Theros pre-release: Which color to choose?
General forum
Posted on Sept. 16, 2013, 3:35 p.m. by brownkidd
I'm mainly basing my color choice on the promo cards, but none of them really look that impressive.
What color does everyone plan on choosing at pre-release and why?
SnowCoveredRevenge says... #3
i chose blue, as I want to boost my chances of pulling Thassa's Emissary , plus Shipbreaker Kraken is rather devastating if he becomes monstrous
September 16, 2013 3:43 p.m.
It will generally depend on the power of the cards within the packs you open.
Unlike RTR block pre-releases, I believe you will simply receive 6 boosters, and have to construct a deck with minimum of 40 cards.... so there's really no way of telling what you may get.
If you would like to see some samples of what you may get, try going here: link
Click on the second link under the image of the Theros booster pack (Oppna en Sealed pool) to get a random sampling of 6 booster packs, similar to what you might open in the pre-release.
September 16, 2013 3:44 p.m.
i think multi color is the way to go blue and white or green and white
September 16, 2013 3:48 p.m.
Rayenous - Wizards has said that in the prerelease pack there will be 5 Theros boosters and 1 color specific booster, along with the prerelease promo card of your color. That way you don't get the White prerelease pack and have no White rares/support.
September 16, 2013 3:49 p.m.
Never mind my previous comment...
Just noticed the "seeded" booster information found here: link
It explains that you can choose a color, and one of the 6 packs will be largely in the chosen colour... "The seeded booster pack contains lots of Theros cards of the color that corresponds to the path you choose."
September 16, 2013 3:49 p.m.
Ok, so what's the best color? My impression is that aggro tends to do well in these events. But, I've only gone to the GC and DM pre-releases, playing Boros both times, In the GC went 4-0 but with DM, got horrible cards and went 2-2.
September 16, 2013 4:02 p.m.
RED!, my fav MTG color and in Theros is comming strong so far gruul will be a competitive deck too
September 16, 2013 4:03 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #10
Red looks rather strong, but so does blue. Green looks fairly good too if you can survive for enough time to ramp if you need it.
September 16, 2013 4:06 p.m.
ShadowLand says... #13
I will be going black, probably trying a mono-black look or playing golgari colors, the Abhorrent Overlord doesn't seem too awful.
September 16, 2013 4:31 p.m.
ShadowLand says... #14
Because there are 5 main cards that are going to come with each of those colors Celestial Archon , Shipbreaker Kraken , Abhorrent Overlord , Ember Swallower and Anthousa, Setessan Hero will the alternate art promo cards for those colors that come with your "seeded pack"
September 16, 2013 4:34 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #15
So they have announced the corresponding starter foil as the alt art foil for the per-release packs?
I will most likely be going green but I don't know until I get there and tell the guy until then it is up in the air lol.
September 16, 2013 4:52 p.m.
For the 4 years that I've played Magic, I always like to play very creature heavy decks, but, for the first time, I'm really liking a lot of the non-creature spells in a set - Anger of the Gods , Swan Song , Curse of the Swine , and Thoughtseize , to name a few.
Still... thinking I might just go red in hopes of getting some good stuff for my Gruul deck.
September 16, 2013 4:57 p.m.
So guys, which of the pre-release promo foils, do you think is the strongest?
You are allowed to play with it, so it might be a good idea to pick something that has a chance of winning on it's on.
I'm thinking either Shipbreaker Kraken or Celestial Archon . - Kraken due to it's tap effect when monstrous and usually at pre-releases the game are more or less slow (at least at my store) - or the Archon due to being a 4/4 flying first strike - which is extremely strong imo.
September 16, 2013 5:04 p.m.
@Pcbino I was thinking the same thing. I'm leaning more towards the Celestial Archon simply because I think it'll be able to see more play outside of the prerelease. But you never know, I play a lot of blue, and the idea of a 10/10 that can shut down a lot of what your opponent has out is tempting. It just cost so much to make it monstrous.
September 16, 2013 5:13 p.m.
Those are the two promos i'm leaning toward, with green in third. i think red looks the worst. the blue guy is a solid 6/6 for 6 and has a potentially game ending ability. white is a solid evasive beater for less mana, or if you draw him late game he can push an existing creature over the edge, and then come down as a beater if that creature is removed. I think i'm giving the edge to white since he has the potential to beat a creature removal spell and costs less. it's a coinflip for me.
green seems like it could be sweet in an agro race or if you can find enough combat tricks.
black seems awesome but 7 mana is a lot.
and for red, a 4/5 for 4 is fine, but sealed events seem to be decided more by bombs. gtc was an exception as it was balls fast - gruul, boros and their simic and orzhov helpers made aggro decks really strong. i don't think theros will be that fast, at least not in a sealed pool.
September 16, 2013 5:19 p.m.
I don't think Theros will be fast either. It seems like they are trying to slow the format down.To me it seems like the have made a ton of removal (or at least that's what I have decided to focus on)
My biggest worry about the Archon is it being a creature AND an enchantment, means it will be very vulnerble to two types of removal, compared to only beaing weak to one type.
It's just, a 4/4 first striking flyer is so freaking strong, especially in sealed where people already have problems with flying stuff.
September 16, 2013 5:45 p.m.
I think people are underestimating the red promo. It is very good in limited. It's body is nice, which is a huge plus, BUT, an important thing to note, is its monstrosity cost is extremely offensive and defensive. All the other promos rely on having about 7 or more mana (besides the green) to reach their maximum effectiveness, and at 7 you turn this into a 7/8, and are able to prevent them from letting their bombs going off and keeping them at your aggressive land count. This is extremely good if they get mana screwed, or you get mana flooded and can curve his ability perfectly.
I really like the black promo, but 7 mana is a lot, and you have no way to deal with artifacts/enchantments unless you splash.
September 17, 2013 10:54 a.m.
Thinking white based on the promo cards. But undecided.
The question is what would the assembled cast look like to round out the decks?
September 17, 2013 12:09 p.m.
megawurmple says... #23
I'm probably going red, but not because of Ember Swallower . I'm going red because of the amount of good commons and uncommons it has. For example, look at Magma Jet , Dragon Mantle and Messenger's Speed among others. Also, I think that Purphoros, God of the Forge is the best God.
September 17, 2013 12:10 p.m.
overlordbranmuffin says... #24
I am going black Abhorrent Overlord seems to be the only one of the promos with a lot of comeback power it also has all the best removal plus it is a slow so even the high cost removal spells will be effective
September 17, 2013 4:08 p.m.
I am picking Red for the Midnight pre-release then on Saturday I might pick black or white depending on how my Midnight pre-release goes not sure yet.
September 17, 2013 4:29 p.m.
a lot of people have been getting bent out of some of the costs for cards, its just time to get used to the new block.
that aside, i'm liking the hydra's so green (ramp ramp ramp ramp ramp rampramparmafdskfj)
September 17, 2013 4:35 p.m.
@ColdCrush I agree, I do like the red promo as well, but I think it'll fit into fewer kinds of decks simply because when you make it monstrous your going to have to sac 3 lands as well, which could hinder you from playing your bombs as well as your opponent, and even as a 7/8, with no evasion, I think it's a little easier to deal with than some of the other promos. Aside from maybe the green one.
September 17, 2013 4:35 p.m.
ShadowLand says... #28
I agree with Apoptosis here, the reason I am wanting to play black is not necessarily for the Abhorrent Overlord here. Look at the black cast that surrounds it. Tons of early game stuff like Agent of the Fates , Asphodel Wanderer , Baleful Eidolon , Blood-Toll Harpy , Disciple of Phenax , Gray Merchant of Asphodel , Insatiable Harpy
And most of those are commons/uncommons you might easily pull during your pack opens. And that's not even including instants/sorceries/enchantments. Mono-black has lots of potential. And IF you get the chance to actually do mono-black, when Abhorrent Overlord hits the field turn 7-9 hopefully, look at how many friends he's bringing with all that black devotion. I would expect to see him hit the field with nothing less than 10 power in all for 7 mana. All of it flying. Late game, that's nasty.
September 17, 2013 5:29 p.m.
From my own breakdown of the set, Green looks to be the best in terms of bombs, aggression, and ramp/fixing. There is also a good amount of removal in Green. Not too much evasion, but a support color in white or blue could make for a really solid deck.
Yes, this is a slow set, but there are a few of early cards that can push through a lot of damage before the set picks up at 4-6 cc. I think that is going to be key in this set - it is too easy to only go big.
Of course - like everyone is saying - your pool is what really matters.
September 17, 2013 9:18 p.m.
SharuumNyan says... #30
Probably black for all the reasons previously stated...plus Thoughtseize .
September 17, 2013 9:59 p.m.
For me either black or blue. Why? Because not only are the cards in those colors appealing to me, but if I pull a Thassa, God of the Sea or Erebos, God of the Dead I want to be able to show them off. >:D
September 17, 2013 10:31 p.m.
Even with all of the devotion oriented stuff, I'm not anticipating being able to go all one color. That's one reason I'm leaning towards white. That should mix well with whatever color looks good in my pool. Then maybe if that happens to be white I'll go all white. I don't know what the seeded packs are really going to look like though even if it's all one color I guess it depends on how much in there is really useful.
September 18, 2013 12:45 a.m.
Pre-release we get 5 Booster packs and 1 seeded pack (mono im guessing), Promo and your hero path, Hero Card.
White (Honor) Prevent 1 damageBlue (Wisdom) 2, Tap a creatureBlack (Ambition) deathtouchRed (Battle) Creature gains haste each turn (The best)Green (Might) +1/+1 until end of turn
We are doing a sealed format Saturday 12:01am(Midnight), Sealed 12:00pm(noon) 6-7Pm Intro. Sunday12:01am(Midnight), Sealed 12:00pm(noon) 6-7Pm Intro.
The sealed will be based around my Rares, but if I get junk rares then I have been looking over all the Common and Uncommon for all of Theros. (List below are only common and uncommon because you only get 6 rares. Sealed is all about the common and uncommon and maybe 2 rares.)
White4 Common, 3 Uncommon that I like. Plus 3 targeting, 2 Enchant, and 2 destroy. Total 14.
Blue9 Common, 3 Uncommon. Plus 4 Target, 1 draw and 1 Counter. Total 18
Black3 Common, 3 Uncommon. Plus 4 target, 1 Enchant, 3 Destroy, 1 draw. Total 15
Red8 Common, 3 Uncommon. Plus 3 Targets, 2 Enchant, 2 Destroy. Total 18
Green7 Common, 3 Uncommon. Plus 1 target. Total 11
These are the common and uncommons that I think will be good cards. I look at these card beause if I open 6 packs I could have maybe 2-3 of them.
Overall watch out for Red. Hero (Warrior) make one of your creatures have haste. Red has a lot of good Commons.
September 18, 2013 1:11 p.m.
The hero card is not playable in the pre-release. Here is a link explaining what it is for:
http://www.wizards.com/Promo/HerosPath/Default.aspx
Also, yes, the seeded pack contains only cards of your path color.
September 18, 2013 1:26 p.m.
hiddengibbons says... #35
I don't think you can go into a pre-release with a color already chosen, its really going to depend on whats in your packs. With that said, at a pre-release, a deck usually does well when it has a lot of creatures, espescially flying creatures, some removal (in this case, artifact/enchantment hate) and some way to draw cards or fetch lands a little bit. Its nearly impossible to do just one color at a pre-release. If you get a bunch of jank rares, like I did at the Besieged pre-release or Constructed deck rares, like I did at the Innistrad pre-release, its best just to drop out rather than waste your time playing games you can't win.
September 18, 2013 1:46 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #36
You have to go to this pre-release with a color chosen it is 1 seeded pack and 5 other random packs.
September 18, 2013 7:02 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #37
your splash of course will be determined by what you open or you may even move completely out of your chosen color if it turns out your other 5 didn't support it but you have to tell the TO a color of a pack you want.
September 18, 2013 7:04 p.m.
I'm hoping to go simic, Izzet or Azorius, and gruul doesn't look too bad also, but three of those combinations use blue, so well... I'm going blue. (Loldimirrejected)
September 18, 2013 8:22 p.m.
hiddengibbons says... #39
If I get all three planeswalkers, I'm totally going to go prismatic. Seriously though, the likelihood of getting the cards you want is very small. At least it is for me. I expect to get a bunch of jank, so I'm going to make backup plans just in case I end up with unplayable crap and decide to drop out before the first round.
September 19, 2013 5:11 p.m.
I dunno, I don't think the promo card should be the choice on this one. The long term/run card is the hero card that you get with the color to help fight the hydra. I think this might be a bit more important.
After seeing the seeded packs, you can easily go another direction other the color you choose, if the pull warrants it. Which it can do easily.
September 19, 2013 5:23 p.m.
I'm changing to red, as I want Izzet, but all the good red cards are at uncommon, so the seeded pack will help me pick them up first before I have to randomize my choices.
September 19, 2013 5:41 p.m.
@gufymike I wouldn't be too worried about which hero card you choose, the hero cards are only used against the hydra deck, which you get nothing for except the achievement for finishing the hero's quest. Unless you and your friends decide to let them get used during your casual games, after you defeat the challenge deck on game day they're basically garbage. The promo cards, however, are playable during the prerelease and will see use outside of that in other decks.
September 19, 2013 5:42 p.m.
KingSorin you know you're most likely only getting one red uncommon from the seeded pack? It's broken down something like this: promo, common, rare (could be multi-color but it is in color), uncommon and then 2 uncommons and the other commons that are randomized.
pre-release packages opened and shown watch this video and the others on the side to see the breakdown.
The reason I call you out is because it sounds like you expect the seeded pack to mostly your color, which isn't true.
September 19, 2013 5:50 p.m.
The seeded pack is not mono. The rare has the color you choose in it. It can even be a gold rare. Every pack of the chosen color also has one common that is the same of your chosen color...ex: green always gets faded antiquity. The rest of the seeded pack is semi random with various colors mixed in it. This keeps deck more diverse and give you freedom to play the color you are delt.
September 19, 2013 5:59 p.m.
It looked more like the colour you chose than any other, but yes, I expected it to be like rtr/gtc/dgm seeded packs, which were entirely your guild's colours or colourless. I'm still going red. Blue looks good if you get enough support and powerful creatures form other colours, but it looks weak as a primary colour IMO.
September 19, 2013 6:07 p.m.
I feel like white and blue have the best promos, red third, and green and black are not that great, but I think reds hero card is the best, tap to give haste is really good, so i think I am going red.
September 19, 2013 6:52 p.m.
@lockiew you do know that you can't use the hero card at the pre-release right? It's just for use against each of the challenge decks (one for each set in the block) and that is it
September 19, 2013 7:25 p.m.
that's weird because I watched the video earlier.
September 19, 2013 11:02 p.m.
I wish I paid attention to the user that posted that video so I could ask him why it's private now. I saw another forum topic similar to this one and people there seemed to be under the same impression, that the seeded boosters are pre-determined or they are mono-colored. I tried to explain to them what the seeded boosters really were and lead them to this video but once I found the link again it had been made private. If they were pre-determined that would be awesome, the only problem then would be choosing between white or blue. I've leaning towards the white, but in that video the blue pack he opened had a Thassa, God of the Sea . lol
JWiley129 says... #2
I want to pick Red, but it looks like I can go to 3 pre-release events this weekend (midnight Saturday, mid-day Saturday, mid-day Sunday) so I might try out Red, White, and Blue.
September 16, 2013 3:39 p.m.