Which Ulamog?
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on Sept. 25, 2015, 7:04 p.m. by Redninja09
Simple question. Which Ulamog is better for an Eldrazi commander deck? Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, or Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre? That is all thanks for the help. :)
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre is a better commander due to indestructible and the shuffle effect.
September 25, 2015 10:17 p.m.
Wheelbc they are both indestructible.....also if its a commander it just goes back to the command zone
September 25, 2015 10:24 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #7
New Ulamog seems underwhelming in the command zone. He needs to attack repeatedly to actually take even one player out of the game. Annihilator is a lot more potent. If you're going to do the new one, you want a lot of processor effects.
September 25, 2015 11:32 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #8
@EmblemMan Not necessarily. You can choose to have your commander go to the graveyard or anywhere else. Moving Ulamog to the command zone is a chosen replacement effect. Now, if your commander would go anywhere from any zone, or from your hand, you may choose to have him go to the command zone instead. So, to top it off, send Ulamog to the graveyard, the shuffle triggers, then send him to the command zone instead of to the library. It's a rather effective shuffling method.
Now, as to who would be the better commander, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, hands down. Annihilator is just too powerful. He screams "deal with me or lose your entire board state." And if you have a Strionic Resonator out, he's twice as deadly.
October 4, 2015 2:23 a.m.
TheCouchPotato says... #9
Sure, you could use Strionic Resonator for infinite gyre and destroy two permanents, OR you could use it with ceaseless hunger and exile 4. Honestly, I think they're about equal. Just go for the one whose style appeals to you the most.
October 4, 2015 4:04 a.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #10
I was referring to copying the annihilator ability, making the opponent sac 8 permanents.
October 4, 2015 4:39 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #11
Annihilator is vastly more powerful than either cast ability, or Ulamog 2's exile. Newlamog is pretty anemic in EDH by comparison simply because he doesn't do that. Taking out part of someone's library isn't as good as demolishing their board state.
The only time I could see Newlamog being the better choice is if you built a deck with the new "exile matters" stuff. If you're planning to win the game by swinging with your commander though, he's the wrong choice.
October 4, 2015 5:03 a.m.
TheCouchPotato says... #12
Oh yeah, forgot about copying annihilator for a second. If you want straight up power, infinite gyre is the way to go. Ceaseless hunger perhaps has more combo potential, but maybe not as the commander. Of course, let us not forget the trickster, Kozilek.
October 4, 2015 9:27 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #13
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is good for card draw, but that's about it unfortunately... The "not being indestructible" is a major downside to him. He dies to Doom Blade, Lux Cannon, or anything of that nature. He'll quickly become too expensive to bother casting just to draw 4 cards.
October 4, 2015 9:40 p.m.
TheCouchPotato says... #14
I don't think Lux Cannon sees much play, but that's besides the point. A lot of stuff in EDH deals with creatures through means other than destroy. Playing an eldrazi titan makes you a huge target, so somebody is going to have a way to remove it, no matter its protection. It's too bad. Attacking with eldrazi is so much fun, although maybe not for your opponent(s).
October 4, 2015 11:35 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #15
My Ulamog's Antiquities deck hasn't seen much resistance in the reasoning of opponents having a way of getting rid of an indestructible Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre as of yet Playing an eldrazi titan as your commander certainly makes you a target, I'll agree with you on that. But you just gotta beat face with it before the opponent has any resistance built up. Lol. And I referred to Lux Cannon, mostly because I play it in my colorless deck and have used it against a Kozilek, Butcher of Truth before... >_>;
October 4, 2015 11:43 p.m.
TheCouchPotato says... #16
Well, I guess some playgroups run more or different types of removal than others.
October 6, 2015 11:52 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #17
@TheCouchPotato: It's very hard to answer something swinging for 10+ on turn 3 or 4 with annihilator 4. Having removal in your deck isn't enough, you have to have it in your hand. And then the damn thing gets cast again, and you have no board state now so you can't do anything.
If nobody at the table is playing white, it becomes even more brutal. Black and blue can potentially deal with it, but not nearly as efficiently.
Also, Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves are a thing.
October 7, 2015 12:15 a.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #18
@ ComradeJim270 Speaking from experience on the receiving end of said annihilator, are we? :)
Anywho, removal for an indestructible commander is rather hard to come by outside of the small pool of exile cards in white (Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile), and forced sacc'ing (Geth's Verdict, Dictate of Erebos), and few colorless ones (Duplicant, Scour from Existence), and the few blue (Curse of the Swine, Reality Shift).
Repeatable removal, such as from Dictate of Erebos will be promptly met by the "destroy target permanent" of Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre upon being recast.
Long story short, the titan will win because removal is mostly focused on destroying, over exiling, and colorless decks only care about one thing: Ramp, ramp and more ramp. They'd be better off targeting the mana rocks over Ulamog himself.
P.S.: If you're playing a colorless Ulamog deck, and give your opponent enough turns to get out a Dictate of Erebos or a Scour from Existence, you're not doing it right and you've already lost by that point. Lol. "You" being a generalized player, no one in particular here.
October 7, 2015 1:21 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #19
Yeah Raging_Squiggle, you're not the only one who runs this commander. And if you're going to play this guy you want him out fast so the table doesn't have time to take you down.
You're right on both counts in my experience. My U/B deck doesn't have much it can do about Ulamog that early. It can slow it down, maybe... but it's very hard to handle once the commander resolves.
And hitting the rocks is brutal against these decks. I've had someone scoop to a T2 Aura Shards followed by Elspeth, Sun's Champion shortly thereafter. Against an Ulamog deck that's arguably a soft lock.
October 7, 2015 1:27 a.m. Edited.
Raging_Squiggle says... #22
And the new Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger doesn't shuffle the graveyard which already is a deal breaker for me.
EmblemMan says... #2
For the commander? Probably infinite gyre annihilator is very strong. If he is not the commander...why not both?
September 25, 2015 7:10 p.m.