In Toronto’s MTG Standard metagame, the players are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the [card]Primeval Titan[/card]s that search for lands, and the Jaces that fateseal their remaining action. These are their stories.
I realize that the people are also often represented by some sort of aggro deck, usually Vampires or Boros, but lets be honest; how often do we see these doing well nowadays? I would have loved to see Mono Red take down some NQs, or even take down some future online PTQs before the rotation, but I don’t think it’s meant to be.
I will, however, provide you guys with a non Caw-Blade decklist I top 8’d a few high REL events and won a National Qualifier with. I expect it to be useful for the remainder of the online PTQ season, although post rotation things might get rough. It is one of the few decks that actually boasts a positive matchup against Caw-Blade, and that’s always something you’ll want to take notice of since Caw-Blade is so heavily concentrated at the top tables.
[deck title=Eldrazi Ramp]
[Lands]
10 Forest
4 Tectonic Edge
3 Khalni Garden
3 Eldrazi Temple
2 Mystifying Maze
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 Eye of Ugin
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Joraga Treespeaker
4 Overgrown Battlement
2 Oracle of Mul Daya
2 Ulamog, The Infinite Gyre
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Terastodon
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Primeval Titan
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Summoning Trap
3 Tumble Magnet
2 Green Suns Zenith
4 Explore
3 Everflowing Chalice
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
4 Obstinate Baloth
3 Mortarpod
2 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Natures Claim
1 Wall of Tanglecord
1 Viridian Corrupter
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Tumble Magnet
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
For reference, here is the original list that brought sexy back, courtesy of Raphael Levy:
[deck title=Eldrazi Ramp, by Raphael Levy]
[Lands]
12 Forest
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Tectonic Edge
3 Khalni Garden
2 Mystifying Maze
1 Eye of Ugin
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Joraga Treespeaker
4 Overgrown Battlement
4 Primeval Titan
1 Viridian Corrupter
4 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
2 Wall of Tanglecord
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Explore
4 Growth Spasm
4 Summoning Trap
2 Green Suns Zenith
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
3 Ratchet Bomb
3 Tumble Magnet
3 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Obstinate Baloth
1 Terastodon
1 Mystifying Maze
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
The moment I saw Levy’s list and his claims that this deck stomps all over Jace, I fell in love. My love affair with [card]Primeval Titan[/card] and [card]Summoning Trap[/card] is well known to those around me and I absolutely couldn’t wait to smash face with some Eldrazi. I also found it comical that the deck ran the widest spectrum of creatures ever, from the loyal but stupid plant token to [card Emrakul, the Aeons Torn]Emrakul, Your Anus Torn[/card].
After some testing and tournaments with his list, I came to a few conclusions:
The first was that the deck was popular, and probably going to continue to be popular. Changes had to be made to account for this and the first was adding an [card]Eye of Ugin[/card] to the board as suggested by Kyle Duncan while this was his deck of the week. That second Eye led to a couple handfuls of surprised looks from opponents (and “can I see your graveyard”s) over the next few weeks as they realized what happened. In fact, this change directly resulted in winning my win-and-in match for Top 8 against the mirror at the Toronto CMT a month ago, so big ups to Kyle on this one.
The second change was losing the [card]Wall of Tanglecord[/card] and [card]Viridian Corrupter[/card] and just adding [card]Tumble Magnet[/card]s. In the mirror and against Valakut, your opponent will be hitting their head against a wall for three turns if you have a Magnet out and they don’t. You can tap their Battlements or Treespeakers on their upkeep so you can resolve your Titan first, or you can tap down their Titan or Eldrazi should they get ahead. The wall is good in the Caw-Blade matchup, but you would rather not have to leave a green open to block Squadron Hawks early in the game, and Zenith for Corrupter is easily countered since they flash in their Sword, get a hit in with it, then untap.
Much like others, I also found that [card]Growth Spasm[/card] was about as underwhelming as boiled potatoes. Its ramping power is average at best since the spawn token is often more vulnerable than it is useful, and it never gets cast earlier than turn 3. It also doesn’t help with the deck’s nut draw of Treespeaker into Battlement into Titan on turn 3.
Around this time I also found that I would rather just have another green source or cheap ramp spell than the fourth [card]Eldrazi Temple[/card]. 11 and 15 mana are obviously a lot to ask, but at the same time I very rarely found that I was hardcasting Eldrazi without the help of a Titan anyway.
With all that said, I went with -4 [card]Growth Spasm[/card], -1 [card]Eldrazi Temple[/card] and +2 [card]Oracle of Mul Daya[/card] and +3 [card]Everflowing Chalice[/card]. Oracle is a very strong turn 3 play against Caw-Blade when you don’t have the nuts, and the Chalice is good early in the game to help you reach that strong turn 3, and late in the game when you can use it to simulate an [card]Eldrazi Temple[/card] while helping your non-Eldrazi bombs around Mana Leak.
I also removed a couple of Ulamogs. They are generally concession magnets, but not always what I needed. In came a [card]Terastodon[/card] and an [card]Avenger of Zendikar[/card] who are both tutorable with Zenith, more easy to cast, and useful in some situations where Ulamog isn’t. Neither is embarrassing to hit off a Summoning Trap either.
Matchups:
Caw-Blade is obviously public enemy number one, and where most of your testing should be focused. Keep in mind that the main way they win this matchup is through early pressure. If they have a Mystic on turn two and you have no answer, then you might have to force the issue. With that said, forcing the issue doesn’t always turn out badly. Do they have the Mana Leak or not? If they don’t then they will need some answers, fast.
If there is no early pressure, then just sit back and wait. I may be putting this a little simply, but your endgame trumps theirs, so there is no reason to walk into counters if you don’t have to.
Boarding:
+1 [card]Tumble Magnet[/card]
+1 [card]Wall of Tanglecord[/card]
+2 [card]Nature’s Claim[/card]
+1 [card]Viridian Corrupter[/card]
+1 [card]Eye of Ugin[/card]
– 4 [card]Explore[/card]
– 2 [card]Overgrown Battlement[/card] or [card]Everflowing Chalice[/card]
Chalice or Battlement come out depending on what you expect their board plan to be in games two and three. If they are heavy on the [card]Oust[/card]s and you don’t see [card]Spell Pierce[/card]s in game two, then Battlement can get the cut. Otherwise, Chalice probably hits the bench since Battlement is effectively uncounterable for fear of [card]Summoning Trap[/card].
What you’re boarding for here is to mitigate Sword damage until your endgame comes online. [card Natures Claim]Nature’s Claim[/card] does double duty in killing Swords and the now ubiquitous post-board [card]Volition Reins[/card].
Think carefully when searching for lands with [card]Primeval Titan[/card]. There is no need to search for [card]Eye of Ugin[/card] if you have an Ulamog in hand. Often the Caw-Blade player will sandbag a [card]Tectonic Edge[/card] while waiting to see the Eye. Should you draw into an [card]Eye of Ugin[/card], don’t play it until you can get an activation out of it.
Keep in mind (unlike I did in an important match) a [card]Mystifying Maze[/card] will protect you from being attacked by an Ulamog that was stolen with [card]Volition Reins[/card]. You’ll still have to sacrifice four permanents plus a blocker (likely a courageous plant token), but by the time this is an issue there should be enough expendable permanents available to discourage your opponent from attacking lest you get the big guy back and start going to town on them.
Aggro of various flavours will have a favourable game one against Eldrazi Ramp, and a more even game two. Game one is about hoping your ramp doesn’t get Bolted, Bladed, Gatekept, or sent on a [card]Journey to Nowhere[/card]. If you can manage a turn four or five Trap or Titan, then it’s even money. Battlements are not used for blocking despite their large behinds unless, of course, your opponent is on GW. Don’t forget to search for plant tokens with your Titan if the pressure is high. The plant token is noble and will give anything to protect you.
Boarding:
+1 [card]Wall of Tanglecord[/card]
+2 [card]Wurmcoil Engine[/card]
+4 [card]Obstinate Baloth[/card]
+3 [card]Mortarpod[/card]
+1 [card]Viridian Corrupter[/card]
+2 [card]Nature’s Claim[/card]
– 2 [card]Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre[/card]
– 3 [card]Primeval Titan[/card]
– 1 [card]Emrakul, the Aeons Torn[/card]
– 2 [card]Oracle of Mul Daya[/card]
– 4 [card]Joraga Treespeaker[/card]
– 1 [card]Explore[/card]
If your opponent is Mono-Red then the [card]Natures Claim[/card]s and [card]Viridian Corrupter[/card] won’t be necessary. The threats are swapped in order to mitigate damage from Threaten effects. Otherwise, you’re trying to kill their fetched Swords or neutralize Sworded threats, kill a [card]Plated Geopede[/card] or [card]Viscera Seer[/card] by surprise with a [card]Mortarpod[/card], and keep the life total high with [card]Obstinate Baloth[/card]. You finish with [card]Wurmcoil Engine[/card], [card]Avenger of Zendikar[/card], or eighteen power worth of creatures from a [card]Terastodon[/card].
If your opponent is GW, then you’ll get more mileage out of a less dramatic boarding change. Titans can stay in, but artifact kill will be necessary for Swords and [card]Argentum Armor[/card] if they’re on Quest.
Valakut is a matchup that I have found to be slightly in favour of Eldrazi Ramp for a few reasons. The first is that we have maindeck [card]Tumble Magnet[/card]s. Getting a [card]Primeval Titan[/card] out gets the Valakut player only halfway there. Tapping it down for three turns usually gives the Eldrazi player enough time to win.
Our chances of hitting a turn three Titan or Trap are much greater than theirs. It is possible for them to hit six mana on turn three off Cobra, Explore and two fetches, but that’s getting into the same league as the story of that threesome with those lingerie models. Our Traps are also far more potent. [card]Inferno Titan[/card] is a fiery red beast, but all Ulamog has to do is raise an eyebrow and Big Red will meekly give him his lunch money and do his homework.
What to fetch with [card]Primeval Titan[/card] is, as always, the big question. Got an Eldrazi in hand you can cast the next turn and they have no [card]Primeval Titan[/card]? Get a couple of [card]Eldrazi Temple[/card]s. Otherwise, I’ve had the most success just fetching out [card]Tectonic Edge[/card]s and locking out their combo. It’s the safe play, and often the correct one.
Boarding:
+1 [card]Tumble Magnet[/card]
– 1 [card]Explore[/card]
Yes, it really is that simple. It is tempting to bring in the [card]Mortarpod[/card]s for [card]Lotus Cobra[/card], but I have found that their ramp is so redundant that killing Cobra is not as backbreaking as it is against, say, RUG. I think increasing the chances of turn three Trap/Titan and just being more consistent in general is the way to go since you have [card]Tectonic Edge[/card] to stop the combo.
The mirror will have two games in it. The first game is Who Has the Six Drop first? The second game is, Who Has the Eldrazi? Neither of these is a particularly fun game if you like skill intensive Magic. I do believe that my build has a significant advantage over most builds, however, due to the Oracles and [card]Tumble Magnet[/card]s. In a game where neither player has a six drop, casting an [card]Avenger of Zendikar[/card] or [card]Terastodon[/card] before they hit Ulamog mana can be the difference.
Boarding:
+1 [card]Tumble Magnet[/card]
+1 [card]Eye of Ugin[/card]
– 2 [card]Explore[/card]
Again the situational ramp spell hits the bench for spells that are just about guaranteed to be useful. If they play only one [card]Eye of Ugin[/card] then you’re definitely looking good. Many builds play [card]All is Dust[/card] out of the board so be aware of that possibility.
RUG isn’t as widely played as the aforementioned decks, but it probably should be mentioned. Their big threat is a turn three Jace to bounce your Treespeaker or Battlement. If they land an [card]Inferno Titan[/card] after that, it will definitely be a rough ride. Each deck is roughly as consistent as the other in that we have more bomby cards, but they cycle through their deck well between Jace, [card]Preordain[/card] and [card]Explore[/card]. Without [card]Lotus Cobra[/card], however, it becomes much tougher for them to get ahead and leaning on [card]Mana Leak[/card] is not what they want to be doing.
Boarding:
+1 [card]Tumble Magnet[/card]
+3 [card]Mortarpod[/card]
– 4 [card]Explore[/card]
In this matchup having [card]Mortarpod[/card] in the opening hand is excellent since killing their [card]Lotus Cobra[/card] is like a kick in the nads. It will take a few turns for them to recover. The ideal way to pressure them is a [card]Summoning Trap[/card] on their end step followed by a [card]Primeval Titan[/card] on your turn. A [card]Summoning Trap[/card] after a leaked Titan is not always the best idea because they will be happy to drop a Jace and bounce your Eldrazi the next turn.
After playing dozens of matches with this build, I sometimes had the following changes on my wish list and you may want to consider them as well.
+1 [card]Llanowar Elves[/card]
– 1 [card]Everflowing Chalice[/card]
I would have loved this change in a semifinal match against Valakut. A [card Green Suns Zenith]Green Sun’s Zenith[/card] for one will give you the same kind of acceleration as casting a Chalice or an [card]Overgrown Battlement[/card], albeit with a more fragile backside. Again, we love a turn three Titan.
+1 [card]Forest[/card]
– 1 [card]Everflowing Chalice[/card]
For the more paranoid of us who insist on a higher land count. Not once did I regret having the Chalice over a land, however.
+1 [card]Khalni Garden[/card]
– 1 [card]Forest[/card]
My love affair with the stalwart and fearless plant token continues. In general I absolutely hate lands that enter the battlefield tapped, but I did find myself wishing for that fourth intrepid plant token a few times over the course of my games. Whether it’s worth the cost of that drawback is the question.
+1 [card]Verdant Catacombs[/card]
– 1 [card]Forest[/card]
I was worried about the extra damage, but this was a change that probably should have been made, maybe even going to four fetchlands. Very synergistic with [card]Avenger of Zendikar[/card] and [card]Oracle of Mul Daya[/card].
Going forward, post-rotation, the deck doesn’t change much, but does get access to [card]Beast Within[/card], which is an excellent catch-all in the format and should replace the [card]Tumble Magnets[/card] in the maindeck. [card]Karn Liberated[/card] could also find a home here. Removing a permanent is excellent for a deck that interacts so little with the opponent, and who wouldn’t want to live the dream of restarting the game after exiling your own Eldrazi?
However, the viability of the deck hinges heavily on how effective the [card]Splinter Twin[/card] / [card]Deceiver Exarch[/card] combo will be. On the surface, this combo looks very strong, and if a Tier 1 deck is built around it then I can’t imagine wanting to tap out to cast Titans and Eldrazi, even with access to [card]Beast Within[/card], [card Natures Claim]Nature’s Claim[/card] and [card]Dismember[/card] out of the board.
Overall I think this deck is well positioned in the current standard metagame, and a fantastic choice to scratch your inner Timmy. I know I tend to do better with decks that I enjoy playing, and I imagine the same would apply to many of you. Have fun!
