A new list I'm working on. While Battle for Zendikar was originally supposed to rotate out of Standard this past April, it seems as though Amonkhet has given the Processor Eldrazi new life by making exiling easier and opening up a potential synergy with Drake Haven.
Scarab Feast
, while not a great maindeck choice on its own, is everything this deck could ask for, and the cyclers, combined with Fathom Feeder and Geier Reach Sanitarium, should keep the flow of cards moving. I think this could give decent tempo and prey on control and combo decks, like
New Perspectives
and Aetherworks Marvel.
Let me go over a few key cards here:
Salvage Drone
/Fathom Feeder - The two creatures I'd really like to be able to land early on in the game. They provide Ingest fuel for Wasteland Strangler and
Ulamog's Nullifier
. Salvage Drone's looting ability on death lets the deck go one card deeper, and activates Drake Haven - an easy way to get a Drake on turn 4 - while Fathom Feeder can provide many more cards if it goes unchecked, and promises to be able to block something potentially much bigger than itself.
Wasteland Strangler - Pretty simple. It's an on-curve 2-for-1 if it gets to kill something. Multiples of these are really nasty against aggro decks, so as long as exiling things is easy enough, this deserves four spots. Usually gets sided out against more controlling decks.
Ulamog's Nullifier
- Another huge payoff for exiling, provided that you can reliably fuel it on curve. Before Amonkhet, you frankly couldn't. Now that
Scarab Feast
is a thing and Transgress the Mind is a good maindeck card again, it's time for more potential 2-for-1s. It flies with the Drakes, and the fact that it survives Flaying Tendrils out of the side is relevant. Like Spell Queller, very strong against control and combo decks, while being able to hit bigger things like
New Perspectives
and Glorybringer.
Drake Haven - An engine in and of itself, one that makes sure that there's always something to do with the deck's mana, and with its cycling/looting. Cheap cyclers Censor and
Scarab Feast
become 2/2 fliers, while Fetid Pools and one-of fun-of Wander in Death can do the same for .
Salvage Drone
gets extra utility, and Geier Reach Sanitarium can consistently bring Drakes even without cyclers - and find more cyclers! Fliers are really good right now, too.
Baral's Expertise - This is the get-out-of-jail-free card for aggressive decks that start faster than the deck can answer threats. If they try to go under, this can stop their assault, and at the same time provide a safe way to land a Drake Haven. It can also do cute things like bounce a Wasteland Strangler and re-cast it, or bounce something and then Transgress the Mind it away.
Scarab Feast
- Most of the time, this just gets cycled. However, it's similar to the Commands from Dragons of Tarkir (or the older ones), in that the flexibility it offers is perhaps its biggest asset. When it gets cast, it can give strong exile fuel for the Processors, and threatens to randomly hose the crap out of graveyard strategies. No one is expecting this maindeck. Oh well.
The sideboard - Extra Transgresses and counterspells can allow the deck to morph more into a control deck, and Flaying Tendrils is both disgusting against Zombies and deals with other tokens - say, against Anointed Procession decks - nicely. Blight Herder can build a board presence against control, whether it gets countered or not, while the Eldrazi Scion tokens can be sacrificed to power out Drake tokens.
That's pretty much all I have. Based on my first few matches with this deck, it has an engine that purrs like a kitten. It's rare that a budget deck squeezes this much value out of its cards, but it definitely works, and it feels super flexible. Let me know what you think!
