Ep: 8 Xira v Atraxa v Goblinson v Akiri [EDH gameplay]

Deck Strategies

• 

  Xira, the Golden Sting

  Generate insect tokens by placing egg counters on creatures and killing them to draw cards and build a swarm, using sacrifice synergies and token generation for card advantage and board presence.

• 

  Atraxa, Praetors' Voice

  Leverage infect creatures and proliferate at the end of turns to rapidly increase poison counters on opponents, focusing on a toxic infect strategy to win through poison damage.

• 

  The Space Family Goblinson

  Roll dice to put +1/+1 counters on the commander and create goblin tokens, using wide board presence and incremental growth to overwhelm opponents.

• 

  Akiri, Fearless Voyager

  Aggressively equip creatures to draw cards on attack and protect them with abilities like indestructibility, aiming to win through commander-focused Voltron damage with heavy equipment synergy.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  The use of Carrion Feeder to sacrifice tokens and creatures synergized well with Xira's egg counter mechanic, enabling continuous card draw and board presence.

• 2

  Atraxa's strategy of playing early infect creatures followed by proliferate triggers steadily increased poison counters on opponents, applying consistent pressure.

• 3

  Goblinson's dice rolling not only powered up the commander with +1/+1 counters but also generated goblin tokens, creating a growing threat that demanded attention.

• 4

  Akiri's heavy focus on equipping creatures allowed for continual card draw and resilience, making it risky for opponents to block or remove her creatures.

• 5

  The interplay between sacrifice outlets (Carrion Feeder, Transmogrant Altar) and token generators (Ophiomancer, Xira's insects) produced sustained value and board control.

• 6

  Proliferate at Atraxa's end step was a key incremental advantage, increasing the potency of poison counters and other counters on the battlefield.

Notable Cards

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  Carrion Feeder

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  Ophiomancer

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  Glistener Elf

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  Void Winnower

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  Goblin Morningstar

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  Luxury Suite

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  Command Tower

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  Smoldering Marsh

• 

  Transmogrant Altar

Summary

The game started with players establishing their board states through early plays of lands and small creatures, setting up their respective strategies. Xira, the Golden Sting focused on generating insect tokens and card draw by putting egg counters on creatures and then killing them. Atraxa, Praetors' Voice built a proliferate-based infect strategy, playing creatures like Glistener Elf early and gaining poison counters on opponents while proliferating to grow these counters. The Space Family Goblinson ramped up by rolling dice to put 1/1 counters on itself and generating goblin tokens, aiming for a wide board presence. Akiri, Fearless Voyager pursued an equipment-heavy aggressive build, drawing cards when attacking with equipped creatures and protecting them with indestructibility effects. Key early plays included Carrion Feeder enabling sacrifice synergies in Xira's deck and Ophiomancer steadily producing snake tokens for defense and potential sacrifice fodder. As the game progressed, players focused on incremental damage through poison counters, proliferate triggers, and combat damage, with the board state becoming more interactive and contested. The interplay of token generation, sacrifice outlets, proliferate, and equipment-based aggression defined the midgame pacing. Win conditions revolved around poison counters (Atraxa), card advantage and token swarms (Xira), dice counter growth and goblin token aggression (Goblinson), and Voltron-style equipped commander damage (Akiri). The game featured several pivotal moments where sacrifice and proliferation combos enabled significant board development and pressure on opponents.