Drafting Rise of the Eldrazi: A Look at Limited (Part 1 – Creatures)

Rise of the Eldrazi will be making its way onto Magic Online this coming weekend, and now is the time to get a leg-up on the format. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to get plenty of real life drafts in, but if you haven’t, you shouldn’t let that unfortunate fact stop you from crushing dreams and winning infinite packs once Rise hits MODO. Here, Grand Prix Boston Champion Marlon Egolf takes us through some noteworthy cards, letting you know which cards to keep your eyes on for this weekends Rise of the Eldrazi release, and which duds to avoid. Check back tomorrow for part 2!

GP Boston Champion Marlon Egolf

Part 1 – The Creatures

I’ve done a good amount of drafting with RoE since its release, and I have to say this is my favorite set in a long time. There are so many different archetypes and strategies to be explored, and the levelers add a dimension of decision-making and resource-management that is rarely seen in limited environments. This is in sharp contrast to Zendikar, where it was often correct to draft two mana 2/1′s early, simply to ensure that you would be always be on the attack throughout the course of the game. Rise of the Eldrazi is a much slower, more complex format, and recognizing where certain cards fit into a particular strategy can make the difference between winning the draft and going out 0-2 in round one.

Here I’ve highlighted some notable cards and where they fit in to particular archetypes. These will mostly be commons and uncommons, but I’m also mentioning a few rares that have particular interactions with various non-rare cards. What I won’t be doing is going over any cards with blatantly obvious functions, so if you need to know the best way to maximize your Stomper Cubs or Makindi Griffins, I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place.

Arrogant Bloodlord:
This guy is pretty beefy, and a 3-mana 4/4 will always be worth a look. However, I would be careful running this guy in this particular format. Trading with a random wall is ok, but dying to an Eldrazi Spawn token is not. There are a ton of cards that pop out those expendable 0/1’s, which will typically be enough to stop the Bloodlord’s ant-riding beats in their tracks. He’s fine to maindeck as a one-of, but starting multiples is just asking to be shut down by a Nest Invader or any of his spawn making friends.

Aura Gnarlid:
I didn’t think too much of the Gnarlid at first, but I was proven wrong very quickly. He’s unblockable versus most walls and cheap creatures, and there are plenty of auras running around in this set that will randomly make him a huge pain in the ass. If this isn’t green’s best common, it’s certainly in the top 3.

Battle-rattle Shaman
This card looks a little underwhelming at first, but he does a good job of helping your smaller guys actually do some damage against larger opponents. The trigger being at the beginning of combat as opposed to the upkeep makes him effective the turn he comes down, which is obviously pretty important.

Bloodthrone Vampire
It takes a little work to make this guy good, since a 1/1 for two is pretty sub-par, but with enough synergistic pieces he becomes a real beating. Be on the lookout for Dread Drones and, more-importantly, Pawn of Ulamog, as both turn the Vamp into a potent threat.

Brimstone Mage
Pingers are universally sick in limited and Brimstone Mage is no exception, able to absolutely wreck certain decks. Against red or black it can be a bit of a risk to level this guy up, as your heavy mana investment into such a potential threat almost demands removal from your opponent. However, if they don’t have the removal in hand, just the threat of this guy is often enough to keep them from playing out any 1-toughness creatures. White, green, and blue decks have essentially zero permanent answers to the Mage other than a straight up race, and those get a lot tougher once you have a dude that slings Lightning Bolts every turn. Overall a very good card, and certainly worthy of a first pick.

Champions Drake
At first glance the drake looks pretty weak, but he can be quite strong in the right deck. The U/W level-up archetype is quite solid, and many of its level-up costs are as low as two mana, quickly turning the drake into a legitimate threat. He’s also the cheapest flyer in the set, and thus makes a great target for a turn three Snake Umbra or Boar Umbra out of U/G.

Enclave Cryptologist
Looters are obviously the hotness in limited, and this might be the best looter ever. On the play, there is no way for your opponent to answer her (it’s a female, right?) turn two level-up, and as quickly as turn three she can become a game winning source of card advantage. This is probably my favorite uncommon in the set, and I can’t see passing her for anything other than a bomb rare.

Halimar Wavewatch
When I first saw this card at the pre-release, I dismissed it as garbage. Fortunately I came to my senses quickly enough to put it in my deck, where it quickly won me over. Knight of Cliffhaven might be better, but the Wavewatch is my favorite common leveler in the set. Once it hits level one, the Wavewatch is very tough to remove in response to further level-ups, and it’s 5+ level is a giant threat. Remember that it’s a 6/6 with islandwalk, not islandhome, which is a mistake that one of my draft teammates made before he was subsequently crushed by a 6/6 islandwalker.

Ikiral Outrider
I figured I’d mention the Outrider simply because he is literally the only bad leveler in the set. Man is he bad. Don’t run him, even in the level-up deck. You’d be better off playing a wall.

Jaddi Lifestrider
This is my pick for sleeper uncommon of the set. It tends to go around the table criminally late, despite the fact that it can single-handedly turn a losing race into a winning one. Gaining 6-10 life AND getting a creature that is virtually immune to damage based removal is pretty huge. Don’t be afraid to take this over more aggressive creatures, as he trumps them on his own.

Kabira Vindicator
I was really high on this guy before I got to play with him, and now that I have I’m honestly a little disappointed. He’s very expensive to level, and if you’re behind on the board you’re often not going to have time to sink six mana into getting him up to level two. He’s still reasonably solid, and I would never be unhappy to have one in my deck, but he’s just not the uncommon bomb that I initially thought he would be.

Kiln Fiend
The reason I’m mentioning this creature is that I still can’t figure out if it’s good or not. If anyone has any experience crushing people with Kiln Fiend, let me know in the comments.

Kozileks Predator
This is another creature on the short list of green’s best commons. Green 3/3s for four tend to be above the usual Hill Giant curve; since they tend to come with bonuses, and this guy is one of the more powerful Hill Giants to be released in a long time. Ambassador Oak was very good in limited, and the Predator takes it up another level. Even if the spawn tokens didn’t sac for mana, this would still be a 3/3 that makes two chump blockers. Given that he can single handedly ramp you up to seven mana on turn five, and we have ourselves a winner.

Lone Missionary
Oh Lone Missionary, where were you in Zendikar? This would be an easy second or third pick in ZZW limited, but triple Rise is a whole new animal all together. A two mana 2/1 just doesn’t have much of an impact at all in this format, and he will rarely be relevant as an attacker or as a blocker. Think of him as a Sacred Nectar that chump blocks. Do yourself a favor; stay out of the Missionary position and leave this guy in the sideboard where he belongs.

Mortician Beetle
As a rare, the beetle shouldn’t be showing up too often, however, that last 6 drafts I’ve been in have all had at least one Mortician Beetle, so maybe he’s more like a super uncommon. Anyway, there are enough Eldrazi Spawn to be sacrificed in this set to make the beetle a big threat very quickly. Combine it with a Bloodthrone Vampire, or Pawn of Ulamog if you’re lucky, and combat math can get very difficult for your opponent very quickly. A very solid build-around-me card.

Nirkana Cutthroat
Black isn’t as weak in this set as some people say it is, but black’s creature quality is very shallow. The Cutthroat is arguably the most powerful non-rare black creature, and if you find yourself in black you should take this card over most anything aside from bomb rares and removal.

Sea Gate Oracle
This guy is good, but is significantly better in certain decks than others. Many decks will not want to spend their third turn playing a speedbump that draws a card, and would be better served doing more exciting things like leveling up or playing a more aggressive creature. Never cut him, but the more aggressive your deck is, the less you should prioritize actively drafting him into your pool.

Totem-Guide Hartebeest
He looks unexciting at first, but there are enough playable auras in this set to make the Hartebeest a reasonably solid card. Also, Wikipedia tells me that there is an actual animal in real life called a Hartebeest, with the same awkward spelling as the card. All this time I thought WOTC was just trying to spell it a little more “magically.”

Venerated Teacher
Venerated Teacher is an unusual card; it will be the best possible common in about half of your blue decks, and completely unplayable in the other half. He’s certainly worth an early pick, since he’s the best card in the set to build around. However, if you’re unable to pick up enough levelers, the Teacher could find himself riding the bench come deck building time. Still, the reward far outweighs the risk, as he often produces a six to ten mana effect just by coming into play. Keep the potential power level of this guy in mind, and don’t be afraid to snatch him up first pick.

The Invokers
I’m lumping all these together for purposes of ranking them. They’re all playable, and most are quite good.

1. Wildheart Invoker: I am so sick of losing to this guy. Even if he just gave +5/+5 he’d be savage, but the trample makes in almost impossible to avoid getting crushed in combat. Throw in a 4/3 body for four mana, and he becomes very tough. Top three green common.
2. Frostwind Invoker: The blue invoker, and my personal favorite, gets the second slot based as much on his body as his ability. A 3/3 flyer is pretty huge in this set, and Makindi Griffin and the rarely played Sporecap Spider are the only two commons he can’t fly over or through. The ability to go Team Unblockable is pretty sweet too.
3. Dawnglare Invoker: A two power, three mana flyer who eventually makes attacking and blocking literally impossible for your opponent. So why isn’t this ranked higher? Because it dies to removal that the top two invokers withstand. Staggershock, Last Kiss, Spawning Breath (and to a lesser extent Forked Bolt) all take Dawnglare Invoker down but miss the Frostwind and Wildheart. Though keep in mind that if your opponent can’t get rid of it, this is easily the best invoker.
4. Bloodrite Invoker: The only invoker whose ability doesn’t use the combat step. An active Bloodrite Invoker can dominate the game once you reach eight mana, but one toughness makes him extremely vulnerable during the early game, not to mention almost useless in combat.
5. Lavafume Invoker: The worst invoker, his ability is only good when you have a bunch of creatures in play. It is nice to turn all of your Eldrazi Spawn into 3/1’s, but this is usually more of an incidental strategy than a focused one. Run him, and don’t feel bad about it, just don’t expect too much from your Grey Ogre.

The Eldrazi

First off, let me dispel the rumors that this is a glacially slow format and is all about beating with huge dudes. A nine mana creature still costs nine mana, it doesn’t matter what format you’re playing. By the time you attack with the Eldrazi that’s been sitting in your hand until you were able to cast it on turn eight, your opponent will most likely just sacrifice a land and double block. For what I’ve seen so far, the only two Eldrazi worth starting are Ulamogs Crusher and Artisan of Kozilek. The Crusher is a decent curve topper, and an eight mana 8/8 with Annihilator 2 should usually have enough of an effect to justify its cost. The Artisan is probably the best Eldrazi; as it’s not impossible to get up to nine mana, and a 10/9 that brings back your best dead creature is pretty damn strong. Apart from those two, you will need to have a very dedicated ramping deck to justify playing any of the other Eldrazi.

A note on Hand of Emrakul – please don’t try and draft the Eldrazi spawn deck that tries to get this guy out on turn 4-5. I know it might be tempting, but you’re really just asking to have him dealt with and your strategy blow up in your face. I know that I would have no problem using a Vendetta on this guy; even if it means losing seven life, since my opponent probably wasted three cards trying to turbo out the Hand. Annihilator 1 isn’t even that powerful of an ability to begin with. This card is a trap, don’t be fooled.

This ends part one of my column focusing on the best and worst creatures in Rise of the Eldrazi. Hopefully this will give you a bit of an edge in your next Rise of the Eldrazi limited event. Check back tomorrow for a look at the non-creature spells, and I’ll see you online this weekend at the prerelease!

-Marlon Egolf