The Best Color In Magic | Ayara - Selvala - Bennie - Arcanis | EDH Gameplay Ep 11

Deck Strategies

• 

  Ayara, First of Locthwain

  Monoblack deck focused on draining opponents' life through repeated black creature plays, drawing cards by sacrificing creatures, and leveraging synergies with cards like Bolas's Citadel and Gray Merchant to dominate the board and win through attrition.

• 

  Arcanis the Omnipotent

  Blue control deck aiming to draw large numbers of cards, counter key threats, and stabilize the game before winning through spells that create tokens and turn spells into threats, such as Shark Typhoon and Docent of Perfection.

• 

  Selvala, Heart of the Wilds

  Green ramp deck focused on accelerating mana production to cast large creatures quickly, drawing cards off big creatures entering the battlefield, and finishing the game with powerful creatures and overrun style effects.

• 

  Bennie Bracks, Zoologist

  Mono-white token deck that generates numerous tokens at instant speed using activated abilities, then leverages the wide board state and card draw engines to overwhelm opponents and secure a win.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The green player prioritized casting Selvala early to accelerate mana ramp and capitalize on casting high-power creatures for card draw and mana generation.

• 2

  Black’s Ayara applied steady life drain pressure on all opponents through black creature plays, enhancing survivability via life gain and card advantage by sacrificing creatures.

• 3

  White’s strategy of building a token army with Benny Bracks created a robust board presence capable of defending and attacking effectively, especially with lifelink tokens from Legion's Landing.

• 4

  Blue’s conservative mana usage with open counterspells indicated a controlling playstyle, aiming to protect key spells and disrupt opponents’ big threats.

• 5

  Stealing the powerful Elder Gargaroth showcased the importance of timing and control effects to swing board advantage and deny opponents their key threats.

• 6

  Players carefully managed their attacks and trades to manipulate board state favorably, with considerations of creature power and abilities influencing who to pressure and when.

Notable Cards

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  Elder Gargaroth

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  Bolas's Citadel

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  Gray Merchant of Asphodel

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  Shark Typhoon

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  Docent of Perfection // Final Iteration

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  Legion's Landing // Adanto, the First Fort

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  Warlock Class

Summary

The game began with players establishing their board presence and ramping up their mana bases, with the green player focusing on ramp creatures and big threats, the white player generating tokens and incremental value, the blue player controlling the board and drawing cards, and the black player draining life and accumulating card advantage. Early turns saw the green player casting Selvala to ramp into powerful creatures like Elder Gargaroth, while the black player deployed Ayara to start draining life from opponents and drawing cards by sacrificing creatures. The white player used token synergies from Benny Bracks to build a wide board, and the blue player aimed to control the game with counterspells and card draw from Arcanis the Omnipotent. A pivotal moment occurred when the green player cast Elder Gargaroth, a large threat that drew immediate attention due to its multiple keywords and combat abilities. The black player maintained pressure with Ayara’s life drain and card draw, setting up combos with cards like Bolas's Citadel and Gray Merchant of Asphodel. Meanwhile, the white player’s token generation created a resilient board state, threatening to overwhelm opponents with multiple attackers. The blue player sought to maintain control, leveraging counters and card draw to stabilize and find win conditions like Shark Typhoon and Docent of Perfection. As the game progressed, interactions like stealing Elder Gargaroth with a control effect showcased the dynamic board state, forcing players to adapt their strategies. The game revolved around mana ramp, board control, and leveraging each commander’s strengths—Ayara’s attrition, Selvala’s explosive ramp, Benny’s token army, and Arcanis’s card advantage. The likely win conditions involved overwhelming opponents with large creatures or tokens, draining life through monotone black effects, or locking down the game via blue control elements.