising.

• 

  Volo, Guide to Monsters

  Copy spells and creatures to generate value, create multiple tokens, and leverage powerful sorceries from opponents' graveyards to draw cards and control the board.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Marrow-Gnawer player maximized rat token generation and then used Obelisk of Urd to pump the entire rat army, creating a significant combat threat with multiple 11/1 fear rats.

• 2

  Volo's ability to copy spells like Rich Cars Expertise and Deadly Dispute enabled explosive card draw and board development but also inadvertently empowered Ivy's board with additional mutate triggers and tokens.

• 3

  Ivy's player utilized mutating creatures repeatedly with Vivian's abilities granting flash and Beast Whisperer enabling card draw, maintaining pressure with evasive attackers buffed by Snake Umbra.

• 4

  Ghalta's player focused on ramp and large creatures, using Garruk's Uprising and The Great Henge to maintain card advantage and board presence, while tactically sacrificing creatures to remove problematic permanents.

• 5

  Volo's owner overcommitted to copying spells from opponents' graveyards, which increased the threat level of Ivy's board and led to a need to find answers quickly.

• 6

  The interaction of multiple token generators, card draw engines, and pump effects created a dynamic and high-pressure midgame where board control and damage output swung rapidly between players.

Notable Cards

• 

  Rat Colony

• 

  Patriarch's Bidding

• 

  Obelisk of Urd

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  Beast Whisperer

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  Elder Gargaroth

• 

  The Great Henge

• 

  Volo, Guide to Monsters

• 

  Skullclamp

• 

  Deadly Dispute

• 

  Dreamroot Cascade

• 

  Diluvian Primordial

Summary

The game began with players establishing their boards with early ramp and creature plays, including Marrow-Gnawer's rat tribal swarm, Ivy's mutate synergy, Ghalta's big green creatures, and Volo's copying spells and creatures. Pete (Marrow-Gnawer) steadily built up a large rat army, leveraging cards like Rat Colony and Patriarch's Bidding to flood the board and pump his swarm with Obelisk of Urd. Vasque (Ivy) focused on mutating creatures like Slippery Boggle and Parcel Beast, drawing heavily through synergy with Vivian Champion of the Wilds and Beast Whisperer, creating a threatening air presence. Sean (Ghalta) ramped into massive threats like Elder Gargaroth and Thrashing Brontodon while drawing cards with Garruk's Uprising and The Great Henge. Meanwhile, Chris (Volo) capitalized on his commander's ability to copy spells and creatures, generating multiple token copies and duplicating powerful sorceries like Rich Cars Expertise for massive card draw and board presence.