T1: Land + Serum Visions
T2: Eldrazi Temple + 3 drop creature
T3: Land + attack with 3 drop then Emerge (in second main phase if Distended Mindbender or in opponents upkeep if Elder-Deep Fiend tapping down their lands creating essentially a Time Walk)
T4: Land + Reality Smasher and attack for 10
T5: Setup for next emerge (ideally play relic, exile Eternal Scourge and cast) + attack
T6: Attack then Emerge etc.
An interesting thing to note is that being on the draw switches on your Gemstone Caverns allowing you to exile Eternal Scourge or a second copy of Gemstone Caverns to pay for it's cost. This may be a strong enough advantage to warrant choosing to go second if you win the die roll; if you get the gemstones in your opening hand you have mana acceleration as if you had gone first and you deny them a card while drawing one of your own. This is highly advantageous in a deck that plays 10 hand disruption spells (plus the potential of two cards discarded per Distended Mindbender) and allows you to dig an extra card helping your chances of hitting an early Eldrazi Temple. On top of this you have access to a land producing any color of mana that gives you sudo mana acceleration as if you had played a temple T1 on the draw. If you don't get Gemstone Caverns in your opening hand you still get an extra card, and I suspect the deck is fast enough to compete on the draw perfectly well.
Sideboard Guide:
Main deck Relic against graveyard decks, snapcaster and Jund.
Main deck Discard and Chalice in the side to fight fast decks like Infect, Burn and Zoo.
Chalice and stubborn denial to break up combo.
Hurkyl's recall against affinity.
Spreading seas against Tron and Eldrazi.
Engineered Explosives against Merfolk, Elves and Tokens.
Warping Wail is a good multi purpose tool against combo and small creatures, can also ramp you if needed.
A very different build, but never sure where to put it:
It is trying to manipulate and make advantageous exile effects in an eldrazi tempo shell. I posted here because I saw your comments in the Eternal Scourge thread.
I haven't had much opportunity to test yet. I started building this deck before Oath was released, and since then Eternal Scourge has re-awakened my interest in it.
Spell Queller is probably a good card to play with in this shell as well...
Legacy:B The Gate // B Pox Modern:RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox EDH:RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal Tiny Leaders:BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Interesting build, ulamog's nullifier is awesome if you can reliably cast it on curve. Don't think there is enough processor synergies in my list to play it thoug. Maybe sideboard?
Cathodian looks interesting as well but my aim with the build isn't really around replacing the mana from emerging at the time, just emerge for value and tempo and overrun with powerful creatures.
Anyway, I'm hopefully going to get a chance to test at FNM tonight (in Australia). Have tested against some friends and it has been very impressive. Will update with a tournament report.
An interesting thing to note is that being on the draw switches on your Gemstone Caverns allowing you to exile Eternal Scourge or a second copy of Gemstone Caverns to pay for it's cost. This may be a strong enough advantage to warrant choosing to go second if you win the die roll; if you get the gemstones in your opening hand you have mana acceleration as if you had gone first and you deny them a card while drawing one of your own.
Firstly, interesting list.
You explanation is exactly why I play 4 GC main in my EldraziTron deck. I often defer to draw as well. I often pitch one GC for the second. I've tried Eternal Scourge for that reason and really didn't like the fit but it looks like it could fit your list well. I do run 4 Simian Spirit Guide to accelerate as well but that won't fit your list. Good luck and I'll be checking your results out.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
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This was the list I tested tonight. I moved the third Relic and two TKS to the side in order to make room for three more Matter reshaper. After I played a few games against Jund the other night I realized the importance of having removal resistant 3 drops to emerge off at 4 mana. Therefore Reshaper is perfect due to now having an improved mass of 3 drops totaling of 12. So if they remove a reshaper it either ramps ensuring an early Smasher or replaces itself with at best another 3 drop or at worst another card. With the higher amount of 3 drops it is suitable to go down a Relic as not as much recursion is required with Scourge. Moving the two TKS to the side was a tough choice, still not sure it's right, but with the 8 Emerge creatures essentially filling the 4 drop slot TKS nearly always ended up stuck in my hand diminishing in value over time. It's a great backup if the emerge plan goes wrong and you need a 4 drop though, and curving reshaper, into TKS into Smasher with acceleration is pretty sweet.
Tonight played in a Modern event at my local games store. Was on the draw every time. Results were interesting:
R1- Jund - 2-0 - not being able to remove my 3 drops at a profit allowed me to curve dead reshaper into revealed temple into smasher. Otherwise hand disruption and beat down worked great.
R2 - Merfolk - 0-2 - got thrashed by their nut draw game 1, game 2 mull to five.
R3 - Merfolk - 1-2 - game 1 I kept too slow a hand, they had a reasonable start and beat down, had to play a watery grave early and tried to race, but they were simply too fast and unblockable with island walk. Game 2 they had a slow start and I got to strip their hand and apply beats. Game 3 they pumped out three mutavaults,multiple Merfolk and a Kira, not being able to tap, block or remove their creatures with the sided in removal meant again I couldn't race.
R4 - Grixis Delver - 2-0 - comprehensive win game 1 deploying uncounterable threats and time walking/double thoughtsiezing. Game 2 ran out of gas after extending into removal and getting him down to 2. We both started top decking. The top decks in this deck are also pretty sweet.
These initial results suggest some things to me. That the deck seems strong against midrange fair decks. But an apparent weakness to low to the ground creature decks with evasion. It will be interesting to hopefully test against infect, affinity and burn. The Chalice in the side has as yet been unused. The poor matchup against Merfolk has me wondering about putting the Engineered Explosives back in the side and maybe even running a second, it can after all also be cast for three if a Gemstone Caverns is active.
Sideboard changes for a good defense against the agro creature matchup could be simply more removal; Dismember or Spatial Contortion?
The poor matchup against Merfolk has me wondering about putting the Engineered Explosives back in the side and maybe even running a second
Some of us on EldraziTron run Ratchet Bomb in the side. May want to give it a thought, or not. Good luck.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Thanks @warmachineprime for the suggestions, I've tried ratchet bomb in previous decks and found it to sometimes be a little too slow against Merfolk unless you draw it in your opening hand? Have you found this too? Something else I picked up from your eldrazi Tron thread was the use of basilisk collar to try and gain enough life to stay alive while applying preasure with big creatures. Therefore I've adapted the sideboard to include Vampiric Link. The following list is what I will test next tournament (hopefully Friday). Will post follow up report.
From what I can gather from my testing the deck is weak to creature heavy matchups unless achieving a nut draw. Therefore I decided to continue testing with another update to the sideboard. The following 75 is what I'll test tomorrow:
My intention is to board out 2 Relic and 2 Thought-knot for 4 Languish in game 2 vs creature matchups. Languish I think is a better choice than Damnation as I can cast Deep fiend or Mindbender, languish the next turn and still have a 5 power creature on board. Will report.
R1 - Skred Red 2-0
R2 - Jund 2-0
R3 - Big Zoo 0-2 - Game 1 mull to 5 looking for acceleration. Game 2 didn't draw Languish, possibly should have mulliganed aggressively to find it?
I'm finding this deck to be very powerful but consistently showing weakness in creature heavy matchups. Anyone have any thoughts on how to make the deck more resilient to this?
I use Oblivion Stone to reset if I'm getting overrun. If you have a Matter Reshaper out then you get to draw a card. Or if you want to use Perilous Vault instead, it will exile your Eternal Scourge to come back yet again.
Only other things I might suggest is that you switch your split of TKS/Distended MB from 2/4 to 4/2. Times may be you draw a DMB over a TKS and you can't play it and stripping the card out of your opponents hand that turn could mean the game.
Squeezing 4 Thoughtseize into your MB somewhere would pay great benefits as well. Not sure what exactly to cut but -1 Eternal Scourge, -1 Elder Deep-Fiend could be a start.
Lastly, I would be tempted to run Gitaxian Probe over Serum Visions. I know that may sound odd but knowing what is in your opponents hand can be a huge help at times. Plus it cantrips kinda like SV. It can also be paid with 2 life in a pinch early game. Good luck.
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
First of all I also tried to brew this deck, and totally missed the gemstone caverns interaction so props for finding that. As to answer your question, as a bant eldrazi player, I often find merfolk an annoying matchup but the three engineered explosives in the side usually make games 2 and 3 not lose-able (same for elves). I find the losses to big zoo interesting, as in my mind that should be a favorable matchup. If its the list with tarmogoyf and knight of the reliquary then it seems like having the full 4 relic of progenitus in your 75 would help. Engineered explosives also seems like it would help in this matchup, unless he's running gaddock teeg. Otherwise it seems like trading via blocking or double blocking with eternal scourge should be good enough. Finally its possible you might just need to add in drowner of hope as this usually seals games for me in bant (even without eldrazi displacer).
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Look at the card. Now back to Jace. Now back to that card, now back to Jace! Sadly, it isn't Jace, but if it stopped being a junk rare and became relevant, it could act like it's Jace. Crack some Worldwake. What do you have? You have a Jace, the card you wish this card could be like. Look again. THE CARD IS NOW A $75 BILL. Anything possible when you play Magic with Jace and not junk rares.
Some of your blue eldrazi have possible combos you could utilize.
Also, I'd consider Heartless Summoning because why not make Eldrazi good again (pre Eye ban). I like the idea of throwing up my hand.
Yeah, TKS would die to bolt but most everything does. Reality is still fast and smashes. Distended can be a t3 play. Deep Field can still win you the game if played right.
Anyway, just some thoughts.
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Modern:
Fish
U/W Control
U/B Control
U/B Control Mill, U/R Ascension Mill, BUG Mill
G Tron, Eldrazi Tron, Eldrazi Aggro
Junkie Doran
U/W Ephara Flash
Splendid Dredge
That's my friend's list, and I've been streaming with it pretty regularly the last week or so and the results have been pretty fricken good. Something like 17-8 I think? Not bad at all.
I've messed around with the build a bit, this is what I'm currently on:
22 LANDS
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
3 Gemstone Caverns
2 Sanctum of Ugin
1 Snow-Covered Island
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Underground River
6 OTHER SPELLS
2 Chalice of the Void
4 Serum Powder
SIDEBOARD
1 Chalice of the Void
2 Distended Mindbender
1 All is Dust
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Ratchet Bomb
1 Sanctum of Ugin
1 Spatial Contortion
1 Warping Wail
1 Endbringer
Some thoughts on the changes I've made:
1) Flood is absolutely miserable for this deck, as you have no real way to use the extra mana. I decided to cut down a land to try to mitigate that, as I've been losing to flood WAY more often than losing to screw, and the powerful (powderful?) serum package really helps you find functional hands. I cut the wastes because I don't think its super important because you can cast your colorless stuff with serums anyway if you get blood mooned.
2) I've run into the issue of not being able to cast EDF because of colored mana issues quite a bit. I'd ideally like another colored source in the deck but honestly I'm not really sure what that would be and what the cut would be for it.
3) Added a fourth way to deal with thing in the ice to the main and another to the SB because I've been playing against that card (and losing to it) a lot.
4) I changed the SB quite a bit. I didn't think that Drowner or spellskite was doing a lot for us there.
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I stream weekly at www.twitch.tv/sheamtg on mondays tuesdays and thursdays at 7 central!
Shea, saw you got 4th in the Modern Challenge! Congrats! This deck looks sweet. I was playing Colorless Eldrazi Stompy, but think I may make the conversion to Dimir. Would be interested in getting your take on certain matchups/sideboarding and to watch some gameplay.
I'm also very interested in hearing a bit more about the deck. I have colourless eldrazi sleeved up too but am interested in trying out some big octopus creatures.
After watching the Challenge and several competitive leagues from Shea and playing a few matches of the deck myself I think the Wretched Gryff is a waste of a card slot.
Cards I'm going to test: any feedback for prior testing would be appreciated to save time
Sea Gate Wreckage (great mana sink at the low cost of being a land. I'd replace Sanctum of Ugin copy #3 to test it. Maybe cut the 3rd Gemstone Cavern? I don't have enough reps with the deck to understand how important getting the cavern into play on T0.)
Eldrazi Displacer (how bad is it in a deck with 8-11 lands to produce white, maybe as a 1x or 2x for tutor target. Combos as an alternate win condition with Thought-Knot Seer. A great mana sink, which the deck sorely needs)
Thorn of Amethyst (this card seems great in a deck that plays around 30 creatures. I guess it depends on what you want to beat. Seems great against our harder matchups)
I’ve wondered how necessary Gryff was as well. Seems kinda irrelevant to the overall strategy of providing quick pressure then closing out the game. It’s just a vanilla monster that draws a card. No other real impact/synergy. I like the idea of using Thorn of Amethyst, but you’d probably have to make room for the full set to reap its benefits. Maybe cut the Gryff and both Chalices for 3 Thorn, then make one other cut for the 4th? It sucks by making hardcasting Powder cost 4. Maybe Trinisphere is worth a look as well?
The list posted is vastly different than the list I play. A couple qualifiers before I post the deck and my thoughts on matchups. I only play paper at FNM so I maybe get 3-4 matches a week with a random PPTQ (made top 4) thrown in there. That being said, I've amassed 62 matches with the deck going 34-26-2 over the past 6 months or so.
At it's heart this deck is a control deck and I play it as such. The deck struggles with aggro and large cheap creatures (Hollowed One and Angler come to mind).
As you can see, I've gone the route of processors. They influenced a number of my card choices.
Creatures
- Dimensional Infiltrator is an amazing card. Given that all my turn two plays are instant speed I don't have to decide whether to play a creature or hold up remove or a counter. It can also help fuel processors with its ability, mess with the top of a UW Control player's deck when they have Jace, and sometimes you even get lucky and are able to bounce the creature out of harms way.
- If I'm in UB then it seems silly not to play Nullifier. Being a counterspell stapled to a creature has its advantages (i.e. gets around negate and dispel) and combined with Cavern of Souls you will always win counter wars.
- Blight Herder is backbreaking against most decks. Seven power split across 4 guys gives many decks headaches. Up until a couple weeks ago I played 4 maindeck. I cut one for the Ratchet Bomb but I could see myself going back up to four if this experiment doesn't work out.
- Reality Smasher is notably absent from my list. I used to have Smasher in the deck, 2 main and 1 side, but I always found myself not playing them to hold up coutnermagic. They require a more proactive game plan, one that I was not playing so they were cut.
- I've also considered playing Elder Deep-Fiend and Drowner of Hope and in fact, a couple years ago when this deck was Esper, I did. I consider them now just a little too slow to play.
Non-Creatures
- Relics and Claws offer both maindeck graveyard hate as well as fuel for my processors.
- Delay offers more fuel and when combined with a processor is effectively a better version of counterspell.
- Warping Wail aka Eldrazi Charm offers three great options that are rarely dead.
- The ratchet bomb maindeck is to help fight aggro decks. It is something I'm toying with but I'm not sold on that slot yet. More matches are needed.
Sideboard
- Ashiok is backbreaking against UW Control. Between them and Dimensional Infiltrator you can control the top of their deck better than they can, even if they have Jace on the board.
- Essence Depleter is for burn and other aggro matchups. Since the life gain is 1 at a time it can get around skullcrack effects as long as you let each instance of the activation resolve before activating it again.
- Ceremonious Rejection for Tron and other artifact decks
- Leyline if I need more graveyard hate.
- Dispel and Disdainful Stroke are for the matchups where more counterspells are needed
- Cast Down, All is Dust, Damnation, Ratchet Bomb, and Flaying Tendrils are the removal suite. Five different cards for a variety of decks out there.
Matchups
Control - UW, Jeskai, Blue Moon, Esper, 8-Rack (7-2-1 in matches, 16-9-2 in games)
I believe that this matchup(s) are favorable. As mentioned above, Dimensional Infiltrator and Blight Herder, with Ashiok out of the side, are your best cards. Blight Herder is a cast trigger so you will always get the three guys even if they counter the spell. And those three guys have won me games. Also, with Ashiok and Dimensional Infiltrator milling your opponent out of the game is not unheard of.
Aggro - Phoenix decks, Burn, Goblins, Zoo (6-3 in matches, 13-8 in games)
These are rough matchups. Essence Depleter is your best card hands down. Against those that require the graveyard relic and claws can also do work. Against burn specifically, being able to use Wasteland strangler to process a rift bolt to kill a creature is one of the best plays you can make.
Midrange - Jund, Bant, Mardu Pyromancer, Death's Shadow (3-1-1 in matches, 7-4-1 in games)
I believe that these matchups are favorable. Shutting down their graveyard can keep these games under control.
Combo - Storm, Saheeli Rai (1-2 in matches, 2-4 in games)
Being able to shut down the graveyard is great against storm. Delay become amazing here as well since the card you counter doesn't go to the graveyard. Saheeli Rai is a different story. That is a rough matchup.
Tron (6-0 in matches, 12-3 in games)
I believe that this is a favorable matchup, just not as favorable as my results would lead you to believe. The game plan is to disrupt while deploying threats. Warping Wail and Delay are great here. Warping Wail can counter their Sylvan Scryings or Ancient Stirrings when they are digging for tron. Delay can take care of the big threats. I rarely will tap out unless I know they cannot get tron on their next turn.
Dredge and Bridgevine (2-3 in matches, 6-8 in games)
Just like above, I do not think my results are indicative of the matchup. I think that it is even. Clearly relic and leyline are your best friends.
Humans, Spirits, Merfolk (4-4 in matches, 10-11 in games)
This is also a rough matchup. Being able to go wide and tall all while using Aether Vial is something that is hard to deal with. It is for these matchups primarily that I added Ratchet Bomb to the maindeck.
Hollowed One (1-2 in matches, 3-4 in games)
I think this matchup is unfavorable. However, it all comes down to whether they can land early Hollowed Ones. If they don't the you have a shot. Otherwise you are on the back foot from the get go and that is not how you want to play a game.
Everything else - Either I played against the deck one time in the past few months so I don't know if I can talk about how the matchup feels or it is an FNM deck that does not need to be discussed here.
I've been watching this deck in action. I've put this together and will test it out over the weekend. If anyoene is interested, I'm part of a Discord server dedicated to all flavors of Eldrazis. There's active discussion on this and other Eldrazi builds.
Thorn of Amethyst would come out of the sideboard. I just noticed I failed to mention that. Again, it all comes down to what decks you want to beat. I think the only 3 flex spots in the main deck from Shea's list are:
4 Eldrazi Skyspawner
4 Eternal Scourge
1 Matter Reshaper
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
4 Distended Mindbender
4 Elder Deep-Fiend
Instant/Sorcery (8)
4 Serum Visions
2 Dismember
2 Collective Brutality
3 Relic of Progenitus
Lands (24)
4 Gemstone Caverns
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Underground River
4 Watery Grave
2 Polluted Delta
1 Island
1 Swamp
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Stubborn Denial
3 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Spreading Seas
2 Warping Wail
1 Engineered Explosives
With the release of Eldritch moon came some very powerful new Eldrazi. This deck combines three of these; two Eldrazi with emerge (Elder Deep-Fiend and Distended Mindbender) and Eternal Scourge that when combined with Relic of Progenitus can act as a kind of unconditional Nether Spirit for 3 generic mana.
(Ideal) Game Plan:
T1: Land + Serum Visions
T2: Eldrazi Temple + 3 drop creature
T3: Land + attack with 3 drop then Emerge (in second main phase if Distended Mindbender or in opponents upkeep if Elder-Deep Fiend tapping down their lands creating essentially a Time Walk)
T4: Land + Reality Smasher and attack for 10
T5: Setup for next emerge (ideally play relic, exile Eternal Scourge and cast) + attack
T6: Attack then Emerge etc.
Unwanted copies of Gemstone Caverns can be scry'd away with Serum Visions or pitched to Collective Brutality.
An interesting thing to note is that being on the draw switches on your Gemstone Caverns allowing you to exile Eternal Scourge or a second copy of Gemstone Caverns to pay for it's cost. This may be a strong enough advantage to warrant choosing to go second if you win the die roll; if you get the gemstones in your opening hand you have mana acceleration as if you had gone first and you deny them a card while drawing one of your own. This is highly advantageous in a deck that plays 10 hand disruption spells (plus the potential of two cards discarded per Distended Mindbender) and allows you to dig an extra card helping your chances of hitting an early Eldrazi Temple. On top of this you have access to a land producing any color of mana that gives you sudo mana acceleration as if you had played a temple T1 on the draw. If you don't get Gemstone Caverns in your opening hand you still get an extra card, and I suspect the deck is fast enough to compete on the draw perfectly well.
Sideboard Guide:
Main deck Relic against graveyard decks, snapcaster and Jund.
Main deck Discard and Chalice in the side to fight fast decks like Infect, Burn and Zoo.
Chalice and stubborn denial to break up combo.
Hurkyl's recall against affinity.
Spreading seas against Tron and Eldrazi.
Engineered Explosives against Merfolk, Elves and Tokens.
Warping Wail is a good multi purpose tool against combo and small creatures, can also ramp you if needed.
----------------------------------------------
Updated Lists:
Modern Challenge #11774980, (6-1) by sheastrausman (SheaMTG)
Format: Modern
Jan 19, 2019
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1594664#paper
It is trying to manipulate and make advantageous exile effects in an eldrazi tempo shell. I posted here because I saw your comments in the Eternal Scourge thread.
4x Eternal Scourge
4x Wasteland Strangler
4x Ulamog's Nullifier
4x Blight Herder
Spells (20):
4x Ancestral Vision
4x Path to Exile
4x Relic of Progenitus
4x Delay
3x Journey to nowhere
1x Rest in Peace
Lands (24):
2x Cavern of Souls
4x Eldrazi Temple
4x Flooded Strand
3x Ghost Quarter
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
1x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
1x Swamp
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Watery Grave
2x Engineered Explosives
3x Surgical Extraction
3x Thoughtseize
1x Disenchant
2x Rest for the Weary
3x Stony Silence
1x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
I haven't had much opportunity to test yet. I started building this deck before Oath was released, and since then Eternal Scourge has re-awakened my interest in it.
Spell Queller is probably a good card to play with in this shell as well...
Any comments are most welcome!
Modern: RGB Dredge // RBG Goblins // B The Gate // UBR Tezz AoB Control // RBG Prison Pox
EDH: RBU Thraximundar // R Norin the Wary // RWB Kaalia of the Vast // BUR Grixis Combos // BU Gisa and Geralf Tribal
Tiny Leaders: BUW Sydri, Galvanic Genius // R Feldon of the Third Path
Projects:
Gisa and Geralf Extreme-Tribal EDH
Esper Eldrazi Processor Control
Brewing with Kuldotha Forgemaster
Primer: "The Gate" - Mono Black in Modern
Modern Prison Pox - building a better plague
Cathodian looks interesting as well but my aim with the build isn't really around replacing the mana from emerging at the time, just emerge for value and tempo and overrun with powerful creatures.
Anyway, I'm hopefully going to get a chance to test at FNM tonight (in Australia). Have tested against some friends and it has been very impressive. Will update with a tournament report.
Firstly, interesting list.
You explanation is exactly why I play 4 GC main in my EldraziTron deck. I often defer to draw as well. I often pitch one GC for the second. I've tried Eternal Scourge for that reason and really didn't like the fit but it looks like it could fit your list well. I do run 4 Simian Spirit Guide to accelerate as well but that won't fit your list. Good luck and I'll be checking your results out.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
4 Eldrazi Skyspawner
4 Eternal Scourge
4 Matter Reshaper
2 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
4 Distended Mindbender
4 Elder Deep-Fiend
Instant/Sorcery (8)
4 Serum Visions
2 Dismember
2 Collective Brutality
2 Relic of Progenitus
Lands (24)
4 Gemstone Caverns
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Underground River
4 Watery Grave
2 Polluted Delta
1 Island
1 Swamp
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Stubborn Denial
3 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Thought-Knot Seer
2 Warping Wail
1 Relic of Progenitus
This was the list I tested tonight. I moved the third Relic and two TKS to the side in order to make room for three more Matter reshaper. After I played a few games against Jund the other night I realized the importance of having removal resistant 3 drops to emerge off at 4 mana. Therefore Reshaper is perfect due to now having an improved mass of 3 drops totaling of 12. So if they remove a reshaper it either ramps ensuring an early Smasher or replaces itself with at best another 3 drop or at worst another card. With the higher amount of 3 drops it is suitable to go down a Relic as not as much recursion is required with Scourge. Moving the two TKS to the side was a tough choice, still not sure it's right, but with the 8 Emerge creatures essentially filling the 4 drop slot TKS nearly always ended up stuck in my hand diminishing in value over time. It's a great backup if the emerge plan goes wrong and you need a 4 drop though, and curving reshaper, into TKS into Smasher with acceleration is pretty sweet.
Tonight played in a Modern event at my local games store. Was on the draw every time. Results were interesting:
R1- Jund - 2-0 - not being able to remove my 3 drops at a profit allowed me to curve dead reshaper into revealed temple into smasher. Otherwise hand disruption and beat down worked great.
R2 - Merfolk - 0-2 - got thrashed by their nut draw game 1, game 2 mull to five.
R3 - Merfolk - 1-2 - game 1 I kept too slow a hand, they had a reasonable start and beat down, had to play a watery grave early and tried to race, but they were simply too fast and unblockable with island walk. Game 2 they had a slow start and I got to strip their hand and apply beats. Game 3 they pumped out three mutavaults,multiple Merfolk and a Kira, not being able to tap, block or remove their creatures with the sided in removal meant again I couldn't race.
R4 - Grixis Delver - 2-0 - comprehensive win game 1 deploying uncounterable threats and time walking/double thoughtsiezing. Game 2 ran out of gas after extending into removal and getting him down to 2. We both started top decking. The top decks in this deck are also pretty sweet.
These initial results suggest some things to me. That the deck seems strong against midrange fair decks. But an apparent weakness to low to the ground creature decks with evasion. It will be interesting to hopefully test against infect, affinity and burn. The Chalice in the side has as yet been unused. The poor matchup against Merfolk has me wondering about putting the Engineered Explosives back in the side and maybe even running a second, it can after all also be cast for three if a Gemstone Caverns is active.
Sideboard changes for a good defense against the agro creature matchup could be simply more removal; Dismember or Spatial Contortion?
Feedback welcome.
Some of us on EldraziTron run Ratchet Bomb in the side. May want to give it a thought, or not. Good luck.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
4 Eldrazi Skyspawner
4 Eternal Scourge
4 Matter Reshaper
2 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
4 Distended Mindbender
4 Elder Deep-Fiend
Instant/Sorcery (8)
4 Serum Visions
2 Dismember
2 Collective Brutality
2 Relic of Progenitus
Lands (24)
4 Gemstone Caverns
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Underground River
4 Watery Grave
2 Polluted Delta
1 Island
1 Swamp
3 Chalice of the Void
3 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Vampiric Link
2 Stubborn Denial
2 Warping Wail
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Relic of Progenitus
3-1 overall
R1 - Jund 2-0
R2 - UW Controll 2-1
R3 - RUG Delver 2-1
R3 - Big Zoo 0-2
From what I can gather from my testing the deck is weak to creature heavy matchups unless achieving a nut draw. Therefore I decided to continue testing with another update to the sideboard. The following 75 is what I'll test tomorrow:
4 Eldrazi Skyspawner
4 Eternal Scourge
4 Matter Reshaper
2 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
4 Distended Mindbender
4 Elder Deep-Fiend
Instant/Sorcery (8)
4 Serum Visions
2 Dismember
2 Collective Brutality
2 Relic of Progenitus
Lands (24)
4 Gemstone Caverns
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Underground River
4 Watery Grave
2 Polluted Delta
1 Island
1 Swamp
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Languish
3 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Stubborn Denial
1 Relic of Progenitus
My intention is to board out 2 Relic and 2 Thought-knot for 4 Languish in game 2 vs creature matchups. Languish I think is a better choice than Damnation as I can cast Deep fiend or Mindbender, languish the next turn and still have a 5 power creature on board. Will report.
Couldn't test early last week but got to test at FNM last night. Only six people for modern as today is game day so only played 3 rounds.
I made some small adjustments to the sideboard again before the tournament:
3 Chalice of the void
2 Hurkyl's recall
2 Spellskite
2 Stubborn Denial
1 Negate
1 Relic of Progenitus
Results - 2-1
R1 - Skred Red 2-0
R2 - Jund 2-0
R3 - Big Zoo 0-2 - Game 1 mull to 5 looking for acceleration. Game 2 didn't draw Languish, possibly should have mulliganed aggressively to find it?
I'm finding this deck to be very powerful but consistently showing weakness in creature heavy matchups. Anyone have any thoughts on how to make the deck more resilient to this?
Cheers
Only other things I might suggest is that you switch your split of TKS/Distended MB from 2/4 to 4/2. Times may be you draw a DMB over a TKS and you can't play it and stripping the card out of your opponents hand that turn could mean the game.
Squeezing 4 Thoughtseize into your MB somewhere would pay great benefits as well. Not sure what exactly to cut but -1 Eternal Scourge, -1 Elder Deep-Fiend could be a start.
Lastly, I would be tempted to run Gitaxian Probe over Serum Visions. I know that may sound odd but knowing what is in your opponents hand can be a huge help at times. Plus it cantrips kinda like SV. It can also be paid with 2 life in a pinch early game. Good luck.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
-rockinamigo14
https://mtgdecks.net/Modern/dimir-eldrazi-decklist-by-simon-kamerow-776833
Also, I'd consider Heartless Summoning because why not make Eldrazi good again (pre Eye ban). I like the idea of throwing up my hand.
Yeah, TKS would die to bolt but most everything does. Reality is still fast and smashes. Distended can be a t3 play. Deep Field can still win you the game if played right.
Anyway, just some thoughts.
Fish
U/W Control
U/B Control
U/B Control Mill, U/R Ascension Mill, BUG Mill
G Tron, Eldrazi Tron, Eldrazi Aggro
Junkie Doran
U/W Ephara Flash
Splendid Dredge
That's my friend's list, and I've been streaming with it pretty regularly the last week or so and the results have been pretty fricken good. Something like 17-8 I think? Not bad at all.
I've messed around with the build a bit, this is what I'm currently on:
22 LANDS
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
3 Gemstone Caverns
2 Sanctum of Ugin
1 Snow-Covered Island
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Underground River
28 CREATURES
2 Abundant Maw
4 Elder Deep-Fiend
4 Eldrazi Skyspawner
4 Eternal Scourge
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Reality Smasher
4 Thought-Knot Seer
1 Wretched Gryff
1 Distended Mindbender
4 INSTANTS and SORC.
3 Dismember
1 Warping Wail
6 OTHER SPELLS
2 Chalice of the Void
4 Serum Powder
SIDEBOARD
1 Chalice of the Void
2 Distended Mindbender
1 All is Dust
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Ratchet Bomb
1 Sanctum of Ugin
1 Spatial Contortion
1 Warping Wail
1 Endbringer
Some thoughts on the changes I've made:
1) Flood is absolutely miserable for this deck, as you have no real way to use the extra mana. I decided to cut down a land to try to mitigate that, as I've been losing to flood WAY more often than losing to screw, and the powerful (powderful?) serum package really helps you find functional hands. I cut the wastes because I don't think its super important because you can cast your colorless stuff with serums anyway if you get blood mooned.
2) I've run into the issue of not being able to cast EDF because of colored mana issues quite a bit. I'd ideally like another colored source in the deck but honestly I'm not really sure what that would be and what the cut would be for it.
3) Added a fourth way to deal with thing in the ice to the main and another to the SB because I've been playing against that card (and losing to it) a lot.
4) I changed the SB quite a bit. I didn't think that Drowner or spellskite was doing a lot for us there.
Cards I'm going to test: any feedback for prior testing would be appreciated to save time
Sea Gate Wreckage (great mana sink at the low cost of being a land. I'd replace Sanctum of Ugin copy #3 to test it. Maybe cut the 3rd Gemstone Cavern? I don't have enough reps with the deck to understand how important getting the cavern into play on T0.)
Eldrazi Displacer (how bad is it in a deck with 8-11 lands to produce white, maybe as a 1x or 2x for tutor target. Combos as an alternate win condition with Thought-Knot Seer. A great mana sink, which the deck sorely needs)
Thorn of Amethyst (this card seems great in a deck that plays around 30 creatures. I guess it depends on what you want to beat. Seems great against our harder matchups)
Now, the deck.
4 Dimensional Infiltrator
4 Wasteland Strangler
4 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Ulamog's Nullifier
3 Blight Herder
Instants
4 Delay
4 Fatal Push
4 Warping Wail
Artifact
4 Relic of Progenitus
1 Scrabbling Claws
1 Ratchet Bomb
Lands
4 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
3 Watery Grave
1 Sunken Ruins
4 Underground River
1 Ipnu Rivulet
1 Ifnir Deadlands
4 Eldrazi Temple
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Mutavault
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Wastes
1 Dispel
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 All is Dust
1 Damnation
1 Cast Down
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Essence Depleter
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
2 Ceremonious Rejection
1 Flaying Tendrils
2 Leyline of the Void
As you can see, I've gone the route of processors. They influenced a number of my card choices.
Creatures
- Dimensional Infiltrator is an amazing card. Given that all my turn two plays are instant speed I don't have to decide whether to play a creature or hold up remove or a counter. It can also help fuel processors with its ability, mess with the top of a UW Control player's deck when they have Jace, and sometimes you even get lucky and are able to bounce the creature out of harms way.
- If I'm in UB then it seems silly not to play Nullifier. Being a counterspell stapled to a creature has its advantages (i.e. gets around negate and dispel) and combined with Cavern of Souls you will always win counter wars.
- Blight Herder is backbreaking against most decks. Seven power split across 4 guys gives many decks headaches. Up until a couple weeks ago I played 4 maindeck. I cut one for the Ratchet Bomb but I could see myself going back up to four if this experiment doesn't work out.
- Reality Smasher is notably absent from my list. I used to have Smasher in the deck, 2 main and 1 side, but I always found myself not playing them to hold up coutnermagic. They require a more proactive game plan, one that I was not playing so they were cut.
- I've also considered playing Elder Deep-Fiend and Drowner of Hope and in fact, a couple years ago when this deck was Esper, I did. I consider them now just a little too slow to play.
Non-Creatures
- Relics and Claws offer both maindeck graveyard hate as well as fuel for my processors.
- Delay offers more fuel and when combined with a processor is effectively a better version of counterspell.
- Warping Wail aka Eldrazi Charm offers three great options that are rarely dead.
- The ratchet bomb maindeck is to help fight aggro decks. It is something I'm toying with but I'm not sold on that slot yet. More matches are needed.
Sideboard
- Ashiok is backbreaking against UW Control. Between them and Dimensional Infiltrator you can control the top of their deck better than they can, even if they have Jace on the board.
- Essence Depleter is for burn and other aggro matchups. Since the life gain is 1 at a time it can get around skullcrack effects as long as you let each instance of the activation resolve before activating it again.
- Ceremonious Rejection for Tron and other artifact decks
- Leyline if I need more graveyard hate.
- Dispel and Disdainful Stroke are for the matchups where more counterspells are needed
- Cast Down, All is Dust, Damnation, Ratchet Bomb, and Flaying Tendrils are the removal suite. Five different cards for a variety of decks out there.
Matchups
Control - UW, Jeskai, Blue Moon, Esper, 8-Rack (7-2-1 in matches, 16-9-2 in games)
I believe that this matchup(s) are favorable. As mentioned above, Dimensional Infiltrator and Blight Herder, with Ashiok out of the side, are your best cards. Blight Herder is a cast trigger so you will always get the three guys even if they counter the spell. And those three guys have won me games. Also, with Ashiok and Dimensional Infiltrator milling your opponent out of the game is not unheard of.
Aggro - Phoenix decks, Burn, Goblins, Zoo (6-3 in matches, 13-8 in games)
These are rough matchups. Essence Depleter is your best card hands down. Against those that require the graveyard relic and claws can also do work. Against burn specifically, being able to use Wasteland strangler to process a rift bolt to kill a creature is one of the best plays you can make.
Midrange - Jund, Bant, Mardu Pyromancer, Death's Shadow (3-1-1 in matches, 7-4-1 in games)
I believe that these matchups are favorable. Shutting down their graveyard can keep these games under control.
Combo - Storm, Saheeli Rai (1-2 in matches, 2-4 in games)
Being able to shut down the graveyard is great against storm. Delay become amazing here as well since the card you counter doesn't go to the graveyard. Saheeli Rai is a different story. That is a rough matchup.
Tron (6-0 in matches, 12-3 in games)
I believe that this is a favorable matchup, just not as favorable as my results would lead you to believe. The game plan is to disrupt while deploying threats. Warping Wail and Delay are great here. Warping Wail can counter their Sylvan Scryings or Ancient Stirrings when they are digging for tron. Delay can take care of the big threats. I rarely will tap out unless I know they cannot get tron on their next turn.
Dredge and Bridgevine (2-3 in matches, 6-8 in games)
Just like above, I do not think my results are indicative of the matchup. I think that it is even. Clearly relic and leyline are your best friends.
Humans, Spirits, Merfolk (4-4 in matches, 10-11 in games)
This is also a rough matchup. Being able to go wide and tall all while using Aether Vial is something that is hard to deal with. It is for these matchups primarily that I added Ratchet Bomb to the maindeck.
Hollowed One (1-2 in matches, 3-4 in games)
I think this matchup is unfavorable. However, it all comes down to whether they can land early Hollowed Ones. If they don't the you have a shot. Otherwise you are on the back foot from the get go and that is not how you want to play a game.
Everything else - Either I played against the deck one time in the past few months so I don't know if I can talk about how the matchup feels or it is an FNM deck that does not need to be discussed here.
https://discord.gg/SDJtfws
Modern
C Colorless Eldrazi Stompy C
WUGC Bant Eldrazi CGUW
WBG Doran Formation GBW
Legacy
C Eldrazi Stompy C
Multiplayer Commander
GR Omnath, Locus of Rage RG
WU Brago, King Eternal UW
BG Slimefoot, the Stowaway GB
Distended Mindbender
Warping Wail
Wretched Gryff