Seth is an old time NYC player, who sent this into us on Friday. We hope you enjoy it. - Matt

Black:

Arrogant Bloodlord:

He dies because he was so offended that he was blocked by a powerless wall? Lighten up Francis. Addendum: Still playable. Black has plenty of removal to clear his path.

Bala Ged Scorpion:

Nice combo with the Bloodlord but too weak on its own to be playable.

Consume the Meek:

1. Instant speed mass removal.
2. Demolishes token and weenie strategies.
3. Kills manlands.
4. Allows your edict effects to kill their best creatures.

Yeah, this card is good. Addendum: Five is a lot of mana. I still like Consume the Meek, but I’m willing to admit to its faults.

Consuming Vapors:

Consuming Vapors combos well with Consume the Meek. I expect the two of them together will help revitalize Black control. I don’t feel Vapors is a great card, but it is a pretty good one. Most importantly it has pretty good synergy with the other Black control cards we have at our disposable. Each edict effect makes the next one even better. As creatures improve, so does the value of creature removal. Addendum: It is hard to lose if you resolve Consuming Vapors plus rebound twice. Four creatures gone, some nice lifegain, etc. Black has plenty of cheap removal spells to make sure you haven’t fallen too far behind for Vapors not to matter. As I noted earlier, it is getting harder to be a weenie.

Contaminated Ground:

Well, you don’t get to draw a card, and you probably don’t have any Swampwalk creatures. Still, for two mana you get to turn a manland or an Eldrazi land into an awful land. Might be worth sideboarding.

Corpsehatch:

Good effort, but this costs too much and is a bit too slow compared to our other options.

Demonic Appetite:

I’m not sold on this. I don’t feel like Black has the right mix of aggressive creatures, although this does combo quite well with Bloodghast. Mostly I feel like this walks right into too many good removal spells.

Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief

There was a time Sengir Vampire was quite playable. This pretty much strictly dominates it and I doubt that it will be anything more than a one-of in some of the more control oriented vampire decks. Times have changed. Addendum: Alright, this guy isn’t quite as slow as I thought. He is a good finisher for a Black control deck.

Guul Draz Assassin:

This may be the first time I’ve ever said this about a one drop, but he’s too slow. He costs six mana before I can put a Disfigure effect on the stack. That’s not good enough.

Inquisition of Kozilek:

Alright, you want to nerf hand destruction, I get it. Maybe I’d sideboard this to protect my men from targeted removal.

Nirkana Revenant:

Is this guy a finisher or a way of casting Eldrazi? I’m not sure. He’s a bit slow and vulnerable. I guess on turn seven he can swing for eighteen damage, but I feel like he’s not good enough.

Thought Gorger:

You can get a fairly huge man for only four mana. You don’t get destroyed by targeted removal. You do suffer if your opponent can block or steal Thought Gorger. In fact, in my first test game with him he got put on Guard Duty and I got destroyed. I am pretty sure that Thought Gorger simply isn’t good enough, particularly given your other Black options at four mana.

Vendetta:

Not a bad card, but Black has a fistful of cheap removal right now and I suspect most of it is better than Vendetta. It is cheap and fast, and if you need your removal to be as fast as possible Vendetta will do the job better than any other Black card.

Red:

Battle Rampart:

I don’t imagine I’ll ever do this, but it is fun to think about giving an Eldrazi haste.

Conquering Manticore:

Reason #327 that Blue is usually better than Red? Red gives the creature back.

Fissure Vent:

Good effort. I really wish this was an instant (and at five mana that would have been reasonable), but this can be a decent addition to a ponza deck.

Flame Slash:

When you absolutely, positively need to kill that Wall of Omens, Flame Slash. Addendum: OK, maybe that line should have gone to Grotag Siege-Runner, but against decks with men Flame Slash is a lot more consistent.

Forked Bolt:

Why yes, I would like to kill two elves for just one mana.

Goblin Arsonist:

I knew Mogg Fanatic. Mogg Fanatic was a friend of mine. Sir, you are no Mogg Fanatic. Addendum: Would still make the cut if we had a dedicated Goblin deck.

Grotag Siege-Runner

You don’t necessarily get the better end of the deal vs. Wall of Omens, but at least you are no longer getting wrecked.

Hellion Eruption:

Haste? Maybe if the dudes had haste the card would be too good but without haste I don’t see this seeing much play.

Kargan Dragonlord:

Yeah you can level him up to level eight and lose him to a Smother or Path to Exile or Consume the Meek. The fact is if your opponent plays a Kargan Dragonlord either you will deal with it or it will deal with you. At worst he is a bear. At best he is a firebreathing dragon. Like everyone else I think this guy is fantastic.

Kiln Fiend:

Holy philosophy of fire Batman! This guy can consistently swing for seven or even ten on turn three. Amazingly this guy might be the best Red two drop in the set, and that is obviously saying something. Reminds me a bit of Goblin Pile Driver. Addendum: Dang there is a lot of instant speed removal floating around right now.

Lord of Shatterskull Pass:

I’ve got your Hill Giant right here (obscene gesture). This guy makes me smile.

Rage Nimbus:

Thematically this is a great card.

Staggershock:

Very nice. This works quite well with Kiln Fiend. At worst this is four to the dome for three mana. At best this is a two-for-one with potentially nice side effects. Very nice indeed.

Tuktuk the Explorer:

Hmm. Siege-Gang Commander? Sarkhan the Mad? Voracious Dragon? I’m not sure what the plan is but we do have options. Addendum: A pretty good chump blocker.

World at War:

Red has a lot of good options at five mana and I don’t expect this to see much play. It does allow for a pretty sick fifth turn with a nice rebound if needed. I’ll give this a test with low expectations.

Green:

Awakening Zone:

This can get out of hand pretty fast. A turn two Awakening Zone puts your opponent on an Eldrazi clock. At worst Awakening Zone can function as a chump blocker generator while you ramp up to ten or more mana. It’s major weakness is it’s lack of synergy with All is Dust. Addendum: I’m not loving Awakening Zone as much as I thought I would. It is slower than my other options and that is proving fatal.

Bear Umbra:

As a general rule I am not a fan of auras. This might be an exception. Unfortunately this doesn’t allow me to double my mana for anything other than instants.

Broodwarden:

Bearwarden? I think most of my spawn will be fodder for casting Eldrazi. If not, this guy could be interesting. My general opinion of most of the spawn generators is that they are fine for limited but not good enough for constructed.

Gigantomancer:

I understand this Gigantomancer’s back story. I’m still not paying eight for it.

Growth Spasm:

It is frustrating that it costs one more than Rampant Growth, but the token comes in very handy. This seems to be a pretty key card in the Green ramp deck. Getting six mana on turn three is surprisingly easy for Green these days. Addendum: Things can get out of hand pretty fast. I really like this card in block, not sure yet about type II.

Joraga Treespeaker:

Let me get this straight: I pay one mana on turn one. I pay two mana on turn two, but then I get a two mana rebate. From then on he provides me two mana? I’ll take four please. Addendum: Works well in ramp, Eldrazi Green, and probably some other Green decks that I am currently unaware of. His only weakness is that he walks into Wrath effects, including yours (All is Dust).

Kazundu Tuskcaller:

I don’t want to pay six mana for an elephant generator. I thought I loved elephants, but I guess it was just a crush.

Khalni Hydra:

Another cool card thematically. He seems like a win more card but I’ll give him a test run. Addendum: Meh.

Living Destiny:

Fifteen life please. I don’t see that ever happening, but it is an amusing thought.

Momentous Fall:

Interesting. I can use this in response to removal. The lifegain means I should live long enough to use the cards I drew. I don’t feel like this fits into any of the Green decks I am working on, but I will keep it in mind. Addendum: I am not seeing what other people are seeing here. Maybe I’ll play one as a surprise, but between my mana and my men I don’t really have that much room for other things, particularly if these other things don’t help me win immediately.

Mul Daya Channelers:

Not really high risk high reward as much as somewhat demanding. To get the most out of them you need to cut most of the non-creature spells out of your deck. I suppose drawing an Eldrazi Monument is worth having a turn where Channelers is a vanilla 2/2. When activated he is either a 5/5 (for just three mana), or an excellent accelerator. Yeah, I like this guy a lot. He helps pump up the power level of Eldrazi Green. Like Vampire Nocturnus he works very well with shuffle effects. Addendum: The inconsistency is more annoying than I first expected. Nothing fatal, but if you want beatdown he is only slightly larger than Leatherback Baloth, and if you want mana you generally have a less than 50% chance of getting it.

Nest Invader:

Subtle. Green wants as many men as it can get and playing two men with a sum total of two power (with an option for mana acceleration) is pretty good. Addendum: This guy is just what Eldrazi Green wants in a two-drop.

Overgrown Battlement:

A good card that can slide right into a ramp deck. Addendum: Does not combo well with All is Dust, but probably still worth it.

Pelakka Wurm:

Not that it matters much but you don’t have to cast the Wurm to get the seven life. A nicely well balanced card.

Realms Uncharted:

Hmm. This doesn’t provide mana acceleration. You can bin the Eye of Ugin and the Eldrazi Temple. I get to keep a Tectonic Edge and a manland. Perhaps you bin two manlands and I get to keep a Tectonic Edge and a fetchland. Realms Uncharted does power up my Knights of the Reliquary. I’m not sure what to think of Realms Uncharted. It is as good as the 3^rd and 4^thbest land options in my deck. It can provide mana fixing so for now I’ll give it thumbs up. Addendum: I was wrong, this card is very good in a midrange deck. I’ve been using it to fetch two Green manlands, Tectonic Edge, and Eye of Ugin. I cannot complain.

Tajuru Preserver:

All is NOT dust, biatch. I don’t see this actually working, but I like the effort.

Vengevine:

This had to have four power to beat through walls. It had to have three or less toughness to give Red hope. Adding haste makes Vengevine a pretty savage beating. It has great synergy with some of the other great four-drops of this era (Bloodbraid Elf, Ranger of Eos). Vengevine is another card that will deal with you if you don’t deal with it. An elite creature. Addendum: I am loving the resistance to hand destruction.

Multicolor:

Sarkhan the Mad:

The good news: Sarkhan works very well with unearth creatures and tokens. Combos well with Tuktuk the Explorer. Can turn an absolute monster of a creature your opponent controls into a mere 5/5 dragon. Can work as a short term Howling Mine.

The bad news: Costs five mana and isn’t anywhere near as good as Gideon Jura. Compared to the other five drops available to Black and Red Sarkhan looks underpowered.

Addendum: A little better than I thought. Steal a creature, sac a creature, keep the dragon, leave the gun, take the cannoli.

Artifacts:

Dreamstone Hedron:

Green is pretty good at getting to six mana on turn three. I’m not sure this is how I want to spend it, but this does get me from six to ten or eleven very fast.

Prophetic Prism:

Two mana artifacts that draw a card when they come into play are rarely used as they were intended. Just sayin’…

Warmonger’s Chariot:

Given how little this costs you are not being overcharged for the ability to attack with your walls. This is another subtly good card.

Lands:

Eldrazi Temple:

Thank you for not making this legendary. Between this and Eye of Ugin we have a fair chance at busting out Eldrazi spells and creatures. I’ll be grabbing four ASAP. Addendum: Grab four. We are entering an era of go big or go home.

Evolving Wilds:

At this point if we are willing to have our lands come into play tapped we can have pretty much whatever color of mana we want.

Forest:

Excited for Joraga Treespeaker, Mul Daya Channelers, and Vengvine. Overall very happy with both the men and the acceleration in Rise of the Eldrazi.

Island:

Most of the best Blue cards in Rise of the Eldrazi are White. Right now Island only has eyes for Jace, the Mind Sculptor.

Mountain:

A little frustrated by the defensive cards given to White, and will have some trouble with fast Black targeted removal. Red got some excellent two drops and efficient direct damage. I’m not sure that is going to be enough.

Plains:

Even more excited than Forest. Gideon Jura, Oust, Student of Warfare, Wall of Omens, and more. White got the short end of the color wheel for a while, but no longer.

Swamp:

Loves Consume the Meek + Consuming Vapors. Got some nice finishers (although Bloodwitch is still probably the five-drop of choice). Overall shored up some weaknesses.

Just for fun I’ll try my hand at a top 15 list of the most influential cards from Rise of the Eldrazi:

15. Kiln Fiend

14. Mul Daya Channelers

13. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

12. Consume the Meek

11. Joraga Treespeaker

10. Kargan Dragonlord

9. All is Dust

8. Student of Warfare

7. Consuming Vapors

6. Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

5. Oust

4. Vengvine

3. Gideon Jura

2. Eldrazi Temple

1. Wall of Omens

This feels like a good set. Jund kind of got the shaft. Blue-White control got some goodies, as did multiple Green decks, Black control, aggro Red, White Weenie, and of course, various Eldrazi decks. At this point I am fairly confident Jund will no longer prove to be the best deck in Type II.

If you have any questions or comments I can be reached at Sethburn@gmail.com.

Good luck.

Seth Burn