| Well, that was some Pro Tour, huh? I'm glad we have a week off to recover from the epicness of LSV's topdecked Gut Shot, Frank Lepore's fairy-tale run to the Top 8, and the absurd U/R Eldrazi deck that brought JC Tao the trophy. Of course, there can be no success without panic, and the community is already worrying about the power level of Eldrazi decks. But fear not, faithful reader, as I have for you a list of the Top 10 cards that can beat the Eldrazi menace! #10 Disdainful Stroke  Counterspells are a risky proposition against a deck running Cavern of Souls, but the biggest draws from the deck come from the early two-mana lands powering out Reality Smashers or Thought‑Knot Seers. Disdainful Stroke covers those as well as large Endless Ones. You might want to play something like Essence Scatter here, but Stroke has more varied applications as it can come in against decks like Scapeshift and G/R Tron. It's also worth noting that tapping Cavern of Souls for colorless mana does not make Reality Smasher or Thought‑Knot Seer uncounterable. #9 Wrath of God  Even though it might be a bit slow, a board-sweeper seems necessary against the Eldrazi. Since the Eldrazi decks do not run counterspells, we don't have to run Supreme Verdict, and with the speed at which they empty their hand, we should be able to glean a hefty advantage here. #8 Obstinate Baloth  The discard effect on Reality Smasher is an effect controlled by an opponent, so targeting the Smasher with removal will allow you to put this beefy beater on the battlefield for free. Although this isn't card advantage, strictly speaking, it is a mana advantage that may be hard to beat. The life gain from Baloth is sweet as well. #7 Ghost Quarter  If you can't beat 'em, destroy 'em. Most Eldrazi decks run two basic lands at the most, so Ghost Quarter and Path to Exile quickly become even better in the matchup. You may be stunting your own development to do this, but I hear that's better than losing. #6 Big Game Hunter  You forgot this card and mechanic existed? That's madness! Imagine this sequence: target Reality Smasher with a Go for the Throat; discard Big Game Hunter to the trigger; use Big Game Hunter's madness trigger; kill both the Reality Smasher and a huge Endless One. Rinse and repeat for victory. You can even use Kolaghan's Command to do it all over again! #5 Batterskull  Reports from people at the Pro Tour indicate that the Eldrazi decks had a hard time beating a resolved Batterskull. That makes sense, given the fact that it matches up well with most of their threats and gains life in the process. While Batterskull is slightly less powerful against Drowner of Hope, hopefully it buys you enough time to find a way to win. #4 Intrepid Hero  Tap to destroy an Eldrazi a turn? Seems pretty good. Intrepid Hero is probably at its best in decks that can power it out on Turn 2 and, although it does die to Gut Shot, it will very often take something with it. With white decks also having access to cards like Aven Mindcensor, Path to Exile, and Ghostly Prison, this might be the Hero we need. #3 Painter's Servant  Eldrazi Temple and Eye of Ugin both only give Eldrazi decks mana bonuses towards colorless Eldrazi spells. Painter's Servant ensures that none of the opponent's spells are colorless, reducing their lands to pale imitations of Wastes. If anything like Ghostfire Blade starts to see play, it hoses that as well. #2 Forked Bolt  Killing two Eldrazi Mimics for only one mana is a very good thing. The most explosive draws from the Eldrazi decks require multiple Mimics, and having access to a one-mana two-for-one is a great answer. We can also take out both halves of Eldrazi Skyspawner, a single Eldrazi Obligator, or even a couple of Scions that Drowner of Hope was planning to use to tap your team. Don't be shocked if you see more players trying this in addition to their playset of Lightning Bolts. #1 Ensnaring Bridge  This is the real killer, right here. Most versions of the deck just have Ratchet Bomb as an out if the Bridge hits the board, and you should be able to deal with or play around that. We can also play it with something like Thopter Foundry to keep our life total up and our damage continuous if we can recycle the artifact—maybe using something like a Sun Titan or Trading Post? Think of the possibilities! With only one tournament in the book—and a split format one at that—it's probably a little too early to be calling for an emergency ban. That being said, Eldrazi will be omnipresent in Modern, so having some answers is probably a necessary evil. — Chris Lansdell, @lansdellicious | 
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