Vaevictus vs Atraxa vs Arcades vs Empress Galina EDH / CMDR game play for Magic: The Gathering

Deck Strategies

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  Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire

  Aggressive, combo-oriented deck focused on sacrificing creatures for value and using Necropotence for massive card draw, combined with board wipes like Pernicious Deed to control the battlefield.

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  Atraxa, Praetors' Voice

  A counters and proliferate strategy that builds powerful creatures and planeswalkers, focusing on enhancing permanents with +1/+1 counters and leveraging proliferate to accelerate threats.

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  Arcades, the Strategist

  Defender tribal and control deck that draws cards from walls and other defenders, using bounce spells like Cyclonic Rift and equipment to control opponents and generate value.

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  Empress Galina

  Artifact and counter synergy deck that uses clever impersonator effects, mana acceleration artifacts, and burnished heart to ramp and deploy large threats with enhanced counters.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Casting Pernicious Deed at a key moment allowed Vaevictis to reset the board and maintain card advantage through Necropotence, stabilizing his position.

• 2

  Chad's use of Cyclonic Rift to bounce opponents' nonland permanents was a game-changing control play that disrupted multiple players' boards simultaneously.

• 3

  Josh's manipulation of counters on Crystalline Crawler combined with proliferate and Celerity of Heroes enabled explosive growth and deployment of threats.

• 4

  Eric utilized Mind Stone and Dig Through Time triggered by Mineclaw Shaman to dig for crucial cards, showcasing synergy in card selection and ramp.

• 5

  The interplay between walls with defenders and Arcades' ability to draw cards created a strong card advantage engine for Chad, allowing sustained pressure.

• 6

  Repeated use of proliferate effects helped Atraxa's deck keep pace with board development by enhancing counters on creatures and artifacts.

Notable Cards

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  Necropotence

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  Pernicious Deed

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  Cyclonic Rift

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  Crystalline Crawler

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  Sapphire Medallion

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  Clever Impersonator

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  Blade of Selves

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  Lightning Greaves

Summary

The game featured four distinct Commander decks: Vaevictis Asmadi, Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, Arcades the Strategist, and Empress Galina. Early turns focused on ramp and setting up board presence, with key spells like Necropotence, Blade of Selves, and Cyclonic Rift shaping the midgame. Vaevictis leveraged Necropotence and Pernicious Deed to control the board and draw cards, while Atraxa built counters and proliferated key creatures and planeswalkers. Arcades capitalized on walls and creatures with defender to draw cards and control the battlefield, and Empress Galina developed a combo-driven artifact and counter synergy with Clever Impersonator copying Sapphire Medallion and Burnished Heart setting up mana acceleration. A pivotal moment came when Eric (Vaevictis) cast Pernicious Deed, clearing many threats to stabilize, followed by a Cyclonic Rift from Chad (Arcades) that bounced multiple permanents, resetting the board and allowing a fresh board state. Several key interactions involved proliferate triggers and counter manipulation, notably Josh's (Atraxa) use of Crystalline Crawler with counters and Celerity of Heroes to deploy powerful creatures. The game saw a steady exchange of value and control, culminating in Chad eliminating Eric with a Guardians of Melitus attack leveraging equipment and Arkades' triggers. The game progressed with players leveraging their commanders' unique synergies, but Chad's ability to generate card advantage and control the board with walls and bounce spells ultimately positioned him as a strong threat.