We’re going to have a look at an old friend this week... There once was a time when polymorph was the fringe deck to watch. It made a show at a few tournaments and it also made an appearance as the sideboard for Pyromancer’s Ascension. You might think that with the advent of Mass polymorph we might see a resurgence, but we’re hitting the border of Mirridon Besieged soon and we haven’t even had a postcard.
So no one’s playing it and it’s in the card shop bargain bucket, sounds like the perfect time for a rethink. Ladies and Gentlemen I give you a twist on a classic...
I call it
Critical Mass
The problem with polymorph was always the reliability, left unchecked and if you were lucky a turn 3 Iona or Emrakul was probably game however if it went wrong, and it so often did, you could spend the entire game with an Emrakul in your hand and no way in hell of getting it out... or worse yet, lay token after token and not catch a sniff of an actual polymorph and trust me numerous as they are eldrzi spawn do not an army make.
Yes, there were pros, without lots of creatures taking up your slots it had loads of room for answers. (if you’ve just started playing or just don’t know what I am on about... Polymorph was a deck build around the premise that you only had one or two creatures in the entire deck and the rest of it was token generation and ways to search for the elusive polymorph which itself was there to cheat one of your two horrendous fatties into play ) So with all those extra spaces you could add in all sorts of madness.. There was a blue/green version with Into the Roils and negates and ponders, there was a red/blue/green version with staggershocks and bolts and Sarkhan Vol and I as I mentioned above there was a blue/red limited edition hidden in the sideboard of Pyromancers Ascension... The problem is sometimes it just didn’t work. So I got thinking is there anything I could do to make it more stable, well... this is what I came up with....
You will need.
1 Emrakul
1 Ulamog
Go the whole hog with Glacial Fortresses, Seachrome Coasts and Celestial Colonnades, which will give you another threat. You don’t need fetch lands, so save yourself the cash and besides the more decks that use fetch lands the sooner we’ll see main deck Leonin Arbiters, with this deck at least you’ll waste 4 spaces in their sideboard.
Ok what makes this deck different from polymorph is that is has actual threats rather than tokens. The Squadron Hawk is a test play, but it does give you decent targets and of course once you find the first one you can strip your deck of all creatures except for your fatties. As neither Chimeric Mass, Rusted Relic or Glint hawk Idol actually count as creatures until they hit the open air and even then, two of them will need a nudge.
It might not seem like much but a 2/2 flyer is lightyears ahead of an Eldrazi Spawn and it won’t take long before your rusted relics are swinging in for 5 and you can lay the Chimeric Mass for as much as you can spare. Meanwhile, preordain for the Mass Polymorph and use the liquimetal coating and revoke existence for the serious game threats. Use the clasps for light removal and to pump the chalices and the Chimeric Mass.
If you can resolve a Mass Polymorph for 4 and get the fatties, or as many as you can in, the end of the game can’t be far off...
So let’s look at the creatures one by one...
The four are a team and they’ll work like one too..
Emrakul, Ulamog and Iona need little explanation and unlike the original, this deck will actually let you to play them if you need them, but it could take a while, but why the others? well the angel is there to protect Emrakul or Iona, because with the liquimetal coating you can turn them into artifacts at will and give them instant shroud, bouncing them with Jace was a favourite trick of Blue White Control and you don’t want to go to all that effort just to have the critters sent back to you hand. Keep Emrakul in play for just one turn and you’ll soon see why Eldrazi ramp is one of the top decks. The angel is also playable early gameand good for protecting your investments.
Competitive? I think it’ll hold its own... It’s certainly a strong fringe/rogue deck, with careful play it could easily be a contender...it's definatelhy stronger than Polymorph, as it can win games without ever pulling off the trick...And remember you don't have to animate the Mass or the idol, before you polymorph... unless you need to...
Update
This is just the alpha list and I'm already thinking about dropping the clasps thanks to a suggestion I swap em for negates from a fella named 4 tens... I reckon he could be right there.,..
New update...
Suggestions for a green blue version have been coming in and its not a bad play... green will give you ramp and more token generation and access to the possibly game swiinging Autumn's Veil and you can use nature's claim or naturalise inplace of revoke existence
Either way I'd strongly suggest swapping the clasps for See beyonds and not negates... as unlikely though it is to draw two or more of your fatties, fate would find it hillarious...
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