Since Reality Fracture’s release, the Standard metagame has kept evolving. Unique brews built to maximize new tools keep making unexpected splashes, showing just how much depth this format has. This week, for example, a mono-green ramp shell 5-0d a Magic Online Standard League abusing the set’s most mana-intensive card.
Ramping to Brutal Payoffs
This Standard deck’s entire game plan revolves around ramping into your massive Eldrazi and taking over the game. To start,
Llanowar Elves
Llanowar Elves
{T}: Add {G}.
and
Heartwood Crafter
Heartwood Crafter
This creature enters prepared. (While it's prepared, you may cast a copy of its spell. Doing so unprepares it.)
{T}: Add {C}. This mana can't be spent to cast spells from your hand.
are your go-to one-drops, with Elves curving into
Simulacrum Shaper
Simulacrum Shaper
When this creature enters, you may search your library for a basic land card, put that card onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
When this creature dies, draw a card.
being your best possible opening. Of course,
Emrakul, the Exigent Doom
Emrakul, the Exigent Doom
When you cast this spell, untap all lands you control.
Flying, trample
Ward—Sacrifice three permanents.
{3}, Exile this card from your hand: Target land gains "{T}: Add {C}{C}" until this card is cast from exile. You may cast this card for as long as it remains exiled.
also supports this plan with its activated ability, dodging most counterspells in the process.
Then, to help bridge the gap between your early and late plays, you get to lean on a full playset of
Interdimensional Web Watch
Interdimensional Web Watch
When this artifact enters, exile the top two cards of your library. Until the end of your next turn, you may play those cards.
{T}: Add two mana in any combination of colors. Spend this mana only to cast spells from exile.
. The exile clause isn’t a huge issue for this strategy since Emrakul, as well as Prepared spells attached to
Emeritus of Abundance
Emeritus of Abundance
Vigilance
This creature enters prepared.
Whenever this creature attacks, if you control eight or more lands, this creature becomes prepared.
and
Vastlands Scavenger
Vastlands Scavenger
Deathtouch
This creature enters prepared. (While it's prepared, you may cast a copy of its spell. Doing so unprepares it.)
, exist in exile anyway. You can even funnel mana into the Eldrazi
Anticausal Vestige
Anticausal Vestige
When this creature leaves the battlefield, draw a card, then you may put a permanent card with mana value less than or equal to the number of lands you control from your hand onto the battlefield tapped.
Warp {4} (You may cast this card from your hand for its warp cost. Exile this creature at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.)
or
Mightform Harmonizer
Mightform Harmonizer
Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, double the power of target creature you control until end of turn.
Warp {2}{G} (You may cast this card from your hand for its warp cost. Exile this creature at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.)
after Warping them.
Once you’ve spent the early game ramping, you can start to dominate the late game with Emrakul and
Ugin, Eye of the Storms
Ugin, Eye of the Storms
When you cast this spell, exile up to one target permanent that's one or more colors.
Whenever you cast a colorless spell, exile up to one target permanent that's one or more colors.
+2: You gain 3 life and draw a card.
0: Add {C}{C}{C}.
−11: Search your library for any number of colorless nonland cards, exile them, then shuffle. Until end of turn, you may cast those cards without paying their mana costs.
. The former provides an incredible clock, while the latter removes any problematic permanent from your opponent’s board. Ugin also pairs perfectly with
The Echoverse Fulcrum
The Echoverse Fulcrum
When The Echoverse Fulcrum enters, draw a card, then discard a card.
{5}, {T}, Exile The Echoverse Fulcrum: Destroy all creatures. Activate only as a sorcery.
, which retriggers Ugin’s static and blows up the board to protect your Planeswalker.
Matchup Dependent
Ultimately, as cool as this deck is, Standard Eldrazi Ramp’s effectiveness depends heavily on the matchups you expect to face. Ramp decks have historically lined up well against slower midrange and control decks, and this shell is no exception.
When facing Azorius Control or Dimir Midrange, you typically have plenty of time to develop your mana. Even a quick
Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
Ninjutsu {1}{U}{B} ({1}{U}{B}, Return an unblocked attacker you control to hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from your hand tapped and attacking.)
During your turn, as long as Kaito has one or more loyalty counters on him, he's a 3/4 Ninja creature and has hexproof.
+1: You get an emblem with "Ninjas you control get +1/+1."
0: Surveil 2. Then draw a card for each opponent who lost life this turn.
−2: Tap target creature. Put two stun counters on it.
usually fails to race Ugin, which cleans the Planeswalker up nicely. With
Cavern of Souls
Cavern of Souls
As this land enters, choose a creature type.
{T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Add one mana of any color. Spend this mana only to cast a creature spell of the chosen type, and that spell can't be countered.
making your primary threats uncounterable, long games are trivial to win.
Interestingly, though, The Echoverse Fulcrum also lets you slow-roll your beefy creatures and punish decks like Lifegain for going wide early. Once you have a bit of reprieve, Ugin and Emrakul should do the trick.
Where this deck falls short, however, is against decks that can pile on tons of damage quickly. Mono-Green Landfall, for example, can set up a Mightform Harmonizer kill as early as turn three. Similarly, Izzet Prowess threatens a lethal
Slickshot Show-Off
Slickshot Show-Off
Flying, haste
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +2/+0 until end of turn.
Plot {1}{R} (You may pay {1}{R} and exile this card from your hand. Cast it as a sorcery on a later turn without paying its mana cost. Plot only as a sorcery.)
way before you can get your engine rolling. In both cases, The Echoverse Fulcrum being solely sorcery-speed removal is a huge liability.
Given how diverse the Standard metagame is, it can be hard to predict how well Mono-Green Ramp will perform in any given event. That being said, if you get fortunate pairings, we think you may get rewarded for the unorthodox deck choice.
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