Fortune’s Favor is Our Eldritch Moon Preview!

Fortune's Favor
Fortune’s Favor is a nuanced new card from Eldritch Moon. Where does Top Level Podcast think it will find a home?

Fortune’s Favor has a ton of stuff going on:

  1. This card is way — way — better than Inspiration. Even if you take an [inferior] face-up pile, that is just as many cards as Inspiration… And you will be putting more cards in your graveyard. Remember: Inspiration was close to good enough (if not good enough) for Standard for years.
  2. Bluffing! Mike thinks this is a great articulation of bluffing in Magic; sometimes you’re going to have to give the opponent a truly great pile, but if you play this card right, you can tie the opponent in knots.
  3. We don’t think there is a single, consistent algorithm for splitting Fortune’s Favor piles. Patrick thinks one of his default splits will be three up / one down (with the one being the best card sometimes, the worst card sometimes, and something else sometimes). He wants to dare the opponent to take the face-down one!
  4. This card will make it super easy for some decks to get Delirium. Mike thinks that cards like Descend Upon the Sinful will come online quickly thanks to Fortune’s Favor, enabling two-color control decks in Standard. A turn six or seven Emrakul, the Promised End will also be trivial to set up.
  5. You can always get a pretty good tonnage of cards. Want two cards? If you don’t care what they are, you’ll even get three sometimes.

Where can Fortune’s Favor go? Here are some ideas:

  • A Blue Skies deck… Fortune’s Favor can play best buddies with Docent of Perfection or Niblis of Frost, enabling them to out-pace even great offenses.
  • (Like we said)… A U/x control deck; could be U/W, B/U or something else.
  • A B/U Zombie deck; Eldritch Moon presents too many recursion or value opportunities for us to ignore this awesome line! Use Fortune’s Favor to fuel Haunted Dead or Gisa and Geralf for more and more card advantage.

      • Find out even more at “Fortune’s Favor is Our Eldritch Moon Preview!”

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Gisela, the Broken Blade and Meld Mania

Gisela, the Broken Blade
Gisela, the Broken Blade is just fine on her own… But still a hell of a Meld card

Top Level Podcast is mad about Meld this week!

The headliner is obviously Gisela, the Broken Blade — an excellent creature in her own right — and also a great combination with not just her natural pair (Bruna, the Fading Light)… But also new “Indrik Stomphowler” [and Mike’s favorite card in Eldritch Moon so far], Thalia’s Lancers:

Thalia's Lancers
Because they are both legendary creatures, Thalia’s Lancers can set up either half of the Gisela-Bruna Meld combo.

bruna-the-fading-light
While the obvious synergy is to return a dead Gisela, the Fading Light to play (setting up the Meld) [and let’s be honest, people will be mad about killing your Gisela], because it is a human, you can instead return your Thalia’s Lancers to the battlefield… Which can then go and get another copy of Gisela, the Broken Blade anyway.

The mad thing about these Meld cards? So many are just great cards on their own!

Consider the Township twins…

Hanweir Garrison Hanweir Battlements

Hanweir Garrison is just a great threat… It’s very “Goblin Rabblemaster” if you take our meaning.

Hanweir Battlements is a land a ton of different decks would all want to play! Can you imagine a Gruul Ramp deck that played one copy? Holy hasty Dragonlord Atarka, am I right? How about finding a singleton copy with your Ulvenwald Hydra? I’d imagine you can imagine some creatures you might want to give haste to.

Patrick and Michael go over not just Gisela, the Broken Blade but all the Meld combinations so far, as well as a smattering of newly spoiled, additional, Eldritch Moon cards.

Check it all out in “Gisela, the Broken Blade and Meld Mania”:

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Emrakul, the Promised End and the Beginning of Spoiler Season

Emrakul, the Promised End
Emrakul, the Promised End highlights the beginning of Eldritch Moon spoiler season

Here’s the thing about the new Emrakul… It says “13” in the top-right, but that is a trick! Emrakul is all about being cast for less than 13 mana. So even though you might be able to take advantage of bonuses based on high converted mana costs, you won’t necessarily have to pay the full amount to get Emrakul on the battlefield. Here are some examples:

Sorin, Grim Nemesis can reveal Emrakul to deal a huge thirteen points to the opponent… But when it actually comes time to cast her, Emrakul might cost just seven or so mana (say your graveyard is full of Dead Weight; Transgress the Mind; Anguished Unmaking; Gideon, Ally of Zendikar; Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet; and Evolving Wilds)… That will only make for seven mana!

  • Dead Weight = enchantment
  • Transgress the Mind = sorcery
  • Anguished Unmaking = instant
  • Gideon, Ally of Zendikar = planeswalker
  • Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet = creature
  • Evolving Wilds = land

Patrick and Michael spend a good part of the podcast thinking up cool, goofy, or actually powerful things you can do with Emrakul, the Promised End; for example “Dark Petition up Emrakul, discard her to Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy (or Nahiri the Harbinger), put her back on top of my library with Mortuary Mire, and then reveal her for thirteen with Sorin, Grim Nemesis.

Of course just playing Sorin and Emrakul in the same deck gives you a way to win any game [that you did seven damage] out of nowhere.


Note:
Unfortunately (and this will happen with new cards sometimes) Patrick conflates the abilities of Sanctum of Ugin and Conduit of Ruin. Sanctum of Ugin puts a card into your hand, not on top of your library. Sorry! We’ll get ’em next time. Many of the ideas are still worth chewing on, though.

We also discuss new cards Coax from the Blind Eternities and Ulrich of the Krallenhorde. How does Ulrich compare with Standard staple Goblin Dark-Dwellers? You might be surprised at our take.

In a Top Level Podcast first (kinda like this week’s Cleveland Cavaliers first), Patrick and Michael switch gears later on to talk the NBA. Topics include:

  • “The Jon Finkel criteria”
  • How tall is Kevin Durant? How tall does he claim to be?
  • Who are the best five players in 2016?
  • What year would you pick an all-time five from (if not 2016)?
  • You know, and a ton Ton TON of Magic: The Gathering at 1:47 this week!

The NBA, Werewolves, and the Eldrazi aplenty in “Emrakul, the Promised End and the Beginning of Spoiler Season”:

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Mike’s Mini-Deck Doctor

Thrull Surgeon

It’s time for the first Top Level Podcast Deck Doctor episode!

Our Patrons probably already know this, but one of the higher level rewards on our Patreon page is “mini-deck doctor” … So in anticipation for that cool feature coming up — and in the tradition of “Mike’s Do-Nothing Naya Deck” (“That deck actually did everything, not nothing!” -Mike), Patrick unleashes his Innovations on a couple of Mike’s current Standard decks.

Up first: Rakdos Midrange

3 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
4 Goblin Dark-Dwellers

1 Ob Nixilis, Reignited
1 Chandra Flamecaller

1 Dark Petition
4 Read the Bones
2 Transgress the Mind
4 Tormenting Voice

4 Fiery Impulse
4 Grasp of Darkness
1 Ultimate Price
3 Ruinous Path
2 Kolaghan’s Command

4 Blighted Fen
4 Drownyard Temple
4 Foreboding Ruins
4 Mountain
4 Smoldering Marsh
6 Swamp

sb:
4 Reality Smasher
1 Dark Petition
1 Duress
2 Grip of Desolation
1 Infinite Obliteration
3 Languish
1 Ob Nixilis, Reignited
1 Ruinous Path
1 Virulent Plague

“Have you ever Pyromancers Goggle’d a Kolaghan’s Command?”
-Patrick

Doctor Patrick’s Notes:

  • There are no sweepers; which seems terrible in the current Standard metagame
  • With main-deck Dark Petition, the deck should have at least one Languish
  • Another good main deck sweeper is Kozilek’s Return (especially if Saito’s U/R Flying deck is popular)
  • Three copies of Ruinous Path is too low… You’d play five if you could (and B/W decks do!)
  • Eight colorless lands is not super realistic; the deck either has to find a way to play more colorless lands (possibly with an Evolving Wilds package) or far, far fewer
  • The advantage of going two colors is great mana — twelve sources of red and only fourteen sources of black do not make this deck a favorite for Grasp of Darkness or third-turn Ruinous Path
  • Playing more colored lands will likely make Reality Smasher impossible to sideboard consistently… “colorless is a color”

Deck 2: Selesnya Ramp

3 Secure the Wastes

3 Oath of Nissa
4 Ruin in their Wake
3 Nissa’s Pilgrimage
3 Explosive Vegetation

3 Dromoka’s Command

1 Season’s Past

4 Sylvan Advocate
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
4 Tireless Tracker
4 Ulvenwald Hydra
1 World Breaker
1 Dragonlord Dromoka

1 Drownyard Temple
4 Evolving Wilds
9 Forest
4 Fortified Village
1 Wastes
1 Plains
1 Mirrorpool
3 Westvale Abbey

sb:
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Secure the Wastes
3 World Breaker
1 Dragonlord Dromoka
4 Reality Smasher
1 Seasons Past
3 Clip Wings
1 Dromoka’s Command

“I think ‘Selesnya Ramp’ is a weird way to describe your Tokens deck.”
-Patrick

Doctor Patrick’s Notes:

  • Ulvenwald Hydra is a weird top of the curve… You’re not really ramping to anything bigger
  • This deck does make bigger Tireless Trackers than anyone else
  • Cut Drownyard Temple! … Nobody runs out of land for World Breaker
  • This deck has almost no removal, isn’t fast, has no permission or discard, isn’t the biggest, and doesn’t draw the most cards

There you have it! Our first Deck Doctor episode! To learn how to get your ideas featured in a future Deck Doctor, check out our Patreon page.

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Probably Playing Karakas

Karakas
Double topics this week… We start on Standard, but then uncover why Patrick is probably playing Karakas in Legacy.

G/W had another big week (especially with Number One Seth Manfield taking down Grand Prix Costa Rica) but the coolest new technology appeared in the hands of Tom “the Boss” Ross:

R/W Humans by Tom Ross

2 Anointer of Champions
2 Consul’s Lieutenant
4 Dragon Hunter
4 Expedition Envoy
4 Knight of the White Orchid
4 Thalia’s Lieutenant
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Town Gossipmonger
3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros

4 Always Watching
3 Gryff’s Boon
4 Declaration in Stone

14 Plains
4 Battlefield Forge

Sideboard:
3 Hanweir Militia Captain
4 Reckless Bushwhacker
1 Gryff’s Boon
1 Silkwrap
2 Stasis Snare
4 Needle Spires

To the surprise of no one, Tom Ross hit #SCGATL with “eighteen Plains” … or rather, fourteen Plains and four copies of Battlefield Forge. Those Battlefield Forges do act as (painful) Plains main deck, but don’t have much immediate reason to tap for red.

After sideboarding, Tom brings in four copies of Needle Spires. This is nothing new… The post-sideboard version of R/W Humans wants to go up to twenty-two lands as it increases costs. Battlefield Forge and Needle Spires get along well, of course, with one powering up the other.

But why go up to twenty-two lands to begin with? So many of these white Humans decks side in Gideon (which is much more expensive than anything in Tom’s main)… But Tom didn’t play Gideon at all!

If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense. The B/W Control deck has plenty of cards like Ruinous Path and Anguished Unmaking to handle Gideon; Tom figured out to attack the format at a different angle. Instead of Gideon he brought in an actual red card, Reckless Bushwhacker.

Basically, Tom comes in swinging as hard as possible to begin with. Bam bam bam one drops et cetera. The opponent is expected to hit a sweeper…

And then Tom waits.

And waits.

And waits as he fills his hand.

After sufficient resource repair, Tom can send up a massive turn based on dropping all the power in his hand and finishing with Reckless Bushwhacker. Probably for lethal.

Further in the Standard section…

  • Updates to Saito’s flying deck
  • Why would you ever want to play Invocation of St. Traft?
  • How to exploit a metagame where there are two fewer removal cards per deck?
  • How to increase the mana consistency of U/R Eldrazi

We then switch gears to do a little Legacy brewing for this week’s upcoming Grand Prix.

Will Patrick play a deck with Jace, the Mind Sculptor or one with Cavern of Souls? One thing is sure: His deck will be able to return a legendary creature to its owners hand!

Listen to “Probably Playing Karakas” to find out:

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Izzet Time to Go Rogue?

brutal-expulsion

G/W Tokens was once again the deck of the weekend, winning not one but two Grand Prix tournaments on opposite sides of the Atlantic on the same day! But… Izzet time to to rogue?

We are so wealthy with awesome new builds and ideas that both Patrick and Michael loved a Shivan Reef deck best… and they weren’t even the same list.

But before we get to those let’s take a moment to tip our hats to Hall of Famer Raph Levy with his umpteenth Grand Prix title and a hell of a G/W Tokens list:

G/W (Red!) Tokens by Raphael Levy

4 Archangel Avacyn
4 Hangarback Walker
2 Lambholt Pacifist
4 Sylvan Advocate

2 Chandra, Flamecaller
4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
4 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar

4 Dromoka’s Command
1 Evolutionary Leap
4 Oath of Nissa
2 Stasis Snare

4 Canopy Vista
7 Forest
4 Fortified Village
7 Plains
3 Westvale Abbey

SIDEBOARD
1 Angelic Purge
2 Clip Wings
1 Declaration in Stone
3 Den Protector
1 Evolutionary Leap
2 Hallowed Moonlight
2 Planar Outburst
1 Silkwrap
2 Tragic Arrogance

That’s right! Green-white… Red? And that pair of Chandras can be cast only via Oath of Nissa. Boom.

So how about those Izzet decks? Patrick’s pick:

U/R Ulamog by Matthew Hunt

3 Drowner of Hope
3 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

2 Chandra, Flamecaller
2 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets

2 Anticipate
1 Brutal Expulsion
4 Clash of Wills
1 Confirm Suspicions
1 Epiphany at the Drownyard
4 Hedron Archive
2 Kozilek’s Return
4 Spatial Contortion
4 Void Shatter

4 Highland Lake
5 Island
4 Mage-Ring Network
4 Shivan Reef
4 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
2 Spawning Bed
4 Wandering Fumarole

SIDEBOARD
1 Drowner of Hope
2 Fevered Visions
2 Fiery Impulse
2 Kozilek’s Return
2 Negate
3 Reality Smasher
1 Roast
1 Ruin Processor
1 Warping Wail

Patrick details many cool acceleration and Eldrazi Scions interactions in Hunt’s deck. This is a deck that is chock full of technology!

Like… Why does a deck that can tap for red play Spacial Contortion instead of Fiery Impulse or Draconic Roar? How cool is a deck that taps “out” for Hedron Archive… And then Warping Wails your incoming Infinite Obliteration? Boom boom.

Here’s MichaelJ’s favorite Izzet deck of the week:

Izzet Flying by Tomoharu Saito

4 Dimensional Infiltrator
4 Goldnight Castigator
4 Rattlechains
4 Stratus Dancer

4 Clash of Wills
4 Exquisite Firecraft
4 Fevered Visions
4 Fiery Impulse
4 Spell Shrivel

7 Island
9 Mountain
4 Shivan Reef
4 Wandering Fumarole

SIDEBOARD
4 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
4 Negate
4 Roast
3 Seismic Rupture

“Seismic Rupture hits non-flyers. Then Goblin Dark-Dwellers gets Seismic Rupture back.”
-Patrick

“Immune!”
-Mike

Take a look at that for a second. Saito basically has twelve copies of Welkin Tern. Sure Rattlechains can hook up Rattlechains once in a Blue Moon and there are a couple of Shivan Reefs for Dimensional Infiltrator… But a lot of the time, that Stratus Dancer is going to hit the table face up.

Between Fevered Visions and Exotic Firecraft Saito has good reach; and between Fevered Visions and Goldnight Castigator he has outstanding planeswalker defense. This deck is the hottest; and the coolest!

What do you guys think? Which is the best Shivan Reef deck? And Izzet time to go rogue? Find out!

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“Innovate” by Tha Gatherin – http://bit.ly/thagatherin

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Goblin Dark-Dwellers in Modern and Beyond!

Goblin Dark-Dwellers
Goblin Dark-Dwellers… Standard standout and now cross-format All-Star!

Goblin Dark-Dwellers has been a solid Standard performer almost since its first appearance in Oath of the Gatewatch. But with the recent adjustments to the Modern metagame — away from Eldrazi and loosening the fetters on Ancestral Vision — the menacing five drop has come front and center in that larger format, too.

So… Patrick didn’t play any kind of The Gitrog Monster deck at Grand Prix LA… But he did open up 8-0 with the first of this week’s Goblin Dark-Dwellers decks:

Michael Majors-esque Grixis by Patrick Chapin

2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

3 Ancestral Vision
2 Dreadbore
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Kolaghan’s Command
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Mana Leak
4 Serum Visions
2 Spell Snare
2 Terminate
1 Thought Scour

2 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blood Crypt
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Darkslick Shores
2 Island
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
1 Swamp
1 Watery Grave

SIDEBOARD
2 Anger of the Gods
3 Boom // Bust
1 Countersquall
2 Dispel
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Negate
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Terminate
2 Thoughtseize

This deck contains two pieces of cool technology that you will Will WILL want to understand for any go-forward Modern melees…

Ancestral Vision

Goblin Dark-Dwellers + Ancestral Vision

If Ancestral Vision is in your graveyard, you can play it immediately and “for free” by playing Goblin Dark-Dwellers. Ancestral Vision was not great in and of itself for Patrick, but it is very powerful with our centerpiece five drop (and great in the mirror).

One of the things that makes this deck cool is that Serum Visions can put Ancestral Vision on top of your deck… So you can mill it away with Thought Scour (and then re-buy it with Goblin Dark-Dwellers).

Boom // Bust

Goblin Dark-Dwellers + Boom // Bust

If Boom // Bust is in the graveyard Goblin Dark-Dwellers can look down and say “Ooh, I see there is this card ‘Boom’ that costs two mana; I can certainly cast that for free” … But then when it comes time to resolve the card, you can choose the “Bust” side and make the whole Erhnam-Geddon deck in one (okay, arguably two, cards)

One card that would have made this deck better is another Standard standout… Koziliek’s Return!

Patrick lost to Master of Waves twice, and Etched Champion once; Kozilek’s Return looks red but is colorless rules-wise… So much for Protection from Red (or other colors).

Check out this Goblin Dark-Dwellers take:

Skred Red by Chris Wallace

4 Boros Reckoner
3 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
3 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Stormbreath Dragon

4 Koth of the Hammer

2 Anger of the Gods
1 Blasphemous Act
4 Blood Moon
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Mizzium Mortars
2 Pyroclasm
4 Skred
1 Volcanic Fallout

2 Scrying Sheets
21 Snow-Covered Mountain

SIDEBOARD
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Crumble to Dust
2 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Spellskite
1 Surgical Extraction

Patrick and Michael riff on the Boros Reckoner / Skred angle, talk about how Countersquall is sometimes a Time Walk, debate the best ways to beat Nahiri, the Harbinger / Emrakul decks, killing the opponent on the third turn with Knight of the Reliquary, and shout out to now-qualified good friend Lan D. Ho. Also how Mike is a ghost.

All these decks are belong to us (and now you too) in “Goblin Dark-Dwellers in Modern and Beyond!”

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P.S. In this episode we state Grand Prix Charlotte winner Andreas Ganz played 62 cards; this was a result of a typo online. Ganz played only two copies of Temple of Enlightenment and 60 cards overall. Our apologies — and congratulations! — to Andreas.

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Eternal Masters Exclusive Preview: Toxic Deluge

Toxic Deluge
Toxic Deluge is our exclusive Eternal Masters preview card!

“Toxic Deluge. Two and a black. OWN your opponent.”
-Patrick Chapin

Toxic Deluge is a card that has never been legal in regular packs for regular [Standard] play. This is a card that was originally printed in the 2013 Commander product; but like Scavenging Ooze and True-Name Nemesis has found multiple homes in multiple competitive Constructed decks. Doing one better than even the storied Scavenging Ooze, Toxic Deluge has seen heavy play in both Legacy and Vintage, often as a sideboard bullet.

Toxic Deluge can go wide or tall. It is one mana cheaper than Languish when you need a Languish… and in fact one black mana cheaper than a Languish. It is a sweeper that can go way over Languish’s -4/-4. It is good against Mother of Runes, and in fact Mother of Runes-based strategies that can tax a defender’s speed.

It can go not just tall, but very, very tall. Facing down Emrakul, the Aeon’s Torn? If the opponent isn’t somehow smashing you with a Time Walk or a hasty attack (i.e. from a Show and Tell) Toxic Deluge can kill even a 15/15 creature! Do you have to pay fifteen life? Sure; but you would have had to pay fifteen life anyway, right?

Toxic Deluge can kill indestructible creatures! Blightsteel Colossus — or in some cases even a Marit Lage token — can be flooded out by this sorcery.

Toxic Deluge can kill lots of creatures… But can work with your own creatures sometimes! Give everyone -1/-1 and you can kill the opponent’s Snapcaster Mage and True-Name Nemesis… But leave your Tarmogoyf and Knight of the Reliquary!

Because it costs exactly three mana — and is a black card — Toxic Deluge is a good match to the popular Dark Petition… And especially perfect as a one-of for a strategy full of “Tutor” cards.

This is a card of great flexibility that has made a mark on both Vintage and Legacy. Top Level Podcast is proud to present it for Eternal Masters in this short bonus episode:

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Patrick’s The Gitrog Monster Combo

The Gitrog Monster
The Gitrog Monster allows you to win on turn five, immediately. Here’s how…

Dakmor Salvage + Seismic Assault + The Gitrog Monster

Dakmor Salvage Seismic Assault The Gitrog Monster

If you discard a land card to Seismic Assault with The Gitrog Monster in play, you can draw a card. If that land is Dakmor Salvage, you can dredge it back to start the cycle again! You can do this over and over (assuming you don’t run out of library) making 20 from a Seismic Assault on turn five require a trivial amount of materiel.

In fact, Dakmor Salvage has Dredge 2; that means that if you flip over another land while dredging, you will actually draw even more cards!

This configuration may be superior to previous versions of Assault-Loam because The Gitrog Monster allows you to win outright, instead of just grinding it out with card economy and a large positional advantage. That makes this version less vulnerable to instant kills from opposing combo decks.

At the same time — unlike other combo decks — all the cards are good, and synergistic with each other even when you don’t assemble an instant kill.

Seismic Assault + The Gitrog Monster

Seismic Assault The Gitrog Monster

Not an immediate, sure, kill… But still very card advantageous.

Seismic Assault + Life from the Loam

Seismic Assault Life from the Loam

The historical “combo” of these kinds of decks… Great generally, usually sure to win a long game, flexible, and of course advantageous.

The Gitrog Monster + Liliana of the Veil

The Gitrog Monster Liliana of the Veil

Cute — maybe even very “good” — that you can use Liliana, discard a land, and draw a card while the opponent only discards. Liliana of the Veil might be key if Bogles makes a Modern comeback.

The Gitrog Monster + Wooded Foothills

The Gitrog Monster Wooded Foothills

Fetchlands already define Modern in large part… Now they can draw cards, too! Score another synergy for The Gitrog Monster.

Patrick has a combo… But not quite a deck yet. He needs your help Top Level Podcast community to brew this one up before this weekend’s Grand Prix. Reach out to Patrick on social media and share your ideas:

Twitter

Facebook

Patreon

Sweet brewing, plus great admiration for the Modern work of Gerry Thompson and Sam Black on:

“Patrick’s The Gitrog Monster Combo”:

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Eldrazi Displacer is the Boom Boom

Eldrazi Displacer
“Good luck killing me with a Profane Prince,” says Eldrazi Displacer

Eldrazi Displacer does an insane number of awesome things. Take note!

  1. It is a great hit off of Collected Company. Why? It costs three mana. End. It’s about the same size for about the same mana as Bounding Krassis, but has a stronger long-term impact.
    When combined with Brood Monitor and Zulaport Cutthroat, Eldrazi Displacer can win the game on the spot. The Brood Monitor puts three colorless Eldrazi Scions onto the battlefield, which you can sacrifice to activate the Eldrazi Displacer (to blink the Brood Monitor), which means the opponent will be drained for three life.
  2. If you have Catacomb Sifter instead, Brood Monitor and Eldrazi Displacer can help you cycle through your whole deck. Same deal — three tokens for three mana each cycle with the Displacer’s ability — but instead of killing the opponent on the spot you can scry over and over and over again.
  3. Other “187” creatures with “enters the battlefield” effects are good duos with Eldrazi Displacer as well (Elvish Visionary, Goblin Dark-Dwellers, take your pick)
  4. When the opponent invests a ton of creatures (and a ton of mana) to flip a Westvale Abbey… Eldrazi Displacer can easily punish the seemingly indestructible Profane Prince.
  5. Even when it is less flashy than blinking / tapping / even flipping a key threat, Eldrazi Displacer can just defend, Icy Manipulator-style.

So, you know, the boom boom.

Lots and lots of things going on this week.

What deck did Mike play at Grand Prix New York? Where did he get it? What card does “everybody” like but Mike thinks is horrible (or at least was horrible for him this weekend)?Pretty good story, this.

“Getting down” aka going ultimate with Nahiri to get an Elvish Visionary!

… When to side in Clip Wings

The number of Evolving Wilds you should play in your three-color Tireless Tracker deck

“Grixis with no blue” (or as Patrick calls it, “Jund”)

The clean living of Sam Black’s B/G Ramp / Control deck… Patrick doesn’t want to live in a world where this isn’t the deck to play.

And of course our first shout-out to Patreon backers. If you want to support Top Level Podcast on Patreon you can do so at http://patreon.com/toplevelpodcast

All this and tons and tons of deck analysis and discussion on “Eldrazi Displacer is the Boom Boom”:

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Referenced Podcast appearances:

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