Old School #cEDH Gameplay - Are they Still Viable? - Narset v Sisay v Ezuri v Tana Malcolm

Deck Strategies

• 

  Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator

  Focuses on generating treasure tokens by dealing damage with creatures like Glint-Horn Buccaneer, enabling infinite combos that produce treasures and draw cards to quickly outvalue opponents.

• 

  Narset, Enlightened Master

  Utilizes a draw engine supported by ramp and interaction to dig for key spells and control elements, aiming to assemble combos or dominate the game through card advantage.

• 

  Sisay, Weatherlight Captain

  A 5-color legendary tutor deck that aims to find powerful legendary creatures or artifacts to assemble combos or generate overwhelming board presence.

• 

  Ezuri, Claw of Progress

  A creature-based deck that leverages +1/+1 counter synergies to grow a board and finish with combat damage, often supported by creatures that generate incremental advantage.

• 

  Tana, the Bloodsower

  A creature combo deck focusing on generating tokens and pairing with other creatures for infinite combos, aiming for quick explosive finishes.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Malcolm's player leveraged Glint-Horn Buccaneer’s damage-triggered treasure generation combined with discards to create an infinite treasure combo, enabling endless card draw and resource advantage.

• 2

  Crop Rotation was used effectively to fetch Gaea's Cradle, providing massive mana acceleration critical for casting key creatures and enabling combos.

• 3

  Despite having powerful draw engines like Ristic Study and Mystic Remora, the slower buildup was overwhelmed by the fast combo deployment from the treasure generation deck.

• 4

  Players prioritized developing mana bases and assembling key creatures early, but the game-ending combo was achieved before complex interaction or board wipes could be enacted.

• 5

  The use of Imperial Recruiter to tutor for critical combo pieces demonstrated the importance of efficient tutoring in cEDH creature combo decks.

Notable Cards

• 

  Glint-Horn Buccaneer

• 

  Magda, Brazen Outlaw

• 

  Siren Stormtamer

• 

  Imperial Recruiter

• 

  Crop Rotation

• 

  Gaea's Cradle

• 

  Mystic Remora

• 

  Survival of the Fittest

Summary

The game featured a dynamic clash between four commanders focusing on creature combos versus draw engines. Early turns saw typical ramp and setup plays, with players developing mana bases and casting key creatures to enable their strategies. Malcolm's player executed an aggressive treasure token generation combo using Glint-Horn Buccaneer and Magda, leveraging the Buccaneer's ability to deal damage and produce treasures, which quickly escalated into an infinite combo. This allowed the player to draw through their deck and generate massive value, overwhelming the table. Despite some interaction and build-up from the other players—such as Narset's draw engine and Sisay's tutor strategies—the treasure combo proved decisive. The game concluded swiftly once the infinite treasure and card draw loop was established, demonstrating the potency of creature-based combos in old-school cEDH.