Mystery Decks with Maldhound and SchulzCubed| EDH Gameplay Ep 47

Deck Strategies

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  Narset, Enlightened Exile

  Cast numerous small instants and sorceries to trigger prowess and exile non-creature, non-land cards from all graveyards, then cast those spells for free to generate value and pressure opponents.

• 

  Sidisi, Brood Tyrant

  Mill cards to fill the graveyard and create zombie tokens upon Sidisi entering or attacking, leveraging graveyard synergies to generate board presence and value.

• 

  Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker

  Use walls and other high-toughness creatures to generate card advantage and later convert them into attackers, dealing damage based on toughness and controlling the board.

• 

  Go-Shintai of Life's Origin

  Deploy shrine enchantments to force opponents to discard, draw cards, and destroy creatures, while creating and multiplying tokens to overwhelm the table.

• 

  Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper

  Partner with Ishai to provide life gain and protection, supporting a defensive strategy that transitions into a powerful offensive stance using big creatures.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Narset’s ability to exile and cast spells from opponents’ graveyards provided repeated value and disrupted enemy plans, making her a key tempo engine.

• 2

  Sidisi’s continuous milling with Old Rutstein and token creation steadily built board presence, pressuring opponents with incremental advantage.

• 3

  Go-Shintai’s early shrine deployment forced discard and helped maintain control over opponents’ resources, while token multiplication set up a threatening board state.

• 4

  Ishai’s deck leveraged walls not only for defense but also for card advantage and offensive potential by enabling damage equal to toughness.

• 5

  Players prioritized early ramp and card draw to enable casting their commanders and key spells quickly, setting up powerful midgame turns.

• 6

  Discard effects from shrines and relics created tension around hand size and resource management, influencing players’ sequencing of spells and attacks.

Notable Cards

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  Narset, Enlightened Exile

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  Sidisi, Brood Tyrant

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  Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker

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  Go-Shintai of Life's Origin

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  Honden of Night's Reach

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  Relic of Legends

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  Burst of Speed

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  Stormwing Entity

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  Visions of Beyond

• 

  Old Rutstein

Summary

The game started with players establishing their mana bases and early board presence, focusing on their commanders’ synergies. Narset, Enlightened Exile leveraged her prowess and graveyard exile ability, aiming to cast powerful instants and sorceries from opponents' graveyards. Sidisi, Brood Tyrant emphasized graveyard milling to generate zombie tokens and benefit from graveyard synergies, steadily building a board of creatures. Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker combined with Ikra Shidiqi to play a defensive strategy with walls that could later attack effectively, providing card advantage and damage based on toughness. Go-Shintai of Life's Origin centered on generating and doubling tokens through shrine enchantments, applying pressure through wide boards and discard effects on opponents. The early turns saw a mix of ramp, card draw, and token generation, setting the stage for midgame interactions. Key turning points included the use of Narset’s ability to exile and cast impactful non-creature spells from graveyards, disrupting opponents and gaining tempo. Sidisi’s continuous milling helped populate the board with zombies while fueling graveyard strategies. Go-Shintai's shrine synergy began to chip away at opponents' hands and board states, creating escalating threats with tokens. Meanwhile, Ishai’s deck steadily accumulated card advantage through walls and selective combat tricks, preparing for a late-game push. The game featured multiple interactions around graveyard recursion, token production, and incremental advantage, with players carefully timing their spells and attacks to maximize their commanders’ strengths. The eventual win condition likely revolved around overwhelming opponents with either large tokens or exploiting powerful spells cast from exile or graveyards.