This past Tuesday, I met up with Dan, Noah, and Matt at Assembly Brewing on Foster Road in Portland, Oregon. Over the next few hours, we played two games of Commander/EDH and a round of 60-card Legacy.

Dihada Commander Deck Playtest: Binder of Wills at Assembly Brewing

It was my first time piloting the Dihada Commander deck I’d been working on for the last three months. Overall, I feel good about the mana requirements and the deck’s construction. Dihada is an incredibly powerful mana engine thanks to the creation of treasure tokens with her second ability.

In the first game, I wasn’t leaning heavily into the deck’s ability to search for answers. I was more focused on catching up with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time, so I wasn’t paying particularly close attention to the board state. I made a few swings but didn’t execute any major plays. Matt ended up stealing my win condition, but it gave me a chance to get a feel for everyone’s decks.

It was in the second game that I really went for a Breach combo play. Unfortunately, after three searches and a dump using Lion’s Eye Diamond, I realized I had forgotten to include Anger in the deck, a critical oversight that would’ve enabled the win.

For the 60-card Legacy games, I faced off against Noah while piloting a blue, black, green, and red control deck. I didn’t win any matches, but considering how long it’s been since I played (especially at the level Noah is used to) I felt like I played relatively well.

Overall, it was a great evening in a low-pressure environment. I think we all had a good time. I also tried Assembly Brewing’s Doublin’in Dublin stout, which was surprisingly good. Too often, American brewers attempting a Guinness-style stout make them either far too bitter or overly rich and chocolatey, but this one had a nice finish and wasn’t bitter at all. It was very well done.