How Good Was Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Really? - Magic: The Gathering Competitive History

[@AetherHub]

As always, I want to thank you for your continued support of this new series. A like, comment, and sharing it with friends all go a long way ❤️

[@bradengauthier]

0:39 mana? Are you sure bout that

[@sailordaigurren8225]

I find it funny that a win version was using Nahiri to bring Emrakul out, since that's what effectively happened in the actual narrative.

[@pelusoft]

I remember a standard deck that casted emrakul, using brilliant ultimatum and jace the mind sculptor before shards of Alara rotated. Great video, I liked the notes/commentaries on the video, neat.

[@AetherHub]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@jesok3761]

I knew eldrazi were a pain to play against, but I didn't know about the eldrazi winter before.

[@AetherHub]

The Eldrazi winter was rough. It was probably the most stagnant competitive environment ever

[@Shamrock797]

I don’t play MtG, but I love the Innistrad lore and that’s how I found Emrakul. Love the design, and learning about her card abilities and history is really interesting.

[@mb2776]

Searching Emrakul with Eye of ugin (R.I.P.) and hardcasting it in my UW Tron Deck, those were the days!

[@AetherHub]

Man it was nuts. It’s what lead to it’s prominence in competitive play from the beginning.

[@mb2776]

@@AetherHub some guy I played against was so confused cause of the extra turn. He was used to legacy in which emrakul gets cheated into play xD

[@rustythedeli-master6861]

Yet, still banned in commander. Sad days for us Eldrazi tribal deck wanting their true god to lead the command.

[@AetherHub]

Yeahhh sad and dark days. Though it would totally run havoc at any table lol

[@empurress77]

Always needs to be banned forever

[@rustythedeli-master6861]

@@AetherHub I actually got a group that lets me play it, but only as the commander. Still just a simple Eldrazi tribal deck. Still always a nice reminder that Rule 0 is a thing.

[@mistertaz94]

Ugin was a great Emrakrul summoner for me. Ugins ult was actually how I won alot of casual games when I ran an Eldrazi Titan deck that had 1 or more copies of atleast one variant of each of the Three Titans. Namely Ulamog Ceaseless Hunger and Emrakrul Aeons Torn as the end all be all win con cards

[@AetherHub]

Yeah totally. It was a great Planeswalker ally

[@Mrdestiny17]

Saving up to buy ceasless hunger. Such a great card. I love the eldrazi. Hopefully they make a comeback soon, would be awesome if they fought the new pherexia threat

[@davidshipps14]

Great video on the history of the cosmic octopus! Emrakul will always remain my favorite card in all Magic. When I was first getting into the hobby, I was browsing the Gatherer for creatures to center a deck around. I sorted by mana cost, and I was instantly greeted with this beauty. Ulamog and Kozilek weren’t that far behind, and I had discovered the wonderful creature type known as Eldrazi. I’ve been experimenting with ways to make Eldrazi perform in Commander ever since. Currently seeing decent success with Animar, but still hoping for a true Eldrazi commander that gives me access to more than just colorless (Morophon is fine, but I just think Animar is faster). Still waiting for Emrakul’s release from the moon! (And hopefully one day from the EDH ban list mayhaps???)

[@AetherHub]

We can only hope they are freed! But thank you for the kind words and the support on the video!

[@Nick-wd3he]

I've been trying for awhile to get it unbanned. Went as far as messaging Sheldon directly on Facebook. He did respond so that was cool, I pray for it's unban one day!

[@stonebeard2194]

Great video! But where’s the sneak and show love lol! Sending Good Vibes!

[@Paul.J788]

If emrakul was in your hand. You simply +2 Nahiri and discard emrakul. Who would then shuffle itself and your graveyard back into your deck. So you could then ultimate Nahiri and get the reshuffled in emrakul. It was only if your drew emrakul the turn you ultimate Nahiri it was an issue. And it was much lower the 11% odds due to this.

[@theaeskey2502]

Prime time too. I had an eldrazi green deck just like the one you described back in the day. It was a beast!

[@Viktor47917]

I dropped playing Magic: the Gathering back in 2020 since well, no challenge thanks to the pandemic and much more. But, I love Emrakul, the Aeons Torn due to just knowing the sheer ferocity of such a built card. 15 mana for a 15/15 controlling nightmare (by the way, I found out where the idea of the Eldrazi came from, and it was combining the Ktulu Mythos and the concept of what Fungi do. Emrakul represents the behavior of a mushroom). The artwork is fantastic too. Who doesn't love an overpowering, ferocious entity such as Emrakul in the game and Lore and much more?

[@SmugLookingBarrel]

I'm pretty sure the place where Emrakul shows up the most is in Legacy, where she's the win condition for Omni tell and used in Legacy reanimator in combination with Goryo's Vengeance

[@Erratas_.]

Isn't there another strategy for manna other than the modern format now? There was some type of spell that when put into the graveyard, you could search for another of that card and it would give like 3 manna a tap?

[@danw.1250]

Opponent: cast Through the Breach, put Emrakul into play. Me: Sure. Opponent: Move to attack step-- Me: Response, cast Merfolk Trickster. Opponent: Clever Girl... (Scoops it up.)

[@AetherHub]

Oh yeah. That would be me as well lmfaooo

[@lukastutty5461]

My first Legacy deck was based on getting Emrakul and the other Titans out asap with scions and the Urza lands (Tower, Mine and Power Plant)

[@KingRoni1222]

"There's so much text on Emrakul's card!" *laughs in Yu-Gi-Oh monster text*

[@Andrew_Venn]

Has always been my favorite character, and card in mtg.

[@henryterhune8328]

I love seeing one of these videos when I get off of a long day. Thank you my friend. Great work

[@T4N7]

Goryo's Vengeance still works to Reanimate it but it is slower than other options cuz u have to do it in response to the discard so u have to do both spells on the same turn

[@Mandolorian1001]

As someone who played back then, one of the most common ways was slapping two emrakuls in an elfball shell

[@_Emrakull]

IIRC, Elvish Piper was in the core set of the same year. I dont remember if it was banned, but i sure did piss alot of friends off.

[@MobileEnthusiast]

11:52 One of the good things this deck has for it is that even if you draw emrakul, Nahiri herself can put it back in the deck with her +2. You just discard it to draw a card and back to the deck it goes.

[@snakehawk001]

Love the video. Are you going to make a video of her in commander?

[@MeldrickCz]

You forgot my favourite tier 3,5 decks like Nahiri boom and monored control with Lukka, coppercoat outcast -2 ability.

[@creativescreenname2750]

When RotE was a new set i hard cast Emrakul all the time. All it took was a number of the spawn creator cards and some basic ramp to turn 5 her consistently which at the time was plenty fast enough

[@joebaumgart1146]

It's still used pretty frequently in Vintage.

[@houndoom73]

can you do a video on the other emrakul next?

[@AetherHub]

Ah and what a Promised End it was ;)

[@snowboundwhale6860]

So about the effect that shuffles Emrakul back into the deck if it hits the grave; If we acknowledge mechanics as metaphor (e.g. the mechanics of the "Flying" keyword representing the benefits flight would provide irl), and considering that the deck/ library is representative of a player's mind & memory (seen in how mill effects are often tied to cards depicting mental manipulation), this effect is then returning the memory of Emrakul to your mind when it would be lost. In other words the original versions of the Eldrazi titans are "unforgettable", at least by ordinary means (exile being a thing). A shame for reanimator effects but neat flavour.

[@atrainthedonofphila]

Hey sieben you forgot sneak n show decks where its the win con that is very consistent

[@stephanhasenberg7783]

I can't wait for emrakul to return I've been waiting for years I love h.p Lovecrafts work he's my favorite author that's why I love the eldrazi creature type so much

[@ich3730]

emrakul really translates that well into MTG.

[@Reingnus]

I dont think that we're ever going to see an expansion with the Eldrazi ever again. Which is sad... but it is understandable why they dont want to open that can of worms again.

[@aceundead4750]

I love Emrakul. She's in my Time Lord deck.

[@AetherHub]

Nice I’d like to see it

[@aceundead4750]

@@AetherHub if it's alright with you i'll post the link to the deckstats page showing the deck

[@Itszenlal]

Wasn't there a breaking and entering deck that casted her using aether revolt spells to cast the entering part to cast emerkul turn 2? They had to make a rule change because of it

[@demonsamongstmen562]

puttin some boots on the flying spaghetti monster really does put in work in any format which is another reason for banning him

[@TheEmeraldboy100]

The current deck in modern that plays Emrakul as a four copies is Calibrated Blast, though it cares more about the card's mana value rather than casting it or cheating it into play.

[@shadowangel6359]

Damn Emrakul looking a few words away from being a Yu-Gi-Oh card

[@Battleguild]

I had a Jund Ramp deck that ran in standard: x2 Hellcarver Demon x4 Borgadian* Hellkite x2 Emrakul, Aeons Torn x4 Warp World Everything else was land and permanent based ramp. Ran fairly consistent and won a few local tournaments with it. Hellcarver Demon was a gamble, but if it hit Emrakul, that would be basically an auto win. The deck could consistently cast Warp World turn 4 or 5.

[@larsice9]

Well, one can reanimate Emrakul with Shallow Grave or Goryo's Vengeance to be precise. :)

[@AetherHub]

Correct and that combo has been used for a longggg time

[@joebaumgart1146]

Mindbreaker trap is another great way to deal with it. Simply exile every Eldrazi Spell.

[@levhudson4893]

Thanks for making this video! I love that you explained how she was played in those two formats. My favorite Modern deck (Colorless E-Tron) features both a copy of the Aeons Torn (Prerelease) and the Promised End. While not necessarily win cons for me, and indeed, not needed, I've had a love affair with these cards since my buddy showed taught me how to play five years ago. The best times is when I'm able to cast both, though very rare! And the earlier one definitely helps me against mill! While I have the other titans (future legacy project, featuring three of them), this is definitely the one I'll keep, regardless of how it can be a brick at times. Always a fun deck and is definitely still competitive and allowing her back out into play! Also, working on a collecting featuring all releases of Pokemon's Kyogre and Emrakul, so can't wait for Double Masters 2022 to come out!

[@joebaumgart1146]

I have 2 copies in my deck, and multiple ways to deal with it. I have a card with devoid that lets me hijack Emrakrull and Grip of Desolation to exile it.

[@joebaumgart1146]

For Promised End,I simply ingore it and target you with so much life drain so fast that you'll lose before you can cast it. Meanwhile increasing my life total to be so high the match with go to time before you have any chance of killing me.

[@cliffsangelsphotography]

I have Emrakul in my Jhoria of the Ghitsu EDH just for giggles.

[@joebaumgart1146]

I use wastes and forsaken monument along with Eye of Ugin and a Black Lotus if necessary.

[@TheHalomanification2]

If something is banned in commander or any format I fell its good...to good

[@AetherHub]

Especially in commander. That’s a format where almost anything goes lol

[@empurress77]

Emrakul can be cheated into play all too easily. cough*polymorph*cough

[@AetherHub]

She has and is the premier cheat in target. Well for me at least

[@empurress77]

@@AetherHub How much fun is it for you to play against it?

[@AUZZYNAPALM]

i swore eye was banned before emrakul, must be mis-remembering. but I played red/green tron at the time of the eye ban, and i do not remember running emrakul in the build.

[@merelythepawn]

Sit awhile and listen. There were Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; Basalt Monolith / Mesmeric Orb, Narcomoeba / Dread Return, Sharuum the Hegemon / Blasting Station and The Aeons Torn Emrakul. That's the whole of the story. The End.

[@AetherHub]

Amazing tale. Thank you kind sir

[@ich3730]

thats like 7 horsemen tho

[@merelythepawn]

@@ich3730 Nearly right; there are infinite horsemen.

[@kingdomofdarkstar541]

that not how u say the name it's called acorn of torn

[@jordanthomsen2556]

My favourite is oath of druids

[@jwhutch4]

My favorite game of standard ive ever played was a mulligan to 4. Island khalni garden explore polymorph. Turn 1 garden turn 2 Island explore island turn 3 forest polymorph here's an emrakul.

[@DragonspineInfiniteZero]

oddly Emi's the second expensive titan ulamog is the mores expensive (btw im going by combined price of both cards) Emi is about $80+ Ulamog is $120+

[@OGNoNameNobody]

How good was *Emrakul, the Aeons Torn* ? Easy: In my FLGS group, that card's nickname was "Emrakul, You Win the Game".

[@christopherb501]

12:05 Huh. So...Emrakul can be a Garnet, then. Weird.

[@channeling764]

Man how could you leave behind the fact that Polymorph was an actual deck in Standard thanks to Emmy.

[@biancalages1431]

11:55 That's... Wrong. Nahiri can discard Emrakul, so it will be shuffled back in the deck

[@adamchristopher6917]

Pretty sure Emrakul single-tentacledly banned Cloudpost. God, I miss Cloudpost....

[@Mandolorian1001]

Um you can use shenans, instant speed recursion is a thing

[@baddonkey75]

Every MTG player says har beenger it's har bin jur

[@nikosgiginth]

I am dispointed from not saying anything about sneak and show even giving it a horonable mention in conclusion as i feel like nothing is more icon then a turn 2 15/15 you cant do anything about it

[@dennisvanulzen]

Actually played this card in draft with 4 overgrown battlements, dude ragequit🤣

[@baddonkey75]

Elvish Piper and greaves

[@Kozi15]

"She brings fear to the hearts of men" that's what my opponents says to me back then after I summoning trap Emrakul on 3rd turn.😂

[@Samagachi]

I’ve yet to find a card more broken than animate graveyard

[@simanolastname2399]

I mean, it's not legal in any format because it's an un-set card

[@MusicAnime4Ever]

My baby, my love, my favorite creature in all of Magic 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@AetherHub]

I totally understand why. I loved the theory crafting with this card 🔥🔥🔥

[@shaynethegmann]

15 squirrels can beat him so he can't be that strong

[@bob_sob]

Monster manual works

[@VestedUTuber]

Emrakul, the Displaced YuGiOh Card.

[@jonathanlopez332]

Show don't tell! I like the idea of using the "how good was it actually?" Formula and popular magic cards but I think you're missing the mark. Let me explain. You run a lore channel and use verbose vocabulary to draw in viewers or listeners and make the content more exciting. That makes sense. If you're talking about popular cards throughout magics history, I think you need to show, don't tell. Maybe you're used to it in that way but I keep wanting to SEE emrakul annihating people boards and winning games at GPs and pro tours. I don't want to be told everything. Like "Nikachu" on KZbin. Just a thought

[@Diagloth]

Emrakul can’t be that good if she gets stopped by 15 reaching squirrels

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

: D

[@AetherHub]

😉🙃

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

@@AetherHub =)

[@Case2_0]

FIRST

[@Case2_0]

I DID IT!

[@AetherHub]

Congrats and welcome back to being the FIRST!!

[@Case2_0]

@@AetherHub the all caps was actually autocorrect from FIRST Robotics :P

[@Nick-wd3he]

Please unban in commander.

[@berenerchamion4998]

This card is awesome! I own a copy of it & would gladly play it in my Kozilek Great Distortion EDH deck. I am very glad however that I can’t 😂 too OP. Fifteen mana is nothing really.