"The emergence of the Eldrazi isnt necessarily a bad thing, as long as you've already lived a fulfilling and complete life without regrets."
- Javad Nasrin, Ondu relic hunter
I come to you from before the Mending, before the Time of Dragons, before mana had diverged into constituents of "color," a time when planes were numbered and shaping into existence. I know the Eldrazi, and the Eldrazi know the multiverse. I've reached into the Blind Eternies to grasp their voracious, infinite power, and I bring them forth to aid them in their ends. My "command" is a symbiosis of infinite life, knowledge, and power. Do not cross me.
Ugin learned of the hedron's mysteries through my teachings, though only the Eldrazi mind thinks in the warped paths required to open the hedrons and tap the power within. Ugin has tricked himself, perhaps out of fear, into believing they can be controlled. He has much to learn, and Zendikar will surely pay the cost of that lesson a millennium in the making. He never trusted that I was responsible for breaking Alara. A fool, really.
His most recent stint on Zendikar was a bit of a nuisance, indeed, but what protege has never pestered his mentor with idealistic fantasies and half-witted ideals in the pursuit of "improving" that which cannot be improved? Still, he shows more potential than his borishly predictable and wholly unreliable counterpart, Bolas.
As for the modern planeswalkers... sad, pathetic mortals. They beg for madness, of which I'm happy to oblige.
"Infinite possibilities contained in a finite space."
"No matter how big your champion, theirs is bigger. No matter how great your numbers, theirs are greater. No matter how voracious your appetite, they are hungrier. That is why the Eldrazi will win." - Kalitas, thrall of Ulamog
Yes, this deck plays only Eldrazi creatures, and will only ever play Eldrazi creatures. Why? The Eldrazi are awesome, and powerful, and super weird. We've all thought about the possibility of making a great colorless Eldrazi deck, and this deck pulls it off with flair in a way that I haven't seen other players talking about on these forums.
The most pressing question on everyone's mind is typically, "What about all the insanely powerful annihilator cards?!" Yes, I know how much better the deck could be with their inclusion, but the cards just aren't fun for my opponents to play against, and this deck is about FUN! I am making a Vorthos deck, after all, and the intent is for my friends to enjoy the battle for their existence against the Blind Eternities! Also, when I sit down for a game against players I don't know well, I can usually avoid all the hate that's directed at colorless decks when I mention that it's "just a Vorthos Eldrazi deck without any annihilator above 2..." That usually means I won't be taken too seriously, which is unfortunate for the rest of the players, really.
The release of BFZ and OGW has helped the deck to lower it's mana curve considerably. Who would've thought we would see a 2cc Eldrazi make it to print? The deck runs much more smoothly now than it used to, especially since it was able to drop a lot of the weaker common Eldrazi I used to have to run.
Conduit of Ruin, Oblivion Sower, and Ulamog himself are the most powerful cards in this deck, and getting them on the board usually means your opponents will finally see how scary out-of-control a weakly Vorthos deck can get. Void Winnower's "you can't even" ability is a bit hit and miss, but typically demands an answer sooner rather than later. If your friends were enjoying watching all the flavor spill out of your deck in the first few turns, these guys are going to snap them back to the reality that you can be a formidable threat.
One interesting creature is our Spawnsire of Ulamog. Not only does it make tokens for whatever reasons you need (and there are a number of them), it has that neat little 20 ability. The way I play that ability (assuming your playgroup allows it) is that I can grab back any Eldrazi cards that have been exiled throughout the course of the game. It isn't broken, its worth the 20 mana, and it's super flavorful to be pulling Eldrazi out from the Blind Eternities back into the battlefield!
"For those without the Planeswalker spark, the merest touch of the Blind Eternities can kill." - Ugin, the Spirit Dragon"
The deck has a few non-permanent cards, though even fewer powerful ones. The actual inspiration of the deck was my All Is Dust that my friends brought back from Las Vegas, signed by a number of pro players and the good gentlemen on the Limited Resources podcast. I thought about using it in a colorless artifact deck... but the card was begging for a little something special. In fact, the deck was originally a Kozilek artifact deck that happened to be pretty degenerate.
The deck runs some unsavory cards in terms of power (I'm looking at you Skittering Invasion), but this deck wants to be flavorful! And if I can convince other players that I'm not much of a threat by playing these types of cards... all the better.
I'm still waiting for the day that I can cast a free Not of This World.
"Whatever the Eldrazi's purpose is, it has nothing to do with something so insignificant as us." - Nirthu, lone missionary
The deck needs to run some seemingly off-flavor non-creature permanents. The mana rocks required their own section, but let's examine my other choices...
First off, there are plenty of cards that make perfect sense for flavor reasons: Eldrazi Monument, Perilous Vault, and even Crucible of Worlds. These card are perfectly flavorful, and can even be very powerful at the right time. The deck does rely on mana rocks for a significant amount of it's ramping power, so Perious Vault can be harmful at times. However, in a pinch, the deck doesn't run too many board wipes and having it available is usually very helpful. Next, Crucible of Worlds is one of my favorite inclusions. Not only does it "accidentally" match the flavor of the Eldrazi threatening the existence of entire worlds, but it plays very well with Mirrorpool, Buried Ruin, Blasted Landscape, Wasteland, and Sanctum of Ugin. Additionally, Eye of Ugin quite often becomes the target of an opposing Strip Mine, so this card will help your premium land in play where it belongs.
What are Mind's Eye and Altar of Dementia doing here? First, the Eldrazi have a knack for ripping apart minds and perceptions just as easily as they rip of the earth. Kozilek is particularly skilled in this area, and Titan's Presence is proof of how intimidating and gut-wrenching the mere presence of these beings can have on your fragile opponents. These two cards also tie in thematically with Mind Stone and Thought Vessel to keep this idea moving. It's also worth noting that Altar of Dementia can be extremely powerful in this deck. It serves as a sacrifice outlet (which all EDH should be running) and lets you use and re-use Ulamog over and over again to keep exiling permanents. Because of Ulamog's attack trigger, you'll be eating CHUNKS of cards from every players library, and the Altar can help keep the milling going. I've actually won MORE games through milling out every opponent with Altar than I have with creatures or commander damage.
Aligned Hedron Network?! Why would I run a card that depicts my own commander being trapped? First, in the story, it wasn't final. He broke free! Second, it puts Ulamog back into the command zone - a very threatening place to be with his casting trigger! And third, the deck needs board wipes. I've talked about this.
The deck needs card draw since it doesn't play Kozilek, the Great Distortion as its commander (though, nothing is stopping you), so I slotted in a Coercive Portal. The coercive aspect is political, which is always fun, but it also suits the flavor of the Eldrazi playing with people's minds. As a portal, it relates to how the Eldrazi move between the planes through the Blind Eternities. Finally, if the board is eventually wiped , the Eldrazi are usually just fine with that outcome as well. Eldrazi Monument can protect them, and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger protects himself
Finally, what on earth is a Trading Post doing here? One reason, and one reason only: baa-aa-aa-a-aa-a-aaa-a! Continue reading through the land portion where I explain it more thoroughly.
"Even a fragment of a powerstone contains within it not just energy, but space - vast dimensions trapped in a fragile crystal."
I've got a love-hate relationship with this portion of the deck... and there wont be any resolution until more Eldrazi/Zendikar-flavored mana sources are printed. Because of the exceptional need for mana that this deck has, and the lack of good mana rocks that are on flavor, I've been forced to play cards that just... don't.... thematically... fit... UGH! But alas, I've got some reasoning behind a few cards.
And finally, Ur-Golem's Eye and Thran Dynamo. They don't fit. They're just so necessary for the deck to reliably cast its spells. One day there will be better options
For extra spicy synergistic flavor, we have our all-star lands: Mirrorpool, Sanctum of Ugin, and Sea Gate Wreckage. These lands would have earned their spot even without the Vorthos restriction.
Every other land choice is not particularly powerful, but they bring in the flavor of ruined landscapes, abandoned temples, and mana ties I've created with Zendikar during our Titan heroes' nappy time. The one questionable land is Springjack Pasture: Yes, the deck includes a small goat subtheme. The gods must be appeased! Eldrazi Monument begs for a sacrifice, and what better animal than our lovable goats (art courtesy of the wonderful Terese Nielsen, of course). And because the deck sacrifices goats to appease the gods, I included the Trading Post under artifacts. Gotta have dem goats.
And there's the deck in all of its Vorthosian glory. I'd love to hear what you all think, especially if you've got some card suggestions for me that tie in some more flavor, or even if you have your own Vorthos deck you're having fun with!
Having played this deck many times, I can assure you the threat of getting milled out is real, even if Ulamog takes turns with his attacks or attacks at random using a die. It is SUPER fun to play against and fun to team up againt in a game (FOR ZENDIKAR!). It is very powerful but doesn't feel out of control. Dealing with Ulamog is a challenge however. You can't ignore him or he continues to eat chunks of your deck. You can't kill or exile him because of his casting trigger. Best thing to do is just keep him tapped down until you regain control (which I feel is also flavorful as well for his deck). If you have the cards or close to it, I highly recommend building and playing it in your next commander game. Our playgroup has gotten a lot more fun since Ulamog came to join in on the crazy.
Oh yes... Thank you very much for pointing that out.
I'll need to switch something in that'll fit, but most of the flavorful mana rocks are already in the deck. I've been considering throwing in a Khalni Gem despite its obvious weakness. Thanks for the heads up, appreciated
Aligned Hedron Network is a huge nonbo with your deck. Remove it. Pretty much anything is better.
I don't like Altar of Dementia. Straight-up mill is weak in this format and I don't want to turn one of my Eldrazi into a Glimpse the Unthinkable. Altar is only good if you have a way to make infinite tokens.
My Newlamog deck uses bounce effects, since he plays so well with them. There are times when you want to bounce him and play him again to exile two more permanents. The best bouncer is Erratic Portal, since you can attack with your Eldrazi titan before the bounce. The other two bounce effects are Blood Clock and Umbilicus, which are very functionally similar. These bounce cards don't permit an attack, but they do allow for more exiling. Because of this, you also want to play Spine of Ish Sah as a secondary bounce target. This card just kind of sits on the couch after it enters the battlefield and Umbilicus/Clock allow you to recast it.
Commander's Sphere does nothing. Astral Cornucopia is just plain bad: it's six mana to tap for two or nine mana to tap for three: this is awful efficiency.
If budget is not a concern, Mana Crypt is the best option. I recommend Mana Vault and Voltaic Key as cheaper replacements. Worn Powerstone is another good card to consider. Pristine Talisman gives you life, which is valuable in the right meta or if you're running Ancient Tomb/Mana Crypt.
For lands: Ally Encampment, Crumbling Vestige, Unknown Shores and Corrupted Crossroads do not give us any additional functionality. The budget option to replace them is Wastes (always use the white dusty one for appropriate Newlamog flavor, no Kozilek bismuth allowed). This is the functional option if there's some jerk playing Ruination or Price of Progress (we just lose to this, this is the best Thought-Knot Seer target.). Mutavault is the only Eldrazi manland: you should run him. Cavern of Souls is big $ but a must for crushing annoying blue mages. Ancient Tomb is a powerhouse, but you will take a lot of damage from it: consider a Radiant Fountain and Miren, the Moaning Well to offset this. Mikokoro, Center of the Sea is a fun diplomacy tool.
Private Mod Note
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These days, some wizards are finding they have a little too much deck left at the end of their $$$.
MTG finance guy- follow me on Twitter@RichArschmann or RichardArschmann on Reddit
Thanks for the feedback, Richard! I think you may have missed the flavorful undertones. This deck is not built for competitive play, but for casual EDH games. Sometimes I like to put on my Vorthos hat and enjoy the flavor and story behind a deck instead of just playing all the best cards. So every card has been selected purely on theme of being a Planeswalker who has partnered up with Ulamog to command an army of Eldrazi.
Aligned Hedron Network is certainly a nonbo, but is an example of playing cards purely for the names, art, and flavor text. Spine of Ish Shah is another great card for colorless decks, but it originates from Mirrodin... and this deck wont have any of that!
I'm gonna take a look at Erratic Portal, though, because I think I can make use of that card...
As for Altar of Dementia, I know it's not the best card in the 99, but it's on flavor of paying respects to the "gods of Zendikar." Take a look at Shrine of the Forsaken Gods and the various mind tricks and deterioration the Eldrazi titans can cause. That said, it actually IS surprisingly powerful. I've won games without it by just playing Eldrazi and attacking for the win, but if Altar of Dementia ever makes it into my hands (and the board) it actually has a large impact on the game. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger's attack trigger can eat a lot of cards off a player's deck. It's definitely something my opponents worry about. Most often, Ulamog is chump blocked by a token and lacks any sort of evasion... but his "milling" effect is his own personal type of evasion. 3-4 attacks and the defending player is out of cards. Altar lets me sacrifice Ulamog and recast him (the deck doesn't worry much about the commander tax) to get the targeted exiling trigger PLUS accelerating a mill for 10 more cards. In games where I've simply drawn the Altar, it has lead to more wins via milling than with damage. And the best part is that it's always ignored by my opponents If Kozilek, not Ulamog, were my commander instead, this card would be first on the chopping block.
I come to you from before the Mending, before the Time of Dragons, before mana had diverged into constituents of "color," a time when planes were numbered and shaping into existence. I know the Eldrazi, and the Eldrazi know the multiverse. I've reached into the Blind Eternies to grasp their voracious, infinite power, and I bring them forth to aid them in their ends. My "command" is a symbiosis of infinite life, knowledge, and power. Do not cross me.
Ugin learned of the hedron's mysteries through my teachings, though only the Eldrazi mind thinks in the warped paths required to open the hedrons and tap the power within. Ugin has tricked himself, perhaps out of fear, into believing they can be controlled. He has much to learn, and Zendikar will surely pay the cost of that lesson a millennium in the making. He never trusted that I was responsible for breaking Alara. A fool, really.
His most recent stint on Zendikar was a bit of a nuisance, indeed, but what protege has never pestered his mentor with idealistic fantasies and half-witted ideals in the pursuit of "improving" that which cannot be improved? Still, he shows more potential than his borishly predictable and wholly unreliable counterpart, Bolas.
As for the modern planeswalkers... sad, pathetic mortals. They beg for madness, of which I'm happy to oblige.
10 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Creatures
0 Endless One
2 Eldrazi Mimic
3 Matter Reshaper
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Warden of Geometries
5 Blight Herder
5 Kozilek's Channeler
5 Reality Smasher
5 Walker of the Wastes
6 Conduit of Ruin
6 Deathless Behemoth
6 Endbringer
6 Kozilek’s Pathfinder
6 Oblivion Sower
7 Bane of Bala Ged
7 Deceiver of Form
7 Ruin Processor
8 Breaker of Armies
9 Artisan of Kozilek
9 Void Winnower
10 Desolation Twin
10 Kozilek, the Great Distortion
10 Spawnsire of Ulamog
12 It That Betrays
Planeswalkers
8 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Instants/Sorceries
2 Spatial Contortion
2 Warping Wail
3 Titan’s Presence
6 Gruesome Slaughter
7 All Is Dust
7 Not of This World
7 Scour from Existence
7 Skittering Invasion
1 Expedition Map
2 Altar of Dementia
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Aligned Hedron Network
4 Coercive Portal
4 Perilous Vault
4 Seer’s Sundial
4 Trading Post
5 Mind’s Eye
5 Eldrazi Monument
Mana Rocks
0 Everflowing Chalice
0 Astral Cornucopia
1 Sol Ring
2 Doubling Cube
2 Fellwar Stone
2 Grim Monolith
2 Mind Stone
2 Thought Vessel
3 Seer’s Lantern
3 Unstable Obelisk
3 Worn Powerstone
4 Hedron Archive
4 Khalni Gem
4 Thran Dynamo
4 Ur-Golem’s Eye
5 Gilded Lotus
6 Dreamstone Hedron
Lands
0 Blasted Landscape
0 Buried Ruin
0 Corrupted Crossroads
0 Crumbling Vestige
0 Crystal Vein
0 Deserted Temple
0 Dread Statuary
0 Eldrazi Temple
0 Encroaching Wastes
0 Eye of Ugin
0 Mirrorpool
0 Petrified Field
0 Ruins of Oran-Rief
0 Sanctum of Ugin
0 Sea Gate Wreckage
0 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
0 Spawning Bed
0 Springjack Pasture
0 Tectonic Edge
0 Temple of the False God
0 Unknown Shores
0 Wasteland
17x Wastes
And there's the deck in all of its Vorthosian glory. I'd love to hear what you all think, especially if you've got some card suggestions for me that tie in some more flavor, or even if you have your own Vorthos deck you're having fun with!
Your correct, Ulamog has no color so Commander Sphere cannot produce a mana.
I'll need to switch something in that'll fit, but most of the flavorful mana rocks are already in the deck. I've been considering throwing in a Khalni Gem despite its obvious weakness. Thanks for the heads up, appreciated
I don't like Altar of Dementia. Straight-up mill is weak in this format and I don't want to turn one of my Eldrazi into a Glimpse the Unthinkable. Altar is only good if you have a way to make infinite tokens.
My Newlamog deck uses bounce effects, since he plays so well with them. There are times when you want to bounce him and play him again to exile two more permanents. The best bouncer is Erratic Portal, since you can attack with your Eldrazi titan before the bounce. The other two bounce effects are Blood Clock and Umbilicus, which are very functionally similar. These bounce cards don't permit an attack, but they do allow for more exiling. Because of this, you also want to play Spine of Ish Sah as a secondary bounce target. This card just kind of sits on the couch after it enters the battlefield and Umbilicus/Clock allow you to recast it.
Commander's Sphere does nothing. Astral Cornucopia is just plain bad: it's six mana to tap for two or nine mana to tap for three: this is awful efficiency.
If budget is not a concern, Mana Crypt is the best option. I recommend Mana Vault and Voltaic Key as cheaper replacements. Worn Powerstone is another good card to consider. Pristine Talisman gives you life, which is valuable in the right meta or if you're running Ancient Tomb/Mana Crypt.
For lands: Ally Encampment, Crumbling Vestige, Unknown Shores and Corrupted Crossroads do not give us any additional functionality. The budget option to replace them is Wastes (always use the white dusty one for appropriate Newlamog flavor, no Kozilek bismuth allowed). This is the functional option if there's some jerk playing Ruination or Price of Progress (we just lose to this, this is the best Thought-Knot Seer target.). Mutavault is the only Eldrazi manland: you should run him. Cavern of Souls is big $ but a must for crushing annoying blue mages. Ancient Tomb is a powerhouse, but you will take a lot of damage from it: consider a Radiant Fountain and Miren, the Moaning Well to offset this. Mikokoro, Center of the Sea is a fun diplomacy tool.
MTG finance guy- follow me on Twitter@RichArschmann or RichardArschmann on Reddit
Aligned Hedron Network is certainly a nonbo, but is an example of playing cards purely for the names, art, and flavor text. Spine of Ish Shah is another great card for colorless decks, but it originates from Mirrodin... and this deck wont have any of that!
I'm gonna take a look at Erratic Portal, though, because I think I can make use of that card...
As for Altar of Dementia, I know it's not the best card in the 99, but it's on flavor of paying respects to the "gods of Zendikar." Take a look at Shrine of the Forsaken Gods and the various mind tricks and deterioration the Eldrazi titans can cause. That said, it actually IS surprisingly powerful. I've won games without it by just playing Eldrazi and attacking for the win, but if Altar of Dementia ever makes it into my hands (and the board) it actually has a large impact on the game. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger's attack trigger can eat a lot of cards off a player's deck. It's definitely something my opponents worry about. Most often, Ulamog is chump blocked by a token and lacks any sort of evasion... but his "milling" effect is his own personal type of evasion. 3-4 attacks and the defending player is out of cards. Altar lets me sacrifice Ulamog and recast him (the deck doesn't worry much about the commander tax) to get the targeted exiling trigger PLUS accelerating a mill for 10 more cards. In games where I've simply drawn the Altar, it has lead to more wins via milling than with damage. And the best part is that it's always ignored by my opponents If Kozilek, not Ulamog, were my commander instead, this card would be first on the chopping block.