Single Card Discussion (Emrakul, The Aeons Torn)

[Stormanimagus]

So I just saw this guys spoiled on MTGSalvation and all I have to say is "HOLY OATH-OF-DRUIDS-ME BATMAN!"

Without further ado:

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
 
 Legendary Creature - Eldrazi   
Legendary Creature - Eldrazi
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn can't be countered.
When you cast Emrakul, take an extra turn after this one.
Flying, protection from colored spells, Annihilator 6
When Emrakul is put into a graveyard from anywhere, its owner shuffles his or her graveyard into his or her library.
Illus. Mark Tedin   15/15


Ummm. . . The implications of this guys are simply ridiculous. He does run into some of the same problems as previous Oath creatures, but far fewer and he really should end the game the turn after you play him.

The only weaknesses I could see for him are that he doesn't stop TPS from going broken and he doesn't stop Vault/Key from happening, but other than that he is simply bonkers and wins games.

Even against TPS he might end their game in 1 turn if they've Fetched twice, Forced & Thoughtseized. I'm already thinking of pretty broken Oath lists with this guy in them, but, mark my words when I say that this guy will not only make the Show/Tell plan Viable, but super powerful. I mean, heck, I might even run a Show And Tell MD with this guy around.

This card just blew my mind and I need some time to process. Discuss away!

-Stormanimagus

[scifiantihero]

You haven't listed a casting cost, if it has been spoiled.  I'm assuming it doesn't really matter too much, but it would be interesting to know!

[Troy_Costisick]

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Legendary Creature - Eldrazi
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn can't be countered.
When you cast Emrakul, take an extra turn after this one.
Flying, protection from colored spells, Annihilator 6
When Emrakul is put into a graveyard from anywhere, its owner shuffles his or her graveyard into his or her library.
Illus. Mark Tedin   15/15

Has a CMC of 15 by the way.

[Troy_Costisick]

Protection from colored spells is an interesting phrase.  Does that mean it only counts a card as a spell when its on the stack?  Does that mean it could be enchanted by Dragon's Breath if DB is coming in from the GY?

EDIT: Link to image:

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=103210&stc=1&d=1269384672

Peace,

-Troy

[conboy31]

I was already brewing up a mana drain/show and tell deck when the first two eldrazi were spoiled.  This guy is the current champ though. 

[Mith]

Finally, an Eldrazi worth playing in Oath.

[Stormanimagus]

Protection from colored spells is an interesting phrase.  Does that mean it only counts a card as a spell when its on the stack?  Does that mean it could be enchanted by Dragon's Breath if DB is coming in from the GY?

EDIT: Link to image:

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=103210&stc=1&d=1269384672

Peace,

-Troy

I don't believe it's a spell if it just says "return X from the graveyard to the battlefield attached to Y" in the text. Correct me someone?

[Aace]

This seems infinitely more playable than Kozilek. It also overcomes oath's weakness of creating anti-Eldrazi tokens for their opponents.

[Oath of Happy]

Oh my god thats practically a 1 turn kill for oath with dragons breath.  Something interesting to note is that if you draw dragon's breath you can put it on a spirit token and then repeal the spirit token to get the dragons breath in your graveyard.

[Iron_Chef]

This definitely seems like the champ in terms of what has been spoiled for RoE.

1) Evasion
2) It protects itself
3) Annihilator 6!
4) 15/15

The fact that this is not hasty is really made up for by the fact that it's so freaking huge.  Getting one swing in for 15 is basically equivalent to the two swings that you would get with Hellkite Overlord, with the exception that Hellkite Overlord doesn't make them sacrifice 6 things.

[Evenpence]

This guy will probably see play over Darksteel Colossus.  Only downside is no trample -- other stuff makes him much more playable, however.

Also, if it's worded as-is, you wouldn't take an extra turn after oathing him up because you're not casting him.  Amiright?

[Duncan]

This guy will probably see play over Darksteel Colossus.  Only downside is no trample -- other stuff makes him much more playable, however.

Note that this is colorless, but not an artifact, so it can't be tinkered into play. That is the main reason for running a robot, be it Sphinx or Colossus, in Oath, to have a plan B in tinker.

Also, if it's worded as-is, you wouldn't take an extra turn after oathing him up because you're not casting him.  Amiright?

You're right.

[Evenpence]

This guy will probably see play over Darksteel Colossus.  Only downside is no trample -- other stuff makes him much more playable, however.

Note that this is colorless, but not an artifact, so it can't be tinkered into play. That is the main reason for running a robot, be it Sphinx or Colossus, in Oath, to have a plan B in tinker.

Oh wow, I had not even noticed.  I figured (15) meant artifact, these new fangled cards, tsk tsk.  Thanks for the heads up.

[BruiZar]

Even though Orchard tokens are colorless they will have to be sacrificed before blockers can be declared due to its insane annihilator ability. This one is here to stay.

edit: not even neccesary, the thing flies too.

[zeus-online]

But is it better then Iona? It's clearly better then progenitus, i guess it's a little slower then double dragons. I think it's probably just better then the elephant guy.

[Troy_Costisick]

But is it better then Iona? It's clearly better then progenitus, i guess it's a little slower then double dragons. I think it's probably just better then the elephant guy.

What are they going to do to him?  After attacking, TPS won't have enough resources in play to win.  Only topdecking Key/Vault will get you out of the mess he causes.  If he can be enchanted by Dragon's Breath out of the GY, then he's about as perfect an Oath creature as there ever was.

[paladin3056]

This is clearly better than Iona, Once this hits play your opponent scoops, think about it, what can likely stop this card in vintage:

STP or any spot removal: Stopped by Protection to Colored Spells
Diabloic Edict: Gets returned to the deck and would be oathed up again
Blocked by Vampire Nighthawk (or any card with deathtouch): Possible, unless you can sacrifce 6 permanents and still keep this alive afterwards, which is highly unlikely in vintage, and even if you get to kill this card, your opponent just Oath's it again.
Sower of Temptation: Possible choice to stop this, but highly unlikely since the opponent would most likely pack counters or Stifle
Maze of Ith: Possible, but currently not used in vintage

I have exhausted my options for stopping this and have no possible answer to it unless ther would be one in RoE.

Edit: Although I am not that familiar with other answers in Vintage, maybe you can name a few so that I can get a playset of those

[Bill Copes]

I have exhausted my options for stopping this and have no possible answer to it unless ther would be one in RoE.

Stock in Ensnaring Bridge just went up 8000%
Other options include Jester's Cap, Extract, Sadistic Sacrament, Diabolic Edict + Leyline of the Void

As if Oath needed to be better than it already is . . .

[Troy_Costisick]

This is clearly better than Iona, Once this hits play your opponent scoops, think about it, what can likely stop this card in vintage:

STP or any spot removal: Stopped by Protection to Colored Spells
Diabloic Edict: Gets returned to the deck and would be oathed up again
Blocked by Vampire Nighthawk (or any card with deathtouch): Possible, unless you can sacrifce 6 permanents and still keep this alive afterwards, which is highly unlikely in vintage, and even if you get to kill this card, your opponent just Oath's it again.
Sower of Temptation: Possible choice to stop this, but highly unlikely since the opponent would most likely pack counters or Stifle
Maze of Ith: Possible, but currently not used in vintage

I have exhausted my options for stopping this and have no possible answer to it unless ther would be one in RoE.

Sower is probably the best option, which is why if the Dragon's Breath thing works (and I think it does), I'd advocate packing 4x DB's in the deck.  That's distasteful for Oath, but when it all comes together, it's game over for your opponent.  I don't know of to many decks that can sacrifice 6 permanents in the first, oh, 4 turns of a game and keep on truckin'.  Let alone cast a 4 CMC spell afterwards.

[reaperbong]

This is clearly better than Iona, Once this hits play your opponent scoops, think about it, what can likely stop this card in vintage:

STP or any spot removal: Stopped by Protection to Colored Spells
Diabloic Edict: Gets returned to the deck and would be oathed up again
Blocked by Vampire Nighthawk (or any card with deathtouch): Possible, unless you can sacrifce 6 permanents and still keep this alive afterwards, which is highly unlikely in vintage, and even if you get to kill this card, your opponent just Oath's it again.
Sower of Temptation: Possible choice to stop this, but highly unlikely since the opponent would most likely pack counters or Stifle
Maze of Ith: Possible, but currently not used in vintage

I have exhausted my options for stopping this and have no possible answer to it unless ther would be one in RoE.

Maze of Ith sees play, and will probably see even more with this guy around. no trample so maybe Bitterblossom would work as a sideboard card.

cool art, Mark Tedin FTW

edit: sorry, what's Annihilator? did I miss something or is this new?

[paladin3056]

Maze of Ith sees play, and will probably see even more with this guy around. no trample so maybe Bitterblossom would work as a sideboard card.

cool art, Mark Tedin FTW

edit: sorry, what's Annihilator? did I miss something or is this new?

Annihalator X - When ~ attacks, defending player sacrifices X permanents

This is the mechanic that makes it more playable

I forgot that Annihalator can be Stifled or am I wrong there. Anyway if Aninihalator get stifled you may block it and get to live a turn or 2 unless you pull out Time Vault combo.

I have exhausted my options for stopping this and have no possible answer to it unless ther would be one in RoE.

Stock in Ensnaring Bridge just went up 8000%
Other options include Jester's Cap, Extract, Sadistic Sacrament, Diabolic Edict + Leyline of the Void

As if Oath needed to be better than it already is . . .

Diabolic Edict + Leyline of the Void is the best possible answer for this once Emralku is in play. But would be trouble if you are not running Black.

[Doomsday]

Sorry.  Double post and I don't see the delete option anymore.

[Doomsday]

Upon entering play Iona will immediately stop TPS or ANT from going off, will stop untargeted removal, will stop people from assembling Vault/Key (unless they have both pieces in hand), stops mono-colored decks from doing anything at all, etc.  This Eldrazi has no haste and doesn't disrupt anything until the next turn.  People are winning on their second Oath activation as it is, this guy is at least turn slower than Iona + Vault/Key or even Double Dragon.  I don't see any point to playing him in Oath, if I want a slow Robot I'd rather have one that can be Tinkered, if I want disruption Iona is better and does it immediatly (even the Elephant does it immediately), if I want to win more quickly Iona + Vault/Key or Double Dragon are better.

[dangerlinto]

Sower of Temptation: Possible choice to stop this, but highly unlikely since the opponent would most likely pack counters or Stifle
Maze of Ith: Possible, but currently not used in vintage

Running your own Stifle in oath would pretty much negate either of these as a possible answer to this monster.

[CorwinB]

As if Oath needed to be better than it already is . . .

Well, R&D seems hellbent on introducing bigger and more powerful monsters with each new expansion, which means "cheat into play" strategies become more powerful as a result. Think on how many new toys Tinker and Oath got over Alara and Zendikar cycles alone...

[jester3397]

I think the best answer to this guy is curfew.

He may be a turn slower but if your able to come up with a list that could successfully put dragon's breath (as already been suggested) then this will surely be a great creature for oath.

More than the protection it has, its the annihilator 6 thats putting this guy off the charts.

[Killane]

Upon entering play Iona will immediately stop TPS or ANT from going off, will stop untargeted removal, will stop people from assembling Vault/Key (unless they have both pieces in hand), stops mono-colored decks from doing anything at all, etc.  This Eldrazi has no haste and doesn't disrupt anything until the next turn.  People are winning on their second Oath activation as it is, this guy is at least turn slower than Iona + Vault/Key or even Double Dragon.  I don't see any point to playing him in Oath, if I want a slow Robot I'd rather have one that can be Tinkered, if I want disruption Iona is better and does it immediatly (even the Elephant does it immediately), if I want to win more quickly Iona + Vault/Key or Double Dragon are better.

Iona is better yes, but this guy has to take 2nd. Run 1x Him + 1 x Iona and  Dragon's Breath and you'll win. Iona is too slow on her own and the combo-ish versions are too vulnerabel to GY hate. While this guy doesn;t kill with one swing, he basically does. There are very few gamestates that woudl be recoverable once he swings once.

[RecklessEmbermage]

Karakas gets even better now.

Why is parfait not seeing play again? Monowhite seems to have the tools to combat all the top decks in vintage.

[Adan]

What a beast, he seals the game as soon as he swings. I think not even Dredge would be able to survive a bitchslap of that guy (although I think you can spawn enough tokens to sac for the Annihilator and then chump with a Moeba or something).

But I guess there are enough outs against that guy, the sideboards just need to adapt to it.

Cards that come to mind:

Stormscape Apprentice/Goldmeadow Harrier (nostalgic for me... UW Fish... good times)
Manowar
Stingscourger (for RG Beatz, Gobs and Red Stax?)

Dredge can cast Dread Return on a Fatestitcher or race Oath...

Huh, maybe something like Puppet Strings or Helm of Possession for Artifact based decks.

But Leonin Bola would be the most simple out, but extremely narrow since it is only good in the Oath matchups then. I think the right approach would be to hate the Oath itself (i.e. running Spell Snares, Spell Pierces and stuff).

Karakas would be funny as well (got ninja'd on that lol..)

[Doomsday]

Upon entering play Iona will immediately stop TPS or ANT from going off, will stop untargeted removal, will stop people from assembling Vault/Key (unless they have both pieces in hand), stops mono-colored decks from doing anything at all, etc.  This Eldrazi has no haste and doesn't disrupt anything until the next turn.  People are winning on their second Oath activation as it is, this guy is at least turn slower than Iona + Vault/Key or even Double Dragon.  I don't see any point to playing him in Oath, if I want a slow Robot I'd rather have one that can be Tinkered, if I want disruption Iona is better and does it immediatly (even the Elephant does it immediately), if I want to win more quickly Iona + Vault/Key or Double Dragon are better.

Iona is better yes, but this guy has to take 2nd. Run 1x Him + 1 x Iona and  Dragon's Breath and you'll win. Iona is too slow on her own and the combo-ish versions are too vulnerabel to GY hate. While this guy doesn;t kill with one swing, he basically does. There are very few gamestates that woudl be recoverable once he swings once.

To me it looks like this:

Iona
1 - Oath into her
They're most likely locked out for the next turn
2 - Win

Double Dragon / Hellkites + Akroma, etc
1 - Dragon 1 swings and hits
They have free reign for this turn
2 - Win

Eldrazi
1 - Oath out Eldrazi, nothing happens
They have free reign for this turn
2 - Swing with Eldrazi
Their board is wiped
3 - win

You could run the Eldrazi plus another creature, but if you don't get the Eldrazi first he sucks.  You could run him with Iona but then they still get free reign for a turn if he comes out first.  If he comes out second then any other Oath creature would have killed them just as quickly.