Tinybones vs Purphoros vs Varina vs Oloro [EDH/Commander, Magic The Gathering Gameplay] 2021

Deck Strategies

• 

  Purphoros, God of the Forge

  Use Purphoros's damage triggers combined with goblin tribal synergies and mass token generation to deal incremental damage to all opponents, aiming to overwhelm them with direct damage and creature swarms.

• 

  Tinybones, Trinket Thief

  Leverage discard spells and Tinybones's activated ability to drain opponents' life and draw cards, aiming to win by exhausting opponents' resources and controlling the game's pace through hand disruption.

• 

  Oloro, Ageless Ascetic

  Assemble a storm kill by combining Bolas's Citadel and Aetherflux Reservoir, using life gain and treasure generation (especially from Smothering Tithe) to fuel large X spells like Torment of Hellfire for a lethal finish.

• 

  Varina, Lich Queen

  Utilize Varina's card draw and discard engine to fill the graveyard and generate zombie tokens with synergies like Gravecrawler and Diregraf Captain, aiming to create infinite death triggers for a combo kill.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Purphoros's deployment of Legion Warboss and Siege Gang Commander early established a steady stream of token generation and incremental damage that pressured all players simultaneously.

• 2

  Varina's strategic use of her activated ability to exile cards from the graveyard to create zombie tokens served as a timely defensive response to Oloro's Torment of Hellfire, mitigating its impact while advancing her board state.

• 3

  Oloro's casting of Smothering Tithe was a critical ramp play that provided treasure tokens enabling powerful spells and storm potential, significantly impacting the game's tempo.

• 4

  Tinybones's discard spells combined with his activated ability effectively disrupted opponents' hands while generating life drain and card draw, maintaining pressure without relying on board presence.

• 5

  The interaction of multiple death triggers, token generation, and life drain effects created complex combat phases where incremental damage and resource management were pivotal.

Notable Cards

• 

  Smothering Tithe

• 

  Purphoros, God of the Forge

• 

  Legion Warboss

• 

  Relentless Dead

• 

  Fleshbag Marauder

• 

  Lotus Petal

• 

  Gravecrawler

• 

  Diregraf Captain

• 

  Aetherflux Reservoir

• 

  Tinybones, Trinket Thief

• 

  Varina, Lich Queen

Summary

The game began with a slow mana development phase where each player established their board presence with lands and early creatures. Purphoros quickly asserted pressure by casting his commander and goblin tribal synergies, generating multiple damage triggers and tokens that steadily chipped away at opponents' life totals. Varina leveraged her card draw and discard abilities to maintain hand advantage and fuel her graveyard-based combo involving Gravecrawler, Fraxion Altar, and Diregraf Captain for infinite death triggers. Meanwhile, Oloro focused on assembling a storm kill using Bolas's Citadel and Aetherflux Reservoir, while Tinybones aimed to win through a discard-centric strategy that synergized with his activated ability to drain life and draw cards. Key turning points included the casting of Smothering Tithe by Oloro, which generated critical treasure tokens that ramped his mana and enabled powerful spells like Torment of Hellfire. Purphoros's aggressive goblin token generation created a constant threat, forcing opponents to manage the swarm. Varina's use of relentless dead and Fleshbag Marauder enabled board control and incremental advantage. A notable moment was the interaction between Varina's ability to exile cards from the graveyard to create zombie tokens in response to Oloro's Torment of Hellfire, showcasing the defensive and synergistic potential of her deck. The game featured multiple combat phases where players leveraged their creatures and triggers to drain life and maintain pressure, setting the stage for potential combos or storm finishes.