Eldrazi Incursion Commander Precon Guide

Overview

Eldrazi Incursion is built around one of the most uniquely powerful commander designs in recent memory. Ulalek, Fused Atrocity does not simply copy a single spell: it copies everything on your stack and every activated and triggered ability you control at once, for the cost of two colourless mana paid when any Eldrazi spell resolves. In a deck filled with Eldrazi that generate tokens on cast, draw cards on cast, or lock down boards on cast, that payment becomes a multiplier that scales out of control at terrifying speed.

The alternate commander, Azlask, the Swelling Scourge, runs a completely different game plan: accumulate experience counters by sacrificing colourless creatures, then activate a five-colour pump to give your token army indestructible and annihilator 1. It is a slower, more linear strategy that rewards flooding the board with Scions and Spawns before converting them into a deadly buffed swarm.

Out of the box, Eldrazi Incursion is widely considered the strongest of the four Modern Horizons 3 Commander precons. Its ramp package is deep, its threats are genuinely game-ending, and Ulalek's ability converts even modest Eldrazi casts into explosive turns that most tables cannot answer cleanly.

Key Cards

Playing the Deck

The early game is entirely about acceleration. Ulalek costs five mana with hybrid pips, and the deck needs to be casting multiple Eldrazi per turn to fully leverage the copying ability. Prioritise your mana rocks: Sol Ring, the deck's four Talismans, Everflowing Chalice, and Hedron Archive all arrive early and set up the mana for the mid game. Awakening Zone and Mystic Forge are excellent early plays that provide ongoing value and ramp respectively.

Once Ulalek is in play, the deck transforms. The key discipline is paying the two colourless trigger cost at the right moment. Wait until you have multiple spells on the stack, or until an Eldrazi with a powerful cast trigger is resolving, before activating the copy. Artisan of Kozilek reanimates a creature when cast; copying that trigger returns two creatures from your graveyard. Elder Deep-Fiend taps down four permanents; copying it taps eight. The trigger does not work with cast abilities of legendary Eldrazi (the legend rule kills the copy), but the chaos Ulalek creates with non-legendary threats is more than enough.

In the late game, the deck has two clean paths to victory. A critical mass of Spawn and Scion tokens from Glaring Fleshraker, Sifter of Skulls, and Awakening Zone converts into a wide combat alpha strike once the table is locked down. Alternatively, with Azlask in the command zone, the experience counter plan builds a board of indestructible annihilating tokens that very few decks can deal with in combat.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: The ramp package is one of the deepest in any precon, giving the deck reliable access to its expensive threats by turns four and five. Ulalek's ability rewards you for doing what the deck wants to do anyway (cast Eldrazi), meaning the copying trigger rarely feels like extra effort. The cast-trigger game plan is also naturally resilient to removal: opponents cannot stop the triggers by killing Ulalek after a spell is already on the stack. Flash-speed Eldrazi allow you to generate value during opponents' turns, compounding the advantage.

Weaknesses: The mana base is underpowered for a five-colour deck. The pain lands and temples are functional but slow, and the deck frequently stumbles on colour in the early turns before the mana rocks come online. The average mana value of the deck is very high (above four), making aggressive mulligans necessary when an opening hand has no ramp. Selective Obliteration also badly underperforms against mono-colour opponents or opponents with empty hands, which limits the deck's removal suite.

Full Decklist

All 100 cards from the out-of-the-box Eldrazi Incursion precon, enriched with current prices. Click any card to expand it.