Deck & Commander Strategies
Animar, Soul of Elements
Ramp out Animar quickly to cast key combo pieces like Ancestral Statue and Walking Ballista, aiming to control the board and win through damage or lock pieces.
Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools & Thrasios, Triton Hero
Use ramp and card draw to assemble combos involving Hermit Druid and Dread Return, leveraging tutors and mana acceleration to mill the deck and win through recursive creatures and infinite loops.
The Gitrog Monster
Exploit land and graveyard synergies for massive card draw and value, using sacrifices and interactions to out-resource opponents and eventually close out the game with value engines.
K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
Utilize life as a resource for fast, explosive spells like Ad Nauseam and Peers into the Abyss, accelerating through life payment and black mana to find combo pieces or powerful finishers quickly.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
The Tevesh/Thrasios player’s early casting of Hermit Druid on turn one was a critical play that enabled them to mill their entire library and set up a fast combo finish.
- 2
Interaction such as counterspells and graveyard reanimation were important but ultimately insufficient to stop the timely combo execution.
- 3
Players prioritized mana acceleration and tutor effects early to assemble their win conditions quickly in a fast-paced cEDH environment.
- 4
Sacrificing value early in the game can be detrimental, as noted when a player regretted sacrificing a key land or card that could have been pivotal later.
- 5
Efficient use of life as a resource by the K'rrik player demonstrated the high-risk, high-reward nature of life payment strategies in cEDH.
Notable Cards
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Ancestral Statue
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Walking Ballista
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Hermit Druid
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Dread Return
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Mana Crypt
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Mana Vault
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City of Brass
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Necromancy
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Crucible of Worlds
Gameplay Summary
The game started with each player quickly establishing their board presence using their commanders' synergies and mana acceleration.
Animar aimed to deploy quickly and sought key combo pieces like Ancestral Statue and Walking Ballista to control the board.
The Tevesh Szat and Thrasios deck focused on ramp and card advantage, utilizing mana dorks and tutors to assemble combos and draw through the deck efficiently.
The Gitrog Monster player emphasized graveyard interactions and card draw through sacrificing lands and drawing extra cards, while the K'rrik deck leveraged life as a resource to power out fast and impactful spells like early Ad Nauseam or Peers into the Abyss.
Early turns featured careful mana management, token creation, and setting up critical enchantments and creatures, with players countering and interacting on key plays to disrupt each other’s strategies. A pivotal moment occurred when the Tevesh/Thrasios player managed to cast a Hasty Hermit Druid on turn one, which allowed them to mill their entire library, setting up a powerful combo with Dread Return and TOSS/Oros line to close out the game.
Despite some disruption attempts, including counterspells and reanimation interactions, they successfully executed the combo, winning the game before other decks could stabilize or deploy their win conditions.
The game highlighted the importance of efficient early plays and the devastating power of Hermit Druid in cEDH environments for fast combo wins.
