Elves of the Swarm (Budget)

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Emerging Strategies - An Eldritch Review —July 10, 2016

Playtesting

Playtesting Update 4: Rites Elves is now back to Golgari. I just can't bring myself to use the terrible Abzan manabase when a Golgari version is turning out to be just as good with such a better manabase. Dropping white might be an mistake, we will see. The new Golgari version gives me the most consistent way to find and use emerge, Distended Mindbender and Decimator of the Provinces while not hindering the overall Elf strategy. It's time to move on to developing the sideboard.

Playtesting Update 3: I just updated Rite Elves, for now I'm sticking with Abzan because of Eldrazi Displacer. I need to get more playtesting done in other matchups besides GW Tokens with the Golgari version, deck:emn-golgari-rite-elves/ to get a better idea if cutting Displacer and white is the right move.

Playtesting Update 2: I'm leaning toward going with Golgari just because the manabase makes it easier to cast Distended Mindbender. Preorder your Distended Mindbenders now, they are currently only $3. I thought this card was going to be good, but I didn't think it would be as good as it is. The reason it's great is it's essentially a 4 drop sometimes a 5 drop in this deck, either for its stats and abilities is excellent. I've decided that what ever version of Rite Elves I end up in 3-4x of this card will be in it.

Playtesting Update 1: I've been playtesting the Golgari version, deck:emn-golgari-rite-elves/ vs GW Tokens for the last couple hours and have been most impressed with Distended Mindbender more so than Decimator of the Provinces. Turn 3 Foul Emissary into turn 4 Mindbender is super good. Mindbender is just plain faster which is more devastating to my opponent then Decimator. Once taking both Nissa, Voice of Zendikar and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. Another time I took Archangel Avacyn  ^Flip and Declaration in Stone. Decimator is also good because of the trample he has and gives Elves, but I haven't cast him as many times as I have cast Mindbender. I've found with Decimator that I really need a Cryptolith Rite in play to be able to realistically cast him which is inconsistent.

Review

Eldritch Moon (EMN) just like Shadows Over Innistrad (SOI) doesn't have any Elves in the set. This EMN review will unfortunately not be about Elves, but instead about possible strategies that can be added to strengthen Rite Elves as well as possible other directions this deck can go. The current version is great in my opinion, but the emergence of some new Eldrazi might change it for the better. Eldrazi Displacer is still really excellent in Standard since GW Tokens is still one of, if not the best deck and it looks to potentially become even stronger when EMN enters Standard. The interactions that Displacer creates with Elves are really powerful right now. Collected Company is still one of the best cards in Standard and by far the best overall selection spell with Displacer and Elves until it rotates in October. Cryptolith Rite is still a great overall engine with Elves which I don't see changing until October. I would prefer to use a Golgari version and leave this terrible Abzan + Colorless manabase behind, but because of the power level of white in general I'm not sure this is really possible.

EMN really didn't give this deck much to work with using the current version. Displacer with Elves will function just as well without including any new cards from EMN. The core strategy needs to drastically change for EMN to have much impact on the current version. Has EMN presented any possible new directions this deck can go? The short answer is yes, surprisingly enough both emerge Eldrazi and Eldritch Evolution are potentially new build around cards with Elves. Are both these new strategies better than the existing synergy of Eldrazi Displacer and Elves with Cryptolith Rite? I'm not sure yet.

The positives in EMN are most definitely the emerge Eldrazi specially Decimator of the Provinces and Distended Mindbender. With Foul Emissary as an excellent creature that can find these Eldrazi or Elves as well as give value when sacrificed to help pay their emerge costs. Eldritch Evolution has real potential as being a build around card with Sylvan Messenger, Elves and Woodland Bellower. Some of these new options could be included in the main deck of this deck or other versions of Rite Elves to be playtested. There are a ton of potential sideboard cards, with Permeating Mass and Ishkanah, Grafwidow as the stand outs, but them and all the others will require playtesting when the new Standard meta becomes clearer.

Emerge

The new Eldrazi with emerge look to be the best cards for Elves and Cryptolith Rite in EMN. The stand out emerge for this deck is Decimator of the Provinces. Decimator gives Elves something that hasn't been in Standard since Overrun and Craterhoof Behemoth left, a mass pumping effect that also gives trample to all creatures. Decimator himself also has trample as well as haste making him an extremely powerful creature that can win or swing a game in a single turn. What's great about Decimator is he shares the same gameplay mindset of both Shaman of the Pack and Rite, fill the battlefield with Elves. Slotting him into the existing deck doesn't really require must change other than cutting Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen.

All emerge Eldrazi's abilities happen when they are cast this is a huge reason these creatures seem be very powerful because their abilities will happen no matter what, even if they are counted it doesn't matter the triggers still happen. Emerge seems very abusable and reminds me of delve, which in Standard was one of the best mechanics ever. I have to sacrifice creatures I control to cast these Eldrazi for their emerge cost. Whatever the casting cost of the creature I sacrifice this number reduces the emerge casting cost. Sacrificing a 4 drop for example lets me emerge Decimator for only 5 mana, three of which need to be green. He costs 6 mana if sacrificing a 3 drop which will most likely be the common occurrence in this deck.

Getting some value from the creatures before or after I sacrifice to pay for these emerge costs is very important; it's a key aspect of the playability of emerge. Both Shaman of the Pack, Eldrazi Displacer and new comer Foul Emissary accomplish this. Shaman right away when she enters the battlefield. Displacer over the course of a few turns and Emissary when he enters the battlefield as well as if he is sacrificed to help pay for emerge. These three drops are definitely not the best examples of value creatures to use with emerge, but they are fine for this deck because they all have excellent synergy with Elves, not just being used as sacrifice fodder.

The other emerge Eldrazi that has a chance to make the main deck is Distended Mindbender. Mindbender looks extremely powerful for it's emerge cost, which is only 7 mana, two of which have to be black. Mindbender's cast trigger looks like it could be devastating to my opponent. Getting to take two possible cards from their hand while I get a 5/5 Monster in play can be really hard for my opponent to come back from. Mindbender looks like an excellent way to combat both board wipes and Planeswalkers before my opponent can play them. For only four mana and sacrificing a 3 drop Mindbender can be emerged. He's definitely a busted creature for only 4 mana. I see this line of play as being incredibly good: turn two Leaf Gilder into turn three Collected Company getting a Foul Emissary who finds a Mindbender into a turn 4 sac Emissary emerge Mindbender. A big negative against Mindbender is it's required double black emerge cost. I've been trying to avoid using any double black or double white cards because the Abzan manabase really can't support them without having a Cryptolith Rite in play, double green cards are fine. Making double black work looks to be much easier to achieve then double white, but might require using Evolving Wilds again.

These emerge Eldrazi can't interact with Collected Company at all, they have too high of casting costs. Company can't get them, but what it can do is get creatures in play the fastest of any other spell. These creatures can then possibly be sacrificed to cast these Eldrazi for their emerge costs earlier in the game than normal. Being able to get these Eldrazi into play turn four or five is a huge appeal of using them. Company looks like an excellent spell to achieve this. This is really where Foul Emissary becomes important because Company can get him which in turn lets him possibly find one of these Eldrazi to be cast the following turn.

Eldrazi Displacer much like Company can't interact with these emerge Eldrazi because their abilities are on the cast not when entering the battlefield, which Displacer likes. These Eldrazi are not good blink targets which is definitely a negative against using them. However, Displacer is one of the creatures that will most likely be sacrificed to cast emerge meaning he won't be in play to use his abilities with them.

I overlooked Foul Emissary after the full set was revealed and didn't even mention him in my EMN wrap up. I saw him as a 3 drop 1/1 creature and ignored him without reading his other abilities which turns out are really good. He looks like an excellent creature to use with emerge. Collected Company can put him into play. His enters the battlefield ability can find emerge Eldrazi or an Elf such as Shaman of the Pack or another creature. Sacrificing him to cast emerge also gets me a 3/2 Eldrazi in play which is strong. He replaces himself when he enters and gives value when he dies which is exactly what I want with emerge. Is he better than Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip for this deck?

Evolution

The other stand out card in EMN that has real potential with Elves is Eldritch Evolution. Evolution is a hard card to gauge. On first glance it seems ridiculously powerful, but when I examine it closer it really is card disadvantage in a game unless I build this deck around getting the most value from creatures before or after they are sacrificed. The way Evolution works is by 2s. Whatever creature I sacrifice when I cast it I can tutor for any other creature that has a casting cost of that creature plus 2 or less. This means that 4 drops are very important to use because the majority of Elves are 2 drops. Sacrificing a 4 drop then gets me a 6 drop. Making 2 drops, 4 drops and 6 drops the most important casting costs of creatures if using Evolution in this deck. All of this theory is based around using 4x Evolution as the build around card with Elves. Evolution has the incredible ability of tutoring for Shaman of the Pack by sacrificing any 2 drop Elf such as Elvish Visionary this means that even just using 1-2x of it in this deck is fine giving me additional possible Shamans is very good with Elves.

Jamming 4x Evolution into this deck just because it can tutor for Shaman is in my opinion a mistake. The thought of having 8x possible Shamans is very appealing, but I need to look at the bigger picture. This strategy is fine when I'm are far ahead in a game with many Elves in play where sacrificing any 2 drop in play will get me a Shaman, but this plan is terrible when I'm behind, lacking Elves on the battlefield. Sacrificing another Elf to get Shaman is decreasing Shaman's power. I don't want to be losing Elves thus cards before getting a Shaman into play.

Woodland Bellower has been in my opinion a very underrated card who has great synergy with Elves especially Shaman of the Pack and Sylvan Advocate. He just hasn't made the cut to be used in this deck for a while mostly because hes doesn't interact with Collected Company which is the selection spell of choice for a while now with Elves. Evolution might just give Bellower his time to shine. He seems excellent with Evolution because he is a 6 drop who also gets me a 3 drop or a 2 drop. It's this value that I'm looking for when using Evolution with Elves. Sylvan Messenger can't interact with Bellower in the sense that she can't find Bellower, but she is a 4 drop who can be sacrificed to cast Evolution to get Bellower; this interaction seems very powerful. Messenger is not guaranteed to give you value when she comes into play, but most of the time she does, a lot of it, in the form of other Elves including other copies of herself. These three cards Messenger, Evolution and Bellower together create enough value to totally offset the card disadvantage that Evolution creates.

The new emerge Eldrazi don't really have any synergy with Eldritch Evolution because it puts the creature I tutor for into play. I want to cast emerge to get the awesome abilities of these creatures which Evolution doesn't let me do. The trade off here is emerge interacts great with higher casting cost creatures because they reduce emerge costs ridiculously busted amounts. My plan to get the use of Evolution with Elves is to use 4 drops and 6 drops, Sylvan Messenger and Woodland Bellower. They also both let me cast these emerge Eldrazi for very low amounts of mana. Messenger into emerge Distended Mindbender is only 3 mana. Messenger into emerge Decimator of the Provinces is only 5 mana. Bellower into Decimator is only 3 mana!

Sacrificing higher casting cost creatures that can give me some value when they enter play is the option I want to use with both emerge and Eldritch Evolution together. Sylvan Messenger seems very good with both. Great with emerge because she most of the time gives me great value in form of putting more Elves into my hand; this is exactly what I want from a creature before sacrificing it. The best scenario is that the creature I'm sacrificing replaces itself in some way before this happens; Messenger has the potential to do this and more. Messenger is also quite good with Evolution since she is a creature, any 2 drop Elf can be sacrificed to tutor for her.

Brews

Here are three new brews that Rite Elves could potentially become after a lot of playtesting.

New Abzan still featuring Cryptolith Rite, Collected Company, Eldrazi Displacer and now including Decimator of the Provinces, Distended Mindbender and Evolving Wilds

• 4x Leaf Gilder
• 4x Sylvan Advocate
• 4x Dwynen's Elite
• 4x Elvish Visionary
• 4x Shaman of the Pack
• 3x Eldrazi Displacer
• 2x Nissa, Vastwood Seer  ^Flip
• 3x Distended Mindbender
• 2x Decimator of the Provinces

• 5x Forest
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Plains
• 4x Evolving Wilds
• 4x Llanowar Wastes
• 4x Caves of Koilos
• 2x Shambling Vent
• 2x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip


• 4x Collected Company
• 3x Cryptolith Rite

Playtest Abzan Here: deck:emn-rite-elves/

New Golgari featuring Cryptolith Rite, Collected Company and now including Decimator of the Provinces, Distended Mindbender and Foul Emissary.

• 4x Leaf Gilder
• 4x Sylvan Advocate
• 4x Dwynen's Elite
• 4x Elvish Visionary
• 4x Shaman of the Pack
• 2x Nissa, Vastwood Seer  ^Flip
• 3x Foul Emissary
• 3x Distended Mindbender
• 2x Decimator of the Provinces

• 8x Forest
• 5x Swamp
• 4x Llanowar Wastes
• 4x Hissing Quagmire
• 2x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip


• 4x Collected Company
• 3x Cryptolith Rite

Playtest Golgari Here: deck:emn-golgari-rite-elves/

New Golgari featuring Eldritch Evolution which also includes Sylvan Messenger, Woodland Bellower, Decimator of the Provinces, Distended Mindbender and Mirrorpool.

• 4x Leaf Gilder
• 4x Sylvan Advocate
• 4x Dwynen's Elite
• 4x Elvish Visionary
• 4x Shaman of the Pack
• 3x Nissa, Vastwood Seer  ^Flip
• 4x Sylvan Messenger
• 2x Woodland Bellower
• 2x Distended Mindbender
• 2x Decimator of the Provinces

• 9x Forest
• 5x Swamp
• 4x Llanowar Wastes
• 4x Hissing Quagmire
• 1x Mirrorpool


• 4x Eldritch Evolution

Playtest Evolution Golgari Here: deck:emn-evolution-elves/

The Future

This deck and Elves in general are completely up in the air after EMN. In October 2016 the next Standard rotation happens. At this rotation the set Magic Origins as well as all of Khans of Takir block leave Standard. This deck is crushed at rotation because all Elves leave except Sylvan Advocate and the few other from Battle for Zendikar block. Collected Company also leaves at this rotation. Since the entire Shadows Over Innistrad block has no Elves in either set this leaves the archetype after rotation unplayable.

The September 2016 block is a new plane Kaladesh and the second set in the block is Aether Revolt. Kaladesh looks like it's going for a steampunk vibe which is really great. It's the home plane of Chandra so one would expect that red will finally be a dominate color in Standard again. The few pictures I have seen of Kaladesh makes it look really awesome, very colorful and cheerful. It's such a sigh of relief to finally visit a new plane getting completely away from Eldrazi; the doom and gloom that was both Zendikar and Innistrad. The only way Elves in Standard can survive is if they are a central part of the green side of Kaladesh. I really hope this is the case because I was so disappointed in the amount of Elves that Battle for Zendikar block had and then the entire Shadows Over Innistrad block has no Elves at all. Wizards can really make up for this by having a lot of Elves in Kaladesh.