I was recommended to watch Budget Deck Tech a while back and boy has his videos been AMAZING. I'm recently getting back into the MTG scene and this is helping me decide what I want to play. Specifically, I found this video:
Now, I know it's probably not the best deck in the world, but it seems like a lot of fun AND I have most of the cards already so it's rather cheap to play. It seems interesting to me so I would like this to be my first standard deck I build (and nothing rotates! :D)
I tinkered with it a little since I had some of the cards he said I could replace with. Now, my question is: I have 1 Kozilek, the Great Distortion , 2 Thought-Knot Seer and 2 Hangarback Walker. He stated that if you had these you can more than likely upgrade the deck to make it even more powerful. What do you recommend I take out to put in place of these? I'm not opposed of buying more of them if needed to make it better. I was thinking of Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger as well.
Also, would it be possible to add another color to this deck if I really wanted to turn it up a notch? I like the way this flows, but if I can make it even better I would like to (I've also been reading mono decks aren't really that popular in the format at the moment.)
As you can see I'm not a deck builder (yet) so I'm looking for guidance to get me started. Hopefully one day I can do this on my own, but there's no shame in asking for advice
Thanks for taking the time to read/respond to my thread!
Edit: I just wanted to state I love this tagging feature. Makes things so much easier!
For the Eldrazi three colors may not be out of the question as well. You have Corrupted Crossroads(Devoid Only) and Crumbling Vestige both are fine lands that along with the pain land cycle from Origins provide you with 12 lands that potentially can produce each of your colors. Though for me it looks like two colors is where it's at right now.
Thanks for the very detailed reply! With the suggestions you posted I think I want to mix in some swamp in this deck. Since I'll be taking out some of those lands do you recommend to just add basic swamps?
I found some Flayer Drone that might be a nice addition if I wanted to add red as my third color as well.
The thing about a card like Grasp of Darkness is it costs 2 black on turn two. You need like 20 black sources of mana to cast that on turn two reliably. I agree black is a probably the best thing to splash for with Eldrazi. Caves of Koilos is like another duel land you can use. I think you should cut down on the number of lands that enter the battlefield tapped as well. I would cut down on some number of Mirrorpool and Ruins of Oran-Rief for four Caves of Koilos.
I also think that Thought-Knot Seer and Reaver Drone are some strong considerations. I don't think you need a third color. If you add the drone the deck needs at least 14 black mana sources.
I like Reality Smasher right now, but once SOI drops, he just becomes a free Madness outlet for my opponent.
Edit: Been playing around with this online and decided to drop Oblivion Sower completely, since with 24 land I really don't need him that much. I also upped the Mirrorpool count back to 4. So cool to copy a Bane or Walker, especially with Mimic in play. Has so far been a fun deck to play. Haven't drawn any Channelers yet so far, don't know if I really need them.
I like Reality Smasher right now, but once SOI drops, he just becomes a free Madness outlet for my opponent.
I'm still catching up with the terms of cards; I looked up madness, but what you mean when you say he becomes an outlet for your opponent?
If an opponent targets your Smasher with a spell, that spell gets countered unless that opponent discards a card. Once Madness is back in standard, all your opponent has to do is discard a card with Madness and gets twice the benefit. What was once a drawback for your opponent becomes a potential drawback for you as I can't see Madness not being played in SOI standard.
I like Reality Smasher right now, but once SOI drops, he just becomes a free Madness outlet for my opponent.
I'm still catching up with the terms of cards; I looked up madness, but what you mean when you say he becomes an outlet for your opponent?
If an opponent targets your Smasher with a spell, that spell gets countered unless that opponent discards a card. Once Madness is back in standard, all your opponent has to do is discard a card with Madness and gets twice the benefit. What was once a drawback for your opponent becomes a potential drawback for you as I can't see Madness not being played in SOI standard.
I'm not too sure about that. So far the madness mechanic is commonly seen in Red and Black, commonly with Vampire cards, and none of them seem to be particularly powerful. Also, in order for Reality Smasher to help enable madness, the opponent would have to first play a spell that targets Reality Smasher while still having enough mana to play their discarded card's madness cost. Overall balancing out Reality Smasher is quite needed since a 5/5 for 5 cmc with Trample, Haste, and partial Hexproof is just too powerful. Even if that partial hexproof ability was completely removed (which isn't the case here), a 5/5 creature with Trample and Haste is still no laughing matter.
Also, despite all the hype with BR Vampires, I don't think it's going to live up to it. I've tested out BR Vampires decks using the spoiled SOI cards, and the madness mechanic is quite difficult to execute, since you'd need a way to discard while also having enough mana for madness costs; having both on the same turn is highly unlikely. Without madness, the deck is incredibly slow.
Walker of the Wastes is a lot of fun to play in a mono-C build. It's always at least 7/7 and often more, which is great w Eldrazi Mimic. Here's my list.
The basic idea is to use the Crawlers, Lanterns, and Archives to get to your 4, 5, and 6 drops as soon as possible, because that's where your best game is. The Endless Ones and Hangarbacks are used to stay on curve in the early/mid game and to dump mana into in the late game.
I'm also not running any Reality Smashers in the maindeck. Not sure that's optimal but I like the flexibility of the Endbringers, Endless Ones, and Hangarbacks.
The deck can't interact well at all, and doesn't have great sideboard options, but it curves out well, can get powerful stuff out ahead of curve, and in the late game it usually can find gas and also ways to use its extra mana. It's obviously not ultra-competitive but I find it fun to play.
@Keats1988: Until rotation, I think Reaver Drone works best w 4 copies of Ghostfire Blade. After rotation, I'm not sure how playable Reaver will be. A vanilla Savannah Lion ain't no great shakes unless you're swarming w a dedicated white weenies deck, and Reaver Drone is strictly worse than a vanilla Savannah Lion.
Do you ever have issues w the speed of Hangarback Walker? I find it's at its best in slower, grindier games, or when you need an early game speedbump against an aggro deck. But it's not the greatest at delivering quick beats, which I assume is the gameplan if you're running Reaver Drone.
I'm not too sure about that. So far the madness mechanic is commonly seen in Red and Black, commonly with Vampire cards, and none of them seem to be particularly powerful. Also, in order for Reality Smasher to help enable madness, the opponent would have to first play a spell that targets Reality Smasher while still having enough mana to play their discarded card's madness cost. Overall balancing out Reality Smasher is quite needed since a 5/5 for 5 cmc with Trample, Haste, and partial Hexproof is just too powerful. Even if that partial hexproof ability was completely removed (which isn't the case here), a 5/5 creature with Trample and Haste is still no laughing matter.
Also, despite all the hype with BR Vampires, I don't think it's going to live up to it. I've tested out BR Vampires decks using the spoiled SOI cards, and the madness mechanic is quite difficult to execute, since you'd need a way to discard while also having enough mana for madness costs; having both on the same turn is highly unlikely. Without madness, the deck is incredibly slow.
I can vouch for how powerful Reality Smasher is, especially in the mirror. I just went 0-5 in a 5 Match league on MTGO, so I believe a retool is in order. Endless One should've made the cut originally, and Reality Smasher is going back in. I'm also considering a color splash, either B or G, as the Mono-C version can get off to some slow starts that's almost impossible to come back from. G offers ramp, From Beyond and Worldbreaker, while B offers better removal and distruption.
I also discovered that Spatial Contortion is better than Titan's Presence as sometimes I didn't have a colorless creature in hand when I needed to cast Presence. Another point towards splashing B.
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CCL Winner- July '08, Aug '08 Sept '08, Oct '08 Survivor- CCS: Lost in Takenuma, CCS: Stranded In Tolaria
I don't always play Jank, but when I do, I play Saffronolive.
Hes in there for value I bring him out and bring in mimic when I need more speed like vs control. I want Wasteland Strangler real bad but I don't think I have enough exile to make him worth it. The Reaver Drone isn't great I admit but something to do on turn one and some early beats vs slower decks is good. I can see main decking Eldrazi Mimic and adding 4 Endless Ones, and putting Hangarback Walker into the sideboard and cutting the drone entirely to make it a str8 mid range deck.
I think the consensus is the Black Eldrazi would probably survive the best after rotation. The different mono colored Eldrazi have pretty much the same foundations, but Black by far is the most removal-heavy.
Here's the version I've been testing out. It's a variation of the one used by Michael Romero at Grand prix Houston.
I haven't figured out the sideboard out yet because I don't know what kind of decks people at my local meta will play until after SOI has been released, but I think this is probably what it'll end up looking like. The card I was a little hesitant on is Swarm Surge, which I included since Ghostfire Blade will be rotating out.
Also, anyone know why the core Eldrazi cards (Though-knot Seer, Reality Smasher, and Matter Reshaper) are all declining in value? I thought Eldrazis are expected to perform well after rotation, so then shouldn't their prices be increasing???
Also, anyone know why the core Eldrazi cards (Though-knot Seer, Reality Smasher, and Matter Reshaper) are all declining in value? I thought Eldrazis are expected to perform well after rotation, so then shouldn't their prices be increasing???
As a guess, the Eldrazi prices boomed becuase of Modern Pro Tour. But as the dust is settling and probably a looming ban in Modern, thier hotness is cooling down. Also, not many people are playing Eldrazi in standard, from what I can tell.
I think the consensus is the Black Eldrazi would probably survive the best after rotation. The different mono colored Eldrazi have pretty much the same foundations, but Black by far is the most removal-heavy.
Here's the version I've been testing out. It's a variation of the one used by Michael Romero at Grand prix Houston.
I haven't figured out the sideboard out yet because I don't know what kind of decks people at my local meta will play until after SOI has been released, but I think this is probably what it'll end up looking like. The card I was a little hesitant on is Swarm Surge, which I included since Ghostfire Blade will be rotating out.
Totally agree with this. Red Eldrazi is pretty good. But head to head I think black would detroy red. Ultimate price should be atleast 2x main deck, if not 4x. Its going to be a very relevant card.
My spell list would be 4x transgress the mind, 4x ultimate price, 2x grasp of darkness, 2x spatial contortion.
I am also interested in testing 4x carrier thrall. He can block and leave behind a very relevant scion.
This thread got me interested. Should probably have a couple of warping wail in the mb for versatility. It also allows us to ramp to smasher and walker.
I think the consensus is the Black Eldrazi would probably survive the best after rotation. The different mono colored Eldrazi have pretty much the same foundations, but Black by far is the most removal-heavy.
Here's the version I've been testing out. It's a variation of the one used by Michael Romero at Grand prix Houston.
I haven't figured out the sideboard out yet because I don't know what kind of decks people at my local meta will play until after SOI has been released, but I think this is probably what it'll end up looking like. The card I was a little hesitant on is Swarm Surge, which I included since Ghostfire Blade will be rotating out.
Totally agree with this. Red Eldrazi is pretty good. But head to head I think black would detroy red. Ultimate price should be atleast 2x main deck, if not 4x. Its going to be a very relevant card.
My spell list would be 4x transgress the mind, 4x ultimate price, 2x grasp of darkness, 2x spatial contortion.
I am also interested in testing 4x carrier thrall. He can block and leave behind a very relevant scion.
After further testing, I think I'd want to tweak it a bit:
I've concluded that Eldrazi Mimic isn't that good because if it's not in your starting hand, it's not very effective. In the late game, if you top deck it, it's really just a vanilla 2/1 creature; not good. The Hedron Crawlers I found to be a better addition because since Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher are always the MVP of this deck, I'd prefer to bring them out ASAP.
I think Ultimate Price is going to be excellent because without Fetchlands, there's going to more mono-colored creatures. But many also think Eldrazi are going to become more popular post-rotation, so I'm still hesitant about mainboarding Ultimate Price. Plus I'm still a big fan of Spatial Contortion because it's both a removal and power booster.
4x Transgress the Mind seems a little overkill imo, because most 1-2 colored decks are more aggro-based, which means not many cards with 3+ cmc. Accordingly, I've taken out 1 Wasteland Strangler.
4x Bearer of Silence also seems overkill, since it more often than not costs 4 to cast, it really constrains the mana base.
Kalitas is included to help capitalize more on the heavy amounts of removal in this deck.
The inclusion of Read the Bones was probably the best decision since card advantage is always a good thing.
I haven't tested this out at my local shop yet, but I think this is overall more well-rounded than what I had posted originally. But of course, it's all subject to change once SOI comes out.
Also, anyone know why the core Eldrazi cards (Though-knot Seer, Reality Smasher, and Matter Reshaper) are all declining in value? I thought Eldrazis are expected to perform well after rotation, so then shouldn't their prices be increasing???
As a guess, the Eldrazi prices boomed becuase of Modern Pro Tour. But as the dust is settling and probably a looming ban in Modern, thier hotness is cooling down. Also, not many people are playing Eldrazi in standard, from what I can tell.
Then do you not think Eldrazis would be good enough for Standard after rotation? I've seen people playing Eldrazis right now and I would've figured they'd become even better when 4-5 color decks are no longer common in Standard.
Also, anyone know why the core Eldrazi cards (Though-knot Seer, Reality Smasher, and Matter Reshaper) are all declining in value? I thought Eldrazis are expected to perform well after rotation, so then shouldn't their prices be increasing???
As a guess, the Eldrazi prices boomed becuase of Modern Pro Tour. But as the dust is settling and probably a looming ban in Modern, thier hotness is cooling down. Also, not many people are playing Eldrazi in standard, from what I can tell.
Then do you not think Eldrazis would be good enough for Standard after rotation? I've seen people playing Eldrazis right now and I would've figured they'd become even better when 4-5 color decks are no longer common in Standard.
I have no idea how good Eldrazi will be. But I suspect, as you do, they could see more play when SOI gets here.
I was recommended to watch Budget Deck Tech a while back and boy has his videos been AMAZING. I'm recently getting back into the MTG scene and this is helping me decide what I want to play. Specifically, I found this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvVYYeZNmlM
Now, I know it's probably not the best deck in the world, but it seems like a lot of fun AND I have most of the cards already so it's rather cheap to play. It seems interesting to me so I would like this to be my first standard deck I build (and nothing rotates! :D)
Here's the deck:
4 Eldrazi Mimic
4 Matter Reshaper
3 Reality Smasher
2 Oblivion Sower
2 Conduit of Ruin
2 Bane of Bala Ged
2 Deceiver of Form
4 Spatial Contortion
3 Titan's Presence
4 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
4 Sanctum of Ugin
4 Mage-Ring Network
4 Ruins of Oran Rief
3 Rouge's Passage
4 Mirrorpool
3 Sea Gate Wreckage
I tinkered with it a little since I had some of the cards he said I could replace with. Now, my question is: I have 1 Kozilek, the Great Distortion , 2 Thought-Knot Seer and 2 Hangarback Walker. He stated that if you had these you can more than likely upgrade the deck to make it even more powerful. What do you recommend I take out to put in place of these? I'm not opposed of buying more of them if needed to make it better. I was thinking of Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger as well.
Also, would it be possible to add another color to this deck if I really wanted to turn it up a notch? I like the way this flows, but if I can make it even better I would like to (I've also been reading mono decks aren't really that popular in the format at the moment.)
As you can see I'm not a deck builder (yet) so I'm looking for guidance to get me started. Hopefully one day I can do this on my own, but there's no shame in asking for advice
Thanks for taking the time to read/respond to my thread!
Edit: I just wanted to state I love this tagging feature. Makes things so much easier!
Hedron Crawler, Hedron Archive, Oblivion Sower, Shrine of the Forsaken Gods, Sanctum of Ugin, Mage-Ring Network and Conduit of Ruin are cards that go into a different style of deck that would look to ramp into the big Eldrazi like Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger. I think you would be better off just curving out topping your mana curve off at 5.
You can absolutely splash a second color. Here are some notable Eldrazi. I like Eldrazi Obligator, Vile Aggregate, Bearer of Silence, Reaver Drone, Wasteland Strangler, Dimensional Infiltrator, Ruination Guide, Eldrazi Displacer. There are a few other but they are a little more niche then these ones here. Endless One is also one to keep in mind.
For the Eldrazi three colors may not be out of the question as well. You have Corrupted Crossroads(Devoid Only) and Crumbling Vestige both are fine lands that along with the pain land cycle from Origins provide you with 12 lands that potentially can produce each of your colors. Though for me it looks like two colors is where it's at right now.
I found some Flayer Drone that might be a nice addition if I wanted to add red as my third color as well.
I played around a bit and came up with this:
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Reality Smasher
4 Endless One
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Bearer of Silence
2 Warping Wail
4 Spatial Contortion
3 Titan's Presence
4 Crumbling Vestige
4 Ruins of Oran-Rief
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Mirrorpool
4 Sea Gate Wreckage
5 Swamp
I'm thinking of adding Grasp of Darkness. Trying to decide what I want to take out, if anything. How does anyone feel about Ob Nixilis Reignited?
I also think that Thought-Knot Seer and Reaver Drone are some strong considerations. I don't think you need a third color. If you add the drone the deck needs at least 14 black mana sources.
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Crumbling Vestige
4 Sea Gate Wreckage
8 Swamp
A mana base like that would allow you to run the Grasp of Darkness as well as the Reaver Drone, two cards I like a lot!
I also think that the Warping Wail is more of a sideboard card to counter a board wipe spell.
4 Reaver Drone
4 Bearer of Silence
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
Instants
4 Spatial Contortion
4 Grasp of Darkness
4 Ruinous Path
Lands
3 Llanowar Wastes
3 Caves of Koilos
4 Crumbling Vestige
4 Sea Gate Wreckage
10 Swamp
4 Warping Wail
4 Duress
7 ?
I like something like this. I think I will play this deck right after rotation in fact! I don't know what the last 7 spots for sideboarding should be.
C Long Live Eldrazi C
4 Hedron Crawler
4 Eldrazi Mimic
4 Walker of the Wastes
4 Matter Reshaper
2 Kozilek's Channeler
2 Conduit of Ruin
3 Bane of Bala Ged
2 Deceiver of Form
4 Hedron Archive
4 Spatial Contortion
3 Titan's Presence
Land:
16 Wastes
4 Mirrorpool
2 Rogue's Passage
2 Sea Gate Wreckage
I like Reality Smasher right now, but once SOI drops, he just becomes a free Madness outlet for my opponent.
Edit: Been playing around with this online and decided to drop Oblivion Sower completely, since with 24 land I really don't need him that much. I also upped the Mirrorpool count back to 4. So cool to copy a Bane or Walker, especially with Mimic in play. Has so far been a fun deck to play. Haven't drawn any Channelers yet so far, don't know if I really need them.
CCL Winner- July '08, Aug '08 Sept '08, Oct '08
Survivor- CCS: Lost in Takenuma, CCS: Stranded In Tolaria
I'm still catching up with the terms of cards; I looked up madness, but what you mean when you say he becomes an outlet for your opponent?
If an opponent targets your Smasher with a spell, that spell gets countered unless that opponent discards a card. Once Madness is back in standard, all your opponent has to do is discard a card with Madness and gets twice the benefit. What was once a drawback for your opponent becomes a potential drawback for you as I can't see Madness not being played in SOI standard.
CCL Winner- July '08, Aug '08 Sept '08, Oct '08
Survivor- CCS: Lost in Takenuma, CCS: Stranded In Tolaria
I'm not too sure about that. So far the madness mechanic is commonly seen in Red and Black, commonly with Vampire cards, and none of them seem to be particularly powerful. Also, in order for Reality Smasher to help enable madness, the opponent would have to first play a spell that targets Reality Smasher while still having enough mana to play their discarded card's madness cost. Overall balancing out Reality Smasher is quite needed since a 5/5 for 5 cmc with Trample, Haste, and partial Hexproof is just too powerful. Even if that partial hexproof ability was completely removed (which isn't the case here), a 5/5 creature with Trample and Haste is still no laughing matter.
Also, despite all the hype with BR Vampires, I don't think it's going to live up to it. I've tested out BR Vampires decks using the spoiled SOI cards, and the madness mechanic is quite difficult to execute, since you'd need a way to discard while also having enough mana for madness costs; having both on the same turn is highly unlikely. Without madness, the deck is incredibly slow.
Walker of the Wastes is a lot of fun to play in a mono-C build. It's always at least 7/7 and often more, which is great w Eldrazi Mimic. Here's my list.
Creatures (28)
4 Eldrazi Mimic
4 Hedron Crawler
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Walker of the Wastes
2 Endbringer
3 Hangarback Walker
3 Endless One
2 Spatial Contortion
2 Warping Wail
2 Seer's Lantern
2 Hedron Archive
Land (24)
16 Wastes
4 Ruins of Oran-Rief
2 Foundry of the Consuls
2 Rogue's Passage
2 Spatial Contortion
2 Warping Wail
2 Titan's Presence
1 Hedron Archive
4 Reality Smasher
2 Endbringer
1 Endless One
1 Hangarback Walker
The basic idea is to use the Crawlers, Lanterns, and Archives to get to your 4, 5, and 6 drops as soon as possible, because that's where your best game is. The Endless Ones and Hangarbacks are used to stay on curve in the early/mid game and to dump mana into in the late game.
I'm also not running any Reality Smashers in the maindeck. Not sure that's optimal but I like the flexibility of the Endbringers, Endless Ones, and Hangarbacks.
The deck can't interact well at all, and doesn't have great sideboard options, but it curves out well, can get powerful stuff out ahead of curve, and in the late game it usually can find gas and also ways to use its extra mana. It's obviously not ultra-competitive but I find it fun to play.
4 Reaver Drone
4 Bearer of Silence
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
Spells
4 Grasp of Darkness
4 Spatial Contortion
2 Ultimate Price
2 Ruinous Path
10 Swamp
3 Llanowar Wastes
3 Caves of Koilos
4 Crumbling Vestige
4 Blighted Fen
4 Eldrazi Mimic
4 Warping Wail
4 Duress
2 Transgress the Mind
1 Ruinous Path
I just thought I would share my updated black Eldrazi list. It's strong and is easy to sideboard for.
Do you ever have issues w the speed of Hangarback Walker? I find it's at its best in slower, grindier games, or when you need an early game speedbump against an aggro deck. But it's not the greatest at delivering quick beats, which I assume is the gameplan if you're running Reaver Drone.
I'd also look at mainboarding a couple of Duress and Transgress the Mind. A couple of copies each of Wasteland Strangler, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, Ob Nixilis Reignited, and even Read the Bones are all possible inclusions. I'd also look to diversify/add utility lands beyond just Blighted Fen.
I also discovered that Spatial Contortion is better than Titan's Presence as sometimes I didn't have a colorless creature in hand when I needed to cast Presence. Another point towards splashing B.
CCL Winner- July '08, Aug '08 Sept '08, Oct '08
Survivor- CCS: Lost in Takenuma, CCS: Stranded In Tolaria
4 Hedron Crawler
4 Endless One
4 Walker of the Wastes
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
2 Deceiver of Form
4 Hedron Archive
4 Spatial Contortion
2 Titan's Presence
Land:
15 Wastes
4 Llanowar Wastes
3 Mirrorpool
2 Sea Gate Wreckage
CCL Winner- July '08, Aug '08 Sept '08, Oct '08
Survivor- CCS: Lost in Takenuma, CCS: Stranded In Tolaria
Here's the version I've been testing out. It's a variation of the one used by Michael Romero at Grand prix Houston.
4x Though-Knot Seer
4x Reality Smasher
4x Bearer of Silence
4x Eldrazi Mimic
4x Matter Reshaper
3x Wasteland Strangler
Spells (12):
4x Spatial Contortion
4x Transgress the Mind
2x Grasp of Darkness
2x Warping Wail
4x Crumbling Vestige
4x Llanowar Wastes
3x Caves of Koilos
2x Mirrorpool
2x Ruins of Oran-Rief
2x Sea Gate Wreckage
2x Blighted Fen
6x Swamp
2x Swarm Surge
3x Duress
2x Ruinous Path
2x Flaying Tendrils
2x Ultimate Price
2x Ob Nixilis, Reignited
2x Infinite Obliteration
I haven't figured out the sideboard out yet because I don't know what kind of decks people at my local meta will play until after SOI has been released, but I think this is probably what it'll end up looking like. The card I was a little hesitant on is Swarm Surge, which I included since Ghostfire Blade will be rotating out.
C Long Live Eldrazi C
Ultimate price should be atleast 2x main deck, if not 4x. Its going to be a very relevant card.
My spell list would be 4x transgress the mind, 4x ultimate price, 2x grasp of darkness, 2x spatial contortion.
I am also interested in testing 4x carrier thrall. He can block and leave behind a very relevant scion.
C Long Live Eldrazi C
After further testing, I think I'd want to tweak it a bit:
4x Though-Knot Seer
4x Reality Smasher
3x Bearer of Silence
2x Hedron Crawler
2x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
4x Matter Reshaper
2x Wasteland Strangler
Spells (14):
4x Spatial Contortion
3x Transgress the Mind
2x Grasp of Darkness
2x Warping Wail
2x Read the Bones
1x Ob Nixilis Reignited
4x Crumbling Vestige
4x Llanowar Wastes
3x Caves of Koilos
2x Mirrorpool
2x Ruins of Oran-Rief
2x Sea Gate Wreckage
2x Blighted Fen
6x Swamp
1x Warping Wail
3x Duress
2x Self-Inflicted Wound
2x Ruinous Path
2x Flaying Tendrils
3x Ultimate Price
2x Infinite Obliteration
I've concluded that Eldrazi Mimic isn't that good because if it's not in your starting hand, it's not very effective. In the late game, if you top deck it, it's really just a vanilla 2/1 creature; not good. The Hedron Crawlers I found to be a better addition because since Thought-Knot Seer and Reality Smasher are always the MVP of this deck, I'd prefer to bring them out ASAP.
I think Ultimate Price is going to be excellent because without Fetchlands, there's going to more mono-colored creatures. But many also think Eldrazi are going to become more popular post-rotation, so I'm still hesitant about mainboarding Ultimate Price. Plus I'm still a big fan of Spatial Contortion because it's both a removal and power booster.
4x Transgress the Mind seems a little overkill imo, because most 1-2 colored decks are more aggro-based, which means not many cards with 3+ cmc. Accordingly, I've taken out 1 Wasteland Strangler.
4x Bearer of Silence also seems overkill, since it more often than not costs 4 to cast, it really constrains the mana base.
Kalitas is included to help capitalize more on the heavy amounts of removal in this deck.
The inclusion of Read the Bones was probably the best decision since card advantage is always a good thing.
I haven't tested this out at my local shop yet, but I think this is overall more well-rounded than what I had posted originally. But of course, it's all subject to change once SOI comes out.
Then do you not think Eldrazis would be good enough for Standard after rotation? I've seen people playing Eldrazis right now and I would've figured they'd become even better when 4-5 color decks are no longer common in Standard.
Also, please explain how Hedron Crawler is a better top deck than Eldrazi Mimic
C Long Live Eldrazi C