Nice article LE and not what I expected. I figured you'd talk about the deck you played against me with crushing me silly. :) But these are more interesting, I suppose.
I really, really enjoyed this draft overview. Pacifism wheeling is just *crazy*. There must have been only 1 white drafter, and one who took Harm's way over Pacifism (Which is a huge mistake in my opinion. Combat trick
I'm the one that came up with the UWG Ideal deck that ArchGenius is likely talking about although I know at least one other player has been testing my list since I gave it to him. That deck also does use Form of the Dragon, but as ArchGenius said uses the Squirrel Nest Combo as a backup to the Form plan. Ideal can certainly be a Tier I strategy, it has just not made any T8s because no one is playing it currently in PEs. I would have played my list in the past 4 PEs, had I been able to make any of them.
I don't find this particular version of Ideal that appealing because I feel it relies far to heavily on Ideal to win. It's only back up plans are to hardcast and pray with Form or to somehow win with Red Honden, which is iffy at best without some kind of lock in place. Martial coup can also win, but a few post coup blockers can kill that easily. I rarely ever see searching up Greater Auramancy as a first target as viable. Usually you need something that is going to affect the board and start your lock. Greater Auramancy+Copy Enchantment+Form of the Dragon is not a lock and easily beatable by any number of aggro decks. However if you start searching up Dovescape+Humility+Form of the Dragon, that is a near perfect lock with each piece affecting the board immediately after hitting play. I have only found about 3 ways for an opponent to break it: Banefire, the red or blue resounding cycling spells from ALA, and Boseiju. Only the first of which is even remotely common to see in the format.
Deckwizard points out that the play is specifically to bolt the troll with the regeneration effect on the stack, not just after blocking, thus killing the troll before the regeneration shield resolves, saving the creeper.
Pre-M10, the troll player would simply wait until damage was on the stack, then put the regeneration shield on. The bolt would then take out the troll after combat, but I would have no way to save my creeper.
My mentality from years of stacked-damage play was that I would be trading the bolt and the creeper for the troll in that spot, and let that come to pass without a second thought.
Kudos as always for extending the streak of great write-ups. I know it's not easy to churn out content this good week after week.
The draft:
P1P10: Spearhunter is good. In Red, it's one of the few playable/good creatures at common. It's an easy pick over cutting some random White creature imo. Spearhunter is significantly better than Goblin Piker which is just awful. Yes it's a 3 drop, but at least it's playable.
P2P3: I take that Lava Axe all day over the Sparkmage Apprentice. Lava Axe is just good. P2 could have gone P1 Artillery, P2 Bolt, P3 Lava Axe.. got synergy? I mean just those 3 cards there, with only one activation of the Artillery halves your opponents life total. There is room in M10 for full-on red burn, but you have to get lucky enough to pull all the stuff, which you did, then passed.
P2P7: Minor point here, did you consider cutting the Blinding Mage instead of taking the Rampant Growth? Your deck was shaping up pretty darn Red at this point, and an opposing Blinding Mage can be a real pain. That being said, you had like 5 ways to kill it already so maybe not such a big issue.
P2P8: I agree with picking the Centaur Courser over the Inferno Elemental. 6 is a lot of mana, and yes he is a good body, but, well, 6 is still a lot of mana.
P2P10: Wow Pacifism went *that* late.
P2P11: You have this labeled as a mis-click, thank god, but I almost jumped out of my chair when I saw you not taking the Axe here. You must be anti-Axe or something. Axe + Artillery is way good imo.
P3P5: Lightning Bolt or Pyromancer. Wow what a sick spot. I *think* I just take the Bolt. The Pyromancer is good, but he dies easily, and by the time you get the 3 damage out of him its been 4 turns and 3 mana compared to 1 mana for the Bolt. He also dies to your Pyroclasm, which isn't irrelevant. If the game goes long you can however get more than 3 damage out of him, and use him on different targets obviously as well. I think I still just go the red burn route and take the bolt to go with my 2 Lava Ax... oh wait, nm. :(
P3P7: You criticized yourself for taking the Terramorphic Expanse here over the Ignite Disorder. I actually like the pick just fine. You are going to be super heavy Red it seems at this point, needing G for the Coursers and Ranger, and GG for Big Bill the Wolf Chucker and the Slime. Fixing seems like it will allow you to lessen even further the amount of actual Forests you put in the deck, which is a good thing with Hellhounds and Seismic Strikes.
P3P9: I totally cut the Weakness over the Mold Adder. Mold Adder probably won't make the deck, but Weakness is 100% playable and will show up on the other side of the table to ruin your Pyromancer fun.
Deckbuild:
I definitely run the Berserkers of Blood Ridge over the Wall of Wood. I just think it's a better card overall, there are few things that can profitably block it in the format.
I am skeptical about running Regenerate but have yet to run one myself so will not give criticism without having first hand experience with the card.
You ran the Slime huh? It seems pretty out of place in this build, being GG and all. I like that it can handle random Artifact or Enchantment threats, but it just doesn't feel aggro enough for the deck. I would consider taking it out and putting in the Wall of Wood in conjunction with the Berserkers. I would just be looking to go to the face, and there are going to be very few opening hands with the Slime in them that you are thrilled to keep.
Gameplay:
R1G2#2: You attack with the Artillery. You get your 1 point of damage through, but as I read I was fearing the Entangling Vines and just reeled when I read that he had it. Pacifism doesn't do much to the Artillery but the Vines shut it down nicely. I would have liked to have traded my 3 life for at least one creature before it was taken out of commission. Did you see this possibility coming at all? (btw this is a good argument for the Slime, needing to get rid of those Vines)
I didn't recognize the play vs the Troll either, I wonder if I would have in game. I have before, but it didn't even occur to me when reading.. bad.
Great stuff again, can't wait for next weeks wrap-up!
So, I know Steve Sadin wrote the article you wanted to write about going into a draft with a preset strategy, but I'd still enjoy a little more insight into your draft strategies/philosophies. There's stuff going on in your brainpan that you're not telling us.
Specifically in this case I'm wondering when do you bail on an awesome first pick and swerve into another color? Master of the Wild Hunt is downright awesome. No doubt. But it's just one card, that can be countered and removed. And by P1P3, and certainly by P1P5 it looks like green has dried up. And white appears to be wide open. Hopefully good green comes your way in Pack 2. But will it be enough? And at this point in the draft it's not clear just how wide open red is going to be. Who knew red would be your main color?
So, can one ever justify swerving away from bombs? What good cards would you be willing to swerve away from in this situation? I think what happens in Picks 4 through 7 of the first pack are really what set the tone for the rest of the draft. That's where the make or break decisions seem to get made and I wonder what your philosophy on those crucial picks is.
Was just going to say... hinder seem sideal here.
Have you thought about casting tunnel vision... on yourself? scry and clash cards make it easy, and it shouldn't be hard to put a 20/20 sutured ghoul into play. the only issue is giving it haste...
Why would you bolt the troll after he blocks the creeper? When regeneration occurs, the regenerated creature is tapped and removed from combat, so your creeper would deal 0 damage to both the troll and your opponent.
I might bolt the troll precombat to feel for a giant growth. If he regenerates it, I swing for 8 while he is tapped out, putting him to 6. Afterward, he cannot attack with the troll, or he will die on the backswing. He keeps the troll, but your creeper threatens lethal and you have a bunch more creatures as well.
M2G1, this is a high risk, high reward hand. I'd keep. He hasn't shown Griffin Sentinel or Negate, and appears to have much more Blue than White so Harm's Way turn 3~4 is unlikely if he plays out his hand and you Pyroclasm. Also, you have the possibility of Master of the Wild Hunt turn 4 and Acidic Slime turn 5.
Surprised he has double Sleep, Mind Control, Harm's Way...and Coral Merfolks.
@ArchGenius: Yes, of course a fetchland or a simple Terramorphic Expanse ruins everything, so it's not a silly question at all. Therefore one must look at the cards on the other side of the table once again and closely before casting Tunnel Vision.
@under_the_hammer: I actually saw your decklist but to be honest I categorized it as Leyline/Helm Combo. I saw Tunnel Vision in your deck but thought that you were using it as a tutor targeting yourself.
Oh and Hinder... you're absolutely right, I just don't know how and why I forgot about it.
I also thought that you might want to pick the flail over the bolt, but it's not a cut and dry pick. You already had the Artillery so Flail should at least be in the conversation. Had you known in advance that you'd get 2 pyromancers, then it's a must, but at that point in the draft it's a real toss up.
Re: Pyroclasm - it is an absolute bomb. I draft it and splash when I see it. There are some cards I pick over it, but I am always psyched to pick it, even P1.
I'm also a bit torn on pyroclasm and rarely pick it high. It will usually destroy many of your own creatures, and saving your small creatures in hand to maximize pyroclasm will usually lead to a tempo disaster. It's a good card that makes people play badly, and I tend to start it on sideboard.
I think i'd get the gorgon flail there. Bolt is excellent, no doubt, but the flail allows you to keep hitting opponent even if your creatures are outclassed, while comboing very well with any prodigal pyromancers/artillery you get. It also allows "cantrip" little creatures like elf visionary and sparkmage to block and kill almost any nonflying attacker. It's very versatile and I'll usually first pick it if no rare or uncommon bomb is present, especially if playing red.
re bolt the troll: Wow, what a donk move on my part, both not to make the right play in the first place, and then not to catch the mistake in the walkthrough! Total pre-M10 mentality in effect, good catch.
Hopefully, the shame of it will traumatize me into not making that mistake again in the future, and I'll get a free lesson out of it...
Nice article. I've seen Enduring Ideal decks before and they seem to have potential. I've seen many of them try for Squirrel Nest - Earthcraft combo. Form of the dragon is an interesting take on things.
Also, as an agro player I am really starting to dislike Humility... I've even thought about making a fun (casual) deck around Muraganda Petroglyphs as a way to combat Humility....
Silly question, but doesn't any fetchland or mirage tutor pretty much fizzle Tunnel Vision?
First of all, your articles are the best draft recaps on the internet. I have messaged you in-game to tell you this, so this is not news to you. I thought I should reiterate.
Question, when you attack with the Bramble Creeper, he has to pay his one G to regenerate before damage is dealt. If you lightning bolt in response, you keep your creeper. I know you won the game, so this is trivial, but could help in future play.
As for the R2G1 mulligan question, I'd keep that hand in a heartbeat. He played only one creature in all of round 1 that Pyroclasm doesn't kill (Mastodon) and you have another removal spell in hand already to deal with random fat that you don't know about (Serra, Air Elemental). You run the risk of flooding, but mulliganing this hand is an equal risk in my estimation.
I rarely play pauper, but when i do, i often run a deck very close to strategic monster. I consider it like a straight control deck, that is why i am playing as few creature as you are. I also putted into strategic planning & Sandstorm main deck (almost never unuseful).
The only comment compared to your deck is that, often i replace mulch. Sure it helps for threshold, but it was often a card i didnt really want to topdeck. I found several other options, not especialy regarding threshold that being said. The card i found very interesting was brainstorm : it is an easy T1 spell, almost never a dead card, and in my experience, it increases a lot the ability to tutor cards you need. Especialy with tribe-elder & far wandering main deck because of the shuffle effect (close to the interaction between brainstorm & fetchland). In late game, it also provide a double tutor possibility thank to cantrip effect of the flask. I tested also to replace it with lightning bolt for a different aim but with nice results.
Last thing : crypt rats is a card that could be considered also for SB. Sure it is much symetrical regarding damage, but it in my experience, it was interesting to provide a solution to heavy played Relic (harmful to sandstorm), or to provide an alternate kill.
@Anon - Act of Treason and Ooze Garden would definitely be synergistic, but I think that's heading towards a different deck. It still gives you tokens admittedly, but I felt I had that side of things covered with Sarkhan, Slave and Scarland Thrinax.
@LE - Bone Splinters could indeed have been very useful. Similarly some Unearthed creatures could have worked. Unearth them, attack, then Fleshbag / Scarland them before Exile. As ever, so hard to pare cards down to 60 slots. I have to say though, I was generally very happy with Slave.
@jhoke13 - thanks, and the Goblin Bombardment idea sounds nice.
Hey LE I totally agree with you. I'm so excited about this new set and what it has to bring I've always been mono color or two color type of player. So i'm excited they are pushing mono colors again and the tribes. I wish they would reprint smother or darkblast some kind of good black removal again. I'm beginning to see green to developing good for draft River Boa and Scute mob and scythe tiger. They have some good token generating things also like turntimber ranger and rampaging baloths talk about game changers for draft. I like the new elf that lets you play an extra land and you play with your top card revealed and if its a land you can play it as if it were in your hand its a complete card advantage and it keeps you from getting mana flooded but I bet you people who like to bluff will not like to play this card haha. Red with the new Chandra combo with Squee just seems like total sickness for extended people but who knows if we'll see that or not i think it sounds sick. Luminarch seems like a really good card but I think this set well have enough enchantment destroy for it not to be a huge deal but who knows it is a super good card no doubt but will be so much more powerful in multiplayer. Also with the tap sac lands some of my friends are saying they don't like that they are printing them just cause the extended players were crying for a mana fix, I mean they're pros and should play with the cards they are dealt and not complain for a mana fix and play with what they are dealt. I understand extended does need it to make it good and i'm still really pumped for the sac lands. I'll be at this prelease no doubt
Nice article LE and not what I expected. I figured you'd talk about the deck you played against me with crushing me silly. :) But these are more interesting, I suppose.
This draft seems right on the money. I have no quarrels with picks or plays. Nice work. :D
I really, really enjoyed this draft overview. Pacifism wheeling is just *crazy*. There must have been only 1 white drafter, and one who took Harm's way over Pacifism (Which is a huge mistake in my opinion. Combat trick
I'm the one that came up with the UWG Ideal deck that ArchGenius is likely talking about although I know at least one other player has been testing my list since I gave it to him. That deck also does use Form of the Dragon, but as ArchGenius said uses the Squirrel Nest Combo as a backup to the Form plan. Ideal can certainly be a Tier I strategy, it has just not made any T8s because no one is playing it currently in PEs. I would have played my list in the past 4 PEs, had I been able to make any of them.
I don't find this particular version of Ideal that appealing because I feel it relies far to heavily on Ideal to win. It's only back up plans are to hardcast and pray with Form or to somehow win with Red Honden, which is iffy at best without some kind of lock in place. Martial coup can also win, but a few post coup blockers can kill that easily. I rarely ever see searching up Greater Auramancy as a first target as viable. Usually you need something that is going to affect the board and start your lock. Greater Auramancy+Copy Enchantment+Form of the Dragon is not a lock and easily beatable by any number of aggro decks. However if you start searching up Dovescape+Humility+Form of the Dragon, that is a near perfect lock with each piece affecting the board immediately after hitting play. I have only found about 3 ways for an opponent to break it: Banefire, the red or blue resounding cycling spells from ALA, and Boseiju. Only the first of which is even remotely common to see in the format.
Deckwizard points out that the play is specifically to bolt the troll with the regeneration effect on the stack, not just after blocking, thus killing the troll before the regeneration shield resolves, saving the creeper.
Pre-M10, the troll player would simply wait until damage was on the stack, then put the regeneration shield on. The bolt would then take out the troll after combat, but I would have no way to save my creeper.
My mentality from years of stacked-damage play was that I would be trading the bolt and the creeper for the troll in that spot, and let that come to pass without a second thought.
Kudos as always for extending the streak of great write-ups. I know it's not easy to churn out content this good week after week.
The draft:
P1P10: Spearhunter is good. In Red, it's one of the few playable/good creatures at common. It's an easy pick over cutting some random White creature imo. Spearhunter is significantly better than Goblin Piker which is just awful. Yes it's a 3 drop, but at least it's playable.
P2P3: I take that Lava Axe all day over the Sparkmage Apprentice. Lava Axe is just good. P2 could have gone P1 Artillery, P2 Bolt, P3 Lava Axe.. got synergy? I mean just those 3 cards there, with only one activation of the Artillery halves your opponents life total. There is room in M10 for full-on red burn, but you have to get lucky enough to pull all the stuff, which you did, then passed.
P2P7: Minor point here, did you consider cutting the Blinding Mage instead of taking the Rampant Growth? Your deck was shaping up pretty darn Red at this point, and an opposing Blinding Mage can be a real pain. That being said, you had like 5 ways to kill it already so maybe not such a big issue.
P2P8: I agree with picking the Centaur Courser over the Inferno Elemental. 6 is a lot of mana, and yes he is a good body, but, well, 6 is still a lot of mana.
P2P10: Wow Pacifism went *that* late.
P2P11: You have this labeled as a mis-click, thank god, but I almost jumped out of my chair when I saw you not taking the Axe here. You must be anti-Axe or something. Axe + Artillery is way good imo.
P3P5: Lightning Bolt or Pyromancer. Wow what a sick spot. I *think* I just take the Bolt. The Pyromancer is good, but he dies easily, and by the time you get the 3 damage out of him its been 4 turns and 3 mana compared to 1 mana for the Bolt. He also dies to your Pyroclasm, which isn't irrelevant. If the game goes long you can however get more than 3 damage out of him, and use him on different targets obviously as well. I think I still just go the red burn route and take the bolt to go with my 2 Lava Ax... oh wait, nm. :(
P3P7: You criticized yourself for taking the Terramorphic Expanse here over the Ignite Disorder. I actually like the pick just fine. You are going to be super heavy Red it seems at this point, needing G for the Coursers and Ranger, and GG for Big Bill the Wolf Chucker and the Slime. Fixing seems like it will allow you to lessen even further the amount of actual Forests you put in the deck, which is a good thing with Hellhounds and Seismic Strikes.
P3P9: I totally cut the Weakness over the Mold Adder. Mold Adder probably won't make the deck, but Weakness is 100% playable and will show up on the other side of the table to ruin your Pyromancer fun.
Deckbuild:
I definitely run the Berserkers of Blood Ridge over the Wall of Wood. I just think it's a better card overall, there are few things that can profitably block it in the format.
I am skeptical about running Regenerate but have yet to run one myself so will not give criticism without having first hand experience with the card.
You ran the Slime huh? It seems pretty out of place in this build, being GG and all. I like that it can handle random Artifact or Enchantment threats, but it just doesn't feel aggro enough for the deck. I would consider taking it out and putting in the Wall of Wood in conjunction with the Berserkers. I would just be looking to go to the face, and there are going to be very few opening hands with the Slime in them that you are thrilled to keep.
Gameplay:
R1G2#2: You attack with the Artillery. You get your 1 point of damage through, but as I read I was fearing the Entangling Vines and just reeled when I read that he had it. Pacifism doesn't do much to the Artillery but the Vines shut it down nicely. I would have liked to have traded my 3 life for at least one creature before it was taken out of commission. Did you see this possibility coming at all? (btw this is a good argument for the Slime, needing to get rid of those Vines)
I didn't recognize the play vs the Troll either, I wonder if I would have in game. I have before, but it didn't even occur to me when reading.. bad.
Great stuff again, can't wait for next weeks wrap-up!
Great Work as usual.
So, I know Steve Sadin wrote the article you wanted to write about going into a draft with a preset strategy, but I'd still enjoy a little more insight into your draft strategies/philosophies. There's stuff going on in your brainpan that you're not telling us.
Specifically in this case I'm wondering when do you bail on an awesome first pick and swerve into another color? Master of the Wild Hunt is downright awesome. No doubt. But it's just one card, that can be countered and removed. And by P1P3, and certainly by P1P5 it looks like green has dried up. And white appears to be wide open. Hopefully good green comes your way in Pack 2. But will it be enough? And at this point in the draft it's not clear just how wide open red is going to be. Who knew red would be your main color?
So, can one ever justify swerving away from bombs? What good cards would you be willing to swerve away from in this situation? I think what happens in Picks 4 through 7 of the first pack are really what set the tone for the rest of the draft. That's where the make or break decisions seem to get made and I wonder what your philosophy on those crucial picks is.
Was just going to say... hinder seem sideal here.
Have you thought about casting tunnel vision... on yourself? scry and clash cards make it easy, and it shouldn't be hard to put a 20/20 sutured ghoul into play. the only issue is giving it haste...
Why would you bolt the troll after he blocks the creeper? When regeneration occurs, the regenerated creature is tapped and removed from combat, so your creeper would deal 0 damage to both the troll and your opponent.
I might bolt the troll precombat to feel for a giant growth. If he regenerates it, I swing for 8 while he is tapped out, putting him to 6. Afterward, he cannot attack with the troll, or he will die on the backswing. He keeps the troll, but your creeper threatens lethal and you have a bunch more creatures as well.
M2G1, this is a high risk, high reward hand. I'd keep. He hasn't shown Griffin Sentinel or Negate, and appears to have much more Blue than White so Harm's Way turn 3~4 is unlikely if he plays out his hand and you Pyroclasm. Also, you have the possibility of Master of the Wild Hunt turn 4 and Acidic Slime turn 5.
Surprised he has double Sleep, Mind Control, Harm's Way...and Coral Merfolks.
Thanks for the comments guys.
@ArchGenius: Yes, of course a fetchland or a simple Terramorphic Expanse ruins everything, so it's not a silly question at all. Therefore one must look at the cards on the other side of the table once again and closely before casting Tunnel Vision.
@under_the_hammer: I actually saw your decklist but to be honest I categorized it as Leyline/Helm Combo. I saw Tunnel Vision in your deck but thought that you were using it as a tutor targeting yourself.
Oh and Hinder... you're absolutely right, I just don't know how and why I forgot about it.
LE
I also thought that you might want to pick the flail over the bolt, but it's not a cut and dry pick. You already had the Artillery so Flail should at least be in the conversation. Had you known in advance that you'd get 2 pyromancers, then it's a must, but at that point in the draft it's a real toss up.
Re: Pyroclasm - it is an absolute bomb. I draft it and splash when I see it. There are some cards I pick over it, but I am always psyched to pick it, even P1.
I'm also a bit torn on pyroclasm and rarely pick it high. It will usually destroy many of your own creatures, and saving your small creatures in hand to maximize pyroclasm will usually lead to a tempo disaster. It's a good card that makes people play badly, and I tend to start it on sideboard.
I think i'd get the gorgon flail there. Bolt is excellent, no doubt, but the flail allows you to keep hitting opponent even if your creatures are outclassed, while comboing very well with any prodigal pyromancers/artillery you get. It also allows "cantrip" little creatures like elf visionary and sparkmage to block and kill almost any nonflying attacker. It's very versatile and I'll usually first pick it if no rare or uncommon bomb is present, especially if playing red.
I would love that sort of response to be honest. And thank you for mentioning the event I hope this increases interest and attendance.
Agree, something isn't right here. I couldn't listen for more than 2 minutes.
Whoever is recording these, the last two episodes have had some serious sound quality issues that I find make it rather impossible to listen to.
Thanks.
re bolt the troll: Wow, what a donk move on my part, both not to make the right play in the first place, and then not to catch the mistake in the walkthrough! Total pre-M10 mentality in effect, good catch.
Hopefully, the shame of it will traumatize me into not making that mistake again in the future, and I'll get a free lesson out of it...
I made Top8 a couple of weeks back with Tunnel Vision in my deck as an alternate combo win:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/events.aspx?x=mtg/daily/decks/mol5...
You should consider running Hinder as an additional enabler. In G3 of the Top8 I pulled of the combo but was trumped by Gaea's Blessing.
Nice article. I've seen Enduring Ideal decks before and they seem to have potential. I've seen many of them try for Squirrel Nest - Earthcraft combo. Form of the dragon is an interesting take on things.
Also, as an agro player I am really starting to dislike Humility... I've even thought about making a fun (casual) deck around Muraganda Petroglyphs as a way to combat Humility....
Silly question, but doesn't any fetchland or mirage tutor pretty much fizzle Tunnel Vision?
First of all, your articles are the best draft recaps on the internet. I have messaged you in-game to tell you this, so this is not news to you. I thought I should reiterate.
Question, when you attack with the Bramble Creeper, he has to pay his one G to regenerate before damage is dealt. If you lightning bolt in response, you keep your creeper. I know you won the game, so this is trivial, but could help in future play.
As for the R2G1 mulligan question, I'd keep that hand in a heartbeat. He played only one creature in all of round 1 that Pyroclasm doesn't kill (Mastodon) and you have another removal spell in hand already to deal with random fat that you don't know about (Serra, Air Elemental). You run the risk of flooding, but mulliganing this hand is an equal risk in my estimation.
I'm surprised you didn't mention Riding the Dilu Horse. If there is one unc. I want to see in my Aggro pool, it's definitely this one.
Fine article & decks
I rarely play pauper, but when i do, i often run a deck very close to strategic monster. I consider it like a straight control deck, that is why i am playing as few creature as you are. I also putted into strategic planning & Sandstorm main deck (almost never unuseful).
The only comment compared to your deck is that, often i replace mulch. Sure it helps for threshold, but it was often a card i didnt really want to topdeck. I found several other options, not especialy regarding threshold that being said. The card i found very interesting was brainstorm : it is an easy T1 spell, almost never a dead card, and in my experience, it increases a lot the ability to tutor cards you need. Especialy with tribe-elder & far wandering main deck because of the shuffle effect (close to the interaction between brainstorm & fetchland). In late game, it also provide a double tutor possibility thank to cantrip effect of the flask. I tested also to replace it with lightning bolt for a different aim but with nice results.
Last thing : crypt rats is a card that could be considered also for SB. Sure it is much symetrical regarding damage, but it in my experience, it was interesting to provide a solution to heavy played Relic (harmful to sandstorm), or to provide an alternate kill.
doors.txt;10;15
Thanks for the comments.
@Anon - Act of Treason and Ooze Garden would definitely be synergistic, but I think that's heading towards a different deck. It still gives you tokens admittedly, but I felt I had that side of things covered with Sarkhan, Slave and Scarland Thrinax.
@LE - Bone Splinters could indeed have been very useful. Similarly some Unearthed creatures could have worked. Unearth them, attack, then Fleshbag / Scarland them before Exile. As ever, so hard to pare cards down to 60 slots. I have to say though, I was generally very happy with Slave.
@jhoke13 - thanks, and the Goblin Bombardment idea sounds nice.
@whiffy - Definitely a drag queen!
@moertora - thanks!
Hey LE I totally agree with you. I'm so excited about this new set and what it has to bring I've always been mono color or two color type of player. So i'm excited they are pushing mono colors again and the tribes. I wish they would reprint smother or darkblast some kind of good black removal again. I'm beginning to see green to developing good for draft River Boa and Scute mob and scythe tiger. They have some good token generating things also like turntimber ranger and rampaging baloths talk about game changers for draft. I like the new elf that lets you play an extra land and you play with your top card revealed and if its a land you can play it as if it were in your hand its a complete card advantage and it keeps you from getting mana flooded but I bet you people who like to bluff will not like to play this card haha. Red with the new Chandra combo with Squee just seems like total sickness for extended people but who knows if we'll see that or not i think it sounds sick. Luminarch seems like a really good card but I think this set well have enough enchantment destroy for it not to be a huge deal but who knows it is a super good card no doubt but will be so much more powerful in multiplayer. Also with the tap sac lands some of my friends are saying they don't like that they are printing them just cause the extended players were crying for a mana fix, I mean they're pros and should play with the cards they are dealt and not complain for a mana fix and play with what they are dealt. I understand extended does need it to make it good and i'm still really pumped for the sac lands. I'll be at this prelease no doubt