Spellbreaker Behemoth

Creature — Beast

Spellbreaker Behemoth can't be countered.

Creature spells you control with power 5 or greater can't be countered.

Discussion (51)

Profet93 on Xenagos, God of Beatdown

2 weeks ago

plushpenguin

+1 I read the primer, while I knew a lot of the stuff you mentioned as a Xenagos player myself, it was refreshing! I noticed you put dense folliage and plated slagwurm out of the deck, is there any particular reason? I found the reasons in the primer convincing.

As you mentioned in your primer, the worst thing that can happen in a Xenagos deck is having a blowout, getting your creature killed in response to a draw spell. Unfortunately, my meta is FILLED with interaction and spot removal, which is Xenagos's achille's heel. City of Solitude is an allstar in my list, stops blue as well. How would a Xenagos deck deal with a meta that's filled with interaction and spot removal? That's my biggest question for you. I personally don't run extra combat steps for this reason because they only help when I have a creature which sadly isn't that often despite having 31 creatures in the deck BECAUSE I become such a target. For whatever reason, people are afraid of Xenagos :D Another weakness is control decks which are just a bad time for us. While I don't run it in my list, have you considered Prowling Serpopard or even Spellbreaker Behemoth as tutorable ways to deal with blue?

Want to rack your brain regarding recursion as well. Mimic Vat is a very interesting card I never considered by will do so seriously thanks to your primer. I feel like it's exactly what I need to deal with ALL the spot removal in my meta. I added Reap the Past as well as E=wit and greenwardern. The warden might be overkill, but he works nicely with Berserk effects, that way I don't mind if they use spot removal on him.

I'm astonished you are running Thran Dynamo over Skyshroud Claim . Both can be used the same turn, but dynamo gets shut off by your own collector off and opposing null rod effects, not to mention it can get blown up. Skyshroud can color fix you as well, but thats rarely and issue for G/R players.

In your primer you mention Joraga tree speaker is like a green sol ring, but he doesn't actually "ramp" you. Play him T1, Level up T2, you have 2 green mana, no more than you would have had without him. I don't like him outside of elf-centric lists.

Voracious Hydra - Acts as a beater with trample and built in removal, or he can just get HUGE.

Decimate - 4 cards blown up for 1, huge value and can be played prior to Xenagos to clear the field. Note: You do need 4 targets, but you can always target Xenagos for the enchantment should none be on the field.

I noticed you run Return of the Wildspeaker . I think I might replace my Garruk, Primal Hunter with that. Thank you for that, I like how it's instant speed so you can use it in response to removal instead of having to pay ! Speaking of draw, have you considered The Great Henge ? Can cost just , buffs your dudes, gains you life and most importantly draw you cards. It might be better in a deck with more creatures, but I thought it worth noting nevertheless.

What are your thoughts on Shapers' Sanctuary ? Since the deck folds to spot removal, this comes down early and draws you cards. I'm going to add it to my list.

Embercleave seems weak, even with Godo tutoring it onto himself, and Xenagos + equipment buff, it becomes 8/8 trample doublestrike, so 16 damage at most for 6 mana seems weak. This doesn't take into consideration that you might draw into the equipment prior to drawing into Godo, which would suck because you would need to pay a higher cost since the deck doesn't go wide as you noted in your primer. Maybe consider Mage Slayer as well or even as a replacement? That way you're not as reliant upon Godo.

Under your section of cards you don't play, I disagree the following....

1. You should run Berserk ! You won't cast it unless it will kill them and most of the time, it does, at least in my experience. There's nothing better than berserking a Lifeblood Hydra which you should add as well. It provides lifegain and more importantly card draw.
2. Tooth and Nail - 9 mana for 2 creatures from your deck/hand? It's amazing with value creatures like E-wit or green warden although you don't appear to be running either. Another option is Archetype of Endurance (which has been an ALLSTAR in my deck) and a beater.
3. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth - Part of me agrees with you, your deck doesn't have that mana capacity per say since your curve is low for Xenagos. The other part of me sees a 24/24 Draw 4 Cards, Annihilator 4, it won me the last few games.

Overall, I'm very impressed by this list. This seems like a beast to play against. I made my Xenagos deck's CMC higher rather than lower to the ground because that would just exacerbate how threatening I am to the table and I choose to sacrifice speed for late game resiliency. Whenever you get a chance, I would appreciate it if you could take a look at my Xenagos list Bro, or should I say, Xenabro

ZendikariWol on Hail Hydra, Seeking Advice

2 months ago

I'mma be real with ya, chief... make Gargos, Vicious Watcher your commander. If not him, then Rosheen Meanderer . There is no reason for Gyrus, Waker of Corpses to be your general, as he's literally antithetical to casting X-spells! He can get almost none of your stuff back; just cut black and red, add some cards like Drumhunter , Abzan Beastmaster , Tuskguard Captain , Spearbreaker Behemoth , Moss Diamond , and heaping piles pf ramp.

In fact, if you want something a little less typical, it may be better to make a Marath, Will of the Wild deck with Paleoloth s, Spellbreaker Behemoth s, and all the removal, rocks, and ramp your heart could desire.

Still, that's all my opinion. Your deck is yours.

SideBae on Devouring Despair

3 months ago

So the main bonus of green in EDH is its access to mana dorks. Llanowar Elves , Elves of Deep Shadow and Orcish Lumberjack all belong in this deck, and you may want to find a place for Elvish Mystic , Priest of Titania , Fyndhorn Elves , Birds of Paradise , Deathrite Shaman , Arbor Elf and/or Bloom Tender . Note that Arbor Elf is especially powerful if you end up running cards like Wild Growth , Elvish Guidance and/or Wild Growth . Dorks will accelerate you early game and provide sac-fodder in the late game.

Regrowth is a strictly-better Nature's Spiral .

Faithless Looting is a really good source of card selection for one mana. You're probably going to want to run it, as it makes a lot of mediocre hands much more keepable.

Green Sun's Zenith is a great card to consider, especially since you're already running Dryad Arbor . If you cast Green Sun's Zenith turn one for X = 0, you can fetch Dryad Arbor right away. It's a good form of one mana ramp outside dorks and enchant-lands.

A lot of your dudes are gonna die in a sacrifice deck. In order to get card-advantage out of this, you should run Grim Haruspex , Midnight Reaper and/or Harvester of Souls . Unfortunately, these don't trigger with token-deaths, but they'll still help a lot. Deathreap Ritual is similarly powerful and triggers with token deaths, though it only triggers once a turn.

Speaking of card-draw, you have access to some good stuff there. Painful Truths is a three-mana draw-three I've been very impressed with, and Shamanic Revelation is also helpful. From a permanent-based point of view, Phyrexian Arena and Slate of Ancestry are the way to go.

A lot of your removal are one-for-ones (see Terminate , Hero's Downfall , Doom Blade , etc.). In general, I find one-for-ones are usually not very powerful in a format with three opponents, as you're facing three times as many cards as you have. Your Damnation is a great start; consider Toxic Deluge , Hull Breach , Decimate , Casualties of War , Windgrace's Judgment , Reckless Spite , By Force , Ancient Grudge , etc. I've found these to be more efficient, and therefore more powerful, than one-for-ones. Some one-for-ones, though, are so tough to counter or are so efficient as is that they're worth including: Nature's Claim and your Krosan Grip come to mind.

Runes of the Deus comes to mind as a good way to force through commander damage.

Command Tower , City of Brass , Mana Confluence , Reflecting Pool , Forbidden Orchard , Exotic Orchard and friends are all good ETB untapped lands to consider.

I've always liked Smallpox , both in general and in EDH. You might have luck with it in this deck; similar cards include Innocent Blood , Smokestack and the card Pox itself. If you choose to go the Smokestack route, Bitterblossom and/or Ophiomancer are worth considering. They might be worth considering anyways, though.

Spellbreaker Behemoth is an efficient creature that disrupts countermagic. Harsh Mentor , Pyrostatic Pillar , Eidolon of the Great Revel , Shattergang Brothers or Stranglehold are similar ways to punish opponents while having good cards on your side.

Finally, you should consider Overrun effects as secondary win-conditions. Using Natural Order to grab Craterhoof Behemoth while you have a wide board can easily win you the game; Green Sun's Zenith or Chord of Calling also do the job, though they're more expensive mana-wise and therefore worse. Triumph of the Hordes is a similar card that can snatch games, though it cannot be tutored as easily.

Ok! Good luck -- that's all I got.

SideBae on float like a gruul, stangg like a stangg twin

3 months ago

So there're a lot of different directions you can take RG decks. I'll suggest some basic, universal additions first, and then suggest some win conditions:

Universal

1. The best part of green in EDH is the dorks. You should definitely run at least Llanowar Elves , but there're some other cards you should consider: Fyndhorn Elves , Elvish Mystic , Birds of Paradise , Arbor Elf , Shaman of Forgotten Ways , Somberwald Sage , Joraga Treespeaker ... If you end up having a lot of elves, running something like Priest of Titania is worth including. Depending on your meta, Carpet of Flowers can get a lot of mana. Finally, Orcish Lumberjack is a card I have been very impressed with... turning a forest into effectively a better Black Lotus is a good thing. (Note that Arbor Elf is especially good if it untaps lands enchanted with Utopia Sprawl , Elvish Guidance or Wild Growth ).

2. Red-green decks tend to poop out a lot of creatures and go lightly on the spells. Slate of Ancestry is an EXCELLENT way to recoup card advantage, provided you have a critical mass of creatures on the table. Commune with Lava is another excellent pseudo-card-draw thingy. If your games are usually four player games, Decimate is frequently a four-for-one, meaning that it's another good source of permanent-count advantage. Shamanic Revelation is another good draw-spell. If you have fat enough creatures, Rishkar's Expertise may merit an include. Hull Breach is a great two-for-one.

3. Green-red decks, which tend to be creature-heavy, can be soft to boardwipes. Heroic Intervention is a good way to protect your duders; Grim Flowering and Nature's Resurgence are good ways to recoup cards after losing a bunch of guys.

4. Tutors are good. Gamble is cheap these days, due to the recent reprint. Green Sun's Zenith , Tooth and Nail and Chord of Calling can all grab powerful creatures to play -- note that GSZ for X = 0 can grab Dryad Arbor , if you run it. Worldly Tutor or Sylvan Tutor are also good.

Win Conditions

Oftentimes, green-red decks win through a combination of Stax pieces and aggro cards.

Potential Stax Pieces:

1. Blood Moon / Magus of the Moon : If you craft your land base carefully, you can make these into a near asymmetrical effect. A lot of decks benefit from greedy mana bases in EDH, and these are a way to punish that.

2. Artifact hate is pretty awesome. Collector Ouphe is powerful, since you can get your ramp from creatures while shutting off non-green players' artifact ramp; as an added bonus, you can grab it with Green Sun's Zenith or Chord of Calling . By Force is an excellent card that can nuke a lot of permanents at once, and Nature's Claim is a very efficient removal spell. Krosan Grip may be justified in a heavy-blue meta. Gorilla Shaman is good as a method of artifact-destruction that does not cost you cards. Also Reclamation Sage and Manglehorn .

3. Gruul has access to a lot of hatebears. Ruric Thar, the Unbowed is a really powerful dude you've already got, as he can club combo players like me really hard. Harsh Mentor is good for punishing all sorts of decks. Eidolon of the Great Revel , and his cousin Pyrostatic Pillar , are both good. Scab-Clan Berserker is similar to Kambal, Consul of Allocation in Orzhov. Runic Armasaur , too.

4. Cards like Root Maze can shut down combos really quickly, and City of Solitude / Price of Glory can prevent/discourage countermagic. Pyroblast or the Maybeboarded Red Elemental Blast can also be worth running.

Aggro Cards:

Most of the best green decks end the game with an alpha-strike. Craterhoof Behemoth is the best for this, as it can be tutored out with Natural Order or a high-cost Green Sun's Zenith . Similarly, Overrun is good, but I suggest Triumph of the Hordes as a more potent alternative. This does, of course, require creatures on the board, so I suggest some of the following duders:

• Sunder Shaman

• Xenagos, God of Revels

• Eternal Witness (from Maybeboard)

• Deep Forest Hermit / Thelonite Hermit / Deranged Hermit : These make bodies for Craterhoof Behemoth and Slate of Ancestry ; also good if you end up running Growing Rites of Itlimoc  ^Flip or Gaea's Cradle .

• Beast Whisperer : Added bonus of card advantage.

• God-Eternal Rhonas

• Ilharg, the Raze-Boar : Also can sneak in Craterhoof Behemoth

• Spellbreaker Behemoth

• Prowling Serpopard

• Vexing Shusher

• Courser of Kruphix

• Oracle of Mul Daya

...and the aforementioned hatebears can also attack.

Good luck! That's all I got.

WUBRG87 on First EDH deck: Mayael

3 months ago

I like what you got going on here! +1! Mayeal's awesome. She too, was one of the first decks i ever built. I have a few suggestions for you though, if you don't mind.

I would replace the Lifespring Druid for Birds of Paradise . Hes does the exact same tning, he's just more efficient at one green. Also, with having only two mountains, take out Chained to the Rocks as I think that if you drew it and you don't have a mountain its a dead draw. I would replace it with a Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile . Champion of Rhonas is a good card in the early game maybe your opponents don't have blockers or the blockers they do have are just small 1/1 mana dorks or something than hes great. But Quicksilver Amulet and Elvish Piper * are more efficient im my opinion. As you have no need to attack to get the effect and can do it anytime you have priority. (Even on your opponents turns)

Paleoloth and Spellbreaker Behemoth run great with Mayael because they care about anything power 5 or greater. Plus, Mayael's Aria is a fun and flavorful wincon for you! Hope at least a part of this was helpful. Again, +1! Great list for a first start especially! Oh, and Godsire is just a BEAST in Mayeal!

Shabompistan on Xenagos of the Wild Party

4 months ago

Thanks for the comment VaultSkirge. Spellbreaker Behemoth is a card I considered until I thought about how Genesis Wave works. My understanding is that creatures that ETB as a result of genesis wave are not "cast", so they can't be countered. Given that typically 80% of my creatures come from a gensis wave cast, Spellbreaker Behemoth 's effect is wasted.

VaultSkirge on Xenagos of the Wild Party

4 months ago

You should play Spellbreaker Behemoth

TheDizzyLlama on Xenagos, God of Heavy Hitters copy/bday prototype

5 months ago

Suggestions:

Creatures: Hydra Omnivore Siege Behemoth Spellbreaker Behemoth Beast Whisperer Eternal Witness Nylea, God of the Hunt

Instant: Heroic Intervention Temur Battle Rage Signal the Clans

Sorcery: Decimate Explosive Vegetation Hull Breach Vandalblast Overwhelming Stampede

Artifact: Swiftfoot Boots

Enchantment: Guardian Project Blood Mist Colossal Majesty Warstorm Surge Fires of Yavimaya

Land: Rogue's Passage Kessig Wolf Run