Best Application of Emrakul

[alphacat]

So, I love playing with huge creatures, and Emrakul made me warm and fuzzy when it first came out.

However, now that the creature has been played with a while, the real dilemma begins.

So far, Emrakul spawned three archetypes, Doomsday, Aeon Bridge, and Sneak Attack. It seems like Sneak Attack is by far the most popular and the most successful. However, I have my doubts. I'm wondering what you guys think the best achetype is that utilizes Emrakul in today's environment.

I want to play with this beast, yet I want to have a decent shot at winning too!

[Whippoorwill]

Retainer Survival. At least through the end of the month.

[alphacat]

Retainer Survival. At least through the end of the month.

I'm talking about decks dedicated to Emrakul as its central strategy though. Retainer + Emrakul is just a cute combo that's thrown in as an afterthought in some VVS builds.

[Tacosnape]

I vote for Gamekeeper, despite that I think I'm the only one in the world who plays it. The entire combo shell takes only five spots, and the rest of the entire deck can be used for protection and tutoring.

[JACO]

Doomsday are the best from the options you have listed. They have the best manabase, best disruption, and best backup plan.

[Zappa]

I don't think it is the best application for it, but I really enjoy it being in a Gamekeeper shell.

I used to play with it quite often, placing pretty well on small scale tournaments (4 rounds of Swiss). But I stopped playing the deck, when, at the time, there was so many people playing Emrakul. But definitely a blast to play, and only requiring 5 slots. You can find my thread for it back then at salvation, but the decklist is rather outdated though. Since I just keep the results, and modifications to myself, and figure things out on my own.

[Gocho]

He's the win condition in Elves Combo, play Glimpse, a bunch of elves, Emrakul, gain a turn, attack.

And can see it in S&T+ Eureka archetype.

[alphacat]

Doomsday are the best from the options you have listed. They have the best manabase, best disruption, and best backup plan.

It seems like Sneak is the most successful version though. Is it because SA is simply more popular, thus, it gets more top 8s?

[JACO]

It seems like Sneak is the most successful version though. Is it because SA is simply more popular, thus, it gets more top 8s?Sneak Attack is much easier to play well than Doomsday. Look at your opening hand for Show and Tell or Sneak Attack plus large creature; keep. Doomsday decks and storm decks in general require a little more thinking.

[AngryTroll]

I would love to see a Gamekeeper list.

Dragon Breath doesn't work with Gamekeeper and Emrakul, right? It looks like although Dragon Breath would end up on Emrakul if the enchantment was in your graveyard when Emrakul hit play, the revealed cards don't go to the yard until after Emrakul hits play. Do I have that right?

[dontbiteitholmes]

I'm talking about decks dedicated to Emrakul as its central strategy though. Retainer + Emrakul is just a cute combo that's thrown in as an afterthought in some VVS builds.

That cute combo was around before Vine was a card and even without Vine I think Bant Survival was a better deck than anything else with Emrakul, so I'd still say Retainer + Emrakul.

[Pulp_Fiction]

Emrakul did NOT spawn Doomsday. DDFT was spectacular before that shit, but when MT got banned, it made it even better.

[Tacosnape]

I would love to see a Gamekeeper list.

Dragon Breath doesn't work with Gamekeeper and Emrakul, right? It looks like although Dragon Breath would end up on Emrakul if the enchantment was in your graveyard when Emrakul hit play, the revealed cards don't go to the yard until after Emrakul hits play. Do I have that right?

Correct. And this is tragic. GK Emrakul would be amazing if Dragon Breath worked. Maybe one day they'll print something that costs one Red, gives a guy haste, and has a flashback cost of 0 mana and 3 life.

This is el listo currento for what I call Emrako Taco:

4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Marsh Flats
2 Windswept Heath
3 Bayou
3 Swamp
3 Forest
4 City of Traitors

4 Dark Ritual

4 Sensei's Divining Top

4 Cabal Therapy
4 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek

4 Innocent Blood
4 Living Wish
4 Pernicious Deed
3 Worldly Tutor

3 Gamekeeper
2 Emrakul, The Aeons Torn

SB:
1 Gamekeeper
1 Elvish Piper
1 Wasteland
1 Karakas
1 Faerie Macabre
1 Shriekmaw
1 Viridian Zealot
2 Krosan Grip
2 Perish
2 Infest
2 Extirpate

[NesretepNoj]

Having played them all, I think that all three decks you listed are equally good. It's a matter of personal taste. Aeon Bridge contains allmost all my favorite legacy cards, so that's the one I've played the most and thusly given me the best results.

[Karhumies]

GK Emrakul would be amazing if Dragon Breath worked. Maybe one day they'll print something that costs one Red, gives a guy haste, and has a flashback cost of 0 mana and 3 life.


Depending on the build...

Anger
Concordant Crossroads
Mass Hysteria
Need for Speed
Lightning Greaves


Anger and Dragon Breath are abusable with Intuition/Entomb/Buried Alive, at least. (take all copies out from deck before activating Gamekeeper trigger)

But why cast/cheat into play 4cc Gamekeeper when you can cast 3cc Show and Tell? Unless you plan to incorporate 1x Gamekeeper into an existing Emrakul build (basically Sneak Attack), that is. After all, you generally don't want to hit another Gamekeeper with the first Gamekeeper. Nevertheless, Gamekeeper trigger does not activate if the opponent uses Swords to Plowshares on it.


Another, quite undiscussed strategy, is using Shallow Grave. Would have been much better with Survival, though.

[JCLe]

Try my deck (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?19466-Crop-and-Tell) out, it will stomp the CB that are coming back in the meta, although merfolk can be a tough deal... I'm currently testing red splash over black for spout and its kinda working fine