In the world of MTG, the eldrazi titans are some of the most iconic and fearsome creatures ever printed. While they can guarantee you a win on the spot, they’re usually obscenely expensive, limiting their playability. That being said, there are a fair few ways to get around these intensive mana costs, such as by using Fight Rigging.
Alongside a recently released creature from Secrets of Strixhaven, this once-popular enchantment is now back in the big leagues. If you play your card rights with these two, in fact, you can have an eldrazi titan on the board by turn three. Unsurprisingly, this strategy is already doing well and putting up strong results, both in Modern and Pioneer.
Mono-Green Eldrazi Trudge in Modern
Since it was initially spoiled, Slumbering Trudge has garnered a lot of attention from brewers. A 6/6 that can be cast for one mana with no major repercussions is incredibly intriguing, even if it can’t attack or block right away. Alongside Fight Rigging, for instance, this card has already put up some impressive Magic Online Modern challenge performances.
By easily giving Trudge a +1/+1 counter to push it over the seven power threshold, Fight Rigging can instantly play its Hideaway creature. Ideally, this will land you a copy of Emrakul, the Promised End for free, which basically guarantees you the win. Failing that, you can also grab Devourer of Destiny; however, it’s actually possible to play this card fairly.
Thanks to Fanatic of Rhonas, which serves as a huge mana burst in conjunction with Slumbering Trudge, casting Devourer turn three is well within range. Similarly, Kozilek’s Command and lands like Eldrazi Temple and Ugin’s Labyrinth also contribute to this deck’s explosiveness.
Interestingly, because so much of Modern’s current removal is damage-based, Slumbering Trudge is difficult to remove right now. This can allow the deck to get under a ton of different matchups, including Affinity, Boros Energy, and Izzet Prowess. That said, any Fatal Push deck, or faster combo decks like Storm, might be uphill battles for this archetype.
Making Waves in Pioneer
Interestingly, Modern isn’t the only format where Slumbering Trudge and Fight Rigging are showing up. Just yesterday, Magic Online user xfile made the top four of a Pioneer Challenge with a similar strategy utilizing Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger as the Eldrazi of choice. Even without access to Modern’s full Eldrazi support or elite tutor effects, this deck is stronger than you might expect.
Utilizing mana dorks like Llanowar Elves, Badgermole Cub, and Spider Manifestation, this deck is still seriously explosive. Alongside Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, it’s even possible to hard cast Ulamog or Nature’s Rhythm where needed. As always, though, the main goal is to use Slumber Trudge alongside Fight Rigging to cheat in a threat early.
Notably, for added redundancy, this Pioneer deck also uses Pugnacious Hammerskull, which can still enable Fight Rigging for turn three. Between four copies of Hammerskull, Trudge, and Fight Rigging, consistency isn’t this deck’s problem. Thankfully, it’s not just a one-trick pony, though, as The Great Henge gives this deck legs in slower and grinder games.
With a breakout in both Pioneer and Modern, Slumbering Trudge and Fight Rigging look like a match made in heaven. These are extremely early iterations of the idea, too, meaning that an even stronger shell might be discovered for the combo in the future. For now, however, if you’re looking for a way to cheat some massive creatures into play, these Pioneer and Modern lists deliver exactly that.
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