Amping up Braids / Eldrazi

My blue deck, Arcanis Brings Eldrazi, has a faster, scarier side when Braids steps in for Arcanis.



I've got a list of cards going for adding a little oomph to the deck and giving it more of a theme than just "Eldrazi!" As I look through the cards, I still haven't settled on if I want to slow my opponents down or help them speed up.

Blue Braids is one of those cards that make the other Timmy players at the table light up. They have a deck full of big monsters, so they see Braids and think things will work out for them. Of course, even though they have big creatures, my Eldrazi are usually bigger. That said, there are a handful of cards that work something like Braids and can give other decks trouble at the same time.




Gate to the AEther and Omen Machine side-step casting costs, but they also restrict what can be played and when. For example, the Gate only helps a player if the revealed card is an artifact, creature, enchantment, or land. The Omen Machine, on the other hand, makes it so that players can't draw cards (take that!) and makes is to that the card must be cast right then and there. No hidden information. No tricky tricks. It just is.




Shimmer and Back to Basics seem like cards that will give someone a bad day. I run into quite a few 3- and 5- color Commanders where I play. These guys run very few basic lands. Back to Basics mid-game after a tap out will put the breaks on them for a least a couple of turns until they work a way out. Against the mono-color players, Shimmer looks like an effective way to shut them down every other turn (but you know who they will be gunning for). It also looks like a good way to make sure that my annihilator triggers actually hit good stuff.



Rush of Knowledge is a good way to grab a fistful of cards. Most of the time, I'm looking at 6 or more cards when I cast it. Walking Atlas lets me drop land after land. Spine of Ish Sah and Phyrexian Ingester make quick work of whatever juicy targets are out on the field, while Diluvian Primordial does the same for Instants and Sorceries in the graveyard. Finally, a Cyclonic Rift on overload probably spells game over for at least one unlucky opponent when the ancient ones are wandering around.