The EDH Lounge - PreModern - Volrath vs Xira vs Ertai vs Bladewing

Deck Strategies

• 

  Volrath the Fallen

  Utilizes graveyard synergy to discard and reanimate creatures, fueling a 'bin'-centric strategy to gain incremental advantage and overwhelm opponents.

• 

  Ertai, the Corrupted

  An Esper control deck focusing on counterspells and spot removal to disrupt opponents’ plays and maintain board control through defensive spells.

• 

  Xira Arien

  Leverages creature control and combat manipulation with a tribal focus on Kavus, aiming to keep opponents in check and apply steady pressure.

• 

  Bladewing the Risen

  A dragon reanimator and combo deck that resurrects dragons from the graveyard to create a powerful flying army, capitalizing on synergy and recursion.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Mox Diamond provided critical early mana acceleration, enabling aggressive starts despite the restricted mana base in PreModern.

• 2

  The absence of protective spells like Heroic Intervention increased the impact of board wipes, making timing and sequencing of spells crucial.

• 3

  Players had to carefully balance graveyard interactions, as many decks revolved around reanimation and discard synergy.

• 4

  Spot removals were less effective against black creatures, requiring players to consider alternate ways to deal with threats.

• 5

  The use of older cycle lands and mana fixing artifacts demonstrated the challenge of maintaining consistent mana in the restricted PreModern pool.

Notable Cards

• 

  Mox Diamond

• 

  Shatterstorm

• 

  Shattering Spree

• 

  Seeds of Innocence

Summary

In this PreModern Commander game, four players battled using commanders and cards from the era between 4th Edition and Scourge, offering an old-school Magic experience without modern staples like Sol Ring or planeswalkers. Early game developments focused on mana fixing and establishing board presence, with Volrath the Fallen capitalizing on graveyard interactions by putting creatures into the bin to fuel his strategy. Ertai, the Corrupted controlled the board with spot removal and counter spells, leveraging Esper colors for control and disruption. Meanwhile, Xira Arien aimed to control creatures and maintain pressure with her unique abilities, while Bladewing the Risen sought to reanimate dragons to build a formidable undead dragon army, embodying a reanimator and combo theme. A key turning point was the deployment of efficient removal spells and synergistic graveyard plays, which shaped the flow of the game as players jockeyed for position. The absence of modern protective spells like Heroic Intervention meant board wipes and spot removals were particularly punishing, requiring careful sequencing and timing. The game featured notable interactions around mana fixing, sequencing of graveyard recursion, and the utilization of premodern staples like Shatterstorm and Shattering Spree to disrupt opponents' board states. Ultimately, the game showcased a tense balance between aggressive graveyard strategies, control elements, and combo-based reanimation, with each player leveraging their commander’s strengths to outmaneuver the others.