Deck & Commander Strategies
Pako, Arcane Retriever
A fast combo deck that aims to assemble its combo pieces quickly using free or cheap spells, leveraging Halden for protection and card advantage to deliver quick lethal damage, often through Underworld Breach or similar combos.
Thrasios, Triton Hero and Tymna the Weaver
A combo-control shell that uses Hermit Druid and other library-mill effects to win by decking itself and casting Thassa's Oracle for an instant win, while maintaining interaction and disruption through Tymna's card draw.
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator and Tana, the Bloodsower
A high-tempo deck focused on exploiting red damage combos involving creatures like Glint-Sleeve Siphoner and leveraging incremental damage through combat and spells, aiming for a quick, aggressive win before opponents stabilize.
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Thrasios, Triton Hero and Vial Smasher the Fierce
A Valakut landfall and Nauseam combo deck that uses massive land drops and spells to draw through the deck rapidly, aiming to win by triggering Valakut's damage or through infinite combos enabled by Nauseam and mana acceleration.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Early ramp and mana acceleration with lands, Mana Crypt, and Lion's Eye Diamond was crucial to enabling explosive starts, especially for the Pako deck.
- 2
The Hermit Druid and Thassa's Oracle synergy allowed the Thrasios/Tymna player to set up an instant-win combo by milling their entire library, highlighting the power of library manipulation in cEDH.
- 3
Malcolm and Tana relied on quick damage and tempo plays with early creatures and interaction like Git Probe to try and close the game before combo decks could assemble their winning lines.
- 4
The Valakut deck's ability to cheat lands into play with Mana Bond and then use Nauseam to draw through the deck created a strong late-game threat that required opponents to disrupt the combo quickly.
- 5
Players were cautious about keeping risky hands without sufficient acceleration or interaction, reflecting the high-stakes nature of competitive multiplayer.
- 6
Tana's damage output through combat and triggers added pressure but required careful sequencing to avoid being outpaced by faster combo decks.
Notable Cards
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Pako, Arcane Retriever
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Hermit Druid
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Thassa's Oracle
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Lion's Eye Diamond
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Mana Crypt
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Malevolent Hermit // Benevolent Geist
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Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
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Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
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Tinder Wall
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Overgrown Tomb
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Mental Misstep
Gameplay Summary
The game featured four competitive decks with distinctive strategies clashing in an intense cEDH environment.
Early turns saw aggressive ramp and setup plays, especially from the Pako and Haldan deck aiming for an early combo finish with fast mana and disruption.
The Thrasios and Tymna Hermit deck focused on milling its own library using Hermit Druid and similar synergies to enable a win with Thassa's Oracle, setting up a powerful graveyard and library manipulation engine.
Meanwhile, the Valakut deck employed a landfall and combo strategy centered around massive land drops and Nauseam-based card draw to fuel a sudden lethal Valakut trigger or other combo kills.
Malcolm and Tana sought to leverage a high-tempo interaction with Glint-Sleeve Siphoner and repeated damage pings through combat tricks and combos for incremental damage and control.
