2010)

As impressive as Rise of the Eldrazi set seems, I can only think of three cards that will definitely be remembered. Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth are the legendary climaxes of the entire set but their appeal has little to do with their size.

While a 15/15 flying creature with protection from colored spells, a 10/10 indestructible, and a 12/12 creature sound great, 15, 11, and 10 are large price tags for them. That kind of mana is certainly possible, 4 Cloudposts or lots of Urza’s lands would do produce that and Scapeshift can find the required lands easily.

Green, ironically the color most adept at getting the mana required to play them outright, also offers other ways to get them into play without casting them: Elvish Piper or Call of the Wild are just a few ways of getting them into play quickly in a permanent way.

None of those three creatures can function in traditional Reanimater decks, each shuffles your entire graveyard into your library as soon as the spell or effect that put them there resolves. However, that very element of them that makes them unusable to Reanimater decks is the very reason they’re useful.

Gaea's Blessing was perhaps one of the most powerful cards in the game for a very subtle reason. Decks that rely on cards like Memory Erosion and Glimpse the Unthinkable to win automatically lose to Gaea's Blessing single handedly, since it allows the rest of your deck to function somewhat normally and win. I have a few in my MBC deck and they’ve undoubtedly won more games than my Crypt Rats or Cabal Coffers have. One of the ways a Millstone deck can get around Gaea's Blessing are cards like Windfall or Teferi’s Puzzlebox, to make you draw and discard cards, but Emrakul, Kozilek, and Ulamog would still function.

None of the creatures can restock your partner’s deck, nullify tutor effects that put the searched-for card on the top of your library, or neutralize library manipulation of your own deck like Gaea's Blessing does. While this function will be missed, a nearly undefeatable defense against an entire deck strategy is well worth the sacrificed utility.

While the advantages of the Eldrazi legends can be transplanted into nearly any deck, this new addition would be most at home with other cards that foil other decks, commonly called a phishing deck. Unfortunately, these decks tend not to have a goal of their own: the most common types are either mono-blue with every viable Counterspell/Stifle/Bribery - type card ever made, black-blue with countermagic and Glimpse the Unthinkable, or blue-red with countermagic and Shock-type effects. The most annoying thing about these decks tends to be that they are so good at foiling that they leave other players dead in the water and draw out the game before drawing their win condition.

Tenets:
1. Most of the cards should thwart a common deck strategy
2. No creatures to frustrate their removal
3. Many of the cards should work to end the game

With these tenets, let’s see what each color has to offer:

Black:
Sudden Death: Despite its uninventive name, any card that can take out Morphling is a required card. A more common use will probably be killing unfortunate creatures with tap abilities so they can’t be used in response.

Leyline of the Void: It single-handedly foils flashback, threshold, and persist decks as well as killing reanimation decks immediately. Recursion techniques (Eternal Witness and Bloodghast and the like) aren’t happy to see it either. And you may not even need black mana to cast it.

Underworld Dreams: Perhaps the simplest ‘ticking clock’ card, the Dreams efficiently ends the game in twenty turns. However, the more important function for these purposes is it turning most decks’ greatest asset against them; the more they draw, the quicker they die. This is undoubtedly the best ‘ticking clock’ although there are ways to get around it.

Necropotence: And this is one of them. Not only will this get around any Dreams directed at you, it will help you get the answers you need.

Blue
Counterspell: Is anyone surprised? The arguably best ‘no’ spell is still the best answer to decks that need a combination of spells to go off. While Abjure and Force of Will are both cheaper mana-wise, each has problems. If you can afford the money-cost, go with both Force of Will and Counterspell.

Mana Leak: Next to a Counterspell, this is arguably the best counter. It’s both available the second turn and rarely fails to counter its target since few players leave 3 mana open.

White
Swords to Plowshares: I know of no other spells that can take out a Kokusho, the Evening Star with no life lost, be available the first turn, and be done in response to an enchantment or equipping, other than Path to Exile.

Disenchant: No other cards in white can take out both Mirari’s Wake and Skullclamp for 2 mana. This is effectively the same as Naturalize; I mention it only as an excuse to cut white or green.

Green
Naturalize: No other cards in green can take out both Mirari’s Wake and Skullclamp for 2 mana. This is effectively the same as Disenchant; I mention it only as an excuse to cut white or green.

Red
Aside from Molten Disaster, an earthquake that can’t be countered or responded to, and lots of land destruction, red has nothing really to contribute since we’d like to not have creatures and black can destroy creatures quite well.

Building the Deck:

First of all, red is largely useless; your lands could do any land destruction necessary, black could handle the creature destruction, and the many wonderful creatures in red would be quick targets. White would also provide many useful creatures but such would vindicate creature destruction and as powerful as Swords can be, it would barely justify splitting your deck’s resource production. Blue seems to be the color of annoyance, Counterspell, Ertai’s Trickery, and Mind’s Desire are just a few example, so I personally won’t include it because of an old grudge.

Black and green are the two remaining colors but as powerful as Sudden Death, Leyline of the Void, Underworld Dreams, Necropotence, and Naturalize are, they can’t be a complete deck. The first place to look is cards that are effectively the same: Unmake is not as good as Swords but does the same thing, Spiteful Vision could be a replacement for the Dreams and it could also expedite the Death, and Sign in Blood could be an alternate way to get cards you need and extra damage. As powerful as Bloodchief Ascension is, it takes damage and time to start doing damage. It might be worth sideboarding it and a Death Wish to retrieve it.

The Deck:

Frustration

Black
4 x Sudden Death
4 x Leyline of the Void
4 x Underworld Dreams
4 x Necropotence
4 x Beseech the Queen
4 x Spiteful Vision
4 x Unmake
4 x Phyrexian Arena

Green
3 x Naturalize

Colorless
3 x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Lands
4 x Overgrown Tomb
14 x Swamp
4 x Tainted Wood

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