Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines

Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor

Vigilance

If a permanent entering the battlefield causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time.

Permanents entering the battlefield don't cause abilities of permanents your opponents control to trigger.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Pre-release	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Standard	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (33)

RCD2023 on Lathiel, Who Blots Out the Sun

1 week ago

hello rakdosrunner!!

i really enjoyed the enforce that u had describing the deck and the mechanics.

i'm playing Lathiel for a long long time and i'm updating him a lot since then.

all the cards that u described i alredy test it, some of then still in the deck but mostly i had cut from the deck in order to be fastier and be more "Go for the troat" (my playgroup dont play easy haha).

firstly i wanna say the awesome cards that i wouldn't dare to touch that u metion before: Aetherflux Reservoir Authority of the Consuls Mangara, the Diplomat True Conviction Worldly Tutor Teferi's Protection Ozolith, the Shattered Spire Branching Evolution Light of Promise Well of Lost Dreams Scholar of New Horizons Tribute to the World Tree Esper Sentinel

it took me a long time to get this deck better and i still getting some frustations but if you like to consider, here some tips of cards to be implemented in order to have a better experience with it: ( mostly of this cards i proxed it because i dont wanna spend a lot of money and because i dont have a headache changing they every 2 months when wizards bring some new things )

starting with the nasty combos :

God Mode ( infinity mana + infinity draw :D ) : Argothian Elder or Priest of Titania + Quirion Ranger+ Ashaya, Soul of the Wild + Beast Whisperer with Eternal Witness in the deck u can even cast your grave again

Lathiel Gatling Gun: Walking Ballista + Heliod, Sun-Crowned or Cleric Class

“Life moves pretty fast..” — Ferris Bueller’s Spike Feeder + Light of Promise

ramp : Marwyn, the Nurturer : counters will get him a good ramp Mirari's Wake : awesome ramp Land Tax: can save you in early game Burgeoning : get ahead Priest of Titania : every elf in the battlefield Exploration : get ahead again Arbor Elf : very good with Selesnya Sanctuary or some mana that u need Mana Reflection: awesome ramp Circle of Dreams Druid : gaeas crandle in creature Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx : why not ? proxy <3 Crop Rotation: get those good lands in battlefield Carpet of Flowers: very good against 2 or more people Smothering Tithe : just perfect

draw : Generous Patron: our green budget risky study, perfect in lathiel Guardian Project : good in general The Great Henge : we have big creatures so probably will cost onle 2 green mana Toski, Bearer of Secrets : unstapable, can't be countered and draw Archivist of Oghma: meh... sometimes good sometimes not, but its 2 mana

tutors: Finale of Devastation : go for the troat Enlightened Tutor: very good tutor in our deck Eladamri's Call : get those pieces that u need Fauna Shaman : get those pieces that u need Defense of the Heart: this is funny, but moste of times works haha Yisan, the Wanderer Bard : good in general Natural Order : to the battlefield! Primal Command : say goodbye to ur grave zombie players

utility: Akroma's Will: defense or end game Alhammarret's Archive : it's 5 mana, but double life gain and double draw Eternal Witness : u have awesome cretures that people wanna destroy so... also good piece of combo God Mode Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines : Hushbringer + Hardened Scales, but better Serra Ascendant: sooooo goood in this deck ... first piece to be tutored by yisan, the wanderer bard Angel of Destiny: go for the troat Ashaya, Soul of the Wild: combo, but also a big creature Overwhelming Stampede : go for the troat Walking Ballista: good in general andd combo Cleric Class: combo but also grave Spike Feeder : Snowball effect, one of the best synergy of lathiel, 'each turn' change counters for life/

Good interactions : Aura Shards , Force of Vigor 2 ducks 1 shot ,Farewell exile :) , Kenrith's Transformation (interaction with draw)

nbarry223 on Viga-BOOM! (Turn 2)

2 weeks ago

It was a little too greedy, so I reverted to something less greedy. However, after cutting all the fat, I found myself with enough room to play around with the main support color, and {W} is basically the best currently.

We get access to one of the best turn 2 cards when we don’t quite have all the pieces, in the form of Eladamri's Call and one of the best hate cards in the format, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines.

There’s also plenty of other {W} cards like Dragonlord Dromoka or Yasharn, Implacable Earth that could fit, but I’m not in need of what they provide the deck currently.

Right now, with our higher than usual Forests and other mainboard cards that let us play through Blood Moon easier (went for consistency over greed) we don’t really need to dedicate slots to improving those matchups as much. This let me slot in Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines which is arguably an improved Torpor Orb and Defense Grid since we mainly want it against the mirror and evoke elementals.

I’ll have to update the decks description a bit, since this is what I am happy with for now.

I did toy around with the Timeless Lotus idea though, and I have gotten that pretty close to where I like it through playtesting, although that’s a far cry from this deck’s initial iteration, so I’ll make a separate iteration for that.

nbarry223 on Viga-BOOM! (Turn 2)

3 weeks ago

I don't know, 3 Azusa's is a bit much, you'd be surprised how often that legendary rule comes up. Even with 2, I saw the second copy more often than I wanted to. Dead / Gone also seems a bit strange instead of Dismember. Relying on an early red so much seems odd, especially since the 3 CMC of the split isn't even permanent removal. You're weakening your position against a multitude of decks to have a slightly better edge against things like Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines that are unable to be removed otherwise. If you are going for an off-color answer anyway, there's definitely better options. Sure you can still answer Magus of the Moon with it's front, but almost any form of creature removal kills that.

Anyway, Altered Ego sees play in quite a few top 8 decks already, just in their sideboards. It is a fetchable answer to Archon of Cruelty and an uncounterable threat you can dump excess mana into (you can also copy an opponent's hexproof/shroud creature if that ever comes up). However, I like it mainly because you can copy your own Primeval Titan to chain into 2 titans with a singular amulet (can still usually only haste 1) or pretty often 3+ titans with double amulet. Being able to make a second titan so easily is really nice, and it happens to help with 2 of the deck's weaknesses. In fact, it is so powerful, that it devalues Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion quite a bit, essentially making it unnecessary in a lot of situations you would lean on it otherwise - to the point where I cut the win-more card.

It is possible to play into removal with the clone, but you shouldn't be playing that aggressive against an unknown deck, decks where you suspect Solitude or an opponent with open mana for removal. Always play for an actual second Primeval Titan first before trying to copy against those types of decks. Playing into something you shouldn't is what I would call a misplay, not a bad card.

Atraxa, Grand Unifier is a bit situational, but it is similar to Cultivator Colossus in what it does for the deck. It's recently seen top 8 play (which is what inspired the recent changes), albeit alongside Dramatic Entrance to cheat it into play. Instead of that, I am playing Timeless Lotus which I feel has arguably more synergy with the deck and the way I want to play it (as more of a midrange deck). It is capable of fixing our mana to cast Atraxa, Grand Unifier, and we also have Eldritch Evolution or Scapeshift to bring it or the land dependant Cultivator Colossus into play, depending on which is best.

Elvish Reclaimer is admittedly a bit slow, but it does almost everything you could possibly want (albeit slightly worse than other options). If you are capable of paying an extra mana at some point in the game, it is worth it as turns go on, being a psuedo-extra land card, mana fixing, better Expedition Map which puts the target into play, or a decent sized body (can even threaten pumping it and never actually investing mana into it to deter attacks). Hell, you can even pact for it when missing a bounce and unable to pay for pact, using its ability in response, returning that bounce to hand) provided you can actually pay for the pact AFTER the ability resolves).

The inclusions make the deck far less linear and complicate the lines a lot more (because amulet titan isn't complicated enough already...) I'm not saying they are a strictly better upgrade, as I am trading a little bit of consistency for resilience/explosiveness.

That being said, I think just dismissing all of the changes as "bad" because it "isn't what the pros are doing" is a little laughable. Am I stretching the limits of the deck a little right now? Absolutely. Is every new card you've never seen in an amulet shell automatically bad? Absolutely not. We'd still be playing with Hive Mind if that was the case (never liked the concept of combo pieces which do nothing on their own - so glad people moved away from that archetype).

jbump75 on Temple of Doom (NEED HELP!)

1 month ago

I've play tested both Treacherous Blessing and Hallowed Haunting and for some reason they tend to not be as effective as what I have here. Adding Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines felt like a decent idea, but it's not performing as I had hoped. Please let me know if there are any suggestions for substitutions.

Cicjose on Hellbound Heart

1 month ago

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines being in white certainly is a bummer to not be able to fit in this deck

Icbrgr on

1 month ago

I dont know if you come up against spirits often... but because they run Selfless Spirit the needed Wrath of God effect can get hosed... I have found that Settle the Wreckage seems to be a good way to get around this because somtimes I just cant wait for Farewell.... speaking of spirits Skyclave Apparition and Phyrexian Missionary seel like they might have good synergy with Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines.

Barbarian_Sun_Pope on Swine About it Some Boar

2 months ago

I like the combos here (+1). Perhaps you can double up on Ilharg's abilty with Strionic Resonator or if you can splash a bit of white for Isshin, Two Heavens as One. You could also double up on the ETB triggers with Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines and Panharmonicon. If you don't want to splash white, Wulfgar of Icewind Dale is also pretty good with Ilharg. Hope this helps.

Gidgetimer on elesh norn, mother of machines …

2 months ago

Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines makes the trigger happen an additional time. You will search your library for up to 3 plains; and then, assuming no responses, search your library for up to 3 plains for a total of 6 plains. People will get priority between the two searches so your opponents may try to get tricksy, but most of the time you should be allowed to shortcut it by just getting all 6 at the same time.