Greetings fellow Cubers and welcome back to Unboxed: the weekly article series that shines a spotlight on themes and topics about the best format in Magic: The Gathering! Thank you to everyone who has supported the series and if there is a topic or theme you would like covered, leave your thoughts in the comments below! With that said: Let’s get Cubing!
While I really got into Magic towards the end of the Alara block and the M10 Core Set, it was the original Zendikar block that convinced me I had found the best game in the world. Triple Zendikar drafts were a lot of fun, if you did not die in the first 5 turns. (Yes, it was that fast.) Worldwake introduced the most powerful planeswalker to date (and perhaps even still!) in Jace, the Mind Sculptor, but there was something bigger lurking for the coming set. The groundwork was set in the first two Zendikar sets and finally the payoff came when Wizards formally introduced one the most powerful and polarizing tribes ever with the arrival of the Eldrazi. This cuber has a soft spot for the spaghetti monsters,and while I have mixed opinions about how they were handled in our first return to Zendikar, their absence in Zendikar Rising has me miss them all the more. To show some love to one of my favorite creature types in Magic, this week’s article will shine a spotlight on the Top Eight Eldrazi from the first two Zendikar blocks. I’ll also include some honorable mentions, as there is a specific subset of Eldrazi that, if supported properly, are a ton of fun and can be extremely powerful tools to add to your Cube.
Important Notes:-
The data being used for the cards on the Eldrazilist will be taken from Cube Cobra based on cards that are in hundreds or thousands of unique Cubes across all rarities.
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Only cards with the type Eldrazi will be included for this list. Special shout out to Awakening Zone!
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I have plenty of noteworthy cards mentioned in this article, but this is by no means all of them or a guide of any kind. It is your Cube, so build it the way you want to!
Perhaps it is a residual effect of how Battle for Zendikar was viewed by the players or just better options at the time, but I personally think this medium-sized Eldrazi does not get the respect it deserves. A 5/7 is a massive stat line for a creature that is not even partially Green and its “reverse-Landfall” ability at worst is drawing you two cards and potentially exiling the two best cards in your opponent’s entire deck. While Sire of Stagnation has other bigger and stronger Eldrazi (and Dimir cards) to contend with, perhaps he warrants a second look because the possibility of getting a four-for-one every time your opponent plays a land with no downsides to speak of.
Story Time of the Week: Some number of Cube drafts ago, there was a match between two players where Player one was about to fall way behind due to the imminent Wrath of God currently third from the top of Player two’s library. (Both players knew this from cards being previously revealed.) Player One drew and played Sire of Stagnation and their opponent just sighed in agony. While the Wrath of God was coming, Player two needed to play another land to close out the match because not doing so would give Player one the time they needed to stabilize and win. It was now a lose-lose situation for Player two: Play the land and lose the Wrath of God to the Sire of Stagnation or skip the land play and lose over the next few turns. Player two looked at Player one and said “I guess I lose. Good game sir.” Player one simply responded, “I think you mean, ‘Good game, sire,” as they collected their cards for the next match. Next draft, Player two picked Sire of Stagnation extremely early in the next draft.
One of two Eldrazi from a non-Zendikar based set to make the list, comes in at number seven. While the textbox of this Eldrazi is a lot less exciting compared to some of its brethren further up the list, the cost reduction through the Emerge mechanic more than makes up for it. Potentially paying only two mana for a 5/6 with flash that can tap any four permanents on your opponent’s board can serve as a back-breaking tempo play. Play it before combat to tap their creatures and buy more time or potentially create a chance for you to find lethal. You could also tap four of your opponent’s land to pseudo-Time Walk them as you surge ahead on board presence. This card is extremely versatile, disruptive to your opponent’s plans, and is rightfully the best non-titan Eldrazi to make this list.
I will wager a guess that you thought this list would only be creatures. Well, the only non-creature Eldrazi card to make this list certainly earns its spot. A seven mana colorless mass-exile spell that hits all colored permanents on the field should be enough to sell you on the power this card brings to the table. It answers an overwhelming number of cards, gets around indestructible, and is one of the broadest catch-up cards Cubes have ever seen. The art still reminds me of something out of a Michael Bay movie and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon may have more control over what is exiled, but there are not many cards in the history of the game that can achieve the combination of power, wide-range, and castability that All is Dust possesses.
It may have ranked the lowest of the five Eldrazi titans, but that is almost irrelevant when you look at what Kozilek provides you. If you are able to cast him, he will draw you four extra cards (this is normally worth around six mana for that effect alone), but even the floor of a 12/12 that will force your opponent to sacrifice four permanents upon attacking is absurd. Even if your opponent destroys Kozilek, it reshuffles itself, along with your entire graveyard, back into your library for another go at defeating your opponent. All the Eldrazi titans are incredible to cheat into play, but Kozilek drawing you four extra cards along with the rest of what the card provides should be enough for you to win once you can generate ten mana.
Ulamog, the second of the three Eldrazi titans and its first version, comes in at number four on the list. Kozilek may have a better payoff, more power/toughness, and a cheaper mana cost, but Ulamog’s indestructible ability makes the number of cards that could deal with him dramatically decrease. You also get to destroy the most problematic permanent on your opponent’s side of the field as a bonus! Even though Kozilek can best it in combat, the difference between twelve and eleven damage is minimal, as your opponent still must sacrifice four permanents once it turns sideways and attacks them. Ulamog brings a sense of imminent doom once it enters the battlefield and there are not many games where you stare down an Ulamog on the opponent’s field and can fend him off to win the game.
While Ulamog’s first version is still regarded as one of the most powerful creatures ever printed, I present the case that his second version from Battle for Zendikar is better than the original. The new Ulamog is extremely comparable to its counterpart in power/toughness, as well as keeping its indestructible ability, but the differences are what pushes the new version over the top. It is cheaper to cast, removes TWO permanents when you cast it, and can be reanimated from the graveyard. In plenty of games with and against both Ulamogs, the ability to exile twenty cards from your opponent’s deck where most Cube decks are forty cards is usually faster than Annihilator four is in terms of ending the game quickly. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger is an unbelievable creature and in this Cuber’s opinion, one of, if not perhaps the, best reanimator target for high powered environments.
It is fitting that both versions of Emrakul take the top two spots on this list, as both are extremely strong and each offers a unique set of skills to help destroy your opponents. Emrakul The Promised End gives you a real opportunity at casting it for a good bit less than thirteen mana due to its cost-reduction effect from the Delirium mechanic. If you cast it successfully, being able to take an extra turn as if you were your opponent is an incredibly rare effect.Making bad attacks, using their removal on their own creatures, or simply using their cards to help you instead of them is satisfying to no end. Even if you cheat this Emrakul into play, you are still getting a huge flyer that has trample and immunity to a lot of the premier non-creature removal spells Cubes play. Being a debatably better reanimation target than Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, and the second best on-cast effect for any of the Eldrazi puts this version of Emrakul squarely in second place.
Just like in the lore (It will free itself from the moon on Innistrad one day), the only known thing that can possibly defeat Emrakul is itself. It is quite possibly the best creature to cheat into play with a Show and Tell or Sneak Attack-esque ability and do not even get me started with how Channel works with most of the cards on this list. It is quite possibly the single strongest creature in the game today and it has proven that claim time and time again over the years in multiple causal and competitive formats. It has evasion, the best on-cast trigger in granting you an extra turn (which normally costs 5 mana when pushed), immunity to all instant and sorcery based removal, immunity to counter magic, and a gigantic power/toughness statline. You might not be able to always reanimate Emrakul the Aeons Torn as easily as you can her second version, but everything else about this card is just incredible. It’s possibly the most powerful creature, in terms of raw metrics and abilities for its mana cost, in the game. Unless Wizards wants to go even further beyond with a third Emrakul, the original shall keep that title with little resistance.
For Pauper players everywhere, there are some high quality Eldrazi for your consideration. Ulamog’s Crusher is one of the largest commons ever printed and even if he gets chump-blocked turn after turn, his Annihilator ability will ensure your opponent’s board is made worse for wear every time he attacks. Eldrazi Skyspawner gives you a two power flyer along with a flexible token that can be used as an attacker, blocker, or an extra mana later. Nest Invader does a lot of what Eldrazi Skypawner does at the two mana slot for Green decks and offers a lot of utility for a seemingly innocuous common.
For Peasant Cubers, you get access to all the sweet commons mentioned above, plus some Eldrazi that truly push the boundary of what a non-rare or non-mythic card can do. Artisan of Kozilek and Pathrazer of Ulamog are both incredible cards to reanimate from the graveyard and if they successfully enter the battlefield, your opponent does not have much time before their board and/or their health quickly disappears. Bane of Bala Ged might not have it directly worded on the card, but it has Annihilator just like many other larger Eldrazi and its seven mana casting cost is certainly within the realm of being able to be successfully cast.
For Cubers that are willing to support the Eldrazi that require colorless mana to truly maximize, there are some excellent options here too. Eldrazi Displacer is placed in plenty of Cubes already and if you allow this card to have a repeatable blink effect, it can truly take over the game with a strong “enter the battlefield” ability on standby. Thought-Knot Seer does its best job as being the closest thing to a colorless Vendilion Clique that provides hand disruption along with excellent board presence. Reality Smasher is an incredible midrange threat with great keywords that is a consistent two-for-one by causing your opponent to discard a card if they even try to interact with it. Endbringer provides a well-sized body, plus an excellent array of abilities, but it being able to untap every single turn, including your opponent’s, lets you take over the board or bury your opponent with a steady stream of repeatable card draw.
And that is the list for this week! I hope you enjoyed a look at the potential Eldrazi additions to your Cube. Wizards created some of these titans over ten years ago and their impact is still felt all these years later. Whether it is achieving enough mana to actually cast them or by cheating them into play through other powerful cards, it seems like the Eldrazi are here to stay for the long haul and we shall see them again one day whenever Emrakul decides to free herself from the moon on Innistrad!
Join me next week when grizzly ghouls from every tomb close in to seal your doom and until then, may you keep paying a lot (or a little) mana to summon the Eldrazi!
Special thanks to Cube Cobra for letting me contribute to the best Cube resource around, Gary Thompson for compiling the bulk of the data used for this article, and Maegan for being the best editor a writer can ask for!