Last updated on April 3, 2026

Emrakul, the Promised End | Illustration by Jaime Jones
Eldrazi, Magic’s close analog for aliens are one of the biggest threats to the whole multiverse (talking both threat level and physical size). Part of their appeal is the mystery behind their origins. Despite multiple sets focusing on them, we know very little about them and each new nugget of information just springs up more questions.
Giant, unfathomable tentacle monster? It certainly scratches some people’s itch! Which are the biggest and baddest of these titans, though? Let’s take a look at what we have to play with and find out!
What Is an Eldrazi Card in MTG?

Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger | Illustration by Michael Komarck
Eldrazi are mysterious creatures from the Blind Eternities (the space between worlds in MTG lore). Headed up by the three titans of their ‘families’, they are creepy, destructive, and colorless.
For the purpose of this list, I look at cards with the eldrazi creature subtype on their front side. This means that anything that transforms into an eldrazi is off the list, mainly for simplicity reasons. I do not take into account cards that generate tokens like spawn or scions, but aren’t eldrazi themselves. However, I will be looking at kindred spells with the Eldrazi subtype, as there are some really interesting examples to look at there!
Anyway, that’s enough about mundane stuff. Let’s get into these creepy giants!
Honorable Mention: Brisela, Voice of Nightmares
I said I was going to ignore cards that are only Eldrazi on the back side, but I couldn’t leave out Brisela, Voice of Nightmares. Really pulling on the Eldritch Horror aspects of the Eldrazi, this wasn’t just a huge angelic monster, but also the death of two fan-favorite characters from Innistrad. Brisela wasn’t just a ridiculous creature, but a really sweet goal to aim towards in Eldritch Moon Limited!
#33. It That Heralds the End
The first card on the list is one from Modern Horizons 3: It That Heralds the End. While a lot of Eldrazi are large, expensive creatures, some are smaller. This one isn't only one of the less common cheaper versions, but can also help you cast your titans, reducing the cost of the biggest colorless spells in your deck. The effect is obviously useful, and stacks quite nicely, but hardly makes it into the pantheon of the most busted eldrazi.
#32. World Breaker
World Breaker is exactly what I would expect from an green eldrazi. Exile-based land destruction/Naturalize, with a recursive activated ability that makes you sacrifice lands. Nothing about this builds up anything, just eats away at resources, whether your opponents or your own. It really showcases the destructive nature of these Kaiju-like entities.
#31. Glaring Fleshraker
Glaring Fleshraker gives you an eldrazi spawn engine with some pinging action to soften opponents for your big hitters that come afterward. An unsung MVP in many an eldrazi deck.
#30. Oblivion Sower
If World Breaker is all about destruction, Oblivion Sower is actually about growth! There’s not many effects in Magic that allow you to steal your opponents’ best lands, but you can here! Some opponents really hate it when you play with their cards, but that kind of hatred is what eldrazi are all about!
#29. Kozilek’s Command
The first Kindred spell on the list, Kozilek's Command is very eldrazi in nature, and specifically very Kozilek. The titan is the progenitor of the eldrazi that leave everything in their wake in geometric destruction with their reality-warping powers, and Kozilek’s own cards often involve drawing cards in some way. It’ll be interesting to see if we get future commands for their siblings, but for now, this colorless instant is a very good example of an eldrazi modal spell!
#28. Decimator of the Provinces
Emerge was a really fun way to see the eldrazi in a different form back in Eldritch Moon, and one of the more iconic cards with this mechanic was Decimator of the Provinces. Somewhere between an Overrun effect and a Craterhoof Behemoth, this eldrazi boar follows the pattern of “Big Pigs” in MTG.
#27. Sire of Stagnation
Apparently, Sire of Stagnation was designed to be a card to be hated, although I can’t find the source I heard this from now. It does fit with what it is, though. If your opponent wants to play lands, which most players do, then you benefit, and they slowly bring themselves closer to decking. A lot of players hate being milled, and this one just pushes all of the wrong buttons. Great design to make the horrors of the eldrazi come into gameplay.
#26. Eldrazi Displacer
Eldrazi Displacer is a favorite of both combo players and hatebear players. Flickering another creature with its effect is a good repeatable ability at 3 mana, and the fact that it can hit any creature is even better. Not only can you erase your opponents' tokens forever, you can use it to tap down blockers, too. It’s the only white eldrazi from Oath of the Gatewatch, but it’s almost the perfect design for a white eldrazi.
#25. Inverter of Truth
Inverter of Truth went pretty much unnoticed for years until Thassa's Oracle came along, and the two cards teamed up to break Pioneer. They made a powerful combo deck that was difficult to interact with, causing Wizards of the Coast to perform a suite of bans that took almost all of the combo decks out of the format! Lots of Pioneer players will remember this one!
#24. Flayer of Loyalties
Flayer of Loyalties is a fun spin on a threaten effect, turning whatever it grabs into a gargantuan, planet-eating, trampling atrocity with annihilator on top. The question is: What is the best creature to make into a tentacly horror? My money's on a Kobold.
#23. Anticausal Vestige

Anticausal Vestige is unique design with warp and is a fantastic flicker target. The value you get is slightly tempered by allowing only permanents up to your total land count. Really good when you consider the cost on Elvish Piper, but you can do any permanent, and without needing green.
#22. Azlask, the Swelling Scourge
Eldrazi commanders with color identities are pretty new to Magic, and Azlask, the Swelling Scourge is a 5-color commander! I personally love the original cycle of experience counter commanders, so it’s extra sweet to see this excellent annihilator card come along too! for the activation is quite steep, but if you're creating a bunch of scions and spawn, it’s an interesting twist on a go-wide deck.
#21. Eldrazi Mimic
This one looked pretty innocuous when it was first spoiled, but it quite quickly became a key part of one of the most notoriously busted decks to ever hit the Modern format. Of course, Eye of Ugin was the main card that caused the issues, but making these little critters free then casting a big guy was one of the many ways that deck could win out of nowhere. It’s not reared its head much since then, but it remains notable nonetheless.
#20. Reality Smasher
Reality Smasher packs a heck of a punch whilst being difficult to deal with. This one saw sporadic play in 60-card formats, and playing this ahead of curve is still not horrendous even in modern-day Magic formats. This is one way to hit your opponent for a bunch if you have a way of cheating on colorless mana.
#19. Elder Deep-Fiend
Elder Deep-Fiend saw a surprising amount of play when it was in Standard, and has shown up in other formats occasionally since then. The favorite trick of many was to use this to tap down their opponents’ lands in their upkeep, particularly if you could get a good sacrifice synergy to get it out cheaper. It grabs hold of so much tempo when played, and flash allows you to ambush your opponent in so many different ways.
#18. Thought-Knot Seer
Hand disruption on a solid body is what Thought-Knot Seer brings to the table. Killing an opponent's Seer allows you to draw a card, sure, but by then your opponent has already taken the best card out of your hand, so you’ll have to evoke that Thoughtseize bug to draw something good enough to replace it! So many of these smaller eldrazi are just annoying to deal with, which I think is kinda the point.
#17. Sire of Seven Deaths
Sire of Seven Deaths has seven abilities and they add up to one monster that is really difficult to deal with. The ward for 7 life is steep, and if opponents leave this Sire on the field, lifelink in the keyword soup makes them pay.
#16. Kozilek, the Broken Reality
We’ve got our first titan on the list with the legendary Kozilek, the Broken Reality. At this point it hasn’t been played with by the general public, but to be honest it’s just looking kinda meh for a 9-mana spell! It’s a cool design, though, with a bit of hand disruption, card draw, and an asymmetric anthem effect. Maybe it’s particularly good as a colorless go-wide theme (note, you also get to manifest, giving yourself two 5/4s and drawing to replace them), but I just think that the rest of the titans are much more impactful.
#15. Kozilek, the Great Distortion
Poor Kozilek often seems to be on the weaker side of the family, but Kozilek, the Great Distortion has mainly seen play as a colorless commander with colorless mana in the mana cost. Of course, drawing up to seven cards is nothing to sniff at, but when you’re paying this much mana on your commander you want it to do a little more than that!
#14. Zhulodok, Void Gorger
Arguably the first eldrazi designed to be a commander, Zhulodok, Void Gorger gets extra value from that most favorite of words to see on your expensive spells: Cascade. Twice!
Six mana for an eldrazi big mana commander sets it apart a little from some of the other options, but this is a nice little twist on what we’d seen prior to its existence.
#13. Ulalek, Fused Atrocity
The face commander from Modern Horizons 3’s Eldrazi Incursion Commander precon, Ulalek, Fused Atrocity has a strange spell-copying ability that can take a moment to get your head around. Many eldrazi have cast triggers, though, so you can use this card to copy those triggers. You'll be laughing if you can find a way to get multiple different activated and triggered abilities onto the stack, though!
#12. Echoes of Eternity
Eldrazi are doing odd things, and even their enchantments are strange, for example Echoes of Eternity. It feels very eldrazi, acting as a twisted Panharmonicon but for colorless spells, as well as for triggered abilities from colorless sources. I don’t know how exactly this is going to be broken, but it certainly will be!
#11. Eldrazi Conscription
When it was first printed, Eldrazi Conscription was the biggest and baddest aura around, and it still is 13 years later. 8 mana to grow any of your creatures to unfathomable size and give them annihilator; this is more like a hasty eldrazi. If you can cheat this colorless enchantment out your opponents will not be happy, I can guarantee it.
#10. It That Betrays
As if annihilator wasn’t hated enough, It That Betrays powers it up into another hated mechanic, allowing you to steal the stuff that your opponent sacrifices. At 12 mana, it’s on the expensive side, but it does provide a lot of value… and frustration!
#9. Void Winnower
Void Winnower is a very frustrating card to play against that upsets the whole game when it comes down and it's not one of Commander's game changers. It’s difficult to play the game when suddenly half of your cards are unplayable, and half of your creatures (more, if you have tokens) can’t block for you anymore. Plus, it comes with one of the best rules ever to hit Gatherer… “You can’t even.”
#8. Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Ulamog’s first entry into the list is its first iteration with Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. An indestructible threat that occasionally hoses mill decks when it shuffles the graveyard back into the library, that is also removal? There’s lots of reasons why people like this one. One of the more iconic Eldrazi titans, for sure, it’s seen a lot of play over the years and will likely continue to do so!
#7. Ulamog, the Defiler
Ulamog, the Defiler has seen a bit of a mixed reaction, but it is strong. Crucially, unlike the original three titans, it can be reanimated from the graveyard, opening up playability in more archetypes. It also has the potential to be the biggest eldrazi, caring about not just cards exiled with its own abilities, but from anywhere, making it paltry to get plenty of +1/+1 counters on it without casting. I think this one will see plenty of play!
#6. Emrakul, the World Anew
Eldrazi are known for costing a lot of mana, but Emrakul, the World Anew didn’t get the memo. Sure, it's 12 mana, but if you can somehow discard it you can instead cast it for just 6 thanks to madness. It’s not exactly simple to do that, but it’s a nice goal to aim for. Not only that, but when you actually cast it (not an ETB effect, of course!), it’s got a pretty powerful effect to go along with it. I can’t wait to see this one get broken!
#5. Emrakul, the Promised End
Emrakul really doesn’t understand that eldrazi are supposed to cost a lot of mana, does it? Emrakul, the Promised End was a great mythic addition to the Magic set that brought us delirium: it works a a solid delirium commander even if the card doesn't technically use the mechanic. An eldrazi with a Mindslaver effect is also a pretty great flavor win in my book. Whilst developers of digital Magic clients might have a love/hate relationship with this card in particular, it’s got a special place in a lot of players’ hearts.
#4. All Is Dust
So you’re surprised that one of the top five eldrazi cards isn’t even a creature? Well, you shouldn’t be! All Is Dust is obviously powerful, even if you’re not utilizing the one or more colors clause. Plus, 7 mana for a decent colorless board wipe isn’t even that expensive, especially as there aren’t any color requirements here. Getting around pesky indestructible effects, whilst also helping you along if you have anything at all that cares about people sacrificing their stuff, it’s not difficult to see why this colorless sorcery made it so far up the list!
#3. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger keeps popping up in multiple formats, and it’s not hard to see why. Exiling two target permanents (any permanents) is a nice way to turn a game around, and even if your opponent can keep chumping it, Ulamog will just mill them out in a couple of swings, anyway. They can’t even save themselves with a Gaea's Blessing. Even a casting cost of 10 mana isn’t enough to keep this one in check.
#2. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
Whilst Kozilek’s other iterations may leave something to be desired, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is still pretty highly rated. Drawing four on cast regardless of anything else is great, even if it’s countered, and Annihilator 4 is going to be a problem to deal with. It’s pure stats. No fuss, no muss. Just try and lose after casting this!
#1. Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Number 1 was always going to be Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Magic's best battlecruiser and one of the biggest, baddest creatures ever to grace the game (even if they can be taken down by 15 squirrels), this is one of the few cards outright banned in Commander. Putting way too many abilities on a single card before it was cool, it still hasn’t been topped, and is unlikely to ever, really! All hail the glorious spaghetti!
Best Eldrazi Enablers
Since eldrazi themselves are often your win condition, let's look at some of the best ways to help them enter the battlefield: Eye of Ugin, and Eldrazi Temple. Forsaken Monument might not specify eldrazi by name, but the monument is fully coded for helping eldrazi excel as an anthem and mana doubler for colorless mana.
Another angle are the WotC-designed eldrazi spawn and scion tokens that you create through cards like Pawn of Ulamog, Basking Broodscale, and Awakening Zone. They're made as tribute material and the more easily you generate these tokens, the easier it is you play the big eldrazi spells.
Which Sets Have Eldrazi?
The first set to ever have eldrazi was (fittingly) Rise of the Eldrazi. They were a central part of Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch, and reappeared shortly after in Eldritch Moon.
Eldrazi have been the focus of two Commander precons: Eldrazi Unbound from 2023's Commander Masters line-up, and Eldrazi Incursion, from Modern Horizons 3 Commander. They’ve made prominent reappearance in Modern Horizons 3, and have even have a Jumpstart 2022 front card after them. One mythic eldrazi snuck into Foundations and Edge of Eternities brings them back to the Standard rotation.
Is There an Eldrazi Planeswalker?
There’s no eldrazi Planeswalker, although there was some speculation for some time that The Wanderer was actually Emrakul in disguise!
Are Eldrazi Artifacts?
Even though they’re colorless, eldrazi are not actually artifacts. They're just ordinary creatures with no color!
Wrap Up

Kozilek, the Great Distortion | Illustration by Aleksi Briclot
So, I hope the list covers all of your cthulian needs! Need to jump into action with colorless ETB cards, we have a list for that!
Did I miss any obvious inclusions? Almost certainly, but that’s where you come in! Let me know your favorite eldrazi that I’ve had the audacity to leave off the list in the comments, or let me know on the Draftsim Discord! After you’ve done that, be sure to check out some of our other articles, and I’ll catch you in the next one!
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2 Comments
What do u mean when u say
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre Is uncounterble?
I believe I cleaned up that reference, at least if Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre were countered, it goes back in the library and you get to destroy a permanent with the cast trigger.
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