Swansong For A Raven - Implements of cEDH S2E5 - Aminatou v Thrasios/Bruse v Yisan v Thrasios/Krark

Deck Strategies

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  Aminatou, the Fateshifter

  Utilizes flicker effects and top-deck manipulation to gain incremental advantage, control the board, and assemble combos for a slow but inevitable victory.

• 

  Thrasios, Triton Hero

  Focuses on mana ramp, card filtering, and value generation through scry and draw abilities, often paired with a partner like Bruse to leverage aggressive attacks.

• 

  Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder

  Aggressive partner to Thrasios, providing double strike and lifelink to pressure opponents and capitalize on board presence quickly.

• 

  Krark, the Thumbless

  Leverages chaotic spell copying and damage triggers to generate value and disrupt opponents, often comboing with cards that benefit from spell duplication.

• 

  Yisan, the Wanderer Bard

  Utilizes a creature tutoring chain to find key utility creatures and combo pieces, combined with bounce and flicker to maximize activations and control.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Repeated use of bounce effects on Yisan to replay and activate its ability multiple times in a turn maximized creature tutoring and board development.

• 2

  Utilizing cascade and transformation effects like Divergent Transformation allowed for casting multiple impactful spells in a single turn, increasing tempo and card advantage.

• 3

  Players carefully managed life totals and selective blocking to preserve key creatures and avoid overextension.

• 4

  Training Grounds enabled significant mana cost reductions on activated abilities, accelerating the pace of the game and enabling explosive sequences.

• 5

  The interaction between flicker effects and top-deck manipulation with Aminatou created consistent incremental advantage, allowing her to maintain board control despite pressure.

Notable Cards

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  Sensei's Divining Top

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  Metamorphose

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  Training Grounds

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  Phantasmal Image

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  Yisan, the Wanderer Bard

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  Boreal Druid

Summary

The game featured high-powered commanders with complex interactions and a strong focus on incremental advantage through card draw, mana ramp, and board presence. The early turns were marked by players developing their mana bases, casting key creatures like Sarah Ascendant and setting up important engines such as Sensei's Divining Top and Yisan's toolbox ability. The board state became intricate with multiple players utilizing bounce and flicker effects to maximize value from their creatures, particularly notable with Yisan repeatedly activating to tutor impactful creatures while also leveraging bounce for additional activations. A significant turning point occurred as players began leveraging cascade and transformation effects to generate card advantage and disrupt opponents. The use of Metamorphose and Rhythmic Study contributed to explosive turns with multiple spells cast in a single sequence, enabling the casting of powerful threats and key enchantments like Training Grounds. The game featured tactical combat exchanges, with players selectively blocking and attacking to preserve board states and apply pressure. The game’s win condition revolved around assembling synergistic combos and overwhelming the opponents with value creatures and disruption, with players carefully managing resources like life totals and hand size to maintain control and push their agendas forward.