Diamond Commander League | S1: E13 | Zaxara, Jeleva, Snapdax, Xyris | Season Finale | EDH Gameplay

Deck Strategies

• 

  Zaxara, the Exemplary

  Cast spells with X in their cost to generate a large number of Hydra tokens and use infinite combos to finish the game.

• 

  Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge

  Quickly cast Jeleva to exile and cheat out powerful instant and sorcery spells, including extra turn effects, to gain tempo and close out the game.

• 

  Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt

  Deploy Mardu infect creatures to equip Snapdax and spread poison counters quickly, aiming to win via infect damage.

• 

  Xyris, the Writhing Storm

  Encourage all players to draw cards to generate snake tokens and incremental damage, overwhelming opponents with a growing board.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Xyris's use of Puzzle Box and Impact Tremors synergized to create a strong engine that generated multiple snake tokens and dealt damage each turn, pressuring opponents.

• 2

  Snapdax's strategy to mutate infect creatures and quickly accumulate poison counters forced players to address the infect threat early or risk losing quickly.

• 3

  Jeleva leveraged bounce spells like Pongify and removal such as Beast Within to disrupt opponents' key creatures and artifacts, attempting to stall the board state.

• 4

  Zaxara's focus on casting high X-cost spells allowed for a rapid growth of hydras, building a resilient board capable of swinging the game in her favor if unchecked.

Notable Cards

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  Impact Tremors

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  Sword of the Animist

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  Sword of Sinew and Steel

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  Pongify

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  Beast Within

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  Wildwood Scourge

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  Razor Swine

• 

  Howling Mine

Summary

The game featured four commanders with distinct strategies clashing in a dynamic early-game. Zaxara focused on casting spells with X in their cost to generate a large board of Hydras and potentially close out the game through infinite combos. Jeleva aimed to quickly cast her commander and leverage free, powerful spells alongside extra turn effects to overwhelm opponents. Snapdax utilized Mardu infect creatures combined with equipment to spread poison counters rapidly, threatening to eliminate players through infect damage. Meanwhile, Xyris sought to generate value by encouraging card draws for all players, which in turn created an ever-growing army of snakes and incremental advantage. Early turns saw Snapdax aggressively distributing poison counters while Zaxara and Xyris built their boards and card draw engines. A key turning point occurred when Xyris cast Puzzle Box and Impact Tremors, creating a powerful engine that drew cards and dealt damage, fueling snake token generation. Jeleva's attempts to disrupt the board with targeted removal and bounce spells like Pongify and Beast Within temporarily slowed the momentum. However, the game increasingly revolved around managing the escalating board states and poison counters, with Snapdax maintaining pressure through infect creatures and Zaxara developing a threatening hydra swarm. The interplay between token generation, removal, and incremental damage shaped the mid-game dynamics, setting the stage for potential combo finishes or overwhelming board presence.