Taking Kaalia for a Spin

Last Tuesday at the SM North food court, I played Commander with my friends Garry, Ernest, Simion, and Lippy.  We completed four games, enjoying each one for the variety of situations it presented and the challenges inherent in defeating a diverse group of generals.  Garry had Kaarthus and Sygg, Ernest Grand Arbiter Agustin, Simion Reiko and Lippy Tajic.  I went with Kaalia, of course.

Against Garry and Simion

My opening hand included Master of Cruelties and Cataclysm.  On the fourth turn, I landed Kaalia and luckily no one had removal.  The next turn I cast Cataclysm before attacking Garry.  This triggered her ability and the Master came down to put him at one life.  After drawing nothing relevant for two turns, Garry and Simion conceded.

Nothing beats the Commander format for fun.

Against Garry, Simion, and Ernest

Once again, Master of Cruelties made an appearance but this time via a Quicksilver Amulet.  With the first striking, deathtouch demon on the battlefield, I eliminated both Ernest and Simion.  Garry, however, was able to gum up the ground with several merfolk lords including Sygg.  I tried to lock Garry out of cards with a Sire of Insanity but he drew way better than I did and he eventually bounced my creatures with an overloaded Cyclonic Rift to attack for exactly lethal.

Garry is deciding where to send his dragon army.

Against Garry, Simion, Ernest, and Lippy

Lippy got off to a quick start, building an army of tokens with Assemble the Legion.  This worried Ernest and he took it upon himself to patrol Lippy's movements.  On the other hand, Simion, Garry and I were just content to develop our board and sculpt our hand.  When the opportunity arose, I cast Kaalia and equipped her with Lightning Greaves before I attacked Garry.  He was nonplussed by this because he had a bunch of big creatures to defend him.  My general dropped Hellkite Tyrant onto the table and the trampling dragon dealt combat damage to him which meant that I would gain control of his Gilded Lotus, Sol Ring, and Quicksilver Amulet.  The extra mana his artifacts provided enabled me to fetch my combo comprised of Grand Abolisher, Cataclysm and Faith's Reward with Diabolic Revelation.  At this point, everyone had left their mana open to counter and disrupt my finishing move.  However, I used the Amulet to cheat the Abolisher into play and resolved my combo unimpeded for the win.

Ernest is the papa of all grand arbiters.

Against Garry, Simion, and Lippy

Simion came out of the gates quickly with a Dragon Broodmother.  Garry then used Kaarthus to steal the baby dragon-making machine.  Uncharacteristically, I took on the role of control player by resetting the board with Akroma's Vengeance.  Then I sent Gisela and Aurelia to work on Garry's life total which went down precipitously.  But Simion killed my angels so I wasn't able to finish off Garry.  It was Lippy who did.  Simion was defenseless against Lippy's onslaught and succumbed soon thereafter.  I tried to gain the upper hand with a Living Death and succeeded.  To put Lippy away, I plunked down Havoc Festival and Wound Reflection but he topdecked Austere Command to save himself.  We battled back and forth to a standstill with him at one life and me at three.  Unfortunately for him he didn't have a flyer and Kaalia was able to strike at him from the air. 

Simion always has a cute combo hiding somewhere.

Upon reflection, I discovered how vital Grand Abolisher, Quicksilver Amulet, Cataclysm, and Master of Cruelties were to get around countermagic, to put an opponent on life support, and to destroy everyone's resources while leaving enough for me to win.  Also, my manabase left a lot to be desired.  In two of the games, I missed land drops which put a lot of pressure on me to catch up with the others.  Lastly, I needed more means to draw cards or tutor for them.