Leveling Up With Frogs

Ever since US Nationals I had dedicated myself to mastering the deck that is Frog OTK. Although when the deck was young, I had considered it a luck-based “all or nothing” deck that required you to win die rolls and get lucky throughout the day (see my “die roll jokes” in previous articles). After the deck placed second at Canadian Nationals, I gave the deck a second look and discovered that it was a very hard deck to play. You often had to work for your wins and were sometimes forced to win in unconventional ways.

I Day2′d US Nationals with a 7-2 record and lost out to Herald of Perfection (aka “the worst matchup”) in round 10. I honestly wish I had practiced more with the deck before the event. I came very close to topping, and I feel that with more experience and better sidedeck I could’ve got there. After nationals, I started tearing up local tournaments at The Game Academy. I was pretty confident that I would be able to top8 the 2K tournament, but I also recognized that it was Yu-Gi-Oh! and anything could happen.

My sidedeck had evolved a lot since I had started playing the deck. After Sam Tse took Canadian Nationals by storm, the maindeck had become standardized. No two Frog OTK maindecks differ by more than a card or two. I’ve been using Tse’s exact list from the beginning. Here it is for reference…

Monsters: 26
3 Substitoad
2 Ronintoadin
1 Fishborg Blaster
3 Swap Frog
3 Dupe Frog
3 Poison Draw Frog
3 Unifrog
2 Des Frog
2 Beelze Frog
2 Flip Flop Frog
2 Treeborn Frog

Spells: 14
3 Salvage
3 Hand Destruction
3 Moray of Greed
2 Mass Driver
1 Card Destruction
1 Giant Trunade
1 One for One

I’ll explain some of the choices for those who are unfamilar with the deck (which I find is still a lot of people, despite this being one of the top3 decks of the format). Twenty Frogs is the most logical number, as 20 * 400 = 8000.

The 1-of Fishborg Blaster is definitely needed. If you need extra damage with the Mass Driver OTK (say they gained lifepoints with Magical Android), Fishborg Blaster allows every card in your hand to be an additional 400 damage. Sometimes Frogs get removed with Gladiator Beast Retiari, Banisher of Radiance, or D.D. Warrior Lady and you find that you need to do extra damage. Also, being tuner is extremely relevant as it gives you an alternate win condition. If I see a synchro OTK I’ll usually take it over the option of hoping to draw into a Mass Driver. My synchros of choice are usually a powered-up Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier, a Mist Wurm, and 2 Swap Frogs for exactly 8000 (3500 + 2500 + 1000 + 1000). Yet another win condition is to synchro for Colossal Fighter and Armory Arm, attach Armory Arm to your opponent’s big monster, and keep ramming your Colossal Fighter, reviving itself each time, and dealing your opponent 2800 damage for each battle. This OTK allows you dodge Gorz-like effects, but not Hanewata.

Sam Tse’s greatest innovation to the deck was only playing two copies of Mass Driver, the deck’s most common win condition. The key thing you need to realize is that once you resolve a Substitoad loop the game is usually over. You’ll thin the deck of everything minus Mass Drivers and cards that will draw you cards (Moray of Greed, Hand Destruction). After bringing Poison Draw Frogs to the field, you use Swap Frog to send them to the graveyard and draw three cards. In those three cards there has to be a Mass Driver or a draw spell. Getting the Mass Driver early on might seem like a “lucky draw”, but you can usually draw the entire deck if needed.

I really didn’t know what I was doing when it came to the sidedeck. I figured that I should just trust Sam Tse’s judgment on the sidedeck as well, and decided to play this side in the national tournament…

Sidedeck: 15
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
2 Light and Darkness Dragon
1 Caius the Shadow Monarch
2 Deep Sea Diva
1 Spined Gillman
2 Pot of Avarice
1 Brain Control
1 Enemy Controller
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Raigeki Break

Although I liked some of the cards, I found most of them to be useless. Light and Darkness Dragon was amazing, and I liked my Raigeki Break tech pretty well, but most of the time the side just wasn’t good enough. I modified the monsters in the side after I saw the lists that topped our nationals.

Sidedeck: 15
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
2 Light and Darkness Dragon
2 Quickdraw Synchron
2 Cyber Dragon
2 Pot of Avarice
1 Brain Control
1 Enemy Controller
1 Heavy Storm
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Torrential Tribute
1 Raigeki Break

Quickdraw Synchron seemed great in theory, but I found that it usually sat in my hand the entire game. Interestingly enough, I found that most of my friends were having the same experience with it. Cyber Dragon was decent, but it wasn’t as stellar as people were making it out to be. Again, the only card that I liked in the side was Light and Darkness Dragon. These less-than-optimal sidedecks were good enough to win local tournaments, but I wanted my sidedeck to be something reliable rather than a pile of fifteen cards that I might throw in the deck just for fun.

I don’t remember where the idea came from, but I figured that an Absolute Zero sidedeck was worth trying. I figured that a Raigeki on legs was pretty good against most of the format. Absolute Zero leads to some pretty sick blowouts and allows you steal games that you shouldn’t have won. Here was my first draft of the new sidedeck:

Sidedeck: 15
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
3 Elemental Hero Alius
3 Miracle Fusion
1 Future Fusion
1 Heavy Storm
2 Gemini Spark
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 E – Emergency Call
1 Treacherous Trap Hole

I honestly thought this sidedeck would solve a lot of my problem matchups. Absolute Zero wrecks X-Sabers, and 1900 beatsticks are really good against Gladiator Beasts and Anti-Meta (especially after they side out their Bottomless Trap Holes). Treacherous Trap Hole is an amazing card that has saved me on multiple occasions. Destroying two monsters with one cards is amazing against… um… everything? After testing this sidedeck for only a short amount of time I realized that changes needed to be made.

There were a lot of situations where I was sitting on a Moray of Greed with one water monster and a Stratos/Reinforcement/E-Call. Now the play here would be to search the deck for Elemental Hero Ocean and activate Moray of Greed. Only I wasn’t playing Elemental Hero Ocean! I decided to cut Alius for Ocean, just because being a water monster is that good (it also allows me to synchro Ocean with Fishborg). Since I no longer had 3 Alius, I had to cut Gemini Spark down to one, which gave me room to add Mystical Space Typhoon to the sidedeck. Here was the final sidedeck and extra deck…

Extra deck: 15
1 Chimeratech Fortress Dragon
3 Elemental Hero Absolute Zero
2 Armory Arm
1 Ally of Justice Catastor
1 Goyo Guardian
1 Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier
1 Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier
1 Black Rose Dragon
1 Stardust Dragon
1 Colossal Fighter
1 Red Dragon Archfiend
1 Mist Wurm

Sidedeck: 15
1 Gorz the Emissary of Darkness
1 Elemental Hero Stratos
2 Elemental Hero Alius
1 Elemental Hero Ocean
3 Miracle Fusion
1 Future Fusion
1 Heavy Storm
1 Gemini Spark
1 Mystical Space Typhoon
1 Reinforcement of the Army
1 E – Emergency Call
1 Treacherous Trap Hole

Here’s what I usually side out, although it varies depending on the matchup:
- 2 Des Frog
- 2 Beelze frog
- 2 Flip Flop Frog
- 2 Unifrog
- 1 Poison Draw Frog
- 3 Hand Destruction
- 1 Card Destruction
- 2 Mass Driver

Now on to the tournament itself, the most exciting part. At this point, I had made a name for myself as the best Frog OTK player in the Tampa Bay area, and many people were expecting me to top. I had decided to call my deck “Next Level Blue” or simply “Next Level Frogs”. I named my deck Next Level Frogs for two reasons. I felt that my sidedeck took the deck to the next level. I’m still convinced that a sidedeck with Elemental Heroes and Miracle Fusions is the best. Secondly, I feel that I’m a next level player. I don’t think I’m up there with Sam Tse, CJ Lack, or Alex Bunts, but I know how to play the deck far better than the average player. I think hard about each play, and my knowledge of math and probability really shines when I play this deck. Also, I am very patient. Winning turn 10 is just as good as winning turn 1 for me. The deck’s style really reminds of Elf Combo, which was one of favorite Magic decks.

Ironically enough, I actually think Frog OTK was a bad meta call for this tournament. Anti-Meta was very popular. The vendors were sold out of Fossil Dyna Pachycephalos the entire day. Also, Gladiator Beasts were popular as well, which is always an uphill battle. I’d say Gladiator Beasts were probably the second most popular deck overall, with X-Sabers being first of course. My best matchup, Frog Monarch was practicing nonexistent. I decided to play Frog OTK only because I knew how to play the deck better than any other deck.

Round 1: Anti-Meta
For game 1, I had opened an FTK hand, but he won the die roll. He summons King Tiger Wangnu and activates Macro Cosmos in my draw phase. I try to stall on 2000 defenders until I can draw answers, but he tributes for Raiza and we’re on to the next game. Game 2 I open the Substitoad combo, but I end up not drawing what I need and I have to go for game on turn 3. He Hanewatas the last 400 damage when I had exact game, but there are only two cards left in my deck and one of them is a Fishborg Blaster. I draw it, set it, and send it at him for game. Game 3 was way too close. He starts out by summoning Doomcaliber Knight, activating Dimensional Fissure, and setting three backrows. I start out by setting Dupe Frog and Mystical Space Typhoon. It gets hit in the end phase by his own MST. He attacks into my Dupe Frog, sets another spell/trap and passed. I decide to special summon Swap Frog to trigger Doomcaliber Knight, normal summon Stratos, and hit for 1800 after searching out Alius. He special summons Cyber Dragon and I thought it was game over. How does my deck beat that, especially with Dimensional Fissure on the field? He runs over the Dupe Frog and passes. I switch Stratos to defense and pass. He adds King Tiger to his board and attacks. My draw for the turn is my one-outer: Treacherous Trap Hole! I summon Alius, and set the Treacherous Trap Hole along with two bluffs, just in case of the off chance that he has Dust Tornado. He thinks for awhile and attacks, and I blow up his monsters. I start beating with Alius while he’s forced to set D.D. Crows and Hanewatas to defend himself. Eventually I put a second Alius on the field and draw into Gemini Spark, just in case. I win.
1-0 (0-1 in die rolls)

Round 2: X-Sabers
I lose the die roll. Game 1 he synchros up for Magical Android early and starts to gain life and also hits me with X-Saber Airbellum a couple of times. I stall by reviving Treeborn Frogs and Ronintoadins until I draw something helpful. He plays Gold Sarcophagus, whose text reads “I win in two turns” because he searches Rescue Cat. I’m able to combo out with Synchros, attack for 9000, leaving him at 600. I reveal the last card in my hand which is Mass Driver, and we’re off to game 2. Game 1 took 26 minutes, so we know that time will be called at some point. He hits for early damage but I’m able to take control of the game with Absolute Zero. Unfortunately time gets called in game 2, and I can’t push for damage so I lose. We’re not allowed to side for game 3, which sucks because both of my Mass Drivers are now in the side deck. I decide to play first, setting Dupe Frog and passing. He Mind Controls, summons Thunder King Rai-Oh, and attacks for 1900. I drop Gorz. He sets three backrows and passes. This is my last turn to win. I have Gorz and token attack. He reveals that his backrows were bluffs, and I take the match.
2-0 (0-2 in die rolls)

Round 3: Demise OTK
This guy didn’t know what any of my cards did, but his deck was surprisingly good. The fact that a deck like this was 2-0 further supports my theory that “Raigeki on legs” is really good right now. I have a turn 2 kill hand so I set Treeborn Frog and pass. He goes Sonic Bird, Advanced Ritual Art, Demise, Doom Dozer and attacks for 5200. He sets a backrow and ends. Next turn I Trunade, Substitoad loop, and OTK with synchros. Game 2 was similar to game 1, only I OTKed with Mass Driver instead.
3-0 (1-2 in die rolls)

Round 4: Gladiator Beasts (Elijah Gersten)
I lose the die roll. Game 1 I get a less than optimal hand, and he quickly Herk + Chariot locks me out of the game. Game 2 I open FTK. Game 3 my five card hand is Future Fusion, Dupe Frog, Substitoad, Giant Trunade, Mystical Space Typhoon. Great hand! I’ll simply Future Fusion to put Fishborg into the grave and turn one Substitoad loop. Unfortunately my sixth card is the Fishborg Blaster, which was very disappointing. I set Dupe Frog and pass. He attacks into it, tags into Murmillo, and Chariots. Then he Dustshoots, and sets me back even more. When I can finally do something relevant, I Trunade and he has Solemn. I lose.
3-1 (1-3 in die rolls)

Round 5: Frog OTK
I lose the die roll, which is usually a death sentence in the mirror match. He opens One For One and turn 1 Substitoad loops. He screws up horribly and punts the game. He’s able to do 7600 damage with Mass Driver. He tries to use Swap Frog’s extra normal summon on a non-Frog multiple times that game, and can’t do enough damage as a result. His hand was actually horrible, but he plays Hand Destructions during the course of his turn and fixes my hand, so I was able to FTK. He starts game 2, and we both open “second turn kill” hands, so he wins. I start game 3 and FTK. I’m glad that’s over with.
4-1 (1-4 in die rolls)

Round 6: X-Sabers
Not much to say about this game. I win the die roll and FTK game 1. Game 2 he has the nuts and kills me on his second turn. Then I FTK game 3.
5-1 (2-4 in die rolls)

Round 7: X-Sabers (Travis Washburn)
I win the die roll and FTK game 1. Game 2 I take control with Absolute Zeroes. I make a bad play by leaving Swap Frog in attack mode with only 1100 lifepoints. I had already used the bounce effect, but I simply could’ve special summoned in defense (although I didn’t want to because he searched Fulhelmknight with Darksoul). I also didn’t realize that my opponent’s water monsters powered-up Absolute Zero, which would have allowed me to make a much better play (his Goyo had stolen Treeborn Frog). Two of his Boggart Knights were gone, but I guess he had a third. He synchros up and attacks over Swap Frog for game. Game 3 I sided back into the FTK, but I couldn’t draw it. I Card Destruction my opponent into a perfect hand and lose.
5-2 (3-4 in die rolls)

Post-match thoughts: I was really disappointed. Had I not misplayed, I would’ve taken the match 2-0. For some reason, it seems like people had expected me to lose in the last round. I suppose I would rather lose to my own misplays than pure luck. My tiebreakers were very strong, and two people with a 5-2 record would make top8. Fortunately enough for me, I slid in at 8th place. In addition, my opponent was starting with a game 1 loss due to registering an illegal extra deck. Sometimes, things just go your way. Joshua Martinez recommended that I spin my totem to make sure that I wasn’t in a dream.

The following matches were all featured on The Game Academy’s youtube channel. Be sure to check it out and when the uploads are finished. Jeremy did amazing commentary as usual.

Top8: Chris Rivera with Zombies
He elects to play first for the second game, and Jake reminds us that neither player can side. He starts with a set monster and 3 backrows. I play Hand Destruction and he comments that he probably should’ve set the other card in his hand (misplay #1). I then special summon Swap Frog and he plays Divine Wrath (misplay #2, you always wait for Substitoad). I play Salvage and he Solemns it (misplay #3). I have another Salvage so I decide to just get back Swap Frog and Poison Draw Frog, put the Draw Drog on the field and end. He attacks over it and passes. I play Swap Frog to thin my deck, bounce and pass. He Emergency Teleports for Psychic Commander and synchs for Urbellum for the Time Seal. For the next couple of turns, I’m walling up with Treeborn and Ronintoadin until I can draw into something. The big play comes when he Brain Controls Treeborn, tributes for Caius, removes Ronintoadin, attacks for 4600, which Time Seals me and leaves me at 100. I realize I had to chance it and see if I can get game. I play Giant Trunade. I normal summon Swap Frog, putting a Ronintoadin back in the grave. I set Mass Driver and Card Destruction for 1 card. With 3 Frogs in the grave and 2 on field, any monster will give me enough damage for game. I draw Flip Flop Frog, which allows me to put 2 additional Frogs in the grave. I reveal my face-down Mass Driver and it’s over.
6-2

After the top4 is determined, we decide to split the prize money at $400 and simply play for the trophy and video coverage. I think splitting was the correct decision, as I knew that I had to play Glads in the top4. In addition, the two people that beat me in the swiss rounds were in the top4 as well. The matchups in the top4 were certain winnable, but not necessarily favorable.

Top4: Maurice Brantley with Glads
I lose the die roll. He starts with Cold Wave, sets a Glad, and passes. I set Dupe Frog and pass. Next turn he plays Prisma, makes Gyzarus, and then makes Heraklinos afterwards. I try to draw outs for a few turns, but I don’t get there and I lose. Game 2 I open One For One and Mass Driver and FTK. Game 3 he starts with a Gladiator Beast, Dimensional Fissure and 3 other backrows. I play Heavy Storm and goes through. What a blowout! The next turn I Substitoad loop and make a 5000 attack Absolute Zero (my four monsters plus his Retiari). Next turn he’s able to Gyzarus but I’ve already taken control of the game at this point.
7-2 (3-5 in die rolls)

Top2: Elijah Gersten with Glads
I lose the die roll. I don’t quite remember how he won game 1, but I believe the game ended very quickly. I probably involved the usual contact fusions and War Chariot. Game 2 I open FTK. For game 3 he knows I’m bringing in the Zero side so he sides out Hanewatas like a master. He opens up with a Bestiari and two backrows. I have a few options, but I decide to go the Substitoad loop and see what he has. He chains Mask Restrict to the first activation and I bring out Unifrog. I bring back Ronintoadin, hoping to blow up the Mask and continue the combo. He plays Conpulsory Evacuation Device on Ronintoadin, so I pass. He contacts, attacks, lags for 2 Laquari, sets a couple of backrows and says go. I summon Stratos, search an Alius and activate Miracle Fusion. Rather than simply chaining Compulsory on Stratos, causing Miracle Fusion to fizzle and winning the game, he decided to wait for Absolute Zero to come out and Compulse him, allowing me to get the 3-for-1. He attacks with a Glad next turn and I drop Gorz; he tags for Murmillo. I summon Alius next turn and start beating. He tops Thunder King and attacks the Gorz token. I trade my Alius with his Thunder King, then Emergency Call another Alius, summon it and say go. He sets a monster as a last resort. I peal another Miracle Fusion, which allows me to attack for game.
8-2 (3-6 in die rolls)

The Game Academy 2K Champion is Allen C. Pennington! Winning this event felt great, and it was a nice way to rap up the format. Hopefully I’ll write a couple more articles in the near future.

*Editor’s Note* – The Game Academy hosts Yu-Gi-Oh! locals every Saturday and Sunday. For more information about our locals, CLICK HERE. Allen is always in attendance to play in our locals to offer advice on card choices and rulings questions. Please check out our

Yes, you’re looking at that right. X-Sabers composed of one third of the Top 32, half of the Top 16, and half of the Top 8! This quick diagram should give you a good idea of what kind of decks to expect at nationals. X-Sabers and Infernities will most certainly remain the most popular decks for awhile. XX-Saber Emmersblades are at about $100 each now, and I expect the price to only get higher for nationals. If you’re determined to play XX-Sabers, I suggest you pick up your set now before they get any higher.

The deck that surprised me the most was the Herald of Perfection deck. Of the three Herald decks that topped, they were fundamentally different from each other, which I consider a good thing. It shows that there is a lot room for innovation regarding this deck. I think part of what allowed the deck to do well was the fact that some people still weren’t prepared for it. Given how well the deck performed, I’ve been hearing a lot of talk of sidedecked Lava Golems and Light-Imprisoning Mirrors. In addition, Banisher of Radiance is a great card for shutting down Heralds as well as Infernities and X-Sabers.

I’m going to seize the opportunity to knock Machinas again. Despite winning YCS Virginia, Machinas only took one spot in the top32. Everyone and their mother seems to be sidedecking Cyber Dragons or System Downs (or both) which makes it very hard for Machinas to beat… anything. Both Machinas and Frog FTK were the inexpensive decks of choice, but it seems that X-Sabers and Infernities stole the spotlight.

If it hadn’t been for Omar Beldon placing first, it would seem that Infernities actually didn’t do particularly well. Beldon had a few smart card choices that I believe carried his build to the top, particularly the sidedeck. There had been some debate about how consistent Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter would be in Infernities, but I think we can all see that it works. Ryko remains the best flip-effect in the game, getting problem cards off the field and milling Infernity monsters at the same time. However, Beldon decided to add Fissure to his arsenal of anti-Consecrated Light tech as well. Like I mentioned last week, Hero’s Rule 2 is a very solid tech card right now. It can protect your graveyard from effects like D.D. Crow and stop your opponent’s recursion like Infernity Launcher and XX-Saber Faultroll as well. Beldon decided to take Herald more seriously than some of the other competitors by adding Light-Imprisoning Mirror and Divine Wrath to his sidedeck. I think it’s possible to improve Omar Beldon’s list (I’d start by putting Plaguespreader Zombie in the deck), but for now, his list serves as a good standard to test with.

I was pretty impressed with both Billy Brake as a player and his decklist as well. It seems that one thing many X-Saber players are worried about is the mirror match. When a player asked me how I planned to beat the X-Saber mirror, my answer was simple, “I’ll just play Rescue Cat before they do!” Rescue Cat is one of the best overall cards in the format, often giving you a 3-for-1 and instantly enabling an in-hand XX-Saber Faultroll. My philosophy was just to run a lot of cards that could search out Rescue Cat and ride my Rescue Cat to a win. Billy Brake seemed to have the same idea, only he took it to a greater extreme than I did. He played just about every card possible that could get Rescue Cat: Sangan, Summoner Monk, and 2 Gold Sarcophagus! Clearly his strategy worked, and this tactic may become a new standard for X-Sabers. He also gave his deck an anti-meta flavor by maindecking 1 D.D. Crow and 1 Thunder King Rai-Oh. Thunder King has seen quite a bit of play lately, so it’s no surprise that it’s found its way into X-Sabers as well.

So what did I learn from last weekend’s results? As the format keeps progressing, the meta seems to be gravitating more and more towards X-Sabers and Infernities (mainly X-Sabers). Infernities are finding new ways to overcome their weakness, Consecrated Light. X-Sabers are the “well-rounded” choice for this format, which is what I like about the deck. Frog Monarchs are being pushed out the meta due to Mask of Restrict approaching sidedeck-staple status (18/32 players were siding it at Chicago). Gladiator Beasts are still a really good choice right now. Similar to last format, its main weakness seems to be it can’t draw “nuts hands” the way Infernities and X-Sabers can. However, I would still consider it to be the most underrated deck for sure.

Despite many players insisting that anti-meta won’t work, tech choices like D.D. Crow and Thunder King Rai-Oh are seemingly everywhere. Compulsory Evacuation Device is also moving up on my list of favorite utility cards. It’s great against Infernities as well as any deck that puts Synchro monsters on the field (wait, isn’t that everything?). This Device is being utilized by nearly every Gladiator Beast deck and is starting to see play in Infernities, Machinas, and sometimes X-Sabers. With everyone searching for ways to improve their matchups, I expect these new tech cards to catch on even more in the few weeks remaining before US Nationals.

I wasn’t surprised when Infernities won YCS Chicago, and I expect them to win Canadian Nationals this weekend as well (due to their unique meta). It has the most raw power of any deck, but it seems to have the most weaknesses as well. This unusual balance makes for a very interesting format. I have a pretty big tournament this weekend as well, and hopefully I’ll come home $2000 richer.

Magic the Gathering’s Banned Card Update: Implications for EDH and Beyond

On June 18th, Wizards of the Coast posted their biannual announcement outlining the changes to the banned and restricted list. These announcements typically have a severe but limited impact on the formats for which certain powerful cards are either banned or restricted. Occasionally and most recently, we have watched as a number of potent cards have experienced their release from the prison of banned or restricted cards. Notable cards that have had their sentence in exile commuted include Dream Halls, Entomb, and the newly emancipated Grim Monolith.

As a fan of Magic’s older formats, I typically stay up like a kid on Christmas Eve awaiting the presents that might be revealed. The last couple of banning announcements have had significant metagame and thus financial implications. The legacy format shifted with each unbanning in 2009. At Grand Prix Tampa, I was chatting with Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin about the implications of the newly unbanned Entomb on the legacy format. He noted that there was a pretty sick reanimator deck in the works that abused the process of dumping large, game-winning creatures into the grave and bringing those creatures back in the very early turns of the game via the Entomb, Mystical Tutor, and Reanimate. The deck had served a tenure in the gaming days of past and was ripe for rebirth.

Following the sage advice of Patrick, I set out on a journey to secure as many copies of the newly unbanned Entomb as possible. Earlier in the year, I had dropped $12 dollars on a playset of unbanned Dream Halls. The cards made an eventual appearance in the top 16 of a Starcitygames Legacy 5K, and my investment grew 5 fold. When there are whispers on the wind of an exciting new deck in an environment, you should: 1. Consider the source of the rumor 2. Do some evaluative thinking for yourself, and 3. Research prices on your speculative investment. If these three factors align to your liking, jump on the chance to own the cards, pilot the deck, and to make a solid investment. I purchased my two copies of Entomb at $7, my next two copies at $14, and the next four copies at $20 dollars each. The cards currently have an estimated value between $30-45.

This trend inspired me to await each possible opportunity to scoop up unbanned cards early and often. On June 17th, I stayed up late. I had to be at work the next day by 7am, but still felt it would be an awesome opportunity to await the announcement and make some quick decisions based on the outcomes. I have both good and bad news. I purchased a couple of copies of Grim Monolith for a low number, but the other announcements would have a far, far greater effect on the playability and financial value of my Magic collection. The announcement outlined the following terms:

The following card sets are permitted in Extended tournaments:
• Time Spiral (until October 1, 2010)
• Planar Chaos (until October 1, 2010)
• Future Sight (until October 1, 2010)
• Tenth Edition (until October 1, 2010)
• Lorwyn
• Morningtide
• Shadowmoor
• Eventide
• Shards of Alara
• Conflux
• Alara Reborn
• Magic 2010
• Zendikar
• Worldwake
• Rise of the Eldrazi
• Magic 2011 (effective July 16, 2010)
• Scars of Mirrodin (effective October 1, 2010)

The following cards are banned in Extended tournaments:
• Hypergenesis
• Sword of the Meek

My wife and I had only recently made our venture into playing competitive Extended tournaments. Over the last 8 months we picked up an additional play set of Tarmogoyf, play sets of each of the shock lands, and any number of tournament viable staples including Dark Confidant, Umezawa’s Jitte, and the recently popular Dark Depths. By the conclusion of the 2009-2010 extended season, Tarmogoyf was slated to reach $90 while Dark Depths were selling for $160 a foursome. We had been a huge fan of Extended Zoo decks that packed Tarmogoyf, used fetch lands to grab shock lands to even out the complicated casting cost of the deck’s many creatures and spells, and our particular version which sported Tribal Flames. This card rewarded particularly complex mana bases. For 2-casting cost, you could burn your opponent for each land type you controlled.

On the back of the most recent bannings, this deck and those sorts of rewards will be nearly extinct. I feel that the biggest loss to the format will be felt in the interaction between fetch lands and the shock lands. Building decks with the shock lands allowed for a different kind of magic. There was a distinct deck style available in Legacy and Extended than could be found or created in the Standard format. You were able to play a number of cards that “cared” if your dual-color producing lands (duals) were stamped with a basic land type. Underground Sea is both a Swamp and an Island. Watery Grave is both a Swamp and an Island. Underground River, Secluded Glen, and Drowned Catacombs are neither. The importance and convenience of fetching the former cards with a Polluted Delta (or other relevant fetch land) made the cards vastly more playable and superior to the latter for a wide array of decks. Those days appear to be gone in Extended along with that deck building freedom and “color-screw” liberation. Splashing extra colors is not as viable, playing a vast mix of cards will be result in slower and possibly less efficient decks. Consider the difference between the speed of the aforementioned Tribal Zoo and 2008’s 5-color control. The sheer number of come-into-play-tapped lands can really slow down a deck that relies on a complicated mana base.

Additional implications beyond the general loss of the fluid, complicated mana bases are the pure execution of some other deck types. Zoo was the rush deck type that worked to keep combo decks in check. Decks like Thopter Foundry, Dark Depths Combo, and Hyper Genesis were generally offset by the possibility of a speedy death at the hands of a skilled or lucky zoo player. With Zoo decks being eradicated, it appears that Wizards simply axed or put a tight time limit on the viability of popular control decks. Play your Dark Depths one last time in October, and then ship them off to legacy land. Sword of the Meek will R.I.P. along with the explosive starts and finishes provided by Hypergenesis.

What will be left when the dust settles? I imagine that players will find themselves immediately drawn to Faeries or one of the Tier II combo decks like Pyromancer’s Ascension.dec looming in the background. Aside from the obvious, it is likely that the format will morph and shift into something satisfactory, but at the expense of some great cards and good times.

Bannings In EDH: The Good, the Bad, and the Low Cost of Newly Banned Cards

Following the trend set by Wizards of the Coast, the Elder Dragon Highlander Rules Committee drops banning updates parallel to the mother ship. There were several shocking and non-shocking editions to the updated banned list. After generating a great amount of forum buzz and internet publicity around the Channel-Eldrazi deck, it seems that our best efforts to employ awesome, powerful, Eldrazi spells using mana ramp will be thwarted by the RC.

At least we got a couple of thousand hits on the YouTube channel and finished a three part series on the deck before it was banned to the stone age. I cannot say that it was unexpected. The synergy between the Spawnshire of Ulamog and Channel prompted a near-instant rules update to clarify what “outside of the game” entailed in EDH. If you were every privy to blowing out an opponent using the very lucky draw (or fortunate ability to search up Channel using any of a dozen cards) using Channel and unnamed giant Eldrazi, then you surely realized that the days of the easy, early Eldrazi were numbered. I am just glad that they did not ban the Eldrazi. That would have been a hard ban to accept. In any case, these are the updated bannings for EDH as of today:

There is a lot about this list that sits well with the player base. However, I think we should consider revisiting the Tolarian Academy banning. Tolarian Academy was always very, very strong. It was a sort of win condition among blue purists. The Azami deck will still be able to win games, but they will not be able to combo off quite as easily without the academy. Some players are complaining that Arcum Dagsson is dead and players will not be able to finish so effectively with Zur. I guess I am comfortable with these changes. Sharuum decks have always been a sort of sore spot and now they will have a tougher road to hoe. In general, many, many blue decks have just had their power dimmed. However, it seems likely that the next level of mono-blue decks will rise to take their annoying place atop the local metagames. Niv-Mizzet and Vendillion Clique are largely unaffected by the Tolarian Academy banning and will be new, most-hated generals.

On the topic of most-hated and feared generals, we must play a swan song for the little elf that staged a year long triumphant comeback from his previous banning. Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary will be sorely missed. I felt like the banning of the abused, obscure artifact was simply enough. The deck should have survived without the Staff of Domination. It was a good compliment next to blue decks and offered green-lovers everywhere a pure option. Now I fear that mono-green decks might dwindle to the power level of other non-blue mono colored decks. In the long run, I feel like the fear of early Eldrazi hitting the board will scare the RC into banning too many cards.

Future Implications

The next line of relatively awesome cards is set to fill the void left by the latest bannings. The front line has been shot down, but the battle wages on as the cards march like revolutionary war soldiers into the metagame. If players still want to pursue the dream of having an untimely, annihilating Eldrazi god break dancing across the gym floor. There are plenty of cards that will having you shouting, “You just got served” at your weeping opponent. Gaea’s Cradle comes to mind. The interaction between the increasingly expensive Grim Monolith and Power Artifact also springs to mind. You are not going to be able to ban enough mana ramp and acceleration to keep people off of the Eldrazi forever. Hopefully, the RC will realize this and will take Tolarian Academy off of the list. My wish is for a return of Rofellos and the Academy, but until then I am sure players will find new and awesome ways of doing tricky and conniving plays.

Check out our upcoming videos on YouTube where we carry on more of the discussion around the EDH bannings, the “improved” values of the recently banned Extended cards the implication on your EDH decks, and more hated generals. We will also explore some decks using alternative ways to power out your Eldrazi spells! Keep checking us out right here on www.thegameacademyonline.com and on YouTube at Elderdragonhighlandr.

For a competitive card game player, there’s one question that’s always on your mind: What is the best deck? Given that my audience is the competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! player, this is often the question that my articles will try to answer. Everyone has their own experiences and playstyles, so it’s not surprising that different players will arrive at different conclusions regarding the best deck. Right now, if you asked someone to name the best two decks, the most common answer you would get is “Infernities and X-Sabers.”

I was dedicated to Infernities until very recently, and I still think it’s an amazing deck. Several pro players have come out and said that Infernities are the best deck, and I can understand their reasons for believing such. Infernities “good hands” are much better than every others deck’s “good hands”. Imagine you’re going second and you get an amazing hand like this…

You win on your first turn right? Oh sorry, your opponent summoned Consecrated Light first turn. Better luck next time! It’s experiences like this that have caused me lose faith in Infernities. Your opponent might open up with a card like Thunder King Rai-Oh, Consecrated Light, Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, or Banisher of Radiance, and deep down you know you have quite a few outs in your deck to that card, but you fail to draw them and end up losing anyways.

Right now, I feel that people are really scared of Infernities and therefore are teching heavily against it. Infernities were the most hyped deck after the release of The Shining Darkness, so the field is very prepared for the deck. I see Thunder King Rai-Ohs and D.D. Crows being maindecked quite a bit, and pretty much everyone is sidedecking Consecrated Light or D.D. Crow. Infernities are a very fun deck to play (but not fun to play against!). I think it may become a better choice in the future, just not correct pick for now.

This is also one of the reasons that I didn’t take Lightsworn to any major events during last format. It was a very powerful deck, but there were too many cards that could ruin your day. It’s always been part of my playstyle to use a deck that I know for a fact cannot be easily countered by a single card. That’s also a large reason that I played Gadgets for so many years. I never had to worry about a tech card that would completely shut down the deck.

So what’s the deck that has solid matchups across the board, but doesn’t have some random sidedeck card that completely screws it over? I really wish my answer was something interesting like Fairies, Gadgets, or the 37-monster deck, but it’s probably a deck that you’ve already heard a lot about. Here’s an easy way to sum up my thought process:

Looking at the Y3K statistics from my last article, the deck that I feel put up the best numbers was, unsurprisingly, X-Sabers (overall matchup = 58.3%). X-Sabers definitely had the most impressive numbers overall. While Monarchs had the highest overall matchup percentage, X-Sabers had a higher sample size which makes its numbers much more significant. Infernities and X-Sabers were the only decks to place multiple players into the top8, which says something in itself.

This is one of those fun cases where numbers and theory seem to match up (it actually happens more often than you might think). X-Sabers don’t seem to have any troublesome matchups; you can sidedeck virtually any card and not have to worry a lot about what opponent brings in from their sidedeck against you.

I can say with strong confidence that X-Sabers are the best deck choice right now, but that doesn’t mean you can expect to auto-win all of your matches if you’re using X-Sabers. I’d like to go over some tech cards that I believe will make the average X-Saber deck even better and more prepared for the current meta.

According to the Y3K statistics, X-Sabers had a harder time against Monarchs than any other deck. For this reason, I believe that 3 Mask of Restrict is a sidedeck staple right now. I think Monarchs are extremely underrated right now, so make sure you’re prepared to beat them. I wouldn’t expect to see Monarchs get less play anytime soon.

I really can’t find a reason to not maindeck D.D. Crow in X-Sabers, even though it doesn’t directly benefit the deck. It’s very useful against Infernities, which is arguably your hardest game 1 matchup. It’s also good in the mirror match, as stopping a Gottom’s Emergency Call can often prevent your opponent from winning the game. Just keep in mind that opponent can try to play around D.D. Crow by targeting two monsters in your graveyard. It’s also good against Frog Monarchs for obvious reasons; it removes Treeborn Frog. I find it to be decent against Gladiator Beasts by cutting off Gladiator Beast Equeste + War Chariot loops, as well as stopping Darius combos. Even against Blackwings, stopping Blackwind – Blizzard the Far North’s effect is helpful as well.

Hero’s Rule 2 is definitely the best card you can side in for the mirror match. It’s basically an improved version of D.D. Crow. It negates the effects of both XX-Saber Faultroll and Ragigura and also destroys them. In addition, being able to negate Gottom’s Emergency Call is very important, especially when they chain it to yours. Hero’s Rule 2 is also good at negating Infernity plays. The only downside that it has compared to D.D. Crow is that it’s vulnerable to spell/trap removal.

I hate to state the obvious here, but 3 Consecrated Lights are also a sidedeck staple. Don’t forget that One For One can also bring out Consecrated Light, which means you have about a 49% chance of being able to summon Consecrated Light first turn. Together, Infernities and Blackwings are a sizable percentage of the meta, so you really don’t have an excuse to not sidedeck this card.

The Fairy deck seems to be seeing increased play, which I believe is partially due to its fun factor. I think for the past three weeks in a row I’ve played against a Fairy deck at The Game Academy’s tournaments. Sometimes I’ll have to play against two! After Lightsworn became a non-threat to the meta, many people took the Light-Imprisoning Mirrors out of their sidedecks, but I think it’s time to reconsider that. Combined, Fairies and Lightsworn were 10% of the Y3K meta, which enough to justify sidedecking Light-Imprisoning Mirror. If it sticks, it’s going to win you the game in either of those matchups.

There are other decks that I believe are good choices right now, so I’m not trying to say, “play X-Sabers or lose.” However, the raw power on the deck, combined with the fact that it has very few weaknesses and a lot of flexible sidedeck choices makes it the best overall deck right now. Until Earth-Imprisoning Mirror is released, or a card an effect along the lines of “As long as this card remains face-up on the field, X-Saber decks cannot win the game.” X-Sabers will be very good pick for this format. The meta finally seems to be solidifying, so I think now’s the time to identify a deck that you want to play and stick to it.

I figure there are some people out there who might want it, but I’m not going to list my maindeck or sidedeck for X-Sabers (although I already listed 10 cards in my sidedeck: 3 Consecrated Light, 3 Mask of Restrict, 2 Hero’s Rule 2, and 2 Light-Imprisoning Mirror). The decklist is not set in stone yet, and I like to leave some of the work for you, the reader, to come up with your build that suits your playstyle and your meta. Plus, I’m probably going to take X-Sabers to a regional in Ft. Lauderdale this weekend, so I don’t want to give my list away. If I top8 this weekend, you’ll be sure to hear about it next week! I always set the bar high, so I’m hoping for another 1st place. Florida seems to be having a lot of cash tournaments as of late (I like to refer to Florida as the Yu-Gi-Oh! Cash Tournament capital of the world), which has given me a lot of motivation to study the meta, work on decks, and try to get as much practice as possible.

Warning: If you do not like math (particularly statistics) don’t read this article. If you don’t want to find out what the top decks in the Florida metagame are, don’t read this article either.

After the YCS (that stands for Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series) in Virginia had concluded, most competitive players in Florida were thinking the same thing: How can we use the YCS results to prepare for the next major event, The Game Academy’s Y3K? With first place taking home more than $1,000 in cash, this is event is what I would call a big deal.

Although Machinas won the YCS, Infernities and X-Sabers greatly outnumbered the other decks in the top32. As a result, I expected X-Sabers and Infernities to be the most popular decks in the Y3K despite their high price tags. I decided to play Infernities for a few reasons. I believed that it had favorable matchups against both X-Sabers and Machinas. I also thought that shear speed of the deck would be able to beat most of the rogue decks as well.

Weeks before the big event I spent my free time writing a JAVA program that would analyze tournament data in order to get statistics on which decks performed better than others. I thought it would be interesting to see which of my predictions turned out to be right. First, let’s look at the breakdown of what decks were played at The Game Academy’s Y3K, shall we?

Metagame Breakdown
X-Sabers: 14%
Infernities: 11%
Machinas: 11%
Monarchs: 8%
Blackwings: 7%
Gladiator Beasts: 7%
Synchro Cat: 5%
Fairies: 5%
Quickdraw: 5%
Lightsworn: 5%
Zombies: 2%
Absolute Zero: 2%
Frog FTK: 2%
Final Countdown: 2%
Deckout: 2%
Anti-Meta: 2%
Spellcasters: 1%
SalvoDAD: 1%
Burn: 1%
Fish: 1%
Dragons: 1%
Library FTK: 1%
Stardust Assault Mode: 1%
Flamvells: 1%
Gravekeeper’s: 1%
Plants: 1%

It seems that X-Sabers were the most played deck, followed by Infernities and Machinas. No surprise there. What surprised me was the fact that monarchs were the fourth most popular deck. I don’t think anyone saw this coming. It’s little details like this that help distinguish Florida’s metagame from the others. There were 26 decks played in total, which is a lot for an event with about 125 people; on average each deck only had five users.

Although we see the usual suspects at the top of the charts, this is what I would call a very diverse meta. But just how diverse? Approximately 92% diverse. I’m being serious. Although 32% of all statistics are made up, this isn’t one of them. To determine how diverse the meta was, I used a formula similar to one that economic analysts use to determine use diverse an economic market is.

1. Convert each deck’s percentage into a decimal. (14% = .14)
2. Square this decimal. (.14 ^ 2 = .0196)
3. Add all of these squared numbers together (sum = .08)
4. Subtract the result in step #3 from 1. (1 – .08 = .92)
5. Convert the number back into a percentage (.92 = 92%)

Since there are only a few decks with sizable percentages and many decks composing only 1-3% of the meta, it’s no surprise that our formula indicated that we had a very diverse field. A word of advise to those attending competitive events in the near future: Be prepared to face many different kinds of decks, especially in the early rounds.

X-Sabers were almost certainly the deck to beat for this event. They were not only very popular, but they lived up to their hype and preformed well throughout the event. I was interested to see how the new flavor of the month was doing, so I decided to look at the full statistics of the decktype.

X-Saber Stats
Histogram of wins:
7 wins:
6 wins: ++
5 wins: +++
4 wins: ++++
3 wins: ++++
2 wins: +++
1 wins:
0 wins: +

Mean wins: 3.588235294117647
Standard deviation: 1.583462327046801

Round-by-round progress:
Round 1: 82.35294117647058%
Round 2: 67.64705882352942%
Round 3: 62.745098039215684%
Round 4: 64.70588235294117%
Round 5: 59.523809523809526%
Round 6: 57.73195876288659%
Round 7: 57.009345794392516%

Matchups:
vs. Blackwings: 57.14285714285714%
vs. Infernities: 63.63636363636363%
vs. Gladiator Beasts: 54.54545454545454%
vs. Synchro Cat: 100.0%
vs. Monarch: 25.0%
vs. Fairies: 50.0%
vs. Machinas: 58.333333333333336%
vs. Lightsworn: 50.0%
vs. Frog FTK: 66.66666666666666%
vs. Quickdraw: 100.0%
vs. Zombies: 33.33333333333333%
Overall matchup: 58.30122063728622%

The “histogram of wins” shows how many people had a certain number of wins (i.e. two people went 6-1 with X-Sabers, three people went 5-2, etc). Interestingly enough, our histogram shows an approximately normal distribution (which is math language for “bell curve”). Of the seventeen users, five of them had records of 5-2 or better, and most people who played X-Sabers had a mediocre record of only four or three wins.

Those who have taken a college-level statistics class (and remembered most of it) might know what the term “standard deviation” means. It’s a measure of variance, or how much the data deviated from the mean. For the average Yu-Gi-Oh! Player, think of the standard deviation as this: It measures a deck’s consistency. The smaller the standard deviation, the more consistent the deck was (and vice-versa).

My favorite feature of the program is the “round by round progress”, which shows how deck performed as more rounds went by. After round 1 the deck was doing very well (82% wins is very good!) but by the end of the tournament it was performing on more average levels with only 57% wins.

What I expect most people to be interested in, however, is the deck’s matchups. To the surprise of many, X-Sabers beat Infernities about 64% of the time, a statistic which I attribute to superior sidedecks. I was also shocked to notice that X-Sabers beat Monarchs only 25% of the time, which has something to say for the viability of Monarchs in the current meta.

Overall, X-Sabers had a very good performance and solid matchups at the Y3K. I’m definitely going to give X-Sabers high consideration as a deck to play at upcoming regional qualifiers and cash tournaments. Let’s compare X-Sabers to their current rival: Infernities.

Infernity Stats
Histogram of wins:
7 wins:
6 wins: ++
5 wins: +++
4 wins: +
3 wins: +
2 wins: ++++
1 wins: +++
0 wins:

Mean wins: 3.2142857142857144
Standard deviation: 1.8883680959850138

Round-by-round progress:
Round 1: 64.28571428571429%
Round 2: 60.71428571428571%
Round 3: 50.0%
Round 4: 54.54545454545454%
Round 5: 53.03030303030303%
Round 6: 52.63157894736842%
Round 7: 53.57142857142857%

Matchups:
vs. Blackwings: 57.14285714285714%
vs. Gladiator Beasts: 25.0%
vs. X-Sabers: 36.36363636363637%
vs. Synchro Cat: 100.0%
vs. Monarch: 60.0%
vs. Fairies: 50.0%
vs. Machinas: 70.0%
vs. Lightsworn: 40.0%
vs. Frog FTK: 20.0%
vs. Zombies: 50.0%
vs. Quickdraw: 50.0%
Overall matchup: 54.797743240366195%

Like X-Sabers, Infernities took two players to a 6-1 finish and three players to a 5-2 finish. However, Infernities had a lower mean number of wins and higher standard deviation, indicating that perhaps X-Sabers overall did better than Infernities did. Like X-Sabers, the deck’s performance steadily decreased as more rounds were completed.

I was not surprised to see that Infernities lost to Gladiator Beasts; this was what I considered to be Infernities’ worst matchup. I was surprised to see that Infernities only managed to beat Frog FTK a measly 20% of the time. I’m guessing that the Infernities players were under-prepared for the Frog FTK deck and focused too much on the most popular decks. I strangely noticed that most of the X-Saber players were armed with sidedeck tech like Hanewata. Apparently, this was not the case for the Infernity players, which explains why X-Sabers did better against the annoying FTK deck than Infernities did.

I was correct that Infernities had a very favorable matchup against Machinas. To Machina players out there, I recommend moving some anti-Infernity tech to the maindeck to strengthen your matchup (personal favorites here include Thunder King Rai-Oh and D.D. Crow).

Otherwise, Infernities didn’t have amazing matchups against most of the big decks, which was a big letdown to me. This is either a sign that a lot of the Infernity players at the 3K didn’t know how to play that well, or Infernities might be a bit over-hyped.

Many people know me as a Gadget player (even though I play many different kinds of decks), and people are always asking me for my opinion on Gadget’s latest incarnation, Machinas. I always give them the same answer: I think the deck is overplayed due to its low price tag and I think it’s doesn’t have any strong matchups. It’s pretty harsh of me to say that, so let’s get an unbiased opinion, shall we?

Machina Stats
Histogram of wins:
7 wins:
6 wins:
5 wins: ++
4 wins: +++
3 wins: ++
2 wins: +
1 wins: +++++
0 wins:

Mean wins: 2.6923076923076925
Standard deviation: 1.6012815380508714

Round-by-round progress:
Round 1: 69.23076923076923%
Round 2: 50.0%
Round 3: 38.46153846153847%
Round 4: 36.53846153846153%
Round 5: 40.32258064516129%
Round 6: 43.05555555555556%
Round 7: 44.303797468354425%

Matchups:
vs. Blackwings: 50.0%
vs. Infernities: 30.0%
vs. Gladiator Beasts: 66.66666666666666%
vs. X-Sabers: 41.66666666666667%
vs. Synchro Cat: 0.0%
vs. Monarch: 50.0%
vs. Fairies: 33.33333333333333%
vs. Lightsworn: 66.66666666666666%
vs. Frog FTK: 50.0%
vs. Zombies: 33.33333333333333%
Overall matchup: 44.08469945355192%

Machinas didn’t take any players to a 7-1 record, and overall performed very badly. The deck appears to only have a couple of favorable matchups; everything else is 50% or less! The overall matchup is less than 50%, which to me indicates that Machinas aren’t a very good choice in the current meta. Machina players may have to rethink a few things if they want to take their deck to the top again.

I don’t want to make this article too ridiculously long, so I’m going to end the statistics here. If you want to see the statistics of other decks (and I wouldn’t be surprised if you do!) click the “3K stats” link at the end of this article.

For my closing remarks, I’d like to say that I’m officially back, and I’ll be writing articles every week from now on. Be sure to check thegameacademyonline.com every Wednesday for my latest article. Expect to see deck analysis, tournament reports, and statistics after every Game Academy cash tournament!

I’d also like to say that I’ve been talking with “the Mattern” a little bit lately, and I believe that Gladiator Beasts are currently one of the best decks in the current meta. It’s nearly an auto-win vs. Infernities, coin-flips with X-Sabers and Blackwings, and its worst matchup, Machinas, is very easy to side against. In addition, most people aren’t siding against Gladiator Beasts at all and are instead focusing on how to take down X-Sabers and Infernities.

For 3K Stats Link CLICK HERE

Building a New EDH Archetype with Eldrazi and Annihilation (Part 3)

The e-mails have piled up.  The IM requests, facebook comments, and private messages on YouTube all converged on a single request:  WE WANT THE LIST!  In this article we are picking up with the final bits of commentary on card inclusions, the awesome new synergies, and tech that make the Eldrazi Tribal deck so powerful.  Players have watched the YouTube video and have begun making their own lists.  Today, we will satisfy the requests and will publish the entire deck list.  If you have just joined us, make sure to check Parts 1 and 2 which lay the foundation for the genesis of the deck, the engines and card that make it run, and some of the debates we have started while searching to be the among the first to map out the newest EDH archetype:  Eldrazi Tribal.

Haste/Eldrazi

There are several great options in red that allow us to give our fatties haste.  The ability to hit the board running and kick on the early Annihilator cannot be underestimated.  We include haste promoting cards including Anger, In the Web of War, Sarkhan Vol and Madrush Cyclops.  We are looking at various ways to keep our guys attacking on the turn that they hit the board.  The best way to stop Eldrazi spells  will be counters and nontargeted removal.  Ulamog is indestructible.  Therefore cards like Hallowed Burial will be better than cards like Wrath of God.  However, players are going to need to pack as much as possible to deal with this deck.

If your opponents are coming up with solid removal, then you can punish their efforts with annihilator on the next recruit to your board.  There are not too many instant speed removal cards that put a hasty attacker on the bottom of the deck or remove them from play.  Path to Exile and Swords have always been popular, but they will not stand up to the continual threat of your Eldrazi if you keep them coming.  If you like to pimp out your haste, try the inclusion of the FNM Lightning Greaves.

Mana Ramp/Expensive Spells

Most of our deck is Green.  Green provides some traditional advantages of some of the other colors in the fact that it gives us mana acceleration.  With new mana ramp spells like Growth Spasm to match with classics like Explosive Vegetation, Yavimaya Elder, Sakura Tribe Elder, and Seedguide Ashe, you have a really solid way to both fix and juggernaut your mana row.  We have selected lots of cards that search for basic land along with cards that throw forests directly into play.  I like cards like the lesser know Seedguide Ashe because he gives you a substantial body along with 3 forests when he “leafs” play.  The cool thing about cards that throw forests into play (versus a basic land) is that you can shop for and place dual lands right out of your deck.  Bayou, Overgrown Tomb, Taiga, and Stomping Ground all allow you access to forests while fixing your mana.  These cards are awesome and give you a great advantage as well as pairing with the fetch lands in the deck.  If you do not have the original duals, we found that the deck play tested well with the tap lands, vivid lands, and new man land duals as well.  You might just want to adjust what type of ramp sources that you choose.

It is also possible to take the deck build in a slightly different direction.  We are packing Sol Ring, but there are certainly more artifact based mana accelerants.  Further, we already mentioned Cabal Coffers and could also pack Gaea’s Cradle.  I have not noticed if these cards would be amazing, but you have search for lands in uncharted Territories making them an option.  I have become a little shy with my more expensive artifact mana ramping due to the high number of artifact sweepers that are played locally.  I traditionally have shown love to Coalition Relic and Gilded Lotus.  Those cards might still be acceptable.  However, I have not been such a fan of little dudes like Llanowar Elves or Birds of Paradise.  They are small-timing it in a big environment with lots of card value and too much board sweeping.

Cheating the Fatties into Play!

We have the mana ramped up, we have ways to give the Eldrazi haste, but we also want to see these guys early and often.  After receiving some feedback on the forums, we have made some adjustments to our strategies.  We are now packing a few ways to get the big guys on the board.  These strategies trade off the benefits of casting the Eldrazi (which in some cases you simply want to do i.e., Kozilek) for early beatings and early game annihilation.  Annihilator is a really tough mechanic in EDH.  However, its potency diminishes as the game progresses.  Players are flopping lands, making tokens, and building their board.  A turn 16 annihilation for 4 is likely to be met with a shrug from an opponent that simply sacs off a couple of tokens and some lackluster lands.  However, if you can toss a couple of annihilators into play on turn 6, 7, or 8, then you have a different story.  Some opponents will sacrifice half of their lands, their entire army, or the engines that attempt to make their own decks work.  That is where cheating guys into play can really pay off.

The Eldrazi drones and spawn naturally work to make the tribe hit the board early.  However, Magic offers some other options.  You might not have thought of some of these cards but you will quickly see how strong and synergistic they can be.

We are going to include Sneak Attack.  Sneak attack is an enchantment.  I have stated before that few EDH players pack enough enchantment hate.  This makes good enchantments better, and great enchantments backbreaking.  Sneak attack cost 1 red and 3 colorless.  Once you make that investment, a single red mana can toss an Eldrazi into play with Haste.  Sure you have to sacrifice it at the end of turn, but throwing down a copy of It that Betrays can sure pay off.  You might snatch some lands from an opponent or capture some of their other sacrificed goodies.  The biggest threats from your deck will just shuffle them back in allowing you to redraw them or search them out later.  However, the annihilation damage will be done.

Other super options for this type of early game Eldrazi satisfaction include Cryptic Gateway and Belbe’s Portal.  Cryptic Gateway works well with your Eldrazi spawn.  The spawn share a creature type with their gods and you can play a Dread Drone, tap the two spawn tokens and summon a fattie.  This seems pretty silly and wildly fun.  Belbe’s Portal (2/3 of the great EDH cards specific to Belbe) also lets you put Eldrazi into play for the low cost of 8 mana.  Emrakul offers you a Time Walk for 7 more mana, but you might want to simply have access to a sort of Progenitus with annihilator 6 on turn 8.  Maybe I am just greedy, but these cards fit the theme and capitalize on the Eldrazi size and strength in the early game.  Late game they become less impressive, but I imagine you can appreciate the inclusion.  I love packing unused and “junk” rares that fit with the themes of my decks.

Searching for Eldrazi

There are tons of great search effects that we can use in our deck.  We, after all, are playing black.  More search effects make a deck strong.  There is no doubt.  However, there is a balance that I seek in deck construction in this format.  The reason that we are playing EDH, in many cases, is the love of the highlander nature.  One hundred varied cards often implicate a high degree of variance.  If I want super consistency and a deck that does the same thing each game, then I would stick to my 4-ofs in standard constructed.  However, in EDH I like to have a deck that offers a different play experience each time that I sit down.  Therefore, I am going to play a little light on Tutors.

You make the shell work for your style of play.  We have access to Demonic Tutur, Vampiric Tutor, Grim Tutor, Diabolic Tutor, Liliana Vess, Worldly Tutor, and others.  Beseech the Queen and other cards can work well in these spots as well.  I have chosen to make tutors 4-6% of my deck.  You can go less or more, but this will help you hit the right card for the right situation when you get into a tight spot.

The Deck List

General:  Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund

Colorless Eldrazi  (11)

All Is Dust

Artisan of Kozilek

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Hand of Emrakul

It That Betrays

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

Pathrazer of Ulamog

Skittering Invasion

Spawnsire of Ulamog

Ulamog the Infinite Gyre

Ulamog’s Crusher

Other Eldrazi Spells (8)

Awakening Zone

Brood Birthing

Corpse Hatch

Dread Drone

Emrakul’s Hatcher

Growth Spasm

Kozilek’s Predator

Rapacious One

Mana Ramp (10)

Sol Ring

Yavimaya Elder

Sakura Tribe Elder

Life from the Loam

Hunting Wilds

Wooded Elves

Seedguide Ashe

Explosive Vegetation

Solemn Simulacrum

Garruk Wildspeaker

Haste-makers (5)

Sarkhan Vol

Anger

In the Web of War

Madrush Cyclops

Lightning Greaves

Search Cards (6)

Buried Alive

Demonic Tutor

Liliana Vess

Realms Uncharted

Vampiric Tutor

Worldly Tutor

Card that Cheat Fatties into Play (4)

Sneak Attack

Cryptic Gateway

Belbe’s Portal

Channel

Creature-Based Engines (Search, Fog, Recursion) (8)

Survival of the Fittest

Squee, Goblin Nabob

Genesis

Eternal Witness

Spike Weaver

Acidic Slime

Restock

Yawgmoth’s Will

Removal/Board Wipe (6)

Decree of Pain

Damnation

Pernicious Deed

Terminate

Duplicant

Woodfall Primus

Other Card Advantage/Utility Spells (7)

Bloodbraid Elf

Harmonize

Sylvan Library

Baneful Omen

Sensei’s Divining Top

Skullclamp

Overrun

Mana Base (50% Green, 20% Red, 20% Black, 10% Colorless) (34)

Eye of Ugin

Temple of Eldrazi

Temple of the False God

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Phyrexian Tower

Strip Mine

Taiga

Badlands

Bayou

Stomping Ground

Blood Crypt

Overgrown Tomb

Fire-lit Thicket

Graven Cairns

Twilight Mire

Auntie’s Hovel

Gilt-Leaf Palace

Karplusan Forest

Sulfurous Springs

Llanowar Wastes

Rootbound Crag

Dragonskull Summit

Raging Ravine

Lavaclaw Reaches

Wooded Foothills

Bloodstained Mire

Verdant Catacombs

Evolving Wilds

Savage Land

Reflecting Pool

2 Forests

1 Mountain

1 Swamp

The archetype is bran new and we have only been testing this build for a couple of weeks.  I am sure that this is a really outstanding shell for the deck.  We built the deck with multiplayer in mind, but 1 vs. 1 testing had proven that it is about a 50/50 match-up against Rofellos!  If it can hang with that kind of ramp and huge dudes, then it should hold its own against other archetypes.  I had originally wondered if we should just play the Eldrazi out of the Rofellos shell, but I am convinced for both fun and the diversity in tricks you get with the additional colors that the Jund style build is just fine.

There are some card inclusions and tweaks in this list that vary slightly from the video that we posted.  User comments and some play testing led us to cut some cards and add others.  Most folks might not initially like some of the lesser, colored Eldrazi themed cards like Kozilek’s Predator, Dread Drone, and Corpse Hatch, etc.  However, we are keeping them for two reasons:  we like the Eldrazi theme over an Eldrazi splash, and the cards actually play into our ramp/cheat big dudes into play strategy.

This is one of my favorite projects in a long, long while and I am sure that you can use this shell as a basis for your Eldrazi deck.  I imagine these decks are going to be popular, so you might also find ways to preserve your permanents and fight of the Eldrazi hordes.  If you are not going to join them and plan to beat them consider the inclusion of Gilded Drake, Hallowed Burial, and even the likes of Jester’s Cap.  See you next week and thanks for leaving your comments and suggestions.

Christopher Rivera – 1^st place after swiss

Monsters: 19

[1] Dark Armed Dragon

[1] Mezuki

[1] Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

[1] Spirit Reaper

[2] Goblin Zombie

[2] Krebons

[1] Psychic Commander

[3] Pyramid Turtle

[1] Plaguespreader Zombie

[3] Caius the Shadow Monarch

[1] Sangan

[1] Shutendoji

[1] Zombie Master

Spells: 6

[2] Gold Sarcophagus

[1] Heavy Storm

[1] Mystical Space Typhoon

[1] Brain Control

[1] Emergency Teleport

Traps: 16

[1] Trap Dustshoot

[1] Torrential Tribute

[2] Bottomless Trap Hole

[1] Solemn Judgment

[1] Return from the Different Dimension

[2] Dimensional Prison

[3] Dust Tornado

[3] Divine Wrath

[1] Mirror Force

[1] Starlight Road

Extra Deck: 15

[1] Stardust Dragon

[1] Red Dragon Archfiend

[1] Psychic Lifetrancer

[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

[1] Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth

[1] Ally of Justice Catastor

[1] Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

[1] Goyo Guardian

[1] Black Rose Dragon

[1] Revived King Ha Des

[1] Colossal Fighter

[1] X-Saber Urbellum

[1] Though Ruler Archfiend

[1] Magical Android

[1] Doomkaiser Dragon

Sidedeck: 15

[3] Crevice of the Different Dimension

[3] D.D. Crow

[3] Breaker the Magical Warrior

[2] Nobleman of Crossout

[1] Starlight Road

[3] Pulling the Rug

Michael Sanders – 2^nd place after swiss

Monsters: 13

[2] Infernity Archfiend

[2] Infernity Mirage

[2] Dark Grepher

[3] Infernity Beetle

[3] Infernity Necromancer

[1] Infernity Avenger

Spells: 13

[1] Zero Max

[1] One for One

[1] Heavy Storm

[2] Book of Moon

[1] Foolish Burial

[1] Brain Control

[1] Reinforcement of the Army

[3] Infernity Launcher

[1] Giant Trunade

[1] Mystical Space Typhoon

Traps: 14

[3] Infernity Inferno

[3] Dust Tornado

[1] Starlight Road

[2] Bottomless Trap Hole

[1] Infernity Barrier

[1] Solemn Judgment

[1] Torrential Tribute

[1] Call of the Haunted

[1] Compulsory Evacuation Device

Extra Deck: 15

[2] Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth

[1] Goyo Guardian

[2] Mist Wurm

[1] Infernity Doom Dragon

[1] Thought Ruler Archfiend

[1] Flamvell Uruquizas

[2] Stardust Dragon

[1] Ally of Justice Catastor

[1] Colossal Fighter

[1] Black Rose Dragon

[1] Magical Android

[1] Chimeratech Fortress

Sidedeck: 15

[1] D.D. Crow

[1] System Down

[2] Cyber Dragon

[2] Fissure

[1] Nobleman of Crossout

[1] Compulsory Evacuation Device

[2] Light-Imprisoning Mirror

[2] Trap Hole

[2] Crevice into the Different Dimension

[1] Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn

Peter Cattani – 3^rd place after swiss

Monsters: 30

[1] Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

[3] Nova Summoner

[3] Herald the Perfect

[3] Herald of Orange Light

[1] Consecrated Light

[2] Dimensional Alchemist

[1] Arcana Force O – The Fool

[3] Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands

[2] Herald of Purple Light

[2] Honest

[1] Sky Scourge Invicil

[2] Tethys, Goddess of Light

[1] Hecatrice

[2] Soul of Purity and Light

[1] Archlord Kristya

Spells: 7

[1] Brain Control

[3] Dawn of the Herald

[1] Vahalla

[1] Heavy Storm

[1] Upstart Goblin

Traps: 3

[2] Royal Decree

[1] Solemn Judgment

Extra Deck: 15

[1] X-Saber Urbellum

[1] Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

[2] Magical Android

[1] Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth

[2] Colossal Fighter

[1] Stardust Dragon

[1] Red Dragon Archfiend

[1] Thought Ruler Archfiend

[1] Black Rose Dragon

[1] Ally of Justice Catastor

[1] Mist Wurm

[1] Goyo Guardian

[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

Side Deck: 15

[1] Archlord Kristya

[2] D.D. Crow

[1] Reign-Beaux, Overlord of Dark World

[1] Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World

[2] Bottomless Trap Hole

[2] Thunder King Rai-Oh

[1] Morphing Jar

[1] Consecrated Light

[2] Gottoms’ Emergency Call

[2] Cyber Dragon

Rob Tanney – 4^th place after swiss

Monsters: 29

[3] Battle Fader

[3] Substitoad

[3] Swap Frog

[3] Raiza the Storm Monarch

[3] Caius the Shadow Monarch

[3] Light and Darkness Dragon

[2] Jinzo

[2] Treeborn Frog

[2] D.D. Crow

[1] Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

[1] Tragoedia

[1] Dupe Frog

[1] Dark Dust Spirit

[1] Vanity’s Fiend

Spells: 11

[3] Enemy Controller

[3] Soul Exchange

[1] Heavy Storm

[1] Nobleman of Extirmination

[1] Mystical Space Typhoon

[1] Creature Swap

[1] Brain Control

Traps: 0

Extra Deck: 12

[1] Gladiator Beast Heraklinos

[2] Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

[1] Black Rose Dragon

[1] Ancient Fairy Dragon

[1] Red Dragon Archfiend

[1] Thought Ruler Archfiend

[1] Magical Android

[1] X-Saber Urbellum

[1] Goyo Guardian

[1] Stardust Dragon

[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

Side Deck: 15

[2] Cyber Dragon

[2] Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World

[2] Vanity’s Fiend

[1] Burial from a Different Dimension

[3] Threatening Roar

[3] Dust Tornado

[2] Crevice into the Different Dimension

Chalana Bel-Air – 5^th place after swiss

Monsters: 15

[3] Infernity Archfiend

[3] Infernity Necromancer

[3] Infernity Beetle

[2] Infernity Mirage

[1] Infernity Avenger

[2] Dark Grepher

[1] Snipe Hunter

Spells: 10

[3] Infernity Launcher

[1] Card Destruction

[1] Brain Control

[1] Heavy Storm

[1] Foolish Burial

[1] Reinforcement of the Army

[1] Giant Trunade

[1] One for One

Traps: 15

[1] Torrential Tribute

[3] Dust Tornado

[1] Call of the Haunted

[1] Mirror Force

[2] Compulsory Evacuation Device

[3] Infernity Inferno

[1] Solemn Judgment

[1] Infernity Break

[2] Infernity Barrier

Extra Deck: 15

[2] Magical Android

[1] Ally of Justice Catastor

[1] Flamvell Uruquizas

[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

[1] Goyo Guardian

[1] Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth

[1] Black Rose Dragon

[1] Colossal Fighter

[1] Stardust Dragon

[1] Thought Ruler Archfiend

[1] Hundred Eyes Dragon

[1] Infernity Doom Dragon

[2] Mist Wurm

Side Deck: 15

[3] Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter

[2] D.D. Crow

[1] System Down

[1] Twister

[2] Threatening Roar

[2] Crevice into the Different Dimension

[3] Mirror of Oaths

[1] Gottoms’ Emergency Call

Christopher Krause – 6^th place after swiss

Monsters: 22

[3] XX-Saber Darksoul

[3] XX-Saber Faultroll

[2] XX-Saber Emmersblade

[2] X-Saber Airbellum

[2] XX-Saber Fulhelknight

[2] XX-Saber Boggart Knight

[1] X-Saber Pashuul

[1] X-Saber Palomol

[1] XX-Saber Ragigura

[1] Rescue Cat

[1] Super-Nimble Mega Hamster

[1] D.D. Crow

[1] Gorz the Emissary of Darkness

[1] Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter

Spells: 9

[2] Book of Moon

[1] One for One

[1] Saber Slash

[1] Reinforcement of the Army

[1] Mystical Space Typhoon

[1] Cold Wave

[1] Brain Control

[1] My Body as a Shield

Traps: 9

[2] Dust Tornado

[2] Bottomless Trap Hole

[1] Saber Hole

[2] Gottom’s Emergency Call

[1] Solemn Judgment

[1] Torrential Tribute

Extra Deck: 15

[1] Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

[1] Mist Wurm

[2] X-Sabers Gottoms

[1] Stardust Dragon

[1] Colossal Fighter

[1] Thought Ruler Archfiend

[1] X-Saber Urbellum

[1] Black Rose Dragon

[2] XX-Saber Hyunlei

[1] Goyo Guardian

[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

[1] Ally of Justice Catastor

[1] Armory Arm

Sidedeck: 15

[2] Cyber Dragon

[3] Consecrated Light

[1] D.D. Crow

[1] My Body as a Shield

[1] Saber Slash

[2] Pulling the Rug

[2] Swallow Flip

[2] Hero’s Rule 2

[1] Mirror of Oaths

Jovani Hernandez – 7^th place after swiss

Monsters: 18

[3] X-Saber Airbellum

[2] XX-Saber Fulhemknight

[1] D.D. Crow

[2] XX-Saber Emmersblade

[2] XX-Saber Boggart Knight

[1] Rescue Cat

[3] XX-Saber Faultroll

[3] XX-Saber Darksoul

[1] XX-Saber Ragigura

Spells: 10

[1] Cold Wave

[1] Mystical Space Typhoon

[1] Giant Trunade

[1] Brain Control

[1] Heavy Storm

[1] Mind Control

[1] My Body as a Shield

[3] Book of Moon

Traps: 12

[2] Saber Hole

[1] Call of the Haunted

[2] Gottom’s Emergency Call

[1] Starlight Road

[2] Bottomless Trap Hole

[1] Torrential Tribute

[1] Mirror Force

[1] Solemn Judgment

[1] Dust Tornado

Extra Deck: 15

[2] XX-Saber Gottoms

[1] Magical Android

[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

[2] XX-Saber Hyunlei

[1] Stardust Dragon

[2] X-Saber Urbellum

[1] Armory Arm

[1] Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

[1] Colossal Fighter

[1] Black Rose Dragon

[1] Mist Wurm

[1] Goyo Guardian

Sidedeck: 15

[1] Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer

[2] Mask of Restrict

[1] System Down

[2] Cyber Dragon

[1] XX-Saber Pashuul

[2] D.D. Crow

[3] Consecrated Light

[1] My Body as a Shield

[1] One for One

[1] Gottoms’ Emergency Call

Elijah Marnell – 8^th place after swiss

Monsters: 18

[3] Thunder King Rai-Oh

[3] Test Tiger

[2] Gladiator Beast Equeste

[2] Gladiator Beast Samnite

[1] Gladiator Beast Secutor

[1] Gladiator Beast Murmillo

[1] Gladiator Beast Retiari

[1] Rescue Cat

[1] Gladiator Beast Bestiari

[2] Gladiator Beast Laquari

[1] Gladiator Beast Darius

Spells: 5

[3] Book of Moon

[1] Cold Wave

[1] Mystical Space Typhoon

Traps: 17

[3] Dimensional Prison

[3] Compulsory Evacuation Device

[2] Gladiator Beast War Chariot

[2] Starlight Road

[2] Bottomless Trap Hole

[1] Solemn Judgment

[1] Trap Dustshoot

[3] Dust Tornado

Extra Deck: 15

[1] Rainbow Neos

[2] Gladiator Beast Heraklinos

[3] Gladiator Beast Gyzarus

[2] Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

[2] Stardust Dragon

[1] Ally of Justice Catastor

[1] Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

[1] Goyo Guardian

[1] Black Rose Dragon

[1] Ancient Fairy Dragon

Sidedeck:

[3] Consecrated Light

[3] Pulling the Rug

[2] Pole Position

[2] Gottom’s Emergency Call

[2] Cyber Dragon

[1] Brain Control

[1] Legendary Jujitsu Master

[1] Jowls of Dark Demise

Building a New EDH Archetype with Eldrazi and Annihilation (Part 2)

Last week we started a really exciting project.  The new set released and we wanted to jump on the opportunity to build and play with the Eldrazi Tribe.  We have continually been play testing the build and tweaking the card inclusions.  We have an outstanding shell and ended up making a casual deck that grew in competitiveness.  It turned out that the Annihilator mechanic was very, very powerful and the engines that we used in the deck made it very effective.  After some play sessions, we wanted to highlight some of the sick synergies that we planted in the build and how we came to label the deck….Channel Eldrazi Tribal.

Check out our video on You Tube for a complete visual spoiler of the list, commentary, and game play right here at the Game Academy.  We have a channel featuring other EDH videos and interviews with some of the game’s most interesting and entertaining personalities.  Our YouTube channel is Elderdragonhighlandr.  Oh yeah!  Also check the conclusion of this article next week for the complete published deck list in part 3.

Synergies that Allow the Deck to Compete

Spawnsire & Channel (Colorless Spells/Channel)

This is where the debate begins!  The EDH rules that apply to cards that grab other cards from “outside of the game” are, at the time of this article, ambiguous.  Some folks believe that cards cannot be brought in from outside the game.  When EDH was first developed in Alaska, the original play group banned the “wishes” cycle of cards.  Subsequently, those cards have been removed from the banned list that most folks follow.

This is where the confusion might start.  Last October, the EDH rules were placed, by Wizards of the Coast, into the official comprehensive rules for Magic.  This is an amazing recognition of the alternative format, but introduced some interesting concerns.  When a card in traditional constructed Magic refers to “outside the game” it is generally limited to the sideboard.  Legacy players use Burning Wish and fetch Empty the Warrens from their sideboard while playing Charbelcher, for example.  However, most players don’t play a sideboard in EHD.  The rules allow for play groups to make a 10-card sideboard (which I support), but many playgroups either don’t know this or just don’t use it.

It would seem like you could retrieve exiled cards, but the exiled zone is now part of the game.  Therefore, it does not really exist “outside of the game.”  However, EDH is a casual environment and the developers of Magic keep making cards that grab tools from outside the game.  The intent or “spirit of design” of these cards might just be to whip out your binder, search the collection, and drop in anything that you want!  I think that is pretty awesome.

However, there are several concerns.  While searching the collection is amazing and would allow ridiculously fun game states, highlander formats are confronted with a violation of the core rule of the highlander game:  More than one copy of a card might enter the game.  The single card rule applies to deck building, but is not specific enough to apply, at this time, to cards that might enter the game post construction (during gameplay).

If cards can come into play from the binder and if you can play multiple copies, the Channel-Spawnsire is pretty wackey.  You could have a scenario in which you might draw Spawnsire and Channel (or cascade into channel, or tutor for channel, or tutor for Spawnsire, etc.).  If you have at least 31 life, then you would be able to pay 30 life for 30 colorless mana via Channel.  Ten mana could pay for Spawnsire and 20 for his effect.  Once you trigger the effect, you could go grab a pile of Eldrazi (including shapeshifters) from your binder.  I could imagine a more Spike player sitting with a pile of Emrakul promos outside of the game.  If you cast any odd number of Emrakul copies (accounting for the Legendary destruction if you play out even numbers), then you could take a ton of extra turns and would have some giant bodies that could not be stopped.  Just think of the madness.  Because you “cast” the Eldrazi with Spawnsire’s effect, you are able to capitalize on all of the powerful effects!  This is mindboggling.  Some will think it is cool while others will hate it.  I think it is not that broken and just seems like a solid win condition.  It can be interrupted and puts the Channel player at risk by paying 75% of the starting life total.

In a rules scenario where this interaction is illegal. I think you still play both cards in your deck.  Channeling out an Emrakul seems pretty sweet.  You pay 15 life, take an extra turn and drop in a huge creature who untargetable and mostly unblockable with that nasty dose of annihilator ready to cripple the player playing white.  It is strong.  I like it.  I think players will need to adjust their deck builds to account for it.  There have not been too many cards that actually forced a shift in the EDH metagame.  The Eldrazi might be a good exception to this rule.  These guys are so big and scary that they might cause a disturbance in a mostly unalterable metagame!

Awakening Zone & Token Generators/Skull Clamp

This will offer your deck the option to either draw a lot of extra cards or simply ramp up the mana.  Drawing a couple of cards a turn is sure to keep your deck fighting and will give players a chance to keep the big Eldrazi coming in the face of counters.  Not much to say here.  Skull Clamp is great with faerie, goblin, solider, and now spawn tokens.  If you can generate them, you might as well play it.

Buried Alive Tool Box

Recursion can be a very powerful trick.  I think most decks should run graveyard disruption.  In fact, many of the Eldrazi have some anti-synergy with setting up a graveyard toolbox or recursion engine, but they are so effective that you can just play it anyways!  If you get an early Buried Alive, then you can sink the Genesis/Squee/Eternal Witness/other dude into your graveyard.  This can help both recursion engines that we mentioned before and can also help you ditch cards to think your deck if needed.

Baneful Omen/Sensei’s Divining Top

The Eldrazi cards just keep making an impact in this deck.  We are going to pack some cards that have great synergy with the high converted mana cost cards in the deck.  The average Eldrazi spell runs at about 9.  Big Eldrazi creatures make up about 10% of our deck.  We are also playing Decree of Pain and quite a few more cards that cost 5 or 6.  The interaction might be obvious, but I will explain for players that are not as familiar with Baneful Omen.  The Omen is an enchantment. I think enchantments are one of the least hated on cards in the EDH format  (next to planeswalkers).  Therefore, you are likely going to get this interaction to stick.

Baneful Omen allows you to reveal a card from the top of your deck.  We will use the Divining Top to keep our most expensive cards on top while drawing the cards beneath those cards and resetting the fatty for the painful reveal.  If you have Divining Top placing an Emrakul in the hurt position, then you can deal your opponents 15 a turn until someone can make you shuffle or otherwise disrupt our combo.  Again, it deals 15 to every opponent at the end of each turn.  Not too shabby.  Triple black mana is a little stretch for our deck, so we made sure to include Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.  This deck might also be able to play Cabal Coffers with a few tweaks.  More testing might be needed.

Life from the Loam/Uncharted Territories

So you want to fix your mana, you want to play cards for value, you want to reuse fetch lands, or just search up a tool box land, then you are in luck.  Uncharted Territories marks another great card from the Rise of the Eldrazi expansion.  The synergy with Life from the Loam is pretty slick.  It seemed like the perfect compliment to the ramp that we are trying to accomplish to power out our huge Eldrazi spells.

I think that there are a group of players that might abuse this with land destruction.  I don’t mind land destruction (per se), but think that abusive land destruction engines are pretty annoying.  Crucible of Worlds should not really be pulling back strip mine and the ilk.  However, I think there are times when it is appropriate to use a strip mine or tectonic edge to deal with a man land or Maze of Ith.  The best use for our Uncharted Loam combo will be to grab Urborg, Phyrexian Tower, Eye of Ugin, and Eldrazi Temple.  These cards push your deck’s priorities and have pretty solid synergy with ramping and the utility engines that aid your deck function.

Prelude to the Final Deck List

Next week we will conclude our deck construction.  We have crammed several cool new cards into the list.  We are finding synergy and balance and have a few final tweaks before we finish.  We want to find lots of ways of cheating our big guys into play and have some really interesting tech including Sneak Attack.  Further, we are going to lean on our green spells in a big way to provide us with tons of mana ramp.  About 15% of our deck will consist of mana ramping dudes, sorceries, and enchantments so we can “get there.”

The deck is about 2 weeks into play testing and I am sure that this will become a new staple archetype in the environment.  It has applications in 1 vs. 1 play and multiplayer.  A couple of months ago, Magic designer (a big fan of fatties) posed a question on Twitter.  He mused what Sheldon Menery might think about the way that the Eldrazi would change the way that EDH is played.  At first I thought this simply referred to colorless spells, All is Dust working for every color, and throwing down big dudes.  Now I am beginning to understand the full implications of this new tribe.  We are looking at giant dudes, that are “easily” cast in EDH packing come-into-play effects, giant bodies with the brutal annihilator mechanic.  The are metagame warping!

Check us out next week for the most up-to-date list for the deck.  Also, note the fact that you can buy all the singles that you need from The Game Academy.  As of today, there are still some copies of Survival of the Fittest, Sneak Attack, and Ulamog.  Grab yours before the prices go up or the supplies run out!  Check out the game academy’s online store on this site and their listings on eBay for some really juicy EDH foils and rarities.

where you can preregister for our 3K Yu-Gi-Oh! Cash Tournament on Saturday, May 29th for only $25!

*Editor’s Note* – The Game Academy hosts an EDH league every Sunday; tournament signups begin @ 2 PM and tournament entry is $7. All entry will be given back to top finishers in store credit to use towards anything in the store. Jeremy is always in attendance to play EDH in our league, offer deck advice, and record matches for his popular YouTube channel. If you don’t have an EDH deck, don’t worry, we normally have a few extras if you want to play. See you here!

Building a New EDH Archetype with Eldrazi and Annihilation (Part 1)

Release weekend marked a couple of Magic milestones.  The Rise of the Eldrazi set released and was immediately ready for some constructed play.  There were several players that were hanging out on Thursday evening waiting for that proverbial stroke of midnight to land their first boxes of the new product.  I know the release events were very successful and The Game Academy had players crawling out of the woodwork to snatch up product at the lowest prices in town.  You can check the main site, but The Game Academy is doling out boxes of Rise of the Eldrazi for $89.99.

I like hanging out at the shop on release weekends.  You get a chance to meet up with all your Magic-playing pals.  Everyone loves a new set release.  As you know, there are all kinds of players out there. You have your casual crowd.  These players might show up for some of the prerelease events or occasional two-headed giant tournament, but can most often be found gaming at the kitchen table.  You can see players that frequent FNM and there are always tons of drafters.  I know a lot of folks stop in to pick up boxes of the new sets and scurry off to draft away the nights.

Other players sit and crack packs, chasing the big money payouts and then trade in the goods to open more packs.

I had several goals on release weekend.  I landed some of the foil cards that I hoped to obtain.  We racked up a foil Vengevine and foil version of Gideon Jura.  My wife is a champ when it comes to opening packs and landed one of every mythic in the set!  Needless to say, it was a great weekend.  After playing in some release events and digging through a giant stack of newly printed foils, I turned my attention to the development of a brand-spanking new archetype in Elder Dragon Highlander.

Eldrazi:  The Tribe Better than Expected, Annihilator is Sick!

I will caution the readership with a disclaimer:  This deck-type is way more powerful than you would expect and you probably should not build this list. It is bonkers!  I am sure that it could easily fit into one of our “Most Hated…” films on YouTube.  Our Elderdragonhighlandr YouTube channel is currently featuring this list and you can check out both the deck and some game play on our site.  I think that building an Eldrazi themed deck is pretty sweet.  After play testing and fidgeting around with a couple of builds, the Eldrazi spawn tokens and actual Eldrazi tyrants offer very powerful cards.

Initially, I felt the Eldrazi might be a sort of bust.  They look a little like Darksteel Colossus or Progenitus.  My misread was that the Eldrazi would play like these fatties.  Traditionally, EDH folks have built decks that have packed a couple of giant, fat dudes as finishers.  I have a 5-color build that finishes with Progenitus.  He is complicated to cast, hard to stop, and basically bats clean-up.  Darksteel Colossus has served the same role.  I like a big indestructible dude with trample.  You can push through damage and keep him around in the face of many forms of removal.

However, you only need one or two of these big guys in your deck.  You do not need an entire tribe of Progenitus-esque creatures populating your deck.  I imagined that the Eldrazi would fill a similar roll and therefore be relegated to the “token fatty” spot in many EDH decks.  This alone is pretty cool, but not as interesting as what I discovered.  I had imagined that folks would only want a single copy of Emrakul or might only want to splash Kozilek.  After building and testing, I am now sure that I was wrong.

It turns out that the Eldrazi are not exactly like token fatties.  They are much, much more.  Many of the tribe members have effects that trigger as you cast the Eldrazi.  This goes a long way in shifting the way the cards are played.  It adds further value to the card beyond the amazing payoff of dropping a giant dude and swinging or blocking.  Further, they have a little keyword:  Annihilator! This effect is so sick.  It is nearly broken.  When you drop an Eldrazi early in the game and get off an attack, you end up crippling your opponent with an undeniable and devastating threat.  These guys are simply busted!

I thought playing the deck with ramp and haste would capitalize on the strengths of the Eldrazi.  There were multiple games when a giant dude hit the table on turn 6 and marched into the battle forcing mass sacrifice.  If you are swinging with multiple guys each sporting large annihilator stats, then you will cripple opposing defenses and limit the opponent’s ability to recover from the onslaught.  Let’s walk through a scenario presented during the game play on Sunday.

Player 1 is Eldrazi Tribe (RGB).  Player 2 is Slivers (5-color) and Player 3 is packing an Enchantress/Enchantment Lockdown deck (5-color).  The Eldrazi player drops Awakening Zone and plays out some quick ramp cards resulting in the premature appearance of Ulamog.  Player 2 has a small brood of slivers and Sliver Overlord while Player 3 has ramped mana and Luminarch Ascension with 3 counters awaiting its final counter to enable an army of white angels.  The Eldrazi player gets off a single attack on the Sliver player forcing the sacrifice of 4 permanents.  Player 2 drops down 2 lands and 2 creatures.  A final sliver blocks leaving only the Overlord and 5 lands.  The Eldrazi player builds the board with one of the less impressive Eldrazi only sporting annihilator 2.  Player 2 cracks back for some general damage and adds a land, but is clearly at a disadvantage after the attack.  Player 3 digs for some sort of removal.  Wrath and Damnation won’t kill this particular indestructible Eldrazi.  He survives for another turn along with his tribesman.

At this point, the Eldrazi player swings into Player 3 resulting in the loss of 6 permanents and epic life loss.  Now that player is significantly behind in board position and joins in the efforts to usurp the Eldrazi player.  Both Players 2 and 3 team up to survive.  Player 3 comes up with a Hallowed Burial and provides a collective sigh of relief.  However, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth hits the board with the aid of haste provided by a binned Anger.  The Eldrazi player draws 4 cards and punishes Player 3 with another round of annihilator 4.  The game state favors the Eldrazi player in available mana, total permanents, capacity to deal damage, draw cards, and overall tempo.  No amount of combined defensive efforts is enough to contain the slaughter.  Annihilator achieves its namesake.

I imagine that soon players will find out just how incredible the destruction and impairment can be to opposing players.  I was shocked, excited, and ended up feeling a little dirty.  These guys are big.  They can be stopped.  However, when they pile up and “get in there,” it is hard to hang.  For better or worse, I think that playing them all (even the lesser ones) just might be a great call.

Building the Deck:  Channel/Eldrazi

I will begin this section with some credits.  The idea to make the deck came from my wife and I.  We had been planning to build a tribal deck and became more excited with each preview and unveiling of the Eldrazi cards and themes.  I game sometimes with some new buddies in Spring Hill, Florida and noticed that most of them were very excited to build standard, multiplayer versions of the Eldrazi deck.  They were ramping and rolling out huge creatures.  One of my friends, Alex, spawned a ton of tokens and went for the Overrun kill condition, while another, Chris, just aimed to pump out giant guys using the Awakening Zone.  Both strategies were a bit slow and interesting and seemed perfectly fitted to EDH play.  You can’t drop two copies of your Awakening Zone (which is pretty awesome) but you can sport all the goodies!

The next steps were clutch.  “Faddy” Josh Harrison and I sat down with the aid of the Gatherer and mapped out many of our Eldrazi-themed options.  It can be noted that aside from the colorless Eldrazi spells and creatures, that the Eldrazi spells tended to align with the Jund colors (red, black, and green).  We searched for the best generals.  It would be cool if there were an Eldrazi specific or related general that fit with the Jund colors, but this does not exist for both thematic and practical reasons.  However, you can play Karthas, Tyrant of Jund.  This guy is both a house in EDH and does some nasty things with dragons.  He is also a 7/7 which is very large compared to most EDH generals.  I like him as a narrow and interesting sort of back-up plan.

Once we settled on a general, we moved through all of the various Eldrazi spells and thematic inclusions that we could find.  When possible, we gave an card from Rise of the Eldrazi the benefit-of-the-doubt and included the card for play testing.  We played each creature that made spawn tokens and most spells that generated spawn tokens.  Some of these guys may get cut, but we initially set out to develop a build that followed theme rather than aiming for the most honed and cut-throat list.  It ended up a little busted anyway, but we will get to that later.

The thematic spells were organized into Red, Black, and Green.  Green provided the best ramp options, red allowed our creatures to have haste, and black provided tutors and great removal spells.  To make your EDH decks function, it can often be beneficial to include some “engines” that make the deck competitive.

Engines that Make a Deck Competitive

Some of the best engines for EDH decks were born out of standard deck lists.  The card interactions and win conditions provided by these engines can give your build an edge.  These are some of the engines that we selected:

Survival of the Fittest/Squee, Goblin Nabob

The Survial of the Fittest engine is really solid in a 100 card deck.  Once you have it online, you can search out some sweet cards and build card advantage in decks playing green and red.  I like to make my first target for the Survival engine, Squee.  He comes back from the graveyard every turn and allows you to always have a creature to pitch for your searches.  Second up is Genesis.  When you pitch Genesis, a little green mana keeps your best creatures coming back to your hand.  Additional Survival targets include Eternal Witness and tool box cards like Acidic Slime, Duplicant, or Solemn Simulacrum.  If you can play this sort of engine, you can also fish out your Eldrazi creatures as you need them or might be able to retrieve your general if it gets shuffled into your deck.

Genesis/Eternal Witness Engine

We already talked about fishing this engine out with the aforementioned engine, but there are other ways to set up this interaction.  Buried Alive allows a player to search the deck for 4 creature cards and put them into the graveyard.  In this deck you are able to drop in Genesis, Squee, Eternal Witness, and any other creature that will meet your needs.  This is pretty sick and something that Josh Harrison turned me onto.  This allows your deck to be very interactive and also provides a player choosing not to play blue with some resilience to lots of counters.

To Be Continued…

The decklist is already available to view on YouTube.  There is some play test footage where you can get a chance to see Josh Martinez and Molly Blair defend against the annihilating deck.  Check out our channel: Elderdragonhighlandr on www.youtube.com.  You can find more of our videos on EDH if you search EDH or Elder Dragon Highlander.  Further, you can find the game footage and interesting videos for other games on The Game Academy’s You Tube channel.  Check out thegameacademyonlie and keep checking back on www.thegameacademyonline.com for singles and the second part of this article.  We will publish the refined decklist next week!!! See you guys around the shop, in Atlanta, and right here every week.

Bonus Engine

Thursday evening I had the great pleasure to play cards with some buddies that I had not seen in a while.  My pals Omar, David, CV-Dubs, and I worked on Omar’s new blue deck for a while.  These guys were picking up classic blue-related staples and debating card slots in a solid Teferi list, and Omar turned me onto something pretty cool.  As one of the win conditions for the deck, Omar would put Mystical Tutor on a stick.  He would imprint the tutor on Isochron Scepter.  After casting Beacon of Tomorrows, he could shuffle the sorcery card into his library, take another turn, set the Beacon on top of the deck and draw the card.  This little win-condition in the Tutor/Beacon engine seemed pretty ingenious.