Underdrafted Basterds – Overlooked Playables in Rise of the Eldrazi

Roberto:
Blue has been the most under-picked color in the Rise of the Eldrazi drafts I’ve been in so far, yet it’s also the color I see winning the most games.  Why does it work like this?  As I noted in yesterday’s article, Venerated Teacher is perhaps my favorite common in Rise of the Eldrazi, and one I see passed far too often.  Pairing this card with any two levelers means a blowout as early as turn four.  All of these cards are uncommon or common and can be dropped by your third turn:Knight of Cliffhaven, Skywatcher Adept, Hada Spy Patrol, Enclave Cryptologist, Ikiral Outrider, Caravan Escort, Halimar Wavewatch, Zulaport Enforcer, Nirkana Cutthroat, Null Champion, Brimstone Mage, Beastbreaker of Bala Ged.  And don’t forget the synergy with Champions Drake.

With such a large number of creatures ready be powered out by the Teacher, you have myriad possibilities when drafting Blue.  If you see this card after 3rd pick, snatch it up and start putting the insanely powerful level-up deck together, a deck which will easily blow out your opponents. 

Pro note: If you’ve caught wind of a Linvala, Keeper of Silence lurking somewhere in your draft pod, manually level-up your creatures early so that the late game Teacher can get your guys to Dragon-mode despite the Mythic.

Matt:
As I’ve said before, I really believe that blue is the best color.  There are countless commons and uncommons which are quite solid.  However, there’s one guy in particular that I want to talk about: Halimar Wavewatch. 

This card has such an efficient design to it.  The first turn it comes out it’s a relevant blocker, and for only two mana it becomes way more relevant.  The card supports itself, because what all levelers need in order to get up to speed is more time, and that’s exactly what he gives you.  At level five he becomes an astounding 6/6 ISLANDWALK, which is somewhat impressive for a cumulative total of 11U.  His sizable wall-status also happens to synergize perfectly with all the other blue levelers, each of whom has either evasion or some sweet activated/triggered ability.

Chris G:
Wow, everybody seems on track with what I wanted to say. Simply put, I am getting shipped blue bombs far too late, which is ridiculous considering Blue is probably the second best color in the format behind Green. For starters it seems every player knows that Knight of Cliffhaven is a great card, and yet for some reason I see his baby brother Skywatcher Adept get left in the pack far too often. Though isn’t as efficient in the toughness department as the Knight, it beats in the air just as heavily.

Secondly, Regress is one of the strongest cards in Rise of the Eldrazi, and the fact that I’m getting passed copies of this card sitting beside two pieces of jank and a basic land, is a downright crime. My god, does no-one realize that this card deals with all three of the different archetypes in the format without even thinking about it? Versus a level-up deck, Regress actively punishes your opponent for maxing-out their levelers, completely ruining their development of the board and letting your creatures come crashing through. Against an Eldrazi acceleration deck, the several spawn investment they spend on their giant guy is now wasted, as your regress puts that 10 mana bomb back in their hand without those little accelerant critters to get it out again.  And if somebody puts a stack of Umbras on their star creature, expecting it to never die, ruin their day with a well-timed Regress.

In a format where he who beats harder wins faster, bounce is one of the most powerful effects you could have. In my opinion, this card is right behind Narcolepsy as one of the best removal spells in the set.