Did the RIX prerelease last Saturday, got a pool that I found tricky, and made a deck that I found unsatisfying (ended up going 1-3). As usual, pool is below, and deck and comments are in the spoiler.
I didn't get a strong direction from this pool. White's got a lot of removal and Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle, but little else -- very few creatures in particular. Blue has a few good fliers (but not enough for Favorable Winds I think?), but not much else. Also not enough support for Herald of Secret Streams. Black's got the great Champion of Dusk and a few good vampires; not much for the top-end. Red's probably the deepest color: lots of removal, creatures with a spread-out CMC, a bomb in Rekindled Phoenix. Green's got a couple removal spells, a smattering of merfolk, and the only other sealed bomb in Ghalta, Primal Hunger.
Getting enough creatures was a challenge no matter which two colours I picked. Thankfully, three Evolving Wilds plus a tapland made three colours a possiblity, and I ended up playing Temur:
This deck was able to get a fair amount of evasive damage in early on, though it usually fell apart if the game went long (Dinosaurs was the deck to beat, as was the case in my Ixalan prerelease). I didn't have any issues getting the right colours (though I had a few games where I was flooded and one where I couldn't get past three lands). I thought Rummaging Goblin would be mandatory for fixing, but it probably wasn't needed. Buccaneer's Bravado and surprisingly Mutiny underperformed. On the other hand, reliably having an evasive creature means that I probably should have included Bonded Horncrest, and I probably could have used another late-game creature like Sun-Crowned Hunters or Wind Strider. Still not sure if Path to Discovery was worth it: the one time it came out and wasn't a top-deck, it did nothing but flood me more.
Playing with my pool afterwards, I came up with Mardu vampires as a possibility (still needs two cuts):
In retrospect, this seems a little bit better. Especially the less conditional removal in white -- as good as damage-based removal in red and the fight effect in green are, I always had to 2-for-1 myself to deal with the big dinos.
Still pretty uncertain when it comes to sealed, especially for this format (haven't played any Ixalan since that prerelease). Any comments or criticisms would be appreciated!
1 Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle
1 Pious Interdiction
1 Ritual of Rejuvenation
2 Sunrise Seeker
1 Cleansing Ray
2 Divine Verdict
1 Luminous Bonds
1 Snubhorn Sentry
1 Squire's Devotion
1 Sun-Crested Pterodon
1 Chart a Course
1 Depths of Desire
1 Dive Down
1 Favorable Winds
1 Herald of Secret Streams
1 Shaper Apprentice
1 Spell Pierce
1 Wind Strider
1 Kitesail Corsair
1 Mist-Cloaked Herald
1 River Darter
1 Siren Reaver
2 Spire Winder
1 Desperate Castaways
1 Skymarch Bloodletter
1 Champion of Dusk
1 Dinosaur Hunter
2 Dusk Legion Zealot
1 Fathom Fleet Boarder
1 Moment of Craving
1 Pitiless Plunderer
1 Recover
1 Sadistic Skymarcher
1 Voracious Vampire
1 Demolish
1 Nest Robber
1 Rummaging Goblin
1 Sun-Crowned Hunters
1 Trove of Temptation
3 Bombard
2 Brazen Freebooter
1 Buccaneer's Bravado
1 Fanatical Firebrand
1 Goblin Trailblazer
1 Mutiny
1 Orazca Raptor
1 Reckless Rage
1 Rekindling Phoenix
1 Shake the Foundations
1 Swaggering Corsair
1 Kumena's Speaker
1 New Horizons
1 Pounce
1 River Heralds' Boon
1 Cacophodon
1 Enter the Unknown
1 Ghalta, Primal Hunger
1 Hunt the Weak
1 Jade Bearer
1 Jadecraft Artisan
1 Jungleborn Pioneer
2 Knight of the Stampede
1 Path to Discovery
1 Plummet
1 Dire Fleet Neckbreaker
1 Jungle Creeper
1 Relentless Raptor
1 Storm Fleet Sprinter
1 Cobbled Wings
1 Silent Gravestone
3 Evolving Wilds
1 Woodland Stream
I didn't get a strong direction from this pool. White's got a lot of removal and Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle, but little else -- very few creatures in particular. Blue has a few good fliers (but not enough for Favorable Winds I think?), but not much else. Also not enough support for Herald of Secret Streams. Black's got the great Champion of Dusk and a few good vampires; not much for the top-end. Red's probably the deepest color: lots of removal, creatures with a spread-out CMC, a bomb in Rekindled Phoenix. Green's got a couple removal spells, a smattering of merfolk, and the only other sealed bomb in Ghalta, Primal Hunger.
Getting enough creatures was a challenge no matter which two colours I picked. Thankfully, three Evolving Wilds plus a tapland made three colours a possiblity, and I ended up playing Temur:
1 Nest Robber
1 Goblin Trailblazer
1 Kitesail Corsair
1 Rummaging Goblin
1 Swaggering Corsair
1 Jungleborn Pioneer
1 Storm Fleet Sprinter
1 Rekindling Phoenix
1 Siren Reaver
2 Spire Winder
1 Ghalta, Primal Hunger
1 Reckless Rage
1 Buccaneer's Bravado
1 Chart a Course
1 Pounce
3 Bombard
1 Hunt the Weak
1 Path to Discovery
1 Woodland Stream
3 Island
7 Mountain
3 Forest
This deck was able to get a fair amount of evasive damage in early on, though it usually fell apart if the game went long (Dinosaurs was the deck to beat, as was the case in my Ixalan prerelease). I didn't have any issues getting the right colours (though I had a few games where I was flooded and one where I couldn't get past three lands). I thought Rummaging Goblin would be mandatory for fixing, but it probably wasn't needed. Buccaneer's Bravado and surprisingly Mutiny underperformed. On the other hand, reliably having an evasive creature means that I probably should have included Bonded Horncrest, and I probably could have used another late-game creature like Sun-Crowned Hunters or Wind Strider. Still not sure if Path to Discovery was worth it: the one time it came out and wasn't a top-deck, it did nothing but flood me more.
Playing with my pool afterwards, I came up with Mardu vampires as a possibility (still needs two cuts):
2 Dusk Legion Zealot
1 Nest Robber
1 Goblin Trailblazer
1 Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle
1 Skymarch Bloodletter
1 Sadistic Skymarcher
1 Voracious Vampire
1 Swaggering Corsair
1 Orazca Raptor
1 Rekindling Phoenix
1 Sunrise Seeker
1 Champion of Dusk
1 Sun-Crowned Hunters
1 Moment of Craving
1 Luminous Bonds
1 Squire's Devotion
3 Bombard
1 Pious Interdiction
2 Divine Verdict
In retrospect, this seems a little bit better. Especially the less conditional removal in white -- as good as damage-based removal in red and the fight effect in green are, I always had to 2-for-1 myself to deal with the big dinos.
Still pretty uncertain when it comes to sealed, especially for this format (haven't played any Ixalan since that prerelease). Any comments or criticisms would be appreciated!
BRG Kresh Crush You - UB Wrexial Wrecks Y'all - WUBRG Taste the Rainbow Allies - URW Zedruu Claus - RGW - Wrath of Rith - WU Annoying Dar
GU Mighty Morphin Bluezuri - RWB Alesha, the Revolving Door - R Norin the W- - UR Arjun's Scrambled Eggs - WUB Zur the Cyclist - GW Cara Mia Karametra
UBR Kess's Eccentric Spell Slingers - B Endrek's Thrilling Thrulls - BGU Tasigur, Fly for a Sultai - GWU Tuvaasankin Veri Vapisee - U Can't Thop the Saignal
RW Feather's Heroes of the Storm - G Map of Titania - W Quipping Sram - BR
CharlieGreven Work - BG Old School Vhati - GUR Riku's Little FriendsWBG Abzan All-Stars - WB Kambal's Lifegain Soup - RG Ruric, Ogre Surgeon - B All Them Little Bones - RWB Megan, the Gold-Blooded - G Does This Look Infected?
UR Hellbent Storm - GWU George - RG You Can Be a Big Pig Too - RW Decent Decisions - UBR I Contain Myriads - W My Friend Flicka
WU Eagles on Pogo Sticks - UB Yes Thieves Can - WUB Election Fraud - RGW King of Pain - GU Feel the Earth Move
Retired: WUB Zur the Douchebag - GU Crazy Kraj - U Braids the Borrower - W Wham Bam Enchanting Sram - U Unesh's Flying Circus - WUBRG Oops All Lands