INSANITY ON MIDDLE EARTH | Worst Possible Commander Show  Balrog, Sauron, Gandalf, Farmer Cotton #70 thumbnail Blurred backdrop thumbnail
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INSANITY ON MIDDLE EARTH | Worst Possible Commander Show Balrog, Sauron, Gandalf, Farmer Cotton #70

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Commanders featured in this Gameplay Reviewed & Verified

Personalities featured in this Gameplay

Decklists

Deck & Commander Strategies

  • The Balrog, Durin's Bane

    The Balrog, Durin's Bane

    Generate and sacrifice treasure tokens to reduce the high casting cost of The Balrog, enabling aggressive plays backed by treasure synergies and incremental life loss to opponents.

  • Farmer Cotton

    Farmer Cotton

    Produce a large number of halfling and food tokens to swarm the board, buffing them with anthem effects and finishing with a large combat swing using Craterhoof Behemoth.

  • Sauron, Lord of the Rings

    Sauron, Lord of the Rings

    Mill Orc creatures into the graveyard and use graveyard recursion spells like Rise of the Dark Realms to flood the battlefield with creatures, leveraging commander triggers to control the board.

  • Gandalf, Westward Voyager

    Gandalf, Westward Voyager

    Cast high-value spells to trigger Gandalf’s ability, copying those spells when opponents reveal matching card types, while ramping and drawing cards to maintain tempo and find powerful finishers.

Gameplay Insights

  • 1

    Using treasure token generation and sacrifice to drastically reduce the cost of The Balrog allowed for explosive early aggression.

  • 2

    Gandalf’s ability to copy spells based on opponents’ revealed cards created strong value turns and pressured opponents to reveal their top deck contents.

  • 3

    Farmer Cotton’s token generation combined with anthem effects and Craterhoof Behemoth threatened a sudden and overwhelming board presence.

  • 4

    Sauron’s graveyard recursion strategy hinged on assembling a critical mass of creatures in the graveyard, with the potential of a game-winning mass reanimation.

  • 5

    The interplay between ramping, token creation, and value triggers set up multiple avenues for victory, making board state management and timing crucial.

Notable Cards

  • Midnight Clock

    Midnight Clock

  • Zendikar Resurgent

    Zendikar Resurgent

  • Craterhoof Behemoth

    Craterhoof Behemoth

  • Rise of the Dark Realms

    Rise of the Dark Realms

  • Talisman of Indulgence

    Talisman of Indulgence

  • Revel in Riches

    Revel in Riches

  • Gilded Pinions

    Gilded Pinions

Gameplay Summary

The game started with players ramping and setting up their mana bases, with early plays focused on establishing treasure token synergies and land development.

Blake, piloting Gandalf, Westward Voyager, quickly leveraged ramp spells and powerful enchantments like Zendikar Resurgent to accelerate his board state and trigger Gandalf's copying ability.

Meanwhile, Shea on The Balrog, Durin's Bane, worked on generating and sacrificing treasure tokens to fuel his commander’s costly casting and take advantage of damage triggers.

Gina, playing Farmer Cotton, created a swarm of halfling and food tokens, aiming to buff her army and utilize anthem effects like Elis Norn and Craterhoof Behemoth for a big finish.

Ben, commanding Sauron, Lord of the Rings, focused on graveyard recursion and Orc tribal synergies, aiming to reanimate creatures en masse with cards like Rise of the Dark Realms once the right setup was achieved.

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