The Complete Guide To Playing Bant Eldrazi

There has been much discussion recently about how the Modern format is similar to “two ships passing through the night” because of the lack of interactive decks. Well, there are still some fair decks in the format, including my favorite deck, Bant Eldrazi.

Yes, I said that right. Bant Eldrazi is a fair deck, unlike the Eldrazi decks of old that got Eye of Ugin banned from the format. A turn 2 Thought-Knot Seer is the absolute best start that Bant Eldrazi can have, and that doesn’t happen very often, so it relies on slowing down the opponent with Spellskite, Path to Exile, Engineered Explosives, Eldrazi Displacer, Matter Reshaper, Thought-Knot Seer, and Drowner of Hope. Basically the whole deck is used to interact with the opponent, which makes Bant Eldrazi the fair midrange deck that Modern needs.

I’ve tried tons of different cards in the deck, but this is my current list for Bant Eldrazi, which isn’t too far off from the typical lists you see these days. Some cards I’ve tried with moderate success so far have been Spell Queller, Reflector Mage, and Elder Deep-Fiend, but ultimately I don’t believe any are worth one of the 75 slots in the deck. With the manabase, I am still playing the one-of Ghost Quarter mostly to defend against Inkmoth Nexus and other problematic lands.

In the maindeck I have a one-of Engineered Explosives, which is so good in so many different matchups that I could see it being worth adding a second to the maindeck.

Spellskite was a card that I did not play for the longest amount of time, and I generally don’t think it’s a very good card, but I have come around a little bit. There are many matchups where Spellskite is laughably bad and does nothing for the two mana, but in the few matchups where you want Spellskite, it is an all-star. I first put it in the main deck when I was testing Elder Deep-Fiends, as it was a card that I would like to emerge depending on the matchup, and it hasn’t left the deck since.

The best part about playing Spellskite in the main is the ability to have two extra slots in the sideboard for control decks, which is why I am able to have both a World Breaker and a Thragtusk in the sideboard. The debate between Eldrazi Skyspawner and Matter Reshaper is one that many people have different opinions about, but I believe Matter Reshaper to be the better card and it’s also much easier to cast, so I’m happy to have the full playset.

Blessed Alliance is technology that I saw people playing at the Invitational, and I have been thoroughly impressed with the card. It’s extremely versatile and gets sideboarded in against many of your toughest Game 1 matchups, which makes it a very easy sideboard inclusion. Worship is my least favorite card in the entire 75, and I don’t think the card is very good, but it has the ability to give you free wins and is probably worth the slot. I still haven’t won a game because of the card and have not lost to the card when my opponents have played it against me, as milling out your opponent with Eldrazi Displacer and Thought-Knot Seer is a very real option that is not as hard as you may think.

In this complete guide, I’m going to go over how to sideboard and what’s important against twenty different matchups with Bant Eldrazi so you will know exactly how to play against almost every deck in the format.

Affinity

In:

Out:

Affinity is definitely not a favorable matchup Game 1, but nowhere near unwinnable. The Engineered Explosives in the maindeck definitely help and you want to get Eldrazi Displacer plus Drowner of Hope online as soon as possible. Post-sideboard, Stony Silence is the nail in the coffin, even if it can be awkward with Engineered Explosives. Reality Smasher gets shaved because it doesn’t help us stabilize, which is the goal in this matchup. Blessed Alliance isn’t great here, but the four life is relevant and can sometimes eat a large single attacking creature. The best thing Spellskite can do is redirect the counters from an Arcbound Ravager, but taking into account that we are bringing in Stony Silence, I don’t believe that it is worth the slot.

Infect

In:

Out:

Blessed Alliance in the sideboard as well as Spellskite in the maindeck has moved this matchup from terrible to winnable, even though we are still an underdog. Again, Reality Smasher is the card that gets cut, as stabilizing is the priority over killing our opponent. Drowner of Hope and Eldrazi Displacer are again the cards we want in this matchup, as they make attacking very difficult for our opponents.

Jund

In:

Out:

A much more favorable matchup then the last two, Jund is a deck I actively want to play against. Having the two Spellskites in the maindeck allows us to have two trumps in the sideboard, and both Thragtusk and World Breaker are hammers in this matchup. Engineered Explosives is actually an all-star against Jund, as setting it on two will allow you to destroy any Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, Scavenging Ooze, or Grim Flayer on the battlefield. Explosives also gives us a clean answer to Liliana of the Veil, which is their best card against us. We can shave on Eldrazi Displacer because of its weakness to Lightning Bolt and Noble Hierarch because of how weak it is in the late-game. Matter Reshaper is wonderful in the Jund matchup, and one of the main reasons why I like it more than Eldrazi Skyspawner.

Dredge

In:

Out:

Honestly Dredge is a pretty good matchup for Bant Eldrazi, as their main way to win is by attacking and Eldrazi Displacer plus Drowner of Hope makes attacking difficult. Grafdigger’s Cage out of the sideboard is our most important card, and even if you have one on the battlefield, it may be correct to get a second from an Ancient Stirrings, just in case your opponent has an Ancient Grudge or Abrupt Decay. Thragtusk is brought in as a repeatable life source and Beast token maker with Eldrazi Displacer that can make it hard for Dredge to win through. Bringing in a Stubborn Denial may look weird in this matchup, but their best card against us is Conflagrate, which can kill multiple creatures or burn us out if we don’t have a Grafdigger’s Cage on the battlefield.

Jeskai Control

In:

Out:

This is maybe your best matchup, as Cavern of Souls puts a major damper into their counter spell plans. Thought-Knot Seer does major work here as it’s usually uncounterable, can take your opponent’s best card, and lets you know what cards or sweepers to play around. The seven cards that we take out from the maindeck are all basically dead cards, and we don’t have quite enough to bring in. Therefore two Grafdigger’s Cages make the cut, even though I don’t think the card is very good in the matchup, but maybe you will get lucky and shut down a Snapcaster Mage trigger or two. Or get luckier and not even draw it. Be wary of sweepers and don’t overextend if you don’t need to.

Bant Eldrazi

In:

Out:

The mirror is tough, but at least now I have a much better sideboard plan then I did before. Blessed Alliance is pretty key here, as all three modes can be quite relevant. It’s common to have both sides attacking back and forth with big creatures, and being able to untap two creatures to surprise block can win the game on the spot. Another common play pattern is having a lone Reality Smasher attack with exalted triggers, and Blessed Alliance is a great answer in that situation. Worship comes in here, but as I said before, I don’t care for it too much. World Breaker also makes an appearance as a way to remove an opponent’s Worship, but overall is pretty slow for the matchup. The cards that these two are replacing are not very good in the matchup anyway, so might as well try some situational daggers. Life totals in this matchup can go down in a hurry, so don’t be scared to chump block with a Matter Reshaper early to try to ramp and regain an advantage.

Naya Burn

In:

Out:

Naya Burn is a pretty polarizing matchup where the games are usually not very close either way. Thought-Knot Seer is the best card in the matchup from our side, as it dodges Eidolon of the Great Revel and takes their best card in hand, and then they also usually have to spend two cards to get it off the battlefield. Again, Reality Smasher is the card to sideboard out; our deck is too slow to beat Naya Burn without any disruption, and Reality Smasher doesn’t help with the disruption. I still like keeping a miser in, just in case the racing situation presents itself. Eldrazi Displacer is the exact opposite of Thought-Knot Seer, as Naya Burn can handle it with ease, but I would not recommend taking all of them out in any matchup because of how powerful it can be with Drowner of Hope or Thragtusk in the late-game. This is definitely a matchup to mulligan aggressively if you have a slow start.

G/R Tron

In:

Out:

G/R Tron is a favorable matchup because most of their big payoff cards from getting Tron online don’t do much against the deck. Their best card against us is Oblivion Stone, which makes Stony Silence a big deal after sideboarding. Thought-Knot Seer is again an all-star in the matchup, as they frequently have only one payoff card. I don’t like sideboarding down to less than two Path to Exile, as the other cards to bring in aren’t too great and sometimes you need to exile a Wurmcoil Engine, World Breaker, or Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger. World Breaker is not worth it to bring in on our side, as it is simply too slow to disrupt them from getting Tron.

Grixis Delver

In:

Out:

Definitely a favorable matchup, but an early Delver of Secrets is the biggest threat, which is why I’m bringing in cards that are usually saved for aggressive matchups. Engineered Explosives can be a good answer to either Delver or Elemental tokens from Young Pyromancer. Spellskite comes out in any matchup against Kolaghan’s Command, and this is no exception. If they sideboard into a control deck, then change your sideboard plan accordingly.

Grixis Control

In:

Out:

This matchup is even more favorable then the Grixis Delver matchup, as they don’t have the quick starts that can beat you. This makes their only real threats the two Lilianas: Liliana of the Veil and Liliana, the Last Hope. The one-of Engineered Explosives is left in the deck to use as a way to deal with one of these planeswalkers if need be. Again, Eldrazi Displacer is an easy target for Lightning Bolt and can be shaved.

Death’s Shadow Aggro

In:

Out:

This matchup can be tricky to navigate, but overall I think it is favorable. Temur Battle Rage is easily the best card for them in the matchup, and almost always what you want to take with an early Thought-Knot Seer. Their “Zoo” plan is usually pretty poor against our deck, so stopping the “combo” plan is priority number one, which makes Blessed Alliance another key card. If applicable, you can cast Blessed Alliance after damage but still in combat to make them sacrifice the creature you need them to.

Merfolk

In:

Out:

Merfolk is actually a really tough matchup to win, and you are basically relying on Engineered Explosives. The creatures in their deck are cheaper, more disruptive, and can grow larger than ours in a hurry. This means that you need to aggressively mulligan to Engineered Explosives. I’m not 100% sure that Worship is worth it in this matchup but I’m willing to try it.

R/G Through the Breach and R/G Scapeshift

In:

Out:

Another bad matchup. Both of these Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle decks attack us in a way that is hard to defend. The goal in both of these matchups is to either Thought-Knot Seer away their payoff card or counter it. The matchups aren’t unwinnable, but in general their average hands will beat our average hands.

Kiki Chord, Abzan Company, and Elves

In:

Out:

Even though all three of these decks have completely different gameplans, at their core they are all Chord of Calling decks with tons of creatures, and I sideboard similarly against them all. These matchups are weird because I don’t love to see them, but at the same time, they don’t really like playing against me either. Grafdigger’s Cage is very important in these matchups, and I’m extremely glad that most Kiki Chord lists have moved away from Nahiri, the Harbinger for Eldritch Evoultion.

Ad Nauseam

In:

Out:

I’ve always considered Ad Nauseam to be a fairly easy matchup, as things have to go pretty wrong for you to lose. In Game 1, Thought-Knot Seer is the best card, like against most decks, and Reality Smasher can help shut the door. The post-sideboard games get much better, though, as Stony Silence and the counterspells can really slow them down, easily enough for us to win. Engineered Explosives isn’t that good, but much better than the cards we’re taking out.

G/W Hexproof

In:

Out:

G/W Hexproof is actually one of our best matchups as we incidentally have a ton of hate for the deck. The two Spellskites and the Engineered Explosives in the main do a ton of work, of course, and we get more Explosives and Blessed Alliances post-sideboard. Again, remember that you can use your Blessed Alliance after damage if they attack with multiple creatures to try to protect their enchanted Bogle. I have learned the hard lesson that taking out all of your Path to Exiles is absolutely not correct, as Kor Spiritdancer is a real threat to be prepared for. If all else fails, Worship comes in and may allow you to survive long enough to mill your opponent out with Thought-Knot Seer and Eldrazi Displacer.

Living End

In:

Out:

Definitely not a good matchup, as my graveyard hate card, Grafdigger’s Cage, does nothing here. Don’t overextend onto the battlefield and not have anything left after a Living End. In fact, many times the correct thing to do is just play one creature and wait on your others until they cascade into Living End. After they do, our creatures can usually handle theirs as long as you can survive the initial attack. The counterspells are of course vital post-sideboard.

Comments from Last Week

I’m finishing the article this week by highlighting some of the comments from last week’s article, The Final Hours, which highlighted the cards that are going to be rotating from this Standard format at the end of the month. If you would like to be featured in next week’s Comments from Last Week section, then leave a question or comment below and be sure to come back next week to see if you made the cut!

I’ll miss the land mostly because they made Eldrazi playable. I’m afraid we’re going to have a hard time casting those Matter Reshapers, Thought-Knot Seers and Reality Smashers. We still have Corrupted Crossroads, Crumbling Vestige, Holdout Settlement and Unknown Shores, but they just aren’t the same.

– Alexis Brosseau

The painlands will definitely be missed, and it will be much harder to play multicolored decks with the colorless Eldrazi. I agree that those other lands are just not the same, and it seems like if you want to play the Eldrazi, then either colorless or one color will be the way to go.

The biggest reason for Esper Dragons’s demise was the rotation of Dig Through Time, and no good draw/card selection spell taking its place.

– Rasmus Jonsson

I agree that was a big hit to the deck, and probably even worse was the printing of Archangel Avacyn, which matches up so perfectly against Dragonlord Ojutai.

I first played Bant Eldrazi at #SCGINDY during the second week of May, and my biggest regret is that I haven’t played it on the SCG Tour^® ever since. I’ve been going through a phase where I’ve wanted to play lots of different Modern decks, but changing decks each week has caused my results to go down as I have not been familiar enough with each deck to succeed. Starting at #SCGORL next week, I’m going to go back to focusing on just one Modern deck, Bant Eldrazi.