Deck & Commander Strategies
Marneus Calgar
Generate multiple tokens via Marneus Calgar's abilities and other token producers like Smothering Tithe and Lorthos to create a large board presence, generate treasures for ramp, and draw cards to outvalue opponents and assemble combos or win conditions.
Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
Utilize a resilient midrange build focusing on mana dorks and haste enablers to maintain early board presence and ramp, leveraging powerful legendary creatures for value and control in a post-ban meta that restricts previous fast combo staples.
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh
Aggressive mono-red strategy focused on dealing damage quickly through combat and burn spells, disrupting opponents, and capitalizing on fast mana and tempo to close the game early.
The Jolly Balloon Man
Employ a token-based strategy with a focus on generating threats and controlling the board state through utility and synergy with tokens to overwhelm opponents incrementally.
Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
Leverage artifact synergies with Silas Renn to recur important artifacts from the graveyard, maintain card advantage and board presence, and use combo or value artifacts to secure victory.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Marneus Calgar’s token generation combined with treasure production created a powerful engine that allowed sustained card draw and resource advantage in the mid-to-late game.
- 2
Sisay's adaptation to the ban list by turning creatures into mana dorks and adding haste enablers helped maintain early game tempo despite losing powerful combo enablers like Dockside Extortionist.
- 3
Players demonstrated resilience by revising their decks to fit the post-ban meta, focusing on midrange and value-based strategies rather than pure combo reliance.
- 4
The removal of key fast mana and combo pieces led to longer games with more interaction and board development before the critical combos or win conditions could be established.
- 5
Token production played a pivotal role in establishing board dominance, both for generating threats and for producing mana and card advantage.
Notable Cards
-
Marneus Calgar
-
Smothering Tithe
-
Lorthos, the Tidemaker
-
Lion's Eye Diamond
-
Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
-
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh
-
The Jolly Balloon Man
-
Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
Gameplay Summary
The game featured a competitive four-player cEDH match with Sisay, Weatherlight Captain; Marneus Calgar; Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh; and The Jolly Balloon Man as commanders.
Early turns were focused on ramping and setting up critical engines, with Marneus Calgar’s player aiming to leverage token generation and card draw via his abilities and complementary creatures like Smothering Tithe and Lorthos.
Sisay's player adapted to the post-ban meta by converting many creatures into mana dorks and adding haste enablers to maintain tempo despite the loss of key cards like Dockside Extortionist.
The game saw a series of strategic plays revolving around token production, resource accumulation, and disruption of opponents’ combos.
Key moments included Marneus Calgar establishing a strong board presence with tokens that also generated treasures, enabling sustained card draw to outvalue opponents, while Sisay’s deck focused on resilient midrange plays and utility creatures to maintain pressure and control.
The game underscored how the new bans shifted the meta toward more midrange and combo-hybrid strategies rather than pure combo, with players dynamically adjusting their decks and gameplay to the evolving environment.
Ultimately, the Marneus Calgar player’s ability to generate tokens continuously, draw cards, and produce treasures served as a powerful engine to dominate the late game.
