Emergence Zone

Land

{T}: Add {C}.

{1}, {T}, Sacrifice Emergence Zone: You may cast spells this turn as though they had flash.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	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
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (49)

KongMing on The Bad Plus

4 days ago

Emergence Zone could be good for wiping the field with an Instant speed boardwipe on the end step before Kaervek enters.

Azoth2099 on The Iron Giant

1 week ago

Have you considered Emergence Zone, Crystal Vein, City of Traitors or Urza's Saga for your land base? A few Tutors and choice card draw pieces like Ring of Three Wishes, The One Ring, Planar Bridge, Planar Portal & Citanul Flute could help you quickly outvalue your opponents with your Commander's ability, as could Ramp pieces like Ashnod's Altar & Doubling Cube. Portal to Phyrexia & Grimoire of the Dead could potentially win some games here as well, depending on the pod!

Azoth2099 on Galea, Kindler of Hope

1 week ago

Kman24

Recs to consider: Sword of Feast and Famine, Soothsaying, Vanishing, Idyllic Tutor, Sterling Grove, Moon-Blessed Cleric, Conqueror's Flail, Steal Enchantment, Ponder, Mirri's Guile, Alchemist's Refuge & Emergence Zone.

ASalesman on Unesh, Ultimate Guide (Tribal)

2 months ago

BIG REVISION HERE

Here is all the big changes I've made to this list, and an explanation for each. Guide edits will come in a little bit!

• Replaced Burnished Hart with Mistwalker. Burnished Hart feels too slow, Mistwalker is a cheap sphinx that makes the deck go fast. Mistwalker is a nice addition because it benefits from the full 2 cmc reduction from Unesh. 1/3 and flying on Mistwalker makes it the best changeling when it comes to combat.
• Replaced Guardian of Tazeem with Aetherflux Reservoir. Aetherflux Reservoir is a new win condition in this deck. With all of the added changelings and ability to bounce changelings to your hand, it is easier than ever to play a lot of spells on your turn. In addition to being a 50 lifepoint cannon at instant speed, it is the only lifegain in the deck. It can make up for all the health you lost from Mana Crypt and Ancient Tomb. Guardian of Tazeem's effect is underwhelming most of the time. Having the other cheaper sphinxes there is still 20% sphinx, and are easier to play.
• Replaced Leyline of Anticipation with Narset's Reversal. Leyline's effect is honestly underwhelming at 4 CMC. It's great if it starts in your opening hand, but it is Force of Will fodder otherwise. Debatably it is worth for synergy with Sphinx of the Second Sun, but adding emergence zone (description below) gives you a cheaper Leyline effect at the cost of it only being one turn. One turn with the effect is all you need to win the game though, or to get very far ahead with Sphinx of the Second Sun. Narset's Reversal is a great card because it can be great in a counterspell war, but it can also be used to augment your other cards such as Frantic Search or High Tide or Ghostly Flicker. I love Narset's Reversal because it is great on it's own, but also sees some great synergy.
• Replaced Myriad Landscape with Emergence Zone. Myriad landscape is noticably too slow, similar to burnished hart. The utility from Emergence Zone can be outstanding. Emergence Zone is a more easily accessible Leyline of Anticipation essentially. It is less mana to use at the price of using it for only a turn. Presumably the turn that you would use it you would also win the game, so you don't need it more than once anyway.
• Replaced Treachery with Cloudstone Curio. Treachery is a clunky card that rarely resolves. If the mana doesn't untap after this card is played, it feels very bad. Cloudstone Curio is an engine in this deck. It really keeps the BFOF's coming. Playing this card with Universal Automaton on the field means you get to double all of your BFOF's that you play. Additionally, it works particualrly well with the newly added Aetherflux Reservoir.
• Replaced Long-Term Plans with Chain of Vapor. If you are playing the deck right you are seeing enough of your deck to get your game winning cards without using long term plans. Long term plans also scuffs one of your BFOF's because your opponent knows which card it is. Chain of vapor has many uses. As well as being spot removal, it can be used to protect Unesh, and to return other cheap sphinxes to your hand to be played again which grants additional synergy with the Aetherflux Reservoir win condition.
• Replaced Sphinx of Uthuun with Sakashima of a Thousand Faces. Sphinx of Uthuun is expensive for what it does. It will normally be chaper to play Sakashima, and it becomes a second Unesh which doubles all of your BFOFs rather than getting you an extra regular FOF. Having a second Unesh on the field also grants you protection from spot removal targetting only one Unesh.
• Replaced Riddlemaster Sphinx with Bloodline Pretender. Riddlemaster Sphinx's ETB isn't as good as the others (Enigma Thief and Dream Eater). Bouncing one creature isn't super great because your sphinxes already have combat superiority most of the time. It feels expensive for what it does, which means it is too slow. Another cheap sphinx in this slot speeds up the deck, and provides extra synergy with the other added cards.
• Replaced Island with Lotus Field. I want to try this out. I am skeptical that it is actually better than an Island, but we will see! Let me know what you think here.
• Replaced Island with Sea Gate Restoration  ^Flip. Becasue why not really? Worst case scenario, you pay 3 life to have it enter as an untapped island. Having it your hand later game can get you a lot of cards in a pinch.
• Replaced Imprisoned in the Moon with Gilded Drake. Gilded drake is 1 mana cheaper. It not only takes your opponents creature away from them, it also gives it to you, at the cost of them having a 3/3 flyer. In cEDH this trade is insanely good for you. Imprisoned in the moon can be removed to return the creature back to their side. Nothing happens when Gilded Drake dies. He can also be easily blocked by one of your sphinxes, which means it might be chip damage to a different opponent. To me Gilded Drake is a no brainer here.

ASalesman on Unesh, Ultimate Guide (Tribal)

2 months ago

GHoag, it's not often I hear of someone actually processing what I have to say which is refreshing, thank you! When thinking of cards to put in, it is also important to think of which cards come out as a result.

Reflections of Littjara is a card I haven't considered before. This would definitely be a fun card to test out! Drawbacks: it is a little more mana expensive, its not an artifact so it doesn't synergize with Scholar of the Lost Trove. Benefits: Panharmonicon redundancy, MORE BUFF CREATURES ON THE BOARD, higher devotion. Battle damage is not insignificant in this deck, so I would give this card a fair shot. You could try replacing Treachery, Extraplanar Lens, Leyline of Anticipation. I chose these cards because in my testing these cards seem to be clunky. Treachery is mana expensive and not garunteed to land because opponents will typically counter or remove if they can. Extraplanar Lens also feels particularly bad if it gets removed. Leyline of anticipation feels pretty bad most of the time, I end up pitching it to Force of Will more than I play it.

Emergence Zone actually seems like it could be a more accessible Leyline of Anticipation. Definitely worth playtesting with it in the deck in place of an Island.

I have thought about the Isochron Scepter/Dramatic Reversal combo a lot. The thing I really dislike about it is that it takes up 2 slots, and you don't always have both at the same time. Dramatic reversal isn't particularly good because you will not usually have a lot of artifacts to untap. It's best use in this deck would be to give your sphinx's fake vigilance. Using Isochron with Mystical Tutor is a more interesting thought however, but then again it is still 2 slots. Maybe Isochron is good having a counterspell on it every now and then too. I have never been able to figure out what to take out for the scepter, because it's not good on its own. Drawing it in your opening hand during a competitive game feels really bad.

I will have to try some of these cards when I get the opportunity! Thank you so much for your contribution! Feel free to bounce any other questions you have off me :)

Azoth2099 on Saruman, the X man

3 months ago

Xindmin

So, this list is off to a great start in my opinion. I've put together a few lists for Saruman of Many Colors of my own, and the only ones that work at a high level are the ones with literally like 15+ Mana Rocks because of the Commander's MV, so great job there lol.

I do think you need a LOT more low-cost Instants to consistently Trigger Saruman of Many Colors' Ability, though. Mainly 1-drop & 2-drop Counterspells, Cantrips & Removal Spells are what I mean, as they'll allow you to seamlessly meet your proc requirement, draw cards, interact & fill your opponent's Graveyards with things you wanna steal without having to necessarily pivot your focus to do so. I'd consider Mystical Tutor, Swan Song, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Flusterstorm, Dispel, Miscast, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, Winds of Rebuke, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Silence, Orim's Chant & Disenchant for example. Free spells like Misdirection & Snapback can also carry a lot of weight here, never underestimate the power of a free cast at Instant speed in this deck. Borne Upon a Wind, Quicken & Emergence Zone could enable some craziness as well.

Intentionally filling your opponents yards with things like Mind Grind & Traumatize is also good strategy, but personally I'd be very discerning as to which of those pieces actually make the cut compared to cards like the aforementioned Instants.

Also, I know its expensive but I'd have to recommend Vampiric Tutor here. It was around $90 a little bit ago, and now it's around $40 I think. Better to get it while the getting is good, so to speak.

Cheers!

DreadKhan on Maralen's Merry-Go-Round of Death

3 months ago

Have you thought about using an Emergence Zone? Casting Maralen on the end step before your turn sounds amazing, you tutor first and can grab your Opposition Agent! Teferi's Puzzle Box is pretty interesting with Maralen out, especially if you can skip your draw step somehow (I like Necropotence). In a meta where people love Najeela and Winota I don't think I'd want to go without Make an Example in mono-Black, this removal will always hit the most important thing on each opponent's board, and if they choose poorly they'll lose more. I wonder if Necromantic Selection is more impactful/hits the table sooner than In Garruk's Wake? If you're really far behind keeping your board is probably a lot worse than stealing the best creature you wiped. I'm also not sure if Decree of Pain is better than Wake, it's modal (with both modes being potentially relevant), and it's a tad cheaper, the sheer card advantage is probably better in a cEDH deck with more fast mana though. Any reason you're not on Lightning Greaves? I find this is a reasonable choice in a deck that cares about it's Commander, I guess you're still open to Instants, but if you can't give Maralen Flash somehow it seems good, maybe I'm missing something?

Are you skipping staples like Mana Crypt and Mana Vault because they are too pricey? If you still want playable ramp in mono-Black, there are a few options that you aren't running yet. I think your average MV is high enough to look at Dream Devourer, this makes your spells easier to cast, and even if you lose the Devourer you can still cast the spell. I'm not sure it really fits, but if you need to cast big value stuff then Magus of the Coffers is good help, and it tends to impact the board sooner than Nirkana Revenant fwiw. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth isn't ramp but it works with lots of Black cards that care about swamps. Cabal Ritual is a bigger Dark Ritual, especially if you've Milled yourself a bit.

I think I liked this deck so much it inspired me to look at my copy of Maralen, and I think I've thought of a deck for her at last, I think it'll be my sweaty try-hard win con in my Sisay, Weatherlight Captain deck, thanks for the inspiration, hope some of my ideas are helpful!

GodzSoldier on Brown and Sticky

4 months ago

Don't know if your main Wincon is Mortal combat now, but if it is, I'd recommend Emergence Zone for surprise win, perhaps even putting in a crop rotation for a bigger surprise. Also, you're playing Jarad on the deck, perhaps play Lord of extinction as well for the one shot? Haha