Commander But No One Tries To Win | With @MTGGoldfish

Deck Strategies

• 

  Yasharn, Implacable Earth

  Control-focused deck disrupting opponents' ability to pay life or sacrifice permanents, while leveraging land manipulation and angel synergies to support a unique alternate win condition.

• 

  Selenia, Dark Angel

  A flicker-style deck using Selenia's ability to bounce and replay itself, likely combined with life manipulation and incremental advantage, supporting a specific alternate win condition.

• 

  Arcum Dagsson

  Mono-blue artifact combo deck that tutors and deploys powerful non-creature artifacts, aiming to assemble a game-winning artifact synergy or alternate win condition.

• 

  The Beamtown Bullies

  Group-hug style graveyard interaction deck that shares resources with opponents, focusing on cooperative gameplay and setting up an alternate win condition based on graveyard or shared effects.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Players focused on manipulating life totals precisely to meet their secret alternate win conditions, rather than dealing traditional damage.

• 2

  Arcum Dagsson's ability to sacrifice artifact creatures to tutor powerful artifacts accelerated his board development and threat presence.

• 3

  Yasharn's restriction on paying life or sacrificing permanents significantly slowed down opponents' abilities, forcing creative solutions.

• 4

  Group-hug style gameplay from The Beamtown Bullies encouraged cooperation and resource sharing, impacting the overall game tempo and interaction.

• 5

  Life gain spells and regeneration effects were used strategically to control life totals and prevent opponents from disrupting the exact numbers needed for alternate wins.

• 6

  The tension built around players trying to reach or prevent exact life totals (such as 11 life) showcased a unique strategic layer uncommon in typical Commander games.

Notable Cards

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  Arcum Dagsson

• 

  Selenia, Dark Angel

• 

  Yasharn, Implacable Earth

• 

  The Beamtown Bullies

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  Sol Ring

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  Etherium Sculptor

• 

  Zodiac Goat

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  Healing Salve

• 

  Gilded Light

Summary

The game started with four players each piloting unique commanders and aiming to win exclusively through secret alternate win conditions rather than traditional damage or commander damage. The early turns focused on ramping mana and setting up board states, with Arcum Dagsson quickly establishing a strong artifact presence and synergy by tutoring and deploying cost-reducing artifacts. Meanwhile, Selenia, Dark Angel, and other players engaged in light interaction and group-hug style support, sharing life gain and buffs rather than aggressive attacks. The Beamtown Bullies player aimed to facilitate graveyard interactions and resource sharing, while Yasharn, Implacable Earth imposed restrictions on life payments and sacrifices, complicating opponents' usual strategies. As the game progressed, the tension rose around life totals and the specific life-based win conditions. One player revealed their goal was to be at exactly 11 life on their upkeep to trigger a win, leading to careful manipulation of life totals through various life gain and loss effects among players. The interplay of these life adjustments and the protective abilities like regeneration and shroud created a dynamic where board control was secondary to managing life totals precisely. The atmosphere was more cooperative and experimental, with players focusing on maintaining or disrupting life totals to reach their unique win states rather than outright combat or elimination.