Deck & Commander Strategies
Animar, Soul of Elements
A creature-based combo deck that uses Animar's cost reduction to cheat out creatures and assemble multiple combos involving artifact synergies and infinite damage combos to win.
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
A control-combo deck that uses early disruption and interaction to survive until the late game, where it attempts to safely assemble a Demonic Consultation or Vampiric Tutor combo to win.
Kraum, Ludevic's Opus / Armix, Filigree Thrasher
A Bolas Citadel and Ad Nauseam combo deck that generates massive mana and card advantage through artifact synergies and uses treasure tokens to fuel big spells and combo finishes.
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Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools / Kraum, Ludevic's Opus
A midrange combo deck that uses cheap interaction and value engines like treasure generation and card draw to control the game and set up a combo finish using Ad Nauseam style spells or other infinite combos.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Early use of tutors and mana acceleration allowed players to rapidly assemble combo pieces, making timely disruption crucial.
- 2
Jimmy’s attempt to combo off with Demonic Consultation and Thousand-Year Elixir was cleverly interrupted by opponents, preserving the balance of power.
- 3
Hidden’s use of Walking Ballista counters to remove Dockside Extortionist treasures highlighted precise interaction timing to prevent explosive plays.
- 4
The repeated casting and copying of spells like Chain of Vapor and the use of Swan Song to protect key combo pieces demonstrated the high-level interaction and resource management in cEDH.
- 5
Players balanced aggressive combat phases with holding back mana for instant-speed interaction, keeping the game state fluid and punishing overextensions.
- 6
Treasure token generation was a critical resource, particularly for the Armix/Kraum and Tevesh Szat decks, enabling large mana bursts and card draw spells that could swing the game.
Notable Cards
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Utopia Sprawl
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Mystical Tutor
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Demonic Consultation
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Walking Ballista
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Dockside Extortionist
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Talisman of Indulgence
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Priest of Titania
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Brain Freeze
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Peer into the Abyss
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Underworld Breach
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Swan Song
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Phantasmal Image
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Bloom Tender
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Cephalid Coliseum
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Dark Confidant
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Thought Scour
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Crop Rotation
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Gilded Lotus
Gameplay Summary
The game began with all four players establishing their mana bases and early board presence, with Animar and Tevesh Szat focusing on ramp and card advantage, while Tasigur and Armix/Kraum aimed to control and disrupt the game flow.
Early plays included tutors, mana acceleration, and interactions that set up for their respective combos.
Animar utilized cost reduction and creature synergies to develop a board state while assembling combo pieces.
Tevesh Szat leveraged treasure generation and card draw to fuel his spells, and Tasigur sought to establish control and find his combo pieces safely.
Armix/Kraum built mana and card advantage through artifact synergies and Ad Nauseam-style draw spells. Key turning points occurred when Jimmy on Tasigur attempted a Demonic Consultation combo with a Thousand-Year Elixir to win, which was thwarted by timely interaction from the other players.
Hidden on Animar aggressively used mana acceleration and card draw to set up multiple combo lines, including Walking Ballista and Phantasmal Image copies, generating treasure and incremental advantage.
Fernando with Armix/Kraum also generated treasure tokens and card advantage, using spells like Peer into the Abyss to draw large hands.
The game featured intense combat phases, counterspells like Swan Song, and critical board wipes of key combo pieces.
The round culminated in a tense standoff with multiple players holding potential combos but also the means to disrupt each other, keeping the board dynamic and the outcome uncertain.
