Drawing on the powerful mana that surges through the roiling land, Zendikar's forces have joined together to defend their plane.
The Eldrazi titans, trapped for thousands of years, have broken their bonds. Now their numberless spawn begin to overrun Zendikar.
Can Zendikar resist this onslaught? Or will the Eldrazi triumph?
Deck Design and Deck Development: Chris Millar and Sam Stoddard
Twitter Hashtag: #MTGZVE
Languages Available: English, Japanese
Release Date: August 28, 2015
MSRP: $19.99
Quite possibly one of the most exciting duel decks, at least in my opinion. I've been predicting/dreaming of this product for quite awhile now. In my dreaming, I have created some deck lists to speculate on what kinds of cards we will be seeing in this product. I wanted to get a general feel for what everyone believes we could see. I'll post my decklists below, along with some reasoning as to the color choices/card choices. I also want all of you to post your ideas and comments! Feel free to discuss.
EldraziRG
As the Eldrazi, your goal is to play your biggest baddest monsters. Ramp into the titans using the lowly spawns to overrun the battlefield, using them as blockers when needed or mana ramp to accelerate. Additionally, you can transform your spawn into a monstrous army with Overrun and Brood Warden. When the moment is right, drop your Eldrazi. I chose Emrakul because I thought he summed up the Eldrazi Titan's the most, although I could see Ulamog in his place here. Additionally, with the rarity shift of All is Dust and Eldrazi temple in modern masters 2015, I am wondering if we could see those in here.
I am still working out colors and a decklist for Zendikar. I imagine it will have landfall elements and probably kicker as well, but other thn that it is kind of hard for me to pinpoint. Any suggestions would be great!
Too many dupes in the deck for a duel deck these days... Unfortunately. Most cards are 1 of. VERY few, like 2 from each deck, have more than 1 of in the deck.
I do foresee a green mana ramp Eldrazi deck.
For Zen.... I also see a green deck with a hydra coming out swinging at the Eldrazi. Maybe even something with Bant.
In the end, I hope one of the Eldrazi (or Sorin) takes out Nissa.
So I had made some casual decks back in the days of Zendies v Eldrazies.
SO EXCITED THIS IS HAPPENING!!! I am personally in love with the set and everything it had. my god.
Anyways, I figure thematically the Zendikar deck would go either nature fights back or explorers defend. This one I had done is Nature fighting back
And then my Eldrazi deck , being the poor sod that I am, has no legendaries. And it makes no sense to put any legendaries at all unless you have all three or each eldrazi creature is of the chosen Legend's lineage. Thus, I think the Eldrazi deck will have no legends and instead focus on the swarm. Better than the overuns would be obelisk of Urd and Eldy Monument because it goes with the Lovecraft worship theme.
Act 3: Some idiot had phyrexian oil on their shoes and suddenly there goes the neighborhood, Emrakul the Compleat triggers his transformed flip side, soulbonds with Nicol Bolas, and annihilinfects the Plane, creating new card frames in the process.
Act 3: Some idiot had phyrexian oil on their shoes and suddenly there goes the neighborhood, Emrakul the Compleat triggers his transformed flip side, soulbonds with Nicol Bolas, and annihilinfects the Plane, creating new card frames in the process.
Some things to consider when home brewing this one to speculate:
Each DD will have at most 3 cards that are 2x, including the cards in the mana base.
Based on the last few DD's, they tend to have mostly 1 of's in them. Very VERY few cards are 2 in the deck. The Jace deck (in Jace vs. V) had 2X Krovikan Mist, 2x Thought Scour, and 2x Halimar Depths. Vraska's deck had 2x Gatecreeper Vine, 2x Tragic Slip, and 2x Tainted Wood (THANK YOU FOR THIS REPRINT!!!!!!111). The rest were 1 of cards.
For the mana base, in ZvE, it will be 24 lands in each deck - mostly be basic land cards, 2x Evolving Wilds, and 2x something else - IF they are being magnanimous. If we are thrown the ultimate bone, the Eldrazi deck will have all unique cards for the creatures and spells. The lands will be 2x each of the Urza lands, 2x Evolving Wilds, 8x forests, and 8x mountains for you total of 24 lands - which has been the norm. Calling R/G Eldrazi ramp.
Therefore, I pre-ordered a whole display form my LGS.
You know, I'm wondering if there isn't a chance that Gideon or Nissa might appear as the face Mythic of the Zendikar deck. Normally I'd say PWs only appear as face cards in PW vs. PW decks, but when the opposing faction is Eldrazi, a PW really doesn't seem so inappropriate. Gideon Jura or Nissa, Worldwaker seem like the best picks, Nissa moreso because of Zendikar's likely landfall theme. But Avenger of Zendikar and Soul of Zendikar are still good options too.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Avenger of Zendikar is a good option for a mythic, but I think Onmat, and Vengevine could also be possible choices. As for the Eldrazi side of the equation, the titans just got reprinted and All is Dust is now rare, so I doubt either of those four is the mythic, which would leave Eldrazi Monument as the last Eldrazi-related mythic, assuming we don't get a new Eldrazi as the face of the deck.
You know, I'm wondering if there isn't a chance that Gideon or Nissa might appear as the face Mythic of the Zendikar deck. Normally I'd say PWs only appear as face cards in PW vs. PW decks, but when the opposing faction is Eldrazi, a PW really doesn't seem so inappropriate. Gideon Jura or Nissa, Worldwaker seem like the best picks, Nissa moreso because of Zendikar's likely landfall theme. But Avenger of Zendikar and Soul of Zendikar are still good options too.
If we get a PW as the face of the Zendikar deck, it'll probably be Gideon, since it looks like he'll be the face of the block.
Do the duel decks ever contain mythics outside of the two "face" cards?
No.
Has there ever been a face card that was a none creature?
And just because the the three eldrazi titans were printed in MM2015 does not mean that one of them will not be printed in the duel deck, (It would be a low blow though for anyone who blows +$40 on one of them). The MM sets, in theory, are supposed to reduce the price of certain cards.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I can't help but to think the Zendikar deck will focus on something less insular than Allies. I mean, I guess you could use Changelings to expand the range of Allies in the deck, but that doesn't seem like a particularly exciting precon idea. I'm thinking Landfall, Kicker, and/or Level up for the Zendikar deck. Indeed, we have to remember that ZvE is a Duel Decks product and thus will feature reprints from across Magic history, which leaves me curious as to which non-Zendikar block cards will be chosen for each deck.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I will admit you might be right about the allies not being the focus. But the descriptions we get for the two warring sides should be taken as major hints of what to expect.
Drawing on the powerful mana that surges through the roiling land, Zendikar's forces have joined together to defend their plane.
The Eldrazi titans, trapped for thousands of years, have broken their bonds. Now their numberless spawn begin to overrun Zendikar.
One thing to keep in mind is the Duel decks that come before blocks usually have a couple preview cards for the next set for each side (like how Monsters versus Heroes previewed Monstrous and Heroic), so my expectation is that the face card for the Eldrazi will be Newlamog (or more likely, a lesser Eldrazi) previewing the new Eldrazi mechanic.
I really want either old Ulamog or Emrakul to be our mythic legendary for the Eldrazi side, simply because modern masters 2 will likely be the last time they're printed unless they're printed in this. I'd like to believe they withheld showing us the face cards for the duel decks partially because one card is a mythic preview for BFZ and the other is an old Eldrazi Titan, and they didn't want to dissuade people from buying modern masters if an Eldrazi Titan will just be in a duel deck a couple months later. Just a thought.
I could have sworn I read somewhere that maro said it is very unlikely that annihilator will return, with that in thought I think the eldrazi decklist will be far different from these speculations.
I could have sworn I read somewhere that maro said it is very unlikely that annihilator will return, with that in thought I think the eldrazi decklist will be far different from these speculations.
I don't see how it could be that different. For one, MaRo said that he didn't think Annihilator would return, meaning in a future set. That doesn't include duel decks. Also, the duel decks don't have a lot of new cards featured in them, Maybe 3-5 cards. The Eldrazi deck will have to have some big old Eldrazi with Annihilator to fill in for the Eldrazi deck. I don't see how the Eldrazi deck could be different!
I could have sworn I read somewhere that maro said it is very unlikely that annihilator will return, with that in thought I think the eldrazi decklist will be far different from these speculations.
I don't see how it could be that different. For one, MaRo said that he didn't think Annihilator would return, meaning in a future set. That doesn't include duel decks. Also, the duel decks don't have a lot of new cards featured in them, Maybe 3-5 cards. The Eldrazi deck will have to have some big old Eldrazi with Annihilator to fill in for the Eldrazi deck. I don't see how the Eldrazi deck could be different!
They could fill the eldrazi slot/slots in the duel deck with a couple preview cards always, new eldrazi/versions of them that have a different mechanic since they like showing new mechanics in duel decks as well.
Yeah I can't imagine they could make this duel deck without using Annihilator. Maybe the new preview cards won't have it, but the old Eldrazi definitely will.
I would not be at all surprised, however, if the Zendikar deck included Avenger of Zendikar, Zendikar Incarnate, Zendikar's Roil and/or Soul of Zendikar. (Though obviously the Uncommons won't be headlining the deck). Zendikons also wouldn't surprise me. That would lead me to think the Zendikar side will be Gruul, possibly Naya or Temur. The Eldrazi side is likely to be at least one color different, but I'm guessing it will still include green. Perhaps Golgari or Sultai colors.
The problem with Allies in the Zendikar deck is that you're limiting your choice of reprints to Zendikar block and perhaps Lorwyn if you're willing to add in Changelings. The point of these decks is to reprint cards from across the game's history; an Ally tribal deck has a very small pool to choose from. Granted, Eldrazi will also be focused on a limited theme, but at least Eldrazi aren't mechanically constrained to tribal matters.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
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Drawing on the powerful mana that surges through the roiling land, Zendikar's forces have joined together to defend their plane.
The Eldrazi titans, trapped for thousands of years, have broken their bonds. Now their numberless spawn begin to overrun Zendikar.
Can Zendikar resist this onslaught? Or will the Eldrazi triumph?
Deck Design and Deck Development: Chris Millar and Sam Stoddard
Twitter Hashtag: #MTGZVE
Languages Available: English, Japanese
Release Date: August 28, 2015
MSRP: $19.99
Quite possibly one of the most exciting duel decks, at least in my opinion. I've been predicting/dreaming of this product for quite awhile now. In my dreaming, I have created some deck lists to speculate on what kinds of cards we will be seeing in this product. I wanted to get a general feel for what everyone believes we could see. I'll post my decklists below, along with some reasoning as to the color choices/card choices. I also want all of you to post your ideas and comments! Feel free to discuss.
Eldrazi RG
As the Eldrazi, your goal is to play your biggest baddest monsters. Ramp into the titans using the lowly spawns to overrun the battlefield, using them as blockers when needed or mana ramp to accelerate. Additionally, you can transform your spawn into a monstrous army with Overrun and Brood Warden. When the moment is right, drop your Eldrazi. I chose Emrakul because I thought he summed up the Eldrazi Titan's the most, although I could see Ulamog in his place here. Additionally, with the rarity shift of All is Dust and Eldrazi temple in modern masters 2015, I am wondering if we could see those in here.
1 It that Betrays
1 Spawnsire of Ulamog
2 Pathrazer of Ulamog
2 Artizan of Kozilek
2 Hand of Emrakul
2 Ulamog's Crusher (Alt Art)
2 Brood Warden
2 Emrakul's Hatcher
2 Nest Invader
2 Kozilek's Predator
2 Rapacious One
2 Runed Servitor
1 Inferno
1 Collective Unconscious
1 Overrun (Alt Art)
2 Brood Birthing
1 Dreamstone Hedron
2 Growth Spasm
1 Skittering Invasion
2 Spawning Breath
1 Savage Twister
1 Explosive Vegetation
2 Temple of the False God (Alt Art)
2 Terramorphic Expanse
10 Forest
8 Mountain
Zendikar ?
I am still working out colors and a decklist for Zendikar. I imagine it will have landfall elements and probably kicker as well, but other thn that it is kind of hard for me to pinpoint. Any suggestions would be great!
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
I do foresee a green mana ramp Eldrazi deck.
For Zen.... I also see a green deck with a hydra coming out swinging at the Eldrazi. Maybe even something with Bant.
In the end, I hope one of the Eldrazi (or Sorin) takes out Nissa.
+1 for It That Betrays
SO EXCITED THIS IS HAPPENING!!! I am personally in love with the set and everything it had. my god.
Anyways, I figure thematically the Zendikar deck would go either nature fights back or explorers defend. This one I had done is Nature fighting back
1x Baloth Woodcrasher
1x Corrupted Zendikon
1x Crusher Zendikon
2x Deprive
3x Evolving Wilds
1x Explore
6x Forest
1x Grazing Gladehart
2x Grim Discovery
1x Guardian Zendikon
1x Harrow
1x Hedron Crab
1x Hedron Scrabbler
1x Ior Ruin Expedition
6x Island
1x Khalni Heart Expedition
1x Living Tsunami
1x Lotus Cobra
3x Mountain
1x Pelakka Wurm
4x Plains
1x Plated Geopede
1x Roil Elemental
2x Ruin Ghost
1x Soul Stair Expedition
1x Sunspring Expedition
3x Swamp
1x Territorial Baloth
1x Tideforce Elemental
2x Treasure Hunt
1x Vapor Snare
1x Vastwood Zendikon
2x Walking Atlas
1x Wind Zendikon
1x Zektar Shrine Expedition Sideboard
1x Cosi's Ravager
3x Nature's Claim
And then my Eldrazi deck , being the poor sod that I am, has no legendaries. And it makes no sense to put any legendaries at all unless you have all three or each eldrazi creature is of the chosen Legend's lineage. Thus, I think the Eldrazi deck will have no legends and instead focus on the swarm. Better than the overuns would be obelisk of Urd and Eldy Monument because it goes with the Lovecraft worship theme.
2x Ancient Stirrings
2x Artisan of Kozilek
2x Awakening Zone
1x Bloodfell Caves
4x Brood Birthing
1x Broodwarden
1x Disaster Radius
1x Dreamstone Hedron
1x Eldrazi Temple
2x Emrakul's Hatcher
1x Eye of Ugin
1x Fog
6x Forest
2x Growth Spasm
4x Hand of Emrakul
1x Hedron Matrix
3x Induce Despair
1x It That Betrays
1x Jungle Hollow
2x Kozilek's Predator
6x Mountain
1x Naturalize
2x Nest Invader
2x Obelisk of Urd
2x Pathrazer of Ulamog
1x Primal Growth
1x Rapacious One
1x Rugged Highlands
2x Spawning Breath
1x Suffer the Past
6x Swamp
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Traitorous Instinct
2x Ulamog's Crusher
Anyways, here is what I made. Both pretty casual but i feel its all thematically fun, and these duel decks like their flavor.
My money on It that Betrays becomes face card of DD: ZvE
Also, It that betrays becomes RARE "It that Betrays All"-Legendary Creature Eldrazi Lord or some cooler name. Now with an alternate cost
Each DD will have at most 3 cards that are 2x, including the cards in the mana base.
Based on the last few DD's, they tend to have mostly 1 of's in them. Very VERY few cards are 2 in the deck. The Jace deck (in Jace vs. V) had 2X Krovikan Mist, 2x Thought Scour, and 2x Halimar Depths. Vraska's deck had 2x Gatecreeper Vine, 2x Tragic Slip, and 2x Tainted Wood (THANK YOU FOR THIS REPRINT!!!!!!111). The rest were 1 of cards.
For the mana base, in ZvE, it will be 24 lands in each deck - mostly be basic land cards, 2x Evolving Wilds, and 2x something else - IF they are being magnanimous. If we are thrown the ultimate bone, the Eldrazi deck will have all unique cards for the creatures and spells. The lands will be 2x each of the Urza lands, 2x Evolving Wilds, 8x forests, and 8x mountains for you total of 24 lands - which has been the norm. Calling R/G Eldrazi ramp.
Therefore, I pre-ordered a whole display form my LGS.
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Has there ever been a face card that was a none creature?
And just because the the three eldrazi titans were printed in MM2015 does not mean that one of them will not be printed in the duel deck, (It would be a low blow though for anyone who blows +$40 on one of them). The MM sets, in theory, are supposed to reduce the price of certain cards.
Urza's Rage, Phyrexia vs. the Coalition.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
But moving on, I would not be surprised that the zendikar side will be a four or five colored allies deck with mana fixing support.
Not sure what to expect for the Eldrazi except that they will be putting more focus into their spawn tokens.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
So mana ramp versus token army?
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
I don't see how it could be that different. For one, MaRo said that he didn't think Annihilator would return, meaning in a future set. That doesn't include duel decks. Also, the duel decks don't have a lot of new cards featured in them, Maybe 3-5 cards. The Eldrazi deck will have to have some big old Eldrazi with Annihilator to fill in for the Eldrazi deck. I don't see how the Eldrazi deck could be different!
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
They could fill the eldrazi slot/slots in the duel deck with a couple preview cards always, new eldrazi/versions of them that have a different mechanic since they like showing new mechanics in duel decks as well.
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
I would not be at all surprised, however, if the Zendikar deck included Avenger of Zendikar, Zendikar Incarnate, Zendikar's Roil and/or Soul of Zendikar. (Though obviously the Uncommons won't be headlining the deck). Zendikons also wouldn't surprise me. That would lead me to think the Zendikar side will be Gruul, possibly Naya or Temur. The Eldrazi side is likely to be at least one color different, but I'm guessing it will still include green. Perhaps Golgari or Sultai colors.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.