Background Noise - EDH Gameplay Breakdown - Decked Out
It turns out everyone is playing Baldur's Gate, including the cast of Decked Out. Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate has continued to surprise with its number of Commander staples, so MTGNerdGirl and VeggieWagon are joined by PeachyPop and Vi to re-examine the Background mechanic and see how far they can push it in the latest episode of Decked Out.
Tiefling Muscle Girlfriend
Peachy is here to turn cards sideways with a combat-focused Karlach build. Adding Agent of the Shadow Thieves ensures that every attack is safe in order to trigger Karlach's additional combat ability, and in turn Karlach gets double counters from her Background. And why stop at two combat phases? Bloodthirster, Breath of Fury, and Scourge of the Throne all contribute extra swings to make any one of Peachy's turns a brutal one. Naturally, with all these attacks, creatures like Etali, Primal Storm and Sardian Avenger get to trigger multiple times, too. Will Peachy swing things in her favor, or will the Shadow Thieves betray her?
Blink and You'll Mystic
Vi's preferred commander style is "optimized clowning," and pairing Imoen with Far Traveler defines exactly what they mean. The deck is designed to blitz through the Undercity by blinking creatures like Radiant Solar and White Plume Adventurer, hoping to find epic loot in the Throne of the Dead Three. Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines herself could speed things along, and Hama Pashar, Ruin Seeker doubles the value from every room of the dungeon. Blink deck staples, like Oblivion Ring and Preston, the Vanisher, round out the deck. Can Vi dungeon-dive to victory, or will they roll a critical miss on initiative?
The Ellyn Show
NerdGirl opens up her token toolbox by turning Ellyn into a Cultist of the Absolute. Whenever she pumps out a bunch of tokens with Elenda, the Dusk Rose or Defiler of Faith, she also gets to dig through her deck for the perfect answer to whatever is threatening her. If she can't find what she wants, Thousand-Year Elixir or Drumbellower can allow her to activate Ellyn multiple times in a turn cycle. Many of her best answers also leave her with an army of creature tokens, like Blot Out the Sky and Necrotic Hex. Can NerdGirl gain a cult following, or will Ellyn get cancelled?
Giant Mana
Veggie is gonna need a bigger book when he adds Raised by Giants as the Background for Vhal. This sets up a big influx of mana that can't be spent on spells from hand, but there are many ways to get around that problem, like casting from the library with Future Sight or spending it on abilities like Gemstone Array. With all that power, it's hard to not include some of the spicier outlets for mana, like Staff of Domination and Sword of the Paruns. Will Veggie join the Decked Out infinite combo club, or is he too big for his britches?
How It All Went Down
Lil' Duders - The Early Game
Each of the four players starts off with small drops that are perfect for their deck and strategy. Veggie has Zimone, Quandrix Prodigy, an ideal outlet for extra mana and late-game card draw. Peachy drops Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar, ensuring her incoming Karlach damage will be spread to all her opponents. Vi casts a Ranger's Hawk, setting up easy ventures deeper into the Undercity. And NerdGirl has Wernog, Rider's Chaplain to create some Clue tokens once her commander is out. After Peachy suits up Kediss with some Lightning Greaves signaling an impending Karlach, Vi takes the Initiative with an Aarakocra Sneak and starts gaining card advantage with their commander Imoen, Mystic Trickster and a Dungeon Delver.
Combat Campaign - The Mid Game
Karlach, Fury of Avernus's grand appearance is backed up by Agent of the Shadow Thieves and Greaves, smacking Veggie for 6 damage before getting chump-blocked on the second swing. Out of nowhere, Vi turbo-ventures to the final room of the Undercity with a combination of Sarevok's Tome and White Plume Adventurer, hitting the jackpot with a Radiant Solar and Brago, King Eternal from the doubled dungeon trigger. NerdGirl can only hope for the future with a Halo Fountain and some value enchantments. Veggie finds a solid setup with a buffed Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher, The Reality Chip, and a Prismite, but he can't convert that into anything to impact the board on his turn.
The Real Threat - The End Game
With an untargetable Karlach imbued with Unquenchable Fury, Peachy pushes massive damage on the table, knocking everyone to their last 10-15 life. Vi's incredible engine, however, allows them to hit enough dungeon rooms to eliminate Peachy through life loss. Now, NerdGirl and Veggie face down a battlefield full of big creatures, blink effects, and dungeon triggers. It takes all of their resources to slow Vi down, and in a miracle top deck, NerdGirl finally evens the field with a Martial Coup. With the help of Drumbellower, she manages to squeak through some damage without leaving herself open and steals the win.
By the Numbers
Dungeons completed: 6
Peachy Combats: 8
Big mana payoffs: 0
Big rips off the top: 1
Watch the full episode here so Veggie can romance Karlach instead of getting smashed by her.
