Racerxen,
How have the Boreal Druids been working? I have the opportunity to go to a PTTQ this weekend and I was thinking about increasing my number of turn 1 mana accelerants. I currently play 5 mana dorks and a talisman.
I think I'm going to switch my mana dork package to 4 Noble Hierarch and 3 Boreal Druid.
It's possible adding more mana dorks in a control meta is not the right call for me to make, as in my sideboarded games against blue white, and jeskai, I often cut the talisman and 2 dorks.
I think In making this change I'd have to change my basic lands though. Basic Forest becomes more valuable in this set up. I was considering cutting basic Plains and running 2 Forest and an Island.
Since my last post, I have tested the Gideon's against blue white control and he felt mediocre. (Ill be honest, I didn't test him a whole lot, but I did get to play him a few times.) I have been having a really hard time against blue white control and am still looking to make the match up better. Field of Ruins can be rough, as well as Plainswalkers like Jace and Teferi. I'll be going to a PTTQ on August 28th, and I'm certain there will be a fair amount of control variants. I attended a higher stakes event recently at the same location as to where the PTTQ will be held, and the shop posted a metagame breakdown(see link below) https://www.meta-chart.com/share/modern-pro-series-fire-dice-71418
How am I supposed to board against blue white control and Jeskai Control? Maybe I'm over boarding? my blue white control plan involves
+3 stubborn denial
+2 Disdainful Strokes
+2 Gideons
-1 birds of paradise
-1 talisman of progress
-1 noble hierarch
-2 engineered explosives
-2 path
I Want to have room for some rest in peace and natural states... for Spreading Seas, Search for Azcanta, Detention Sphere, and a Crucible of Worlds I saw from the sideboard.
Maybe avacyn is the thing for me to try.
Also, I noticed this community as of late seems to value a 3rd stony silence over a 3rd rest in peace. I am a bit confused as to why. I don't always want to board in 3 Rest in Peace, but looking at mtg goldfish metagame break down, Id board in 3 against hollow one, Grixus Death Shadow, Mardu Pyromancer, Krark-clan Ironworks, Storm, Dredge, Jund, and some number of them against Jeskai and blue white control.
Santi, I wanted to thank you for your tournament report. It was a lot of fun for me to read your experience with the deck at GP Sao Paulo. I think in the decklist you posted, you said you ran 2 detention spheres in the sideboard, but from reading the tournament write up, I think they were actually Damping Sphere, is that right?
After your tournament, what was your overall opinion on Archangel Avacyn? Good enough to keep in the Mainboard as a 1 of? seems great against cards like supreme verdict and oblivion stone. However, it also seems like the card has potential to backfire on us as well. If our board presence is our lower CMC like noble, skypawner, scions and or displacer, they can kill one thing and wrath our board. Has this happened to you yet? I realize blinking the angel gives the team indestructibility. However, it seems the wrath effect happens on the following turn after indestructibility has worn off. I've been looking for ways to improve my control match up. More so blue white control than Jeskai. Jeskai seems like an ok match up. Archangel Avacyn seems like a reasonable card to consider. I recently put 2 Gidoen, Ally of Zendikar in my sideboard to help with the control match up. I haven't been able to test them yet, but its possible Avavyn is better? Not sure as of yet. And of course, there is always the option for me to play the 4th cavern of souls. I'd just be unsure as of what land to cut.
As for the Aether hubs instead of the pain lands, I like how it opens up space for additional basic lands for blood moon and field of ruin. As a fellow Bant Eldrazi player, I can agree that Blood moon is significantly not fun to play against. My anti blood moon technology is 1 talisman of progress, 5 mana dorks and a basic island (which a lot of lists don't run) I'd like to cut the talisman for a better card, but I don't want to have 0 answers to a resolved blood moon. I can see that there are probably a lot of times where it'd be easy to be color screwed by the Aether hubs though. Especially with running 2 engineered explosives. (which i think is great for us and wouldn't recommend playing less than 2.) For me, I think pain lands are better, but i have never tried the aether hubs myself. In the last few days since posting the report, have you made a decision on what lands you'd play going forward?
Also, after the tournament, do you intend to continue to run 2 damping spheres in the sideboard? seems good against, storm, tron, and kci? but I don't think it has a whole lot of applicability in other match ups? unless I'm forgetting about a deck.
I've never actually tried the boreal Druid, but it has been on my radar as a potential inclusion to our deck.
I have also never tried a total of seven 1 drop mana dorks. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on it after playing it a bit more.
It would appear you are referencing the red green eldrazi list that took 7th place at GP São Paulo.
It continues to perplex me how many Red Green Eldrazi decks put up results in big events, while bant puts up none. My assumption is that there are significantly more players running the Red Green version...Because of the results, it offers players more confidence in making the choice of Red Green over Bant.
Has anybody else here on this forum tried the red green list? I did myself, and it just felt like a worse version of bant to me.
Thoughts?
As for your list racerxen, it looks like your indecisive on negate vs stubborn denial. I prefer stubborn denial because there are plenty of times you can force spike a spell early in the game,(blood moon included) and mid to late game I find I usually have ferocious active. Also, negate can be too slow sometimes in stopping blood moon. Take ponza for example. If you are on the draw, they can have a blood moon cast on their turn 2. In which case you'd only have access to 1 mana, unable to cast negate.
Really it comes down to personal preference on which one is better for your list, but those are my reasons for liking stubborn denial better. I think the 2 disdainful stokes over the 4th and 5th negate effect would serve you well.
I'd also consider some naturalize effects. I'm unsure which one I prefer right now (naturize, natural state, natures claim) the 1 mana destroy enchantment effects are great against blood moon and misc troublesome cards like ensnaring bridge.
Worship for me has been too narrow for me to justify in my list at this point in time. Also, I have never really loved the card, even though some decks can't beat it.
I've always ran 2 grafdiggers cage but it feels pretty narrow as well. Especially with me recently putting a 3rd Rest In Peace in my list maybe I should consider going down to 1 cage. (In general, I really dislike 1 of's in the sideboard because they feel really unlikely to draw them when they are needed, but maybe it's reasonable given ancient Stirrings can find it.) I think I'd really only miss it in the G/W value town deck and vizir combo deck. Possibly in storm as well, but the 3rd Rest In Peace can fill that void. We lose in the elves match up no matter what, cage or no cage, so that feels irrelevant.
I have been testing the new Karn from dominaria and have felt he has been good so far. I have been struggling in the blue white control match up recently and wanted some help in the match up. Karn can be like our taferi, as he draws us an extra card a turn. Not completely sold on him yet, but still in testing
I realized I never commented on playing against Search for Azcanta. In Blue White control lists, it seems a bit easier to handle, as engineered explosives is decent against them. hits spreading seas, detention sphere, and an unflipped Search for Azcanta. In Jeskai, its not as easy because EE comes out. I usually decide to not board in enchantment hate of any sort for the card. Back when i ran ghost quarter, I really enjoyed the card. However i have noticed my mana feels significantly better ever since i changed it out for a 3rd Yavimaya Coast. As it sounds like you are on the Beast Within plan, it seems you have a potential answer to it now.
PokemonTrainer, your list is very similar to mine in that the only mainboard differences being -1 bird of paradise, -1 engineered explosives, +2 matter reshaper. (I also noticed you are still on the two basic forest plan). I like having access to basic island against blood moon decks because its my most valuable basic against them. The birds of paradise could be cut for sure. I run it to increase consistency of turn one mana dork. I have played the third stony silence before and really found it useful against tron specifically. However, in running 3 explosives, I tend to run into the nonbow alot more with the third stony silence in the affinity match up. As you mentioned, Engineered Explosives against affinity is often just as crippling to Affinity players. What match ups do you bring in stony silence for besides Tron varients, Affinity, and now the new KCI deck? seems like three sideboard slots for those three decks may be a bit much? (especially considering I already feel favored against affinity. ..as for KCI, i have no idea, as i haven't had to play it yet)
Celestrial Purge seems reasonable in the meta right now. I'd be hesitant to take out my 1 mana disenchant effect to add in the two mana purge. I find Bant Eldrazi wants to be as proactive as possible and having to leave up two mana anticipating a blood moon often puts us significantly behind. although I do agree it has multiple targets in the modern meta, and its ability to destroy black creatures seems relevant. By the time I got around to replying, it seems like beast within has been the new card being tested. i'd be interested to hear how it performs.
Cpais87, I am always appreciative to having new cards brought to my attention. I wasn't trying to say the new Amulet card you mentioned was bad. I see it's appeal against certain decks like storm where they have to pay one with each copy of grapeshot they use to target you. It resembles the grapeshot smasher interaction. They can target the smasher with it, but unless they want to discard 5 cards, they will just let Smasher stay on the battle field. i do agree with you that i'd play damping sphere before the new amulet though.
People seem to have a tendency to gravitate towards whatever Eldrazi is most popular at a given time. When Eldrazi Tron became popular, people would make comments all the time about how I should just change to the "Good Eldrazi list" ( referring to Eldrazi Tron). And I always thought it was such sheepish thinking. It felt as if one person made the comment about E-tron being strictly better based on popularity, and then everyone else seemed to make similar comments because they had heard it somewhere. I had the pleasure of playing an extremely over confident E-Tron player, who insisted his match up was favorable against Bant Eldrazi. After several games, he found himself reconsidering his thoughts on the match up (this is when i was playing 3 stony silence and 2 blessed alliance.)
To be honest, it's often time to my advantage to be playing such a solid deck that flies under the radar. There have been many times I watch players take out a sheet of notes for sideboard guide help, only to find they didn't prepare for facing Bant Eldrazi in the slightest. The result is they usually have to think back to over a year ago when the deck was prevalent and try and recall how to sideboard. Which often times is incorrect because they expect things like Matter Reshapers which I don't run in my list, and they don't anticipate 3 Engineered Explosives which are great in a lot of match ups.
As far as my tron match up is concerned, trading stubborn denial for negate seems to not provide much difference. I lose the ability to force spike a Karn on turn 3 with a single blue mana,(making it possible to be proactive while still leaving up counter magic) but relinquish the requirement of having to have Ferocious. Beast within seems like a reasonable thing to consider. I have also contemplated Detention Sphere, which seems like it would fill the same purpose as beast within. Also, I agree that damping sphere is a reasonable option for me to include in my list. Tron variants and Storm would be improved, but it leaves me thinking what other match ups would i bring the card in for?
As for Red Green Eldrazi, I'm a huge fan of thought knot, reality smasher, noble hierarch, and ancient Stirrings, I was pretty quick to try the list out. Prior to colorless being a thing and prior to Eldrazi, Red Green was my favorite color combination. I love ramping into big things and turning my team sideways. Part of me thought I was going to love Red Green Eldrazi. However, in comparison to Bant, it feels quite a bit weaker to me in the expected meta. Some of moderns most prevalent decks seem to be bad match ups, Affinity and Burn included. Also a 3/1 haste for 3 mana feels pretty bad most of the time in my experiance. It has its moments where it'll steal a Goyf or an opposing smasher or even an ulamog in tron, but so many times i cast it, i felt it was very underpowered in a modern format. It can be traded with things as weak as a memnite, as well as an elemental or spirit token.
Even though its been more popular as of late, I think its just due to number of players playing the deck, resulting in more decklists showing up online.
Last thing to comment on is Amulet of Safekeeping. I do not think this card will make it to my list because its not a reliant method of hexproof. the opponent can pay one, and still use there spells. also, it shuts out all the power of my 1/1 scions made from eldrazi skyspawner and drowner of hope.
In fact, M19 is potentially really damaging to us Eldrazi players because of the printing of Infernal Reckoning. My hope is that the card will be too narrow for people to use as a reasonable sideboard card.
The list I took to Vegas was almost identical to the list I used to top 8 SCG Regionals back in November of 2017. Only differences were a few sideboard cards.
This was my Exact 75 I took to Vegas http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=19101&d=320543&f=MO
Post GP Vegas, I have decided to take out both Leyline of Sanctity and my Flash freeze, and I replaced them with an additional Rest in Peace(3 total), an additional disdainful stroke(2 total), and a 1 of Blessed Alliance. My reasoning is because I felt the Flash Freeze was fairly narrow. I like the card against Green White Value town, elves, Druid combo, Scapeshift, Burn, Ponza, and Bant Knightfall or Bant company. I originally didn't like 2 Disdainful Strokes because I felt 2 was too narrow against control often only hitting cryptic command. The meta has changed a bit since the unbannings and I think I am just now starting to partially adapt to the new meta. The third rest in peace is for the prevalence of Mardu Pyromaster, Hollow One, and now that the KCI deck won GP Vegas, I figured I'd want the extra graveyard hate. Plus Bant Eldrazi has always been weak to combo. Most combos seem to use the graveyard some way or another.
Also, I wanted the cards to play a similar role to the cards I was removing. Leyline of Sanctity was to give me some cards to bring in against Scapeshift, Jund, Mardu Pyromaster, Storm and Burn, as i felt at a time they were all bad match ups at a time. However, after playing in GP Vegas, I think I struggled most with Mardu Pyromaster, Hollow one, Eldrazi Tron (Even though i won the match) and my Green tron match up felt awful. The 2nd disdainful stroke will help against Green Tron and Eldrazi tron (provided they don't have a cavern of souls. Which was also a reason i didn't like 2 Strokes in the board for a long time) The blessed alliance is to put back a card in my sideboard to mostly target burn. In taking out my Leyline of Sanctity, and my Flashfreeze, I lost 3 sideboard cards for burn, and I wanted to put something back in that slot. I used to run one main board Blessed Alliance and loved the card, but my list was very tight and I felt I didn't have room for it at some point in time. Plus blessed alliance is great against control. It Feels great to have a single card against control that can stop a colonnade, or cryptic. (make them sacrifice colonnade, and with cryptic, let them tap your team, then untap the two best creatures on your board with blessed alliance.)
The only thing I have been on the fence about has been my Natural States. Unsure if they should be Natures Claims to target exactly Hollow One and Krark-Clan Ironworks. My dilemma is that I don't want to change to Natures Claim and slightly improve those match ups, and in every other match up, i give my opponent a free 4 life when i otherwise don't need to with natural state. I am also very hesitant to play a 2 Mana enchantment removal card.
Took my beloved Bant Eldrazi to the GP Vegas and ended with a record of 10-4-1. Took 143rd place out of 2,779 players. Even though Bant Eldrazi hasn't been very popular, I still feel its a fine choice in the current meta. In case anybody is still reading this forum, I'll list what my match ups were at the GP.
Match 1: Bye (Enough Planeswalker points to qualify for 1 bye)
Match 2: Affinity (2-0) WIN ..... had Displacer Drowner lock both games
Match 3: Jeskai Control (2-1) WIN
Match 4: Jund (2-1) WIN
Match 5: Eldrazi Tron (2-1) WIN ...Very grindy games. Certain points of the game felt unwinnable. Back to back Drowner's got me there though. I was scared about getting a game loss in this round, as I got my decklist checked, and they didn't have a decklist on file for me. It was the first time I had ever registered my list online. Turns out I had submitted my decklist to the GP phoenix from a few months ago. Because i was able to show them a deck registration number that was emailed to me, it didn't result in a game loss.
Match 6: Ponza (2-1) WIN ...game one kept an opening hand with Noble Hierarch and Talisman of Progress. He ran a no bolt list so my noble lasted the whole game. talisman gave me colorless and blood moon was laughably bad in game one. game 3 he kept a turn 3 blood moon on the draw, which was just way to slow against bant eldrazi. I had multiple skyspawners out and pecked him to death.
Match 7: Hollow One (0-2) LOSE .....Kept an opening hand with 1 land (green mana,) 2 noble hierarchs, an ancient stirrings, eldrazi displacer, and some other things. He goes turn one Burning Inquiry. I draw three cards. Among them is an Eldrazi Temple. My hand now has 10 cards in it, and two lands. we discard the cards, and i look in horror as i see both my lands in the graveyard. I draw a card, and have to move to discard. I drew a land on my second turn, but damage was already done and i lost game one. I dont recall game 2 too well, but it was a swift loss.
Match 8: Blue Moon (1-1-1) DRAW ..... game two was really long. I could of conceded for time sake, but I had outs to his Platinum Emperion in 2 remaining path to exiles in my deck.
Match 9: Ponza (2-1) WIN.......My opponent was late to the first round in day 2 and recieved a game one game loss. he beat me game 2, and i got him game 3 resulting in a match win
Match 10: Jeskai Control (2-1) WIN.....Game three he took a mulligan to 5 and i took a mulligan to six, kept a hand of 2 Eldrazi temple, 2 stubborn denial, Misty Rainforest and Brushland. painfully scryed a cavern of souls to the bottom. I drew into eldrazi displacer and smasher. and my 2 stubborn denials hit a path targeting my reality smasher, which was a blow out, as he got two for one'd on a mulligan to 5. then i untapped and he cyrptic commanded into my other stubborn denial, and i swong for lethal.
Match 11: MonoGreen Tron (0-2) LOSE.... the game felt unwinnable. I had birds of paradise, displacer and cast a thought knot, revealing a hand of Oblivion stone, ugin, fog, fog. He had tron online and I had to choose Ugin, or he gets an opportunity to ultimate Ugin with the two fogs in hand. He wraths my board with oblivion stone, and I can never catch up. Game two he assembled tron turn 3 and his draws were just more powerful than mine.
How have the Boreal Druids been working? I have the opportunity to go to a PTTQ this weekend and I was thinking about increasing my number of turn 1 mana accelerants. I currently play 5 mana dorks and a talisman.
I think I'm going to switch my mana dork package to 4 Noble Hierarch and 3 Boreal Druid.
It's possible adding more mana dorks in a control meta is not the right call for me to make, as in my sideboarded games against blue white, and jeskai, I often cut the talisman and 2 dorks.
I think In making this change I'd have to change my basic lands though. Basic Forest becomes more valuable in this set up. I was considering cutting basic Plains and running 2 Forest and an Island.
https://www.meta-chart.com/share/modern-pro-series-fire-dice-71418
I expect similar decks to show up at the PTTQ.
my current decklist (also, to include a 4th cavern of souls, what is the correct land to cut from the deck?)
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/26-12-16-OEE-bant-eldrazi/
How am I supposed to board against blue white control and Jeskai Control? Maybe I'm over boarding? my blue white control plan involves
+3 stubborn denial
+2 Disdainful Strokes
+2 Gideons
-1 birds of paradise
-1 talisman of progress
-1 noble hierarch
-2 engineered explosives
-2 path
I Want to have room for some rest in peace and natural states... for Spreading Seas, Search for Azcanta, Detention Sphere, and a Crucible of Worlds I saw from the sideboard.
Maybe avacyn is the thing for me to try.
Also, I noticed this community as of late seems to value a 3rd stony silence over a 3rd rest in peace. I am a bit confused as to why. I don't always want to board in 3 Rest in Peace, but looking at mtg goldfish metagame break down, Id board in 3 against hollow one, Grixus Death Shadow, Mardu Pyromancer, Krark-clan Ironworks, Storm, Dredge, Jund, and some number of them against Jeskai and blue white control.
Any feedback is much appreciated.
After your tournament, what was your overall opinion on Archangel Avacyn? Good enough to keep in the Mainboard as a 1 of? seems great against cards like supreme verdict and oblivion stone. However, it also seems like the card has potential to backfire on us as well. If our board presence is our lower CMC like noble, skypawner, scions and or displacer, they can kill one thing and wrath our board. Has this happened to you yet? I realize blinking the angel gives the team indestructibility. However, it seems the wrath effect happens on the following turn after indestructibility has worn off. I've been looking for ways to improve my control match up. More so blue white control than Jeskai. Jeskai seems like an ok match up. Archangel Avacyn seems like a reasonable card to consider. I recently put 2 Gidoen, Ally of Zendikar in my sideboard to help with the control match up. I haven't been able to test them yet, but its possible Avavyn is better? Not sure as of yet. And of course, there is always the option for me to play the 4th cavern of souls. I'd just be unsure as of what land to cut.
As for the Aether hubs instead of the pain lands, I like how it opens up space for additional basic lands for blood moon and field of ruin. As a fellow Bant Eldrazi player, I can agree that Blood moon is significantly not fun to play against. My anti blood moon technology is 1 talisman of progress, 5 mana dorks and a basic island (which a lot of lists don't run) I'd like to cut the talisman for a better card, but I don't want to have 0 answers to a resolved blood moon. I can see that there are probably a lot of times where it'd be easy to be color screwed by the Aether hubs though. Especially with running 2 engineered explosives. (which i think is great for us and wouldn't recommend playing less than 2.) For me, I think pain lands are better, but i have never tried the aether hubs myself. In the last few days since posting the report, have you made a decision on what lands you'd play going forward?
Also, after the tournament, do you intend to continue to run 2 damping spheres in the sideboard? seems good against, storm, tron, and kci? but I don't think it has a whole lot of applicability in other match ups? unless I'm forgetting about a deck.
I have also never tried a total of seven 1 drop mana dorks. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on it after playing it a bit more.
It would appear you are referencing the red green eldrazi list that took 7th place at GP São Paulo.
It continues to perplex me how many Red Green Eldrazi decks put up results in big events, while bant puts up none. My assumption is that there are significantly more players running the Red Green version...Because of the results, it offers players more confidence in making the choice of Red Green over Bant.
Has anybody else here on this forum tried the red green list? I did myself, and it just felt like a worse version of bant to me.
Thoughts?
As for your list racerxen, it looks like your indecisive on negate vs stubborn denial. I prefer stubborn denial because there are plenty of times you can force spike a spell early in the game,(blood moon included) and mid to late game I find I usually have ferocious active. Also, negate can be too slow sometimes in stopping blood moon. Take ponza for example. If you are on the draw, they can have a blood moon cast on their turn 2. In which case you'd only have access to 1 mana, unable to cast negate.
Really it comes down to personal preference on which one is better for your list, but those are my reasons for liking stubborn denial better. I think the 2 disdainful stokes over the 4th and 5th negate effect would serve you well.
I'd also consider some naturalize effects. I'm unsure which one I prefer right now (naturize, natural state, natures claim) the 1 mana destroy enchantment effects are great against blood moon and misc troublesome cards like ensnaring bridge.
Worship for me has been too narrow for me to justify in my list at this point in time. Also, I have never really loved the card, even though some decks can't beat it.
I've always ran 2 grafdiggers cage but it feels pretty narrow as well. Especially with me recently putting a 3rd Rest In Peace in my list maybe I should consider going down to 1 cage. (In general, I really dislike 1 of's in the sideboard because they feel really unlikely to draw them when they are needed, but maybe it's reasonable given ancient Stirrings can find it.) I think I'd really only miss it in the G/W value town deck and vizir combo deck. Possibly in storm as well, but the 3rd Rest In Peace can fill that void. We lose in the elves match up no matter what, cage or no cage, so that feels irrelevant.
I have been testing the new Karn from dominaria and have felt he has been good so far. I have been struggling in the blue white control match up recently and wanted some help in the match up. Karn can be like our taferi, as he draws us an extra card a turn. Not completely sold on him yet, but still in testing
Celestrial Purge seems reasonable in the meta right now. I'd be hesitant to take out my 1 mana disenchant effect to add in the two mana purge. I find Bant Eldrazi wants to be as proactive as possible and having to leave up two mana anticipating a blood moon often puts us significantly behind. although I do agree it has multiple targets in the modern meta, and its ability to destroy black creatures seems relevant. By the time I got around to replying, it seems like beast within has been the new card being tested. i'd be interested to hear how it performs.
Cpais87, I am always appreciative to having new cards brought to my attention. I wasn't trying to say the new Amulet card you mentioned was bad. I see it's appeal against certain decks like storm where they have to pay one with each copy of grapeshot they use to target you. It resembles the grapeshot smasher interaction. They can target the smasher with it, but unless they want to discard 5 cards, they will just let Smasher stay on the battle field. i do agree with you that i'd play damping sphere before the new amulet though.
To be honest, it's often time to my advantage to be playing such a solid deck that flies under the radar. There have been many times I watch players take out a sheet of notes for sideboard guide help, only to find they didn't prepare for facing Bant Eldrazi in the slightest. The result is they usually have to think back to over a year ago when the deck was prevalent and try and recall how to sideboard. Which often times is incorrect because they expect things like Matter Reshapers which I don't run in my list, and they don't anticipate 3 Engineered Explosives which are great in a lot of match ups.
As far as my tron match up is concerned, trading stubborn denial for negate seems to not provide much difference. I lose the ability to force spike a Karn on turn 3 with a single blue mana,(making it possible to be proactive while still leaving up counter magic) but relinquish the requirement of having to have Ferocious. Beast within seems like a reasonable thing to consider. I have also contemplated Detention Sphere, which seems like it would fill the same purpose as beast within. Also, I agree that damping sphere is a reasonable option for me to include in my list. Tron variants and Storm would be improved, but it leaves me thinking what other match ups would i bring the card in for?
As for Red Green Eldrazi, I'm a huge fan of thought knot, reality smasher, noble hierarch, and ancient Stirrings, I was pretty quick to try the list out. Prior to colorless being a thing and prior to Eldrazi, Red Green was my favorite color combination. I love ramping into big things and turning my team sideways. Part of me thought I was going to love Red Green Eldrazi. However, in comparison to Bant, it feels quite a bit weaker to me in the expected meta. Some of moderns most prevalent decks seem to be bad match ups, Affinity and Burn included. Also a 3/1 haste for 3 mana feels pretty bad most of the time in my experiance. It has its moments where it'll steal a Goyf or an opposing smasher or even an ulamog in tron, but so many times i cast it, i felt it was very underpowered in a modern format. It can be traded with things as weak as a memnite, as well as an elemental or spirit token.
Even though its been more popular as of late, I think its just due to number of players playing the deck, resulting in more decklists showing up online.
Last thing to comment on is Amulet of Safekeeping. I do not think this card will make it to my list because its not a reliant method of hexproof. the opponent can pay one, and still use there spells. also, it shuts out all the power of my 1/1 scions made from eldrazi skyspawner and drowner of hope.
In fact, M19 is potentially really damaging to us Eldrazi players because of the printing of Infernal Reckoning. My hope is that the card will be too narrow for people to use as a reasonable sideboard card.
This was my Exact 75 I took to Vegas
http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=19101&d=320543&f=MO
Post GP Vegas, I have decided to take out both Leyline of Sanctity and my Flash freeze, and I replaced them with an additional Rest in Peace(3 total), an additional disdainful stroke(2 total), and a 1 of Blessed Alliance. My reasoning is because I felt the Flash Freeze was fairly narrow. I like the card against Green White Value town, elves, Druid combo, Scapeshift, Burn, Ponza, and Bant Knightfall or Bant company. I originally didn't like 2 Disdainful Strokes because I felt 2 was too narrow against control often only hitting cryptic command. The meta has changed a bit since the unbannings and I think I am just now starting to partially adapt to the new meta. The third rest in peace is for the prevalence of Mardu Pyromaster, Hollow One, and now that the KCI deck won GP Vegas, I figured I'd want the extra graveyard hate. Plus Bant Eldrazi has always been weak to combo. Most combos seem to use the graveyard some way or another.
Also, I wanted the cards to play a similar role to the cards I was removing. Leyline of Sanctity was to give me some cards to bring in against Scapeshift, Jund, Mardu Pyromaster, Storm and Burn, as i felt at a time they were all bad match ups at a time. However, after playing in GP Vegas, I think I struggled most with Mardu Pyromaster, Hollow one, Eldrazi Tron (Even though i won the match) and my Green tron match up felt awful. The 2nd disdainful stroke will help against Green Tron and Eldrazi tron (provided they don't have a cavern of souls. Which was also a reason i didn't like 2 Strokes in the board for a long time) The blessed alliance is to put back a card in my sideboard to mostly target burn. In taking out my Leyline of Sanctity, and my Flashfreeze, I lost 3 sideboard cards for burn, and I wanted to put something back in that slot. I used to run one main board Blessed Alliance and loved the card, but my list was very tight and I felt I didn't have room for it at some point in time. Plus blessed alliance is great against control. It Feels great to have a single card against control that can stop a colonnade, or cryptic. (make them sacrifice colonnade, and with cryptic, let them tap your team, then untap the two best creatures on your board with blessed alliance.)
My list going forward is as follows
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/26-12-16-OEE-bant-eldrazi/?cb=1529484809
The only thing I have been on the fence about has been my Natural States. Unsure if they should be Natures Claims to target exactly Hollow One and Krark-Clan Ironworks. My dilemma is that I don't want to change to Natures Claim and slightly improve those match ups, and in every other match up, i give my opponent a free 4 life when i otherwise don't need to with natural state. I am also very hesitant to play a 2 Mana enchantment removal card.
Match 1: Bye (Enough Planeswalker points to qualify for 1 bye)
Match 2: Affinity (2-0) WIN ..... had Displacer Drowner lock both games
Match 3: Jeskai Control (2-1) WIN
Match 4: Jund (2-1) WIN
Match 5: Eldrazi Tron (2-1) WIN ...Very grindy games. Certain points of the game felt unwinnable. Back to back Drowner's got me there though. I was scared about getting a game loss in this round, as I got my decklist checked, and they didn't have a decklist on file for me. It was the first time I had ever registered my list online. Turns out I had submitted my decklist to the GP phoenix from a few months ago. Because i was able to show them a deck registration number that was emailed to me, it didn't result in a game loss.
Match 6: Ponza (2-1) WIN ...game one kept an opening hand with Noble Hierarch and Talisman of Progress. He ran a no bolt list so my noble lasted the whole game. talisman gave me colorless and blood moon was laughably bad in game one. game 3 he kept a turn 3 blood moon on the draw, which was just way to slow against bant eldrazi. I had multiple skyspawners out and pecked him to death.
Match 7: Hollow One (0-2) LOSE .....Kept an opening hand with 1 land (green mana,) 2 noble hierarchs, an ancient stirrings, eldrazi displacer, and some other things. He goes turn one Burning Inquiry. I draw three cards. Among them is an Eldrazi Temple. My hand now has 10 cards in it, and two lands. we discard the cards, and i look in horror as i see both my lands in the graveyard. I draw a card, and have to move to discard. I drew a land on my second turn, but damage was already done and i lost game one. I dont recall game 2 too well, but it was a swift loss.
Match 8: Blue Moon (1-1-1) DRAW ..... game two was really long. I could of conceded for time sake, but I had outs to his Platinum Emperion in 2 remaining path to exiles in my deck.
Match 9: Ponza (2-1) WIN.......My opponent was late to the first round in day 2 and recieved a game one game loss. he beat me game 2, and i got him game 3 resulting in a match win
Match 10: Jeskai Control (2-1) WIN.....Game three he took a mulligan to 5 and i took a mulligan to six, kept a hand of 2 Eldrazi temple, 2 stubborn denial, Misty Rainforest and Brushland. painfully scryed a cavern of souls to the bottom. I drew into eldrazi displacer and smasher. and my 2 stubborn denials hit a path targeting my reality smasher, which was a blow out, as he got two for one'd on a mulligan to 5. then i untapped and he cyrptic commanded into my other stubborn denial, and i swong for lethal.
Match 11: MonoGreen Tron (0-2) LOSE.... the game felt unwinnable. I had birds of paradise, displacer and cast a thought knot, revealing a hand of Oblivion stone, ugin, fog, fog. He had tron online and I had to choose Ugin, or he gets an opportunity to ultimate Ugin with the two fogs in hand. He wraths my board with oblivion stone, and I can never catch up. Game two he assembled tron turn 3 and his draws were just more powerful than mine.
Match 12:Blue White Ctrl (1-2) LOSE
Match 13: Mardu Pyromaster (1-2) LOSE
Match 14: Blue White Ctrl (2-0) WIN
Match 15: Jund (2-0) WIN