There are a lot of resources in this forum for limited players of all skill levels. We have P1P1 discussions, a bragging thread, a venting thread, a thread for nice plays, individual card discussions, discussions of individual colors, and a thread where we go through each card in a set randomly. But one thing that's harder to do in the forum format -- though I've dabbled here and there -- is a resource for limited players, especially newer ones, to look at limited decks as a whole. You can learn a lot by figuring out which cards are better than other cards in the same color, but it can be tougher to parse out whether or not you've got a good deck on your hands -- whether you lost because you drew or played poorly, or because your deck wasn't particularly cohesive and couldn't have been expected to put up a good result. As the Tolstoy saying goes, all 0-1 decks are alike; each 3-0 deck is good* in its own way.
*Or at least 3-0
So with that in mind -- and given that we're taking the best parts of both bragging and constructive feedback and mashing them together, hopefully -- I'd like to see your 3-0 decks. NB: I'm talking about REAL 3-0 decks, decks that you played and won 3 matches with. None of these decks where opponents disconnected, where you split the finals and won the roll, and maybe not even where your first two opponents were running 80-card specials game 1. I think now is a perfect time to start with this, since we're in online prerelease fever and nobody knows quite what's good yet.
Gut Rating Going into Round 1: 6.5ish. MVP(s):Stalking Drone/Make a Stand. Underperformers (good idea, PJ!): Nothing notable. My games were fairly similar due to multiple copies of things and I never drew the cards I'm uncertain about (Reshaper, Searing Light). The idiots were idiots, the tricks were tricks, the removal was removal. Overall record: 6-0. 1st picks:Isolation Zone, Matter Reshaper (6 tix), Evolving Wilds.
Feel free to embellish as much as you'd like; those are just some guidelines.
Not a particularly exciting deck but just very solid all around. P1P1 was Essence Depleter in a rather weak pack, P2P1 was Reality Smasher, and P3P1 was Roil Spout, in an utterly dead pack.
Biggest stand out card was probably Roiling Waters, and least impressive was probably Breaker of Armies as this deck didn't really ever need the 8 drop. Other than that, Warping Wail, and Unity of Purpose worked probably better than I was expecting.
I thought the deck was fairly good, expected to go 2-1 but thought I had a decent chance of 3-0. Issues with the deck were that I had no real bombs, was missing some of the better white removal, and my curve was a little higher on 3 drops than would have ideal; but overall it seemed solid. For whatever reason, the players in my pod did not seem to be interested in Blinding Drone, I got them all 5-9th pick, even had to pass one of them because I needed to take a colorless source over it.
Overperformers - Support cards (Shoulder to Shoulder, Relief Captain, and Expedition Raptor) all ended up playing better than I expected. Shoulder to Shoulder was the one I was least sure about, but I was always happy when I cast it.
Underperformers - Roiling Waters never ended up being great for me. In retrospect, I think that's just because I had multiple other ways to push through damage with Blinding Drone and Cryptic Cruiser, so it wasn't necessary (and being a seven mana spell it would often sit in my hand). Blinding Drone was great... though drawing multiples when I only had one colorless source wasn't always the best.
Gut Rating Going into Round 1: 9.5. MVP(s):Immolating Glare/Tajuru Pathwarden. Normally Kill Shot type effects aren't great in aggressive decks, but the 1-mana discount is a huge deal and it makes it very difficult to race you or start to take the aggressive role from parity. Also, prerelease note: I picked up one of the Pathwardens 12th. 12th. Underperformers:Netcaster Spider was pretty twerpy. I had both Kozilek's Channeler and Deathless Behemoth, but I wanted to make sure I didn't get run over before I got to end the game on 4 and 5. Overall record: 6-1. Dropped the first game I played by keeping a 5-lander and having 14/18 in play at the end, and still almost stabilized but for a Blinding Drone, Endbringer, Linvala, the Preserver, AND Angel of Renewal. 1st picks: Relief Captain, Sylvan Advocate, Gideon.
Quote from FTW1987 »
So you're saying you got PASSED Eldrazi Skyspawner, another Eldrazi Skyspawner, Ulamog's Nullifier (reasonable, I guess since you cut UB), Benthic Infiltrator. Did people forget these cards were good in BFZ?
I think 3rd pack is still very awkward for people. Signaling is tougher in a small set with a glut of playable commons, and having 2 packs of that means that you can think you're in the right colors only to have anything reasonable completely dry up pack 3 while you pass premium commons you can't cast. One of many incredibly obvious downsides to still making small sets in a 2-set block!
Screenshotted because I have it and am lazy. Support is huge, it makes even dumb filler creatures like Felidar Cub into 3/3 threats. I think Ondu Rising went up in value a lot with this set, white is now more likely to be paired with green which makes it give larger life swings, and also there's less competition for expensive awaken-type cards in your deck, plus the 4/4 body is much better here than in BFZ. Press Into Service was an absolute beating every time I drew it, in any deck that plays a lot of creatures and wants to beat down I would pick it highly.
How did most of your games play out? That deck looks kind of dicey to me. I don't think there's a chance I would splash the Hunter on 3 sources, or ever run only 17 lands in this deck. I like Saddleback Lagac a lot -- did you just ride it into the sunset every time?
I was on the fence between 17 and 18 lands, but I really had no late-game mana sinks or anything to mitigate flood so I decided to go with 17. I waffled between blue and white a lot that draft so my only sideboard cards on color were Affa Protector and Fortified Rampart, neither of which fit my aggression too much. I might have cut the Hunter for an on-color card if I had something reasonable (probably even a 2/2 for 2 in green or white) Most of my games I was getting out a couple of creatures, then supporting and striking in with creatures bigger than any of my opponent's blockers.
Another 3-0 below from just now, matches 2 and 3 were very close 3-game affairs. In round 2, my opponent was R/W swingy aggro playing such hits as double Bone Saw and the 1/2 equipment Kor. He got off a big turn and killed me game 1 with a surged Reckless Bushwhacker, but then got stuck on lands game 2. In game 3 he played turn 2 Bone Saw-menace 3/2, which is a very scary/frustrating opener to play against, then Wall of Resurgence, then made a questionable attack where we each traded about 3 creatures, but he lost his 4th land in the combat and didn't have another for a while. I'm not sure I'm sold on playing the Wall in an aggressive deck unless you really have no use for late game lands.
Round 3 my opponent was a powerful W/B ally deck with Drana's Emissary, multiple Spawnbinders, Malakir Soothsayer, and Kalastria Nightwatch. He lost one game to mana screw, then the remaining 2 games were close down to the wire games where I got him down to 5 or 6 life early, but he tried to claw his way back with life gain and slowly grind me out with fliers. Game 1 this worked and he managed to win with a 9 point flying attack, especially since my splash mana for Dread Defiler was slow to come. Game 3 I managed to just barely push through enough flying damage with the help of my boarded in Wavewing Elemental.
I had an interesting deck building query with this deck. There was clearly enough blue that I only needed a small splash for a second color (the remaining blue cards in my board were weak enough that a splash was definitely a good plan though, especially with the Pilgrim's Eye). My choices were:
I had a Wave-Wing Elemental in the board, so any of the splashes except for black I would have played it too, and Ancient Crabs as needed to fill out the deck. Would you also have picked black?
I was very short on removal, which seems to have been a consistent problem for me in this format so far. I firstpicked Immolating Glare in my first pack, taking it over a good white rare in Munda's Vanguard, and it ended up being the only decent removal I got in my colours at any point. Initially it looked like WU fliers was the way to go, but some later picks made me decide on aggressive WR. I'd also lost in the finals of the previous draft to a good RW deck, so I knew it was doable. I had quite a few concerns going into the matches, particularly the lack of removal but also because I hadn't picked up a couple of the cards I was hoping would show. Nevertheless, the deck looked cohesive so I felt I had some chance.
MVP(s): The deck mostly ran on a good curve and the cards working well together, without any real standouts. However, it's worth noting that the equipment subtheme functioned really well with Captain's Claws/Weapons Trainer/Chitinous Cloak. Underperformers: Most cards played their part. United Front was weak, partly because I'd forgotten to add Meandering River to my starting list and so could only get a max of two from it. Affa Protector was really just a filler creature that never did much. Overall Record: 6-2. Flattened the first round with speed. Second round was a slow player with a slow deck, I dropped a game to mana flood but won the others with fliers after he stalled out the ground. This fellow was clearly the one who'd drafted all the white removal. Third round was a 3-colours + C deck that overwhelmed me in one game when it hit all its colours and some good spells, but was too slow in the other games. 1st Picks: Immolating Glare, Captain's Claws, Undergrowth Champion (opened a pack with zero playable red or white cards, so I took the mythic)
This deck was incredibly consistent. When I was flooded, the invoker dealt the last bit of damage I needed. This facilitated the 18 lands. I have a feeling people will catch onto the power of the Lagac sooner or later but, at least for my win percentage, hopefully later. I've found Loam Larva to be great with support. Often times, a 2/4 is just as good, if not better, than a 3/3. Zada's Commando is definitely a high pick for me too. It is so efficient!
1st picks: Pack 1 - Nissa's Judgment. THis card is amazing and I don't think I will be passing it very often. I think I took it over a Tyrant of Valakut which I think is totally the right call.
Pack 2 - Akoum Flameseeker. Super dissapointing pick. This was the only playable red or green card in the pack!
Pack 3 - Snapping Gnarlid. At this point I was hard up for 2 drops (you can see that I got 4 out of 6 of them from the third pack). Snapping Gnarlid was always a great card and is now so much better because of the increase in green's playability. It finally has a home in OTG-OTG-BFZ.
I remember an opponent at the 2-headed giant prerelease telling me after the game that the Saddleback Lagac was bad and I should take it out of my deck. It's been pretty sweet for me since though.
This deck felt really busted to me, and it certainly delivered. A healthy(?) amount of removal, power, and synergy. I was quite impressed by all the cohort guys.
Deck 2: P1P1:Oblivion Strike. MVPs:Sea Gate Wreckage, not close. Beyond that, Havoc Sower was pretty brutal. Underperformers: Processors. Unsurprisingly, it was difficult to find exiled cards for these. But I was short on playables, so... Game record: 6-2, I think
I was pretty dissatisfied with this after the draft, primarily because of two things: 1) I had failed to find any big things on which to spend my extra mana from my mana dorks; 2) the colored mana situation in the deck felt pretty bad. I should, perhaps, not have played the second Wastes, but I also did have a number of Eldrazi that really only did stuff with some colorless around.
Just got back from GP Vancouver and was able to 6-0 day 2 to get into t64 after getting in at X-3. My first deck was GW support, and second was RG, but I can't remember the GW list right now. Here is the RG list though:
First Rating: 8
MVP's: 4 power creatures, Vines of the recluse
Underperformers: Goblin Freerunner, Expedite
Overall Record: 6-0
First Picks: Tyrant of Valakut, ?Tajuru Pathwarden?, Woodland Wanderer
Was very happy with the deck. I sideboarded in Brute strength every round, but started with expedite in case I ran into a removal heavy deck. I can't remember what my P2P1 was, so there is a chance it was a rare I didn't play or the reality hemorrhage as well. Deck would cast a 4 power creature on T4 pretty consistently, and then continue attacking until opponent was dead. Supporting the spiders made very strong defensive and offensive threats. Also got to live the dream of Dragonmaster Outcast, surged into Tyrant of Valakut. I feel Green is super undervalued right now. The one thing I would say if you are green is to try to figure out your other colour in P1 so that you can get that colour in P3 when green dries up/is terrible.
How was Matter Reshaper on only 4 colorless sources? One of which is more expensive.
I mean, I guess if you had further RG playables you'd have listed them in your board.
Drafted this sweet G/B deck last night, but I'm not sure if this is the optimal build. Not even sure if this is an 18 land deck, and I always boarded out a Forest when I was on the draw.
Rating before Round 1: 8.5 MVPs: Loam Larva. I believe the 1/3 body is better than a 2/2 in this format, and I like smoothing out my draws. So glad I picked the first one over Netcaster Spider. Some of my other dudes were good, too. Underperformers: Nissa. Never drew her =( Record: 6-1. Lost R1G2 against a R/G deck playing Omnath, Locus of Rage, Nissa's Renewal and Zendikar Resurgent. I think I could have decked the guy, except I made the foolish mistake of O-Striking Omnath instead of Relentless Hunter. That guy is no joke when there's a Zendikar Resurgent and 15 lands in play. First picks: Sifter of Skulls, Nissa, Bone Splinters (should've picked Evolving Wilds).
Vedocorban - I think not playing Snapping Gnarlid is wrong most of the time. The card is very strong. I think you were correct to play 17 lands with the two drops you are playing. I might have left the plated crusher in the sideboard for grindier matchups in favor for the gnarlid. Also, Might have replaced the Zulaport Chainmage for Giant Mantis to shore up your game against flyers (seems weak to them at the moment).
Anyway, came by to post a decklist I just 3-0'd an 8-4 with online :).
MVPs: Reflector Mage (surprise!). Everything else seemed about on par with what I expected. But man, those draws where I had multiple Reflector Mages in a row were insane. I felt like I couldn't lose.
Underperformers: I got blown out with my searing light multiple times with my opponents having the new 1 cmc tricks. It's like, you can't really play the card on a guy if your opponent has 1R, G, or B up.
Record: 6-2. Rounds 1 and 3 I won 2-0 but round 2, I kinda should have lost but my opponent timed out! To the deck's credit, I had drawn rather poorly those second two games (I won the first). Essence depleter is a house.
First picks: Isolation Zone, Isolation Zone, Lantern Scout
Despite some tough choices in the draft this deck felt great. Stalking Drone and Havoc Sower were both in contention for MVP, but the clear winner has to go to Sea Gate Wreckage. I'll get on board with the other people hyping this card, it is the stone cold nuts in any game that goes slightly long, I will probably start taking it over oblivion strikes.
Flaying Tendrils was probably the worst card, sided it out pretty much every game.
Vedocorban - I think not playing Snapping Gnarlid is wrong most of the time. The card is very strong. I think you were correct to play 17 lands with the two drops you are playing. I might have left the plated crusher in the sideboard for grindier matchups in favor for the gnarlid. Also, Might have replaced the Zulaport Chainmage for Giant Mantis to shore up your game against flyers (seems weak to them at the moment).
Congrats on your 3-0. That deck looks absolutely bananas. It's odd seeing Blinding Drone and 2 Cultivator Drone in the sideboard, but clearly they weren't needed.
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*Or at least 3-0
So with that in mind -- and given that we're taking the best parts of both bragging and constructive feedback and mashing them together, hopefully -- I'd like to see your 3-0 decks. NB: I'm talking about REAL 3-0 decks, decks that you played and won 3 matches with. None of these decks where opponents disconnected, where you split the finals and won the roll, and maybe not even where your first two opponents were running 80-card specials game 1. I think now is a perfect time to start with this, since we're in online prerelease fever and nobody knows quite what's good yet.
(Obviously I'll start. I mean, come on.)
2 Stalking Drone
1 Baloth Pup
1 Rot Shambler
1 Hedron Crawler
4 Scion Summoner
1 Matter Reshaper
1 Saddleback Lagac
1 Eyeless Watcher
1 Ondu Greathorn
1 Tajuru Pathwarden
1 Embodiment of Insight
1 Searing Light
1 Vines of the Recluse
1 Mighty Leap
1 Make a Stand
1 Encircling Fissure
1 Isolation Zone
1 Nissa's Judgment
Lands: 18
1 Crumbling Vestige
1 Spawning Bed
1 Evolving Wilds
9 Forest
6 Plains
1 Lithomancer's Focus
1 Plummet
1 Elemental Uprising
1 Warping Wail
Gut Rating Going into Round 1: 6.5ish.
MVP(s): Stalking Drone/Make a Stand.
Underperformers (good idea, PJ!): Nothing notable. My games were fairly similar due to multiple copies of things and I never drew the cards I'm uncertain about (Reshaper, Searing Light). The idiots were idiots, the tricks were tricks, the removal was removal.
Overall record: 6-0.
1st picks: Isolation Zone, Matter Reshaper (6 tix), Evolving Wilds.
Feel free to embellish as much as you'd like; those are just some guidelines.
Let the 3-0s roll!
1 Blinding Drone
1 Sky Scourer
1 Slaughter Drone
2 Eldrazi Skyspawner
2 Cultivator Drone
1 Benthic Infiltrator
1 Essence Depleter
1 Vampire Envoy
1 Mindmelter
1 Kozilek's Shrieker
1 Havoc Sower
1 Ulamog's Nullifier
1 Reality Smasher
1 Kozilek's Pathfinder
1 Breaker of Armies
1 Unnatural Endurance
1 Transgress the Mind
1 Warping Wail
1 Swarm Surge
1 Unity of Purpose
1 Roiling Waters
Lands:
2 Unknown Shores
1 Wastes
1 Skyline Cascade
6 Island
7 Swamp
1 Negate
2 Ulamog's Reclaimer
1 Corpse Churn
1 Mind Raker
1 Roil Spout
Not a particularly exciting deck but just very solid all around. P1P1 was Essence Depleter in a rather weak pack, P2P1 was Reality Smasher, and P3P1 was Roil Spout, in an utterly dead pack.
Biggest stand out card was probably Roiling Waters, and least impressive was probably Breaker of Armies as this deck didn't really ever need the 8 drop. Other than that, Warping Wail, and Unity of Purpose worked probably better than I was expecting.
3 Blinding Drone
1 Hedron Crawler
1 Kor Sky Climber
1 Shadow Glider
1 Wall of Resurgence
2 Benthic Infiltrator
1 Cultivator Drone
1 Relief Captain
1 Cryptic Cruiser
1 Murk Strider
1 Expedition Raptor
1 Jwar Isle Avenger
1 Oracle of Dust
1 Windrider Patrol
1 Searing Light
1 Sheer Drop
1 Shoulder to Shoulder
1 Containment Membrane
1 Sweep Away
1 Roiling Waters
Lands: 17
1 Unknown Shores
1 Holdout Settlement
1 Wastes
1 Sandstone Bridge
1 Meandering River
7 Island
5 Plains
1 Searing Light
1 Spell Shrivel
1 Comparative Analysis
1 Roilmage's Trick
1 Wastes
P1P1 was Oath of Nissa (worth a few tickets and reasonably playable), P2P1 was Relief Captain (iirc), P3P1 was Windrider Patrol.
I thought the deck was fairly good, expected to go 2-1 but thought I had a decent chance of 3-0. Issues with the deck were that I had no real bombs, was missing some of the better white removal, and my curve was a little higher on 3 drops than would have ideal; but overall it seemed solid. For whatever reason, the players in my pod did not seem to be interested in Blinding Drone, I got them all 5-9th pick, even had to pass one of them because I needed to take a colorless source over it.
Overperformers - Support cards (Shoulder to Shoulder, Relief Captain, and Expedition Raptor) all ended up playing better than I expected. Shoulder to Shoulder was the one I was least sure about, but I was always happy when I cast it.
Underperformers - Roiling Waters never ended up being great for me. In retrospect, I think that's just because I had multiple other ways to push through damage with Blinding Drone and Cryptic Cruiser, so it wasn't necessary (and being a seven mana spell it would often sit in my hand). Blinding Drone was great... though drawing multiples when I only had one colorless source wasn't always the best.
So you're saying you got PASSED Eldrazi Skyspawner, another Eldrazi Skyspawner, Ulamog's Nullifier (reasonable, I guess since you cut UB), Benthic Infiltrator. Did people forget these cards were good in BFZ?
2 Ondu War Cleric
1 Sylvan Advocate
1 Stalking Drone
2 Kor Sky Climber
2 Scion Summoner
1 Netcaster Spider
2 Courier Griffin
1 Relief Captain
2 Tajuru Pathwarden
1 Searing Light
2 Immolating Glare
1 Shoulder to Shoulder
2 Isolation Zone
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Nissa's Judgment
Lands: 18
1 Sandstone Bridge
1 Blighted Woodland
9 Plains
7 Forest
1 Lithomancer's Focus
1 Vines of the Recluse
1 Reclaiming Vines
Gut Rating Going into Round 1: 9.5.
MVP(s): Immolating Glare/Tajuru Pathwarden. Normally Kill Shot type effects aren't great in aggressive decks, but the 1-mana discount is a huge deal and it makes it very difficult to race you or start to take the aggressive role from parity. Also, prerelease note: I picked up one of the Pathwardens 12th. 12th.
Underperformers: Netcaster Spider was pretty twerpy. I had both Kozilek's Channeler and Deathless Behemoth, but I wanted to make sure I didn't get run over before I got to end the game on 4 and 5.
Overall record: 6-1. Dropped the first game I played by keeping a 5-lander and having 14/18 in play at the end, and still almost stabilized but for a Blinding Drone, Endbringer, Linvala, the Preserver, AND Angel of Renewal.
1st picks: Relief Captain, Sylvan Advocate, Gideon.
I think 3rd pack is still very awkward for people. Signaling is tougher in a small set with a glut of playable commons, and having 2 packs of that means that you can think you're in the right colors only to have anything reasonable completely dry up pack 3 while you pass premium commons you can't cast. One of many incredibly obvious downsides to still making small sets in a 2-set block!
'Grats on the win, of course!
Another 3-0 below from just now, matches 2 and 3 were very close 3-game affairs. In round 2, my opponent was R/W swingy aggro playing such hits as double Bone Saw and the 1/2 equipment Kor. He got off a big turn and killed me game 1 with a surged Reckless Bushwhacker, but then got stuck on lands game 2. In game 3 he played turn 2 Bone Saw-menace 3/2, which is a very scary/frustrating opener to play against, then Wall of Resurgence, then made a questionable attack where we each traded about 3 creatures, but he lost his 4th land in the combat and didn't have another for a while. I'm not sure I'm sold on playing the Wall in an aggressive deck unless you really have no use for late game lands.
Round 3 my opponent was a powerful W/B ally deck with Drana's Emissary, multiple Spawnbinders, Malakir Soothsayer, and Kalastria Nightwatch. He lost one game to mana screw, then the remaining 2 games were close down to the wire games where I got him down to 5 or 6 life early, but he tried to claw his way back with life gain and slowly grind me out with fliers. Game 1 this worked and he managed to win with a 9 point flying attack, especially since my splash mana for Dread Defiler was slow to come. Game 3 I managed to just barely push through enough flying damage with the help of my boarded in Wavewing Elemental.
I had an interesting deck building query with this deck. There was clearly enough blue that I only needed a small splash for a second color (the remaining blue cards in my board were weak enough that a splash was definitely a good plan though, especially with the Pilgrim's Eye). My choices were:
Black: Dread Defiler, 2 Slaughter Drone, Witness the End, Reaver Drone
Green: Void Grafter, Stalking Drone
White: Isolation Zone
Red: Jori En, Ruin Diver
I had a Wave-Wing Elemental in the board, so any of the splashes except for black I would have played it too, and Ancient Crabs as needed to fill out the deck. Would you also have picked black?
1 Cliffside Lookout
1 Makindi Aeronaut
1 Kor Castigator
1 Weapons Trainer
1 Affa Protector
1 Kor Sky Climber
1 Goblin Freerunner
1 Embodiment of Fury
1 Ondu Champion
1 Steppe Glider
2 Cinder Hellion
1 Kor Entanglers
1 Ghostly Sentinel
1 Captain's Claws
1 Brute Strength
1 Immolating Glare
1 Ondu Rising
1 Chitinous Cloak
1 Oath of Gideon
1 Make a Stand
1 Allied Reinforcements
1 Unified Front
Lands: 17
6 Mountain
11 Plains
1 Searing Light
1 Ruin Processor
1 Kozilek's Pathfinder
1 Meandering River
1 Expedite
1 Sweep Away
1 Wave-Wing Elemental
1 Jwar Isle Avenger
1 Comparative Analysis
1 Umara Entangler
1 Cryptic Cruiser
1 Stormchaser Mage
1 Roilmage's Trick
1 Bone Saw
1 Kozilek's Translator
1 Vampire Envoy
1 Undergrowth Champion
1 Infuse with the Elements
1 Plains
1 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Island
MVP(s): The deck mostly ran on a good curve and the cards working well together, without any real standouts. However, it's worth noting that the equipment subtheme functioned really well with Captain's Claws/Weapons Trainer/Chitinous Cloak.
Underperformers: Most cards played their part. United Front was weak, partly because I'd forgotten to add Meandering River to my starting list and so could only get a max of two from it. Affa Protector was really just a filler creature that never did much.
Overall Record: 6-2. Flattened the first round with speed. Second round was a slow player with a slow deck, I dropped a game to mana flood but won the others with fliers after he stalled out the ground. This fellow was clearly the one who'd drafted all the white removal. Third round was a 3-colours + C deck that overwhelmed me in one game when it hit all its colours and some good spells, but was too slow in the other games.
1st Picks: Immolating Glare, Captain's Claws, Undergrowth Champion (opened a pack with zero playable red or white cards, so I took the mythic)
1x Loam Larva
1x Zada's Commando
2x Oran-Rief Invoker
2x Snapping Gnarlid
2x Relentless Hunter
1x Akoum Flameseeker
1x Scion Summoner
1x Valakut Invoker
3x Saddleback Lagac
1x Cinder Hellion
1x Shatterskull Recruit
1x Tajuru Pathwarden
1x Tajuru Beastmaster
1x Vines of the Recluse
1x Reality Hemorrhage
1x Pulse of Murasa
1x Nissa's Judgment
Lands
10x Forest
6x Mountain
2x Looming Spires
1x Lead by Example
1x Pyromancer's Assault
This deck was incredibly consistent. When I was flooded, the invoker dealt the last bit of damage I needed. This facilitated the 18 lands. I have a feeling people will catch onto the power of the Lagac sooner or later but, at least for my win percentage, hopefully later. I've found Loam Larva to be great with support. Often times, a 2/4 is just as good, if not better, than a 3/3. Zada's Commando is definitely a high pick for me too. It is so efficient!
1st picks: Pack 1 - Nissa's Judgment. THis card is amazing and I don't think I will be passing it very often. I think I took it over a Tyrant of Valakut which I think is totally the right call.
Pack 2 - Akoum Flameseeker. Super dissapointing pick. This was the only playable red or green card in the pack!
Pack 3 - Snapping Gnarlid. At this point I was hard up for 2 drops (you can see that I got 4 out of 6 of them from the third pack). Snapping Gnarlid was always a great card and is now so much better because of the increase in green's playability. It finally has a home in OTG-OTG-BFZ.
CubeTutor
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Deck 1:
P1P1: Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim over Embodiment of Fury.
MVPs: The Vampire Envoys, Cliffhaven Vampire.
Underperformers: Smite the Monstrous. I struggled to find targets for this throughout the draft.
Game record: 6-0
This deck felt really busted to me, and it certainly delivered. A healthy(?) amount of removal, power, and synergy. I was quite impressed by all the cohort guys.
Deck 2:
P1P1: Oblivion Strike.
MVPs: Sea Gate Wreckage, not close. Beyond that, Havoc Sower was pretty brutal.
Underperformers: Processors. Unsurprisingly, it was difficult to find exiled cards for these. But I was short on playables, so...
Game record: 6-2, I think
I was pretty dissatisfied with this after the draft, primarily because of two things: 1) I had failed to find any big things on which to spend my extra mana from my mana dorks; 2) the colored mana situation in the deck felt pretty bad. I should, perhaps, not have played the second Wastes, but I also did have a number of Eldrazi that really only did stuff with some colorless around.
2 Baloth Pup
1 Stalking Drone
1 Snapping Gnarlid
1 Oran-Rief Invoker
1 Hedron Crawler
1 Lifespring Druid
1 Matter Reshaper
1 Mina and Denn, Wildborn
1 Warden of Geometries
1 Saddleback Lagac
1 Embodiment of Fury
1 Embodiment of Insight
1 Tajuru Pathwarden
1 Akoum Hellkite
1 Gladehart Cavalry
2 Vines of the Recluse
2 Devour in Flames
1 Pulse of Murasa
1 Stonefury
Lands: 18
2 Holdout Settlement
1 Evolving Wilds
9 Forest
6 Mountain
1 Tears of Valakut
1 Reclaiming Vines
1 Scour from Existencep
Rating Going Into Round 1: 7ish.
MVP(s): Mina and Denn/Pulse of Murasa.
Underperformers: Baloth Pup and Warden of Geometries.
Overall Record: 6-2.
1st picks: Matter Reshaper, Devour in Flames, Evolving Wilds.
1 Dragonmaster Outcast
1 Stalking Drone
1 Loam Larva
1 Valakut Predator
1 Lifespring Druid
3 Netcaster Spider
2 Saddleback Lagac
1 Goblin Freerunner
1 Woodland Wanderer
1 Broodhunter Worm
3 Tajuru Pathwarden
1 Tyrant of Valakut
1 Expedite
1 Vines of the Recluse
1 Reality Hemorrhage
1 Unnatural Aggression
1 Boulder Salvo
Lands:
8 Forests
6 Mountains
1 Turntimber Gorge
1 Holdout Settlement
1 Ondu Champion
1 Brute Strength
1 Eldrazi Aggressor
1 Tears of Valakut
First Rating: 8
MVP's: 4 power creatures, Vines of the recluse
Underperformers: Goblin Freerunner, Expedite
Overall Record: 6-0
First Picks: Tyrant of Valakut, ?Tajuru Pathwarden?, Woodland Wanderer
Was very happy with the deck. I sideboarded in Brute strength every round, but started with expedite in case I ran into a removal heavy deck. I can't remember what my P2P1 was, so there is a chance it was a rare I didn't play or the reality hemorrhage as well. Deck would cast a 4 power creature on T4 pretty consistently, and then continue attacking until opponent was dead. Supporting the spiders made very strong defensive and offensive threats. Also got to live the dream of Dragonmaster Outcast, surged into Tyrant of Valakut. I feel Green is super undervalued right now. The one thing I would say if you are green is to try to figure out your other colour in P1 so that you can get that colour in P3 when green dries up/is terrible.
How was Matter Reshaper on only 4 colorless sources? One of which is more expensive.
I mean, I guess if you had further RG playables you'd have listed them in your board.
1 Beastcaller Savant
2 Loam Larva
3 Vampire Envoy
1 Seed Guardian
1 Saddleback Lagac
1 Sifter of Skulls
1 Zulaport Chainmage
1 Kozilek's Channeler
1 Malakir Soothsayer
2 Tajuru Pathwarden
1 Baloth Null
1 Plated Crusher
Spells (6)
1 Vines of the Recluse
1 Visions of Brutality
1 Grasp of Darkness
1 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
2 Oblivion Strike
1 Blighted Fen
1 Mortuary Mire
1 Fertile Thicket
8 Forest
7 Swamp
1 Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
1 Snapping Gnarlid
1 Call the Scions
1 Eyeless Watcher
1 Giant Mantis
1 Bone Splinters
1 Vines of the Recluse
1 Lead by Example
1 Ruin in Their Wake
1 Seek the Wilds
Rating before Round 1: 8.5
MVPs: Loam Larva. I believe the 1/3 body is better than a 2/2 in this format, and I like smoothing out my draws. So glad I picked the first one over Netcaster Spider. Some of my other dudes were good, too.
Underperformers: Nissa. Never drew her =(
Record: 6-1. Lost R1G2 against a R/G deck playing Omnath, Locus of Rage, Nissa's Renewal and Zendikar Resurgent. I think I could have decked the guy, except I made the foolish mistake of O-Striking Omnath instead of Relentless Hunter. That guy is no joke when there's a Zendikar Resurgent and 15 lands in play.
First picks: Sifter of Skulls, Nissa, Bone Splinters (should've picked Evolving Wilds).
Anyway, came by to post a decklist I just 3-0'd an 8-4 with online :).
1x Felidar Cub
1x Makindi Aeronaut
1x Stone Haven Medic
1x Kor Scythemaster
1x Kor Sky Climber
1x Lantern Scout
3x Reflector Mage
1x Gravity Negator
1x Warden of Geometries
1x Jwar Isle Avenger
2x Wave-Wing Elemental
1x Searing Light
1x Gideon's Reproach
1x Anticipate
1x retreat to Emeria
3x Isolation Zone
1x Ugin's Insight
Lands
10x Plains
6x Island
1x Skyline Cascade
1x Meandering River
1x Mighty Leap
1x Make a Stand
1x Inspired Charge
1x Slip Through Space
2x Cultivator Drone
1x Blinding Drone
1x Negate
1x Wastes
MVPs: Reflector Mage (surprise!). Everything else seemed about on par with what I expected. But man, those draws where I had multiple Reflector Mages in a row were insane. I felt like I couldn't lose.
Underperformers: I got blown out with my searing light multiple times with my opponents having the new 1 cmc tricks. It's like, you can't really play the card on a guy if your opponent has 1R, G, or B up.
Record: 6-2. Rounds 1 and 3 I won 2-0 but round 2, I kinda should have lost but my opponent timed out! To the deck's credit, I had drawn rather poorly those second two games (I won the first). Essence depleter is a house.
First picks: Isolation Zone, Isolation Zone, Lantern Scout
P1P1: Sea Gate Wreckage
P2P1: Immolating Glare (was still unsure on my second color)
P3P1: Mire's Malice (was not a great pack 3, passed 3 Clutch of Current's ;_;)
Went 6-0 baby.
Despite some tough choices in the draft this deck felt great. Stalking Drone and Havoc Sower were both in contention for MVP, but the clear winner has to go to Sea Gate Wreckage. I'll get on board with the other people hyping this card, it is the stone cold nuts in any game that goes slightly long, I will probably start taking it over oblivion strikes.
Flaying Tendrils was probably the worst card, sided it out pretty much every game.
I could see playing Snapping Gnarlid over the Chainmage for curve purposes, but Plated Crusher was the actual MVP of my deck. My opponents were forced to stack blockers combined with Brute Strength effects, and STILL take 1 point of trample damage. Or they had to trade off their Endbringer after double-blocking. Then they had to deal with him all over again thanks to Mortuary Mire. 3x Vampire Envoy, Seed Guardian and Vines of the Recluse were more than enough to hold off opposing fliers so I like Giant Mantis in the sideboard. I'm less certain about maindecking Visions of Brutality outside of a dedicated aggro deck, and also wonder if there was a home for Call the Scions or Eyeless Watcher in the main deck (probably not).
Congrats on your 3-0. That deck looks absolutely bananas. It's odd seeing Blinding Drone and 2 Cultivator Drone in the sideboard, but clearly they weren't needed.