Brad Loves Eldrazi

Dedicating 30 slots (pains/filters/landscapes) to subpar lands that produce C sucks. Add in shock/fetch/surveil and a few random lands and I'm up to 75 lands, almost half of which aren't even very good.

The list is pretty bloated overall right now. Weighing all my post MH3 options. Still haven't decided on a sixth token type.

Too much to think about.
 
I've been mentally stuck on how I want to run my top end post-MH3.

Before we start, it's worth noting that the cards from the later examples will likely also slot into the earlier examples.

I can run it with colorless costs:

Some of the lower mv cards are quite good here, but the bombs aren't any better than the other options. If I want to run colorless costs, I think my land cycles have to look like this:

The surveil lands are probably flexible. Overall, the colorless costs really hurt the mana base. You don't want to run Ux pains most of the time and a Graven Cairns feels very weak in a deck splashing black and/or red. Obviously, the Landscapes can be misaligned with your colors and need for an untapped land.



I can run it without colorless costs:

The top end threats are just as good here as the colorless ones. The main loss is flavor as well as a few lower mv cards. My mana could be like:

And some other cycle. The lands here are the main advantage compared to the previous option.



I can run it without Eldrazi, which would make my ramp targets look more like:

These ramp targets obviously aren't as backbreaking as the Eldrazi, but they don't get stuck in your hand the same way that a titan does. It's a much lower commitment to the ramp deck and would relieve some of the format's challenges of having to work around the titans. The cube would end up looking more "regular," but with an emphasis on ramp.

The mana base would look probably the same as the previous example.



I am leaning towards an option here, but I'd like additional input before I commit.
 
I find the third option kind of depressing considering the title of your thread…
Your list inspired me to brew with higher mana value cards (think Myr Enforcer + Pod) and while I think it’s a cool space it’s less epic than the Titans.

I have a big preference to your first option because of the flavour. It’s an Eldrazi cube, might as well embrace it. It gives you Eldrazis up and down the curve for total immersion.

I think your land cycles look totally fine, but would love to see bouncelands when trying to reach 7+ mana cards! I am wondering if you need the fetch/dual mana base. Keep the surveil lands as they rock with bouncelands and maybe use the checklands (Glacial Chasm or the Deserted Beach cycle since you are expecting more turns.

Will you include MDFC lands? Could be a good way to ensure reaching 18+ lands to get to the Eldrazis. If so, bounceland’s stock increases a lot!
 
I find the third option kind of depressing considering the title of your thread…
Agreed. Third option looks the most optimal, but the most sad, as well.
Your list inspired me to brew with higher mana value cards (think Myr Enforcer + Pod) and while I think it’s a cool space it’s less epic than the Titans.
So many sweet affinity cards for mv-matters kinda stuff. Lot of synergy there.
I have a big preference to your first option because of the flavour. It’s an Eldrazi cube, might as well embrace it. It gives you Eldrazis up and down the curve for total immersion.
The colorless lands have proven to be a greater liability than they appeared on paper.
I think your land cycles look totally fine, but would love to see bouncelands when trying to reach 7+ mana cards! I am wondering if you need the fetch/dual mana base. Keep the surveil lands as they rock with bouncelands and maybe use the checklands (Glacial Chasm or the Deserted Beach cycle since you are expecting more turns.

Will you include MDFC lands? Could be a good way to ensure reaching 18+ lands to get to the Eldrazis. If so, bounceland’s stock increases a lot!
I'm planning to add MDFC lands next update for their numerous benefits. Bounceland for a spell is pretty sweet. Let me think about that.
 
Looking at cards with "m:{c}" in my list, they fall into two main categories:

Difficult to cast on time:

These last two are my favorite cards of the lot, but {c}{c} on mv=4 is a lot for a strictly splash color.

Replaceable by other bombs:


There's also these two:

Protection spell with possible "my guys are unblockable" could be unfun? It's not like the other one is the greatest X spell ever, either.

I don't think I'll really miss cutting C, now that I'm looking at it.

There will still be a few kicker costs that are C, probably, but that can be fed on spawns/scions occasionally. Trying to pay CC to cast your spell is a different story.
 
Colorless mana was cut for being too narrow, re-added for MH3 hype, and has been cut again.

Now I'm looking for "slower" aggro decks that can win into the late game.

I think the idea of traditional constructed-style aggro that curves out isn't ideal here. I don't want aggro to push out the Eldrazi decks and I don't want aggro to be too slow and get crushed. As a result, I need decks that can push damage early and late.

I'm currently thinking Gwu or maybe 5c +1/+1 counters to grow, WUx flyers to evade, RWgx equipment to size up any threat. What else do we have? Auras are probably too much of a liability without running hexproof.

EDIT: Recursive Bx aggro works.
 
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This might be too out there, but what about Aether Hub in your basic land box? Either that or Ash Barrens.
This is a solid idea. I also considered a ton of Prismatic Vistas, adding quite a few custom lands, etc. At the end of the day, I'm only losing out on Devourer of Destiny for cards that aren't easily replaced or very difficult to cast. Inversion Behemoth is also very cool, but 2CC is super difficult on curve.

Even if I ran every card from the above post, it's basically adding a sixth color for 12 cards.
 
make another cube do it do it do it you know you want to

seriously though, keep a cube that's eldrazi focused, it's super cool
 
I hate you guys. It's so much worse. Adding a whole color for (at most) 12 cards?!

It's not like it won't be an Eldrazi cube if it doesn't run those 12 cards.
 
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I think you can keep it an Eldrazi cube without including C mana. It's not like that was what the Eldrazi were about in their original and most iconic form. For me the fact that the big Eldrazi could go in any mana base back then was one of the cool things about them.
 
I think you can keep it an Eldrazi cube without including C mana. It's not like that was what the Eldrazi were about in their original and most iconic form. For me the fact that the big Eldrazi could go in any mana base back then was one of the cool things about them.
The flexibility of being colorless combined with the cast triggers is what makes them so great to me. You always get some value for your 10 mana.
 
But isn't colorless tremendously easy to support with a bunch of pain lands? They are effectively trilands that enter untapped. Not every cube needs to have a fetch+shock modern like mana base. I'd just start by having these be my only fixing lands in a cube build around Eldrazi.

Also, just 12 cards? Doesn't MH3 alone have like 20 playable c-cards?
 
But isn't colorless tremendously easy to support with a bunch of pain lands? They are effectively trilands that enter untapped. Not every cube needs to have a fetch+shock modern like mana base. I'd just start by having these be my only fixing lands in a cube build around Eldrazi.
Overall, the colorless costs really hurt the mana base. You don't want to run Ux pains most of the time and a Graven Cairns feels very weak in a deck splashing black and/or red. Obviously, the Landscapes can be misaligned with your colors and need for an untapped land.

Also, just 12 cards? Doesn't MH3 alone have like 20 playable c-cards?
Scryfall said:
17 cards where the mana cost is greater than or equal to {c} and (the set is “mh3” or the set is “m3c”)
There's also a post on this page featuring every C costed card that I was considering along with an analysis of why the splash isn't very appealing.
 
Brad I literally made an account to tell y0u that I think you should include the colorless cards! It's an Eldrazi cube! You've got to be true to the theme and put them in. However... I have a suggestion. I custom-made a bunch of fetch lands and dual-lands that feature Wastes. So, you know, a Forest Wastes, an Island Wastes, and so on. I really wanted colorless in my cube, but I just couldn't see another way of doing it.
 
According to people who like constructed / Karsten style mana bases in their cubes, it's not crazy to run 16% lands in a cube. For you, that would be over 100 lands. You could have your cake and eat it, too. If you didn't want to make cuts, you could just add more lands, do 16 card packs, amd the drafters see more cards.

Or, you could just run the non-C cards.
 
Brad I literally made an account to tell y0u that I think you should include the colorless cards! It's an Eldrazi cube!
Nice try. This is clearly ravnic on a new account trying to trick me.
However... I have a suggestion. I custom-made a bunch of fetch lands and dual-lands that feature Wastes. So, you know, a Forest Wastes, an Island Wastes, and so on. I really wanted colorless in my cube, but I just couldn't see another way of doing it.
I also made some customs lol.
You've got to be true to the theme and put them in.
Here's my real question for those on Team {c}:
What does the cube gain in terms of play value? Hardly any C cards are going to be in there and most of them are super replaceable. The list is already too large and I'm working on cuts.
 
I think it gains enough to be good! Kozilek's Command, Thought Knot, Reality Smasher, Warping Wail, Matter Reshaper, Eldrazi Confluence, Eldritch Immunity. I don't know. Personally, I think you should make it work. Don't you think it's a bit flat to have an Eldrazi cube that doesn't have Thought-Knot or Reality Smasher? They're iconic!
Also, what about artifacts? Don't you have a bunch of colorless artifacts?
 
Here's my real question for those on Team {c}:
What does the cube gain in terms of play value? Hardly any C cards are going to be in there and most of them are super replaceable. The list is already too large and I'm working on cuts.
I agree with this. When the regular colorless non-C stuff already does what you need it to do, you're golden and you can keep the mana the way you want it while keeping other cards that you can't live without.
 
I'm moving on from considering colorless for now. I've tried to see the other side and I'm not convinced. Adding 20% more colors isn't worth adding up to 2.5% cards.

In fact, I'm currently looking for suggestions on what to cut. Been whittling away, but the list started out super bloated. There are so many good cards these days.

I'm having a bit of an issue figuring out the rock-paper-scissors element of aggro vs midrange vs Eldrazi. I don't want aggro to unbearably rush down the Eldrazi decks, I don't want midrange to wall out aggro too badly, and I don't want midrange to be so appealing that there's no reason to scale up into the Eldrazi deck. Open to input on how to balance all that.
 
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