10 Eldritch Moon Brews

We’re 35 cards deep into spoiler season, and so far, it hasn’t gone well, at least for me.

Gisela started at $15 and looked busted, so I went to buy a playset. They were sold out, then relisted at $20, which wasn’t surprising. Eh, did I want to
buy them at $20? Mini-Baneslayer Angel is obviously good, but is it better than Gideon, Ally of Zendikar? Reflector Mage is definitely annoying. How likely
was I to play Angel combo?

Sold out at $20? All right, I guess my decision has been made for me. Now they’re currently at $30. Mistakes were made.

My shortcomings aside, I think Gisela is great, although this may not be the format for her to shine. Reflector Mage is the most commonly cited issue, and
it’s a real one. This isn’t “it dies to Doom Blade.” It’s “this is a tempo black hole that will actually cause you to lose games.”

In fact, Gisela lines up well against Doom Blade and its ilk, thanks to Bruna, the Fading Light. If you’re playing both (and granted, not every deck will
want to), then eventually you’ll outpace spot removal.

Realistically, Gisela and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar sit on top of each other. There are some decks where you might want both, but I’m probably playing
Gideon more often than not. Realistically, both are weak to Reflector Mage (as Reflector Mage can clear out the token and pressure the Gideon), but I think
Gideon still gets my vote.

Obviously, it’s deck-dependent. We’re not going to figure out the answers without building some decks and playing some games, so here goes.

W/U Angels

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 07-01-2016

Standard

Creatures (26)

Planeswalkers (2)

2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

Lands (25)

Spells (8)

Sideboard

Essence Flux is a card you could potentially use to get around Reflector Mage, but it could be too much work. Rather than losing your Gisela for a couple
of turns (after accomplishing nothing with your four mana), you can try to set up a five-mana combo. If they have two Reflector Mages, you’re probably
screwed anyway.

Knight of the White Orchid, Hedron Crawler, and Eldrazi Skyspawner both provide five mana on turn 4, though. It could be cute enough to do the trick.

If your opponent does manage to get out in front of you with some Reflector Mages, Linvala, the Preserver is there to help. Thankfully, most of the
Reflector Mage decks don’t put you under too quick of a clock, and instead focus on cutting off your outs by assembling a huge battlefield. Linvala, the
Preserver is great against those strategies, at least until they start playing more Ojutai’s Commands.

Is it weird that the backside of Bruna has a Mythic symbol? It makes sense that the backside of Gisela has the badass Brisela art, but I still think it’s
weird. It’s probably Emrakul’s fault.

Patrick Chapin is right. Blue has received some serious toys in this
set so far.

Take Inventory is a “fixed” version of Accumulated Knowledge, which was one of blue’s premier card drawers back in the day. Being a sorcery is a huge
downside, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good.

I will say that Take Inventory isn’t a card you should slide into every blue deck, as games of Magic are more fast-paced than they were back then. However,
there are two cards I’m very interested in playing alongside Take Inventory.

Thing in the Ice could use some nice cantrips to fuel it, and we’ve had such a shortage of those lately that Todd Anderson had to resort to using Magmatic
Insight and Tormenting Voice.

In order to make use of Take Inventory, you really want to capitalize on the third copy. To do that, you’ll need to dig deep into your deck or have some
sort of tutor like Sidisi, Undead Vizier or Dark Petition. I’m guessing those are too clunky though. While there’s no Fact or Fiction or Intuition to power
up Take Inventory, there is Pieces of the Puzzle (and Epiphany at the Drownyard I suppose).

This isn’t Remand or Venser, Shaper Savant, nor does it slide into any blue deck, but there are a few blue decks I think Unsubstantiate will be great in.
After all, we’ve been very close to playing Disperse and Just the Wind already.

U/B Prison

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 07-01-2016

Standard

Creatures (4)

4 Thing in the Ice

Lands (24)

20 Island
4 Sunken Hollow

Spells (32)

Sideboard

With Take Inventory and Pieces of the Puzzle to tear through our deck, we no longer need the clunky Day’s Undoing or Pore over the Pages. Instead, we get
to streamline the deck, maindeck Thing in the Ice (which probably should have been happening already), and have a more coherent package.

Unsubstantiate handles the planeswalker problem and can help fight counterspell battles, so it makes the deck as well.

If the format revolves around midrange strategies, I could see this deck being real.

I’m actually excited for the future of Rattlechains, mostly because of Niblis of Frost.

U/W Spirits

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 07-01-2016

Standard

Creatures (22)

Lands (24)

Spells (14)

Sideboard

The keys to this deck’s survival is going to be dodging creature removal and being able to trigger Niblis of Frost, so I like the third Essence Flux. I’d
also like to get a cantrip in the deck.

Maybe this deck needs Take Inventory to have enough spells, but it definitely goes against the flash style this deck is trying to employ. Then again, so
does Declaration in Stone, so maybe it’s not a dealbreaker. We aren’t exactly trying to max on Declaration in Stones though — It’s just a necessity to
have some.

Anticipate might be the card we actually want.

Kevin Jones brought up this card on our podcast. In a deck filled with Eldrazi, it’s a three mana 4/5
with little downside.

Mono-Blue Eldrazi

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 07-01-2016

Standard

Creatures (30)

Lands (24)

Spells (4)

4 Unsubstantiate

Sideboard

Add two Stitcher’s Graft to the above list for the complete 60.

Ideally, you’ll play Grizzled Angler after you’ve already traded off a colorless creature; otherwise you might sit there milling yourself for a bit. Not
being able to attack with a 4/5 on turn 4 is a drawback, but you still get to block. On turn 6, you can start forcing them to attack if necessary.

It’s not a slam dunk, but it’s worth trying.

Stitcher’s Graft is a little odd, but the sacrifice trigger’s combo with Hangarback Walker is obvious. It combos with Whirler Rogue multiple ways, and seems
like a decent way to close out the game.

I kinda like this card. Eldrazi Skyspawer and, at times, Whirler Rogue are throwaway bodies. You can also sacrifice a creature that’s locked under a Stitcher’s Graft.

The comparison of Emrakul, the Promised End to Ugin, the Spirit Dragon is apt. As a person who has been playing a ton of G/W Tokens lately, a mid-game
pseudo-Mindslaver activation is scary. I can no longer play a longer, grindier game against those midrange decks with Evolutionary Leap, because eventually
they’ll go over the top of me. Whatever small advantages I’ve gained will likely be wiped out.

It looks like the best color to pair with Emrakul, the Promised End is green. You have ramp if you want it; great creatures in Sylvan Advocate, Tireless
Tracker, and Nissa, Vastwood Seer; and some delirium enablers if you want to go that route. In order to take advantage of the Mindslaver, you’re going to
want some creatures to force them into making bad attacks, and green has the best ones for the job.

G/R Ramp

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 07-01-2016

Standard

Creatures (18)

Planeswalkers (3)

3 Chandra, Flamecaller

Lands (24)

Spells (15)

Sideboard

This is more of a traditional ramp deck that is trying to cast Emrakul, the Promised End in a number of different ways. With all of its three-ofs, it looks
ugly, but we have to fit different card types in somehow.

Ulvenwald Hydra is nice, but Oblivion Sower could be useful as well. Searching for Shrine of the Forsaken Gods counts as two mana towards your Emrakul,
whereas Oblivion Sower might hit zero lands, or more likely one.

We could also have more Duskwatch Recruiters and the like, but then our Emrakuls are going to be rather expensive. I think we want a mix of spells and
creatures.

U/R Eldrazi

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 07-01-2016

Standard

Creatures (8)

Planeswalkers (2)

2 Chandra, Flamecaller

Lands (28)

Spells (22)

Sideboard

Is Emrakul, the Promised End better than Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger? Overall, I think they’re similar. This deck is trying to keep your opponent off
balance long enough to drop a fat Eldrazi, and both should end the game reasonably well. However, I think Emrakul might do a better job of that. It might
be even better at the job if there were more ways to put different card types in the graveyard, so the deck may need some retooling.

I like the Herald of Kozilek sideboard plan, both against decks taking out their removal and against W/R Humans. Endless One is a versatile creature that
gives you another thing to trigger Kozilek’s Return, and both of them give you some nice Walls to work with.

I think Emrakul is great, but these lists don’t look great. Clearly I need to do more investigating.

How much better is Galvanic Bombardment than Fiery Impulse, or vice versa? I’m tempted to say that Fiery Impulse is better in most decks, at least the
controlling ones, but Galvanic Bombardment is likely better in decks that are creature-based. It does kind of lock you into playing at least three copies.

Realistically, Hanweir Garrison doesn’t line up well against Reflector Mage, which is kind of a problem with a lot of the cards in this set.

It’s an issue that a Thragtusk-like printing wouldn’t necessarily solve, since even though Reflector Mage would be punished to some degree, people wouldn’t
stop playing it. Once Reflector Mage is gone, the hate card would still exist, and likely be just as frustrating.

We just have to ride it out for another six months.

Mono-Red Eldrazi

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 07-01-2016

Standard

Creatures (20)

Planeswalkers (4)

4 Chandra, Flamecaller

Lands (25)

Spells (7)

Sideboard

Add four Hanweir Garrison to the above list for the complete 60.

Hanweir Garrison or Vile Aggregate? My vote is for Hanweir Garrison. Vile Aggregate can take a while to actually get going. On the other hand, Hanweir
Garrison demands an immediate removal spell. It’s also much better with Outnumber. Hanweir Battlements is also very powerful.

It’s a small upgrade, but I do think it’s an upgrade.

Cryptolith Fragment or Hedron Archive in an aggressive deck that wants a mana rock? It seems close, especially in this deck, but I want to try the new
card.

Mono-Red Aggro

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 07-01-2016

Standard

Creatures (22)

Lands (22)

20 Mountain
2 Hanweir Battlements

Spells (12)

Sideboard

Again, add four Hanweir Garrison to the above maindeck.

I have no idea if this deck is any good, nor do I know if Mono-Red will get any additional tools from #MTGEMN. However, a deck with this template did 5-0 a
Standard League, so anything is possible.

W/R Humans

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 07-01-2016

Standard

Creatures (25)

Lands (23)

Spells (8)

Sideboard

Once more, add four Hanweir Garrison to the maindeck.

Some W/R Humans decks have been trending bigger in order to have a better game against sweepers. My W/U Humans deck from #PTSOI did the same, so I clearly
have a penchant for that type of strategy. The better choice might be to stick with Tom Ross’s W/R Humans, but it’s hard not to try these powerful new
three-drops.

Oh, man, this card is nice. It shuts off their blockers for a turn and potentially takes them longer to set up a sweeper. She’s also not afraid to get into
combat. What’s not to love?

I like this card, probably too much, but there are no shortage of good ways to transform it.

There’s something in every color!

Making your opponent sacrifice three creatures is an easy way to win the game in this Standard format, especially when it leaves behind a 6/5 flier.
Obviously you need to watch out for removal, but the threat of it might be enough.

Madness might be a real avenue as well, but the BBB cost is prohibitive. That seems like something a Vampires deck might be interested in.

W/B Aristocrats

Gerry Thompson

Test deck on 07-01-2016

Standard

Creatures (28)

Planeswalkers (4)

4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

Lands (23)

Spells (5)

The hero of this deck is the Lone Rider.

There are enough “free” lifegain effects in a W/B Aristocrats deck to turn it on, plus the lifegain sub-theme means Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim will probably go
wild occasionally. Gideon emblems seem particularly good in this deck full of smaller creatures, plus you have no shortage of ways to defend him.

I went pretty deep on trying to find reasonable ways to transform Lone Rider.

Black seemed like a much better pairing than blue, although I would love to include Ojutai’s Command somewhere. Blood-Cursed Knight could be a deck, as
could Lone Rider fighting alongside some Dragons thanks to Foul-Tongue Invocation. Painful Truths is nice when you’re gaining life.

Maybe I like this card too much too? It messes up combat math and is a solid removal spell, and being able to kick it for four life seems great. It’s kind
of cool that the assortment of creatures in this deck means your opponent will be less likely to attack for fear of making unfavorable trades, meaning your
Edict is going to hit their best stuff a lot of the time.

***

We’re 35 cards deep and the wheels are already turning. Among those 35 cards, we’ve still got things like Thalia’s Lancers to work with, but I don’t even
know where to begin with that one.

I’m hoping for some excellent black and red cards in the next few days. Perhaps a Liliana? Maybe nothing can stop Reflector Mage and Archangel Avacyn, but
we’ll find out soon enough.