Heartless Summoning reduces alternate casting costs in addition to the one printed in the top right, meaning it reduces emerge costs too. If you cast a creature with Summoning on the table and immediately sacrifice it to emerge, Summoning has reduced the cost of the emerge creature by 4!
You have a 4/4 in play and are at +1 card, your opponent is at -3 cards. Not bad!
But you don't really start to go off until you realize Summoning can reduce evoke costs in addition to emerge. With summoning on the battlefield, you can evoke Mulldrifter for U or Shriekmaw for B, and then emerge in Elder Deep-Fiend for UU or Drownyard Behemoth for U! On turn 3!
Add in some discard and some spellskites, maybe there's a deck there?
I don't know if any of the Phyrexian mana creatures are well positioned since Skirge and Legionnaire have 1 toughness, but it would be nice to have a good plan for when you don't draw Summoning or they remove it. Metamorph? Cathedral Membrane???
It is a super fun deck concept, but obviously the key is having Heartless Summoning in hand ASAP. So at minimum, the deck is going to be Dimir, and possibly Grixis for the extra dig (plus lightning bolt).
You can also run the combo with Havengul Lich, though I'm not sure if that is fast enough for Modern.
The idea certainly has merit though.
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"I hope to have such a death... lying in triumph atop the broken bodies of those who slew me..."
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
I experimented with Heartless Summoning and emerge a few days ago and I ran into several problems:
a) A 4/5 or 4/4 is much worse than a 5/6 or 5/5 in a world of Tarmogoyfs and Reality Smashers.
b) The evoke creatures are okay with Elder Deep-Fiend, but the sorcery speed undercuts a huge amount of the Fiend's power. Fiend is best as a pseudo-time walk or cryptic command, but tapping their team on your turn is closer to falter.
c) I'm not convinced Distended Mindbender is that much better than Thought-Knot Seer for the hoops you have to jump through.
d) You want to play with the Eldrazi Temple, but ultimately you're just a less consistent version of Bant Eldrazi with Heartless Summoning making your creatures line up worse.
I wanted to make it work because the synergies are nice, but unfortunately you jump through hoops and take on major deck constraints for a turn early Mindbender or Deep-Fiend that is unlikely to win you the game.
I've had a Heartless Summoning deck built for a while now. You definitely want Havengul Lich! Even though he's boltable he just provides disgusting recursion of your Mulldrifters, Sea Gate Oracles, Shriekmaws, etc. Grave + Frost Titan are also both pretty nice with summoning.
Do you think maybe splashing white for displacer could be useful? Getting mull drifter or shriekmaw in on the cheap then blinking them so they stay around would allow you to emerge on the cheap from them in your opponents upkeep, or continue to blink them for value? Could also play training grounds for extra cute value. Could the mana base be stretched to Esper do you think? Could also allow for some solid sideboard options.
I've been experimenting with a Heartless Summoning deck, although I have been focused on trying to get a combo going rather than using emerge costs. It's been a fun deck to build and I think Heartless Summoning has untapped potential, although of course one issue with these decks is what to do when you don't draw it. There are tons of great combo possibilities, I love your idea of using the emerge cards with flash to get extra value out of evoking Mulldrifter or Shriekmaw!
I'm skeptical of Eldrazi Displacer because it's mana hungry, but it might be worth trying. I do however like going into white to get Dawnfluke, Wall of Omens, and most of all Restoration Angel, which is amazing with Summoning, and decent with any value low drops.
The optimal number of copies of Scout's Warning may be also greater than zero - it can make Deep-Fiend more effective, and maybe turn on some number of Vexing Scuttler?
Can you run Esper and Eldrazi Temple at the same time? Deep-Fiend is the only double-colored spell, but it feels like a stretch. There's also Sanctum of Ugin once we're playing big monsters at big discounts.
I love this version of Eldrazi because Heartless Summoning will work like previous Eye of Ugin. By other hand I tried to create a deck that worked even if you did not have a Heartless Summoning in play.
Early game we have Kozilek's Return to kill small creatures and abuse it's "comeback" when you cast a 7 mana higher Eldrazi. To help with mana ramp and card advantage we have Simian Spirit Guide,Matter Reshaper and Solemn Simulacrum. Playing those cards will help to ramp your game even if you don't have a Heartless Summoning in play. Even if they play Blood Moon or exiles your Eldrazi Temples you can still play because we are not focused on that single land.
Elder Deep-Fiend and Distended Mindbender give this deck a more control kind of game since you can emerge them sacrificing the early creatures (while getting card advantage). Heartless Summoning also reduces the emerge cost and don't forget that they will trigger Kozilek's Return if it is in your grave.
Oblivion Sower is very underestimated card but this card is very strong. It will occasionally ramp and even under Heartless It will be a 4/7 creature. Ruin Processor helps you to recover early damage. World Breaker will remove any annoying land/artifact or enchantment.
If you want a more control game or sideboard against control/combo I suggest Thought-Knot Seer. You can substitute Distended Mindbender/Havengul Lich and/or Ruin Processor.
Modern: G Stompy G UR Izzet Prowess/Delver UR UWB Spirits UWB UWB Brain Control UWB WUB Esper Reveillark WUB EDH: WUBRG Horde of Notions WUBRG W Nine-and-a-Half TailsW WGUR Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis WGUR
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This is totally a thing you could do:
T1: Swamp, Inquisition of Kozilek
T2: Swamp, Heartless Summoning
T3: Swamp, Phyrexian Rager (for B), Distended Mindbender (for BB, sacrificing Rager)
You have a 4/4 in play and are at +1 card, your opponent is at -3 cards. Not bad!
But you don't really start to go off until you realize Summoning can reduce evoke costs in addition to emerge. With summoning on the battlefield, you can evoke Mulldrifter for U or Shriekmaw for B, and then emerge in Elder Deep-Fiend for UU or Drownyard Behemoth for U! On turn 3!
Add in some discard and some spellskites, maybe there's a deck there?
I don't know if any of the Phyrexian mana creatures are well positioned since Skirge and Legionnaire have 1 toughness, but it would be nice to have a good plan for when you don't draw Summoning or they remove it. Metamorph? Cathedral Membrane???
Maybe you want value creature outside of UB, too. Reveillark? Avalanche Riders?
You can also run the combo with Havengul Lich, though I'm not sure if that is fast enough for Modern.
The idea certainly has merit though.
"I hope to have such a death... lying in triumph atop the broken bodies of those who slew me..."
a) A 4/5 or 4/4 is much worse than a 5/6 or 5/5 in a world of Tarmogoyfs and Reality Smashers.
b) The evoke creatures are okay with Elder Deep-Fiend, but the sorcery speed undercuts a huge amount of the Fiend's power. Fiend is best as a pseudo-time walk or cryptic command, but tapping their team on your turn is closer to falter.
c) I'm not convinced Distended Mindbender is that much better than Thought-Knot Seer for the hoops you have to jump through.
d) You want to play with the Eldrazi Temple, but ultimately you're just a less consistent version of Bant Eldrazi with Heartless Summoning making your creatures line up worse.
I wanted to make it work because the synergies are nice, but unfortunately you jump through hoops and take on major deck constraints for a turn early Mindbender or Deep-Fiend that is unlikely to win you the game.
The deck list I tried: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/ub-heartless-eldrazi-2/
For reference there is an old thread dedicated to a Heartless Summoning + Myr Retriever combo.
Regarding splashing white, I think Athreos, God of Passage would have a strong synergy in a deck like this.
Is the retriever combo in the marter proc deck?
The optimal number of copies of Scout's Warning may be also greater than zero - it can make Deep-Fiend more effective, and maybe turn on some number of Vexing Scuttler?
Can you run Esper and Eldrazi Temple at the same time? Deep-Fiend is the only double-colored spell, but it feels like a stretch. There's also Sanctum of Ugin once we're playing big monsters at big discounts.
I love me some Havengul Lich or Myr Retriever shenanigans. The new Filigree Familiar seems like a pretty good upgrade over Phyrexian Rager or Matter Reshaper too.
I think McGee is right that Distended Mindbender is just bad - 4/4 is too small, even if you hit with both sides of the discard.
1 Forest
2 Swamp
3 Island
1 Mountain
4 Mana Confluence
3 Sanctum of Ugin
3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
Enchantments
4 Heartless Summoning
Instant
4 Kozilek's Return
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Oblivion Sower
1 Havengul Lich
2 Ruin Processor
1 Distended Mindbender
3 Elder Deep-Fiend
3 World Breaker
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Dismember
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Ruin Processor
1 Shriekmaw
1 Warping Wail
1 World Breaker
I love this version of Eldrazi because Heartless Summoning will work like previous Eye of Ugin. By other hand I tried to create a deck that worked even if you did not have a Heartless Summoning in play.
Early game we have Kozilek's Return to kill small creatures and abuse it's "comeback" when you cast a 7 mana higher Eldrazi. To help with mana ramp and card advantage we have Simian Spirit Guide,Matter Reshaper and Solemn Simulacrum. Playing those cards will help to ramp your game even if you don't have a Heartless Summoning in play. Even if they play Blood Moon or exiles your Eldrazi Temples you can still play because we are not focused on that single land.
Elder Deep-Fiend and Distended Mindbender give this deck a more control kind of game since you can emerge them sacrificing the early creatures (while getting card advantage). Heartless Summoning also reduces the emerge cost and don't forget that they will trigger Kozilek's Return if it is in your grave.
Oblivion Sower is very underestimated card but this card is very strong. It will occasionally ramp and even under Heartless It will be a 4/7 creature. Ruin Processor helps you to recover early damage. World Breaker will remove any annoying land/artifact or enchantment.
If you want a more control game or sideboard against control/combo I suggest Thought-Knot Seer. You can substitute Distended Mindbender/Havengul Lich and/or Ruin Processor.
Recently I have recorded a video of this deck =D
3 Reveillark
2 Elder Deep-Fiend
3 Shriekmaw
3 Mulldrifter
4 Remand
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Serum Visions
4 Heartless Summoning
4 Wall of Omens
4 Path to Exile
3 Aven Riftwatcher
Still working on the manabase.
G Stompy G
UR Izzet Prowess/Delver UR
UWB Spirits UWB
UWB Brain Control UWBWUB Esper Reveillark WUB
EDH:
WUBRG Horde of Notions WUBRG
W Nine-and-a-Half TailsW
WGUR Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis WGUR