The following spells have converted mana cost seven or greater, are terrific to cast with an activation from
Golos, Tireless Pilgrim and represent the bulk of our win conditions:
Aminatou's Augury: Inspired by our favorite eight-year old planeswalker, Aminatou's Augury can do some overpowered things under the right circumstances. When we cast Aminatou's Augury, we exile the top eight cards of our library. We may put a land card from among them onto the battlefield. Bonus! Until end of turn, for each nonland card type, we may cast a spell of that type from among the exiled cards without paying its mana cost. Best case scenario? We'll put a land into play cast five spells (creature, instant, sorcery, artifact, enchantment) without paying their mana costs. Worst case scenario? We put a land into play. Most likely scenario, we'll put a land into play and cast between three to four spells. If Animatou's Augury is exiled from the top of our library from an activation by Golos, Tireless Pilgrim, then the value of this spell is potentially chart-topping.
Army of the Damned: Yes. It's sorcery speed. Yes. The zombie tokens come into play tapped. No. I don't care about either of those restrictions. Why? Because we have multiple flash-enablers in our deck. Let's focus on the 26 total power this spell creates. We create 13 2/2 black zombie creature tokens. The spell's mana cost is . It's much more likely that we cast this through an activation of Golos, Tireless Pilgrim. Additionally, the spell has flashback and we can cast it from our graveyard for . Combined, that's 52 total power across 26 zombie creature tokens by casting Army of the Damned twice. Restrictions be DAMNED! Get it? See what I did there?
Avacyn, Angel of Hope: Avacyn, Angel of Hope is the most powerful angel in Magic: the Gathering's history and one of the most powerful overall creatures of all-time. Don't believe me? Avacyn, Angel of Hope is so powerful that an entire set was named after her: Avacyn Restored. No other creature in the history of Magic: the Gathering has a set named after them. No one. Not ever. In its over 25-year history. Go ahead. Look it up. I'll wait..........................See. I told you so. Avacyn, Angel of Hope is an 8/8 flying, vigilant and indestructible angel that gives all permanents we control indestructible. She can attack and block for days and keeps all of our permanents safe from destruction. We love you, Avacyn, Angel of Hope.
Blightsteel Colossus: FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not a proponent of infect in EDH/Commander. With that disclaimer out of the way, Blightsteel Colossus is in this deck because it has trample and is indestructible...and has infect. This is a mean and nasty card and its placement in our deck is to act as a win condition against any mean and nasty opponents. Ahem, blue mages! FULL DISCLOSURE II: In a deck filled with win conditions, Blightsteel Colossus is just an alternative. Not a focus. Not planning around it. Not counting on its usage to knock-out an opponent. It's just one of the 99.
Brilliant Ultimatum: Brilliant Ultimatum is another value spell that we want to cast through an activation of Golos, Tireless Pilgrim. It's a spell that can lead to the casting of other spells, similar to Aminatou's Augury. We exile the top five cards of our library and an opponent separates those cards into two piles. We may play lands and cast spells from one of those piles. If we cast a spell this way, we cast it without paying its mana cost. Brilliant Ultimatum doesn't limit us to one card type per spell cast, like Aminatou's Augury. An opponent separating the cards into two piles is restrictive, but sometimes it can be a benefit. Those differences can be fleshed-out through politics at the EDH/Commander table.
Captive Audience: Captive Audience enters the battlefield under the control of an opponent of our choice. Once Captive Audience is controlled by one of our opponents, its ability triggers during that player's upkeep and that player makes all choices for it. That player is affected by its first two modes, and that player’s opponents create the tokens for its last mode. At the beginning of that player's upkeep, that player chooses one mode that hasn't been chosen yet, and these modes are back-breaking:
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Your life total becomes four.
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Discard your hand.
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Each opponent creates five 2/2 black zombie creature tokens.
If our opponent lives to choose all three modes, it seems unlikely that they will live for much longer thereafter.
Chromatic Orrery: Chromatic Orrery is sheer bonkers! We may spend mana as though it were mana of any color. This is very helpful in a five-color deck, particularly with a General/Commander that that requires for its activation cost. We tap Chromatic Orrery and add , which, as per its first ability, can be used as though it were mana of any color. Oh, that's not enough? There's more?! OH YEAH. We can tap and tap Chromatic Orrery and draw a card for each color among permanents we control. We can draw up to five cards from this activation. Chromatic Orrery provides mana ramp, color-fixing and card draw. This artifact is ensconced in value and versatility. As stated previously, B O N K E R S!!!
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite: Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is a 4/7 legendary praetor from New Phyrexia and has vigilance. Other creatures we control get +2/+2. Creatures our opponents control get -2/-2. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite bumps our creatures' power and toughness, lowers the power and toughness of our opponents' creatures and sports a very offensively defensive, or defensively offensive, depending on your preference, body as a 4/7 with vigilance. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite can control games, wipe out our opponents' armies and lead our army of token creatures to victory.
Emergent Ultimatum: We search our library for up to three monocolored cards with different names and exile them. An opponent chooses one of those cards. We shuffle that card into our library and we may cast the other cards without paying their mana costs. Another spell that allows us to cast additional spells. By casting Emergent Ultimatum, we seek out any three monocolored cards in our deck and then cast two of them. Smothering Tithe, Rhystic Study, Shark Typhoon. What does our opponent choose? Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Sheoldred, Whispering One. What does our opponent choose? Storm Herd, Army of the Damned, Overwhelming Splendor. What does our opponent choose? Time Stretch, Nyxbloom Ancient, Worldspine Wurm. What does our opponent choose? Mind's Dilation, Aminatou's Augury, Seedborn Muse. What does our opponent choose? For us, there's no wrong combination, and that makes Emergent Ultimatum a powerful and versatile spell worthy of its inclusion in this deck.
Emrakul, the Promised End: Oh baby. It just got real. Emrakul, the Promised End costs less to cast for each card type among cards in our graveyard. When we cast Emrakul, the Promised End, we gain control of target opponent during that player's next turn. After that turn, that player takes an extra turn. Emrakul, the Promised End is also 13/13 with flying, trample and protection from instants. That's A LOT of text! She's lights-out if we cast her and if we do, we can try to wreck an opponent's entire hand and/or board state with malicious intent. Emmy 2.0 is awesome!
In Garruk's Wake: In Garruk's Wake is an improvement over Plague Wind. We can destroy all creatures we don't control and all planeswalkers we don't control. This is a selective board wipe, it does not affect our opponents' artifacts and/or enchantments. However, In Garruk's Wake helps to keep the battlefield clear and our life total stable as we prepare our Golos, Tireless Pilgrim engine.
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth: One of three original eldrazi titans, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth sports a 12/12 body with annihilator 4 (whenever he attacks, defending player sacrifices four permanents). Plus when we cast Kozilek, Butcher of Truth we draw four cards. As with all of the spells from this section, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is great value when cast from the top of our library through an activation by Golos, Tireless Pilgrim. If Kozilek, Butcher of Truth hits our 'yard in any manner, we shuffle him and our graveyard into our library. Bonus!
Mind's Dilation: FULL DISCLOSURE: After the Eldritch Moon pre-release at my local game store a player was traveling from table to table in search of the premium foil double-faced black zombie creature tokens that were included in each Eldritch Moon pre-release kit. Anyone who participated in the pre-release events during this time remember that these zombie tokens were pretty popular. As this event was the second of four pre-release events I attended that weekend, I was suggestible to trade offers. The aforementioned player offered me Mind's Dilation for the foil zombie creature token. The swap was made, and many years later here is Mind's Dilation! Whenever an opponent casts their first spell each turn, that player exiles the top card of their library. If it's a nonland card, we may cast it without paying its mana cost. Continuing our trend of value from activations by Golos, Tireless Pilgrim, we want to squeeze as much value as possible from our free-to-cast spells, and Mind's Dilation checks those boxes by granting us access to additional free spells whenever an opponent casts their first spell each turn. Foil token for a Mythic Rare? DONE!
Nyxbloom Ancient: I've GOT to get more copies of this creature! A 5/5 trampler for is nothing to write home about. HOWEVER, if we tap a permanent for mana, it produces three times as much of that mana instead. We may never stop writing home about this card! Notice the text. It says "IF WE TAP A PERMANENT." It doesn't say "if we tap A LAND." Can you imagine chain-casting Chromatic Orrery and Nyxbloom Ancient through a Golos, Tireless Pilgrim activation? Tap Chromatic Orrery for and then spend this mana as though it were mana of any color. What if Mana Reflection is under our control as well? The TappedOut.Net toolbar doesn't even have a mana symbol for 30!! I suppose we could look at it like this:
This mythic rare elemental from Theros Beyond Death is already big news and, folks, Nyxbloom Ancient is just going to keep getting bigger and bigger. Get your copies now if you haven't already!!
Overwhelming Splendor: The unfortunate opponent who gets cursed by this aura is going to have a tough game sans removal. Imagine the goblin-player with Krenko, Mob Boss becoming cursed by Overwhelming Splendor. Overwhelming Splendor says that creatures enchanted player controls lose all abilities and have base power and toughness 1/1. Additionally, enchanted player can't activate abilities that aren't mana abilities or loyalty abilities. Without removal, creature-based decks are going to struggle against this enchantment, possibly locking-down an opponent for the entire game.
Plague Wind: Before there was Ruinous Ultimatum, there was In Garruk's Wake. Before there was In Garruk's Wake, there was Plague Wind. All of these spells have one thing in common: Utter destruction of our opponents permanents. Notice the upward trend in power. Plague Wind destroys all creatures our opponents control. In Garruk's Wake destroys all creatures and Planeswalkers our opponents control. Ruinous Ultimatum destroys all nonland permanents our opponents control. All of these spells have another thing in common as well: They're all included in this deck!
Progenitus: Three words: PROTECTION. FROM. EVERYTHING. Progenitus has a 10/10 body but costs . Well, for the intents and purposes of this deck, Progenitus will cost through an activation by Golos, Tireless Pilgrim, through an activation by Fist of Suns or cast for free through Brilliant Ultimatum, Aminatou's Augury or possibly cascaded into through Maelstrom Nexus. However Progenitus enters the battlefield, it should cause havoc for our opponents.
Ruinous Ultimatum: This spell is not exquisite. It doesn't remove abilities, take extra turns, draw extra cards or triple mana. It bludgeons our opponents. Ruinous Ultimatum destroys all nonland permanents our opponents control. That's it. Nothing more. Just straight-laced brutality to our opponents' board states.
Sheoldred, Whispering One: DISCLOSURE: The artwork from the non-promo, non-prerelease printing of Sheoldred, Whispering One is mortifying and night-terror inspiring. I also believe it was motivation for Beth Smith's mythologue in the Rick & Morty episode entitled "Big Trouble in Little Sanchez," from season two, episode seven. Horrified visions of crippling fear aside, Sheoldred, Whispering One does a lot. Aside from having a 6/6 swampwalking body, at the beginning of our upkeep, we return target creature card from our graveyard to the battlefield. Value! We're not done yet. At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, that player sacrifices a creature. More value! With creature recursion and creature removal, as well as a big potentially unblockable beater, Sheoldred, Whispering One does a lot of heavy-lifting in our deck.
Storm Herd: Create X 1/1 white pegasus creature tokens with flying, where X is our life total. Who doesn't want to thwart an opponent's chance at victory by dealing lethal damage by a herd of pegasi?! Our flash enablers make this a premiere end-of-opponent's-turn spell to cast from an activation by Golos, Tireless Pilgrim.
Thought Reflection: Well, I mean, if we're going to triple and/or double our mana, we might as well double the number of cards we draw as well, because with Thought Reflection under our control, if we would draw a card, we draw two cards instead. Who doesn't love drawing cards!?
Time Stretch: DISCLOSURE: There are many warped variants of Golos, Tireless Pilgrim EDH/Commander decks whose sole purpose is to cast as many extra turn spells as possible. THIS IS NOT THAT DECK. I enjoy playing Magic: the Gathering and would not want to sit idly by watching someone take turn after turn after turn. With our disclosure out of the way, Time Stretch grants us two extra turns on one card. No, it's not Expropriate, but again, THIS IS NOT THAT DECK. I came to the conclusion that adding one extra turn spell is acceptable (Emrakul, the Promised End excluded), and since the focus of our deck is casting expensive spells by utilizing Golos, Tirless Pilgrim's ability, I decided Time Stretch checks these boxes. Be respectful with those extra turns. Don't drag them out. #Metagames>extraturns.
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre: Here's another big ol' eldrazi spell. When we cast Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, we destroy target permanent. He's got an 11/11 indestructible body with annihilator four (whenever he attacks, defending player sacrifices four permanents). We just keep sending Ulamaog, the Infinite Gyre into combat over and over and over again, wiping out our opponents' permanents and, hopefully, life totals. As a bonus, similar to Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, if Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre hits our 'yard in any manner, we shuffle him and our graveyard into our library.
Zacama, Primal Calamity: Speaking of eye-opening, here's Zacama, Primal Calamity. Imagine the morale of our opponents when Zacama, Primal Calamity is exiled by an activation from Golos, Tireless Pilgrim. We cast Zacama, Primal Calamity without paying its mana cost, and when it enters the battlefield we untap all lands we control. This easily allows us to activate another Golos, Tireless Pilgrim ability! If that wasn't enough, Zacama, Primal Calamity is 9/9 with vigilance, reach and trample. IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, it has three built-in abilities:
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: Deal three damage to target creature.
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: Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
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: We gain three life.
We don't even have to tap Zacama, Primal Calamity in order to activate any of those abilities!! Thank you, Rivals of Ixalan!!!
Zendikar Resurgent: More mana, more mana, MORE MANA!! Whenever we tap a land for mana, add one mana of any type that land produced. Okay, so it's not Nyxbloom Ancient, but nothing else is. Additionally, whenever we cast a creature spell, we draw a card. Mana and cards. Cards and mana. That's Magic: the Gathering!
