Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror | Art by Ryan Pancoast

Live from Hollywood, California... it's Dan Vega's Mega Money Quiz! Hi, I'm Dan Vega. Let's get started.

Wait a minute, that's the wrong intro! We are talking about a big red monster nicknamed Chunky today, but this is Fire and Ice, the data-driven series where I go over cards that are becoming more or less popular for different Commander decks and talk about why they may be gaining or losing popularity. I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to jump into today's article!

EDHREC, of course, has a ton of data. We'll draw conclusions from that data about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list. To learn more about the math behind this series, check out this article!

We're back again this week with another cEDH focused version of Fire and Ice. We'll be taking a good look at one of the best Gruul () decks in Bracket 5. Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror is an outlet for big mana strategies, allowing for easy wins with Food ChainFood Chain, huge turns alongside Treasonous OgreTreasonous Ogre, and so much more.

Let's see what this Dino can do!

Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror

What's Hot and What's Not for Etali, Primal Conqueror

Etali decks seek to generate a ton of mana to cast their commander early (often on turn two) before making several copies of Etali to cast valuable spells from their opponents' decks and inch towards the creation of infinite mana. They can win by casting every spell in opponents' decks with infinite casts of their commander, usually obtained through a combo of Food ChainFood Chain and Squee, the ImmortalSquee, the Immortal.

Among the most popular cards for Etali, Primal Conqueror decks are ways to make copies of our commander like TwinflameTwinflame (in 77% of lists), ways to make extra mana like Seething SongSeething Song (in 60% of lists), and ways to find the combo pieces we need like Worldly TutorWorldly Tutor (in 51% of lists).

What's Fiery for Etali Decks?

Hexing SquelcherHexing Squelcher - Fire Score of 12.33

Etali decks do not do well against counterspells. We've got Guttural ResponseGuttural Response, Veil of SummerVeil of Summer, and PyroblastPyroblast to deal with opposing interaction, but there's not much more than that. Hexing Squelcher fixes that problem for just .

This Goblin Sorcerer even lets us play through the effect of an opposing Vexing BaubleVexing Bauble, which is usually a kill-on-sight artifact for Etali players.

While the ward cost of two life that Hexing Squelcher provides to our creatures is pretty much negligible, the way it lets us play through opposing interaction is unbelievably important. This card is already a staple among Etali pilots, and will likely become popular for other -based cEDH decks too.

Kindle the Inner FlameKindle the Inner Flame - Fire Score of 8.27

ElectroduplicateElectroduplicate-style effects are always useful for Etali players. Most decks run every version of this effect that's reasonably costed, as having a high density of this sort of card allows us to continue chaining Etali enter the battlefield (ETB) triggers effectively.

While Kindle the Inner Flame does cost more mana than most other Twinflame variants that we've got access to, it's important to have as many of this effect as possible. This spell may get pushed out of the most well-trimmed Etali 99s in the future if more efficiently costed versions appear, but it's got a slot for now.

Formidable SpeakerFormidable Speaker - Fire Score of 5.37

This creature seems to be all anyone's talking about these days. It can grab any creature from our library, allowing us to have exactly the game piece we need no matter the situation.

If we're short on mana, we can grab Treasonous OgreTreasonous Ogre or Hellkite CourserHellkite Courser to put our commander on the field. If we need to make more copies of Etali, we can grab Rionya, Fire DancerRionya, Fire Dancer. If we need to protect a win condition, we can grab Hexing Squelcher.

The Speaker also lets us untap a permanent, allowing us access to extra mana with Grim MonolithGrim Monolith, Orcish LumberjackOrcish Lumberjack, or Ancient TombAncient Tomb. We can even untap Jaxis, the TroublemakerJaxis, the Troublemaker for extra copies of our commander or Evendo BrushrazerEvendo Brushrazer for some extra card advantage.

In a pinch, this three-drop can even untap an opponent's land to allow them to interact with another player. Formidable Speaker truly does it all, and is the perfect fit for Etali lists.

Crop RotationCrop Rotation - Fire Score of 1.18

Whether we're finding Talon Gates of MadaraTalon Gates of Madara to get rid of a Drannith MagistrateDrannith Magistrate or City of TraitorsCity of Traitors to grab some extra mana, Crop Rotation is useful. For some pilots, this spell can even find Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle.

Crop Rotation can be a great way to fix our mana, put us ahead by a turn, or even to remove an opposing threat.

Crystal VeinCrystal Vein - Fire Score of 1.17

Etali players want to count to seven as fast as possible. If we can get access to that amount of mana early in the game, we can cast Etali before our opponents are ready for it. Crystal Vein, and many other Sol Lands, have a home in Etali for exactly that reason. It does suck to sacrifice this land after just one use, but it's a price we're willing to pay for Chunky.

Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach - Fire Score of 1.06

While Underworld Breach combos are one of the most popular ways to win games of cEDH, Etali decks aren't usually running those combo pieces in their 99. But, a "value Breach" to recast some of our best cards is still extremely strong. Sometimes, we're just one Etali trigger away from victory with a copy of Molten DuplicationMolten Duplication in the bin.

Or maybe we're just a few mana short of recasting our commander with a copy of Seething SongSeething Song in the 'yard. Either way, this enchantment can help us close out games.

Flare of DuplicationFlare of Duplication - Fire Score of 1.04

There are a few creatures in our 99 that are prime targets for sacrifice. Imperial RecruiterImperial Recruiter, for example, can be quite useless after its trigger resolves. And, funnily enough, we may want to sacrifice Etali. If we don't have a way to copy Etali in hand but we've got enough mana to recast it, it can be wise to sacrifice the Dino.

Free spells are usually quite powerful, and this discounted version of ReverberateReverberate is no exception.

Noxious RevivalNoxious Revival - Fire Score of 1.04

While free recursion is always good, this spell is particularly useful for Etali pilots. Because we can take any card from any graveyard and put it on top of its owner's library, this spell allows us to choose any spell in a graveyard and choose to recast it with Etali. Because we flip cards off of the top of a library until a nonland appears, we can choose any spell we want to cast for free!

We'll often choose a copy effect that we've got in our own graveyard, but it may occasionally be advantageous to "steal" an opponent's Rhystic StudyRhystic Study or Mystic RemoraMystic Remora.

GambleGamble - Fire Score of 1.00

Gamble is a fantastic tutor, and it's very on-theme for . It may end up being an EntombEntomb occasionally, but it's worth the risk. Whether we're grabbing acceleration, interaction, or a way to copy our commander, Gamble delivers the goods.

What's Icy for Etali Decks?

Wild GrowthWild Growth - Ice Score of -1.54

While adding to our mana pool every turn at the cost of just is nice, we don't really need or want . We're much more focused on creating to use on our commander and spells like Dualcaster MageDualcaster Mage.

It's often difficult for us to get on turn one, when this enchantment is most effective, making it an easy cut for players looking to really trim the fat from their 99.

Goblin AnarchomancerGoblin Anarchomancer - Ice Score of -1.38

We do run several other two-mana ramp spells, like Arcane SignetArcane Signet and Reckless BarbarianReckless Barbarian, and this Shaman doesn't actually provide us with a cost reduction on spells like Lightning BoltLightning Bolt or PyroblastPyroblast. I'd argue that the reduction it provides to the vast majority of spells in our list makes it worth running in our 99, but it seems that some Etali pilots disagree with me!

Garruk's UprisingGarruk's Uprising - Ice Score of -1.37

This enchantment lets us draw a card every time Etali enters the battlefield, which can be useful. But, Etali lets us cast spells for free from the top of our library anyways. This enchantment can rob us of some valuable nonland cards, putting them into our hand when we'd rather just flip them off of one of our commander's triggers.

If the cEDH meta slows down substantially, and we need to keep up with several interaction-heavy decks, Garruk's Uprising could be useful. But, until that time, this enchantment is better off in our maybeboard.

Temur SabertoothTemur Sabertooth - Ice Score of -1.02

Temur Sabertooth is part of several infinite mana combos, and also lets us bounce our commander back to our hand for later use. But we're not focused on the combos that Temur Sabertooth enables, nor are we in the business of spending to recast Etali from our hand.

While this card is useful in lower power versions of this deck, it may fall flat at the highest levels of play.

What's in an Etali, Primal Conqueror Deck?

Here's an Etali list with all of their Fiery cards included and all of their Icy cards excluded. This deck is based heavily on the "Flintstone Gummy" list available on the cEDH Decklist Database.

Conclusion

I'd like to give a special shoutout to the folks on the Etali cEDH Discord server, as their thoughts were extremely helpful in crafting my analysis of some newer cards. They gave some great insights into everyone's favorite Elder Dinosaur, and I appreciate their help greatly.

We'll be back with another cEDH Fire and Ice in about a month! If you've got a suggestion for our next competitively-oriented edition, be sure to drop it in the comments below!