HIGHWAY FEAT. @missingtriggers - cEDH - S21E5 - RED DEATH v TIVIT v MALCOLM/VIAL v ATRAXA - VOD

Deck Strategies

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  Atraxa, Grand Unifier

  Focuses on controlling the board with efficient removal and creatures, leveraging proliferate and value engines to outlast opponents and secure incremental advantages.

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  Tivit, Seller of Secrets

  Utilizes artifact and treasure synergies to generate resources and apply pressure, disrupting opponents while assembling combo or value pieces for a swift win.

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  Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator

  Relies on card draw spells like Ristic Study and interaction to maintain card advantage, setting up strong tempo plays and combo potential through pirate tribal synergies.

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  Vial Smasher the Fierce

  Aggressively casts spells with high impact, using damage triggers and tempo disruption to pressure opponents and close out the game quickly.

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  Red Death, Shipwrecker

  Leverages artifact ramp and aggressive creatures to dominate early and midgame, using sacrifice outlets and discard effects to disrupt opponents and push damage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Casting Finale of Devastation to fetch Grand Abolisher was a key tempo shift that prevented opponents from responding on critical turns.

• 2

  Using Notion Thief in response to opponents' card draw spells effectively disrupted their resource advantage.

• 3

  Careful management of mana Crypt and Ancient Tomb damage was essential to maintain tempo without sacrificing too much life.

• 4

  The interaction of Swan Song and Mental Misstep on the stack demonstrated high-level counterspell sequencing to protect key spells.

• 5

  Utilizing treasure tokens both as ramp and for card draw enabled flexible resource management throughout the game.

Notable Cards

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  Grand Abolisher

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  Notion Thief

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  Finale of Devastation

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  Abrupt Decay

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  Swan Song

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  Mental Misstep

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  Demonic Tutor

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  Ancient Tomb

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  Talisman of Dominance

Summary

The game began with a tense and strategic opening where players established their mana bases and early board presence, with key plays including the casting of Malcolm and Ristic Study to smooth card draws and ramp. Throughout the midgame, players juggled resource generation—such as Treasures and Clues—and carefully navigated counterspells and removal, exemplified by interactions involving Abrupt Decay, Swan Song, and Mental Misstep. The game featured a high level of interaction, with players attempting to disrupt each other's plans while slowly building towards their own win conditions. A pivotal moment involved the casting of Finale of Devastation and the arrival of Grand Abolisher, which shifted the tempo by limiting opponents' ability to respond during critical turns. Notion Thief was flashed in, threatening to steal card draw and adding pressure to the table. The Red Death player leveraged artifact synergies and mana acceleration to apply consistent pressure, while Atraxa's player utilized a combination of removal and efficient creatures to maintain board control. The game remained a grindy, back-and-forth affair with players carefully managing life totals and resources as they prepared for a decisive endgame push.