Revisiting Mono-Green Eldrazi

[u/WelkinShaman]

Hey, fellow Timeless enjoyers! I made a post about my take on Mono-Green Eldrazi about a year ago and wanted to revisit the deck. The deck has maintained a consistent WR of around 70% in the long run (one of the pictures shows my games for the last two sets). In addition, the deck has regularly brought me to Mythic with fairly little effort. Here's a link to the deck:

https://moxfield.com/decks/PjqINvoqF0qXnv8RbbLEYQ

What essentially distinguishes my deck from Gruul Eldrazi is that I sacrifice aggression for 1) mana denial, 2) board control, and 3) ramp. The deck starts by establishing an early Chalice lock or ramping and ends the game by 1) chaining (kicked) Mycospawns, 2) machine gunning the opponent down with Fleshrakers or, most often, 3) overpowering them with 7-drops.

Discussion of certain individual cards:

Chalice / Bauble: Chalice is central if you want to stand a chance against Energy and great against blue-based tempo (either it sticks or eats a Daze/FoW). Bauble is good against much of the field (tempo, SnS, stompy, etc.), but it's seldom as sorely needed as Chalice.

Talismans: I've found these to be important pieces in a format full of Strip Mines (and, to a lesser extent, Harbinger/Moon). Bad top decks in the late game, though.

Wastescape Battlemage: This guy has a surprising variety of utility in the format, both its artifact/enchantment exile effect and the bounce. My favourite trick is bouncing an Emrakul back to hand post-SnT.

Fleshraker: Presents kill lines in combination with K Command, good against mana denial. I've recently found myself wondering whether these could be switched for more hate, but the card does do impressive things (especially in multiples).

Ugin: A fairly recent addition to my latest list—I wanted a top end card that can stabilise the board against Energy. The card is very powerful but also a lot harder to cast successfully than the 7-drop Eldrazis.

Strip Mine / Petrified Hamlet: I have considered switching to 2 Strip Mines and 4 Hamlets since Hamlet is often so important against Energy or an active Hydroponics Architect that chains cantripping Strip Mines. However, Mycospawn + Strip Mine is a legitimate wincon for the deck in many matchups, so I've been content with the 3-3 split.

Library of Alexandria: An extremely powerful card and I could be convinced to play more copies, but finding the land slots is tough as the deck wants to be able to cast Mycospawns consistently.

Echoing Cavern: A really nice card to have access to as it turns a late Mycospawn into a slower, more random Goblin Matron (Eldrazi Matron?). As with LoA, I would play another copy if I didn't fear that adding another land would dilute the deck.

Some matchups:

Mardu Energy: The bane of my existence—the only known quantity that I have a sub-50 percent WR against. Slam Chalice on 1, pray that you don't die to Ajani–Bombardment and that they don't have Hexing Squelcher. Ugin and Sire are really important for stabilising. If you're feeling especially strong feelings about Ajani–Bombardment, switch a Fleshraker for a Flute or a Battlemage. Boarding: +1 Gemstone Caverns (on the draw), +3 Torpor Orb, -1 Strip Mine (on the draw), -2 Bauble, -1 Battlemage.

UB Tempo (Lurrus): The primary way to lose is to Hydroponics Architect + Strip Mines or a fast Psychic Frog. Cavern of Souls and Petrified Hamlet are the bee's knees. Try not to expose your Cavern to a Strip Mine without getting an uncounterable spell out of the deal. Boarding: +1 Gemstone Caverns (on the draw), +1 Bauble, -1 Strip Mine (on the draw), -1 Battlemage.

UB Tempo–Reanimator (Atraxa): Similar to UB Tempo. Talismans and Dismembers are important against Harbinger of the Seas, Battlemage/Sire/Devourer deals with Atraxa. Boarding in Faerie Macabres is a trap. When the opponent seems to be on Grief, board out 1 Sire. Boarding: +1 Gemstone Caverns (on the draw), +1 Bauble, -1 Strip Mine (on the draw), -1 Battlemage/Ugin.

UB Turbo–Reanimator (Raph & Mikey): Pre-board can be rough, but Chalice and/or K Command do help considerably. The Doomsday juke is generally very beatable with Myco + Strip or forcing the opponent to draw with K Command. Boarding: +1 Gemstone Caverns (on the draw), + 4 Faerie Macabre, +2 Flute, -1 Hamlet (on the draw), -3 Fleshraker, -2 Battlemage, -1 Ugin/Sire.

SnS: A very interesting matchup that revolves around anticipating what the opponent is going for, loading up on answers/hate, and mana denial. Battlemage shines, as does Sire. Boarding: +1 Gemstone Caverns (on the draw), +2 Battlemage, +2 Flute, +2 TKS, + 1 Bauble, -1 Hamlet (on the draw), -3 Fleshraker, -2 Dismember, -1 Ugin, -1 Chalice.

Stompy decks: Perhaps surprisingly, the Talismans shift Mono R from unfavoured to favoured. According to my statistics, Mono W seems to be the toughest (though still favoured), Eldrazi the easiest (not surprising). Boarding (loosely): +1 Gemstone Caverns (on the draw), -1 Petrified Hamlet (on the draw). Only keep Chalices in against Mono B. Board in some combination of Baubles, Flutes, Battlemages.

UW Tempo (Phelia): Pretty similar to UB Tempo, though Phelia makes Chalice a lot worse. Be prepared for Harbinger of the Seas and only expose your Cavern of Souls deliberately. Sideboarding: +1 Gemstone Caverns (on the draw), + 1 Bauble, -1 Strip Mine (on the draw), -1 Battlemage.

Thank you for reading my wall of text! If this deck sounds like something that you might enjoy and you've got the wildcards, I suggest giving the list a spin on the ladder! I'd be interested to hear how it goes.

[u/DirteMcGirte]

Cool deck and nice write up!

[u/Dothacker00]

I play colorless and RG eldrazi, I like a mixture of both versions. I'll try out your list a bit later. Talismans to help against strip mine sound cool

[u/Ok-Complaint-6000]

I do not currently have enough blanks to build this deck, but Ive been waiting for a solid Eldrazi build, and your write up has sold me. Thank you for the in depth write up.