THESE DECKS ARE SPICY | cEDH Top 16 Breakdown |

[@Zzectbu]

Hi, I'm zectbu, the top-4 Evelyn Covets Combos pilot. Love to see the recap, and sorry about the tongue-twister username! I figured I'd take the time to expand on a few things you seem to have either skimmed over or just missed in your summary of my list. First, the Displacer Kitten isn't just a value piece. It is also a game-ending combo in conjunction with my three Clone effects. One Kitten flickers Evelyn, the other Kitten flickers a mana source that generates at least two mana. I then proceed to play noncreature spells off Evelyn until I find the cards I need to win the game, which can sometimes be literally hardcast Oracle without bothering with a forbidden tutor after exiling everyone's decks. The low mana curves and high noncreature spell density of cEDH decks combined with Evelyn ignoring color restrictions for her collection means that I have never once failed to win after assembling Kitten+Clone+Evelyn+mana rock. Second, while the Hullbreaker Horror is absolutely a viable reanimation target, I actually hardcast it more often than not. I've designed my deck to be extremely good at being obnoxious on other players' turns and Hullbreaker is one of the many, many flash threats I can deploy EoT that demand immediate response. Ad Nauseam, Notion Thief, Necromancy and Evelyn herself all fall into this category. I haven't quite gotten around to finding a slot for Borne Upon a Wind but I'm planning to do so later this week to lean even further into this strategy. Third, you don't appear to have even noticed there's anything even slightly unusual about my land package. I run three utility lands that I feel are worth mentioning. Minamo, School at Water's Edge is pretty much just in there for The One Ring and isn't exactly revolutionary. Cephalid Coliseum and Geier Reach Sanitarium are the more unusual choices, and quite frankly they are both desperately underplayed IMO. I basically never build a deck without at least one land that can make an opponent draw a card, and I've never had much cause to regret that decision. The interactions with Orcish Bowmasters and Notion Thief alone are comical enough, but they also serve to remove Worldgorger Dragon from my hand, and playing Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation into the activation of one of those lands is a lethal mistake that opponents make surprisingly often. If they don't go for it, well, they aren't trying to win. If they do, sometimes the rest of the table forgets and has a huge fight over something that doesn't matter at all, clearing the way for my own win later in the turn cycle. Sometimes, the other opponents see it and make me tap three mana to remove an opponent - not exactly a high price most of the time! One particularly important thing to note here is that, assuming I don't need artifact mana, neither Silence nor even the mighty Grand Abolisher stop me punishing a Consultation win. CEDH players are so heavily conditioned that Grand Abolisher resolving equals perfect safety that this results in kills *quite* often, relatively speaking. You are absolutely correct to identify my list as being grindier and more controlling than the typical Evelyn. I have enough fast mana that the triple Wheel can be exploited the same way you'll see in a turbo list, but they're still useful late game. They can be used to refresh my hand after I run low on resources, and also wipe the board with Orcish Bowmasters or just flat out end the game with Notion Thief. I've seen a lot of argument that Orcish Bowmasters makes Notion Thief bad, but I can't say I agree with that sentiment. It's certainly a bit awkward, but the thing with EoT Thief into Wheel is that if you do have the Bowmasters, I still draw 7 and get to take advantage first even if I do lose half my starting life total to the Bowmasters, and if you don't have a stop I win the game on the spot - and Bowmasters is just one card in the 99. More often than not, opponents don't have it. As far as strategy goes, I don't believe it's correct to play Evelyn without Worldgorger Dragon. Kraum/Tevesh is better at drawing cards as the game goes long and Silas/Rograkh is much more consistent at presenting very early wins. I've been playing Evelyn seriously since summer 2022 and I've found that her ability to present a win with WGD with basically zero setup beyond getting the thing in graveyard is a very big deal. Every other WGD deck needs to either disrupt the loop after infinite mana then play a payoff, or already have one on board. Evelyn meanwhile requires a board state of "land that makes black" and can win the game on turn 1 with literally a land, Dark Ritual, Entomb and Animate Dead/Dance of the Dead - or much more often, on turn 2 with EoT T1 Entomb into reanimation off a second land drop. One major pet peeve I have with the Decklist Database Evelyn lists that I think also goes here is how badly they undervalue Evelyn. It's not mentioned in the recap, but the DDB lists and most of the Evelyn lists on EDH Top 16 don't run both Fierce Guardianship and Deflecting Swat, and some don't even run Jeweled Lotus. Evelyn is shockingly easy to play on turn 2, and she "draws" four cards at instant speed on ETB. Beyond that, the ability to cast Evelyn and not just ruin but steal an ill-advised topdeck tutor has won me literally dozens of games. I can't know for sure how often opponents are sitting there with Enlightened/Mystical/Vampiric Tutors in hand cursing my existence, but it's not a small number. The ability to rip away a Mana Crypt off a turn 1 Imperial Seal comes up *a lot* as well, and can sometimes take a Blue Farm from "existential threat" to "desperately scrambling to get back in the game" which is a position I love to put one of my hardest matchups in. While I do expect the strength of Evelyn as a pseudo Opposition Agent and Ambush Viper to go down if she gets more popular, people forget she has flash way more than you'd expect. To date, I've stolen probably over 50 topdeck tutors that people cast into a visibly open Evelyn, and I've also kept a running count of ambushes that has currently killed four Tymnas, three Ragavans, three Najeelas and an Opposition Agent, along with half a dozen lesser creatures that were trying to enable Tymna draws. Once she comes down, her 5 toughness is absolutely fantastic at preventing incidental chip damage since suddenly swinging small creatures like Esper Sentinel at the Naus player because I'm the Naus player becomes nonviable - this has saved my life dozens of times. If anyone has any questions about my list or the tournament, I'm happy to answer them! Edit: If anyone noticed the double post, KZbin ate my original for ten minutes for some reason. I retyped it, added a bit more, then noticed that the original came back. I've now deleted it to avoid spam.

[@KLSMTG]

This was very insightful thanks you

[@TheSpiritombsableye]

I stopped reading half way through.

[@alan-markiva1231]

-@@TheSpiritombsableye --- lol I didn't

[@hannahbaron4446]

This is my Belbe list! I got 10th place in this tournament; LOVE Belbe and will be taking her to all my tournaments; it’s so fun! Added Hoarding Broodlord line (saw in half, sacrifice, peer into the abyss) for this tournament and it changed the game so much! So fun to hear you used to play her and look forward to seeing your list!

[@Blindaltqq]

Worth noting that a big reason Magda has been on the upswing is the printing of Roaming Throne. Since about halfway through Dec (when I think pilots actually had a chance to realize what a busted card it is, even more then it looked) Magda has been on an absolute tear. The deck is now far more dangerous with even one activation with Roaming Throne in the deck, as it can sometimes chain magda triggers activation into a crazy fast wins. The lines are cleaner, the turbo is faster and better protected, and you have more fancy abilities to respond to differing situations.

[@BehemothDan]

Oh hey, that's me! Squeaked in the top 16 at my first tournament.

[@2RussellSmith]

Ian, you got cutoff at the end of the Unctus breakdown and it sounded like you were going to pose a question... as the Unctus pilot, I would love to answer it. 😀 Also... you should check out commanding performance the card and the sticker and attraction combos when you get the chance 😀

[@GinoMorell]

Dude, i love your list! I recently played in a tournament with a similar list myself and did pretty well, would love to talk to you about the spicy clown/sticker stuff!

[@robdroptables]

Very happy to see our glorious Queen continuing to appear in the T16. Magda's 99 is incredibly diverse and flexible. Good stuff!

[@syndicate5357]

I play mine as a prison style and it's fun

[@robdroptables]

The deck is so dynamic because it's got like, ~70 base cards that you see in almost all cEDH builds, and another 30 that vary depending on what the pilot deems a fun, or useful in their meta, or even what fits their playstyle. Many roads to victory through a slew of viable wincons. Pilot it in good health! @@syndicate5357

[@pearcehubbart3767]

Sticker goblin should be a card Magda players consider now. If they get a sheet with 5 mana creation potential, a vehicle, Magda out on field(or getting cast for first time, and curio out then😮 you've got a really sick sticker line. Weak to rhystic study effects but kinda hard to counter outside of not letting curio resolve, removing a creature, mana drain, spell snare, force of will, and mindbreak trap being the main ones I can imagine running into. But yeah, it's 10 casts makes 5 treasures, and if you get the 6 mana sheet or a birgi out then you're swimming fine and dandy.

[@syndicate5357]

I play it in mine as it makes a seething song effect at minimum and gives easy ramp

[@pearcehubbart3767]

@syndicate5357 at absolute worst luck you only get 4 mana from it. Only 1 in 3 ish games will have that be the case and you'll know it from the beginning of the game so you won't be actively hyping it for combos. You can still do one mana dwarf with curio and vehicle combos though. Which is nasty af.

[@pearcehubbart3767]

I'm waiting til I get the clown car, one mana dwarf, 2 mountain, curio, and mana crypt. Would be hype. Would absolutely watch my opponent shuffle if they pulled that shit but a man can dream.

[@dylanpayne6040]

Every time I see new, innovative lists in top 16s, it just makes me wanna hop in the kitchen and cook some cedh decks from scratch.

[@deimos8900]

Hey Ian, was wondering if you planned on covering the lotus series 3 tournament that happened the same weekend as the boil

[@sebastianfrias42]

Hey I'm the Inalla player here! Just wanted to say this was such a fun tournament and im definitely going to try and go back if I can! So I know the main point of contention with Inalla is really the scholar or archaeomancer lines and I'd just like to give in as to why i dont play archao lines. So basically to make this short, scholar makes infinite guys and infinite black/red mana and puts all your cards in your graveyard so you can basically get them all back in your hand. Archaeomancer nets even in mana and only makes infinite guys so you can't really win through a one ring with that line and i already have other lines in my variation that can make infinite guys anyways so it felt redundant to me. Theres also a few things that i dont have in the deck that i know a lot of inalla pilots play like using emry lines and such. I havent used the emry lines yet but i am testing out some variations of this deck to better fit my style of play so hopefully the next time you see me with this deck it will be a very different take on how the inalla archetype is usually played and i hope i can showcase that eventually on the channel! Anyways, i dont think i have anything else really so thats it. Thanks for reading if you did and if you didnt thanks anyways lol

[@Thaelkor]

Come home from work, Ian video to listen to while getting stuff done. Oh yeah.

[@GoldSabertooth]

Love these breakdowns as always buddy, thank you

[@thasnowman7392]

From personal experience on playing Rocco, the Rev include is most likely for the ability to pull a good chunk of the creatures I.E. karmic guide, kiki, bell ringer, stand pieces, etc

[@toctheyounger]

I am delighted to see Belbe back in the mix again. I still think it's got a few hoops to jump through, but it really makes me think about putting her back in the mix.

[@jarinvickers4713]

Thank you for these breakdowns. I just pray I make the next top 16 so you can read off my list one day ❤

[@MrPB821]

Always like to see the non typical decks make it into the top 16. Yes blue farm is easily on the best decks currently but a good pilot can make any deck good and a bad pilot can make a good deck bad, as always look forward to tour next video!

[@kascmhlamshdcas2]

father stretch my hands part 1 is a kanye west song... the fact that thats for a wizards deck has some interesting implications

[@sebastianfrias42]

Hey there! I'm the Inalla player! I'm glad that someone got the reference and yes the deck being a full wizard deck and having inalla as the commander for a kanye song was chosen on purpose. I know all the controversy and whatnot but I thought it was fitting considering that the deck is full of wizards so just a funny thought so I'm glad someone got it!

[@kascmhlamshdcas2]

(to be clear is this a reference to the KKK-)

[@shrexydevito2521]

The real question is what are your thoughts on the new album​@@sebastianfrias42

[@sebastianfrias42]

​@orangewitheyes no I wouldn't go that deep into it. It has nothing to do with that at all but I can see why that may be a topic of concern. Just to reiterate again, no its not a reference to what you said.

[@jonathonchappell]

@@kascmhlamshdcas2 more like orangewithtinfoilhat

[@OzDawg1333]

Father Stretch my Hands is a Kanye song

[@BasedBreadCEDH]

Hey Ian, big fan of your videos and cEDH inginuity in general. I was just wondering if you take deck tech reccommendations etc or if there is a proccess to submit a deck for you to review. Thanks

[@ComedIanMTG]

So deck breakdowns are a tier on patreon for sure but I'm always open to recommendations

[@BasedBreadCEDH]

@@ComedIanMTG I found it interesting that Mox Masters invitational had a Krark-Silas place top 4. This went laregly un-talked about imo. Krark-Silas is my go to deck, and i think with current meta shifts towards midrange and creature decks, krark-silas has alot to offer. Definately think its a deck to keep an eye on as meta continues to evolve!

[@crppledizzle9374]

23:31 scholar better 💪💪

[@307butters]

The Null Brooch in the Magda deck is such a spicy card.

[@Cupakabra77]

How do you get your info on tournaments?

[@TheSpiritombsableye]

BELBE!

[@SlimiestSlime]

Can you talk me through worldgorger evelyn turn 1 or 2. How do you break the loop and what are you usually looking to cast off evelyn etb's

[@PsychicSenechal]

This was my first CEDH event. It was a fun time!

[@JadeEyeland]

father stretch my hands is a kanye song

[@toriofthevast]

Wow I love conquerors flail!

[@TripsAhoy]

🖤🖤🖤

[@matthewbell4897]

I played in this tournament! Ended up one draw away from top 16 but it was really fun to drive to and play. Will definitely go to more by this TO

[@johnweinhandl8890]

Congrats to the Evelyn pilots. Playing a real combo You haven’t lived until you’ve resolved a WGD combo

[@jxhook]

I always like to see a Magda deck do well. One of my personal favorites.

[@azurel9134]

Very nice & quirky vid

[@alainkalt823]

I love magda. Can someone tell my the name of the outro song?

[@froyo619]

I sucked but I was at this tourney salt city rocks!

[@alexmagni5024]

Re: Rocco as an outlet for Emiel/Dockside [EDIT - this is wrong]: you can make infinite treasures, then flicker Rocco, choosing to put them in the command zone, then recast for another guy, flicker back to the Zone, then rinse & repeat! otherwise, Fantastic breakdown, as always!

[@murdermastodon7469]

I don’t think this works because you can move commanders to the command zone as a state based action. Since the leaving the battlefield and then returning to the bf is all one effect there is no chance for state based actions to be checked and therefore you do not have a chance to move him to the command zone. I could be wrong

[@alexmagni5024]

@@murdermastodon7469 You're totally right, my bad! just checked the RC website. I was told it was a replacement effect on moving zones, but it is state-based.

[@noahmurtha4036]

The moment I saw Zuroth in the 99 I HAD to see it. I play a mono red Zurzoth list that just gives ZERO fucks about the meta. I’m there to make people gamble and that’s it

[@pearcehubbart3767]

Belbe should play chimil

[@mgarratt101]

Hey Ian, with your gold level Patreon do you also get a subscription to your missos OF account?

[@addictedtomints9433]

:0.....first?

[@uselessnolagemtg]

Unctus for Prez in 2024!!!! 🫠🫠🫠