by Francis Toussaint

Francis T returns with an article on the GW Eldrazi deck that he piloted at Canadian Nationals.  Packed with new changes and a sideboarding guide, this is for anyone looking to drop Eldrazis until Scars of Mirrodin comes out.  The two-time Canadian Nationals top 8er also brings us the Extended deck he would be bringing to Amsterdam if he was able to go.

Recently I attended Canadian Nationals, and although a lackluster finish due to two underperforming draft decks, as well as a few blunders of my own, still has a sour taste in my mouth, I still like the deck I used for the Standard portion. Unfortunately, Nationals is fairly heavily dependant on draft, so my constructed preparation didn't really end up being relevant, but at least you guys might get a kick out of the deck I put together. I ended up starting 2-1 in my constructed portion of Nationals, but dropped before I could finish off the constructed portion to play in the PTQ the following day.

The deck I ended up sleeving up for Nationals was GW Eldrazi. In my playtesting for Nationals the deck was testing very well, but a few days before the event the introduction of Destructive Force and Valakut decks left me uneasy. Recently their have been a few odd Eldrazi lists popping up here and there, but my take on the list was a little different than some other takes on the deck. I have been messing around with GW Eldrazi since Rise of Eldrazi was released, but it wasn't until Primeval Titan was spoiled that I really felt it was real competitor. Primeval Titan is really the card that holds the whole deck together.

Here is the list that I settled on for Nationals:

2 Kozilek, the Butcher of Truth
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Primeval Titan
4 Wall of Omens
4 Overgrown Battlement

3 All Is Dust
1 Condemn
4 Everflowing Chalice
2 Gideon
4 Cultivate
4 Path to Exile

4 Eldrazi Temple
1 Eye of Ugin
2 Tectonic Edge
1 Mystifying Maze
4 Stirring Wildwood
4 Sunpetal Grove
2 Khalni Garden
3 Forest
5 Plains

Sideboard
1 All is Dust
1 Eye of Ugin
2 Day of Judgement
4 Obstinate Baloth
2 Condemn
2 Pelakka Worm
3 Leyline of Sanctity

Some of the other versions of the deck have a lot less protection, and instead concentrate on getting the Eldrazi out as soon as possible. The take I had on the deck was a more controlling direction opting for more protection, as opposed to speed. Basically the plan for this deck is to be able to protect myself long enough to make it into the third stage of the deck, at which point you usually won't lose.

Primeval Titan does wonders for this deck, and can do a lot of thing for the deck depending on the situation. For example, if you are just trying to stay alive you can search for the Khalni Garden(s) and Mystifying Maze, if you are playing against the Valakut deck you can go for the Tectonic Edge, and most of the time you will be looking to get the Eldrazi engine online, in which case you will be looking for an Eye of Ugin and a Eldrazi Temple. One interesting trick the deck has if you are just trying to get as much mana to play an Eldrazi fatty in your hand is to search for two Eldrazi Temple when you first play Primeval Titan, and then next turn you attack with Primeval Titan and search for an Eye of Ugin, and then you will have an additional two mana to play an Eldrazi post combat. Another intricacy of the deck that I have found through play testing is that a surprising amount of time it is correct to Path to Exile your own creature for the acceleration.

As far as matchups go, Jund and Mono Red are relatively tough main deck, but get a lot better post board, UW, Next Level Bant and Naya are good matchups, Mythic extremely good if they don't play Tectonic Edge, but still good if they do play Tectonic Edge, Valakut is tough main deck, and closer post board, and I have yet to playtest against Destructive Force enough to judge how that matchup will go.

If I were to play this deck in a tournament tomorrow I would make the following changes:

Main Deck:
-1 Condemn
+1 Tectonic Edge

Sideboard:
-1 Day of Judgement
+1 Leyline of Sanctity

Condemn seems a lot weaker now that deck like Destructive Force, Valakut and UW are all running Titans, and Tectonic Edge is extremely important against Valakut. The forth Leyline of the Sanctity is due to the appearance of UR Ascension, Valakut decks and Mono red.

Here is how I sideboard for the main matchups:

Jund
+2 Condemn
+4 Obstinate Baloth
+2 Pelakka Worm
-1 Everflowing Chalice
-1 Kozilek
-1 Emrakul
-3 All is Dust
-2 Path to Exile

Mono Red
+2 Condemn
+4 Leyline of Sanctity
+4 Obstinate Baloth
+2 Pelakka Worm
-3 All is Dust
-2 Kozilek
-1 Ulamog
-1 Emrakul
-1 Cultivate
-1 Everflowing Chalice
-1 Eye of Ugin
-1 Tectonic Edge
-1 Primeval Titan

Naya
+1 Day of Judgement
+2 Condemn
+1 All is Dust
-2 Wall of Omens
-1 Emrakul
-1 Cultivate

Mythic
+1 Day of Judgement
+2 Condemn
+1 All is Dust
-1 Kozilek
-1 Emrakul
-2 Wall of Omens

UW
+1 All is Dust
+1 Eye of Ugin
-1 Wall of Omens

Valakut
+4 Leyline of Sanctity
+2 Day of Judgement
+1 Eye of Ugin
+2 Day of Judgement
-4 Wall of Omens
-2 Gideon Jura
-3 All is Dust

Destructive Force
+1 All is Dust
+1 Eye of Ugin
-2 Wall of Omens

UR Ascension
+4 Leyline of Sanctity
+1 All is Dust
+1 Eye of Ugin
-4 Path to Exile
-2 Gideon Jura

I think this deck is definitely a blast to play with, and has given me a lot of enjoyment personally, while still being competitive. Although advocating the more controlling version of Eldrazi here, I also still think the faster versions with more ramp spells is also strong. Although the Ptq season is over, I recommend this deck to anyone who is looking for something different.

Bonus Extended list

GR Valakut

4 Grove of the Burnwillows
2 Forest
10 Mountain
4 Treetop Village
4 Fire-Lite Thicket
2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

4 Tarmogoyf
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Bloodbraid Elf

4 Punishing Fire
2 Lightning Bolt
4 Rampant Growth
4 Harmonize
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Scapeshift

Sideboard:
2 Anathemancer
4 Relic of Progenitus
1 Swamp
4 Thought Hemorrhage
4 Volcanic Fallout

Last Extended season I played GR Valakut for the entire season, and ended up piloting the deck to the win-and-in round of GP Oakland, eventually falling short. Even with the large reduction of the size of the Extended card pool, this deck has still remained largely in tact. I would argue it is even stronger now that Thopter Depths is gone, as well as the deck's nightmare matchup, Hypergenesis. With the absences of the decks previous two worst matchups, the deck has more space in the board to hose Faeries, which was a good matchup before hand. If I were fortunate enough to be playing in PT Amsterdam, I would be playing this deck for sure, and I would recommend anyone playing in Amsterdam to consider this deck.

Thanks for reading!

Francis T

Kar Yung Tom

Kar Yung Tom (KYT) is the Digital Content Manager for Face to Face Games. He oversees the F2FTour.com and Magic F2F websites. He is also the lead host of the First Strike podcast.