Falconer of the Forbidden Way

Commander / EDH* Annihilator Casual Eldrazi Fight Jank Ramp RG (Gruul) Stompy

DreadKhan

Ramp (27)

• 1x Blighted Woodland
• 1x Eldrazi Temple
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Green Sun's Twilight
• 1x Wild Growth
• 1x Bramble Familiar
• 1x Doubling Cube
• 1x Fanatic of Rhonas
• 1x Open the Way *f-etch*
• 1x Rampant Growth
• 1x Dire-Strain Rampage
• 1x Domri, Anarch of Bolas
• 1x Heartbeat of Spring
• 1x Mana Flare
• 1x Recross the Paths
• 1x Search for Tomorrow
• 1x Circuitous Route
• 1x Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
• 1x Path of Annihilation
• 1x Doors of Durin
• 1x Hour of Promise
• 1x Etali, Primal Storm
• 1x Lurking Predators
• 1x Road / Ruin
• 1x Ugin, the Ineffable

Eagle (15)

• 1x Path of Annihilation
• 1x Endbringer
• 1x Deceiver of Form
• 1x Breaker of Armies
• 1x Eldrazi Conscription
• 1x Ulamog's Crusher
• 1x Artisan of Kozilek
• 1x Void Winnower
• 1x Decimator of the Provinces
• 1x Kozilek, the Great Distortion
• 1x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
• 1x Ulamog, the Defiler *f-pre*
• 1x Pathrazer of Ulamog
• 1x It That Betrays
• 1x Emrakul, the Promised End

Beater (5)

• 1x Dragonlair Spider
• 1x Etali, Primal Storm
• 1x Darksteel Colossus
• 1x Blightsteel Colossus
• 1x Ghalta, Primal Hunger

Politics (4)

• 1x Heartbeat of Spring
• 1x Mana Flare
• 1x Bramble Sovereign
• 1x Emrakul, the Promised End

Recursion (3)

• 1x Bramble Familiar
• 1x Desecrate Reality
• 1x Artisan of Kozilek

Haste (1)

• 1x Rhythm of the Wild

Tutor (1)

• 1x Hour of Promise

Land (36)

• 1x Blighted Woodland
• 1x Bonders' Enclave
• 1x Cliffgate
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Eldrazi Temple
• 9x Forest
• 1x Gruul Guildgate
• 1x Gruul Turf
• 1x Guildless Commons
• 1x Inkmoth Nexus
• 1x Kessig Wolf Run
• 1x Manor Gate
• 1x Mossfire Valley
• 1x Mosswort Bridge
• 3x Mountain
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
• 1x Snow-Covered Wastes
• 1x Spinerock Knoll
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Thriving Grove
• 1x Tomb of the Spirit Dragon
• 1x Wastes
• 1x Stump Stomp  ^Flip
• 1x Disciple of Freyalise  ^Flip

Removal (19)

• 1x Ulvenwald Tracker
• 1x Outland Liberator  ^Flip
• 1x Stump Stomp  ^Flip
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Dire-Strain Rampage
• 1x Domri Rade
• 1x Domri, Anarch of Bolas
• 1x Neyith of the Dire Hunt
• 1x Sarkhan's Unsealing
• 1x Chandra's Ignition
• 1x Calamity of the Titans
• 1x Endbringer
• 1x Road / Ruin
• 1x Ugin, the Ineffable
• 1x All is Dust
• 1x Desecrate Reality
• 1x Scour from Existence
• 1x Breaker of Armies
• 1x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

Life Gain (4)

• 1x Tomb of the Spirit Dragon
• 1x Path of Annihilation
• 1x Blossoming Bogbeast
• 1x Disciple of Freyalise  ^Flip

Player Removal (3)

• 1x Inkmoth Nexus
• 1x Kessig Wolf Run
• 1x Hour of Promise

Mill (2)

• 1x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
• 1x Ulamog, the Defiler *f-pre*

Commander (1)

Draw (20)

• 1x Bonders' Enclave
• 1x Mosswort Bridge
• 1x Spinerock Knoll
• 1x Green Sun's Twilight
• 1x Wurmcalling
• 1x Bramble Familiar
• 1x Domri Rade
• 1x Garruk's Uprising
• 1x Abundance
• 1x Bramble Sovereign
• 1x Dragonborn Champion
• 1x Greater Good
• 1x Neyith of the Dire Hunt
• 1x Doors of Durin
• 1x Garruk, Primal Hunter
• 1x Disciple of Freyalise  ^Flip
• 1x Endbringer
• 1x Etali, Primal Storm
• 1x Lurking Predators
• 1x Kozilek, the Great Distortion

Token (7)

• 1x Wurmcalling
• 1x Bramble Sovereign
• 1x Path of Annihilation
• 1x Garruk, Primal Hunter
• 1x Rionya, Fire Dancer
• 1x Dragonlair Spider
• 1x Ugin, the Ineffable

Anthem (6)

• 1x Domri Rade
• 1x Domri, Anarch of Bolas
• 1x Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
• 1x Blossoming Bogbeast
• 1x Deceiver of Form
• 1x Decimator of the Provinces

Interaction (5)

• 1x Vexing Shusher
• 1x Rhythm of the Wild
• 1x Not of this World
• 1x Void Winnower
• 1x Kozilek, the Great Distortion

Discard (3)

• 1x Bramble Familiar
• 1x Greater Good
• 1x Kozilek, the Great Distortion

Pump (2)

• 1x Kessig Wolf Run
• 1x Neyith of the Dire Hunt

---

Maybeboard

Eldrazi (7)

• 1x Conduit of Ruin
• 1x World Breaker
• 1x Breaker of Creation
• 1x Herigast, Erupting Nullkite
• 1x Flayer of Loyalties
• 1x Spawnsire of Ulamog
• 1x Ulamog's Dreadsire

Life Gain (1)

• 1x Breaker of Creation

Recursion (1)

• 1x Triassic Egg

Tutor (1)

• 1x Conduit of Ruin

Land (3)

• 1x Eye of Ugin
• 1x Gond Gate
• 1x Heap Gate

Removal (3)

• 1x Disorienting Choice
• 1x Sarkhan's Unsealing
• 1x World Breaker

Draw (1)

• 1x Return of the Wildspeaker

Theft (1)

• 1x Flayer of Loyalties

Ramp (3)

• 1x Disorienting Choice
• 1x Conduit of Ruin
• 1x Herigast, Erupting Nullkite

Tokens (3)

• 1x Dark Depths
• 1x Spawnsire of Ulamog
• 1x Ulamog's Dreadsire

Interaction (1)

• 1x Summoning Trap

---

Once there was a down on his luck Shaman on Dominaria, using his magic to generate mana to generate value, and he was happy. One day soldiers came by and stole all his mana, and it was time to take up the sword! Unfortunately for Sunastian, he was stronger than an elephant, but lots of dudes and ladies in Dominaria are stronger than elephants, it's normal there, so he still got owned real hard. Finally he said '**** it' and made a forbidden covenant to double his mana production, at the cost of generating colourless mana. He became an outcast, but a powerful one, and he soon began to use his dark (well, colourless isn't dark, but I think you get it?) magic to summon the images of eldritch horrors to his plane, bringing terror to those that trod upon him! He began praying to one day bring forth the image of his glorious master Kozilek, or perhaps dread Ulamog, the power of the Eldrazi seemed limitless, only then did he at last make contact with Emrakul herself. Finally he even began to look for a way to become one of these Titans himself, to visit terror personally on his many enemies! Obviously all head-cannon, but it explains why he pumps out 2 generic instead of 1 of a colour like other Mana Dork Legends like Riven Turnbull and Princess Lucrezia, and it also explains why he's working with Eldrazi, his plan of mixing swords with sorcery didn't cut it (for painfully obvious reasons, a 4/4 Sol Ring is hardly a win con!).

The Forbidden Pact

Part 1 Show

Sunastian's various setbacks in life lead to him eventually wanting to give up, but his will refused to allow it, instead he forced himself to seek the forbidden, though not the profane; Sunastian didn't trust fiends any more than he trusted the angels, and allies of both had made life a struggle in his youth, when he was a 1/1 generating {G}. No, if Sunastian wanted something more than his world had decreed for him, he'd need to seek things beyond the ken of the established powers, 'one can't use the master's tools to overthrow him', so he looked far afield for answers, Sunastian looked so far that the stars seemed close, and soon he felt a strange pull, from something, or somewhere, beyond the universe he understood.

The pull was faint, but as Sunastian reached ever further, it seemed to grow stronger, and even seemed to respond to his presence in some fashion, changing in his presence, suggesting something that might be worth investigating. Sunastian had been taught about the Planes when he was a young shaman's apprentice, and was told of the 'planeswalkers' that could cross them, but he was warned that not everything was part of the Planes, and that which was not was a thing to be wary of, a place where people do not return from, even powerful ones. Even knowing thing, Sunastian felt no fear, no horror as space itself seemed to thin as his astral projection traveled beyond the edges of his plane. His projection began to feel a sort of chill, not yet uncomfortable, yet enough of a nagging presence that reminded him not to linger indefinitely here. As he wandered the emptiness between, Sunastian felt the presence return, much stronger than when he had still been on his plane, and here Sunastian could... feel, in some fashion, what the presence wanted to communicate; it wanted a way in, and it knew he wanted to let them in. The presence seemed to pulse, and before Sunastian's projection a strange amulet materialized in the dimness, glistening weirdly with an inner opalescence. Sunastian reached out instinctively to touch the beautiful thing when a sudden jolt brought him back to reality, his tether to the projection leaving him just before he could touch the strange, hypnotic amulet, making Sunastian stagger from the shock. He knew it was often fatal for one's projection to be disrupted at even a modest distance from the body, how was he alive? it was then that he felt something heavy hanging from his neck, making him look down in shock to see the very amulet he had tried to touch!

The amulet throbbed strangely when he held it to study it, and he felt the presence, and the presence 'taught' him a rite, one that turned his {G} mana into {C}{C}, doubling his power but draining something of it's essence, it's connection to the lifeforce of his plane. As the new rite was burned into Sunastian's memory, the old rite to generate {G} was stripped from it.

One name screamed into his head as he stared deeply into the wondrous green gem, Kozilek, and Sunastian's life began anew.

Part 2 Show

Sunastian 'felt' the scream tear through his being, and he knew that his new master (for there could be no misunderstanding) had changed his connection to Gaea, perverted his shamanistic training, draining his mana of what made it special, yet leaving him with raw power. Sunastian became conscious of the amulet, and how much attention it would attract, so he tried to remove it, only to find that it somehow resisted him, that he was unable to. This scared him, and he began to panic, but a calming susurration swelled in his mind until he found himself unable to worry about this strange amulet. What did it matter what people would say? It's not like someone else could take it, and his new master might not take kindly to such harassment!

As Sunastian tried to do his shamanistic rituals, he found himself doing them differently, some things inverted, others transmuted into wholly new rites, but nothing about them seemed especially evil; compared to the madness of Urborg these rites seemed tame! Still, Sunastian found it hard to think of how to use this new power, most of his traditional uses were for {G}, this new mana seemed unable to create living things. The more he used it, the more natural it seemed, until an almost imperceptible sensation guided him towards a new rite, to bind himself to the land in a new way, to become one of the heroes that the children heard stories of. With this ritual he gained the power to tap into the mana inherent to the land itself, and through this he knew he could 'pass' as a normal shaman, as long as people didn't look too closely at his work. He knew others would be watching him now, sensing his new power, but he also knew his new master would soon send more knowledge to him, so he had little to fear.

"Kozilek..." He whispered as he held the amulet, and he felt a reassuring pulse of emotion from it. He would be true to his path, to his master, and revenge would be his when they finally arrived!

Meeting of the Legends

Part 1 Show

Weeks passed in a haze, Sunastian's mind swirled uncontrollably, his thoughts an incessant and incoherent babble that would cease only when he meditated on the place beyond the universe, where his master dwelled. It came as quite a shock that meditation began to exhaust him physically, all the more so as he became more dependent on it. How could he find peace if he collapsed after mere days of meditation, how would he ever draw his master, and his master's armies, to this distant place if he kept collapsing? Sunastian tried to think, but the buzzing and wild emotional swings kept him from being able to, and as his food supply began to dwindle he became desperate; he couldn't seem to work, yet needed to eat to survive to see his master's arrival. Only then, when the amulet softly glowed did Sunastian notice his aching throat and realize he hadn't drank anything for as long as his fevered mind could remember, he couldn't remembering passing anything for months, though who can tell what was true at this point? In desperation Sunastian began to make his way to the only water source he felt he could reach without dying, a small creek near the cave he was hiding in. Sunastian finally began to realize how wasted he had become; he'd never been all that big, but now he trundled like a scarecrow come to life, had he failed his master already?!

Finally, he reached the creek and fell to desperate drinking, gulping water like the dying man he was, fortunately he remembered his training as a shaman and limited himself, managing to barely keep from being sick. As his exhaustion began to set in, Sunastian dragged himself to a nearby tree, the sunlight felt hot after months in his cave, this was the first time he'd come out during the day he realized in all this time. It was then that Sunastian heard raucous laughter from the nearby woods, he started to move before he realized he couldn't reach his cave before whoever this was would be upon him, so he hid behind among under some scrubby bushes near the tree, only just making himself satisfactorily hidden when the group came close enough to see the fragrant clearing, with it's wild flower filled clearing teaming with berries and a creek, the folk quickly rejoiced and set to building a camp in the shade of the tree. Weak, exhausted and tired, Sunastian stayed hidden, not knowing what to do, and not even certain he could speak coherently anymore, but he prayed to Kozilek to keep him hidden, from the sounds of their voices (well, and the clanking of arms) some of these were men-at-arms!

Part 2 Show

Unfortunately for Sunastian, but perhaps not surprisingly, the fact that he hadn't drank for who-knows-how-long should make it a given that he hadn't bathed in even longer, and while he hadn't been especially active, his smell was so profoundly rank that the party quickly became suspicious as they rested under the great tree in the clearing. Being veterans all, they didn't give away by voice that they were aware of something being up, so they used hand signals to communicate.

'At this point it could just be an especially smelly bear' the tall one joked, to which the older, almost wizened man rolled his eyes before signing back 'no bear is smellier than a crooked oaf!' and the other two had to conceal their own guffaws. Sunastian could barely see all this occurring from his position under the shrubbery, but fortunately among the shamans that taught him was a number that had served in specialist military groups (as well as adventuring groups), and in those fields learned the popular sign language being used by these men. So, they knew he was here? He wasn't going to be able to escape he realized, and as soon as they feel rested they'll start looking! As Sunastian's heart began to race his amulet began to quietly vibrate between him and the ground, and suddenly he heard a horrifying wail! The haunting noise couldn't be from far away, but it was enough to curdle dairy, and it didn't seem like a noise anything natural would make, so he froze!

"...you can stand up." Said the tall man in a voice filled with schadenfreude, as he looked down on Sunastian. It was at this point Sunastian realized that the shrubbery atop him had been completely destroyed, revealing him to the travelers!

"Thanks Banshee!" Said the especially burly man with the curly hair, he might have been the most muscular man Sunastian had ever seen! Rather sheepishly, Sunastian stood up, very aware that he was clothed in rags that reeked of filth, with matted hair and a wasted, emaciated body that looked near death. What Sunastian wasn't aware of was his eyes, which seemed to almost shine with something, a sort of confidence that only the truly insane can ever have, where the possibility of being wrong no longer exists and choices are no longer real: Sunastian's eyes revealed a fanatic, and the men knew that fanatics could be a lot more dangerous than they looked, and the fact that this... beggar? hermit? whatever he was, he was wearing this incredible amulet that looked to be worth a king's ransom, yet something told all who looked upon it not to take it, like the colours on a bee.

"Verily sirrah, who be ye?" Asked the older one, though as Sunastian watched he adjusted his belt and his body began to change, becoming more youthful and vigorous, even standing straighter and with a fuller chest, what magic was this?! Was this man a sorcerer? "Nay, merely a crafter of contrivances!" smiled the now middle aged man, who made the slightest of bows to signal again, more politely, for Sunastian to introduce himself.

"Ah... Ack! I ah-am Sun... Sunastian." he struggled out, and to his surprise a man with incredible green eyes jumped out and yelled "It's him! The renegade!" and Suanstian remembered who he was, it was Lord Magnus, the Noble Druid himself! Never one of his teachers, but all Shamans of his generation knew of the shining star among Druids, Lord Magnus, who forsook wealth and politics to learn the ways of Gaea, only to excel beyond any! Before Sunastian could react the tall man and the burly man quickly gripped his arms, holding him fast, and making him face the now middle aged man before him.

Dark (...colourless?) Hymns of the Eldrazi Cult

The Sky is Falling, Something About 'Everything is Being Torn Apart by Tentacles' Show

Let the sky fall (let the sky fall)
When it crumbles (when it crumbles)
We will stand tall (we will stand tall)
Face it all together
Let the sky fall (let the sky fall)
When it crumbles (when it crumbles)
We will stand tall (we will stand tall)
Face it all together
At Skyfall
(an excerpt from Adele's Skyfall)

Beneficent Procession of the Blessed Ones Show

I walk through a street of hired cars, old tyres, blood and meat
This is liberty, a parody on utopia
Gorgeous rows of trees [on the avenue of] buyers and Giga Movies, it’s a sunny day
Minor depressions are pranks, rose colour is low priced,
Therefore, rejoice – to the extent you can hardly bear
(exerpt from Parade, by Susumu Hirasawa)

Exactly How Far DID They Come From?? Show

They came flying from far away
Now I'm under their spell
I love hearing the stories that they tell

They've seen places beyond my land
And they've found new horizons
They speak strangely but I understand

And I dream I'm an eagle
And I dream I can spread my wings

Flying high, high, I'm a bird in the sky
I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze
High, high, what a feeling to fly
Over mountains and forests and seas
And to go anywhere that I please

As all good friends, we talk all night
And we fly wing to wing
I have questions and they know everything

There's no limit to what I feel
We climb higher and higher
Am I dreaming, or is it all real?

Is it true I'm an eagle?
Is it true I can spread my wings?
(excerpt from Eagle, by Abba)

An Incredibly Pretentious Entry from Sunastian's Journal That Was Turned Into A Hymn Show

I am the Sun and the Air
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the Summoner
Of nothing in particular

You, shut your mouth, how can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does

I am the Sun and the Air
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the Summoner
Of nothing in particular

You, shut your mouth, how can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does

There's a club if you'd like to go
You could meet somebody who really loves you
So you go and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home, and you cry, and you want to die

When you say it's gonna happen now
Well, when exactly do you mean?
See, I've already waited too long
And all my hope is gone

You, shut your mouth, how can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
(How Soon Is Now, Smiths)

Playing the Deck

Primer(ish)

This deck mixes later game aggro with light control elements, with games generally decided by combat damage. The Eldrazi in the deck are varied, with Titans and a Void Winnower to provide some terrifying possibilities, but even a free 10/10 is more than a little scary in a deck with Fight effects. Not all the big stuff is Eldrazi, there are also some random stompy-type cards thrown in to make up for the shortfalls of the Eldrazi (including the good ones being really $$$). The deck runs a lot of ramp because we need to ramp a bunch, hoping to both get Sunastian out early and start dropping Eldrazi to start ending the world/beating face. The control elements include a bunch of repeatable fight effects and various other removal, this is the kind of deck that you could probably justify something like Desert Twister, but it happily runs Scour, and I rarely hate to see it, even if 7 mana can be a lot even for this deck (by mid game 7 mana shouldn't matter, but it's hard to sneak out early to save your bacon like Swords or Beast Within can)

Final Thoughts

It's not a complicated deck, but it tends to be fun when it's working correctly. To make sure that happens, I have tried to seed more and more card draw into the deck, it felt way too awkward at first, but I think it's finally getting somewhere it can play from. Having extra card draw will make it easier to consistently hit my land drops, which will also be useful. I got around to making some custom headings, these aren't Vorthos, so they should be pretty clear.

Date added	4 years
Last updated	6 days
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 46 - 0 Rares 22 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	5.41
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Copy Clone, Day, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Emblem Domri Rade, Fanatic of Rhonas 4/4 B, Insect 1/1 G, Night, On an Adventure, Spirit 2/2 C, Wurm 6/6 G, Wurm */* G, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	1