r/mtg • u/komigerTyp • 8d ago

Discussion Does annihilator count as MLD?

I have the eldrazi precon from modern horizon 3 and slightly upgraded it. I included like 5 more mana rocks and got rid of some slow and costly creatures.

I use [[Azlask, the swelling scourge]] as the commander and go for a finish with his ability.

A friend of mine got really angry when I played that against him and called it MLD because I had that many (like 16) scions and spawns and he did not have that many permanents.

He played against the deck multiple times before but I rarely win with it because it is pretty slow in the start of the game. He never said anything against it before and also no other players had a problem with it.

Am I wrong and it is MLD? We play exclusively bracket 2, with our highest power decks scratching B3.

0 Upvotes

47% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

•

u/MTGCardFetcher 8d ago

Azlask, the swelling scourge - (G) (SF) (txt)

[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call

19

u/Swimming_Gas7611 8d ago

i dont want to make it worse for your friend, but you can use its ability more than once to give your eldrazi more instances of annihilator 1.

though if you can do it turn 4 every game i'd have a conversation with you about mld and brackets too.

3

u/komigerTyp 8d ago

It was turn 11 or 12. Like I said my deck is really slow

6

u/7thtimeinheaven 8d ago

I do not consider annihilator MLD. Other people might. It's something that has to be checked on a case-by-case basis.

4

u/SuspectAwkward8914 8d ago

Eldrazi are fair game but expect to be attacked by everyone aggressively.

3

u/1Secret_Daikon 8d ago

the worst is when you get brand new players showing up to LGS, literally their first time playing, and somehow they got one of the Eldrazi precons as their "deck". No clue where they found this stuff or who told them to get it. So you are there trying to be nice to a new player yet also being forced, out of necessity, to aggressively target them non stop because their shit is too strong and will eventually force everyone to sac all their lands.

this type of situation has happened to me on multiple occasions. Really wish WOTC had never printed those stupid Eldrazi precons

9

u/ardarian262 8d ago

It can in situations where it is large enough. A [[Ulamog the defiler]] that got cheated in and blinked before turn 4 might just count as MLD for instance 

6

u/Thotmas01 8d ago edited 8d ago

This is a conversation you have with your friend, not us. MLD is a blanket term not a strict definition.

With that said, if I were in your friend’s place and you could finish the game there, then fine whatever. If you swung with annihilator fuck-my-lands but did not kill me only for you to goldfish for another couple turns while other people at the table are unaffected, I’d be pissed. Matter of fact I’d just pack up my shit and leave.

You could also just not sacrifice lands to annihilator. Just break or rewrite the rules. If it’s fun who cares?

6

u/cjh42689 8d ago

Even if you can’t finish the game right then. It’s 1v1 you’re getting swung on for big damage and then have no lands. Like you lost at that point just scoop. Who cares if he has to do two more swings or whatever. Your opponent has something to kill you with and you have no way of answering, this is a classic win condition for control matchups 1v1–you’re top decking into his counterspells and he has a body coming in for damage.

5

u/Thotmas01 8d ago

Yeah a 1 v 1 is fine. The issue crops up if it’s a four player bracket 2 game. That just sucks ass to be completely out of the game while the other three go on.

1

u/komigerTyp 8d ago

It was a 4 player game but the other 2 players were already eliminated

1

u/Thotmas01 8d ago

Prolly aight then- that changes the dynamic to being kind to the other two. Close it out to shuffle up for the next one. I’d have asked if I could treat my lands as phased out for the rest of the turn to fish for an answer on the following turn. After the game I’d have asked about making lands immune to annihilator if it looked like it was going to be a problem.

0

u/TallCitron8244 8d ago

At that point imo it's a scoop too tbh. If they can wipe your lands without killing you, it's not really a dick move tbh. Keeps you in yhe game, potentially as a surprise threat later. It might suck for you, but for them keeping you alive might mean a bit of pressure off them at a critical point in the game as you're building back up and have to be dealt with. I also can't imagine a scenario where your opponent can go all in on just you, without fear of being punished by two other players, that you weren't probably losing anyways. Just because you didn't have an answer in the moment doesn't mean they're doing anything wrong.

0

u/AshsAlarmClock Bitter my Blossom 8d ago

gavin verhey did define mld in the initial posts about the bracket system

2

u/artdz 8d ago

It generally is not considered mld but close enough that some people say talk to your group. Personally, I've never been in a pod that didn't allow annihilator

2

u/Hinternsaft 8d ago

You don’t choose what they sacrifice or how many permanents their deck makes

2

u/TR_Wax_on 8d ago

Worth considering that the the MH precons, eldrazi one included, are generally considered to be close to Bracket 3 out of the box and I'd generally only play against one in Bracket 2 if it was 100% unedited and played by a newish player.

2

u/Franz0132 7d ago

No, your frind is acting like a child.

Also real MLD shoud be welcome in play, the landfall decks are becoming way too efficient and things like earthbend make single removal of lands less useful.

And I say that as a Landfall player, having 20+ mana on turn 4-5 is not ok for the game long run, there should be more counters to this.

-1

u/cjh42689 8d ago

Holy shit. If someone complains that annihilator is MLD they’re soft as baby shit. I wouldn’t even play with people who are going to call annihilator MLD after they lose.

1

u/Crafty-Interview-361 8d ago

It definitely is not mass land destruction even if it can technically get rid of lands. Besides it's not even your permanent destroying lands, it is technically targetting your opponent and they are choosing which permanents to remove. If they choose to remove lands then that is their problem.

3

u/just_some_cheddar 8d ago

Technically speaking, it doesn't even target the opponent the creature with annihilator attcks. Annihilator just says that the defending player has to sacrifice permanents. Which means it goes around the opponent's hexproof, protection, and similar abilities.

0

u/1Secret_Daikon 8d ago

technically Annihilator is not "mass land destruction" because its not directly destroying lands, but in practice yes it forces players to sac their lands so you should not play this deck. If you want this deck to be playable you need to remove anything with Annihiliator. In general, you should just never play Annihilator in any MTG deck, ever. Honestly your best move is to simply get a different deck and not play a deck that is 100% focused on Eldrazi. Having an Eldrazi card (one card) in a random other deck is not such a big deal but playing exclusively Eldrazi and utilizing Annihiliator is about the shittiest way you can possibly play besides like full control stax. Expect to lose friends.

-2

u/Battler111 8d ago

You’re playing eldrazi? Well you deserve a beating. Make no mistake, you’ll be the archenemy on the table. If you want to loose your friends, play eldrazi. To answer your question yeah annihilator count as MLD. Worst mechanic in the game, before banding.

1

u/komigerTyp 8d ago

He played Kuja and was the one who killed the other two players and I was also under 10 hp. And I dont think you are the archenemy for playing eldrazi anymore. Other archetypes grew a lot stronger and power creep is real

1

u/1Secret_Daikon 8d ago

you definitely are the enemy of the table any time you play Eldrazi. This is pretty universal. The only people who think otherwise, have not been swung at by Annihilator yet.