PROMISE - IMPLEMENTS OF cEDH - S12E8 - KRARK/SAKASHIMA v VOLO/TAVERN v CORMELA v MARNEUS - GAMEPLAY

Deck Strategies

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  Krark, the Thumbless / Sakashima of a Thousand Faces

  A combo/control hybrid that uses artifact synergies and copy effects to generate explosive plays, leveraging treasures and protective spells to maintain tempo and disrupt opponents.

• 

  Marneus Calgar

  Mid-range control deck focused on board control and incremental advantage through efficient creatures and disruption spells, aiming to stabilize and win through attrition.

• 

  Cormela, Glamour Thief

  A flashy control deck that uses cunning card selection and counterspells to manipulate the board state and protect key spells, supporting a toolbox of answers and combos.

• 

  Tavern Brawler

  Aggressive build focused on quick damage and treasure generation to accelerate threats and pressure opponents early in the game.

• 

  Volo, Itinerant Scholar

  Storm-combo based deck leveraging card draw, treasure generation, and graveyard recursion with Finale of Promise and Jessica's Will to produce infinite mana and draw, culminating in a game-ending combo.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Using Deflecting Swat on an opponent's Braids triggered multiple copies and interactions, showing the power of spell redirection in disrupting board control effects.

• 2

  The storm player's sequence with Finale of Promise to chain Jessica's Will and Brainstorm exemplified efficient card advantage and mana generation that overwhelmed opponents.

• 3

  Protective responses like Fierce Guardianship were crucial in maintaining key combo pieces and stalling opponents' disruption attempts.

• 4

  Treasure token generation was a consistent theme, providing mana acceleration and enabling explosive turns across multiple decks.

• 5

  The final lethal interaction involved graveyard recursion combined with a large Giant Growth, highlighting synergy between card draw, mana ramp, and combat tricks.

Notable Cards

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  Smothering Tithe

• 

  Intuition

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  Deflecting Swat

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  Fierce Guardianship

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  Mana Crypt

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  Finale of Promise

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  Brainstorm

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  Mystic Remora

• 

  Giant Growth

Summary

The game began with players setting up their mana bases and casting early ramp and utility spells, with Krark/Sakashima and Cormela starting to establish board presence. Early plays included treasure generation and card draw engines, setting the stage for potential combos. As the game progressed, players began interacting with powerful spells such as Smothering Tithe and Intuition, while defensive responses like Deflecting Swat and Fierce Guardianship were used to protect key plays. A pivotal moment occurred when multiple spell copy triggers and protective responses led to a cascade of interactions, resulting in a critical mass of mana and card advantage. In the late game, the Izzet-based deck piloted by the player using Volo, Itinerant Scholar, leveraged a storm-like sequence involving Finale of Promise combined with Jessica's Will and Brainstorm to generate massive card draw and mana. Despite attempts to disrupt this, the overwhelming value and combo potential proved decisive. The game concluded when the storm player amassed enough resources to execute a lethal graveyard-based interaction with a Giant Growth effect, ending the game decisively.