Is Ral the new Best CEDH Izzet Deck? - CEDH Gameplay - Ral vs Niv Mizzet vs Stella vs Nadu

Deck Strategies

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  Ral, Monsoon Mage

  A Ruby storm deck that aims to cast numerous instants and sorceries each turn, leveraging proliferate and poison counters to finish with a Grapeshot storm kill or poison counter lethal using Prologue to Phyresis.

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  Stella Lee, Wild Card

  An Izzet storm deck focused on drawing out the deck with commander-triggered untaps and instants like Twitch and Cerulean Wisps to build up to a winning Twisted Image or similar combo finish.

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  Niv-Mizzet, Parun

  A control-oriented Izzet deck that uses a high density of counterspells and removal to stall the game until it can combo off with Curiosity-triggered damage from Niv-Mizzet.

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  Nadu, Winged Wisdom

  A combo deck that uses its commander’s ability to repeatedly target its own creatures to draw through the deck and create infinite Scoot Swarm tokens to overwhelm opponents.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Ral’s synergy with proliferate from Flux Channeler significantly accelerates poison counters and loyalty counters, enabling rapid escalation towards lethal conditions.

• 2

  The use of Ral’s minus eight ultimate to exile and cast multiple sorceries for free is a powerful storm enabler, allowing for explosive turns that can end the game.

• 3

  Players carefully manage counterspells and removal to control the board and prevent early combos, but the Ral deck’s ability to generate additional resources through card draw and proliferate pressures the table effectively.

• 4

  Sandbagging early plays was a common theme among players, indicating awareness of the high-stakes, combo-heavy environment of the match.

Notable Cards

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  Prologue to Phyresis

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  Flux Channeler

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  Merchant Scroll

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  Brainstorm

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  Grapeshot

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  Mox Opal

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  Lotus Petal

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  Deflecting Swat

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  Cyclonic Rift

Summary

The game begins with each player setting up their respective Izzet and blue-red based storm or control strategies. Ral, Monsoon Mage, piloted by July, focuses on casting numerous instant and sorcery spells to generate storm count and ultimately win through Grapeshot or poison counters via Prologue to Phyresis and Radha's Store. Early turns see players developing their mana bases and deploying key artifacts like Mox Opal and Lotus Petal to accelerate their plays. Ral's build leverages proliferate effects from Flux Channeler to increase poison counters and loyalty counters on Ral himself, setting up for a powerful transformation into Ral, Leyline Prodigy. The turning point comes when Ral activates his minus eight ability, exiling the top cards of his library and casting multiple spells for free, including Brainstorm, Merchant Scroll, and Rad Storm, resulting in a significant increase in storm count and board presence. This sequence sets up a lethal storm finish, showcasing Ral's potential viability in competitive EDH settings.