The Return of Emrakul

Modern* Celestrael

SCORE: 2 | 39 COMMENTS | 874 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS


The_Raven says... #1

Fun concept. I like it. Though, it needs A LOT of changes.

First, since this is modern, you need to ask yourself the question: Can I win before turn 4, or stall my opponent? You can't do that with this deck. Sorry to say. Therefore, you need to make some changes:

Fusion Elemental..... This is modern. You can do almost nothing with and 8/8.

Clearwater Goblet is a bad card. Life gain is not good atm in the meta.

Obelisk of Alara is way too slow.

Conflux, I don't know what you want to do with this card. It is way too slow.

Mana Reflection.... This could maybe be good. But it is just too slow again.

So what you need to do, is to play more ramp!

You want to get an turn 3 Maelstrom Archangel, and then a turn 4 Emrakul.

You could maybe add something, which gave your creatures haste. Like Emblem of the Warmind or Mass Hysteria. This way, you could play like 12-16 mana dorks, which can tap themself the turn they enter the battlefield. Your archangel would gain haste, emrakul would gain haste.

Things to consider! I like the idea, but it needs an overhaul!

April 6, 2015 4:14 a.m.

Celestrael says... #2

Conflux and Mana Reflection are intended to come out after a Fist of Suns enters play which lowers the mana cost to 1 of each. The intention is to use Conflux to fish out whatever you don't have already, or to retrieve Progenitus or Emrakul, the Aeons Torn if they were somehow removed and placed back into the library. The Mana Reflection I can see being removed, the idea was just to have as many viable options for getting out the big creatures as possible, in the event the perfect combo wasn't coming out.

April 6, 2015 4:22 a.m.

Celestrael says... #3

Errrr Conflux can't fish out Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, that was a misspeak. It's to fish out Progenitus or Bringer of the Black Dawn which can fish out Emrakul, the Aeons Torn for 2 life.

April 6, 2015 4:24 a.m.

MattTheNinja says... #4

April 6, 2015 9:29 a.m.

SoggyGecko says... #5

This deck seems fun and all, but it needs to be faster. Like by about twice as fast. If turn 4 is the turn that you want to try and lay the haymakers out, then it just won't work as well. I would have to say that you'll want at least 4 more mana producers, such as Noble Hierarch. I got to say though, that is one of the better 5 color mana bases I have seen. Mana ramp is really all you want right now. So maybe even try out Pentad Prism.

April 6, 2015 1:45 p.m.

Celestrael says... #6

How about 4x Lotus Cobra which will ping extra mana every time a land comes into play, which will be pumped up by Courser of Kruphix?

April 6, 2015 2:11 p.m.

Celestrael says... #7

And if we can't speed it up more, how about adding in some stuff to slow the opponents down? Things that make them lose a turn, boardwipes, land destruction, something to interrupt combos, etc? Room could be made.

April 6, 2015 2:12 p.m.

The_Raven says... #8

Courser of Kruphix doesn't allow you to play more than 1 land each turn. Note that. It is actually a pretty bad card....

You play Lotus Cobra. Then you also want to play A LOT of fetch-lands. You want to play 12 fetches and a good bunch of Shocks. The mana base would give you each color, but also triggering the Cobra.

You also need Noble Hierarch. A VERY good card.

You could also try Summoner's Pact. It's a good card, which can search up a win condition!

April 6, 2015 3:51 p.m.

Celestrael says... #9

I guess I'm just failing to see how Noble Hierarch is so great. She does less than my Birds of Paradise, and does it at $70 a card. The only difference is Exalted, but when my win condition is swinging for 15 with Annihilator 6, what's +1 more? And chances are he wont be swinging alone, he's going to be swinging with at least 1 Maelstrom Archangel for a total of 20.

Regarding fetches and shocks, again, that'll just add a whole lot of cost to the deck without the consistency I currently have being that every land will play as any color.

I do concede that I misunderstood Courser of Kruphix, he may need to be replaced.

April 6, 2015 4:03 p.m.

Celestrael says... #10

I'm thinking trading 4xCourser of Kruphix out for 2x Azusa, Lost but Seeking and 2x Exploration. Or maybe 4x Summer Bloom so that it can just be used when I have the extra lands in my hand. Or perhaps a combination of Courser of Kruphix and Azusa, Lost but Seeking and/or Exploration? Or at this point is it becoming too cumbersome to get this stuff out and slows down the ramp?

April 6, 2015 4:14 p.m.

The_Raven says... #11

I understand the Noble's price is too high. Then play at least Arbor Elf. It's a good card!

Lotus Cobra is just a Sylvan Caryatid. The card is not that good. You play it turn 2, which is too slow. I think you want you mana dorks to be 1 mana. Not 2. It should ideally be:

T1: Land, mana dork.
T2: Land, mana dork.
T3: Land, Archangel.
T4: Attack with the angel, put in a win con.
T5: Win.

However, this turn 5 win is again too slow. You are trying to compete against a turn 4 splinter, burn, Tron and so on. It's just too slow if you win on turn 5.

If you want to win, your game should be like:

T1: Land, mana dork.
T2: Land, Fist of Suns
T3: Land, Channel the Suns, play Emrakul and win.

That is how you should strive to make your deck. This could maybe compete against the top tier decks.

April 6, 2015 4:26 p.m.

Celestrael says... #12

Sorry to be posting in such queen succession, however...

Azusa, Lost but Seeking is nice and all but I'm thinking 4x Exploration, 4x Courser of Kruphix, axe 4x Channel the Suns being that they'll no longer be necessary. Exploration is cheap, stacks, enables Courser of Kruphix to usher in multiple lands per turn, which will also trigger Lotus Cobra's landfall ability for even more mana. Cascading omnicolor mana FOR DAYS!

April 6, 2015 4:31 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #13

Pillar of the Paruns is seriously holding you back because it can only be used for 6 cards in the deck. Having access to every color doesn't matter if the land literally can't cast anything in your hand. If you replace them with Forest, that will be an improvement. Ancient Ziggurat is going to be a stumbling block pretty often, as well. I only have 2 in my casual 5-Color deck and they annoy me every once in a while.

Here's a thought: how do you feel about replacing all the Pillars and Ziggurats with 1x Plains, 1x Island, 1x Swamp, 1x Mountain, and 4x Forest, and at the same time replacing Channel the Suns with Cultivate?

April 6, 2015 4:32 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #14

Also: If you're trying to keep this Modern then Exploration isn't an option. It was never printed in a Modern-legal set.

April 6, 2015 4:34 p.m.

Celestrael says... #15

Also take into account Time Warp, which will give me extra time to deal with those turn 4 decks. I dunno I'm trying to be different, I think it's terribly boring when everyone is running the same few meta'd out $1,500 decks. It's not fun to play, it's not fun to watch.

April 6, 2015 4:34 p.m.

Celestrael says... #16

On the subject of Mana dorks, what do you guys think about Bloom Tender? With an Maelstrom Archangel on the board, it taps for 5 mana, one of each. Also land is considered a permanent, so would the all-color lands count as all colors for the sake of Bloom Tender in which case, I think I found a super-ramp card for this deck.

April 6, 2015 6:22 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #17

A card's color is defined by the mana symbols in its cost, any color indicator symbol on its type line, or effects that specifically give it a color. Except for Dryad Arbor (which has a color indicator), lands don't naturally have a color. Bloom Tender doesn't get any help from lands. It's not really a good idea for this deck.

April 6, 2015 7:14 p.m.

Celestrael says... #18

Rhadamanthus and NorthernRaven, what do you guys think of my progress?

April 6, 2015 8:57 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #19

You don't need Watery Grave. First of all, it can't cast your mana guys, which is a big risk. Second, Bringer of the Black Dawn never costs in your deck. Similar to a comment I left earlier, I think you just want Forest in that spot. It will save you some life.

April 6, 2015 9:21 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #20

Whoops. I meant to add that I do think you're heading in the right direction.

April 6, 2015 9:22 p.m.

Celestrael says... #21

I wanted to add a second U shockland to keep mana available for the Time Warp and Temporal Mastery. I guess I can swap them out for 4 forests. Any other suggestions for the deck? I think its broken into competitive, now I want to make sure it can answer or at least outpace the meta'd out decks.

April 6, 2015 9:39 p.m.

Celestrael says... #22

What do you guys think about swapping out Maelstrom Archangel for Elvish Piper? I think it's a much more consistent way to get Emrakul, the Aeons Torn out if the combo isn't going off. It doesn't depend on making contact to drop him without mana cost. It's a loss of flavor/badassery but I'm determined to force this into upper t2 if not t1!

April 6, 2015 11:12 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #23

It's true, you don't have to hit your opponent to get Emrakul that way, but because you aren't casting the spell you don't get the extra turn. You also lose the opportunity for chaining combats with free Time Warp/Temporal Mastery casts. If you want to go that way instead, Quicksilver Amulet is more resistant to removal than Elvish Piper.

April 7, 2015 10:15 a.m.

Celestrael says... #24

.... Shit. If that's the case, Maelstrom Archangel doesn't trigger the extra turn either does it? The text doesn't say "cast", it says "play"... But isn't "playing" a card "casting" it? I may need to ask this under Rules FAQ.

April 7, 2015 1:54 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #25

Maelstrom Archangel does. She was printed under a version of the rules that didn't use the same vocabulary. Nowadays spells are "cast" and lands are "played", but back them the word "play" was used for both (and the battlefield was called the "in play" zone, which was confusing). Her current Oracle text makes it clear that you're casting something with her ability.

April 7, 2015 2 p.m.

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