This time I didn’t have the luxury of unboxing the product for you, oh Hub City Geeks. The “Forged in Stone” Commander deck has been in play at the SpartanNerd’s house for some time, and I didn’t get a chance to unbox it for you. Sorry!
The unboxing was similar to the unboxing of “Sworn to Darkness” from the same set, which you can see my review of here. (click the link)
Regardless, I am including a video of the cards.
I also have the main insert.
The art features Nahiri, the Lithomancer. This has been a mysterious character in Magic the Gathering fiction, evidently. I’ve only recently begun to read the online stories, but evidently Nahiri was the one who created the prison for the Eldrazi at the behest of Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. Fans have long said that the person featured on the card Stoneforge Mystic was the Lithomancer, though she was never named or had details officially given to her. So now the wizards have made it official…
The art is good, but it was too much work for me to try and read that white text over that white background. Come on. Wizards. You know better than that!
The back is more of the same, but gives you a decklist as well. Here is that image, extra large so you can read it!
The “Forged in Stone” deck features a mainly white strategy, with an emphasis on artifacts. Nahiri, the Lithomancer, is the main commander, a planeswalker that has a very dangerous ultimate ability…you get a sword called “Stoneforged Blade” that adds +5/+5 and double strike to a creature. OUCH!!!
Her other two abilities are also very relevant, because as a mainly white strategy, the deck can get a lot of token creatures out easily. And equipment cards can be attached to them for free. That’s crazy! Her -2 ability makes it possible to get equipment out of the graveyard in case it gets removed.
Nahiri is a great commander…Not as good as Ob Nixilis, though. For instance, her abilities are conditional..you have to have an equipment card on the battlefield or graveyard in order for her top two abilities to be relevant.
The other possible commanders in this deck are Jazal Goldmane and Kemba,Kha Regent. Jazal lets you pump your creatures, while Kemba is the real danger, putting new 2/2 Cat creatures out each turn for each equipment she has attached.
The other creatures do things that white creatures are supposed to do. Sun Titan is here to get things back out of the graveyard upon entering the battlefield or attacking. There are some clerics, angels, mentors, priest…each doing something classically white. The angels are especially relevant…usually big fliers with abilities. You know how I feel about angels in Magic!
In addition to the mana rocks that always seem to be included in these commander decks, you get some really good equipment. You get Moonsliver Spear and Loxodon Warhammer…both really good in the hands of either a chump or a fighter. There is also Bonehoard, a card that can get rediculous in a multiplayer game with lots of board wipes.
The instants and sorceries are really good, with comeuppance usually being a star. Basically you redirect damage back to either an attacker or a player.
This deck includes the double sided tokens…an idea that I hope the wizards use more in the future. The packaging was cool, with tasteful white and black styling, but the box is the same box that all the other commander decks came with. It can’t hold the deck when sleeved.
When pitted against Ob Nixilis, Nahiri’s deck has problems with board wipes. Because there is really only a token strategy for the early game. But usually when she can stage a turnaround, Nixilis will lose. It’s usually an angel that causes the win.
Remember when I said some of Nahiri’s abilities were irrelevant sometimes? They usually aren’t irrelevant. There are enough equipment cards for her to do what she needs to do. I haven’t played this deck in a multiplayer match yet..as I get the chance I will let you know.
The other deck I have played it against is a modified “Eternal Bargain” deck from Commander 2013. Oloro,s life gain was significant, but Nahiri was able to pull off a win!
SpartanNerd’s rating of Magic the Gathering “Forged In Stone” Commander 2014 EDH deck is 4/5. I am knocking the point off because I think Ob Nixilis’ deck is better. Maybe that is bias, because I favor black over white. But white is my secondary color, so…
The other thing might not be as relevant…it is difficult to read the text on the insert material. Someone botched it when they decided to use white text over a white background.
I have put together a home-brew black discard deck built around Liliana Vess…and I have been playing it…competitively I might add, at the Tangled Web* for the past three weeks.
It has done reasonably well…averaging a win half of the time and splitting that other half with losses and draws. The problem is, I want to make it a star. I’m just not sure how? Here is my decklist.
Lands
22 Swamps
Creatures
4 Black Cat
3 Master of the Feast
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
2 Gray Merchant
1 Abhorrent Overlord
Spells
4 Thoughtsieze
4 Despise
3 Hero’s Downfall
2 Sign in Blood
4 Dark Deal
2 Murderous Cut
Enchantments
1 Whip of Erebos
4 Waste Not
Planeswalkers
3 Liliana Vess
Sideboard**
2 Dark Betrayal
1 Hero’s Downfall
4 Bile Blight
1 Pharika’s Cure
1 Nighthowler
4 Staff of the Death Magus
1 Master of the Feast
1 Liliana Vess
How I’ve been playing the deck…
In my opening hand, I am looking for two lands (of coarse), 1 removal spell…probably Hero’s Downfall, Black Cat, Waste Not, and either Despise or Thoughtsieze. I generally mulligan if I don’t have some kind of disruption…for instance, Master of the Feast might be good in an opening hand against some Jeskai chump decks. But our meta-game has shifted away from that it seems. And the Master is generally removed before he can get two attack phases.
I ideally want to get Waste Not online, and really stick it to my opponent. Lately there has been ZERO enchantment removal in the meta-game. And Waste Not seems innocuous, until three Zombie Tokens are staring at you. The deck plays great against most aggro decks, and Master of the Feast makes sure that they have a card in their hand for you to discard and get value from your Waste Not in the mid-game…(The ideal mid-game has an opponent top-decking.)
A couple of cool things that happened over the past few weeks…Liliana ultimate-ed in three matches last week! This week I was able to produce 20 Zombie tokens on turn five! (two copies of Waste Not, into a Dark Deal). Someone Aetherspout-ed Master of the Feast, and said “will he go to the top or the bottom of your deck.” I chose option C, which was Dark Betrayal, sending him to the graveyard! And the first week I played this deck, someone tried to cancel my Murderous Cut, only to have me cast another copy on top of the stack!
The problem is a new deck has emerged…a near mirror that uses Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver instead of Liliana. This deck has two big advantages…Dig Through Time, and the planeswalker herself. I have played against “Esper” variations that also used Elspeth, Sun’s Champion but this past week it was “Sultai” that was taking the stage, featuring Kiora, the Crashing Wave and Pearl Lake Ancient. These decks basically are designed to hold off any strategy with Cancel type spells, get a lot of card advantage out of Dig Through Time and scry lands, and hope to eventually drop that bomb…casting the cards exiled with Ashiok, just good old Aertherling style beatdown with the uncountable and hard to kill Pearl Lake Ancient, or ultimate-ing either Elspeth or Kiora, which is generally Good Game.
The past two weekends I have bumped into these decks, and either lost or came to a draw with them. Lilliana isn’t good against burn decks, and generally I have to side in removal for the small creatures like Goblin Rabblemaster for game two. I don’t mind losing to those decks…they do what they do, well. What bothers me is what I am playing is pitting black based long form Magic the Gathering against other players who want to go long, but the losing and tie-ing should be able to be overcome. My “Early Game” and “Mid Game” are good…the “Long Game” is what is in question.
I have made minor adjustments to get the deck where it is now…I added a second Gray Merchant to play this week. And that was a good choice. Someone might wonder why not a full four copies, but it stops being a discard deck and wants to become a full on devotion deck. I specifically switched Brain Maggot out with Black Cat because the Brain Maggot is just a bad Oblivion Ring. It is really better in devotion decks. The Black Cat is deterrent. Unless the person has a hand that they don’t mind getting randomly wrecked and activating Waste Not triggers.
I have found that four copies of Dark Deal are just unnecessary. This is the first thing I am changing…bumping that down to two copies. I am also considering dumping Master of the Feast. He is great for getting cards in the opponents hand. But he is usually removed after (or during) the attack phase in late mid-game. I heard a seasoned player, correctly say…”You don’t want control players to have extra cards in their hands.” He’s right. That is why the enemy deck is running Dig Through Time and Jace’s Ingenuity.
I am considering switching the Master of the Feast out for Sign in Blood, and using that only to target my opponents when they don’t have cards. (I am guilty of hitting myself with Sign in Blood.) This would mean main-decking that other copy of Liliana Vess…or would it? Another whip or another Erebos? Erebos is good for that corner card advantage, generally a non-threat to the opponent but I love it when he activates. I have never ran more than two whips. Actually, I don’t ever want two of either in my hand, ever. And that’s why. Also, this past week for the first time, I really wished I had a Bile Blight to tutor up with Liliana main-deck. So that will be added.
Hub City Geeks, HELP! Send me your advice on how I might improve this deck. I’m not sure if I’m playing this Friday night or not…I have a class on Saturday. Next time I get to play standard, I want Liliana to be at the top!
*Be on the lookout for brand new SpartanNerd Business cards! If you played me, then you got one!
**(That sideboard is really to protect against Burn and some of the beatdown trick decks that have emerged. Sometimes I have to side in over ten cards, depending on my opponent. I am siding in Staff of the Death Magus, which makes it harder for them to be effective. Usually I am taking out one copy of Waste Not, and this past week a couple of Dark Deals. Also I prefer not to Thoughtsieze against that fast burn or Red Deck Wins. Also, I usually switch out Murderous Cut for Dark Betrayal if I am playing another black deck.)
I purchased two Theros gift boxes for the SpartanKids last year. I didn’t bother reviewing them. But I purchased the Kahns of Tarkir gift box for myself at Friday Night Magic on Feb 13, and thought I would share my unboxing experience with the world!
The front of the box is pleasant, featuring the Zurgo Helmsmasher art with a red wash over the image. Note the price…$19.99. I actually got this for $16 something. There was a Valentines Day special! (at the Tangled Web)
The back shows what you get.
What is actually going on is there is a sleeve over the actual box.
Sorry. Too big a shot to keep the kitchen table from appearing! I was surprised…there was what looked like a seeded pack with a special foil on top! You got four regular packs, a pack of artsy dividers, and a label sheet. Oh yes, also a nice box with three sections.
Here are the dividers where you can see them. They are really pretty!
That “seeded pack” wasn’t a seeded pack after all…(sadness.) It was a pack of lands, with a premium foil Sultai Charm on top. I believe this card is exclusive to this Holiday gift set. I think that is one copy of each of the basic lands printed for Kahns of Tarkir.
I am going to open the packs so you can see them just as I did! I will reveal the commons, then the uncommon, and finally the rare and extras from each pack.
PACK 1!
Nothing too notable in Pack 1! Clever Impersonator hasn’t seen that much play, surprisingly. I like Kin Tree Invocation. But even in the warrior deck, it hasn’t been used much.
PACK 2!
I noticed right away that there were less commons in this pack…meaning a special surprise in the back! Of the commons and uncommon, I like Gurmag Swiftwing the best.
My rare was Mardu Ascendancy. What was that special card? A fetch land? No. A premium rare? no. A foil Singing Bess Strike. Really a pretty good card. But not a fetch land.
Pack 3!
Another situation like before! But no fetch. This time my rare is really good, Blood-soaked Champion. A fighter who just won’t die! Horde Ambusher was my foil card.
Pack 4!
And things round out with Sultai Ascendancy. A pretty good card for Sultai decks.
Packs are packs. They are always a gamble. If I had purchased these four packs, I wouldn’t have been too happy.
Finally, how good does the box hold cards.
I stocked it up with more cards so you could see. There is enough room for sleeved cards. This box has already helped me consolidate some of the odd and end boxes in my nerd closet!
What do I rate the Kahns of Tarkir Holiday Gift Box?
This is really a terrific product. If a person did not know what to get a MTG player, then this is a pretty good gift. The box works good, but the packs are a gamble. The label sheet is the only thing I haven’t mentioned. Check this out!
The labels are not really my thing. What I really like about them is the educational value for new players! I didn’t even know about different formats when I began playing. Here is a good way to create awareness. Guess what? There is even a label for “Cube!” (Among the newest formats, players find enjoyment in making booster packs for people to draft. Then they collect the cards and reassemble the cube.)
I wish there was a guide for what set each symbol represents. This is something I can’t do yet.
Then there are blank labels for you to write whatever you want when organizing your cards.
So I guess I will give it a 5/5. The packs are a gamble, so I easily could have gotten a Sorin and a Sarkahn. (I heard of someone opening a Holiday Box and getting these two.) But I didn’t. Otherwise, it is a good general product for MTG players, and a good starting product for new players, giving you four copies of the basic lands.
What is your rating? Do you agree? Let me know. Even better, let me know what you opened in Your holiday box!
This Friday night I took the Liliana deck to Friday Night Magic at The Tangled Web in Spartanburg, SC, but this time I did something that I haven’t done for a year. I used an inferior deckbox. When I top-8ed in February last year, I bought a premium box to reward myself, the Ultra Pro Satin Tower. That plastic box is green, with a smooth satin texture, and a storage compartment for dice. This box makes it easy to go from one place to another. Just put it together and grab your playmat. I chose green, as that’s my favorite color (in real life, not in Magic.)
This week I used the Legion Iconic 100-card box. This box is flimsy, and has a velcro latch. It looks cool with a skull on it, representing us Swamp people. (Black magic players.) The problems with this box…cramming it with 60 cards, plus 15 cards for the sideboard, and 15 tokens, all sleeved as well, and a divider. It was miserable. And everytime I needed to get a token, the sideboard was in the way, or vice versa. There was nowhere for the dice, so I had to carry a dice bag. This time I was using a pad and pen to write down revealed information (through Thoughtsieze or whatever). So I had to transport five items from place to place. That’s too much for two hands. Especially when you are also lugging a trade binder and SpartanKid’s Commander decks as well in a duffle bag.
I have used other boxes before…I generally keep my modern deck in an old event deck box and the Standard deck I am playing in the Satin Tower. Because I was switching between two Standard decks for the past week, I have put the Legion Iconic box to use. But It was miserable.
So it is fired. Just like Sultai Skullkeeper and Pain Seer.
First of all, let me say I haven’t been ABLE to play MTG lately, it seems much less review products or blog. Life has been busy, and I have been tired. I managed to play on the past couple of Friday nights, one tournament was cool because it was draft. But I had almost no practice with my standard deck, and lost badly last week with my “Windswept Heath” Junk (abzan) deck. I intend to play Liliana again this Friday night, but still haven’t got to practice much. Incidently, also, I have been “drawing” a lot playing the three color style. Maybe that is really what is motivating me to go back to mono black.
I purchased this product, Fate Reforged Clash Pack…”Power vs. Profit” on release day for Fate Reforged. It was about $30 at the Tangled Web in Spartanburg. I skipped the previous Clash Pack, “M15,” because it seemed like a weak offering. So this is the first such product I have bought.
Some thoughts about it, verses say, getting an Event Deck. An event deck is similar to an intro deck, but maybe only a little better. You get 75 cards, a nice box, and a life counter. Event Decks are kind of what you buy as a casual player, coming in to try Magic for the first time, or whatever. They might win a match or two, but rarely more than two. I’m saying this knowing that a lot of SpartanNerd.com traffic comes from me reviewing Event Decks, but in general, they just aren’t that good because the Wizards don’t construct them to be tournament winners. For instance, they will only have one or two copies of a card that there should be four of. Or the mana-fixing is slow. Some of the reason they do it like this is so that new players get more different cards. I didn’t realize it, until spending some time with some new players, especially kids…there is a “collectors” aspect to what they want. I’m OK with that, I’m just saying that it makes the Event Decks weaker in general than they should be to be truly competitive.
The Clash Pack idea takes some of the philosophy of the Event Deck, and addresses some of the weaker points. The Fate Reforged Clash Pack comes with two “better-than-intro-pack” decks. (a total of 120 cards). You don’t get a spin-down life counter, but you DO get a box that can hold both decks unsleeved, or one deck sleeved with a sideboard. (The box is similar to those boxes that came with the “Dual Deck Anthology,” but a little different.)
The idea is that a player will play with both decks, presumably against each other. And then craft a competitive deck from the stronger pieces of each one. I like this better than the “I came in. Let me buy some cards to play.” The clash pack makes it so that you are thinking about what you are playing ahead of time. Then do what you are supposed to do for a Standard tournament, and “construct” a deck.
You can see the cards in the video below. Both the “Power” and the “Profit” deck are featured. If you are a veteran player, you will notice right away that some of the first cards are “alternate art.” For me, this was a major reason to purchase the product. I love the Whip of Erebos alternate art, as well as Hero’s Downfall and Reaper of the Wilds.
The “Power” Deck
This deck is Sultai; Black, Green, and Blue. It is very clear that the deck is great at getting cards into the graveyard. The idea is that you will load your graveyard, cast a few flyers with delve, and maybe control the game with the graveyard using Necropolis FIend’s ability. A big positive…there are four copies of Satyr Wayfinder, a big clue that the design here is better than an Event Deck. The mana-fixing is of the slow “gain-land” variety, and I’m not sure a person should ever play a banner outside of draft, sealed, and commander styles. The instants and sorceries are perfect for their respective color, and both Sulai Charm and Sultai Ascendancy are really great for this deck. Oh yes…did I mention Treasure Cruise, a card that is so good it is already banned everywhere except Standard? I believe that fixing the mana better, using Polluted Delta, Mana Confluence, or similar, then this deck might be really good as it is. You might trade up to four copies of Hero’s downfall, but Murderous Cut is really good. And you have a backup win condition, Scuttling Doom Engine! You could modify it by adding Taisigur or Sidisi…I’m not sure Herald of Torment is the best choice here, as it usually won’t do anything but hurt you.
The “Profit” deck
There is no blue in this deck, so we could call it “Galgari.” What “Profit” tries to do is use the “constellation” mechanic. For me, historically, this has been weak sauce. Eidolon of Blossoms is really … so-so. And it is a good case study for most of Constellation. For four mana, you get a 2/2 with a card draw ability triggering when it enters the battlefield and whenever another enchantment enters the battlefield. Maybe I’m just dumb, but the trigger doesn’t go off if your spell gets canceled, and that is exactly usually what happens. (sadness). If not, the Eidolon just gets murdered before you can trigger constellation and draw a second time. (more sadness). But I really like the other thing this deck does…It keeps cards in the graveyard for more power. Nighthowler is a key card here, and there should be more of them in this deck. (I suppose they didn’t want to add TOO MANY RARES.) But you get Nemesis of Mortals, who is a big guy for cheap with more stuff in the graveyard. The deck has a few spiders to catch those flyers in the other deck, including one of my personal favorites, Nyx Weaver. Dark Betrayal is no good against opponents who are not playing black creatures…Not a problem when clashing against “Power,” but no good except for side boarding in tournaments. This deck tries to have more life gain. The Courser of Kruphix is ALWAYS a good card. The Whip of Erebos as well, and this is a card where a one-of is welcomed. Finally, the Wizards must have their eye on the meta-game…Doomwake Giant is a currently good card against Jeskai “prowess” decks and Blue-White “heroic” decks.
The Matchup
The decks are fun to play against each other. That’s why the clash pack is a great product. It combines the fun of the Dual Deck, with the collection builder of an Intro deck, and the ambition of an event deck. The Wizards pitted two graveyard philosophies against one another, with tremendous success. The flying killers of Power verses the giant graveyard lovers of Profit.
The Mixup
The promotional insert provides a suggested deck. I don’t think it is as good as it could be. For one thing, it splashes the blue for the Sultai cards, but the designers decided to mana-fix with Jungle Hollow instead of Dismal Backwater. That seems a little wrong to me. Thankfully they opted for only two Opulent Palace, which has been the correct choice for the current Standard environment. I think Herald of Torment just doesn’t fit this deck. It would be better with another Hero’s Downfall, or maybe Nighthowler. I even think a fourth copy of Nyx Weaver would be better if the purpose of the Herald of Torment was to provide evasion on turn three. I will even go as far to say that Sultai Scavenger is a better, probably cheaper flyer. The Herald needs to bestow on something with Heroic to be worthwhile.
Just the same, I think it is great that the Wizards are encouraging people to mix the decks. If all you had were these 120 cards in your collection, then you have some good tools to really get going in making your preferred “Delve” or “Dredge” deck. And the experience can even be educational, as your tournament opponent drops “Polluted Delta” on the battlefield, turn one, and you have played “Dismal Backwater.” The opponent gets to Thoughtsieze that Necropolis Fiend right out of your hand on turn one, while you cry because your land … couldn’t ..even …do ………anything.
(Maybe that was a little too mean…)
SpartanNerd’s Rating of Magic the Gathering Fate Reforged Clash Pack “Power vs. Profit”
I am going to examine the merits of the product first.
You get 120 cards, with lots of rares, and six special art promo cards. The promotional material is pretty good, and it includes the guide for new players. You also get a reasonably good box with a divider, if the latch is one of those weak ones that I detest.
But that doesn’t do enough to knock off a point. SO the actual product gets 5/5.
Next I will examine each deck on its strong and weak points.
“Power” leans on the graveyard for Delve costs, and hopes to drop Necropolis Fiend on the battlefield early, and control the opponent with even more delve. It has a backup strategy of Scuttling Doom Engine. This deck is more of a control deck, featuring two Murderous Cuts and cancel-type spells. Of the two, I like it the best, but I am taking off a point because the Mana-fixing is slow, and Herald of Torment sucks. It gets 4/5.
“Profit” leans on the graveyard as a way of boosting creature power and toughness, and also leans on Constellation. Constellation works great against the Power deck, but not in the current metagame for tournaments. This is more of an aggro” deck, with the aim of getting Nighthowler bestowed onto something and beat you down with that suddenly huge creature, or getting Nemesis of Mortals out and activating Monstrosity sooner than you normally should. Most of the creatures help load the graveyard and trigger constellation if you are lucky. One of the best inclusions is Doomwake Giant, who is hot in the meta-game against Prowess decks. This deck gets 3/5.
And the experience as a whole this time gets a score.
This clash pack stands a head taller than any of the last three Event Decks I purchased. It was five more dollars, but worth every bit of it. I am going to give this part a 4/5, because it could have been a weak offering just as easily.
As if the SpartanNerd’s ratings really meant anything out there in the Blogosohere. It seems I am giving the Fate Regorged Clash Pack a 4/5. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!
Fate Reforged, the second set in the Kahns of Tarkir block in Magic the Gathering, comes out this Friday,(1/23/2015) So naturally the Pre-Release was the weekend prior. How did it go for me? Read on, oh Hub City Geeks!
I decided to skip out on the midnight event at the Tangled Web in Spartanburg, SC. I have played in those kinds of events a few times, and figure I am just too old. My driving isn’t good at night, and my card playing isn’t either. At about 3:00, my brain feels like it’s going to melt. So I figured I would do better at the 1:00 tournament the next afternoon. (Incidently, the Tangled Web also had a Sunday tournament, but I skipped that one on account of church and some other business. Ah…Life.)
As in every Pre-Release I’ve been to outside of the core sets, I was handed a box with my materials for building a sealed deck. The box contained some promotional materials, a “Sultai” button. (Sultai was the color combination I chose. Blue, Black, and Green.) A life counter, four Fate Reforged booster packs, one Kahns of Tarkir booster pack, and a “seeded” pack meant to weigh the color choices towards Sultai. All this for $25 is a pretty good deal…basically six packs, and a counter, plus the entry fee. The box has long been in the trash…usually these are flimsy and useless.
But I do have pictures of the best cards of the night, and some commentary Here are the rares from Fate Reforged. (Destructor dragon is uncommon…sorry!)
And I got these two cards from Khans of Tarkir. What actually happened was that the Polluted Delta was packed in one of the Fate Reforged boosters instead of a basic land or a gain land. The wizards said that a lucky few would get a fetch land, I guess I am one of them!
And then the other significant cards…
I decided to keep my colors as Sultai, so any rare red or white cards were useless. Kind of a shame, really. Flamewake Phoenix would surely be a star in sealed deck.
I decided that in my main deck I wouldn’t play Tasigar, the Golden Fang. I probably made a mistake in that…I played him some in other decks since this tournament, and if you Delve him in, you have a fatty for only one swamp. His other ability is fun, but because the opponent gets to choose the card from the graveyard to go to your hand, there is an element of stupidity, and I think this is what threw me off of this card for this particular event. I decided to go with Archfiend of Depravity as my bomb instead.
Below are some cards with battle stories!
Sandsteppe Mastadon…the fatty of fatties. He has maybe the best war story of all from this tournament. Me and my opponent had full board states, with my side slightly better. Instead of combat, he casted a sweeper, “End Hostilities.” All creatures, bam. Gone. Leaving me with six lands. And his lands were all tapped. I only had this card in hand. I smiled as I drew a forest, and GG! (I had a 10/10 elephant as a response to that sweeper!) Moments like this keep you playing Magic.
This guy was pretty reliable. But because this is sealed deck, the only non creature permanents to destroy were generally lands.
The bomb of this deck, Archfiend of Depravity, was pretty good. He’s a big flyer with non-targeted removal. Unfortunately, usually the opponent didn’t have but two creatures on the battlefield. If I was going to fire someone, it would be Sultai Skullkeeper, who causes you to mill two cards when he enters the battlefield. Guess who got milled more than twice during the tournament…(this big demon, that’s who.)
And one more honorable mention…sorry, no big photo. You’ll have to look at the collage above. Archers of Qarsi. 5/2 with defender and reach. These guys were just good deterrent. So many people were playing big flyers…the dragons, Wingate Roc, etc. The archers caused them to hold off. Which let me find time to get out my bombs.
SO HOW DID THE SPARTANNERD DO WITH THIS LIMITED POOL OF CARDS?
So how did I do? At the conclusion of round five I had two wins and THREE DRAWS… Basically, me and a slew of people were all tied after the fifth round, according to the standings. So all of us were destined for ninth place or worse, and the top eight were locked in. Sadness! I gave a half hearted effort and called it a day after losing round six.
I didn’t get an Ugin. But if I had, I doubt I would have been able to play him. He would have broken up the creature stalls I suppose. (I didn’t see an Ugin all day. Is he real?)
SPARTANNERD’S RATING
I am glad to see dragons in Magic finally. There have been an odd few every now and then, but they haven’t been a focus so much since I began playing. The experience of the sealed deck box is OK. The box leaves a lot to be desired. The seeded pack did its job, but I probably could have gone red-white/ splashing black with my card pool and ignored Sultai. (I chose Sultai because I thought the cards were stronger, when looking at the gallery on the Magic website.)
Still, I think this is a weak set. Maybe even weaker than Born of the Gods from last year. The dragons are nice, but the uncommon ones are take-it-or-leave-it. I only saw one rare dragon all night. He was no chump, but he steered clear of TWO archers. A weak set that is designed to shake up the Standard environment. At the Tangled Web, Jeskai is the deck to beat. There may be more diversity ahead. I have found places for a few of my cards in other decks already, including Tasigur.
I’m a little underwhelmed. But not too much. So I’m going to give the set based on my pre-release experience a 3/5. I have read very little in the way of spoilers, and haven’t played the new Standard yet. We’ll see if I’m wrong…
spartannerd 