I honestly haven't seen any video footage online of this build of Zedruu apart from the game I played.PetrusTen wrote: ↑2 years agoIs anyone aware of other playgroup videos (besides Muddstah) of people playing this jank/combo type of Zedruu? I'm sure there are plenty of bad gift Zedruu vids. It was super helpful to watch others pilot Zedruu because it reinforced the idea (as the primer says) that this deck NEEDS to go off...and sometimes it simply doesn't. The Nikos Barren Glory win was awesome. I would have really struggled to piece that together. I'm not crazy about the Helm of Obedience combo with RIP, although it at least needs a tap to work. Some people in my group have run infinite Altar of Dementia combos where the whole board loses at once. Not fun, IMO.
/edit One thing that slightly disappoints me about Zedruu is that the donate ability feels very underutilized in these builds (seemed to be the case in the gameplay videos too). It makes Zedruu feel like an after thought and whether he's really a relevant commander, save for the occasional combo like Dissipation Field.
This build is quite rare because it requires a very particular playstyle, takes tonnes of thinking to build and even more time to master all its synergies and interactions. Also Zedruu is not a recommended commander to play online on camera, since donating permanents is not easy when you can't actually give the card to your opponent and they have to resort to drawings, etc.
Zedruu is one of those commanders that can be build in different ways. F.e. Muddstah's build is an enchantress one, totally different than tstorm's. There are plenty of Bad Gifts or grouphugs Zedruu to find online as well. We have even seen Zedruu Lands here! And of course this build, the "4-card combo GOAT" one. I wouldn't be surprised if more Zedruu variations exist, like stax. I think you are a little harsh on the underuse of Zedruu's ability though. Both this build and the most usual ones use the donations to a great extend, either it is for CA (tstorm's), political tool (Grouphug) or wincon (bad gifts). F.e. in my recorded game, I drew 8 cards from donations, which is usually enough for this deck to seal the deal. This couldn't have been done with other commanders on the helm. Zedruu's ability is perhaps a bit overcosted, but the card drawing potential is not something to be taken lightly!