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I Got 99 Counterspells but Kozilek Ain't One

Commander / EDH Annihilator Eldrazi

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Land (35)

Planeswalker (5)

Enchantment (1)

Artifact (29)

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Commander: Kozilek, the Great Distortion

Creature (23)

COLORLESS COMMANDER DECK!

Originally introduced in Rise of the Eldrazi, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth were released accidentally onto Zendikar by Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar and Sarkhan Vol. These Titans have other iterations, as Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre later becomes Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger in Battle for Zendikar, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth later becomes Kozilek, the Great Distortion in Oath of the Gatewatch and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn later becomes Emrakul, the Promised End in Eldritch Moon. Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is banned in EDH/Commander, which leaves five options for an eldrazi General/Commander for this colorless deck. I decided to choose Kozilek, the Great Distortion. A 12/12 body with menace can knock-out an opponent quickly via General/Commander damage. Additionally, when we cast Kozilek, the Great Distortion, if we have fewer than seven cards in our hand we draw cards equal to the difference. Lastly, Kozilek, the Great Distortion makes every card in our hand a counterspell. I am unable to adequately describe the emotions I experience when I discard a Wastes in order to counterspell a Mana Crypt. It feels good. It feels REALLY good. So...

Blightsteel Colossus: Big daddy C! Yes, infect is not fun. Blightsteel Colossus's inclusion is necessary as a win condition. We're completely colorless here and need as many paths to victory as possible. With that being said, Blightsteel Colossus as a win condition is important but the meta-game is more important. If infect is unfavorable in your EDH/Commander meta-game, then pursue other alternatives. This is not an infect deck as Blighsteel Colossus is the only card with infect, so maybe just one card in the 99 is okay?

Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger: We all know what's up with Newlamog: Cast him and exile two permanents and reap the benefits of a 10/10 indestructible body. Ulamago, the Ceaseless Hunger lacks evasion, so chump-blocking him should be expected. However, the clock is ticking on the number of times Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger can be blocked, because each time Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger attacks we exile 20 cards from the defending opponent's library. Kozilek, the Great Distortion should look over his shoulder and keep tabs on Newlamog, because if he falters as a General/Commander his position may be usurped!

Meteor Golem: Removal on the body of an artifact creature! A 3/3 creature without any keyword abilities for is unplayable. However, a 3/3 creature without any keyword abilities for that enters the battlefield and destroys any nonland permanent an opponent controls in an EDH/Commander deck sans color is a necessary inclusion. Destroying any nonland permanent should not be overlooked. Meteor Golem can hit creatures, artifacts, enchantments and planeswalkers. With the potential for recursion in the deck, Meteor Golem checks some boxes from our removal category but is also a creature.

Stonecoil Serpent: There is a lot to like about Stonecoil Serpent. Reach allows it block fliers in addition to regular ground-dwellers. Protection from multicolored is awesome, particularly in a format such as EDH/Commander. Trample is another great addition, specifically because of the in its casting cost. Stonecoil Serpent's mana cost translates into an early-game blocker or a mid- and/or late-game bruiser and potential win condition.

Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre: Ulamog 1.0! The original Ulamog still sports a 10/10 indestructible body. When we cast Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre we can destroy any target permanent. The converted mana cost is one more than Newlamog's, and we're only able to destroy one permanent, as opposed to exiling two permanents. However, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre has annihilator 4, which can be game-ending on an indestructible body. As a bonus, if Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre is put into our graveyard, we shuffle our graveyard into our library. Bring it on millers!

Void Winnower: This eldrazi is hilarious to cast and awful to play against. Once Void Winnower is in play, opponents are unable to cast spells with even converted mana costs or block with creatures that have even converted mana costs. A wheelbarrow full of laughs if there's a Gyruda, Doom of Depths player at the table!

Emrakul, the Promised End: The mother of all eldrazi returns as a 13/13, flying, trampling, Mindslaveresque-cast-trigger-enabler with protection from instants. She gets better! We're almost never casting Emrakul, the Promised End for , as her mana cost is reduced by for each card type in our graveyard (think: delirium). The best-case scenario is that she costs . The worst-case scenario is that she costs , which is still a great return on the investment of 13 mana. The most likely scenario is she costs somewhere in between. The unfortunate opponent that we Mindslaver gets an extra turn afterwards, but hopefully that opponent will be left with very little resources and/or ability to do much with that turn.

Endbringer: Why doesn't Endbringer get more love?! It untaps during each player's untap step. It can tap and deal one damage to any target, influence combat and draw cards. Dealing damage. Effecting combat. Drawing cards. Isn't that every Magic: the Gathering game ever?!

It That Betrays: An 11/11 with annihilator 2 for is not awe-inspiring. What makes It That Betrays's inclusion in this deck worthy is whenever an opponent sacrifices a nontoken permanent, we put that card onto the battlefield under our control. We can completely shift the balance of the board state by accruing any sacrificed or annihilated nontoken permanents from our opponents. Yes, there will most likely be some token-players at the table and they will try to spoil our fun by sacrificing tokens, but we'll have some answers for that!

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth: Version 1.0 of our General/Commander! A cast trigger that draws us four cards and sports a 12/12 body with annihilator 4 is a nice inclusion to this deck. Additionally, the graveyard-shuffle trigger upon Kozilek, the Butcher of Truth hitting the 'yard is a good bonus as we do not have a plethora of recursive options.

Myr Battlesphere: Myr myr on the wall...wait, that's something different. Anyway, we have a token-creator here with Myr Battlesphere. The numbers work well with this creature. For we get five bodies, with a total of eight power and 11 toughness. Additionally, we can tap the myr tokens when Myr Battlesphere attacks in order to give it a temporary power boost and sling some direct damage to the defending player. REPLACED BY Phyrexian Triniform ON 1/28/21. SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW FOR DISCUSSION (EPISODE 317, UP & UP SERIES INSTALLMENT #2).

Artisan of Kozilek: As one of our recursive spells, Artisan of Kozilek provides tremendous value. When we cast Artisan of Kozilek we can return a creature card from our graveyard to the battlefield under our control. It also has a 10/9 body with annihilator 2 so it can beat-down our opponents in addition to returning a creature from our graveyard to play.

Burnished Hart: We easily can place this creature in our ramp category, as its inclusion is favored not for its 2/2 body but for its ability to fetch-out two Wastes. An early-game Burnished Hart can swing for a couple points of damage and/or chump-block with the best of them. However, let's not dance around the mulberry bush too much here, Burnished Hart is in the deck to get us Wastes.

Duplicant: We easily can place this creature in our removal category, as its inclusion is favored not for its 2/4 body but for its ability to exile a nontoken creature when it enters the battlefield and the assume the power and toughness of the exiled creature. Again, we're running a completely colorless deck, so spot-removal is tricky due to its lack of availability. Duplicant exiles a creature and gives us a creature. That's a favorable swap in a colorless deck.

Steel Hellkite: Steel Hellkite is a concentrated board-sweep against a single opponent. If Steel Hellkite deals combat damage to a player, we tap and then destroy each nonland permanent with converted mana cost equal to . Although we can only activate this ability once per turn, it is a commodity. Steel Hellkite has evasion, so that's in our favor. After dealing combat damage, we can pay and destroy that opponent's entire token army. Additionally, generic-mana fire-breathing is not inordinately difficult to take advantage of in this deck. Thinking of Steel Hellkite as a win condition is not far-fetched.

Pilgrim's Eye: There's not a lot to say about this creature. It's a 1/1 for that flies and brings a Wastes to our hand when it enters the battlefield. Mana-ramper. Chump-blocker. Flying agitator.

Eldrazi Mimic: Eldrazi Mimic's ability to mimic (haha, see what I did there!?) the power and toughness of a creature that enters the battlefield under our control can be very valuable, as we have some absolutely beastly creatures in our deck. We sit back with our 2/1 and then it becomes 2/2, or 6/6, or 10/10, or 12/12 for a turn. All for just a one-time mana cost of .

Solemn Simulacrum: The quintessential inclusion to nearly every EDH/Commander deck, Solemn Simulacrum will fetch us a Wastes when it enters the battlefield and draws us a card when it dies. Value, thy name is Melancholy Automaton. Okay, I don't see that catching on.

Hangarback Walker: With big mana comes big responsibilities, or something like that. We have the propensity to create a lot of mana in this deck, and Hangarback Walker provides us an outlet to use it. When it dies, we create a number of 1/1 flying thopter artifact creature tokens equal to the number of +1 +1 counters on it. Additionally we can tap and tap Hangarback Walker to put a +1 +1 counter on it. Casting this creature spell in the early game is preferred as we can place +1 +1 counters on it at a reduced cost throughout its existence on the battlefield.

Walking Ballista: Here is another win condition. Without any additional costs, drawbacks, limitations or restrictions, we can remove a +1 +1 counter from Walking Ballista and deal one point of damage to any target. We can tap to put a +1 +1 counter on Walking Ballista. Walking Ballista can win us the game outright if left unchecked. That's one of the best things about this creature: The opponent that "checks" it is going to get a bunch of direct damage right to their face. Deterrent. Agressor. Win condition.

Silent Arbiter: Silent Arbiter is an effective way to nerf creature-themed decks at the Commander table while also strengthening our own. With Silent Arbiter under our control, only one creature can attack each combat and only one creature can block each combat. These restrictions makes it difficult for creature-heavy decks to whittle down our life total while simultaneously maximizing Kozilek, the Great Distortion's Commander damage and defensive capability. Our general has menace, and if Silent Arbiter restricts blocking assignments to one-vs-one, Kozilek, the Great Distortion will slip right past our opponents' defenses and eliminate a player in two attacks...maybe one if Eldrazi Conscription is enchanting him. Silent Arbiter is a sneaky good card in this deck!

Karn Liberated: The apple of all urzatron players' eye is Karn Liberated. Karn Liberated enters the battlefield and most likely exiles a permanent immediately. We can exile cards from our opponents' hands too. Admittedly, I have never utilized the big bang ability of Karn Liberated. I sense a great deal of sighing, eye-rolling and hem-hawing if activated. Anyway, our silver golem is included in the removal category based upon the ability to exile any permanent upon entering the battlefield (make sure to maintain priority!).

Predator, Flagship: I love this card! We can tap and tap Predator, Flagship in order to destroy target creature with flying. Oh, I forgot to mention that we can tap to give a creature flying until the end of turn. For each nonflying creature on the battlefield, Predator, Flagship actually reads: Tap , tap Predator, Flagship: Destroy target creature. In a colorless deck, the ability to utilize targeted removal in any form is imperative, and Predator, Flagship provides us with that resource. Let's re-frame this card for a moment in order to realize its potential: "Tap , tap 'card name': Destroy target creature." I suspect that if this card existed it would be a popular addition to a lot of EDH/Commander decks. IT DOES EXIST! It's called Predator, Flagship! This artifact is not among the top 100 artifacts played in EDH/Commander as per EDHREC.com over the past two years. This needs to change.

Ugin, the Ineffable: You just don't F with Ugin because he's InEFFable. Okay, I'll stop. Seriously, Ugin, the Ineffable's static ability is amazing in this deck, as colorless spells we control cost less to cast. THAT'S EVERY SPELL IN OUR DECK! This iteration of Ugin can provide card advantage and removal, in addition to the aforementioned discount on EVERY SPELL IN OUR DECK. Ugin, the Ineffable easily slots into this deck.

All is Dust: This is our ultimate removal spell. Each player sacrifices all colored permanents they control. NOTHING FROM OUR BOARD IS EFFECTED. This spell will wipe out anything with a color, except if Sigarda, Host of Herons in under the control of our opponent(s). For the same cost as an overloaded Cyclonic Rift, All is Dust puts everything into the graveyard and not back in their controllers' hands. For the purposes of this colorless deck, All is Dust is more powerful than an overloaded Cyclonic Rift. All is Dust is a must!

Oblivion Stone: When we activate and sacrifice Oblivion Stone, each nonland permanent without a fate counter on it gets destroyed. By tapping and tapping Oblivion Stone we can put a fate counter on target permanent. NOTICE: Put a fate counter on TARGET PERMANENT and not a target permanent YOU CONTROL. Politics, anyone? This spell can effect our board state as well sans any fate counters, but sometimes blowing up the entire board is necessary, and Oblivion Stone can do that.

Scour from Existence: Scour from Existence mimics what casting Karn Liberated and activating the -3 ability does: Exile target permanent. Yes, is pricey for a one-time spell that exiles only one permanent, but as addressed previously, in a colorless deck our amount of spot-removal spells is limited, so it is necessary to include as many as possible in order to remain competitive. Besides, in our format, how many times is Karn Liberated cast, a permanent is exiled by his -3 ability, and then he dies prior to our next turn through combat or removal? Scour of Existence = Karn Liberated #2?

Karn, the Great Creator: This iteration of Karn does not remove permanents, per se, but the static ability neutralizes our opponents' artifacts. Any activated abilities of artifacts or opponents control can't be activated. Imagine a Sol Ring that does nothing. Imagine a Mana Crypt that merely acts as 50/50 chance of losing three life. Breya, Etherium Shaper is shut-down. If you want to be incredibly evil, include Mycosynth Lattice and completely lock your opponents out of the game. I've included Blightsteel Colossus and 99 counterspells in this deck list, so I can't include Mycosynth Lattice. I don't want to ascend to Dr. Evil levels of villainy.

Nevinyrral's Disk: Nevinyrral's Disk is a piece of removal that can destroy all artifacts, creatures and enchantments. Yes, this will hit our board as well. We can protect a lot of our valuables with Darksteel Forge. Nevinyrral's Disk is a great deterrent and forces our opponents to either remove it immediately, play around it, or bargain and politic with it. That's power. CAUTION: This does not destroy planewsalkers.

Titan's Presence: As an additional cost to cast this spell, we must reveal a creature card from our hand. If we do, Titan's Presence will exile target creature if it has power less than or equal to the revealed creature cards's power. We've got a lot of bigguns in our deck. We should be able to exile most creatures from the battlefield. This is a valuable piece of creature removal in a colorless deck. Yes, we must jump through a couple of hoops (we need a creature card in our hand AND it must have power greater than or equal to the soon-to-be-exiled creature's power) in order to cast it, but its inclusion is justified through the payoff. Instant-speed creature removal is a thing, right?

Lux Cannon: We have to put three charge counters on Lux Cannon before we can activate it and destroy a permanent, and then add three more charge counters in order to do it again. Once more, we must refine our hoop-jumping skills in order to maximize the benefits of this spell. We only need to tap Lux Cannon in order to put a charge counter on it. This is advantageous because we don't have to utilize mana resources in order to charge-up the cannon. Cast it and keep tapping it. Unwinding Clock approves.

Unstable Obelisk: This is an example of a typical obelisk that costs and provides one mana. However, if we tap and sacrifice Unstable Obelisk we can destroy target permanent. This is not as effective as Scour from Existence but destroying any permanent on the battlefield in a colorless deck is still valuable.

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: Ugin, the Spirit Dragon fits into nearly all of our categories throughout this deck. The -X loyalty ability is a fixed All is Dust. The +2 ability is Ghostfire. If we are fortunate to utilize the -10 ability, we're going to gain seven life, draw seven cards and put up to seven permanents from our hand onto the battlefield. Mass removal. Direct damage. Card draw. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon is an absolute force to be reckon with and may be the most powerful planeswalker in the EDH/Commander format.

Perilous Vault: Here is another mass removal spell that, unfortunately, also removes our permanents. By activating Perilous Vault, we exile all nonland permanents. Everything is gone. Planeswalkers. Enchantments. Artifacts. Creatures. Nothing but lands remain on the battlefield. With Perilous Vault under our control while holding up at least five mana, our opponents will become paralyzed or force its activation. Be prepared for the latter to happen much more than the former, through my experiences.

Worn Powerstone: Worn Powerstone costs to cast and provides upon its activation. It enters the battlefield tapped, which is unfavorable. However, if we can get past that, Worn Powerstone is another copy of Sol Ring, just thrice the price and takes a vacation on its first turn. Not all copycats are as good as the original! REPLACED BY Forsaken Monument ON 1/28/21. SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW FOR DISCUSSION (EPISODE 317, UP & UP SERIES INSTALLMENT #2).

Thran Dynamo: This artifact will gives us three colorless mana after an investment of in order to cast it. This is a fantastic return on the investment and is an auto-include in this colorless deck! CONSIDER: Mana Vault taps for but does not untap during our untap step unless we pay . Every time we pay in order to untap Mana Vault we're "casting" a Thran Dynamo. Admittedly, I prefer Mana Vault in my opening hand more than Thran Dynamo, but I favor Thran Dynamo on the battlefield more than Mana Vault. Glad we're playing both!

Mana Vault: Mana Crypt's little brother. This is easily one of the best cards we can hope for in our opening hand. Even if we are unable to untap it for a few turns, taking a few points of damage from Mana Vault in EDH/Commander isn't burdensome as we have 40 life. I am usually quite generous with the first five to ten life in an EDH/Commander game. Investing into Mana Vault in order to untap it can slow our pace of play. If we can cast Mana Vault early we should be able to outpace our opponents by so much that paying the tax to untap it won't matter. Opening hand Mana Vault is aces!

Everflowing Chalice: We get to decide how much mana we want from this rock. The multikicker of allows us to simply play a mana rock that taps for for the cost of or a beastly boulder of colorless mana by jacking-up the number of times this spell is kicked! This deck can generate a lot of mana, and Everflowing Chalice is a great place to put it! REPLACED BY Jeweled Lotus ON 1/28/21. SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW FOR DISCUSSION (EPISODE 317, UP & UP SERIES INSTALLMENT #2).

Hedron Archive: Hedron Archive is not as good as Thran Dynamo in the mana generation department. For the same investment of in order to cast it, Hedron Archive only provides us with . However, if needed, we can tap , tap Hedron Archive and sacrifice it in order to draw two cards. Mana ramp is good. Drawing cards is good. Having an artifact that provides both options is really good.

Thought Vessel: This is a piece of artifact ramp that doubles as removing our maximum hand size. Drawing cards in EDH/Commander is a good thing, right? Well, for me, personally, I like to keep those cards in my hand. I get nauseous just thinking about staring at a hand of ten cards at my end step and deciding which cards to deem 'yard-worthy. I'd rather just keep them in my hand, and Thought Vessel permits me to do so. The ability to tap for is a nice bonus and provides more value than Spellbook or Library of Leng.

Blinkmoth Urn: As one of my guidelines for deck-building, I generally stray away from including any cards from which my opponents can benefit, like Howling Mine, Mana Flare, Rites of Flourishing and Horn of Greed. To me, it is counter-intuitive to construct a deck for the purposes of vanquishing my foes while at the same time aiding them. There must be a very high rate of return or other benefits that are noteworthy or greater than those from which my opponents would reap in order to include a group-hug card. For the purposes of this deck, Blinkmoth Urn checks all of these boxes. At the beginning of each player's pre-combat main phase, if Blinkmoth Urn is untapped, that player adds to their mana pool for each artifact they control. We must accept the fact that our opponents will most likely benefit from this artifact. It's unreasonable to assume that our opponents are sporting EDH/Commander decks without any artifacts. However, it's also reasonable to assume that very few, if any, of our opponents have the number of artifacts in their decks that we do. The benefits of generating such a large amount of colorless mana dwarfs the risk of providing our opponents with a lesser amount of free colorless mana. Creatively, however, we can include cards that allow us to tap Blinkmoth Urn, negating the possibilities of our opponents receiving this free colorless mana. Feel free to do so. Similar to the exclusion of Mycosynthe Lattice, I just can't be that evil.

Expedition Map: Ah, our land tutor. Expedition Map allows us to search our library for ANY LAND CARD and put it into our hand. Are we trying to build Urzatron? Expedition Map can help with that. Do we need a land that taps for ? Expedition Map can help with that. Do we need to recur an artifact, fetch a colorless creature, destroy a land, or make a creature unblockable? Expedition Map can help with that. This Zendikar original is an auto-include!

Sol Ring: There's very little to say about Sol Ring. It's the best artifact in the format. No other artifact in Magic: the Gathering's history can do what Sol Ring does without limitation, restriction and/or drawback. Its inclusion in EDH/Commander decks is nearly automatic, and is so for this deck.

Mind Stone: Mind Stone is a lighter version of Hedron Archive. Instead of costing , tapping for , and netting us two cards for , Mind Stone costs , taps for and draws us a card for . Hedron Archive's little brother has a spot in this deck.

Dreamstone Hedron: If Mind Stone is a light version of Hedron Archive, then Dreamston Hedron is a heavy version of Hedron Archive. Basically, Dreamstone Hedron is triple what Mind Stone is. It costs . We can tap it for . We can tap and sacrifice it in order to draw three cards. Artifact ramp and cantrips. These are good things, right?

Thaumatic Compass  : Thaumatic Compass   provides us with early-game basic land-fetching and when we have at least seven lands, it transforms into Spires of Orazca  , which can tap for or act as an opponent-centered Maze of Ith. I like the versatility of this card because it's functional at any time during a game. Another deck-building guideline I try to follow is asking this question: "Am I okay drawing this card at any point in a game?" Clearly, certain provisions can be made that will allow a card to slip past this doctrine. However, Thaumatic Compass   is a card that I am okay drawing at any point in a game. Early-to-mid game it can ensure our land drops. Mid-to-late game (assuming we have at least seven lands in play) it provides additional mana or plays defense.

Basalt Monolith: Basalt Monolith replaces a Wastes from this deck's initial build. Basalt Monolith doesn't untap during our untap step. Okay. Well, neither does Mana Vault and that's already in our deck. We get when we tap it, and Basalt Monolith costs to untap it. Its casting cost is also . The mana spent to cast Basalt Monolith is immediately replaced by tapping it, we just have to pay in order to untap it. Or do we...?

Manifold Key: What happens when Rogue's Passage and Voltaic Key get together? They produce Manifold Key. If we tap and Manifold Key, then we untap another target artifact. This is a great reduction in the cost associated with untapping both Mana Vault and Basalt Monolith. If this wasn't valuable enough, we can tap and tap Manifold Key and target creature can't be blocked for a turn. Manifold Key replaces a Wastes from the primary construction of this deck and, admittedly, it clearly was an oversight not including it initially.

Karn, Scion of Urza: If we can keep Karn, Scion of Urza on the battlefield for a few turns, we can really gain some card advantage. If we +1 Karn, Scion of Urza, we reveal the top two cards of our library and an opponent chooses one of them. Then we put that card into our hand and exile the other with a silver counter on it. If we later -1 Karn, Scion of Urza, we can put a card we own with a silver counter on it from exile into our hand. As stated earlier, if we keep Karn, Scion of Urza on the battlefield we can reap some beneficial card advantages. Additionally, Karn, Scion of Urza's -2 ability allows us to create a 0/0 colorless construct artifact creature token with "This creature gets +1/+1 for each artifact we control." If Karn, Scion of Urza can offer protection, then so should we!

Planar Portal: With Planar Portal, we can tap and tap it in order to search for any card in our library and put it into our hand. This is not a one-shot, either. We can repeatedly utilize this artifact as long as we have the requisite amount of mana and as long as Planar Portal is untapped. This can act as a repeatable Demonic Tutor, just much pricier. Planar Portal can really get out of hand with some mana rocks and Unwinding Clock under out control. Under this scenario, if left unchecked, victory should not be far away. REPLACED BY Staff of Domination ON 1/28/21. SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW FOR DISCUSSION (EPISODE 317, UP & UP SERIES INSTALLMENT #2).

Oracle's Vault: In assessing the value of Oracle's Vault, we must look closely at its text. We tap and tap Oracle's Vault: "Exile the top card of our library. Until end of turn, we may play that card. Put a brick counter on Oracle's Vault." Notice that the text does not say "we may CAST that card." We can play a land from Oracle's Vault, as long as we have an available land drop. Once we have at least three brick counters on Oracle's Vault, we can tap it, exile the top card of our library and, until end of turn, we may play that card without paying its mana cost. With three brick counters, Oracle's Vault taps for a free spell. This is an easily achievable feat and is a definite must-play in the deck. Card. Advantage. REPLACED BY Rings of Brighthearth ON 1/28/21. SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW FOR DISCUSSION (EPISODE 317, UP & UP SERIES INSTALLMENT #2).

Planar Bridge: This mythic rare from Aether Revolt can end the game. Once under our control, we tap and tap it in order to search our library for any permanent and put it onto the battlefield. Eight mana. Any permanent from our library. Onto the battlefield. Unwinding Clock approves.

Mystic Forge: Mystic Forge allows us to look at the top card of our library at any time and we can cast the top card of our library as long as it is an artifact card or a colorless nonland card. Every card in this deck is an artifact card or colorless nonland card, aside from the lands of course. Mystic Forge has a built-in top-card-of-the-library reset button. We can tap Mystic Forge, pay one life and exile the top card of our library. In a sense, Mystic Forge extends our hand by two cards, allowing us two opportunities to cast a spell from the top of our library. Card. Advantage.

Tower of Fortunes: Debuting in the tower cycle from Mirrodin, Tower of Fortunes will draw us four cards by tapping and tapping it. Does that seem pricey? Absent the mana provided, Tower of Fortunes follows the trend of Mind Stone, Hedron Archive and Dreamstone Hedron in exchanging for a card. The benefit of Tower of Fortunes is that we don't have to sacrifice it in order to draw the cards. Unwinding Clock and a mix of artifact rocks equaling at least can draw a ton of cards during a round of turns! REPLACED BY Scroll Rack ON 1/28/21. SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW FOR DISCUSSION (EPISODE 317, UP & UP SERIES INSTALLMENT #2).

Eldrazi Conscription: Our only enchantment in the deck is a doozy. For enchanted creature gets +10 +10, trample and annihilator 2. Most of the creatures in this deck are already bigguns. This enchantment just makes one creature biggerer...or something.

MImic Vat: MImic Vat has imprint, which means whenever a nontoken creature dies, we may exile that card. If we do, return each other card exiled with MImic Vat to its owner's graveyard. Then we can pay and tap MImic Vat, we can create a token that's a copy of a card exiled with MImic Vat. It gains haste and we must exile it at the beginning of the next end step. Create a hasty attacker? Check. Create a blocker? Check. At instant speed? Check. For just ? Check. Enter the battlefield abilities? Check. Death triggers? Check. MImic Vat's versatility is really valuable. However, at the time of this deck list's upload, MImic Vat is played in just 3% of all decks through EDHREC.com. Why?

Sculpting Steel: We may have Sculpting Steel enter the battlefield as a copy of any artifact on the battlefield. Notice what the text doesn't say. It doesn't say "any artifact YOU CONTROL." It doesn't say "any artifact an opponent controls." Any. Artifact. On. The. Battlefield. And for only !??! EVERYONE plays with artifacts, most of which are very powerful and valuable. For just we can copy any of these artifacts that are on the battlefield when Sculpting Steel enters play. Why in the multiverse is this card played in just 1% of all decks through EDHREC.com at the time of this deck list's upload?!

Shadowspear: Shadowspear is such an interesting and versatile equipment. I can forsee it becoming an EDH/Commander staple. When equipped, Shadowspear gives equipped creature +1 +1, trample and lifelink. Lifelink is a great addition to this deck. Shadowspear is intriguing due to its ability to remove hexproof and indestructible from our opponents' permanents until end of turn...for the meager cost of . We can activate this ability whether or not Shadowspear is equipped to a creature. The presence of this card can become a political fixture in a game. Additionally, this will assist with those pesky Voltron Generals/Commanders such as Narset, Enlightened Master, Sigarda, Host of Herons and Uril, the Miststalker. DISCLOSURE: I understand that this is a recently printed card (Theros Beyond Death), but I would secure as many copies of Shadowspear as possible before its value gets too high. Shadowspear feels like Umezawa's Jitte to me. REPLACED BY Commander's Plate ON 1/28/21. SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW FOR DISCUSSION (EPISODE 317, UP & UP SERIES INSTALLMENT #2).

Unwinding Clock: Seedborn Muse. Wilderness Reclamation. The banned Prophet of Kruphix. It is a powerful effect to be able to untap permanents more frequently than just during our untap phase. Unwinding Clock is our version of the aforementioned cards, and is one of the most powerful cards in our deck. With so many mana rocks in this deck, being able to untap them during each other player's untap step provides a potentially insurmountable amount of value that Unwinding Clock was card #1 when the decision was made to create a colorless EDH/Commander deck. There are so many cards throughout this deck that can take advantage of multiple untap steps, with Planar Bridge, Planar Portal, Tower of Fortunes and Predator, Flagship being a few. Unwinding Clock is a very powerful and worthy inclusion in this deck.

Darksteel Forge: It is easier to destroy permanents than it is to exile them, and artifacts are no different. Although Darksteel Forge will not protect our artifacts from potential exile, it will prevent any destruction by giving all of them indestructible. Darksteel Forge is pricey at converted mana cost, but the payoff is worth the investment, particularly when we run copies of Nevinyrral's Disk and Oblivion Stone.

Lightning Greaves: The quintessential EDH/Commander equipment staple. It can slot into any deck. It's a one-time cost of , equips for and gives equipped creature haste and shroud. Amazing return for a miniscule amount of mana invested. There are a lot of creatures in our deck that would LOVE to be able to attack the turn they enter the battlefield (Blightsteel Colossus, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Kozilek, the Butcher of Truth, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, Kozilek, the Great Distortion, Emrakul, the Promised End), and allowing one of these creatures to do so for is ridiculously valuable, and somewhat of a necessity as those creatures are MANA HUNGRY!

Mirage Mirror: Speaking of quintessential EDH/Commander staples, why isn't Mirage Mirror considered one? Tap to become a copy of any artifact, enchantment, land or creature on the battlefield. Focus on that text: ANY artifact, enchantment, land or creature ON THE BATTLEFIELD. Mirage Mirror does not limit its activation to an artifact, enchantment, land or creature WE CONTROL. This is a one-turn clone effect for every permanent on the battlefield, excluding planeswalkers! This versatility and usefulness is screaming with value, yet, at the time of this deck list's posting, over the last two years through EDHREC.com, Mirage Mirror is not listed in its top 100 artifacts played.

Strionic Resonator: Power. Strionic Resonator is pure power in this deck. If we tap and tap it, Strionic Resonator copies target triggered ability we control. Let's explore some of the triggered abilities in our deck. Graveyard-to-battlefield creature recursion. Annihilator. Exiling creatures. Controlling an opponent's turn. Creating creature tokens. Drawing cards. Destroying nonland permanents. Land-fetching. Exiling permanents. Exiling chunks of opponents' libraries. Destroying permanents. Gaining life. Tutoring for creatures. Scrying. An activation of Strionic Resonator allows us to double any of these effects. Do we also have Manifold Key on the battlefield and under our control? If so, then we can untap Strionic Resonator and copy an effect TWICE. Strionic Resonator replaces a Wastes from the initial construction of this deck. Not including Strionic Resonator in the original build of this deck may be oversight of the year for MTG Burgeoning! REPLACED BY Lithoform Engine ON 1/28/21. SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW FOR DISCUSSION (EPISODE 317, UP & UP SERIES INSTALLMENT #2).

Whispersilk Cloak: The creature equipped by Whispersilk Cloak has shroud and can't be blocked. Our creatures are big and nasty, but there aren't a lot of them. Whispersilk Cloak protects them defensively with shroud and optimizes their offense by being unblockable. Whispersilk Cloak replaces Bane of Bala Ged from this deck's initial construction. The abilities of shroud and unblockable are more favorable for our deck than Bane of Bala Ged's 7/5 body and annihilator 2 trigger.

Wastes: There are eight in the deck.

Reliquary Tower: Reliquary Tower is another version of Thought Vessel. It taps for and gives us no maximum hand size. I like cards in my hand. I don't like discarding cards if I have more than seven at the beginning of my end step. Reliquary Tower helps to make sure I don't have to.

Rogue's Passage: Rogue's Passage has political benefits, as the creature we target does not have to be under our control. Albeit useful, Rogue's Passage inclusion is not meant to just provide our opponents' creatures with unblockability. Kozilek, the Great Distortion has menace, which is good, but in our format there are a lot of creatures clogging up the battlefield that would be happy to trade their lives in order to prevent 12 points of General/Commander damage. Rogue's Passage ensures that attacking for General/Commander damage will not be a problem.

Endless Sands: Endless Sands has its benefits. If an opponent attempts to borrow one of our creatures for some maleficient purposes, we can activate Endless Sands to exile it. Is an opponent targeting one of our creatures with Anguished Unmaking or Path to Exile? Let's exile it with Endless Sands for the purposes of bringing it back in the future. If we tap and sacrifice Endless Sands, we can return each creature card exiled with Endless Sands to the battlefield under our control. Admittedly, this is a little pricier to pull off than simply using Safe Haven, but the ability to sacrifice Endless Sands at any time is strategically more favorable. REPLACED BY War Room ON 1/28/21. SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW FOR DISCUSSION (EPISODE 317, UP & UP SERIES INSTALLMENT #2).

Strip Mine: Maze of Ith. Unfortunately, Maze of Ith is a thing and so is Spires of Orazca  . Strip Mine's inclusion is to clear the path for our bigguns. Investing so much mana into one of our powerful creatures only to have an opponent tap a land to remove it from combat hurts. It hurts a lot. Strip Mine helps to ease the pain.

Inventors' Fair: Metalcraft ability #1 nets us one life at the beginning of our upkeep. This isn't terrible considering the low number of gain-life spells in our deck. Metalcraft ability #2 allows us to tap and sacrifice Inventors' Fair in order to search our library for an artifact card, reveal it, and put it into our hand. In a deck full of artifacts, Inventors' Fair acts as an artifact tutor if we meet its metalcraft requirements. #WeGotThisBro.

Scavenger Grounds: Graveyards in our format nowadays are simply additional hands. Every deck in EDH/Commander should have some forms of recursion in order to re-use resources. Scavenger Grounds is our global Tormod's Crypt in the form of a land. Honestly, Relic of Progenitus does it better by providing single card exile in addition to drawing us a card if we decide to exile everyone's 'yards. My reason for choosing Scavenger Grounds in this slot is its ability to provide mana. Maybe we're at the table with very little or no graveyard recursion, neutering the effectiveness of Relic of Progenitus. If so, then the debate is a card that draws a card vs. a land. I'd rather have the land.

Shrine of the Forsaken Gods: Shrine of the Forsaken Gods is a variation of Temple of the False God. With Shrine of the Forsaken Gods we can tap it for immediately and if we have at least seven lands it taps for . Temple of the False God will net us but we must control at least five lands in order to activate it. Either way, both lands are valuable in this deck as we want to generate a lot of colorless mana.

Field of Ruin: This is another land that will ensure a Maze of Ith-free battlefield. Field of Ruin replaces itself and the nonbasic land it destroys, but also allows other opponents to fetch-out a basic land. A free land. For nothing. Just for sitting at the table!! This is not optimal, and conflicts with one of my deck-building guidelines of not playing cards that can strengthen our opponents. This land is used with great caution, and its inclusion is necessary in order to clear a path to victory on the battlefield, absent any mazes.

Darksteel Citadel: This artifact land taps for and is indestructible. That is all.

Haven of the Spirit Dragon: The second ability of Haven of the Spirit Dragon is useless in this deck. Aside from this ability, it provides the typical in addition to allowing us to tap , sacrifice Haven of the Spirit Dragon and return a dragon creature card or a Ugin planeswalker card from our graveyard to our hand. Steel Hellkite, Ugin, the Ineffable and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon approve.

Eye of Ugin: Eye of Ugin does not tap for any mana, but it reduces the cost of our eldrazi spells by . Additionally, we can tap , tap Eye of Ugin and search our library for a colorless creature card, reveal it, and put it into our hand. Notice that the text does not say "colorless eldrazi creature card." We can tutor for artifact creatures as well. Notice that the text does not say "sacrifice Eye of Ugin." This is a repeatable ability.

Buried Ruin: Here is another form of graveyard recursion a la Haven of the Spirit Dragon, except the target is not as specific. Providing the requisite , Buried Ruin also allows us to tap , tap it, sacrifice it and return an artifact card from our graveyard to our hand. Our deck is filled with artifacts and, inevitably, some of them will be destroyed. Buried Ruin is included in this deck as a way to bring an artifact back.

Zhalfirin Void: When Zhalfirin Void enters the battlefield we can scry 1. This is simply a Wastes with a keyword. This makes Zhalfirin Void more valuable than a Wastes, explaining its inclusion in the deck. Other than that, it taps for . That is all.

High Market: The usual allotment in addition to life gain is not terrible, particularly in a deck with very few spells dedicated to swing our life total upwards. High Market allows us to protect our creatures from exile or from being absconded. A creature in the graveyard is better than a stolen or exiled exiled.

Radiant Fountain: When Radiant Fountain enters the battlefield, we gain two life. This is a Wastes that gains two life when it comes into play. REPLACED BY Crawling Barrens ON 1/28/21. SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW FOR DISCUSSION (EPISODE 317, UP & UP SERIES INSTALLMENT #2).

Sanctum of Ugin: Sanctum of Ugin is excellent as it provides the typical but also allows us to tutor for a creature. Whenever we cast a colorless spell with converted mana cost seven or greater, we may sacrifice Sanctum of Ugin. When we do, we search our library for a colorless creature card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Any. Colorless. Creature. Card. Our mammoth creatures are our primary win conditions and being able to tutor for one at the expense of a land in a colorless EDH/Commander deck is very powerful. Cast All is Dust. Sacrifice Sanctum of Ugin. Fetch Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger. Your opponents know what's coming and will be hesitant to have prime permanents exiled upon Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger's cast trigger. Then we rope-a-dope the opponents by casting an annihilating eldrazi spell instead!

Urza's Mine: One of the three pieces of Urzatron, Magic: the Gathering's famed cornucopia of colorless mana. Urza's Mine taps for , but if we also control Urza's Tower and Urza's Power Plant it taps for instead. Admittedly, it is challenging to achieve this feat in an all colorless EDH/Commander deck, but not impossible. These lands are worthy inclusions.

Urza's Power Plant: One of the three pieces of Urzatron, Magic: the Gathering's famed cornucopia of colorless mana. Urza's Power Plant taps for , but if we also control Urza's Tower and Urza's Mine it taps for instead. Admittedly, it is challenging to achieve this feat in an all colorless EDH/Commander deck, but not impossible. These lands are worthy inclusions.

Urza's Tower: One of the three pieces of Urzatron, Magic: the Gathering's famed cornucopia of colorless mana. Urza's Tower taps for , but if we also control Urza's Mind and Urza's Power Plant it taps for instead. Admittedly, it is challenging to achieve this feat in an all colorless EDH/Commander deck, but not impossible. These lands are worthy inclusions.

Tomb of the Spirit Dragon: This is another way for us to gain life through our mana base. By tapping and tapping Tomb of the Spirit Dragon, we can gain a life for each colorless creature we control. Tapping and this land is not burdensome in order to gain life.

Homeward Path: Our creatures are awesome. We covet them as our primary paths to victory. With jealousy and malice in their hearts, our opponents will attempt to take control of our bigguns. Homeward Path will make sure that our creatures don't stray too far from home.

Ancient Tomb: There are seven lands in this deck that can tap for or . Ancient Tomb is the only land among them that can do so without restriction, limitation or having to meet certain requirements. Yes, its activation will cost us two life, but in the early game the life lost is acceptable in order to outpace our opponents. Even through the entirety of a game, there are enough pockets of lifegain that can mitigate the loss of life from Ancient Tomb. Ancient Tomb was land #1 in the initial construction of this deck.

Temple of the False God: With at least four other lands in play, Temple of the False God can come down onto our battlefield and tap for immediately. It feels good when that happens. When we play Temple of the False God with three or less lands under our control, it does not feel good. The percentages show that we are more likely to draw and play Temple of the False God and activate it immediately than it is to draw and play a useless one (until we reach land drop #5).

Arch of Orazca: Drawing a card by activating a land is great value. With Arch of Orazca, its value comes in the form of the City's Blessing. If we have it, then we tap , tap Arch of Orazca and draw a card. No restrictions. No limitations. No drawbacks. We just need the city's blessing, and in this deck achieving that feat will not be difficult.

Drownyard Temple: This land from Shadows Over Innistrad recurs itself from the graveyard to the battlefield tapped by tapping . If needed, Drownyard Temple is a good discard target because we can get it back onto the battlefield. REPLACED BY Command Beacon ON 1/28/21. SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO BELOW FOR DISCUSSION (EPISODE 317, UP & UP SERIES INSTALLMENT #2).

Eldrazi Temple: If we are casting an eldrazi spell, then Eldrazi Temple will tap for . If we are casting any other spell, then Eldrazi Temple will tap for . The solid versatility of this land may explain why it was printed originally as a rare in Rise of the Eldrazi, downshifted to uncommon in multiple re-printings and is still close to $10 in value.

Guildless Commons: Magic's first colorless -roo land debuted in Commander Legends and is a good fit in this deck. It enters the battlefield tapped and when it does we return a land we control to our hand. Guildless Commons taps for . It doesn't cause loss of life like Ancient Tomb. It doesn't gather dust on the battlefield waiting for an appropriate number of lands like Temple of the False God. It taps for without restrictions unlike Eldrazi Temple and Shrine of the Forsaken Gods. Zhalfirin Void is a great land to return to our hand upon Guildless Commons's entrance to the battlefield.

This is MTG Burgeoning's original Kozilek, the Great Distortion EDH/Commander deck tech:

This is MTG Burgeoning play-testing this original Kozilek, the Great Distortion EDH/Commander deck:

This YouTube Video showcases an installment of MTG Burgeoning's Up & Up Series, where a previously highlighted deck tech is revisited for the purposes of UPdating and UPgrading:

In the following YouTube video, MTG Burgeoning showcases this Kozilek, the Great Distortion EDH build through a deck tech as it enters into the Burgeoning Commander Catalog. This video also becomes the starting point for a Kozilek, the Great Distortion EDH Deck Video Primer Series.

In the following YouTube video, MTG Burgeoning UPdates & UPgrades this Kozilek, the Great Distortion EDH deck via an appearance on the UP & UP Series:

Karn, Legacy Reforged replaces Blinkmoth Urn.

Zhulodok, Void Gorger replaces Burnished Hart.

Abstruse Archaic replaces Pilgrim's Eye.

Skittering Cicada replaces Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter.

Flayer of Loyalties replaces Phyrexian Triniform.

In the following YouTube video, MTG Burgeoning UPdates & UPgrades the 99 of this Kozilek, the Great Distortion build via an appearance on the UP & UP Series:

Portal to Phyrexia replaces Oblivion Stone.

Calamity of the Titans replaces Perilous Vault.

Rise of the Eldrazi replaces Meteor Golem.

Desecrate Reality replaces Lux Cannon.

Darksteel Monolith replaces Planar Bridge.

Wondrous Crucible replaces Predator, Flagship.

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63% Casual

37% Competitive

Revision 7 See all

(4 months ago)

+1 Calamity of the Titans main
+1 Darksteel Monolith main
+1 Desecrate Reality main
-1 Lux Cannon main
+1 MImic Vat main
-1 Meteor Golem main
-1 MImic Vat main
-1 Oblivion Stone main
-1 Perilous Vault main
-1 Planar Bridge main
+1 Portal to Phyrexia main
-1 Predator, Flagship main
+1 Rise of the Eldrazi main
+1 Wondrous Crucible main
Top Ranked
  • Achieved #23 position overall 5 months ago
  • Achieved #17 position in Commander / EDH 5 months ago
Date added 3 years
Last updated 4 months
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)

21 - 0 Mythic Rares

43 - 0 Rares

24 - 0 Uncommons

6 - 0 Commons
Cards 100
Avg. CMC 5.25
Tokens City's Blessing, Construct 0/0 C, Copy Clone, Spirit 2/2 C
Folders MTG Burgeoning's EDH/Commander Decks, This looks dope., Flavorful, Burgeoning Commander Catalog, Eldrazi, EDH Ideas, Not my Commander Decks
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