Emrakul, the World's End10CCC
Legendary creature - Eldrazi
When you cast ~, target opponent discards his or her hand.
Flying, vigilance, trample
When ~ is put into a graveyard from anywhere, shuffle your hand, your graveyard, and any number of face-up cards you own from exile into your library, then draw seven cards.
15/15
The Fulmis should definitely be Blood Moons to help the BGx matchup but I just haven't been able to pick them up yet. That said, Fulmi is arguable a better card against tron.
Here is what I board in:
+2 Fulminator Mage
+1 Kolaghan's Command
+4 Negate
Obviously the Fulmis take them off of tron and can stop eye of ugin, but they go farther than that. The chump against Wurmcoil without them gaining any life, chump against non-flying Eldrazi, and, unlike Blood Moon, cannot be removed to negate its effect. I've also had a few games where I got multiple Fulmi effects from a single copy using K Command or Splinter Twin.
The cards that stop your combo in Tron are Spellskite and Oblivion Stone, both of which are answered readily with K Command. Pinging walkers to keep them off ultis is also kinda relevant, but you often point damage to the face or recur a creature.
Four negate is what really makes my board unique, but I've liked it a lot so far. Negate stops O-Stone, Karn, Ugin, Boil, and can even be used on a Map/Sylvan Scrying/Ancient Stirrings if it is the right tempo play. Just trading one for one while you beat down with a creature or draw into the combo is often enough to win matches.
Against other decks, the negates are very strong, although I may cut back on dispel in the sideboard to free up slots (currently no dispel in the main tho). It's great against Burn, Infect, and Bogles in that they are linear decks that don't like to one for one because you have more inevitability than they do. Against blue combo decks it also plays great, and I'd recommend other people trying out increased numbers of negate.
Thoughts on Thirst for Knowledge? I know the older "all in" versions of UR twin would play it but it has some synergy with Kolaghan's Command (and Snapcaster). Obviously we play no artifacts but digging three cards deep and having immediate access to up to all three of them is certainly powerful. Even as the only card in your hand, it replaces itself instant speed with the best of your top 3 cards. The fact that you can use the cards discarded with K Command or Snapcaster or Tasigur makes it seem like it could be playable as a one or two of, despite the 3 drop slot being pretty packed.
Has anyone considered Orcish Librarian or Shadow Guildmage? I hate to be 'that guy' throwing out janky card ideas but I'd like to hear some opinions.
Orcish Librarian can be activated the upkeep of the turn after you play it, effecting your draw for that turn. It can also be activated on an endstep and then again on an upkeep to dig twice before you draw. You can manipulate the cards kept on top using fetches. Worst case it's a two mana Duress for removal, best case it digs through your deck for answers / the combo / threats.
Shadow Guildmage is a way to recur creatures, similar in ability but not function to Kolaghan's Command. It seems best in a meta where 1 damage goes far(vs Affinity, Junk, Infect). Putting creatures on top of your deck is obviously worse than moving them from graveyard to hand and even worse than simply bouncing them. That said, the way it interacts with ETB effects seems interesting. Really a poor card if you're behind so maybe it's not worth testing.
When you board into twin, you don't care about the midrange plan anymore. You are now a combo deck. Maybe not as consistent as twin itself, but as I said, you have plenty of card filtering.
Obviously you don't side into twin against BGx! It is primarily a means to beat Affinity and Tron with more consistency. I'm sure there are other matchups that could be improved as well.
My thought process is that most people will pull all of their targeted removal out after seeing Geist, leaving them very weak to Twin combo. This transformational sideboard should do a lot to improve the Tron and Affinity matchups. Remand, Serum Visions, and Cryptic all help dig through the deck and should make finding combo pieces semi-reliable.
(I am aware that there is already a thread for Grixis Dragons; this deck is fundamentally different.)
Grixis Dragon Combo is a midrange deck that constantly threatens a combo win. In early turns, tokens clog up the field and stall into late game threats or the potential combo finish. Draconic Roar is one of the best removal spells in standard, killing anything up to Mantis Rider and netting value. Foul-Tongue Invocation is not particularly impressive with the many creatures that decks in the meta are playing, but a 3 mana edict that gains life and can potentially answer Ojutai certainly makes the cut. With 11 fetches, Dig Through Time can often go off as early as turn 4. This deck is particularly weak to counterspells, but right now, they are few and far between in the meta. There are many sideboard options that can be taken into account if control decks become more popular (such as Dragonlord's Prerogative) but for now, the deck prays on a lack of counterspells.
Turn three Hordeling Outburst is the main thing to keep in mine when fetching lands. Wooded Foothills can only fetch Smoldering Marsh and mountains so I often play it turn one and get a marsh. The other card with two colored mana that you want to keep in mind early game is Silumgar's Scorn. Because of Shivan Reef and the multitude of fetches, getting RR and UU available on turn 3 happens more often than not.
There is never a need to drop Dragon Tempest early, although if you have a turn 3 and turn 4 play it can be correct. It is crucial to play around Dromoka's Command here, and certainly doable.
Often times, especially against Atarka Red, you just hold back with your tokens and play the safe game until you can drop a dragon. If you consider Descent of the Dragons, it is usually more important to have extra creatures than to be swinging in and losing a couple.
As is always important with Dig Through Time, but still worthy of mention, don't cast it until you need it. Playing a DTT when you are ahead means you won't necessarily know what outs you need if you fall behind. DTT is a great way to put the combo together in a snap and getting dashable Kolaghans can be particularly impressive.
This deck plays pretty well against Crackling Doom as your five and six drops have equal or less power to your Thunderbreak Regents. Apart from that, none of your tokens care about Crackling Doom and as long as you keep it in mind when you drop dragons, it isn't a blowout.
Descent of the Dragons is primarily used on your own creatures but I've had cases where I'd rather an opponent have a dragon than one of their creatures. For example, turning a Dragonmaster Outcast into a 4/4 flyer is better than them getting a 5/5 flyer on their upkeep.
This deck is still a work in progress but I'm very happy with the progress I've made so far. I'd love to get some more people testing it or inputting ideas to try and improve the matchups. Thanks!
I'm sorry, you plan to either pay 7 mana for Howl of the Horde and a land destruction spell OR play a land destruction spell after you've resolved Pyromancer's Goggles!?
I mean, Stifleing fetches, Wastelanding, and Sinkholeing is one thing, but land destruction starting on turn 5 or later, multiple or not, is terrible. Even if you cast a land destruction spell starting on turn 3 for four turns in a row, you just can't win. It isn't resource denial at that point. How do you handle a single resolved threat? Spend a turn casting Roast and you've let them hit their land drop, oh look, another threat.
GreatNate, mind sharing your current list? It seems to me like the meta has shifted to Affinity+Abzan+Jund, meaning that Supreme Verdict is back up for consideration in the mainboard. Putting it in would probably mean sideboarding Geists, any thoughts on the idea?
Against burn you can pick off one of their creatures and get some tempo without triggering Eidolon. Against Affinity you can bounce a manland and kill a creature (as well as hitting Etched Champion). Both of those are common matchups and I think it's still a decent card vs. BGx. Bounce their spell and kill a Bob/Lingering Souls token/LotV? Playable.
Vs. Twin you really hurt to any counters but bouncing a creature in response to Twin is a pretty good play and you might pick off a Snapcaster or Clique while you're at it.
I look forward to playing 1-2 copies mainboard in UWr Control.
A 3 mana sweeper than can exist in the mainboard at the same time as Geist of Saint Traft without causing troubles. Easily does 3 damage but, in a pinch, does one damage and leaves your Geist alive.
Am I absolutely crazy to think that Stormbound Geist could be good in the current meta? Path to Exile is incredibly scarce and in all the grindy Grixis or BGx matchups, a 2/2 with evasion that takes two removal spells to answer seems the right place to be. Great vs LotV, Lightning Bolt, Terminate, etc.
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Grafdigger's Cage
Small Creature Hate:
1 Darkblast
1 Disfigure
1 Electrickery
1 Fire Covenant
1 Forked Bolt
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Rough // Tumble
1 Sudden Demise
1 Engineered Plague
Creature Hate:
1 Baleful Strix
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Dismember
1 Terminate
1 Murderous Cut
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Smash to Smithereens
1 Shattering Spree
1 Null Rod
Counterspells:
1 Pyroblast
1 Hydroblast
1 Flusterstorm
1 Divert
1 Spell Pierce
1 Invasive Surgery
Discard:
1 Cabal Therapy
1 Duress
1 Vendilion Clique
Value:
1 Painful Truths
1 Sylvan Library
1 Bitterblossom
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Winter Orb
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Pithing Needle
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Golgari Charm
1 Kolaghan's Command
Color-Based Hate:
1 Chill
1 Dread of Night
1 Massacre
1 Sulfur Elemental
1 Deathmark
1 Submerge
1 Perish
1 Virtue's Ruin
1 Mind Harness - Potentially good against Shardless BUG and RUG Delver (steal your goyf, sac to Cabal Therapy after a couple turns)
So... Entomb becomes two and a third Ancestral Recalls?
Perhaps a nerfed Rishadan Port that has 1, T: Until end of turn, target land loses all abilities and gains "T: Add <> to your mana pool."?
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Fulminator Mage
1 Grave Titan
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Spellskite
2 Dispel
1 Kolaghan's Command
4 Negate
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Pyroclasm
The Fulmis should definitely be Blood Moons to help the BGx matchup but I just haven't been able to pick them up yet. That said, Fulmi is arguable a better card against tron.
Here is what I board in:
+2 Fulminator Mage
+1 Kolaghan's Command
+4 Negate
Obviously the Fulmis take them off of tron and can stop eye of ugin, but they go farther than that. The chump against Wurmcoil without them gaining any life, chump against non-flying Eldrazi, and, unlike Blood Moon, cannot be removed to negate its effect. I've also had a few games where I got multiple Fulmi effects from a single copy using K Command or Splinter Twin.
The cards that stop your combo in Tron are Spellskite and Oblivion Stone, both of which are answered readily with K Command. Pinging walkers to keep them off ultis is also kinda relevant, but you often point damage to the face or recur a creature.
Four negate is what really makes my board unique, but I've liked it a lot so far. Negate stops O-Stone, Karn, Ugin, Boil, and can even be used on a Map/Sylvan Scrying/Ancient Stirrings if it is the right tempo play. Just trading one for one while you beat down with a creature or draw into the combo is often enough to win matches.
Against other decks, the negates are very strong, although I may cut back on dispel in the sideboard to free up slots (currently no dispel in the main tho). It's great against Burn, Infect, and Bogles in that they are linear decks that don't like to one for one because you have more inevitability than they do. Against blue combo decks it also plays great, and I'd recommend other people trying out increased numbers of negate.
Orcish Librarian can be activated the upkeep of the turn after you play it, effecting your draw for that turn. It can also be activated on an endstep and then again on an upkeep to dig twice before you draw. You can manipulate the cards kept on top using fetches. Worst case it's a two mana Duress for removal, best case it digs through your deck for answers / the combo / threats.
Shadow Guildmage is a way to recur creatures, similar in ability but not function to Kolaghan's Command. It seems best in a meta where 1 damage goes far(vs Affinity, Junk, Infect). Putting creatures on top of your deck is obviously worse than moving them from graveyard to hand and even worse than simply bouncing them. That said, the way it interacts with ETB effects seems interesting. Really a poor card if you're behind so maybe it's not worth testing.
Obviously you don't side into twin against BGx! It is primarily a means to beat Affinity and Tron with more consistency. I'm sure there are other matchups that could be improved as well.
My thought process is that most people will pull all of their targeted removal out after seeing Geist, leaving them very weak to Twin combo. This transformational sideboard should do a lot to improve the Tron and Affinity matchups. Remand, Serum Visions, and Cryptic all help dig through the deck and should make finding combo pieces semi-reliable.
Grixis Dragon Combo is a midrange deck that constantly threatens a combo win. In early turns, tokens clog up the field and stall into late game threats or the potential combo finish. Draconic Roar is one of the best removal spells in standard, killing anything up to Mantis Rider and netting value. Foul-Tongue Invocation is not particularly impressive with the many creatures that decks in the meta are playing, but a 3 mana edict that gains life and can potentially answer Ojutai certainly makes the cut. With 11 fetches, Dig Through Time can often go off as early as turn 4. This deck is particularly weak to counterspells, but right now, they are few and far between in the meta. There are many sideboard options that can be taken into account if control decks become more popular (such as Dragonlord's Prerogative) but for now, the deck prays on a lack of counterspells.
3 Dragon Tempest
3 Descent of the Dragons
Tokens:
4 Dragon Fodder
4 Hordeling Outburst
Dragons:
4 Thunderbreak Regent
2 Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
1 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
Interaction:
4 Draconic Roar
3 Foul-Tongue Invocation
3 Silumgar's Scorn
4 Dig Through Time
Lands: (25)
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
3 Wooded Foothills
2 Smoldering Marsh
2 Sunken Hollow
4 Shivan Reef
3 Island
2 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Dragonlord Silumgar
2 Dispel
2 Fiery Impulse
3 Silumgar's Command
3 Ultimate Price
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
1 Arc Lightning
1 Self-Inflicted Wound
Playing the deck:
Sideboarding:
VS. Atarka Red
+1 Dispel
+2 Fiery Impulse
+3 Ultimate Price
+1 Arc Lightning
-3 Descent of the Dragons (six drops are too slow here)
-2 Dragon Tempest (still useful to have one copy as it pings creatures)
-2 Silumgar's Scorn (pretty slow and not as useful as removal)
VS. GW Megamorph
+2 Fiery Impulse
+3 Silumgar's Command (great answer to Gideon)
+3 Ultimate Price
+2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker (GW can't answer an indestructible 4/4 flyer)
+1 Self-Inflicted Wound
-3 Descent of the Dragons (our tokens are all spent blocking)
-3 Foul-Tongue Invocation
-2 Silumgar's Scorn
-3 Dragon Tempest (poor vs Dromoka's Command)
VS. Jeskai Black
+2 Dispel
+2 Fiery Impulse
+3 Silumgar's Command
+1 Self-Inflicted Wound (sadly poor against Gideon but necessary for Ojutai)
-3 Descent of the Dragons (they have counters SB)
-3 Dragon Tempest
-2 Silumgar's Command
This deck is still a work in progress but I'm very happy with the progress I've made so far. I'd love to get some more people testing it or inputting ideas to try and improve the matchups. Thanks!
I mean, Stifleing fetches, Wastelanding, and Sinkholeing is one thing, but land destruction starting on turn 5 or later, multiple or not, is terrible. Even if you cast a land destruction spell starting on turn 3 for four turns in a row, you just can't win. It isn't resource denial at that point. How do you handle a single resolved threat? Spend a turn casting Roast and you've let them hit their land drop, oh look, another threat.
Vs. Twin you really hurt to any counters but bouncing a creature in response to Twin is a pretty good play and you might pick off a Snapcaster or Clique while you're at it.
I look forward to playing 1-2 copies mainboard in UWr Control.
A 3 mana sweeper than can exist in the mainboard at the same time as Geist of Saint Traft without causing troubles. Easily does 3 damage but, in a pinch, does one damage and leaves your Geist alive.