It's been a hectic first half to the season in still balmy Cardiff, with Edinburgh up against it for large chunks of the opening quarter but growing into things as the game has gone on.
The Blues set out their stall to play front foot rugby from the offing, and the visiting defence has had to endure regular bouts of pressure.
The capital outfit went behind seven minutes in when old foe Dan Parks slotted over a penalty awarded for not rolling away.
Cardiff kept up the heat and soon had a try for their efforts as the ball was worked swiftly from the left-hand side to the onrushing Bradley Davies via a mean-faced surge from the powerful Maama Molitika.
We then had the unfamiliar sight of Chris Paterson missing a kick at goal, albeit in agonisingly marginal fashion.
The full-back, making his first competitive appearance since sustaining damage to his kidney at the nearby Millennium Stadium seven months ago, made amends shortly afterwards after Cardiff were penalised in the scrum.
The set-piece was where Edinburgh enjoyed arguably their best returns, the all-international front row often turning the screw on their Cardiff counterparts.
Rob Moffat's side were seeing plenty of the ball by this stage, forwards and backs alike combining to send Ben Cairns gunning for the left corner in one memorable episode. The centre was pulled up just short, however, and the move subsequently lost momentum.
The Blues had rather shown the way in terms of incisive finishing, wing Tom James dotting down a second score after a simple chip-and-chase wrought havoc down the Edinburgh right.
Paterson reduced the deficit with a second penalty, but when the visitors were pinged for an apparent crossing, Parks stepped up to land a challenging kick from out on the left touchline.
This blow-for-blow match-up between two of Scotland's frontline kickers continued just before the interval, Paterson notching a third penalty, this time from left of centre.
HALF TIME: BLUES 20-9 EDINBURGH
