<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Witherbloom, the Balancer" href="#" target="_blank">Witherbloom, the Balancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.rahnart.com/prints/p/witherbloom-the-balancer">Chris Rahn</a></em></p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><em>Photo provided by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/freedomwaffle/">Evan Pierce</a></em></p>
<p>On Sunday, August 23, one of the largest cEDH tournaments in the history of the format came to a stunning conclusion. <a href="https://www.breachthebay.com/">Breach the Bay 2</a> was held in San Mateo, California, with a massive 429 players competing. Standing tall at the end of it all wasn't a format juggernaut — not Blue Farm, or RogSi, or a relative up-and-comer like Vivi Ornitier.</p>
<p>Instead, the tournament was won by a relatively fringe homebrew: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Witherbloom, the Balancer" href="#" target="_blank">Witherbloom, the Balancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. So, what does the deck do, and why did Andrei Blanton — winner of Breach the Bay 2 — bring it to California? Let's dive in, with help from the champion Andrei Blanton himself, who chatted about his recent win and the deck that secured him the gold.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Witherbloom, the Balancer"></div></div>
<div id="attachment_192048" style="width: 1810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV05629-715669ac.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-192048" class="size-full wp-image-192048" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV05629-715669ac.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV05629-715669ac.jpg 1800w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV05629-715669ac-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV05629-715669ac-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV05629-715669ac-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV05629-715669ac-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-192048" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong>Tournament winner Andrei Blanton (far left) poses with the rest of the Finalists. (Photo by Evan Pierce)</strong></span></p></div>
<h2>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Witherbloom, the Balancer" href="#" target="_blank">Witherbloom, the Balancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Do?</h2>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-6" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, per Andrei, Witherbloom, the Balancer "solves Golgari's cEDH problems." A legendary 5/5 Elder Dragon creature with flying and deathtouch, Witherbloom brings with it cost reduction afforded by its affinity for creatures — a cost reduction effect that Witherbloom also extends to all your instants and sorceries.</p>
<p>This cost reduction allows Witherbloom to play multiple angles at the same time. Doubling the value of mana dorks is already naturally potent — I mean, just look to how powerful <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy" href="#" target="_blank">Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is when it comes to making the most of your mana dorks — but where Witherbloom really thrives is in amassing a boardstate of threatening creatures that wouldn't normally add mana, but now effectively do thanks to that affinity clause.</p>
<p>The fact that Witherbloom both has affinity itself and, once resolved, grants it to your instants and sorceries, gets to the heart of "Golgari's problem." Traditionally, Golgari plays mana dorks essentially as a requisite to keeping up with the cEDH table — not actually as an edge of the strategy. Here, however, those mana dorks (and other small creatures) provide value at all points of the game and are central to the deck's game-winning strategy.</p>
<p>Slamming down a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Birds of Paradise" href="#" target="_blank">Birds of Paradise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Gitrog Monster" href="#" target="_blank">The Gitrog Monster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> accelerates you one mana per turn; slamming a Birds of Paradise here counts as two mana towards your commander and, once Witherbloom comes down, makes every other relevant spell cheaper. It might not be turbo, but that's about as proactive as a mana dork can possibly be.</p>
<p>Looking to the broader cEDH arena, this proactive take on midrange — that is, Witherbloom's solution to Golgari's dilemma — was a key reason Andrei brought this deck to the tournament. "Witherbloom does a great job setting up early in a way that lets it play proactively against both midrange and turbo decks," said Andrei in our interview. "I knew Breach the Bay 2 was going to be full of proactive decks, and this deck is able to both keep pace with their resource accrual and throw out creature-based roadblocks along the way."</p>
<div id="attachment_192049" style="width: 1810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02992-4e84e564.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-192049" class="size-full wp-image-192049" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02992-4e84e564.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02992-4e84e564.jpg 1800w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02992-4e84e564-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02992-4e84e564-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02992-4e84e564-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02992-4e84e564-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-192049" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong>The 400+ players of Breach the Bay 2 (Photo by Evan Pierce)</strong></span></p></div>
<h2>Key Cards for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Witherbloom, the Balancer" href="#" target="_blank">Witherbloom, the Balancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<h3>Lock-Out Creatures</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dauthi Voidwalker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Collector Ouphe"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Opposition Agent"></div></div>
<p>Many cEDH decks these days are resource-maximizing, building out more and more toward the "<a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/its-time-to-talk-about-slop-in-cedh">slop</a>" archetype that wins by hoarding resources, rather than disrupting opposing strategies. Since Witherbloom's affinity clause cares about the number of creatures you control, not the text of those creatures <em>per se</em>, this lets the deck effectively play both angles at once. "<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dauthi Voidwalker" href="#" target="_blank">Dauthi Voidwalker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Collector Ouphe" href="#" target="_blank">Collector Ouphe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Opposition Agent" href="#" target="_blank">Opposition Agent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are all backbreaking creatures that most decks can't effectively deal with these days," said Andrei. Currently, these are cards that most decks cut simply because they don't immediately put the controller up on resources. With Witherbloom's affinity that's far from the case, making these cards all-stars.</p>
<h3>High-Impact Instants and Sorceries</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stinging Study"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Last March of the Ents"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dark Petition"></div></div>
<p>Witherbloom's army of many creatures sets up the game; this deck's slew of high-impact instants and sorceries closes it out. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stinging Study" href="#" target="_blank">Stinging Study</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Last March of the Ents" href="#" target="_blank">Last March of the Ents</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark Petition" href="#" target="_blank">Dark Petition</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are all the kinds of spells that readily convert an excess of mana (or, in this deck's case, an excess of creatures) into an absurd imbalance of resources between you and your opponents.</p>
<p>Stinging Study is frequently <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to draw eight cards at instant speed, Last March of the Ents draws at minimum five cards — frequently for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> — and dumps as many creatures as you can count into play, while Dark Petition is a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark Ritual" href="#" target="_blank">Dark Ritual</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. If those don't sound like cEDH game-enders, then I don't know what does.</p>
<div id="attachment_192053" style="width: 1810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02956-e4dc82d7.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-192053" class="wp-image-192053 size-full" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02956-e4dc82d7.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02956-e4dc82d7.jpg 1800w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02956-e4dc82d7-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02956-e4dc82d7-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02956-e4dc82d7-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LAV02956-e4dc82d7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-192053" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong>Photo provided by Evan Pierce.</strong></span></p></div>
<h2>How Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Witherbloom, the Balancer" href="#" target="_blank">Witherbloom, the Balancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Win?</h2>
<h3>Razaketh Toolbox</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Razaketh, the Foulblooded"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sprout Swarm"></div></div>
<p>At its core, this is a Razaketh toolbox deck. While Razaketh, the Foulblooded isn't a win in and of itself the way something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is, there's a clear sequence of activations once Razaketh has resolved that makes it pretty hard for your opponents to stop you from subsequently tutoring up a closer of your choice. To understand why, let's look at the usual first-find off of a Razaketh activation: Sprout Swarm.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Sprout Swarm is an instant with convoke and buyback <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> which creates a 1/1 green Saproling creature token upon resolution. When discounted by Witherbloom, however, this is effectively an instant-speed infinitely large army of tapped Saprolings, as controlling four creatures is enough to pay for the buyback cost as well as the <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> already present in Sprout Swarm's mana cost. Pair that with convoke and voilà — you've got a spell that creates exactly the token you'd want to tap when you recast it the next go around.</p>
<p>What this means for Razaketh is that you can pay 2 life and sacrifice another creature to find Sprout Swarm, then use Sprout Swarm to create an infinite army of tapped Saprolings. Each Saproling then serves as sacrifice fodder for Razaketh as you pick key cards — Aristocrats closers à la <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marionette Apprentice" href="#" target="_blank">Marionette Apprentice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER" href="#" target="_blank">Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, interaction, etc. — out of your deck.</p>
<p>"Razaketh just closes out so many points of interaction," said Andrei. "Once Razaketh's down, there's just so little your opponents can do, because you can always activate it over-top [of any opposing interaction]."</p>
<p>Almost nothing stops a creature spell these days, save for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Will" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, so the only trick with Razaketh is getting it into play in the first place. But, if there's one thing this deck is good at, it's making mana — and Razaketh puts it to good use.</p>
<h2>Andrei's Witherbloom cEDH Deck List from Breach the Bay 2</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Andrei Blanton&#039;s Witherbloom cEDH Deck" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Witherbloom, the Balancer
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Abrupt Decay
*1 Cabal Ritual
*1 Chord of Calling
*1 Corpse Dance
*1 Crop Rotation
*1 Culling the Weak
*1 Dark Ritual
*1 Deadly Rollick
*1 Dismember
*1 Entomb
*1 Force of Vigor
*1 Imp&#039;s Mischief
*1 Krosan Grip
*1 Legolas&#039;s Quick Reflexes
*1 Lethal Scheme
*1 Noxious Revival
*1 Saw in Half
*1 Sprout Swarm
*1 Stinging Study
*1 Tainted Pact
*1 Vampiric Tutor
*1 Veil of Summer
[/Instants]
[Creatures]
*1 Allosaurus Shepherd
*1 Arasta of the Endless Web
*1 Badgermole Cub
*1 Birds of Paradise
*1 Braids, Arisen Nightmare
*1 Chatterfang, Squirrel General
*1 Collector Ouphe
*1 Dauthi Voidwalker
*1 Deathrite Shaman
*1 Delighted Halfling
*1 Disciple of Freyalise // Garden of Freyalise
*1 Dryad Arbor
*1 Elves of Deep Shadow
*1 Elvish Mystic
*1 Elvish Spirit Guide
*1 Enduring Vitality
*1 Eternal Witness
*1 Formidable Speaker
*1 Fyndhorn Elves
*1 Hoarding Broodlord
*1 K&#039;rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
*1 Llanowar Elves
*1 Marionette Apprentice
*1 Opposition Agent
*1 Orcish Bowmasters
*1 Razaketh, the Foulblooded
*1 Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER // Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel
*1 Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu
*1 Springheart Nantuko
*1 Sylvan Safekeeper
*1 The Cabbage Merchant
*1 Wandering Archaic // Explore the Vastlands
*1 Warren Soultrader
*1 Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*1 Beseech the Queen
*1 Culling Ritual
*1 Dark Petition
*1 Demonic Tutor
*1 Finale of Devastation
*1 Green Sun&#039;s Zenith
*1 Last March of the Ents
*1 Life // Death
*1 Lively Dirge
*1 Nature&#039;s Rhythm
*1 Praetor&#039;s Grasp
*1 Yawgmoth&#039;s Will
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Chrome Mox
*1 Lotus Petal
*1 Mana Vault
*1 Mox Diamond
*1 Sol Ring
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Lurking Predators
*1 Necropotence
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 Bayou
*1 Bloodstained Mire
*1 Boseiju, Who Endures
*1 City of Brass
*1 City of Traitors
*1 Command Tower
*1 Emergence Zone
*1 Forbidden Orchard
*1 Gaea&#039;s Cradle
*1 Gemstone Caverns
*1 Mana Confluence
*1 Marsh Flats
*1 Misty Rainforest
*1 Nurturing Peatland
*1 Overgrown Tomb
*1 Polluted Delta
*1 Shifting Woodland
*1 Swamp
*1 Talon Gates of Madara
*1 Underground Mortuary
*1 Verdant Catacombs
*1 Windswept Heath
*1 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p>Well folks, that's the breakdown on the deck that won one of cEDH's biggest tournaments ever — not Blue Farm, not RogSi, but a homebrew tuned to the maximum and piloted excellently.</p>
<p>For live updates on Andrei's deck, check out <a href="https://moxfield.com/decks/05oZVnIK4EOL5O3A6osldQ">here,</a> and thanks for reading!</p>


andrei blanton

The Homebrew That Won One of cEDH's Biggest Tournaments