Gyre Sage seems like a pretty easy slam. I'm sad to see some of the various Boros cards go, and the Simic Charm should be snapped up quickly too. Hopefully we can pass a signal with the low amount of green cards in this pack.

My Vote: Gyre Sage

-BuLLZ3Y3

Gyre Sage.

Solid pack. I'm a big fan of mana ramp in this format, and if we go Gruul, he could get nice and big. With some luck, pit fight could wheel.

My vote goes to Gyre Sage, even though i'm not a huge fan of Simic, this card is a pretty solid option for Gruul. You have some awesome Boros cards in there, but with how fast Boros tends to go in Draft, you probably won't be able to pick up a very solid Boros deck.

With how easy it is to evolve and with some extra mana, my vote goes to

Gyre Sage

I felt a little torn between Wojek Halberdiers and Gyre Sage, but Gyre Sage's single color gives a few options as far as where to go with the rest, and mana ramp is always good.

My Vote: Gyre Sage

Agoraphobia works incredibly well with Extort. My vote, Agoraphobia.

I would pick Sunhome Guildmage

Cheap aggro Boros that can buff the rest of the cretures you pick ? yes thank you

the 2 most powerful cards are Sunhome Guildmage and Gyre Sage followed by Simic Charm and Wojek Halberdiers I think all of these are first pick quality, its a bit awkward that they are all in the same 2 guilds(ish) allthough I would splash the guildmage in orhoz or gruel almost every time, however the gyre sage is one colour and a 2 mana 2/3 is solid, a 2 mana 3/4 is getting bonkers and there are alot of very good 7 drops in this format witch is the tipping point between the two.

although its very close I think Gyre Sage

I narrowed it down to Sunhome Guildmage and Gyre Sage , but with boros being the most popular draft option, I think you can easily go simic/ gruul so my choice is Gyre Sage You might even be able to snag a Pit Fight or Act of Treason or even Scorchwalker when the pack comes back around.

My vote is with Sunhome Guildmage

Gyre Sage is the most reasonable choice here since it leaves open the most options.

I am torn between Sunhome Guildmage and Simic Charm .

Sunhome Guildmage : Just because it is a great card and there will probably wheel something worth playing.

Simic Charm : It's just always going to be useful, simic will be a great option with this and the sleeper card Agoraphobia will probably wheel.

I don't know why everyone likes Gyre Sage so much? Its just such a underwhelming card. It doesn't effectively ramp up to something consistently and you cant just start playing higher mana cost creatures cause then they'll just be stuck in your hand until you get Gyre Sage on the battlefield WITH a counter on it, requiring yet another creature. Definitely not first pick material.

My choice in Syndic of Tithes . While Gyre Sage may be a very good card in terms of potential, I feel that Extort is an extremely powerful mechanic in draft play. You can always get that minus one off your opponent and gather resources whenever you cast a spell along with the fact that it is a solid 2/2 that has an immediate effect where Gyre Sage needs build up. There really isn't any big card that can fully use the green mana that Sage provides and even then you need another monster to be put out so you can use the effect and get the power of Syndic, though if you do eventually get a ton of good monsters Gyre MIGHT get good.

Syndic of Tithes gives you a reliable 2/2 with a colorless, allowing for the flexibility that you need in a first pick. Gyre Sage requires follow-up to become useful which is not as consistent when playing draft.

I do agree with with Goldprint, In powerlevel I think: Sunhome Guildmage > Syndic of Tithes > Simic Charm > Gyre Sage . I wouldn't first pick syndic though, just because after all its just a bear with extort while the other is a guildmage and a very versatile combat trick/bounce..

..... also Syndic of Tithes is a common card, it might come around on the other picks anyways

Syndic of Tithes is a great 2e or 3e pick so it will definitely not come back. You can count on that.

Gyre Sage is, arguably, a high pick because it leaves you open for both Gruul and Simic. However, I would value Syndic of Tithes (who will NOT wheel unless everyone else at the table is horrible) and Sunhome Guildmage higher on it as far as raw power goes. Extort provides can provide the reach a Boros deck needs to close out a game while creating a body and Sunhome Guildmage can turn on Battalion for other creatures easily by making a token.

I wouldn't want to first pick Sunhome Guildmage since his color isn't very flexible and costs are pricy/aren't as immediate. Not particularly bad, just wouldn't want to restrain myself to the colors where I can play Syndic of Tithes and have the options to go Boros, Orzhov or Dimir-clan colors.I feel like Syndic of Tithes will allow for more options compared to the other cards where you get more restricted. The ability to also play from three different deck styles allows for flexibility in building for a draft which is crucial in all situations.

In other words, I would rather plan for the next pack than what is currently on the table. I feel that Syndic of Tithes would be the best bet.

Gyre Sage is awesome. I've had some sages get really big and stompy, and even with just a couple of counters she can enable big stuff like Gruul Ragebeast , primordials, and an actually-threatening Nimbus Swimmer .

Gyre Sage = bomb enabler that can stomp face herself.

I also really like the flexibility of keeping both Simic and Gruul on the table at this point. I do love Syndic of Tithes , but this Gyre Sage lady is cooool.

Boros guildmage is easily my pick. It's good for the early game and creates a mass of dudes in the late game. Gyre Sage is a pretty disappointing top deck where as when you are flooded out and you draw the guildmage, you just drew like three creatures. Sunhome Guildmage easily.

this pack is filled with boros and gruul cards, no matter what you pick the people you pass this to will still see strong boros/gruul options. I say the best choices are Simic Charm or Agoraphobia

these are the only two blue cards, and picking one pretty much cut blue out of the pack, putting you in a position of at least knowing what you are pushing the people to your left into. (the one black card in the pack isn't good enough to consider cutting black out of the pack)

now both the charm and the aura have pros and cons, I think it is safe to say the best bet is Simic Charm , it has flexibility in that all three modes are great options - most important of which is it can act as removal, but it would put you into two colors already. where as Agoraphobia might as well be removal in limited, reusable at that. It only pushes you into one color for now (a color our deck pilot wants to be in). I believe that someone pointed out, it is a great enabler for extort. I predict Agoraphobia has a good chance to come back around the table. Making my pick Simic Charm , hoping Agoraphobia comes back around

TLDR: Our deck pilot wants to have a control deck, there are only two options in this pack for blue both of which can act as removal, the stronger of which is Simic Charm

I would easily pick Syndic of Tithes . Every time.

It's mono-white leaving both Boros and Orzhov open, and has Extort, which is one of the strongest Limited mechanics ever.

Ever.

Orzhov and Boros are easily the most consistent guilds I've seen played in this format. Simic can curve out into shenanigans, but is extremely luck dependent to get its Evolve triggers working.

Also the pack is short on Black spells, so we may push others out of Black for pack 2 and get some solid removal out of it.

And to those who say it's just common, so we may yet see more, I say GOOD! Getting three or four Syndic of Tithes in our deck will win us some games.

I'd say Syndic of Tithes . It's a hard choice to be sure, but Sunhome Guildmage and Simic Charm are too limiting and Gyre Sage needs support to be good. Syndic of Tithes is just good, period. It will not come back, but you could get more, which would be awesome.

Alright, I'm a big fan of Simic, and I was really hoping Gyre Sage was better than people said, but having played one in the prerelease, I can say that it's not quite what it seems to be. My deck was Simic with a splash of Gruul, and while Gyre Sage allowed me to play multiple creatures a bit quicker, in Limited it's just not that useful and does not live up to its potential.

I went 3-1 in that prerelease. The deck I lost to in the final match was Orzhov. Extort really is very good in this format, so I vote for Syndic of Tithes .

A week ago I would have said Sunhome Guildmage, not close, but having played with Gyre Sage now (Sunhome's closest competitor) I'd say the pick is a LOT closer. Gyre Sage is the REAL DEAL. It will almost always evolve into a 2/3 the turn after you play it, and the extra mana it provides is one of the few ways to ramp in the format without durdling majorly (you really should not be spending crucial turns messing around with Keyrunes, Verdant Havens, or Urban Evolution if you can help it--much as I love Urban Evolution <3).

This said, Sunhome Guildmage is still one of the most bomby uncommons in the set, while Gyre Sage is merely a creature that will provide an extra mana, two occasionally. I am of the firm belief in this format that given the cards, until otherwise forced by circumstance, you should be taking Boros. It's probably the easiest deck to pull together enough playables for, and an actively good Boros deck is almost unbeatable, meaning it has both a high expected value of good results and one of the highest ceilings given the optimized scenario. On top of everything else, the pack is swimming with fine-to-good white and red cards, so we're all but guaranteed to wheel something.

The pick is Sunhome Guildmage.

Everyone saying that Simic Charm and Sunhome Guildmage are too limiting need to understand is that the first 3 picks don't decide what color you're in.I do agree that Syndic of Tithes is a close 3th but just because it leaves you more open it doesn't mean that its better. I would go for the Simic Charm instead of the Sunhome Guildmage just because I think Agoraphobia will come back. Gyre Sage isn't even close to the power of those 3.

Also, what TheBearShaker said.

This is a tough one - I would happily take Sunhome Guildmage , but with a Wojek Halberdiers , you could all to easily find yourself fighting your neighbour for boros playables, once pack two comes round, so you'd have to cut red and white pretty hard.

Boros at this point is the most powerful guild at this point, in my opinion, and I've found that if two boros players end up at the table, one will always have a much more consistent deck than the other, like for example; one player would end up having to splash into Grul's red. (That said, I'd be happy to spin Scorchwalker if I did pick the Guildmage first.)

Sunhome Guildmage , hands down. It sucks the pack is so red heavy, but that's probably the best guildmage anyway. Single card makes an army of dudes, truly a bomb.

I tend to stay away from colors in Gatecrash that aren't Black and White because that's where the removal is in the format (at common and uncommon). Options that keep us open and available to those colors are what should be preferred. I would vote that we play Naya out of pack one because most other drafters will be putting priority on picking up the removal spells in the format (which are heavily in black with tempo in blue).

On this philosophy I would go with the Sunhome Guildmage as his abilities are bonkers. We can expect a Syndic at some point later in the draft if we want a little bit of extort on our side of the field.

I would also caution TappedOut to not try and force anything, we need to carefully evaluate what comes in from seat 8 and think carefully about what we're passing to seat 2. Dime to Dollar states that Elaine will pick either Simic Charm , Agoraphobia , or Pit Fight ... though she might take Syndic of Tides if she has a good Esper or Naya card out of pack one.

My vote is for Sunhome Guildmage . It's a bomb that makes and/or pumps creatures. We'll still be able to splash black or green effectively if we see good cards.

I vote for the sage. It's just too good.

I would go with Sunhome Guildmage . Gyre Sage and Syndic of Tithes are both really strong if you get them out early, but kind of fail as a top deck late in the game. Sunhome Guildmage will always be good. Get him early and you've got a great start. Get him late and he's a great mana sink. He can give you time to stall and draw a bomb or can change the tide of the battle during a stalemate.

Sunhome Guildmage has my vote

I'd vote for Sunhome Guildmage for many of the reasons that mccracka stated.

I'd be happy to see him any time I pulled him. Gyre Sage requires some prep and help to get it into good or better status.

The pack has some pretty solid boros stuff, so I feel like even if you take Sunhome the next person will want to go Boros based on the available options.

My pick is Gyre Sage -- without it's ability, a 1/2 for 2 on the play against aggro isn't terrible, and if you play pretty much any creature, you'll be able to ramp for at least one -- if not more.

The 3 cards with the most votes are the best choices in the pack, so that's good.

Sunhome Guildmage , Gyre Sage , and Syndic of Tithes are all solid picks.

Unfortunately this is a pick that will be made solely out of biased experiences. People who like one of these three more than the other will pick it.

I think the two decks I'm usually looking to draft are W/R/g and W/B/r. Naya can get really fast and extort is absurd.

That's why my vote is for Syndic of Tithes . It's a corner stone in both W/R aggro and W/B extort.

Gyre Sage is definitely a powerful card, and has space in Simic or Gruul. However, Gruul has problems being sniped (Boros likes the cheap red spells/creatures/Bloodrush and Simic like the fat green creatures), and Simic has to curve out to be strong. Green in this format has trouble. That said, since it's the rare in the pack, any uncommons we send over are not automatic signals.

Simic Charm is a strong card, but I'd worry about Gyre Sage now being a signal.

Sunhome Guildmage is pretty bonkers, but really cements our color choices. Also, there are quite a few good cards for Boros in this pack (Syndic of Tithes , Pit Fight , Act of Treason , Wojek Halberdiers , Warmind Infantry ) such that we'll probably see another good one come back to us. It's going to be tough not to take this card.

Syndic of Tithes is good, but it has the same problems as Simic Charm . We're signalling with the Sunhome Guildmage , meaning that the potential color/archetype versatility of this mono-white creature is lost.

Considering that the 'Rogue' player is on our left, we want to be careful about the signals we send. Since A) it's a powerful card in its own right, B) gives us color/archetype versatility, and C) fits our player's tendencies better (Simic can be tricksy whereas Boros is pretty much directly in your face) I'd go with Gyre Sage .

I vote Act of Treason . Simply because finding a sacrifice outlet with enough ways to steal things means you're just sitting there and beating your opponent senseless... With their cards. Act of Treason is good in any deck ever, as long as it's playing (or splashing) red. I do also agree with Gyre Sage , simply because if we do manage one of the x-cost bombs, we will have all the mana to dump into it forever.

Gyre Sage has a thin lead over Sunhome Guildmage , with Syndic of Tithes behind that at some distance, with scattered votes for other options here and there.

What I am hearing, though, is that the people who are either in the Sunhome Guildmage or Syndic of Tithes camps think either of those two cards would be preferable to Gyre Sage .

So, Syndic of Tithes people, and also people who voted for any other card with lesser support, you should probably now decide on either Gyre Sage or Sunhome Guildmage ; it's coming down to those two..

I still think Syndic of Tithes is the superior choice, especially considering our pilot, but I suppose if I had to choose between Gyre Sage and Sunhome Guildmage , I'd have to pick Sunhome Guildmage . Boros is an amazing deck, strong and fast and surprisingly easy to draft since a lot of good cards are at common. A supportive card in this pack is fairly likely to come around, so it's seems like a good choice.

Gyre Sage by a hair.

It leaves you nice and flexible whereas the Guildmage will put you into a scramble for Boros cards.

If I HAD to choose something other than my earlier Syndic of Tithes choice, I would have to choose Gyre Sage with a grumble. Sunhome Guildmage is too restrictive and ability is too expensive compared to what Gyre Sage can potentially do.

Still think Syndic is better, Extort can be splashed in three 'guilds' of the pack and gather advantage slowly over time. Either way, if the majority say Gyre, just hope the next packs aren't bad with a Gyre Sage choice.

My pick is Sunhome Guildmage . I don't think Gyre Sage does enough to pick it. I don't think signaling is that big of a deal, it may hurt a tiny bit in pack 2 but otherwise we are fine. Sunhome Guildmage is by far the best card in the pack.

Sunhome Guildmage - guild mages just win games! You can't not take him here. Ramping doesn't just win games... guild mages do. Obvious choice.

Gyre Sage , you can probably table or pull from another pack the Agoraphobia , and Gyre Sage is flexible with further picks and play styles, (e.g. Gruul Ramp and/or simic Evolve). the Guildmage is not altogether good and is just dead weight with conflicting picks, and if it comes to drafting orzhov, a syndic will most likely pop up later

Gyre Sage at best you have green ramp for gruul or simic and almost anything you play can trigger the evolve here

Gyre sage, hopefully sending a good boros signal.

I would have to say Sunhome Guildmage . I have never played either card and some might view me as biased towards Boros but the guildmage like other people have said can break stalemates. Plus with the number of great commons/uncommons that are good boros cards, you can probably build a decent R/W or R/W/G deck (possible R/W/B). The sage gives you ramp but that is about it. You are mainly relying on big bombs with the sage. If no other packs have any X spells or big bombs then you have a creature that ramps for what, a few extra spells a turn (don't get me wrong, those can change to course of a game.) The reasons people are voting for the sage are reasons more geared towards the possibility of getting the right cards in the other packs. With the guildmage you are guaranteed to get other R or W cards that can work with it.

Sunhome Guildmage , the Syndic of Tithes won't wheel but it is common and you will see more of them if you move into black. In my experience thus far the most powerful combo of colors for this limited set is B/W/R. The mana is there for it. In those three colors you also have some of the better removal options.

I'm changing my vote from syndicate to Sunhome Guildmage

I'm inclined to support Sunhome Guildmage . It by itself gives options, which in my mind trumps Gyre Sage 's early game ramp potential. Plus, at this point of the draft, I feel we can risk taking something whose colors we may not ultimately go for.

Yup and at the bare minimum we're hate-drafting the Sunhome Guildmage from other players. The loss of Simic Charm possibilities does sadden me though :(

I've already voted, but I would like to add this:

Having done a lot of online drafting of this set so far, but none irl yet, I would say that Boros is almost never open. I have managed to draft it once. And even then it was split between two of us. Gruul and Simic have been the easiest/most open. That's been my experience. I would be disappointed to see us lose the sage here. It is the safer pick(useful with 1 counter, strong with 2), more versatile(2 guilds), and has great upward potential with 3 or more counters.

It sure is nice to have several good options though.

Sunhome Guildmage , primarily because I find taking a very useful common card pack 1 pick 1 to oft end up frustrating if you don't end up in those colours, whereas a bomb (and the guildmage is that) that can be splashed to be the better choice.The sage ends up as random evolve dude or unnecessary ramp every time. If you wanted a solid card with flexibility for the future, Syndic of Tithes is just better than Gyre Sage .

Gyre Sage

Tough one. I would take any of the three of the leading cards at this point. I'm backing Gyre Sage simply because I expect Boros to get overdrafted and the Sage is actually a good card against those decks. With a single counter on it, the sage can block many weenie attacks. Block with her, then tap to fuel combat tricks. Some opponents will fail to see that coming.

Some people might say if Gyre Sage ramps up big mana, its already big and 2 other not too shabby creatures have been played, so you should be winning by then anyways. Thats not exactly true, if you stay on curve the sage produces more mana each turn. t1->1 t2->2 t3->3+1 t4->4+2 t5->5+3 But thats a big if and no way in hell close to reliable. Also i personally dont really like the idea of tapping a 4/5 for 3 mana. In a drafted deck things this size should go stomp something. I would go with the Sunhome Guildmage . Either we luck out on the next picks and go full boros or we at least hatedrafted him. I would not want that thing in an enemy deck. We might even lure a neighbour into Boros with that pack and snitch out the good stuff from seat 8 and 7 for ourselves and have him waste a pick. You never know. If it goes sideways the first pick doesn't have to nail us down to a specific color combo.

I'll change from Syndic to Sunhome Guildmage then.

Gyre Sage is the slight favorite over Sunhome Guildmage . Moving along.

Some wise words from Lotex :)