Rise of the Eldrazi is a really interesting draft format that offers a wide variety of deck archetypes that tend to work really well. In one hand, there are cards that demand to be built around, such as Kiln Fiend, and in the other, a wide array of symmetries that can be abused to make a powerful deck, like the Level Up mechanic. And, sometimes, you can put together some of the least sought-after cards and create a wickedly powerful deck. That's what I did this week; but what was the deck? Let's get to the picks!

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Pack 1 pick 1:



My Pick:



The best cards in this pack are Drake Umbra, Ondu Giant, and Narcolepsy. I haven't done very well with blue lately, and I wanted to get more experience in with green ramp, so Ondu Giant seems like a fine way to start.


Pack 1 pick 2:



My Pick:



Removal is removal. Drake Umbra is good, but I'm not going to play UG, and Induce Despair fits nicely into a green ramp deck.

Pack 1 pick 3:



My Pick:



Ulamog's Crusher would be a nice spell to ramp into, but I don't know if green is open for sure yet. Pawn of Ulamog is a better card, so I will be keeping my options open for which deck to settle into.

Pack 1 pick 4:



My Pick:



Dreamstone Hedron would be decent if my plan is to ramp into Eldrazi. However, Lust for War is a very strong card.


Pack 1 pick 5:



My Pick:



I haven't picked any green cards after pick 1. I may be looking at a Red/Black token deck. Bloodthrone Vampire is exactly the type of card that this deck is looking to pick up, and we might even wheel the Raid Bombardment, since it is generally useless in other archetypes.


Pack 1 pick 6:



My Pick:



This pick was actually a misclick, as I was still deciding between Brood Birthing, Skittering Invasion, and Essence Feed. The Essence Feed ended up being pretty good, but I probably would have been happy with the Brood Birthing.


��Pack 1 pick 7:



My Pick:



Dread Drone is great in this deck, but I need to take the small Nantuko Husks while I can.


Pack 1 pick 8:



My Pick:



I've never played with Soulsurge Elemental before, but it seems pretty powerful in this deck.

Pack 1 pick 9:



My Pick:





Pack 1 pick 10:



My Pick:



A great example of how this deck can turn cards that others reject into bombs.


Pack 1 pick 11:



My Pick:





Pack 1 pick 12:



My Pick:




Pack 1 pick 13: Lone Missionary, Mountain, Mountain

My Pick: Mountain


Pack 1 pick 14: Ancient Stirrings, Plains

My Pick: Ancient Stirrings


Pack 1 pick 15: Mountain

My Pick: Mountain

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Pack 2 pick 1:



My Pick:



I would have liked some removal, but Rapacious One is right at home in this deck.


Pack 2 pick 2:



My Pick:



Staggershock is good, but Vendetta is even better.


Pack 2 pick 3:



My Pick:



I probably should have hate-drafted the Shrivel.


Pack 2 pick 4:



My Pick:



Since this is my first time playing this archetype, I don't know if Skittering Invasion is a bomb, or simply too expensive. It seems strong enough to experiment with.


Pack 2 pick 5:



My Pick:



Nothing in this pack really fits the deck. Fortunately, Null Champion is strong enough on its own that it will probably make its way into our 40.


Pack 2 pick 6:



My Pick:



Yippee! I probably don't need more than three.


Pack 2 pick 7:



My Pick:



Nothing for me here.



Pack 2 pick 8:



My Pick:



Kiln Fiend wouldn't do much in this deck, so I take the sideboard card.


��Pack 2 pick 9:



My Pick:



Goblin Tunneler works well with Bloodthrone Vampire, but I prefer the discard spell in this case.


Pack 2 pick 10:



My Pick:




Pack 2 pick 11:



My Pick:




Pack 2 pick 12:



My Pick:



A twelfth pick that is definitely good enough to play.


Pack 2 pick 13: Shared Discovery, Not of This World, Mountain

My Pick: Not of This World


Pack 2 pick 14: Aura Finesse, Swamp

My Pick: Aura Finesse


Pack 2 pick 15: Forest

My Pick: Forest

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Pack 3 pick 1:



My Pick:



Tuktuk could be nice with Bloodthrone Vampire and Pawn of Ulamog, but it's no Vendetta.


Pack 3 pick 2:



My Pick:



Forked Bolt is situational removal for the guys I really don't care about, while Emrakul's Hatcher is one of the best commons I can find.


Pack 3 pick 3:



My Pick:



See previous pick. The deck is really starting to take form.


Pack 3 pick 4:



My Pick:



Lavafume Invoker is nice, but I prefer to take the card that is better on its own and helps the rest of the deck reach its potential.


Pack 3 pick 5:



My Pick:



One of the hidden gems that this deck picks up.


Pack 3 pick 6:



My Pick:



Fireboar doesn't do anything special in this deck, while the ability to make a Spawn token (and cast Emrakul's Hatcher earlier) may be nice.


Pack 3 pick 7:



My Pick:



I don't have many cards in the four mana slot, and this should work nicely with Eldrazi Spawn tokens.


Pack 3 pick 8:



My Pick:



It's possible that I'm overloaded on five mana spells now, but Last Kiss isn't anything spectacular.


Pack 3 pick 9:



My Pick:





Pack 3 pick 10:



My Pick:




Pack 3 pick 11:



My Pick:




Pack 3 pick 12:



My Pick:




Pack 3 pick 13: Reinforced Bulwark, Hyena Umbra, Plains


My Pick: Hyena Umbra



Pack 3 pick 14: Daggerback Basilisk, Island


��My Pick: Daggerback Basilisk



Pack 3 pick 15: Island


My Pick: Island

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I ended up not playing the Raid Bombardments or the Lust for War. I felt that my deck was powerful enough that I wanted to go for some consistency by omitting the cards that did nothing on their own, though I probably should have just played the Lust for War.

On to the matches!


I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play or draw with this deck. Many pro players are choosing to go second in this format, since it tends to boil down to slow attrition wars. I think it may be an exaggeration to say that you should draw 90% of the time, but you do have to think about how the matchup is going to play out. In round one you can’t know, but in later rounds you should have an idea of what you’re up against, either through watching replays (Magic Online) or just scouting (live drafts). I tend to draw against decks with lots of removal and play against decks such as UW Levelers that can kill you quickly.

My round one opponent chose to play, and I kept a hand with Emrakul’s Hatcher, Induce Despair, Bloodthrone Vampire, Lavafume Invoker, Swamp, Swamp, Mountain. His Overgrown Battlement kept my Vampire from dealing any damage, and a Forked Bolt took care of my Invoker. On turn three he played a Plains to complement his Forest and Mountain and cast Kozilek’s Predator. The board became stalled after I played Emrakul’s Hatcher, and stayed so until he leveled up a Zulaport Enforcer. Induce Despair revealed Dread Drone to take care of that, and eventually I drew Pennon Blade. An 8/9 Eldrazi Spawn token forced him to chump block every turn until my superior board overwhelmed him.

In the next game he opened with Goblin Arsonist and Tuktuk the Explorer. I chose to use Spawning Breath on the Arsonist, even though it allowed him to kill my Spawn token. My hand had so much gas in the form of Emrakul’s Hatchers, Dread Drones, and Vendetta that I wasn’t worried about anything other than a low life total. I started amassing an army of tokens, and even drew Induce Despair to kill the 5/5 Tuktuk. My random 3/3 and 4/1 creatures were enough to get him when he couldn’t get any damage in through my endless swarm of 0/1 creatures.

Round two was a more difficult opponent playing UW levelers. I chose to play, since I wanted to cast 5 mana chump blockers before I died, and I was rewarded with a turn two Null Champion. I bashed him to 12 before he could level his Ikiral Outrider. I decided to Vendetta his Dawnglore Invoker, since he wasn’t too far from eight mana, and I planned on tapping out for the next few turns. His Time of Heroes and Kabira Vindicator meant that things were looking grim, but a fully leveled Null Champion allowed me to block large amounts of damage each turn. Eventually I had enough mana to start casting Hatchers and Drones. Soulsurge Elemental eventually meant that he was unable to attack profitably, until he found a massive 5/5 Champion’s Drake. He was able to get me to 3 life while I had no answers to his flying creature, but it was too late for him as I had enough mana to play and activate Lavafume Invoker to kill him.

The second game was easier as he chose to draw and did not cast anything in the first three turns. I used removal on his first two guys and started playing Hatchers and Drones, and he didn’t put up much resistance. Pennon Blade and Soulsurge Elemental ensured that I could attack with two 10+ power guys each turn.

In the first game of the finals, I was on the play with Null Champion again, and his UG level-up creatures were too slow to put up any resistance. When I added Soulsurge Elemental to the team, he scooped up his cards.

In the next game he put me on the play, and I had a solid draw involving Bloodthrone Vampire, some token creators, and a Vendetta. Inquisistion of Kozilek cleared a Gelatinous Genesis and made sure that the way was clear, and he could not chump block long enough to stay alive against my vampire.

So for my first foray into the red/black tokens archetype, I must say that I am very impressed. It led me to 6-0 in games fairly easily, and it was very fun to play. The cards that you are looking for are not highly drafted by other people, which is important. If you think that red and black are open, I highly recommend this deck.

I will try to post another “Drafting With” article very soon, hopefully covering one of the other major draft archetypes available in the format.


Until next time!

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Disagree with his picks? Would you have played the same deck, or was your version better? Discuss in the forums!

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