Jhoira vs Gavi vs Animar vs Karametra [EDH/Commander, Magic The Gathering Gameplay] 2021

Deck Strategies

• 

  Gavi, Nest Warden

  Focuses on cycling lands and spells to generate card draw and assemble a combo, typically using Escape Protocol to repeatedly reuse key pieces and draw the entire deck to win through massive damage.

• 

  Animar, Soul of Elements

  Deploys cheap mana dorks and efficient creatures early to quickly put counters on Animar, enabling the casting of large creatures for reduced costs to overwhelm opponents in the late game.

• 

  Karametra, God of Harvests

  A stax build aimed at slowing down opponents with tax effects and artifact/enchantment hate like Collector Ouphe and Null Rod, seeking to lock the game and win through lock pieces such as Knowledge Pool combined with Draanath Magistrate.

• 

  Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain

  A spell-heavy deck that leverages Jhoira's ability to draw cards from casting historic spells, aiming to find combos involving artifacts like Pyrite Spellbomb or win outright with cards like Oracle of Thassa, while controlling tempo with counterspells and board wipes.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Jhoira's player used Starstorm at X=3 to clear the board, effectively resetting creature-based strategies and buying time for their combo setup.

• 2

  Karametra's Null Rod and Collector Ouphe were key stax pieces attempting to disrupt artifact and mana abilities, but Jhoira's deck countered these threats with Force of Will.

• 3

  Gavi's cycling triggers consistently generated incremental advantage by creating dinosaur tokens and drawing cards, steadily advancing toward a combo win despite the board disruptions.

• 4

  Animating creatures with Rhythm of the Wild provided haste and counter boosts, enabling Animar's player to apply early pressure and grow Animar quickly.

• 5

  Players carefully managed their fetch lands and shocks to balance life loss and mana requirements, highlighting the importance of resource optimization in multiplayer Commander games.

Notable Cards

• 

  Starstorm

• 

  Collector Ouphe

• 

  Null Rod

• 

  Escape Protocol

• 

  Rhythm of the Wild

• 

  Beast Whisperer

• 

  Pyrite Spellbomb

• 

  Force of Will

• 

  Tectonic Reformation

Summary

The game featured four distinct Commander decks with unique strategies: a Gavi, Nest Warden cycling combo deck, an Animar, Soul of Elements creature-heavy deck, a Karametra, God of Harvests stax control deck, and a Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain spell-focused draw deck. Early turns saw players developing their mana bases and establishing board presence, with Jhoira aiming to draw cards and set up combos, Animar quickly deploying mana dorks and efficient creatures, Karametra deploying stax pieces to slow the pace, and Gavi cycling lands and spells to assemble a combo involving Escape Protocol for massive card draw and damage. A pivotal moment occurred when the Jhoira player cast Starstorm for X=3, wiping the board and resetting the game state, which temporarily slowed the creature-based strategies. Karametra's player attempted to lock down the board with Collector Ouphe and Null Rod, but was met with counterspells from Jhoira's deck. Despite the stax attempts, the game progressed with players cycling, deploying creatures like Beast Whisperer, and enhancing Animar's counters. Gavi's cycling continued to generate value and build toward a combo finish, making incremental progress with dinosaur tokens and card draw triggered by cycling lands like Desert of the True. The game showcased dynamic interplay between combo, stax, and creature swarm strategies with key moments revolving around board wipes, counterspells, and resource management.