Deck & Commander Strategies
Winota, Joiner of Forces
Utilizes her ability to attack with non-human creatures to cheat human and human-related creatures onto the battlefield, creating rapid board presence and overwhelming opponents with tempo and disruption.
Krark, the Thumbless / Sakashima of a Thousand Faces
Focuses on casting multiple spells to build a high storm count, copying Krark's spell replication to generate explosive mana and storm effects for a combo finish.
Thrasios, Triton Hero / Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder
A ramp and value engine deck aiming to establish layered combos by assembling pieces through card advantage and mana acceleration to win mid-to-late game.
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Thrasios, Triton Hero / Vial Smasher the Fierce
Control-oriented deck that leverages disruption and card advantage engines to stabilize the board and outvalue opponents, aiming for a strong late-game finish.
Gameplay Insights
- 1
Winota's multiple triggers during combat allowed Mike to cheat in several impactful creatures, significantly increasing board presence and pressure early.
- 2
Greg's strategic use of Deathrite Shaman to exile key spells like Rite of Flame and Gitaxian Probe slowed down Noah's storm development.
- 3
Mike's use of Solitude as an evoked instant to exile Vial Smasher disrupted Greg's board and prevented further damage or control plays.
- 4
Noah's creation of seven treasures via Dockside Extortionist demonstrated a potential explosive mana ramp, but was temporarily hindered by Drannith Magistrate locking down his commander.
- 5
The interaction between control elements like Flame Sweep and counters such as Delay and Spell Pierce highlighted the high level of interaction and timing skill in this pod.
- 6
Use of cards like Mystic Remora and Esper Sentinel across multiple players provided card advantage but also influenced pacing by taxing opponents on noncreature spells.
Notable Cards
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Winota, Joiner of Forces
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Solitude
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Dockside Extortionist
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Mystic Remora
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Deathrite Shaman
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Flame Sweep
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Ethersworn Canonist
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Recruiter of the Guard
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Keen Sense
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Chain of Vapor
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Drannith Magistrate
Gameplay Summary
The game featured a competitive cEDH pod with four decks, each piloted by experienced players using distinct strategies.
The early game was marked by aggressive development and strategic disruption.
Mike on Winota, Joiner of Forces, quickly established board presence by casting Winota and triggering multiple attacks to cheat in impactful creatures like Ethersworn Canonist and Recruiter of the Guard, setting up a strong tempo advantage.
Noah piloted a Krark/Sakashima storm deck, aiming to build a massive storm count through spellcasting and copying Krark to generate explosive mana bursts, although he was temporarily slowed by board control elements.
Shaun on Thrasios/Bruse focused on ramp and advantage engines, deploying cards like Mystic Remora and Devoted Druid to prepare for layered combos.
Greg piloted Thrasios/Vial Smasher, blending control and card advantage to stabilize and reach a late-game win condition, which was challenged early by Winota’s aggression and the threat of Noah’s storm potential. Key turning points included Mike's ability to cheat multiple creatures into play with Winota's triggers, leveraging aggressive attacks to pressure opponents and find disruptive tools like Solitude.
Greg’s use of Deathrite Shaman to exile key cards and Flame Sweep to clear the board momentarily slowed the tempo.
Meanwhile, Noah generated significant treasure tokens with Dockside Extortionist, although board lockdown from Drannith Magistrate hindered his immediate plans.
The game unfolded as a series of tempo swings and interaction, with players balancing development, disruption, and combo setup.
The eventual win condition appeared to revolve around the storm deck or layered combos from Thrasios/Bruse, but the aggressive Winota deck's early pressure heavily influenced the flow of the match.
![Table tries to thwart the Thrasios threat [S2G5] ROG|THRAS v WINOTA v KRARK|SAKASHIMA v FIRST SLIVER thumbnail](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m4KJ4kk9SOg/sddefault.jpg)
