$50 Budget Commander - EDH Gameplay Ep 113

Decklists

Deck & Commander Strategies

Balin, the Haymaker
Generate numerous tokens to pump Balin into a large, aggressive threat capable of overwhelming opponents through wide board presence.
Jasmine Boreal of the Seven
Utilize vanilla creatures that produce extra mana and become unblockable, then enhance them with +1/+1 counters doubled by Branching Evolutions to create large evasive threats.
Phenax, God of Deception
Control the board by tapping creatures to mill opponents' libraries, combined with counterspells and life loss triggers from graveyard interactions to slowly finish opponents.
Liara Portyr
Attack all opponents to exile cards from the top of the library, then cast those exiled cards at a reduced cost to maintain card advantage and versatile threats.

Gameplay Insights

1
Deploying Dusk Mantle Guildmage to leverage graveyard triggers for incremental life loss created a significant pressure point against opponents.
2
Branching Evolutions effectively doubled the impact of +1/+1 counters, making Jasmine Boreal's vanilla creatures formidable and difficult to block.
3
Liara Portyr's ability to exile and cast cards from exile reduced costs and generated card advantage, enabling rapid board development.
4
Phenax's use of Thraven Charm to remove key threats while maintaining a milling strategy exemplified careful resource management.
5
Token generation combined with pump effects allowed Balin's player to consistently pressure opponents and control the combat phase.

Notable Cards

Jasmine Boreal of the Seven
Phenax, God of Deception
Kodama's Reach
Arabella, Abandoned Doll
Raise the Alarm
Augusta, Dean of Order // Augusta, Dean of Order

Gameplay Summary

The game begins with players ramping mana and establishing board presence through tokens and early creatures.

Balin the Haymaker's player focuses on token generation to build a large threat, while Jasmine Boreal leverages vanilla creatures with +1/+1 counters to create unblockable attackers.

Phenax, God of Deception aims to mill opponents' libraries and control the board through tapping and counterspells.

Liara Portyr centers on attacking multiple opponents to exile and cast cards from exile at a reduced cost, setting up for a versatile midgame.

Early turns see key plays such as Kodama's Reach and Branching Evolutions for ramp and counter doubling, and creatures like Arabella, Abandoned Doll applying incremental damage and life gain.

Midgame features combat exchanges where token swarms and +1/+1 counter synergies push damage, while Phenax's player uses Thraven Charm to remove threats and maintain board control.

Liara Portyr's aggressive attacks exile several cards, enabling casting from exile and enhancing her board state with creatures like Rem Carolus Slayer.

A pivotal moment is the casting of Dusk Mantle Guildmage, dealing life loss on graveyard triggers, which adds pressure and synergy with Phenax's milling strategy.

The interaction between token production, counter doubling, and selective removal shapes the evolving board state, with players carefully managing threats and resources to position for victory.

Watch on YouTube