[Community Discussion]: Official JOU Prerelease Discussion
Limited forum
Posted on April 25, 2014, 11:44 a.m. by Epochalyptik
In the interest of cutting down on the flood of prerelase posts (there are already too many), our next Community Discussion will serve as a collective posting grounds for prerelease theory, results, and questions.
What color(s) do you think are best positioned for prerelease? What will you be playing?
Here's an in-depth analysis courtesy of ChiefBell:
Bombs
I'm going to define a bomb as 4/4 on the ground or 3/3 in the air. The air requirement is lower because, as a trade off of having flying, the creatures are often weaker. Obviously flying creatures are also harder to block, and can therefore push through relatively more damage. There will be some flexibility with these due to first-strike etc.
White
Quarry Colossus: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/quarrycolossus.html
Quarry Colossus is of note because it also acts as semi removal. A 7-drop 5/6 that also tucks a creature below the top X cards is very effective.
Supply-Line Cranes: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/supplylinecranes.html
This places a +1/+1 counter on a target creature. Therefore this could be a 3/5 if you want. A 3/5 flier for 5 is fantastic, and at common rarity!
Skyspear Cavalry: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/skyspearcavalry.html
A 2/2 flier but has doublestrike. All for 5 mana. This card effectively hits for four, and can compete with most other things in the air.
Blue
Cloaked Siren: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/cloakedsiren.html
A 3/2 flier for 4 isn't bad. Topped off with flash which means it doesn't have to sit around for a whole turn with summoning sickness.
Godhunter Octopus: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/godhunteroctopus.html
A 6-drop 5/5 that can't attack unless the opponent controls an enchantment. Pretty large threat with a downside: however in this block it seems likely that the opponent is going to have at least 1 enchantment. At common rarity, this seems great.
Riptide Chimera: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/riptidechimera.html
3-drop 3/4 flier, that forces you to return an enchantment to your hand each turn. This could be fantastic if you have a good curve and a high saturation of enchantment creatures. However, the real downside is that its ability effectively forces you to keep up the tempo - as soon as it's on its own on the field, you'll have to return it to hand.
Crystalline Nautilus: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/crystallinenautilus.html
A 3-drop 4/4 that has to be sacrificed if its the target of a spell of ability. Has bestow for 5. This card seems really solid in limited. Extremely solid. Given that most people will be running creature orientated decks, with only a few combat tricks and bits of removal; the opportunity to remove this economically will be low. I think this could be a serious threat.
Whitewater Naiads: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/whitewaternaiads.html
A 5-drop 4/4 with constellation: target creature is unblockable. Wow. What a way to quickly end the game. This is such a bomb. If its not answered quickly you could steamroll a victory.
Black
Squelching Leeches: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/squelchingleeches.html
This card can potentially be infinitely large but doesn't do anything else especially interesting. Only use in a deck with a large amount of swamps.
Red
Gluttonous Cyclops: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/gluttonouscyclops.html
6-drop 5/4 with monstrosity 3 for 7.
Wildfire Cerberus: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/wildfirecerberus.html
5-drop 4/3 with monstrosity 1 for 7. When it becomes monstrous it deals 2 damage to each creature the opponent controls. This could be massive against white weenie or other weenies archetypes.
Cyclops of eternal fury: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/cyclopsofeternalfury.html
6-drop 5/3 that gives all your creatures haste. You would hope that by T7 the game is winding down slightly - but limited can often go on for a while. Giving all your creatures haste would be more useful at the beginning of the game, rather than at the end. This creature has a lackluster defense considering its mana cost.
Green
Goldenhide Ox: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/goldenhideox.html
6-drop 5/4 with constellation: target creature must be blocked. Slightly low defense considering its ability and cost, however has the potential to end games very quickly if unanswered.
Humbler of Mortals: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/humblerofmortals.html
Wow. What a 6-drop. 5/5 body with constellation: all your creatures gain trample until EOT. This is definitely a potential game-ender.
Nessian Game Warden: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/nessiangamewarden.html
A 5-drop 4/5 that also allows you to put a creature card into hand from among the top cards of your library. This card is amazing. Large attack, decent toughness (for its cost) and grants some degree of card draw is extremely important.
Pheres-Band Thunderhoof: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/pheresbandthunderhoof.html
A 5-drop 3/4 with heroic: place 2 +1/+1 counters. This could get very scary in the right deck.
Swarmborn Giant: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/swarmborngiant.html
A 4-drop 6/6 that is sacrificed if you're dealt damage. Effective against midrange strategies but probably not aggro or against evasive decks. I'm not sure if the risk is worth it - but it could be a big player.
Winner: Green wins with some creatures that are very efficiently costed and some with fantastic abilities. Something in me is saying that blue and white come second. I like the look of white fliers. However blue evasion could also be a thing.
Removal
White
Oppressive Rays: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/oppressiverays.html
Sort of like a conditional version of Arrest . For 1 mana, this is very good.
Leonin Iconclast: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/leoniniconoclast.html
4 drop with heroic: destroy target enchantment. Obviously won't work on everything and has to be in the right deck - but this could be devastating, if you can reliably activate.
Reprisal: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/reprisal.html
Amazing removal at uncommon rarity. It's going to specifically target all those nasty cards. However - smaller evasive creatures will get around it.
Quarry Colossus: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/quarrycolossus.html
Already discussed. Has a tuck ability.
Banishing Light: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/banishinglight.html
Oh hey! Oblivion Ring . This is fantastic removal - but be aware that this set packs A LOT of enchantment hatred. You may find your Banishing Light being removed.
Armament of Nyx: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/armamentofnyx.html
ANOTHER white removal spell that could be used to end certain creatures. A lot of the big bombs aren't enchantments (although a fair amount are), so this is quite usable.
Blue
Countermand: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/countermand.html
A 4-drop counterspell. Sort of lackluster.
Hubris: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/hubris.html
A strong tempo play, but not definitive removal
Pin to the Earth: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/pintotheearth.html
Not definitive removal but should stop most things in their tracks.
Triton Cavalry: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/tritoncavalry.html
4 drop with heroic: return enchantment to owners hand. A long winded way to remove things, isn't definitive (only a tempo play). I would much rather be playing the Leonin Iconclast.
Black
Feast of Dreams: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/feastofdreams.html
Your classic black removal spell for 2 mana. Solid killspell with a small downside (only enchantment creatures or enchanted creatures)
Nightmarish End: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/nightmarishend.html
With very few ways of filling your hand in limited, I'm not convinced that this will be effective.
Nyx Infusion: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/nyxinfusion.html
I'm not convinced by this. It's a very weak play to use this as removal, but at least it has the option.
Spiteful Blow: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/spitefulblow.html
6 mana for a card that removes land and a creature. Pretty fantastic but probably too slow to use purely as creature removal.
Brain Maggot: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/brainmaggot.html
Sort of proactive removal. Be aware that when it dies, the card comes back. It's an interesting option.
Red
Knowledge and Power: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/knowledgeandpower.html
Very expensive given how conditional it is and how little it will do to kill creatures. Probably not the best for limited.
Magma Spray: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/magmaspray.html
Really useful card, but won't help kill those large bombs.
Starfall: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/starfall.html
Far too expensive for how conditional it is. 5 mana for 3 damage to a creature. However it could be a quick way to get 3 damage done directly to the opponent.
Riddle of Lightning: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/riddleoflightning.html
5-mana spell that potentially does a large amount of damage to a creature or player, but depends on how your deck is constructed. This seems good though, given that it has scry 3.
Spite of Mogis: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/spiteofmogis.html
In a dedicated burn deck this card is ridiculous AND it has scry1. However, it only hits creatures. Maybe playable in limited though - yo ucould find yourself doing 3 damage for 1 mana.
Green
Consign to Dust: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/consigntodust.html
Will hit a large amount of creatures as well. Seems useful and fairly costed, although probably not good enough to completely rely on.
Desecration Plague: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/desecrationplague.html
Again, seems useful but too conditional and too expensive to rely on as creature removal.
Winner: White is doing extremely well with removal that specifically targets the things you need to kill most. I'm surprised that black is somewhat weak here.
Evasion
We've already discussed more fliers - this will round up the rest, and some unblockables.
White
Eagle of the watch: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/eagleofthewatch.html
3-drop 2/1 with flying and vigilance. Very good for a common. This is probably playable.
Blue
Triton Shorestalker: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/tritonshorestalker.html
1-drop 1/1 that can't be blocked. Not useful. In the right deck though - wicked.
War-wing Siren: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/warwingsiren.html
3-drop 1/3 with flying and heroic: place a +1/+1 counter. Pretty rubbish most of the time, but in the right deck is pretty great.
Black
None
Red
Akroan Line Breaker: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/akroanlinebreaker.html
A very solid heroic ability that could definitely break stalemates.
Bladetusk Boar: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/bladetuskboar.html
This is a pretty good card. A card with some degree of evasion that can dish out 3 damage per turn. However, has weak defence. A little scary, but not a lot.
Green
None
Winner: White has the most playable evasive creature that isn't a bomb. Blue has some interesting options as well.
Any others?
White
Watch Akroan Mastiff (http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/akroanmastiff.html) as a potential annoyance that could severely slow down the opponent or even prevent a creature from blocking before combat. This card could potentially be played.
Tethmos High Priest (http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/tethmoshighpriest.html) and Launch The Fleet (http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/launchthefleet.html) both fit into aggro decks AND have synergy together. Some beautiful things could happen here.
Blue
Hour of Need (http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/hourofneed.html) is a definite bomb and finisher card to watch out for. If you have a semi-developed board state you're going to be swinging for some very high multiple of 4. Scary.
Interpret the Signs (http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/hourofneed.html) and Sigiled Starfish (http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/sigiledstarfish.html) help with drawing and just making sure you get what you need. This could be very useful in longer games where you want to play threats reliably. Card draw and draw fixing are often overlooked by newer players but can easily change a game. I would consider both if I had space in my deck.
Black
I don't see anything that really interest me.
Red
Blinding Flare (http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/blindingflare.html) is a card that could end a game very fast if you have a good board state. I would beware of this. Such a cheap cost to potentially end the game.
Green
Solidarity of Heroes (http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/solidarityofheroes.html) has the potential to make a creature massive. In a heroic deck it could be very silly, and cause big, big problems.
Closing thoughts - I think white looks really strong. A lot of fliers, a decent amount of removal. There's a similar story for blue. I would normally play black but the removal in black (in my opinion) is actually worse than white in this set, AND white gives you all the great creatures. I think white is therefore a very big contender here. Green as usual has great access to the largest creatures and some with very interesting abilities but not much besides. It will again be a large threat but requires time to set up. Against the right aggro / evasive deck it won't stand a chance. Lastly, red. Red feels a bit shafted here. Some burn spells that are amazing, but thrive more in a constructed format than limited (Spite of Mogis), and lacks a vast majority of quick hasty things. I'm not overly impressed - although it does have some stellar examples of creatures that could be scary.
Thoughts?
I usually draft with Black in THS/BNG, and I'm hoping to get some White stuff. I did very well with a Wb Control build last prere.
April 25, 2014 1:38 p.m.
I'd already started a discussion about this here: Journey Into Nyx Pre-Release Plan
April 25, 2014 2:16 p.m.
I was hoping that the massive thread I made would stop the influx but apparently not.
April 25, 2014 2:17 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
@ChiefBell: I could feature your post instead if you like.
You see the problem, though. People post new threads before they think to read the old ones. I was hoping to use an "official" thread to prevent further ones from being posted.
April 25, 2014 2:45 p.m.
You could but I made a formatting error and some mistakes, so I'm not so bothered.
I accidentally mentioned a rare after I said that I wouldn't. That blue siren that has a bestow ability that allows it to Mind Control . If I hadn't have accidentally mentioned that then it would have been pretty good :(
April 25, 2014 2:47 p.m.
Cheifbell thread has some momentum already even if not much, either way I'm not bothere. Got Blue Reserved for morning, white reserved for evening. Black tempts me though, as does green for promo alone. I think white/x has best set up however.
April 25, 2014 2:57 p.m.
Yeh if you take out the bit about that blue rare.... hypnotic siren i think it is then it would be pretty good to feature. I also added a another card that I forgot in my first comment. If you just copy and paste that in somewhere then it's all good to go. Thanks Epochalyptik
April 25, 2014 3:44 p.m.
Not sure where to post, but I'll post here for now...
Anyway, I'm going to play blue just as I always do. Plus, last time I went blue, I went 4-0 for my first time.
That is if I go (I'm not sure if I can).
Epochalyptik: On Sunday, you should make a new CD: "How did your prerelease go." That will stop an influx of threads. Or maybe you should do it Saturday to stop em' all.
April 25, 2014 3:48 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #14
@Matsi883: The idea is to end all of the theory threads and preempt the results threads at the same time.
@ChiefBell: I can copy and paste your original post into this thread's original post (after some mucking about in the admin panel, I figured out how to edit threads in that way). That way, we can keep the CD tag and have all of the information visible.
Alternatively, I can delete this post and feature yours.
What do you think?
April 25, 2014 4:32 p.m.
I'm thinking of trying some kind of W/B flyers/heroic/lifelink thing. W and B both have lots of removal, so controlling via destroy and exile effects then swinging with flying lifelinkers seems like a good plan.
April 25, 2014 4:33 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #17
@ChiefBell: Appended. If you want me to modify the content, let me know.
April 25, 2014 4:40 p.m.
I see where you define what goes into the thread. I like it.
Also, can you edit ChiefBell's analysis to include card links, now that they are all in the DB?
April 25, 2014 4:46 p.m.
Some edits -
Delete:
Hypnotic Siren: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/hypnoticsiren.html
1-drop 1/1 flier with a bestow ability that allows you to steal your opponents things. This is way more playable than the Shorestalker in MOST decks, just because it has more versatility. Not a large threat most of the time though - best avoided unless definitely needed.
(The reason being that I didn't want to assess rares)
Add to white removal:
Armament of Nyx: http://mythicspoiler.com/nyx/cards/armamentofnyx.html
ANOTHER white removal spell that could be used to end certain creatures. A lot of the big bombs aren't enchantments (although a fair amount are), so this is quite usable.
Many thanks
April 25, 2014 5:18 p.m.
Some general comments about this set -
The first thing to note is that black actually lacks quality removal at the common and uncommon level, and I will therefore being avoiding this colour in the pre-release. I think that black has a large amount of high quality rares but a low number of high quality commons and uncommons.
Surprisingly blue has a few semi-removal cards which it's packing at common level which should come in very handy. It also features some magnificent bombs and evasive creatures. A similar picture is presented by white.
Green in this set gives some great creatures, some with interesting abilities but really lacks utility. I would be hesitant to run this colour without backup from white or blue for removal. I always enjoy playing green but I find that in limited, the high tempo weenie decks can often steamroll you - which is exactly what happened to me in the Theros prerelease.
Finally, I feel like red is a bit peculiar this set. Great cards in constructed but not so fantastic in limited. A hint of intimidate is surely useful but the overarching theme is lackluster with a large amount of enchantments and weak removal.
April 25, 2014 5:24 p.m.
With black having Gary as a common though, you can just splerge the board and win that way.
April 25, 2014 6:14 p.m.
Ultimaodin says... #23
Midnight release and I once more opened a pool of no Mythics. :(
So playing an average green blue deck (drew 1, won 2 and lost 1) This is what I learned from my own deck
First of Fleetfeather Cockatrice was the best card in my deck. This think is beastly good. Straight out slam pick this one.
I had no removal and the closest thing I had was Pin to the Earth ,still shuts down a lot of creatures.
Eidolon of Blossoms - second best card in my pool. Card advatage is always good, helps hit lands and more creatures. Solid.
Satyr Grovedancer - Awesome! Often that 1 counter can make a significant difference and is just fun. All round it can be either a 2/2 for 2 or it can be a 1/1 chump blocker that gives a nice little pump to your evasion guys to help hit leathal quicker.
Oakheart Dryads - With enough cards to trigger Constellation this card does a fair bit of work.
Humbler of Mortals - this guy works a treat with the green promo.
Aerial Formation - I used this to save my creatures from removal more often than I used it as a trick for more damage. Most removal seems to come in the form of deal x or neg x.
Ravenous Leucrocota - Found this guy somewhat unimpressive. Moving counters onto him through Grove master was cool but most of the time other cards just stomped him. His Monstrosity justsimply costs too much, by the time you can trigger it you probably have something better to do
Goldenhide Ox - Again, unimpressed. Maybe if I had some death touchers (other than Fleetfeather) I'd have liked this guy.
Triton Shorestalker - Solid common, which I had some bestow creatures to voltron it. (only had one Hopeless Eidolon in my entire pool and I wasn't playing white. Bad pool was bad)
Desecration Plague - Do not underestimate this card, with that blue promo card - taking down an enemy island can be freaking sweet.
Renowned Weaver - Used this more for constellation Triggering. Solid one drop common.
Font of Fertility - Playing green, play this!
Godhunter Octopus - Stupid 6 mana wall most the time. Good for blocking, not much else. If I had better cards to play I'd not have played this.
Armory of Iroas - Sure, throw it on a flier or shore stalker I though. Most the time this card was a dead draw or way too slow. Terrible card, like an ordeal without any cool reward. Not worth it at all.
Heroes' Bane - Not much to say, green promo is green.
Cards I versed:
Sigiled Starfish - This card is stupid good. The game I outright lost was to a guy playing 2 of these. this thing is just advantage galore. If you can't remove it you're going to be in for a hard time as I was.
HUBRIS - I would have loved a few of these myself... or you know, any form of removal. Most the time it didn't hit me too hard but still pretty solid.
Eidolon of the Great Revel - This card is pure psychological mind screw. It makes you question if you want to cast your spells with low enough CMC to get burned while red players don't care - they just keep swinging regardless.
Feast of Dreams - Solid removal - the draw back is once an opponent has seen it, it's easy to play around.
Scourge of Fleets - I got wrecked by this card. Yes it's 7 mana. In a half control shell, this card just wins games.
Pharika's Chosen - a 1/1 deathtouch, obviously good.
King Macar, the Gold-Cursed -What a pain this guy is in limited sealed.
Doomwake Giant - I like this guy for constructed... Limited though, he isn't that great. Would work better in multiples.
Hypnotic Siren - Not impressed, at 7mana - why not just play the blue promo. Honestly not the best card.
Flurry of Horns - Damn did I miss the fact the minotaurs had HASTE. This card is a crazy good uncommon when coupled with any form of Minotaur buff.
April 25, 2014 7:19 p.m.
How did you find Pin to the Earth ?
Im planning on drafting it as removal.
April 25, 2014 7:23 p.m.
Ultimaodin says... #25
Pretty good verse aggro. Vs anything mid range or late game it's a dead card. Nessian Asp can still block all day everyday.
April 25, 2014 7:35 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #26
Thanks for the info Ultimaodin. Did you have any notable cards not G/U in your pool?
April 25, 2014 7:36 p.m.
Ultimaodin says... #27
Eidolon of Rhetoric - I Wanted to splash white for this card so bad.
My pool was petty spread out and while the cards I had in white were great for the most part, I had 5 playables in the colour. The others were just bad. Red pool looked mostly dreadful and black looked meh. With most removal being situational, it did not look worth it.
April 25, 2014 7:53 p.m.
My plan (which probably wont happen) is to use pin to earth with WU fliers it's hard for them to block anyway. This block as a whole has done stupid things for white.
April 26, 2014 3:08 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #29
I opened 2x Gray Merchant of Asphodel and 1x Whip of Erebos . I actually did not play black.
April 26, 2014 7:24 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #31
Black was to shallow and had maybe 6 playable cards. Played a hyper aggressive R/W deck for 2 rounds and went 1-1. I then splashed blue for 5 cards and it was a significant upgrade. I had Temple of Epiphany and Temple of Enlightenment so it was a very painless splash. I went 1-1 with this deck and 2-2 overall. Both of my losses were suffered at the hands of the white promo even while dealing 30+ damage in those games, it is very good. I'll post my decklist when I wake up.
April 26, 2014 7:47 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #34
Gods luck. Passed out typing last night.
JOU Pre-Release R/W/u Heros Playtest
Pre-release*
SCORE: 1 | 0 COMMENTS | 6 VIEWSApril 26, 2014 1:23 p.m.
Me and my girlfriend played in the 2HG pre release. She went selesnya which revolved around white removal and stalling creatures with green 6 drops. I went azorius and had early game stall with midrange blue fliers that peaked around T4. We went 2-2 which was ok. My packs didn't support an aggro shell and neither did my girlfriends but midrange worked for us.
April 26, 2014 5:47 p.m.
Ultimaodin says... #36
Second Pool -
Again ended up with Simic with removal in the forms of two Hubris and a Pin to the Earth. Still pretty decent. Overall the deck looked pretty damn good. I won my first game 2-0 with ease, the next three games not so much. My pool this time had 5 heroic guys including Centaur Battlemaster and Pheres-Band Thunderhoof for the late game with a tonne of combat tricks including Setessan Tactics . My early game was 2 Sedge Scorpion s Triton Shorestalker and a couple fillers like Satyr Grovedancer I also had Font of Fertility and Divination to make certain I get my lands for late game since I ran what I thought was a MEAGER 16. I also had Bassara Tower Archer to hopefully put all my Feral Invocation on that or the Agent of Horizons . Par the promo hydra my only rare in the deck was Setessan Tactics
First Game was up against Green White Combat tricks. He tried to shut me down with cards like Oppressive Rays . He also had sedge scorpions and his own Setessan Tactics. Moment of the battle had to be when I Setessan Tactics in response to Setessan Tactics to stop his sedge fightingmy big guy and instead having my Oppressed Swordwise Centaur to fight the sedge instead and have my two bigger guys(one being heroic) to eat the other guys.
Second Game was once more white green and I went into this feeling confident.... until land flood and an opponent Polukranos stomped me into the ground while the pesky Akroan Mastiff kept my creatures on lock down. second match I swung in easy.Third match went heavy in his favour as I once more got mana flooded and he again had Polukranos (that I'd sided a second pin in but didn't see either for) and got shut down again by the annoying dog. lost 1-2
Third Game was verse black White enchantments. First match was all once more, mana flood. I swear 23spells 17land is the standard for sealed. What is with this. I shuffled my deck pretty hard and angry here, third game to be done in by screw. Second match went a bit better, better but got drained out by his two
Grim Guardian
and Underworld Coinsmith
. Didn't draw either of my 2 Desecration Plague I'd sided in and with no way to hard remove them I lost pretty hard, especially when he dropped a top decked Mogis's Marauder
to swing leathal at my face.
Fourth Game - I don't even remember this game. I remember being mana swamped both games and not having fun in anyway. I scooped the first match when I had 12 land on the field, two in hand and top decked another.... with half my deck still to be untouched. So much shuffling here. Second match... went exactly the same, Even drew a Divination and cast it to add 2 more land to my hand which at that point became a 7 land hand. Scooped again and just sat there pissed off and tired. Mainly pissed off though. My deck wasn't even that bad but mana flood every freaking game sucked.
Third Pool -
Went red blue with zero removal besides the really expensive and bad Rage of Purphoros only other 2 removal I had in my entire pool was Feast of Dreams (not my colours) and Spite of Mogis but with 5 other instance/sorceries,,, not worth it. Instead I tried to be the aggro evasion deck with 2 Triton Shorestalker , Satyr Hoplite Sigiled Skink Deathbellow Raider and a scryfish and Omenspeaker to help hit what I wanted. Had some nice cantrip cards in the form of Stratus Walk for evasion and Dragon Mantle for pumping. Mid game I had 2 Bladetusk Boar (how many red would I possibly run into) Wavecrash Triton to lock down my opponents and swing in. My 'finishers' were 2 Stormchaser Chimera Ill-Tempered Cyclops Cloaked Siren and the mega expensive Spawn of Thraxes . My rares both noticeable were Bident of Thassa and Harness by Force . Thassa works well with swinging in and Harness also works well for swinging in. The rest of my rares were disgusting bad in the pool. (also different colours)
First Match - I mulligan a hand of three island and three red creatures. Draw a hand of two mountain an island but had the bad rage, Ill-tempered Cyclops and a Bladetusk. All 4 drops. That's cool, I draw a land I'm fine, ifI draw a small creature I'm fine. The open with red (bugger) and pass (maybe they're going to be as slow as me), top decked... the dragon... damn. The play a swamp, out comes their own Deathbellow. I draw... Bident of Thassa. REALLY!? pass with three open mana and no plays. They play Ragemonger . I draw... a mountain, cast the cyclops and pass. They play Kragma Warcaller , living the dream... from there on it's just them beating me down.
Second Match I sideout the 2 Bladetusk Boars for Peak Eruption and Nullify . I win thice with turn 3 Peak Eruption Being able to cast my 2 Stormchaser and start using it to scry and swing.
Third Match, kept a hand with a mountain, an Island, Bident, Deathbellow, Aerial Formation and Triton Tactics . Seems good right.Turn 1 I drop a mountain and pass, they drop a mountain and pass. I draw Cyclops, play Island and then drop deathbellow. They play a mountain and drop a skink. turn 3 I draw the damn dragon again. swing and pass with tactics mana up. The play a third land, not good and swing and scry a card to the bottom. I tactics and block. They play, another skink. Turn 4 I draw, Stormchaser.... not good. attack (deathbellow I wish I could block with you) They play a land and their own deathbellow and swing and scry. Turn 5 I draw a land and slam it, still can't cast any 4 drops though. Deathbellow swings into their deathbellow and nothing happens. They play Kragma Warcaller. great.... I draw Cloaked Siren REALLY DECK!? Yeah this game goes to mana screw. This deck is also 16 land, I don't understand.
Game 2 - Versing what is once more a red deck. Red Green. I decided to remove the dragon from my deck for a Fearsome Temper.
Match 1 - MANA FLOOD. I open with a hand of two Mountain and two island and skink and a cyclops. I think I was still just angry of how the day was going and decided to keep because damn I could actually play a spell. Plus I'm on the draw. He plays a mountain followed by a Satyr Hoplite. I draw... land. Throw down the skink and pass. They drop another mountain and play Deathbellow (these guys are everywhere). He passes. I draw.... land. Swing with skink (I need the scry) I see... land and bottom. It runs into a wall and dies. They play a third mountain play a skink of their own before swinging. I draw Harness.play land and drop the cyclops. and pass. They strike it dead. (I'd like a lightning strike). They play, a Forest...? Xenagos the Reveler. Piss off, where's my god or planeswalker!? They make a 2/2 and swing. I draw, scryfish - where were you earlier? Play it and pass. The draw and Magma Jet the starfish, game.
Match 2 - Two Mountain, an Island Wavecrash Triton, the skink, Bident and a shorestalker. Seems good. I drop an island into a shorestalker. The draw play a Mountain and pass. I draw Stormchaser. Play Mountain and drop the skink, swing 1 and pass. They drop a forest and pass. yes I think. Draw a Mountain, good, play wavecrash. They magma jet my skink before attacks swing 1. They draw, land and drop Akroan Line Breaker . I draw a Mountain.. no second island? Play the chimera and pass. Again swing 1 and pass leaving triton to block. They draw, drop a land and a Satyr Hoplite then cast fall of the hammer on his Line breaker to smash my triton into the ground. and swing both he swings both a scry (keeping) I block the skink with the chimera and take 4. I draw Bladetusk boar...I forgot to sideboard. drop it and Pass. They draw and drop a forest, play setessan tactics on both their heroics to wipe out and another 1 mana pump to keep his linebreaker alive to kill both my bigger guys. I draw Aerial Formation, not helpful. I keep shorestalker back to chump. They draw, bestow leafcrown dryad on the linebreaker and swing, I block the smaller guy and Aerial Formation. and take 6 to the face. I draw scryfish. Why always when I need good blockers. drop and pass. They play titon strength on the linebreaker and swing, I'm on one...I can get out of this I go to scry, the lightning bolt my face.... yep... whatever.
Game 3 - feeling really sour about everything. 5 straight losses aren't making me feel too great and I'm considering dropping. I'm tired having had no sleep I'm no longer having fun. The person i was versing actually made two deck in two different colour combos. First once more being Red... and black
Match 1 - I actually get one of the best hands I've seen all day. 2 mountain, an island, a Satyr Hoplite , Stratus Walk and Ordeal of Thassa. Keep. They plays mountain and already I'm thinking how dead those Bladetusk are again. pass. I draw a Oh look the Boar. drop the hoplite and pass. They play sunchaser and swing. I draw Bident. drop a mountain and play ordeal of thassa on the hoplite. swing 3. The play a land and dropped Grim Guardian drain 1, then swing 1. I draw and island, play an island and put Stratus Walk on sunchaser and swing 5 flying and resolve the ordeal drawing 2 more islands. pass. They play a Bladetusk of their own and swing with both their 1/1s, guess they know they can't block with grim. I draw the Chimera, swing 5 in the air.Play my own Bladetusk and pass. He draws and swings all I block Bladetusk with my bladetusk. He taps mountain, untaps it, scoops.He had titan strength in hand, not too useful against my 5/5 he couldn't block.
Match 2 - A new deck? This one is blue white... something. Not sure what this deck was meant to be, maybe control. He did sea gods revenge me at one point He didn't play anything until turn 4 and I was aggroing him with a skink to help draw the cards I needed. I ended the game when after see gods revenge I Harness by Force his Prescient Chimera and swung for leathal.
YAY I fricking WON!
Game 4 - Feeling a bit better after pulling a win. I finally play a deck non red. WOOT. Green Blue Monsters. They're on 1 win 2 draws, not sure how we got paired but hey. I'd also put the dragon back in after land coming a lot easier.
Match 1 - I keep a hand of 1 Mountain, 1 Island, 2 Stormchaser, Scryfish and Shorestalker and Bident. Turn 1 drop the island and the stalker, swing 1. They draw an island and pass. yes, not a mountain. I draw an Island. play it and drop the scryfish, swing 1. They play a forest and play Font of Fertility , (they must have topped one or the either) I scry in my upkeep and bottom a Harness) draw a mountain. Slam the Chimera and swing 1. They play an island and crack the font now for a forest. I draw an island. Put down the island and the Bident, swing 3 and draw cards. They play a land and slam their promo Hydra. (I was concerned they had Fleetfeather) I draw something, don't recall. Used the scry ability to reveal Ill tempered Cyclops. Swung for 7 total and drew two more cards. Put Dragon Mantle on the Shorestalker so didn't have to discard... forgot it cantrips... discarded Stratus Walk (already have all evasion). They draw and play a land. Pump the hydra and swing. I block with the scryfish and scry in response. They pin to earth my Chimera. I draw something, drop the land and bring out Chimera number 2. Swing with the unblockable and draw from Bident. another land, Oh well. Play Deathbellow for 2, try and keep the hydra from swinging or use it to chump. I cannot remember what they did here, they played a Big guy of somekind, it didn't have reach though. Swung with hydra which I chumped with the minotaur. I draw and then use the scry ability to reveal... the mega dragon. Drop a land. and swing for 10 :)
Match 2 - This game was pretty similar, did the whole chimera revealed the dragon and swung 9 in air. then next turn dropped the dragon to burn leathal.
Yay won some packs and pulled my first Mythic in the form of Ajani. It wasn't the Kruphix I wanted but should be able to trade it for Kruphix(s).
At the table we got our boxes the girl beside me opened a Journey into Nyx pack with ALL 15 God cards. ALL OF THEM! I was happy for her and all but I wanted just one god from 3 pre-releases. She got 15 from one fricking pack. Was so mad I hadn't pulled a god or anything mythic.
April 27, 2014 3:23 a.m.
So this store I've been going to had their first pre-release. Figured despite preferring a more competitive environment, I'd give a friend some numbers. We had 12 in attendance the first pre-release of the day. I went Blue due to fact it's my color. I opened theros first, then born of the gods, then Journey into Nyx, then my seeded pack. I was already getting disheartened halfway through opening. I wasn't getting any playable rares, which is okay as long as i have commons or uncommons to back it up. Well after separating my cards by color, I didn't have any real bomb save for promo and Medomai, so I decided to ask Krumpix for her blessing and decided to try blue/white. The highlights were Medomai the Ageless
, Scourge of Fleets
, Horizon Scholar
, Akroan Mastiff
, and 2 Triton Shorestalker
with a small number of bestow, a couple of counters, and a few Pin to the Earth
.
And somehow I managed 2nd, and not for a lack of effort on the other's part either. I only had two bad rounds, and only went up against a foe who had a bad round twice. One of the latter lasted 21 turns as a shorestalker chipped away for one every turn, while my 0/x creature kept his green at bay. The other they got land screwed. My two bad rounds was I got land screwed one, and the other I couldn't draw actual threats, just small creatures. Only other flyer I had was the 1/1 mind control siren and the 1/3 heroic one. I was relying on my kraken and sphinxes to win me the game typically. Went up against red or played green/white instead, a green/red, white/green/red, all of which I won, but folded to black/green/red. As I was pushing for the win game three, I started to stall and he built back up :( Did damn good considering all the removals he had. Got 12 packs for placing second. Most notable was Iroas, a foil Iroas, Nykthos to complete my playset, a foil Sigiled Starfish , Aegis of the Gods , Temple of Plenty , and a Master of the Feast . Pretty damn good I thought.
The second Tournament was something else. We had 12 people again, except 8 of them were different players. I settled on white as the color to win with, even though I really wanted that sexy Heroes' Bane promo. The guy who beat me last tournament was sitting in front of me, watching what I pull since he was getting ready to leave, and he had the same sentiments I did. In both Theros pack, I got red bombs, that red ember eater thing, and I forget the other, BotG pack, Kiki the Minotaur, first JOU, Doomwake Giant , second, Dawnbreaker Chariot, and foil Dictate of Helios, Seed had Athreos, God of Passage , which I fist bumped myself because I wanted one. Well.. okay let's go back and see what the commons and uncommons were... no removals or counters or anything in any colors save for an enchantment that gave double strike to enchantment creature, otherwise it deals no damage... Red had the bulk of my bombs, but nothing else but small monsters, but was worth considering, blue had same flaw as my first pool, a lot of baby flyers and 1/x creatures, tossed that back in box without a second thought. Green had potentials, but wasn't quite there, but kept that pile too. Black had jack squat save for Giant and a lot of good early game aggro that was enchantment, also worth considering. White had same issue as black, a lot of early game, but not a lot of late game save for two chariots, and two of that frontline delivery swans. After consideration I decided on black/white due to gods and higher number of human counts, hoping to win via evasion by that pegasi. As long as I kept tempto, I'd do well enough I thought, as I had my share of low drop o/x'es. So the tournaments began!
First Matchup was green/blue I think? He dropped a single island, but saw nothing to warrant it in both tournaments. I bestowed that 1 drop 0/4 heroic card to keep hydra at bay while buffed charriots fly over for the win pretty much both games.
2nd was against red/green. First game I kept tempo, second game I was starring at death's door as I was getting ready to lose, but was lucky to draw dictate of helios to flash in when he decided not to block since it wouldn't kill him. Good game.
3rd was against white/green. The guy pulled Ajani, and he was using white pack, so I was dreading this tournament. Ended 2-1. Game one I swarmed him, game 2 he buffed a chariot out the ass with Ajani. Game 3 I kamikazied his Ajani, which left me open, but he didn't secure the win as once again Dictate of Helios saved my hide, allowing me to form a wall of creatures too big for him to trade favorably with as it became a game of top decking really threats before I finally edged him out.
Game 4 was a 1-1-1 tie. Before match started we accessed the tournament, which was easy due to small number of players, and agreed to call it a draw to split first and second prize in half, since at best one got first and other fourth, netting us 17 JOU, 2 Theros, and 1 Born of the Gods.each. We went ahead and played for funs anyways, since we'd have a long wait. He was running the same deck I was, except blue instead of black, but for most part, mirror image. First game i swarmed him in the air, wall on the ground, second game he did the same to me. Third game was a long drawn out game of attrition as we were stalemated, however, the key differences between our decks finally started to show, he had removals, I did not. So all he had to do was remove my threats in the air to allow his through as he slowly chipped away for the win.
To add salt to the wound, as we divied up packs, I somehow got most of the packs that had anything of value in them. Ajani, a foil God of Passage, two temple of epiphamy, a temple of malady, mana confluence,and this and that. All in all it was a fun tournament. Already looking forward to M15 pre-release :D
April 27, 2014 12:55 p.m.
Congrats everyone! (and ouch, Ultimaodin) Thanks to ChiefBell and Epoch for this awesome discussion!
I was able to snag one of the last white boxes at my store (normally we attract about 30-40 people, only 15 came this time) while my friend took black. While deckbuilding, something incredible happened: Seeded pack- Dawnbringer Charioteers and Deicide . Born- Silent Sentinel . Theros- Soldier of the Pantheon , Spear of Heliod , Celestial Archon . Journey- Hall of Triumph , Battlefield Thaumaturge . Yeah, that's right. Out of 8 rares, 7 were white or colorless (though none of great value). My friend, though not as lucky, still got a great B/U pool. I ended up running W/B because I had several playables in black including 2 Insatiable Harpy s.
Match 1- Out of the cruel, cruel computer, the pairings posted was me vs. my friend. Damn.
Since he was playing a control deck, I was able to start out both games stronger than him. I resolved my Dawnbringer Charioteers both games, too. Every time he landed his Master of the Feast or Doomwake Giant , they would die to my removal. In game one, I was just too fast and had pretty well timed removal. In game two, I was down to just a Dawnbringer Charioteers and Insatiable Harpy (and I think a small Brain Maggot that I had to keep alive). Everything else had died to his removal, and after a Gary, my friend started to flood the board (and still had almost a full hand). I was topdecking, but he didn't have any fliers out (despite running about 7 of them). My first topdeck was a Spear of Heliod . On my next attack, he was able to monstrous his Keepsake Gorgon targeting one of my guys (which would have sucked), but I responded by striving an Ajani's Presence (my last topdeck) once for lethal. 2-0 me.
Match 2- I was paired against a pretty new player who won his last round solely with Elspeth, Sun's Champion . My friend was paired up against a 1-0 guy, and he still was able to pull through (he was then 1-1).
Game one, I quickly hit a Vanguard of Brimaz followed by an Ordeal of Heliod and I was flooding the board and at 30 life way too quickly. As he really needed Elspeth to win, he couldn't do much. In game two, he started out much faster with a Favored Hoplite and a few heroic triggers along with a Golden Hind . He resolved something an Elspeth, Sun's Champion around turn 7. Luckily, I had my tag team (Insatiable Harpy and Dawnbringer Charioteers ) out, and fliers were able to overcome 6 elspeth tokens. However, he kept on swinging with lots of success, playing a Pheres-Band Thunderhoof and giving it Prowler's Helm . When he swung out, it took the lifelink from both Insatiable Harpy s and my charioteers to keep me alive. When at two life, I misplayed and decided not to swing (he was at 14) with lifelink, forgetting that his thunderhoof was unblockable. However, I got lucky; being new, he didn't really know not to swing out, so he did so, and my lifelink got me up to 7. An Akroan Mastiff was enough to tap down his thunderhoof and my fliers soon finished up. 2-0
Match 3- With only 3 people at 2-0, I was paired with one. My friend was paired with another person who went 1-1. He ended up losing an incredibly close match to a deck similar to mine except featuring green instead of black (fewer fliers).
This wasn't very exciting at all. He played simic, and I had to mull to 5 both games. Game 1, I didn't play a single thing (how many lands can I possibly top deck?!??!?!?!) until a Celestial Archon on turn 5, which ate a Dissolve . He quickly finished. Game two was also very similar. I mulled to 5 and kept drawing lands. My lone Nyxborn Eidolon with little removal did nothing against his army. 0-2
Match 4- the final round. I went up against the person my friend beat last round (I was VERY unsure of this matchup). My friend went up against someone and won really handily, he was a high 2-2.
In game 1, I didn't exactly get the best draws, but his deck ran really, really well. He made easy work of me (and began to get cocky) with a huge Dawnbringer Charioteers as well as some other threats. Game two was different: I was a bit faster in the beginning, hitting a Dawnbringer Charioteers as well as Hall of Triumph and Spear of Heliod . Eventually, I finished him when he conceded because I was at 49 life (he was low) and he had no blockers for my pumped charioteers and 3/3 Insatiable Harpy (tag team pulls through again!). Game 3 was really fun. We both mulled to 5 and had very little going for us. After our first few weenies traded, the board was clear. We both had about 3 cards in hand. (I had 3 bits of removal, so I was basically topdecking for threats. However, it looked like he was doing the same thing). I was able to find some enchantment creature threat, but it ate his Deicide . He answered next with a similar threat which ate my Deicide . I then got an Insatiable Harpy out with a Spear of Heliod already there. He responded with a Nemesis of Mortals which took my Reprisal . I kept swinging and found a Brain Maggot , which revealed that his hand was solely 2x Aspect of Hydra and Acolyte's Reward . He had no permanents out (phew). Next turn, he hit Sightless Brawler , but it didn't have reach, so I was fine. After a few turns where I drew nothing really useful, he found his last gasp, Courser of Kruphix . Luckily, I was able to answer it with Feast of Dreams immediately, and he conceded at 3 while I was approaching 20. Thank you Insatiable Harpy ! 2-1
I ended up taking 3rd with 3 packs. My friend got two packs and placed high as well. I pulled Ajani, Mentor of Heroes , Bearer of the Heavens , and Dictate of Erebos , so I finally got money. We were both happy with our outcomes (and true to his luck, my friend pulled crap. However, the tournament ended up paying for itself for him.) Later, I learned that the midnight prerelease was dominated by one guy playing an awesome Gary/ Skybind combo. Ouch.
Lessons:
White, and Dawnbringer Charioteers is really really OP. Also, my 2 drop removal was incredibly helpful- Reprisal hits fatties cheaply, it is just great. Deicide , in my words, kills anything with the word enchantment added on for set flavor. Also, Feast of Dreams plays a similar role.
April 27, 2014 2:21 p.m.
TheGreatLiar says... #41
I ran a lot of b/g enchantment creatures. Pulled a simply vicious dredge deck. 2x Satyr Wayfinder a Nighthowler a Nemesis of Mortals and a Kruphix's Insight along with the black promo, boon satyr and a few constellation cards. I have to say, with the right support, constellation is a crazy good mechanic. Every game I won (3-1 with all the wins going 2-0) was because of the damage from constellation. Grim Guardian and Dreadbringer Lampads were all stars among my commons.
April 27, 2014 3:19 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #42
Went 4-0 last night after pulling Brimaz, King of Oreskos , Spear of Heliod , Battlefield Thaumaturge , and Hour of Need . I also had a Thoughtseize and Eidolon of the Great Revel in the pre-pack. Opened an Ajani, Mentor of Heroes in a prize pack.
U/W Heroic 1st place Playtest
Pre-release*
SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 8 VIEWSI mixed the rest of the pool up before documenting it. Aerial Formation was awesome with Brimaz and in general. Hour of Need is an amazing card, 1st pick 1st pack. I can't believe it is an instant. Blue heroic is very good.
April 27, 2014 3:28 p.m.
Curving Doomwake Giant into Rise of Eagles (two 2/2 ENCHANTMENT bird tokens with flying) was fun, but I still only went 2-2 at the prerelease.
April 27, 2014 6:34 p.m.
I realized that I'm a complete moron, because I completely forgot that Ravenous Leucrocota has Vigilance. That could've actually made a difference in atleast two of my lost games.
April 27, 2014 7:18 p.m.
SwaggyMcSwagglepants says... #45
In my prerelease pack, I got Silence the Believers , Hall of Triumph , Dictate of Erebos , Hero of Iroas , Celestial Archon , and Steam Augury , and chose black as my path (which has the best Hero Card). I made a W/B constellation/aura deck . I went 2-1. Here were my rounds.
My first game in the first round was against a Selesnya Aggro. I took 38 out of 50 minutes, but after a hard battle, I won. Next game, I got mana-hosed, so I lost that quickly. Third game, some flyers barely took me out 7 minutes overtime. I lost 1-2
My second round I played against a Simic deck, piloted by one of my best friends. First game, I took out everything he had, but second game, he stopped my Doomwake Giant bestowed with my Archon from moving with Thassa's Ire when he had 4 life. So I used a Dreadbringer Lampads constellation on itself, and swung in for lethal in the air and w/ intimidate. So I won 2-0. He changed to a Gruul deck to include his Revel of the Fallen God . He won his next round.
In my third round, I played an opponent with a Golgari Land Rush/Removal/Fatties deck. First game I was stomped by an arsenal of big creatures. Second game, my opponent was tapped out with 11, and I had 2 life: I had my Hall of Triumph , giving a bonus of white, a Akroan Mastiff , and a Hero of Iroas without anything on him, so I had 6 power with my creatures. I have 5 Plains and 2 Swamp, and a Celestial Archon in my hand. I bestow my Celestial Archon on my Hero of Iroas , adding a +1/+1 counter for heroic. I swung in for 11, which was lethal, and won the game. third game, another situation like this happened, and again swung in for lethal. I won 2-1.
I forged my Godslayer with the Deal damage, get a 1/1 white Soldier. My brother, The_Wolf_Pack and my friend I beat each won 1 out of three rounds, so they each got 2 packs. I won 2 rounds, so I got 4 packs. I got a Master of the Feast , which my brother traded for (he has a deck that I believe is called Black Attack or Blackness Ascending somewhere), a Dawnbringer Charioteers , an Athreos, God of Passage , and with my last pack, I played a Kruphix, God of Horizons in Pack Wars. my friend got another Master of the Feast , which my brother traded for, and my brother played Pack wars with a BNG pack and got a Mindreaver
In my brothers prerelease pack, he got a Keranos, God of Storms , a Polukranos, World Eater , and a Master of Waves .
Overall, it was a great day, and my Athreos, God of Passage has went into my deck,
Orzhov Humans, Ghosts and... a Kitty King? Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 8 | 18 COMMENTS | 419 VIEWSSorry if this comment is long.
April 27, 2014 7:46 p.m.
I played three events this weekend.
Did W/B first time with white as chosen color and got 3rd place after 4 rounds with about 17-18 other competitors. Launch the Fleet and all the disenchant effects and heroic flyers brought the pain HARD.
Second event, I tried black, got two Master of the Feast , and a bunch of good white and black removal - splashed green for Heroes' Bane and three other green pump spells: lost 3 rounds in a row then got a bye in the fourth. My excuse was that I was tired and made a lot of misplays.
The first match was ridiculous. Game one lasted 30 minutes with both of us gaining tons of life each turn. I think we each had life totals in the 40s at one point.
The second match came mostly down to luck. My opponent had a weak deck with very lucky draws. I got mana screwed or didn't-draw-any-creatures-for-five-turns-in-a-row screwed each game.
Third event. Chose blue as primary color: Won first round vs. an inexperienced player with a poorly constructed deck. It had a lot of potential, so I gave him some tips on how to make it better.
Next three rounds I lost, but they were very close and against the most experienced competitive players in the area. I made a grindy U/B control deck with LOTS of removal/bounce and flyers. Hour of Need is amazing. I pulled 2 Triton Tactics too and they were always welcome in my hand when I drew them.
Overall, It was pretty usual for me. Won against novice players and poorly-made decks / lost against better players with better decks, but most of my losses were very hard-fought battles with my opponents worn out from the struggle.
It was a lot of fun altogether. Prereleases are my favorite.
W/B was the most popular (and most winning) combination.
April 27, 2014 11:36 p.m.
Ultimaodin says... #47
ChiefBell - Yeah it was pretty hard. As much as I hated my pools for the second and third prereleases I looked back over my third deck (the red blue) and it actually looked pretty good, mana curve was sweetly set up and all I honestly think luck just wasn't on my side. I mean going up against 3 red decks in a row definitely hurt the mainboard Bladetusk Boar s and my draws were just garbage for the first two games.
DaggerV - Only 12 people, damn we 130 XD
Akroan Mastiff is definitely a good pick, that guy gave me so much misery.
flyguy - Damn, most your rares were in colour too,how'd you pull that? Sounds like your third game went the same as mine, it's hard to fight mana screw/flood. Congratulations on coming third.
Rasta_Viking29 - Good work on the 4-0, I saw somebody at my prerelease play Hour of Need after Launch the Fleet .
TexasDice - I actually found the Rast-a-Cota underwhelming in the draft overall even with the vigilance. Forgetting that fact would have made him infinitely worse.
SwaggyMcSwagglepants - nice pulls man.
April 27, 2014 11:40 p.m.
Domonator777 says... #48
I chose black, had a nice B/U pool, and made a fair Dimir deck that went 3-1! I pulled an Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver from one of my Theros packs and it proved quite useful for my deck!
Other than that I pulled a Pharika, God of Affliction from my seeded pack. I plan to use her as my mascot since I main Golgari, but if I get another I might make a constellation deck involving her.
April 28, 2014 12:47 a.m.
RussischerZar says... #49
In my pre-release the majority of people chose the white pack as they said it's the strongest color. Funny thing is I think at least half of the top 8 finishers were green packs, myself included.
I myself chose the green pack and went GW and 4-1, only losing to another green (GU).
I thought I had a rather bad pool (no mythics at all) but I guess I did built a really consistent deck since I didn't lose a single game until match 4 (which was the one I lost). TBH though my first 2 rounds were against new(er) players that made some blatant mistakes and also didn't seem do so well in deck construction. One of them played Boulderfall in a RW deck, that should say everything :D I offered him to look at his pool and improve his deck but he was like "nah, I'm good" shrugs
One thing that stood out to me is how friggingly amazing Ajani's Presence is as a common.
April 28, 2014 5:49 a.m.
RussischerZar says... #50
Also a nice play I did that won me the last game of match 3:
Opponent had a Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
enchanted by Chosen by Heliod
and with 6 counters on it and a 1/1 soldier token. I was on 2 life, opponent on 8. He only had 2 mana the whole game but crushed me with his trailblazer early on since I could do nothing to stop it. Also he pretty much started with 30 life since he sacced an Ordeal of Heliod
his turn 3.
My board was a Leonin Snarecaster
, a Tethmos High Priest
and an enchanted Ravenous Leucrocota
on 4/6.
So I end-stepped a Setessan Tactics on the high-priest and the snarecaster, using the high-priest to kill his soldier and the snarecaster to fight his 6/12 trailblazer at which point he went "wtf?". On my turn, Launch the Fleet on my two guys, triggering heroic of the Tethmos High Priest to bring back the Leonin Snarecaster , tapping down his guy and swinging for the win. Felt really awesome :D
smash10101 says... #2
My roommate and I are playing in the 2HG prerelease. We hope to both get white packs so we can make an awesome heroic deck with 2x the white promo, and hopefully have a nice defensive deck in some sort of w/b/u with maybe some life steal like Gray Merchant of Asphodel and Scholar of Athreos . I like that kind of thing in multiplayer.
April 25, 2014 12:04 p.m.