Like all Eldrazi, Emrakul here is colorless,
meaning no matter what color you're playing, you
can put Emrakul in your deck. So what abilities
can you get in any color for 15 mana? A 15/15
flyer? A bit of a stretch for green, I guess,
but okay. Can't be countered? White and black
don't usually get that, but I'll buy it.
Protection from... colored spells? Outside of
white, that looks a little suspect. Take an
extra turn after this one just for casting it?
Nobody but blue barely ever gets that ability!
Sacrifice permanents? That's mainly a red or
black thing, and red hasn't gotten it in a
while. Sacrifice SIX permanents? Every time it
attacks?! Nobody gets forced sacrifice that
strong! And it destroys mill strategies just by
being in your deck?! Holy crap!
So, yeah. By the time you can cast this, most
players will have taken a few attacks and likely
be down to 15 or less. Emrakul can one-hit win
against those players, two-hit win against
almost everybody else, forces you to sacrifice
six permanents before you're even allowed to
make blocking decisions, can't be blocked except
by creatrues with flying (or reach), and can't
be countered and has protection from COLORED
SPELLS, which means the only removal that can
bother her is activated and triggered abilities.
Even Hurricane where X=15 can't kill her,
because protection from colored spells means
that all damage dealt to her by colored spells
is prevented. And if your opponent got her out
via hardcast, they get an extra turn, during
which Emrakul can swing. so you don't even get a
turn to hopefully draw an answer before you've
sacked six and taken 15.
In Magic lore, Emrakul is the greatest of the
Eldrazi elders and the truth behind the god
Emeria, and its return threatens the very
existence of life on Zendikar. This role
translates quite easily into Magic gameplay,
especially since the design department seems to
have gone out of their way to make this card as
unstoppable as they can fit in the text box.
Whether you cast it with the help of Primeval
Titan or just put it on the table with Show and
Tell, you'll find Emrakul is like the sky: vast,
mesmerizing, and pitiless.
Today's card number three of 2010 is Emrakul,
the Aeons Torn which is a staggering 15/15 for
fifteen mana, can't be countered, flying,
protection from colored spells, and will force
an opponent to sacrifice six permanents whenever
it attacks. Many of the same tricks used to
summon Progenitus will work here, but the take
an extra turn effect for casting it will not be
available. There are decks that can generate
that much mana in a reasonable time period or
use another card like Elvish Piper to play it,
but it takes a fairly dedicated built to
reliably get this into play.
Once on the battlefield though this card is
almost impossible to stop without specific
artifacts. In addition there are several cards
in the set that check the converted mana cost
and at fifteen mana this is among the highest
ever printed.
For Limited the high cost is difficult to work
with, but not impossible due to the number of
options for playing Eldrazi Spawn tokens. With
enough mana acceleration this is quite playable
and likely a game-winning move and the format is
extremely slow allowing enough time to play it.
A first choice in booster draft if for no other
reason than not letting someone else get it in
addition to a major source of Eldrazi Spawn.
Drafting several cards that produce tokens
should then become a high priority. In Sealed if
there is enough support this should probably be
included in the deck as there is almost no
chance of an opponent being able to handle this.
Welcome to today’s
Card of the Day. The card for today is the
biggest legal monster Magic has ever made. And
he is also the meanest monster to date. He is so
big, he costs fifteen mana. “FIFTEEN,” you may
say, but fifteen mana isn’t that hard to come by
anymore. What can you get for fifteen mana that
makes number 3 on our list? Well, this is what
you get, a 15/15 that can’t be countered. Even
that would be worth it, but wait, there’s more.
You’ll also get a creature that can’t be the
target of colored spells. But wait, there’s
more. IF he should die, he is shuffled back into
your library. But wait, there’s still more. When
he attacks, the defending player must sacrifice
six permanents before they can even declare
blockers. But wait, there is STILL more. When
you cast Emrakul, you take another turn. Oh, and
did I mention he has flying?
All of those abilities for only fifteen mana. Now in limited,
constructed, and standard formats, getting that
mana may be harder to come by. Yet, Emrakul will
be taken time and again, sometimes simply for
the shuffle clause. But, with the set that this
guy calls home, he is capable of coming out
fairly quickly. The whole block of Rise of the
Eldrazi was loaded with creatures that produce
tokens that produce mana. And they are used to
drop out big things fast. And in pro style
tournaments, it can be even easier. The
Summoning Trap from Zendikar helps get Emrakul
out even faster. And in pro style tournaments,
counter spells run wild, which means the
opportunity exists to get Emrakul out
ridiculously fast.
In vintage and multiplayer and casual, he gets even crazier.
A little card called Pandemonium could make
Casting Emrakul fatal for your opponent. And
with Mana Flares, coming up with the mana means
working half as hard to get the fifteen mana.
Not to mention that there are plenty of ways to
get him out. Cryptic Gateway anyone? Channel for
fifteen turn two? You name it and vintage has
the ways of exploiting this monster, and causing
nightmares for you opponents.
