A Guide to Play with Modern Eldrazi Tron

Greetings!

My name is Matheus, I am a grinder and streamer on Magic Online.

Recently, I won the Modern Super Qualifier, on which I've earned an entry to the Strixhaven Championship and today I'll introduce you to my Sideboard guide against the main matchups of the format with the deck of which I've played over 7000 matchups since 2017, the Eldrazi Tron.

During those years playing with the deck, I realized that Eldrazi Tron never received the due respect, as I listened many players having negative opinions about it, considering a "clumsy" or "bad" deck, calling it a "Bad Tron", but, these players misinterpret Eldrazi Tron's performance in Modern from its creation to the present moment. The deck appears to be so simple, but why the fuss?

The Tron lands are certainly the most powerful part of the deck, and always will be. When you assemble Tron on turn 3, it is usually difficult for any opponent to keep up with your pace, but it is from this situation that Eldrazi Tron is misinterpreted. I usually say that Tron's three lands are a "bonus", and many players are afraid of games in which Tron is not active. However, in reality, these games will be the majority and you need to accept them or change the deck. In general, you shouldn't mull aggressively like the Green Tron does to search for its pieces, because the Eldrazi Tron can work perfectly without them.

Anyone who knows me knows how I defend Warping Wail in maindeck, because the versatility that the card brings for countering important spells and exiling problematic creatures, it does just what you need at the beginning of the game. Together with Chalice of the Void that disables fast decks and Matter Reshaper that often transitions to the midgame, being an important blocker while generating some value for us.

Although Eldrazi Tron is no longer a new deck, I know that many people are starting to play with it recently, either because they like Tron variations, or even because of their influence watching my lives.

So, here are some general basic game tips for you to get familiar with it:

• If in your starting hand you have two Tron pieces and one Eldrazi Temple, for example, generally play the Temple first to have a possible Thought-Knot Seer turn 2, unless you have one “Bomb” in your hand, like Karn, the Great Creator.

• In some situations when you have Expedition Map on turn 1 and only one piece of Tron, but you still have enough other lands to play most of the spells in your hand, do not sacrifice it in the first turns, as sometimes the second Tron piece can come in the following turns and the map will complete the last one that was missing.

• There will be many situations at the beginning of the game that you will have the option to use Thought-Knot Seer or Reality Smasher. Almost always Thought-Knot Seer must be cast first, as the "Thoughtseize effect" on your opponent is best used at the beginning of the game, being able to remove the removal that would later target the Smasher.

• Try to leave Walking Ballista for the late game, but don't be afraid to do it in turn 2 to kill a dork, because sometimes this mana delay generated in the opponent that gives us time to find something most powerful in the game.

• Don't forget that Karn, the Great Creator with Liquimetal Coating can transform your non-creatures artifacts into creatures. That is, we can transform Ugin, the Ineffable into a creature with a 6/6 body, which is quite relevant in certain cases.

• And finally, two important tips against Burn. It may be more impactful to put the Chalice of the Void post side to X = 2 instead of X = 1, because Burn players try to keep hands that avoids a Chalice to X = 1 or are often with a Smash to Smithereens in hand. But don't forget that if you use Chalice for 2, you won't be able to make another one for 1 later, as it will be countered. Another tip, if you have enough land in your starting hand to use your spells, it is advisable not to put Expedition Map on the field in turn 1, as it may happen that you do not have the opportunity to search for a land and it becomes a possible target for Smash to Smithereens.

One of Eldrazi Tron's biggest weaknesses is the lack of options available for the Sideboard, due to being a completely colorless deck. However, with the appearance of Karn, the Great Creator, this weakness was mitigated, since we now have access to our Sideboard in several situations during the matches, including in game 1.

This is a very balanced match, but I consider it slightly favorable for Eldrazi Tron. The infinite life combo does not affect us, as we have Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger to win by exiling their library. Often the opponent starts with Arbor Elf, and if you can remove it, do it, as it is common for our opponent keeps risky dorks hands, in addition to the risk of having him cast a Collected Company on turn 2.

Skyclave Apparition is usually a headache for us, so Chalice of the Void is not a good card to keep. It’s good to leave Pithing Needle on the sideboard to pick up with Karn, the Great Creator. Avoid relying on Tron in this match, as the chance is high that your opponent will side in Damping Sphere, since the deck uses several copies on the Sideboard.

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The mirror game between Eldrazi Tron is very oscillating.

There are several dead cards and the amount you get with them in game 1 can be decisive. Usually whoever closes Tron first has an immense advantage, and Karn, the Great Creator is the one who wins most games, so protect him in the best way as possible. Chalice of The Void is a very bad card on the mirror, but if you have a Karn on the field and your opponent does not, pulling Chalice from the sideboard and doing it to X = 4 can close the game, as the opponent is likely will not be able to remove it and his Karn will be countered. Be careful to name cards with Sorcerous Spyglass and Pithing Needle, they can have an effect against you as well.

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Eldrazi Tron was born when Grixis Shadow was Top Tier of the format, but in recent years, the variations of Shadow have been increasing and getting stronger. Jund and 4Color are not favorable matches, and with the addition of Lurrus of the Dream-Den it got even more complicated.

Chalice of the Void for X = 1 takes a good part of the spells and gives us some time, but it may not be enough, as they have Tarmogoyf and Scourge of the Skyclaves. As it is a popular deck, it was necessary to dedicate a slot in the Sideboard against these variations. The Tumble Magnet helps to temporalily deal with problematic creatures from the opponent without stop attacking with ours, as the Ensnaring Bridge does, which is quite interesting, since in many situations you lose to a single giant creature . The Karn, the Great Creator a problem for our opponent, as it can give us what we need at the decisive moment of the game. This side in / out can vary according to the opponent's list, but in general this is how I do it.

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This match, despite being favorable, is still very dangerous, I have lost many matches in turn 3. The ideal is to keep hands with Temples and Eldrazis, if you do not have Tron. Thought-Knot Seer is excellent in the game. If you cast Matter Reshaper on 2 or a removal and Thought-Knot Seer on 3, you'll be at great advantage.

And as stated above, consider casting Chalice of the Void for X = 2 instead of X = 1. Radiant Fountain also helps us for zero mana, in which many games can be won at the limit, which makes these 2 life very relevant.

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Like Burn, in this match Chalice of the Void can shine and win some games for free, but there are quite problematic cards on the other side as well, such as Sprite Dragon and Stormwing Entity. These are the creatures that define the game, so it may seem strange to keep Dismember in a game that the opponent's deck works as a "Burn", however these creatures need to leave immediately or we will probably lose the game. If you have the opportunity to kill a Sprite Dragon with Walking Ballista for X = 1, do it, this is usually the right choice. Against these more aggressive decks it is worth playing with 23 lands, which is why I am siding out a Tectonic Edge.

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There are some variations of UW / Esper, but today the predominant version is the one with spells and without Stoneforge Mystic.

Based on that, we don't need as many removals, so I usually leave just one Dismember because of Celestial Colonnade and Shark Typhoon. In addition, we play a fairer game, because it is difficult to count on Tron, since the opponent has Field of Ruin. The Karn, the Great Creator is once again a decisive piece for our victory, try to force spells before using it so that the opponent spends his counters and removals. Also try not to be totally vulnerable to a Jace, the Mind Sculptor, because if it stays on the field for more than 2 turns, you will hardly be able to deal with it. So it is important every now and then to hold a Reality Smasher in hand if he taps for Jace on turn 4.

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This is a fight with an older brother, and that means that we usually get the worst of it. You need to come with a hand of Tron or with extremely aggressive hands with Temples. Chalice of the Void is a good card that can guarantee some games or at least save time. If you are on the play, Warping Wail can counter Sylvan Scrying or Ancient Stirrings on the curve and disrupt the opponent's Tron early. Karn, the Great Creator is decisive in ensuring victories. In general we have few tools on the Sideboard for this match.

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This is one of the most difficult matchups, and there are usually two versions of this deck, one with Karn, the Great Creator which is much worse for us. Our hands need to be aggressive by closing the Tron quickly or with multiple Temples. Chalice of the Void is a good card in the game, as we can do it for X = 0 and counter the Summoner’s Pact.

Many people ask me if Chalice is not better for X = 1 to remove Amulet of Vigor, but here we need to reduce the means for victory our opponent has, so removing threats is the key to winning.

Avoid leaving Azusa, Lost but Seeking and Dryad of the Ilysian Grove in the field,and don't be afraid to spend removals on them. The Pithing Needle has some functions on this matchup: either to stop Sakura-Tribe Scout at the beginning of the game or to name Tolaria West and Slayer's Stronghold to avoid a [[Primeval Titan] ] with haste.

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Eldrazi Tron was born from the desire to attack a specific Metagame, in which Grixis Death's Shadow was the deck to beat.

Although it achieved this mission with considerable success during that time, Modern has become more and more powerful in recent years and the deck has been losing power. With the creation of important cards like the ones from War of the Spark and with the latest bans in Modern, Eldrazi Tron returns to take center stage, without having to attack a specific Metagame to be successful, becoming a consistent choice in the current format. I hope I helped with some questions about the deck.

Thanks for reading and may the Eldrazi Temples be with you!