Legacy: Eldrazi Linebreaker Aggro - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Greetings, Legacy community! Today, we'll explore an archetype that never seems to die, not for good.

When Sowing Mycospawn was banned, Eldrazi Aggro was one of the main decks in the format. This incredibly harsh ban pushed this deck out of the top of the meta, with no recovery in sight. And, indeed, that version never recovered.

But then its base looked to another Modern Horizons 3 card for support. Eventually, a new competitor entered the meta!

When MH3 gave us all that Eldrazi support, I honestly thought this deck would eventually turn red and not green. I believed it would do better with Eldrazi Linebreaker's aggressiveness than with the value Sowing Mycospawn creates. Clearly, I was wrong. But now that Green Eldrazi (officially they're all colorless, though!) is no longer an option, this card became a consideration again, something we discovered while it spent some time in the lower tiers of the format. Bit by bit, it started to gain traction and rise. Today, it is once again one of the main aggro decks in the format, and a lot of that is thanks to Eldrazi Linebreaker.

By itself, Linebreaker is already a 4/3 with trample and haste, but it is much more valuable when you add into account Eldrazi Spawn tokens, which this deck can create lots of with Glaring Fleshraker and Kozilek's Command. For starters, Linebreaker's ability creates a lot of value from these tokens, but it can also turn them into aggressive threats themselves. This is particularly interesting in games that are defined by attrition, when each resource counts.

Today's list was played by Capitano_CL to win a Magic Online Last Chance tournament (attended by 72 players). The foundation of the Sowing Mycospawn version remains, including 4 of Glaring Fleshraker, Thought-Knot Seer, Kozilek's Command, and Chalice of the Void. The usual mana structure, that is, 4 Ancient Tomb, Eldrazi Temple, Cavern of Souls, Wasteland, Lotus Petal, 3 Eye of Ugin, and 2 Wastes still remains as well. Then we get to the new cards.

As we mentioned above, Eldrazi Linebreaker replaced the now-banned Mycospawn and made this deck a proper aggro strategy. And since we're talking about aggressiveness, we must mention this deck got out of retirement what was, for a long time, the best example of colorless aggression: Reality Smasher! This deck uses 2 of this Eldrazi monster as more ways to reach inevitability.

Another card that already saw play in old versions and that current versions play as many as they can is Wastescape Battlemage. It is useful in this version because of its Kickers. The green Kicker has many targets in this format, and the blue one can make a difference against other aggro decks. It is also an answer to reanimated monsters.

Devourer of Destiny already saw play before, but this version swapped the third copy of this Eldrazi for 1 copy of Sire of Seven Deaths. You can tutor this 7-mana monster with Eye of Ugin and let it dominate the board completely if you manage to resolve it, which is quite possible when Cavern of Souls is also in play. Aggressive decks simply can't go over this thing, and it both attacks and defends at the same time thanks to its Vigilance and Lifelink.

Finally, there are some interesting cards in this mana base. Grim Monolith was already seeing a lot of play in this strategy, both as a way to put your more expensive Eldrazi in play early or make your Kozilek's Command even more powerful and as an out against Blood Moon. Furthermore, the fact this deck plays both Smasher and Sire makes sense now. Because Linebreaker and Battlemage cost colored mana, this list also plays Secluded Courtyard, which complements the Caverns and Petals and creates colored mana too.

If you enjoy aggressive decks that can still defend themselves well, Eldrazi is perfect. It is very aggressive and plays Chalice of the Void and Thought-Knot Seer (and, in some cases, Wastescape Battlemage) as disruption.

Kozilek's Command is not that healthy and can do absurd things when you play it with Glaring Fleshraker. And, if you're like my friends, who invested a lot on this deck and saw their investment turn into ruin once Mycospawn was banned, you'll be glad to see these cards on the board again.

Because this Eldrazi list is practically a Stompy and doesn't play cantrips, your opening hand is crucial. Devourer of Destiny could let you keep some hands, considering it does fix them, in a way. Eye of Ugin could break or make your opening hand.

Let's see a few examples.

This hand does threaten a Seer on turn 2 and an uncounterable Smasher on turn 3, but it is too vulnerable to discards and, even with this many lands, could be delayed considerably with just 1 Wasteland. I wouldn't risk it. Verdict: you should mulligan it.

This hand is a perfect foil to the one above. It is too slow to put cards in play, only has a few lands, and can't put pressure on the opponent for sure. Verdict: you should mulligan it.

This hand is quite interesting and can lean into many strategies. You can open with Temple, Petal, and Fleshraker, and leave the way open to Monolith, a Token, and Seer. Or, you could open with a land, Petal, and Monolith and possibly create a lot of mana on turn 2. Verdict: you should keep it.

What makes this hand valid is Devourer, which should give you an easier turn 2. The 2 Wastelands can buy some time while you develop your game plan. Verdict: you should keep it.

As expected of a deck that doesn't play cantrips, this sideboard doesn't have a lot of space for much: Faerie Macabre and Unlicensed Hearse will deal with the main threats in the format. Hearse is actually useful against other Tempo lists, as it keeps Barrowgoyf and Murktide Regent under control.

Dismember keeps creature-based combo decks, like Nadu Breakfast and Painter, under control. Null Rod is a threat against Forge, which always pops up.

The last cards deserve an extra paragraph. Ghost Quarter is basically a Strip Mine against some decks in the format and makes your Wastelands more redundant against decks like Lands and Forge.

Our final duo, 2 Grim Monolith and Sire of Seven Deaths, is a pseudo-transformative side card that lets you put your 7/7 in play early against decks that simply can't deal with it efficiently, such as Mirror or Red Prison.

Dimir Reanimator

Chalice of the Void for 1 is crucial in this matchup because it will disrupt most of their game plan in game 1. If they don't draw a card with Entomb on turn 1 and reanimate something on turn 2, your Eldrazi will be tough to deal with. Speaking of reanimating, your big monsters are quite dangerous if they discard them and recruit them to their side. So, you'll leave them post-side.

In:

Out:

Dimir Aggro

As they can't play their "Plan A" with Atraxa or Archon on turn 2, they're a lot more vulnerable to colorless monsters. And, as most of their creatures are small, Wastescape Battlemage isn't that efficient.

In:

Out:

Forge

Out of all the aggro decks, Eldrazi is perhaps the best prepared to deal with Forge: Wastescape Battlemage answers a lot on their side, Thought-Knot Seer can hit key cards, and your list is basically invulnerable to Ugin, Eye of the Storms.

Post-side, you'll only remove your slower cards (and the ones that don't target anything, like Devourer) for more efficient answers.

In:

Out:

Red Stompy

Red Stompy was, by far, the most complicated enemy for this list. It might not be the Bogeyman it once was, but we still have to be prepared to face it.

Both of you will have dead cards with Chalice of the Void, and, even though Blood Moon is a lot stronger, you have an out: Grim Monolith, Glaring Fleshraker, and Wastes. If you manage to put Sire in play early, it can win the game by itself. This will only fail if the opponent plays a broken turn with Broadside Bombardiers.

In:

Out:

Lands

Your Wastelands and Wastescape Battlemages are quite useful in this matchup. Eldrazi Linebreaker is a way to play around Maze of Ith. Hearse holds off Life from the Loam, and Ghost Quarter is your 5th Wasteland.

In:

Out:

The reports of Eldrazi's death are greatly exaggerated. It took a while, but apparently the material MH3 gave us was too good to not see play, even without Sowing Mycospawn. In a format completely dominated by combo decks, seeing an aggro deck prosper brings a smile to my face.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!