Ulasht the Hate Seed. The most underrated general available for elfball (a deck based around using elves to pop a fancy disintegrate or protean hydra into play) and the most consistent. Why is that?
Most ramp decks (not just elfball) go for a few finisher targets. Elfball runs out a burn, Omnath goes for the general, Mayael has a little more fat than could healthy in the wings, Maga plays the general for a monoblack elfball type victory.
Do you see the pattern?
The scariest ones are general based victories- Omnath and Maga are two of those fringe generals who are most popular for being broken but not automatically getting too much hate.
Ulasht is better than Omnath (opinion). Ulasht, as a general, is far more versatile than Maga (also my opinion).
The reason for this, is pure usability. You can play Ulasht, wipe the board of blockers, make a plethora of saprolings, AND have a massive general. This is quite simple to do, and is based on utilizing every ability the general has to fulfill roles usually employed by the decklist itself speaking of which:
- Every draw to count.
-To finish the game in a huge burst of power
-To go the full hog with their aggro
-Elves using their mana rituals to summon a mighty beast of growth, rebirth, and tentacles
-To have a general that is commonly dismissed as useless for competitive play
-People to do more than just play lands turns 1-4
Unless you
-Always want to be interacting
-Like variance in your finishers
-Hesitate to feast upon the lesser players
-Want to grief the whole game into a sad little pile of death and discard
-Want your graveyard back
-Hate ramp decks or weenies
-Will throw a big childish fit when your general gets tucked, cementing your place as the resident 5 year old
Win Conditions
-Your goal is to make Ulasht the biggest thing in the game, and then swing as many times as you can before your opponents can play their board wipes.
-If you draw or tutor up Ezuri, he is a very valid way to win. He can play a precursor to your general by burning the first twenty points off the biggest opponent early game, or giving you a use for your mana after someone tucks Ulasht.
-A more obvious win is Genesis Wave- ramp up and then elf out. Can be a lifesaver if you get hit by a well timed Wrath of God.
-Hellkite Charger/ Bear Umbra combo is also useful. Thankfully, the combo contains cards that serve as useful combat tricks without one another. Do not hesitate to play either unless you already have one of them.
-Nissa Revane is a win condition- her win condition turns your 99 card deck into a huge advantage, pulling all the elves you want onto the field for a large play. usually just used to gain life so more aggressive lists have to work a little longer to finish you.
You will win with the first three cards most of the time. The rest of the deck is about making those cards work without losing first, especially Ulasht. The Lynchpins
Ulasht is best supported by the following cards and will win if you by the time you have all of them out:
-Doubling Season
-Mana Echoes
-Symbiotic Deployment
-Earthcraft
-Breath of Fury
-Avenger of Zendikar
-Gaea’s Cradle
-mass haste (such as Ashling’s Prerogative)
of these, the one you most want is gong to be mana echoes and haste cards. the draw is acceptable, earthcraft is nice, but those two actually win the game. earthcraft with mass haste is a really powerful set up. because it’s hard to tutor for these cards in RG, assume you will not get them, instead ramp up your mana and keep as many creatures as you can, all the while whittling where it’s sensible. at a point where you can play Ulasht for 5 counters, consider the board state, and wait if you don’t think he will be useful. If he dies, don’t worry. 2 mana is easy to get in a ramp deck. if he’s tucked, Ezuri and Genesis Wave are also possible win conditions.
Ezuri is best supported by the following cards, and will win if topdecked with them in play:
-extra attacks (such as Hellkite Charger)
-Copperhorn Scout
-Elvish Archdruid, Priests of Titania, Wirewood Channeler
-Ambush Commander
-Slate of Ancestry
-Gaea’s Cradle
-Nissa Revane
-Nullmage Shephard
-Wild Pair
-Aluren
-Recycle
Ezuri involves much less thinking than Ulasht does. If you have read the article “When Girl Scouts Attack” by Craig Wescoe (it’s on tcgplayer), you already know how to win with Ezuri. EDH just means amplify the mana needed to go all in. treat this as full goblinesque aggro, sucking the removal and blockers, so if this strategy doesn’t work, you can revert to winning with Ulasht. If victory is definite as long as those blockers are gone, you may utilize Ulasht as a pricier plague wind to cut them out of the way. I always forget this is possible, so I’m putting a reminder here for you guys if you want to try this deck out.
Genesis Wave wants to play or be played with these cards active, and is likely to win if they’re around:
-Wild Pair
-Mana Echoes
-haste effects (Into the Web of War for example, Ashling’s Prerogative is not as good with this one)
-Elvish Harbinger
-Slate of Ancestry
-Recycle
Wave really is at it’s peak when you play it above CMC 7, even in a deck filled with cheap cards like this one. the more cards you flip, the better. wait as long as you can before pulling this victory off, unless you are currently the center of attention (mana echoes does this once they get to know your general, if geared for it earthcraft is also a breaker.)
Fun Interactions
I’m not a combo player as much as a beater, but there are a few combos and synergies I've found.
-Earthcraft+Mana Echoes+Haste+Ulasht creates infinite mana, tokens, and size of your general. if disrupted before you can truly utilize it, it becomes a pain, as your 240RG general is now unplayable.
-Lurking Predators+[CARD]Recycle[/CA whenever another player plays a spell, you draw a card.
-Hellkite Charger+Bear Umbra nets you infinite attacks.
-Aluren+Recycle gives you free elves until you hit a land. add Abundance for more consistent shenanigans (but be warned, it is shockingly not worth the time elsewhere).
Good/Bad Matchups
GOOD
-Voltron decks (especially ones that are not white)
-Monoblack, Monored, Red/Black (so many of the key cards are enchantments, so few good artifacts to kill, plays hand out pretty fast most of the time)
-Thada Adel Acquisitor (There are 2 artifacts total in this deck, and monoblue doesn’t really get much mileage out of cards like Slate of Ancestry)
-Monogreen ramp (just as fast but can kill their dorks and swing a turn quicker)
BAD
-Land destruction
-white heavy control
-Jace the Mindsculptor (this decks worst matchup, between fatesealing away the top deck and bouncing Ulasht every turn, a turn 4 Jace can win the game almost every time.
Assume all other matchups are dependent on the cards drawn or are relatively untested.
Weird Card Choices
Ashling's Prerogative-Because about half the creatures in the world come into play tapped, this is often a better card than just haste when combined with Ulasht. Chandra Ablaze-a really good card to have against tutor heavy decks Ambush Commander, Avenger of Zendikar even though they don't actually ramp, these cards are really effective at making Ulasht start out incredibly large. Nissa's Chosen if you need a blocker and draw Nissa instead, you understand this choice perfectly.
This Primer
is not here to show my questionable deckbuilding. It is here because I want this deck to be a honed machine, and I want it to spread fear among the masses, as I know under my usually casual eye it is a powerhouse, and much more fun than many other competitive decklists. So please, critique whatever you see, and please try it out.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern WSoul SistersW
Commander WIsperia the InscrutableU WGaddock TeegG UTomorrow, Azami's FamiliarU
Most ramp decks (not just elfball) go for a few finisher targets. Elfball runs out a burn, Omnath goes for the general, Mayael has a little more fat than could healthy in the wings, Maga plays the general for a monoblack elfball type victory.
Do you see the pattern?
The scariest ones are general based victories- Omnath and Maga are two of those fringe generals who are most popular for being broken but not automatically getting too much hate.
Ulasht is better than Omnath (opinion). Ulasht, as a general, is far more versatile than Maga (also my opinion).
The reason for this, is pure usability. You can play Ulasht, wipe the board of blockers, make a plethora of saprolings, AND have a massive general. This is quite simple to do, and is based on utilizing every ability the general has to fulfill roles usually employed by the decklist itself speaking of which:
1 Copperhorn Scout
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Priest of Titania
1 Tajuru Preserver
1 Wirewood Herald
1 Eladamri, Lord of Leaves
1 Nissa's Chosen
1 Radha, Heir to Keld
1 Viridian Zealot
1 Civic Wayfinder
1 Elvish Archdruid
1 Elvish Harbinger
1 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Fyndhorn Elder
1 Argothian Elder
1 Immaculate Magistrate
1 Nullmage Shephard
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Wirewood Channeler
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Masked Admirers
1 Ambush Commander
Non-Elves
1 Sakura Tribe Elder
1 Borderland Ranger
1 Yamiyava Dryad
1 Anger
1 Acidic Slime
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Hellkite Charger
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Nissa Revane
1 Sarkhan Vol
1 Chandra Ablaze
Artifacts
1 Horizon Spellbomb
1 Slate of Ancestry
1 Spine of Ish Sah
Enchantments
1 Ashling's Prerogative
1 Earthcraft
1 Sylvan Library
1 Aggravated Assault
1 Symbiotic Deployment
1 Aluren
1 Bear Umbra
1 Breath of Fury
1 Mana Echoes
1 Doubling Season
1 Asceticism
1 In the Web of War
1 Lurking Predators
1 Recycle
1 Wild Pair
1 Vicious Shadows
Instants
1 Grab the Reins
1 Savage Beating
Sorceries
1 Nature's Spiral
1 Sylvan Scrying
1 Cultivate
1 Creeping Corrosion
1 Harmonize
1 World at War
1 Genesis Wave
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Gruul Turf
1 Karpulsan Forest
1 Kher Keep
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 Raging Ravine
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Stomping Ground
1 Vesuva
1 Wirewood Lodge
18 Forest
7 Mountain
This deck is for people who want
-To finish the game in a huge burst of power
-To go the full hog with their aggro
-Elves using their mana rituals to summon a mighty beast of growth, rebirth, and tentacles
-To have a general that is commonly dismissed as useless for competitive play
-People to do more than just play lands turns 1-4
-Like variance in your finishers
-Hesitate to feast upon the lesser players
-Want to grief the whole game into a sad little pile of death and discard
-Want your graveyard back
-Hate ramp decks or weenies
-Will throw a big childish fit when your general gets tucked, cementing your place as the resident 5 year old
Win Conditions
-If you draw or tutor up Ezuri, he is a very valid way to win. He can play a precursor to your general by burning the first twenty points off the biggest opponent early game, or giving you a use for your mana after someone tucks Ulasht.
-A more obvious win is Genesis Wave- ramp up and then elf out. Can be a lifesaver if you get hit by a well timed Wrath of God.
-Hellkite Charger/ Bear Umbra combo is also useful. Thankfully, the combo contains cards that serve as useful combat tricks without one another. Do not hesitate to play either unless you already have one of them.
-Nissa Revane is a win condition- her win condition turns your 99 card deck into a huge advantage, pulling all the elves you want onto the field for a large play. usually just used to gain life so more aggressive lists have to work a little longer to finish you.
You will win with the first three cards most of the time. The rest of the deck is about making those cards work without losing first, especially Ulasht.
The Lynchpins
Ulasht is best supported by the following cards and will win if you by the time you have all of them out:
-Doubling Season
-Mana Echoes
-Symbiotic Deployment
-Earthcraft
-Breath of Fury
-Avenger of Zendikar
-Gaea’s Cradle
-mass haste (such as Ashling’s Prerogative)
of these, the one you most want is gong to be mana echoes and haste cards. the draw is acceptable, earthcraft is nice, but those two actually win the game. earthcraft with mass haste is a really powerful set up. because it’s hard to tutor for these cards in RG, assume you will not get them, instead ramp up your mana and keep as many creatures as you can, all the while whittling where it’s sensible. at a point where you can play Ulasht for 5 counters, consider the board state, and wait if you don’t think he will be useful. If he dies, don’t worry. 2 mana is easy to get in a ramp deck. if he’s tucked, Ezuri and Genesis Wave are also possible win conditions.
Ezuri is best supported by the following cards, and will win if topdecked with them in play:
-extra attacks (such as Hellkite Charger)
-Copperhorn Scout
-Elvish Archdruid, Priests of Titania, Wirewood Channeler
-Ambush Commander
-Slate of Ancestry
-Gaea’s Cradle
-Nissa Revane
-Nullmage Shephard
-Wild Pair
-Aluren
-Recycle
Ezuri involves much less thinking than Ulasht does. If you have read the article “When Girl Scouts Attack” by Craig Wescoe (it’s on tcgplayer), you already know how to win with Ezuri. EDH just means amplify the mana needed to go all in. treat this as full goblinesque aggro, sucking the removal and blockers, so if this strategy doesn’t work, you can revert to winning with Ulasht. If victory is definite as long as those blockers are gone, you may utilize Ulasht as a pricier plague wind to cut them out of the way. I always forget this is possible, so I’m putting a reminder here for you guys if you want to try this deck out.
Genesis Wave wants to play or be played with these cards active, and is likely to win if they’re around:
-Wild Pair
-Mana Echoes
-haste effects (Into the Web of War for example, Ashling’s Prerogative is not as good with this one)
-Elvish Harbinger
-Slate of Ancestry
-Recycle
Wave really is at it’s peak when you play it above CMC 7, even in a deck filled with cheap cards like this one. the more cards you flip, the better. wait as long as you can before pulling this victory off, unless you are currently the center of attention (mana echoes does this once they get to know your general, if geared for it earthcraft is also a breaker.)
Fun Interactions
-Earthcraft+Mana Echoes+Haste+Ulasht creates infinite mana, tokens, and size of your general. if disrupted before you can truly utilize it, it becomes a pain, as your 240RG general is now unplayable.
-Lurking Predators+[CARD]Recycle[/CA whenever another player plays a spell, you draw a card.
-Hellkite Charger+Bear Umbra nets you infinite attacks.
-Aluren+Recycle gives you free elves until you hit a land. add Abundance for more consistent shenanigans (but be warned, it is shockingly not worth the time elsewhere).
Good/Bad Matchups
-Voltron decks (especially ones that are not white)
-Monoblack, Monored, Red/Black (so many of the key cards are enchantments, so few good artifacts to kill, plays hand out pretty fast most of the time)
-Thada Adel Acquisitor (There are 2 artifacts total in this deck, and monoblue doesn’t really get much mileage out of cards like Slate of Ancestry)
-Monogreen ramp (just as fast but can kill their dorks and swing a turn quicker)
BAD
-Land destruction
-white heavy control
-Jace the Mindsculptor (this decks worst matchup, between fatesealing away the top deck and bouncing Ulasht every turn, a turn 4 Jace can win the game almost every time.
Assume all other matchups are dependent on the cards drawn or are relatively untested.
Weird Card Choices
Chandra Ablaze-a really good card to have against tutor heavy decks
Ambush Commander, Avenger of Zendikar even though they don't actually ramp, these cards are really effective at making Ulasht start out incredibly large.
Nissa's Chosen if you need a blocker and draw Nissa instead, you understand this choice perfectly.
This Primer
WSoul SistersW
Commander
WIsperia the InscrutableU
WGaddock TeegG
UTomorrow, Azami's FamiliarU
Archester
Custom Cube
WUBRG Some of these decks can actually win games...WUBRG
How I know I should build a deck: