Is Maelstrom Wanderer Still Good in 2023??? | Maelstrom Wanderer (Commander/EDH Gameplay)

Deck Strategies

• 

  Maelstrom Wanderer

  Focuses on hard ramping in the early game, using the commander's cascade ability to cheat out big, impactful spells. The deck aims to overwhelm opponents with high-value creatures and spells.

• 

  Jodah, Archmage Eternal

  Likely aims to leverage Jodah's alternative casting cost to play high-cost spells early in the game. In this particular game, the deck exhibited control elements, countering key spells.

• 

  Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa

  The deck leverages infect mechanics to apply pressure and potentially take out opponents. It also uses proliferate to enhance the infect strategy and control the board.

• 

  The Ur-Dragon

  This deck typically focuses on ramping mana and playing dragons, leveraging The Ur-Dragon's cost reduction for Dragon spells. In this game, the deck played a more control-oriented role.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The counter of Selvala Stampede by Jodah, Archmage Eternal, while initially a setback for the Maelstrom Wanderer player, actually helped ramp into the commander by providing two treasure tokens.

• 2

  The cascade ability of Maelstrom Wanderer proved to be pivotal, bringing in Consecrated Sphinx and Kodama of the East Tree and setting up a powerful board state.

• 3

  Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa's infect strategy, particularly the casting of Phyresis on Blight Mamba, created a significant threat to the table.

• 4

  The Proliferation card played by Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa dramatically shifted the game by wiping Maelstrom Wanderer's board and putting all players on a tight infect clock.

Notable Cards

• 

  Consecrated Sphinx

• 

  Kodama of the East Tree

• 

  Phyresis

• 

  Fiery Emancipation

Summary

The game began with a hard ramp strategy from Maelstrom Wanderer, with the goal of cheating out big spells. Despite an initial struggle with land draws and a counter on Selvala Stampede from Jodah, the Maelstrom Wanderer deck managed to ramp effectively. This was largely due to the cascade ability of the Maelstrom Wanderer, which brought Consecrated Sphinx and Kodama of the East Tree into play, and Fiery Emancipation onto the field through Kodama's trigger. The game took a sharp turn when the Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa player cast Phyresis on their Blight Mamba, threatening the table with infect damage. Ixhel then played a Proliferation card, wiping the Maelstrom Wanderer's board and putting the other players on a tight infect clock.