$100 Budget Commander | EDH Gameplay Ep 43

Deck Strategies

• 

  Arcades, the Strategist

  Utilizes cheap Defenders that draw cards and gain value, then transforms them into offensive threats to overwhelm opponents.

• 

  Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon

  Focuses on creating numerous sappling tokens with spore counters, then sacrificing them to proliferate or populate, growing the board and enabling synergies.

• 

  Neera, Wild Mage

  Manipulates the top of the library with cantrips and uses Neera’s ability to cast large spells for free, aiming for powerful late-game plays.

• 

  Xavier Sal, Infested Captain

  Generates tokens and uses counters to proliferate and populate, creating a swarm of creatures to apply pressure or gain advantage.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Xavier Sal’s ability to proliferate and populate tokens was a central mechanic, enabling the growth of a threatening board.

• 2

  Arcades’ deck leveraged the synergy between cheap Defenders and card draw engines like Skullclamp to maintain resources while setting up a strong offense.

• 3

  Neera’s use of library manipulation spells such as Otherworldly Gaze and cantrips allowed her to engineer high-impact plays by cheating powerful spells into play.

• 4

  The player piloting Anim Pakal effectively used spore counters and token sacrifice to ramp mana and control the board state.

• 5

  Early game mana ramp and token production were critical in developing board presence that influenced attack priorities and defensive postures.

• 6

  Board wipes or removal targeting the token-heavy strategies would be pivotal in shifting the game momentum.

Notable Cards

• 

  Xavier Sal, Infested Captain

• 

  Skullclamp

• 

  Noble Heritage

• 

  Vine Trellis

• 

  Utopia Mycon

• 

  High Alert

• 

  Otherworldly Gaze

Summary

The game featured four budget-friendly Commander decks, each employing distinct strategies. Early turns focused on ramping mana and establishing board presence, with key plays including casting Xavier Sal, Infested Captain to populate and proliferate counters, and setting up token production. Anim Pakal's deck generated numerous sapplings and fungus tokens, leveraging spore counters and sacrificing creatures to fuel growth and control. Arcades, the Strategist's deck aimed to deploy cheap Defenders that enabled drawing cards and turning those Defenders into aggressive attackers with the help of cards like High Alert. Neera, Wild Mage manipulated the top of the library with cantrips and used her ability to cheat big spells into play, setting up a potent late-game threat.