Reality Smasher and Thought-Knot Seer are very good Magic cards. And there are plenty of good sources of colorless mana available in Standard to cast them consistently.
So why have they seen such little play? I find myself asking this question a lot, brewing decks to utilize the powerful Eldrazi that seem to have been shunned after their brief, unpopular stay in Modern. Invariably these brews have looked promising on paper, only to flame out in practice.
In older formats, the bodies of the Eldrazi are sizable enough to rumble, provided you accelerate them onto the battlefield, but Standard decks are much better-equipped to handle midrange creatures either via removal spells or in the combat phase.
William Bingham’s list seeks to alleviate this issue with Metallic Mimic. The Anthem effect certainly helps your large creatures in combat, but the most important role it plays is in making your bridge creatures impossible to ignore.
By “bridge creatures,” I mean things like Eldrazi Skyspawner and Matter Reshaper that you need to fill out the curve but are often too low-impact, allowing your opponent to save their resources for your larger threats. With Metallic Mimic naming Eldrazi, these creatures now represent five and four power, respectively, a significant increase. Now they can apply enough pressure to win the game outright or force a response, leaving the opponent vulnerable to more powerful creatures.
I’m also a big fan of Elder Deep-Fiend as the top-end threat. Known more for turning the corner in conjunction with Kozilek’s Return, Elder Deep-Fiend plays more of a Mistbind Clique role in this deck, keeping your control opponents off Fumigate long enough to close them out, Time Walking opposing aggressive decks to buy time for your big threats to take over the battlefield, or clearing the way for a lethal alpha strike, thus emulating another dreaded Faeries staple in Cryptic Command.
Elder Deep-Fiend has always had the potential to shine in this role for aggressive decks and this deck has great fodder for emerge with Eldrazi Skyspawner, Matter Reshaper, and Rogue Refiner.
The green splash looks doubtful and the curve is definitely high, but anytime you’re starting with cards that forced a ban in Modern, you know the power level is there. The Eldrazi are nearly gone from Standard, but if this year’s Australian Open taught us anything (other than Roger Federer being the unquestionable GOAT) [Copy Editor’s Note: You misspelled “Serena Williams.”], it’s that there’s always time for one more run.
Creatures (28)
- 1 Drowner of Hope
- 4 Eldrazi Skyspawner
- 2 Reality Smasher
- 4 Thought-Knot Seer
- 4 Matter Reshaper
- 2 Wretched Gryff
- 4 Elder Deep-Fiend
- 4 Metallic Mimic
- 3 Rogue Refiner
Lands (24)
Spells (8)
