| Bant Eldrazi is the fair deck in Modern that can handle all of the non-interactive decks that have taken over the format. When many people think of Eldrazi, they think of an unfair deck, but those memories are from a time when Eye of Ugin made playing multiple 2/2 creatures on the first turn a possibility. The current version of Bant Eldrazi is much slower than that, but still has the best late game of any deck in Modern. Last week, I wrote the complete sideboard guide for Bant Eldrazi against almost every matchup in Modern. Today I'm going to talk about some of the main attractions to the deck and why I like it over other midrange decks and the unfair decks. 
The Eldrazi creatures are the heart and soul of the deck, with Thought‑Knot Seer being the MVP. With Modern being full of linear decks that attack at different angles, Thought‑Knot Seer is the catchall that can disrupt any opponent by having a Thoughtseize effect attached to a 4/4 body, which is the perfect size when matched up against Modern's most played card, Lightning Bolt. With our Eldrazi deck being slower than before, Thought‑Knot Seer is now a consistent play on the third turn of the game. There are flashes of playing it on the second turn, but usually it comes down just in time to disrupt your opponent. 
Reality Smasher is the card that was hurt the most by the deck losing Eye of Ugin. Reality Smasher is the perfect card to play when you are ahead or at parity to end the game quickly, but that's not always the situation with our deck being slower now. There are still plenty of control decks and ramp decks that we really want the pressure Reality Smasher presents, but it's a card that I'm sideboarding out quite often against aggressive decks.  
Since our deck is slower now, we need the ability to stabilize and Drowner of Hope allows us to do exactly that. Even though Brian Braun-Duin only played three in his World Championship winning decklist, it's a card I frequently want to draw and I can't see myself playing a number other than four. The endgame that Eldrazi Displacer and Drowner of Hope provides is one of the reasons that Bant Eldrazi can go over the top of basically any other strategy.  
Green has been added to the deck for two reasons—to increase speed and to increase consistency. Playing just blue and white was possible with Eye of Ugin legal, but without it, the speed of U/W is far too slow. Adding green doesn't put too much strain on the mana base, and gives the deck some much needed early game options. Noble Hierarch is one of the best mana creatures ever printed, and having exalted is quite a bonus to go along with the acceleration it provides. Ancient Stirrings helps with the consistency, as being able to look at five cards makes it the best card selection spell in Modern and the backbone of Bant Eldrazi.  
Ancient Stirrings also pairs perfectly with these powerful colorless sideboard options. Engineered Explosives, in particular, has been an all-star in many different matchups, and I love how BBD plays one in his maindeck. I would absolutely recommend one Engineered Explosives in the maindeck of Bant Eldrazi, and sometimes even two, as it's a wonderful card to draw against Merfolk, Jund, Affinity, Infect, Death's Shadow Aggro, Zoo, Delver, G/W Hexproof, and the various Chord of Calling decks. BBD had four Chalice of the Void in his sideboard, but I'm not sold on that decision. I actually play various Chalice of the Void decks quite a bit in Modern, and although the card can be quite powerful, I'm not sure if it's worth four sideboard slots. 
Elspeth, Sun's Champion is a card I can get behind and is in a wonderful spot in the current Modern metagame. Elspeth is the perfect late game threat in the mirror and against various midrange and control decks, such as Jund and Abzan. If you're behind and facing down an opponent's battlefield filled with Tarmogoyfs, Siege Rhinos, Thought‑Knot Seers, Reality Smashers, or Drowner of Hopes, then the minus ability is a perfect way to reset things. If not, making three Soldier tokens with the plus ability will allow you to slowly but surely overwhelm your opponent. Game 1 against many of the aggressive, linear decks can be tough, but Bant Eldrazi has a favorable sideboarded matchup against basically every deck in the format. With two out of three games involving the sideboard, that's exactly what I want from a deck in a format as diverse as Modern and is the reason I strongly recommend playing Bant Eldrazi at #SCGORL! |
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