I played the following Cg list at Eternal Weekend, going 5-4 in the main event (excluding a bye) and 3-0 in a subsequent side event:
Maindeck:
4 Cloudpost, Glimmerpost
3 Thespian's Stage
2 Vesuva
7 Forest
2 Maze of Ith
1 Karakas, Eye, Bog, Tabernacle, Chasm, Dark Depths
1 Emrakul 1.0, Emrakul 2.0, Ulamog 2.0
2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Karn, the Great Creator
4 Thought-Knot Seer
1 Golos
4 Crop Rotation, 4 Stirrings, 4 Map, 4 Needle
3 Candelabra
1 Relic of Progenitus
Sideboard:
3 Krosan Grip
2 Surgical
1 Spatial Contortion
1 Warping Wail
2 Trinisphere
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Brittle Effigy
1 Candelabra
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Golos
1 Mycosynth Lattice
In the weeks leading up to the event I had been getting mediocre results online with the Cg lists I usually favor (maindeck Wails, All is Dust, 3 Karns), so I decided to try the Elvish Reclaimer build that Aidan Reilly has done well with. I noticed that my wins were coming more from Thought-Knot Seer and Dark Depths than Reclaimer itself, so I grafted those cards onto the Ancient Stirrings base to create the above deck.
The RUG menace motivated two card choices here: the fourth maindeck Needle (usually in the sideboard) and the Relic of Progenitus. I was losing many games to Tarmogoyf and to Wrenn-Wasteland that could not be broken up by Bojuka Bog because they would use Wasteland and return it all on their turn. Bog would only work then if you have Crop Rotation, which means you have to have a spare Crop Rotation and mana to cast it, and it has to resolve. Relic can come down on turn 1, interfere with Wrenn's +1, control Tarmogoyfs, make Hooting Mandrills uncastable, and invalidate the Wrenn emblem. It even has the occasional synergy with Karn. I have been very impressed with this card in this matchup.
Observations:
- TKS was spectacular all day.
- Dark Depths helped close several games that otherwise would have gone on much longer, so presumably it led to wins that would have been losses without it.
- Relic was excellent in matchups where it mattered. I was fortunate not to draw it in matchups where it would have been low-impact, but it was better when I drew it than Warping Wail would have been.
- Some of the Karn board was not used. Karn was fine whenever I drew it, and I never thought that there was a specific artifact that I would like to fetch but did not have. However, the Karn package cuts into the slots available for matchups where a critical mass of action is required (Reanimator). Lattice earned its keep.
- Several losses came after mulliganing to a 5-card hand of dubious quality because the 6- and 7-card hands were utterly unkeepable.
- 4 maindeck Needles was definitely correct.
Changes:
- I plan to experiment with a bare-minimum Karn package of Golos, Candelabra, and Lattice plus some artifacts I would have in the sideboard anyway. In several matchups I would have liked to have more Warping Wails, so I would start by replacing Karn artifacts with those.
- There were times when I struggled to bridge the gap from midrange to Eldrazi levels of mana. I don't see any good cuts, but a second maindeck Golos would help here.
- I'd like a second Relic in the sideboard. Against RUG Delver, you're often forced to crack the Relic when you would rather leave it in play because the single-card exile got overwhelmed by several turns of fetch-cantrip-spell. A second copy makes both better.
Another Cg Post player made top 16 with a list involving Reclaimer, Karn, and Ugin the Ineffable. I watched him play against Food Chain and the list seemed OK.
Thanks for reading. I'll answer any questions.