Tag: casual-encounters

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Bruce Gray - September 30, 2015

Casual Encounters – Top 10 Casual Cards from Battle for Zendikar

 

Gideon and Nissa

Top 10 Casual Cards from Battle for Zendikar

by Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

The anticipation is mounting! In just a few short days we will be getting our first chance to play Battle for Zendikar and I’m pretty excited.  There are some amazing new cards in this set, and some terrific reprints that got some slick new art.  It looks like there are going to be some bonkers new additions to just about every format, including Casual Kitchen Table Magic.  Today I’m going to go through my Top Ten cards to bring to your next Casual Kitchen Table Magic game night and spice things up.  Let’s get down to business.

Sandstone Bridge

10. Common Land Cycle ( Sandstone Bridge, Skyline Cascade, Mortuary Mire, Looming Spires, Fertile Thicket ).  This common land cycle doesn’t look super spicy, but let’s be real, any time you can play a land card and have an effect that is normally created by a spell you have something that is deceptively powerful. There will be loads of decks looking to pick these up to replace just a regular basic land card, and the extra ability is always a solid trick. Now, let’s talk about how to abuse these (i.e. get more than one activation).  In a Kitchen Table world you are constrained only by your card pool and the rules you and your friends have established, so finding fun ways to take advantage of these should be easy.  Let’s start with the “Karoo” lands or “Bounce” lands from Ravnica.  These were reprinted in Modern Masters 2015 making them pretty readily available and an easy way to get more than one activation of these.  Emancipation Angel or Kor Skyfisher, or even Pearl Lake Ancient are also some of my favorites and could easily get you additional activations.  Going a little more in the the history of Magic, Soramaro, First to Dream would be hilarious.

As if just getting the value off these lands wasn’t enough, don’t forget this set is packing Landfall meaning that you are very likely to net all sorts of value off of just playing these lands. That makes these things even more appealing.  The nice part is that you will usually be pleased to see these guys, regardless of what stage of the game you’re in.  Keep your eyes peeled for these small, but significant, additions.

Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper

9. Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper: What isn’t to like about this guy?  He’s a 4/4 for 5 mana which is a pretty reasonable rate to start and you will not feel ashamed to run him out.  His size also makes him surprisingly robust and able to tussle if the need arises.  However, what is truly gross is his ability.  You get free +1/+1 counters on your lands every time you cast an instant or sorcery…and in Blue and White isn’t that what you want to do anyways?  I can well imagine EDH decks premised on this guy or just jammed in there for value.  However, what I think might be truly busted is playing Jeskai and slamming this guy and Zada.  Cast your instant on Zada, copy the spell a bunch of times, make a pile of Elementals, attack for the win…or something like that.  Yes, that is magical Christmas land, but it’s fun to dream.  I’m kind of excited to see this guy and try him out.

Omnath, Locus of Rage

8. Omnath, Locus of Rage:  I don’t know what to do with this guy…but I like the fact that Omnath is getting a reprinting, and this time he’s pissed. I haven’t got a clue how good he will be, or any deck built around him using elementals as a centerpiece, but this guy sure looks unhappy and ready to kick some butt.  All he really asks of you is to play your land and benefit from an army of 5/5 tokens, but that feels a little too simple.  Omnath makes the list because of his unbridled anger…and big scary tokens. For those of you out there with RTR block cards still kicking around, time to dust off those Populate enablers..

Catacomb Sifter

7. Catacomb Sifter:  This guy is among my favorite cards in the set and the art is insane.  That is spectacular art!  The colours and contrast really stand out and makes this thing look super frightening.  But enough about the art.  This 3 mana creature packs 3/4 worth of power and toughness across 2 bodies which is a very good rate.  I know I play casually, but I also really like efficient creatures…they help me get to the much less efficient but fun part of my deck!  This is exactly the sort of thing I want to do. However, there is still more.  This packs the Scry 1 ability that Reaper of the Wilds packs just because…umm…value?  This is a very strong card and I can’t wait to get my hands on some of these guys and ride the Value Train.

Halimar Tidecaller

6. Halimar Tidecaller:  How is this NOT a rare?  Can you just imagine pairing this with Noyan Dar and making FLYING land creatures?  Wow. And you even get to bring another relevant spell out of your graveyard to replay and get yet ANOTHER land creature.  Sure, it is a bit of a build around, but if you can successfully build around it this looks amazing!  For a paltry 3 mana this feels as if it has been pushed to try and push an elemental theme…and I’m taking the bait!  I can almost taste the Elemental Deck…Brews to come!

Defiant Bloodlord

5. Defiant Bloodlord: Ok folks, this makes the list because you now have Sanguine Bond attached to a 4/5  flying body. This gives those janky “life gain” decks you  see around the Kitchen table yet another win condition and NOW it gets to attack too!  I’m just dreaming of casting this and Feed the Clan to maximum effect.  The interaction between this and Gray Merchant of Asphodel seems like it could be potent too. All in all, there will be lots of ways to abuse this around the Kitchen Table so you had better buckle down.

Felidar Sovereign

4. Felidar Sovereign:  Felidar Sovereign is yet another example of the power of alternate win conditions.  This guy is a reprint from the original Zendikar block and became a staple in EDH decks all over the place as an alternative win condition.  The issue WAS that Felidar was a $10-12 card that essentially exclusively saw play in Casual formats.  By getting a reprint players will be getting a shot to grab this guy at a much more affordable $2 price point.  Enjoy the savings Casual players, this one is for you.

Kiora, Master of the Depths

3. Kiora, Master of Depths:  Kiora made this list because her ultimate is nutty. Three 8/8 octopus tokens PLUS they get to fight your opponent’s creatures?  Whatever…you win the game if you get this Emblem online.  If you can look me in the eye and honestly tell me that you aren’t interested in doing that then you’re lying to yourself.

Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

2. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger: If the Eldrazi somehow didn’t make this list then I wouldn’t be doing my job.  What’s NOT to like?  It’s big, splashy, hard to kill, wrecks the game instantly, can be played in virtually every deck and looks to be about the best thing you can do with 10 mana. Also, because this version of Ulamog doesn’t come with the “feel bad” Annihilator mechanic your buddies around the kitchen table are more apt to agree to let you play it.  Yeah, Ulamog is a thing and makes our list.

Zada, Hedron Grinder

1. Zada, Hedron Grinder:  Zada is getting lots of buzz and with good cause because her ability is just outright insane.  Any time you can copy spells you have a strong effect.  Zada will let you copy them multiple times for FREE! Magic players love the word FREE and so Johnnies around the world are setting up to break this.  I’ve heard lots of players talk about casting Titan’s Strength or Become Immense on Zada and then pumping your team to significant effect, but I was going somewhere completely different.  I was going to aim for Feat of Resistance and essentially allow your team to get protection from…oh…everything…and crash in for the win.  But things at the Kitchen table can get better!  Ranger’s Guile protects ALL your stuff.  Rootborn Defenses fights off Board wipes.  Retraction Helix allows you to turn all your creatures into Unsummon spells! Really, the possibilities are endless and this is why so many people are excited about Zada.  There really isn’t much doubt, Zada is the real winner for the Casual Magic crowd.

Well, there we have our top ten cards for Casual Magic.  I’m sure there are a few spicy things that I left off the list, but I have to draw the line somewhere.  If you have something you think should be added to the list, send me a tweet and let me know.  I’d love to hear what has got other people excited!

Thanks for taking the time to stop in and have a visit and have yourself a great MTG day!

 

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

@bgray8791 on Twitter

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Bruce Gray - September 16, 2015

Crack a Pack MTG with Bruce – #26 Magic Origins 1st

Scab-Clan-Berserker

Crack a Pack MTG with Bruce
#26 Magic Origins 1st

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

Welcome back folks! I was looking through my entries and noticed that it had been a long time since I cracked a pack for you guys and thought it might be time to pop open a pack and treat it like I was going to draft. I have drafted loads of DTK/DTK/FRF and towards the end it was starting to get stale…but Origins seems pretty spicy and is still very much a thing for a couple of more weeks. So, let’s open up a pack of Origins and have a look at what I might pick if I was sitting down to draft.

Commons:

Uncommons:

Rare:

 

Ok, so the rare is a nice one! Scab-Clan Berserker is actually a very nice card. I wouldn’t call it a grade A bomb, but it is a very solid card and can start to warp the board if your opponent needs to think twice about casting non-creature spells.  The fact that this creature has Haste is incredibly valuable because it allows you to sneak it in to trigger the Renown on it and then sit back and allow the triggered ability to pile up and yield you further value.  I would be thumbing this to the front of the pack and looking for anything that might top it.

Malakir Cullblade is an interesting card, but in order for us to get value out of it you need to have your opponents creatures die and it is highly unlikely that this is going to do it, at least initially, on its own.  That means you need to do a fair bit of work to get this to a reasonable point. With one counter this is a 2/2, but it still trades with just about every other 2 drop in the format.  As a 3/3 you will start to get value, but that’s asking a fair bit.  If you can get this to being a 4/4 you’ve done well and you should be ecstatic, but most clever opponents will ensure that this never gets to that point.  If I end up in Black I would look at this as a mid-round pick up, but even then I might not run it because it takes a bunch of work to get it to be good.  I’m sure this pack has better cards, so I’ll pass and keep on looking.

Angel’s Tomb is a fun little artifact that can be a very real and relevant threat, but it is conditional on you casting other creatures to enable it.  This usually isn’t an issue, but it means that you can’t always rely on this to be your answer.  Make no mistake, I’ve lost my fair share of games to this card, but it is not a high pick for me and unlikely to be something I prioritize highly.

Mage-Ring Network is an interesting storage land.  I am unlikely to ever want this early in the pack because I’m not big on storage lands.  It has applications with Red and any X burn spells (like Ravaging Blaze) but there is no way this is an early pick.

Rhox Maulers is something I can get behind.  This guy is a beating and it is exactly the sort of 5 drop I want to play.  If this goes unanswered the game is over ridiculously quickly.  Whoever designed Trample on Renown cards should feel kind of silly because many games end on account of Rhox Maulers crashing in for a whole pile of life.  This one would get a long, hard look for sure.

Dreadwaters. No.  I know if you have 3 or 4 of these that you can Mill out your opponent, but you sort of fall into that deck.  You don’t go out LOOKING to draft it.  Leave this until near the end and if you start to see 2 or 3 floating around it might make a for a funny story.  Otherwise, save your pick on something actually relevant.

Reave Soul ! Yes Please.  This is premium Black removal and would immediately get pulled to the front of the pack.  With a set full of modestly sized creatures Reave Soul kills many of the most relevant ones.  I’m sad that it is Sorcery speed removal, but I can hardly argue with a mere 2 mana.  In most situations you are likely trading the 2 mana you spend on this spell for 2 mana to kill their “Grizzly” bear, but you could easily come out ahead on the mana if you can nab something like Charging Griffin.  That may sound like a trivial difference, but that difference in mana could be huge.  It could be the difference between you making them waste their 4 mana on a creature that is now dead, while you could spend your 4 mana to kill it and then follow up with a Screeching Scab or a Fetid Imp. I’m a big fan of Reave Soul and could make the case to pick this first.  Let’s see what else is in this pack.

Prickleboar is another very solid creature.  It loves to attack and can clear out lots of things and can really get the job done.  He’s not great if you are on the back foot, so he wouldn’t be a super early pick, but he does good work and can’t be ignored.

Heavy Infantry is just not something I’m big on. We’ve already seen two very solid 5 drops in this pack showing just what you can get in the way of  5 mana creatures.  The return on this guy isn’t great.  Sure, he does decent work in almost every situation, but you can’t tell me you’d pick him over the Maulers or Prickleboar.  No, he’s a much weaker pick and is something to look at late in this pack.

Vastwood Gorger gets played surprisingly often in Green decks.  He’s not flashy, but he’s a big body and can get pretty aggressive.  He’s not an early pick, but he’s something that I would be looking for late in the round if I’m in Green.

Negate. Sideboard.  Moving on.

Deadbridge Shaman is a card that has surprised me.  It has done a good amount of work and I have seen many aggressive decks ride this guy to wins.  Nobody is super keen to kill this and discard a card meaning it often goes unchecked.  I’m a big fan and would be looking for this fairly early in the pack to help secure the fact that I looking to play Black.

Yoked Ox.  Sigh.  I don’t like this card because it does so little… except when you need it. This gets sided in against aggressive decks as an early blocker.  Otherwise you will rarely play it.  End of discussion.

 

Top 5 picks

  1. Scab-Clan Berserker
  2. Reave Soul
  3. Rhox Maulers
  4. Prickleboar
  5. Deadbridge Shaman

I think we can all agree that there are really only two real picks to take out of this pack first.  The Berserker and the premium removal spell are the only real options and are a cut above the rest of this pack.  The safe first pick is the removal spell.  Reave Soul is almost always a good spell to have in your deck and even if you take it first and don’t play Black, at least you can rest assured that there is one less piece of removal floating around the table.  However, how often do you get to play with flashy rare cards like this?  Personally I would take the Berserker and then see what comes my way. There is a slight chance that I see another Reave Soul later in the draft, but the chance of seeing the same rare card come around the table is very low, so I’ll take my chances with the rare.

Cards 3 and 4 are pretty easy choices, but the fifth card was something I was weighing pretty closely.  I was debating selecting the Vastwood Gorger as the 5th card in this pack, but I sat there and compared a few things.  Deadbridge Shaman comes down many turns earlier and in this format that is huge.  You can’t afford to have many 5 and 6 drops in your deck or else you will be too slow and that is the dilemma with the Gorger.  On top of the speed issue, the fact remains that Deadbridge Shaman has a form of quasi evasion.  Few opponents are keen to kill it because that makes them discard and generates a form of card advantage for the player with the Shaman.  The discard is a very relevant ability and something that will invariably force your opponent to change how they play.  No one is truly scared of the Gorger because you can chump block it for days and continue with your own game plan or dig for an answer.  Ultimately, I hate to see Deadbridge Shaman far more than a Vastwood Gorger and would rather grab it early in the pack if I’m intent on playing any sort of Black deck, thus making it more likely to be the fifth pick in the pack.

Well, there we have it.  I have to say, this was a pretty interesting pack.  The first pick would be very debatable and you could approach it as being a removal spell or the rare creature and be right.  The thought that goes into selecting the fifth card would also be very interesting as you weigh the merits of the Gorger or the Shaman.  All in all, it gave me plenty to think about and was a good sample of what a pack might look like when drafting Origins. I hope you guys reading along at home enjoyed it and I will make a point of getting another Crack a pack MTG done soon.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and have read.  Your support is always appreciated. So, until the next time, have yourself a great MTG day.

 

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

@bgray8791 on Twitter

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Bruce Gray - September 11, 2015

Casual Encounters- Reaction to Battle for Zendikar and Some Hidden Gem...

Gideon

Reaction to Battle for Zendikar and Some Hidden Gems for Your Casual Night

by Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

Hi folks.  We had a huge weekend at PAX.  I watched a good deal of the coverage and am firmly convinced that at some point I will need to attend one of these events because it looked super cool.  Did you see the GIANT Eldrazi sculpture erected in front of the exhibit hall?!  Wow! That was amazing and looked super cool.  The most impressive part was the detail on the sculpture…but I won’t go too far into that.

In addition to the World Championship and PAX, we got a massive amount of previews from the set that will be hitting the shelves this fall.  That’s right, Battle for Zendikar is just about here and I’m excited. I’m really looking forward to getting a chance to play with all these giant Eldrazi monsters stomping around because it feels amazing to see so many massive creatures.  And they all seem to pack some sort of nasty ability! Talk about spoiling us!

Emrakul, the Aeons TornKozilek, Butcher of TruthUlamog, the Infinite Gyre

The last time we visited Zendikar, during Rise of the Eldrazi, I wasn’t playing and was totally oblivious to these creatures. I have since come to know many of them through things like watching and paying attention to deck lists, reading up on the lore of the plane, and generally paying attention to the happenings in the Magic community.  However, I have seen these guys in isolation.  I have watched Emrakul get cheated into play with a variety of tricks.  I have seen Ulamog in a Modern Masters 2015 draft pack.  I have heard about Kozilek and the destruction he can wreak on a board and the massive card advantage you can draw.  But I have never seen these three beasts in their own element. I have never faced down the wrath of a horde of voracious Eldrazi and I can hardly wait to get my first real Eldrazi experience now that we are heading back to Zendikar.

While the prospect of facing down the Eldrazi is very appealing, there are a few other things that were spoiled that are bound to be of interest to people.  Personally, the most important thing spoiled was the new cycle of dual lands.  Initially I read that there were a lot of people who were disappointed that the Enemy Coloured Fetchlands weren’t going to be reprinted, but it seems unusual for WoTC to have all 10 Fetchlands in standard at the same time.  So, Fetchlands were out but word got out that a new set of Dual Lands was being released and the speculation exploded.  What was revealed Saturday night was a very interesting set of lands.

sunken hollowsmoldering marshprairie streamcinder gladecanopy vista

The lands are allied coloured dual lands.  That’s a fair place to start and not the least bit unusual.  I hope we see the remaining five enemy coloured lands in the second set, but for the time being we have 5 lands.  They also have a drawback of coming into play tapped unless you control 2 basic lands.  That is a very reasonable drawback, but I will come back to that.  The most interesting feature is that they have 2 land types meaning you can fetch them with a Fetchland.  That is exciting because the last time that non-basic lands had two land types was the Ravnica Shocklands, but once again we’ll come back to any comparison with the Shocklands.  On the whole, this is pretty exciting cycle of lands and an interesting variant on dual lands in general.

The reaction has been mixed to say the least.  The initial place that most people started with was that these lands are inferior versions of the Shocklands.  Yes, they share the characteristic of having 2 basic land types on them, but the Shocklands can enter play untapped based on YOUR decision and aren’t conditional to you controling 2 basic lands.  So, we can agree that the Shocklands are a notch better, but there is something to be said for NOT having your land hit you for 2 points of life (or 3 if used in conjunction with a Fetchland) that might make these more appealing.  That extra 2 or 3 points of damage per land is a very real cost and now having the chance to avoid it is appealing and will give players in Modern reason to pause at least to consider their mana base before sleeving up their deck.

As far as Standard is concerned, these will be nice replacements for the Temples and could be seen in many ways as an upgrade because you can actually fetch them.  As nice as the Temples were, you could never fetch them up and that was not optimal. The tradeoff of a Scry in favour of being able to fetch the land is very real, but something that many players will be prepared to make. The new Mulligan rules may prove to be a saving grace to many players because they might be able to get that first turn Scry that they have become accustomed to thanks to the Scry lands.  We’ll need to keep an eye on that trend for sure once all the changes come into effect.

The other piece here is that the clause that allows you to have them come into play untapped is conditional and not a choice.  This feels like a very balanced option and a way to mitigate the relative power that you can harness by having access to two colours of mana in the same card.  In my mind this harkens back to the balancing act that WoTC was trying to get with the “Buddy” lands but with a new twist.  In either case, players who are looking to play their lands untapped will find themselves putting more basic lands in their decks and limit the number of colours that they play, while decks that are prepared to pay the price of playing your land tapped may continue to run three or more and play these happily.

I think that these lands are being unfairly criticized by some members of the community. I think people are looking for a direct and obvious upgrade to the Shocklands that can migrate over to Modern.  Looking at these, I don’t feel like that was ever the intent, but I will not be surprised to see some people opt to play some number of copies of these in their Modern decks.  No, these lands have been designed to be played in Standard and they fit in nicely.  Just as we lose the Temples we get a balanced, interesting, and fun land mechanic that will undoubtedly shake up the sequencing of your land.  If they happen to move to Modern, all the better, but for the time being Standard is a good starting point.

gideon, ally of zendikar

The other major preview was for a new Planeswalker.  In the upcoming set we will be seeing Gideon, Ally of Zendikar as the newest incarnation of our friend Gideon and he’s pretty sweet.  I like that they have retained his ability to become a powerful creature that is difficult to kill, but his other two abilities are extremely relevant and a significant departure for Gideon.  His 0 ability has him make a 2/2 Knight token, which is pretty significant.  This is a new ability for Gideon, and making a 2/2 Knight is pretty awesome.  However, the most interesting thing is the ultimate ability that allows you to IMMEDIATELY remove all the counters from him and for him to become an Anthem effect.  In many aggressive decks Anthem effects are extremely powerful and I’m fairly certain that this will not change. The Zendikar Allies are going to love it.  Plus, this version of Gideon looks to play quite well with the Kytheon/Gideon transform card from Magic Origins further adding to the appeal.  There is no doubt that this card will be one to watch and might be a defining card once Battle for Zendikar arrives. I’m a big fan and can’t wait to see what happens with this new addition to the Planeswalker club.

Some Hidden Gems

One of the things that I am always on the look for are some hidden gems that you can use around the kitchen table to really spice up your casual games and to perhaps get a leg up on your friends.  Sure, you could play all the hottest cards from the newest Standard legal set, but right now, as we approach rotation, you could find yourself some very budget friendly gems that could really add some appeal to your games.

Jace, Architect of ThoughtKiora, the Crashing Wave

Planeswalkers are a fun way to add a new dimension to your game and there are a couple out there that right now that are good value and can pack a pretty good punch. Jace, Architect of Thought and Kiora, the Crashing Wave represent strong cards that you can add to your decks and are extremely affordable right now.  Both of these are hovering around $4 a card right here on Three Kings Loot and would be great value.  Sure, these may not be the best cards ever printed, but they pack strong abilities, can win you a game if left unchecked, and can certainly be a big distraction if your opponents are intent on taking care of them.  If you don’t believe me that they are good value, take a look at some other Planeswalkers that have recently been printed but rarely see eternal play.  Tamiyo is about $19 a card.  Domri and Ral Zarek are around $7.   Garruk, Apex Predator weighs in at $8.  Clearly, these two look to be a little on the inexpensive side right now and with Kiora rotating out shortly you could likely scoop her up quite cheaply.

Reaper of the Wilds

A creature that has been supplanted by the mighty Siege Rhino has been the Reaper of the Wilds and at a mere $0.30 a card this solid 4/5 for 4 mana would be an addition to many a deck.  Besides being a very sizeable body, Reaper packs 3 abilities! This one has clearly been forgotten about, but your kitchen table would be an ideal location for some revitalization.

Chromanticore

 

After a brief foray into a Pro-Tour Chromanticore has largely vanished despite the fact that it is a super fun card that packs way too many abilities…and at less than $1.50 would be steal.

Herald of Torment

Herald of Torment has never really received much love, but I for one think that this little beauty is well worth the pick up.  The casting cost is about right, the Bestow is very powerful, Black devotion LOVES this guy and he costs a mere $0.30.  C’mon.  If you rock Black around the kitchen table this guy needs to be one of your dudes.

Extinguish All Hope

We had been  missing a genuine wrath effect for Black until we hit Khans block and got Crux of Fate and followed up with Languish in Magic Origins.  However, for your Casual game, don’t forget Extinguish All Hope.  In most environments this is good as any wrath you will ever need and while it does cost a little more Mana it’s also $0.25 meaning you could pick up some of these and still have pocket money left over to buy yourself a coffee .  What’s even better, if you build your deck right to abuse this, this could become a beautiful one-sided wrath and really make your opponents curse you and your janky (but hilarious) 6 mana wrath spell.

That’s all for tonight folks, but thanks for stopping in.  I’m super excited to see more of the Battle for Zendikar spoilers and glimpse the landscape of Magic for the upcoming autumn.  Thanks, and have a great MTG day.

 

Bruce Gray
Twitter: @bgray8791

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Bruce Gray - June 17, 2015

Crack a pack MTG DTK and draft report with Bruce #25

Twin Bolt - Crack a pack MTG DTK

Crack a pack MTG DTK and draft report with Bruce #25

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters 

Hey MTGers.  I’m back and going to open up a pack of Dragons of Tarkir  and have a look at what might be first pick in this pack if I was going to be sitting down to draft.  I will also be including a brief tournament report of my most recent draft in order to try and glean some further insight from my results.  Let’s get at it!

Commons

 

Uncommons

 

 

Rare

 

This pack is very pedestrian and unexciting, but that makes it a good tool to use to help improve card selection and evaluation.  The rare is actually something I rather like in Haven of the Spirit Dragon.  I’m not overly jazzed about taking it first because it isn’t going to scare anyone, but it is an interesting option to pull and just have in case I happen to see a dragon or two later in the draft.  The ability to use this as a Splash land to try and cast a Dragonlord, or even their Fate Reforged variants is very enticing.

The next one that catches my eye is Skywise Teachings.  This is similar to Goblinslide in many ways, except that it is more expensive to cast, pricier to activate and requires a fair bit of build around to make it really good.  With all those drawbacks, if you can build the deck for it you Skywise Teachings can spit out much valuable tokens.  2/2 Fliers are very relevant and can quickly close out a game.  I would entertain this, but I would be very unlikely to select it first because it does require going all in in order to make it work.  If this wheels around the table I might take a stab at it and see if the deck is open or not.

Atarka Pummeler is a very serviceable creature that grants your team a form of quasi evasion one you reach Formidable.  This looks underwhelming, but in the R/G deck it could be very solid. The activation cost is very expensive and that is fundamentally why I wouldn’t be taking this too early.  It’s not a first pick, but it could be a solid pick up.

Deadly Wanderings is just a no.  Not a chance.  5 mana for an enchantment that only works if I have 1 creature on the board is just not interesting.  I can’t conceive of a game state where I would actually want to play this.  By the time I hit 5 mana I had better have more than one creature on the board or I’m likely getting steam rolled pretty hard.  No thanks.  I’ll pass.

Twin Bolt is very solid early removal.  It’s flexible, inexpensive, and in a solid colour.  I’m not sure how happy I would be to first pick this, but I would be pulling it forward to see if other cards were better.

Of the remaining commons, I like Sidisi’s Faithful, but I won’t be picking it first. The rest is almost entirely filler and not the least bit interesting until you are in a clearly defined colour pair and looking to fill out your deck.

 

Top 5 cards

  1. Haven of the Spirit Dragon
  2. Twin Bolt
  3. Skywise Teachings
  4. Atarka Pummeler
  5. Sidisi’s Faithful

 

First Pick

It only really comes down to Haven vs Twin Bolt.  Spike-y players might just grab the removal spell and move on, but there is part of me that is prepared to speculate a little with my first pick and roll the dice with the Dragon land.  It is colourless, fits in any deck, and generally could be used to cast big beefy fliers (even the less exciting 6 mana ones from Fate Reforged).  I think my first choice here is Haven, but this is something that could be debated very easily and even as I sit here typing I am not 100% convinced.

 

Dragons of Tarkir Draft report

I got my second chance to have a go at Dragons in a draft the other night and wanted to share a few of my experiences that I would like to help take into lessons moving forward.

I ended up going a very disappointing 0-3 in my draft, but I wasn’t disheartened.  Do you ever have those nights where you draft a solid deck, but you struggle to finish people off?  That was me.  I had a very solid R/G deck that had suitable amounts of removal, sizeable creatures and some fun combat tricks.  However, what the deck was lacking was a genuine bomb.  All the packs I opened had very poor bulk rare cards and I didn’t see any super powerful bombs that I could punch into this deck to close the deal.  The best I could do was a Myth Realized (that I splashed but was largely ineffective) and a Frontier Siege that I opted to pass in favour of a Temur Sabretooth. As a result, the most common result was for me to stall out my opponent only to run out of answers and not have something to deal with their bomb in response.

 

R/G splash W DTK/DTK/FRF Draft deck

 

 

 

Match 1– Played a player showing Jund colours.  He had pulled Den Protector and I saw Flatten a number of times.  Game 1 was very grindy and lasted 25 minutes but eventually my defenses caved. In game 2 I got back in the game and had my Lightning Berserker deal an astonishing 11 points of damage.  I finally burned him out with Sarkhan’s Rage to even the match 1-1.  In game 3 I had to mulligan down to 5.  At 5 cards I was looking at 2 lands and decided that a mediocre 5 was better than dropping to 4 cards, so I kept.  However, I didn’t draw another land at all and was crushed under a wave of creatures.  Boo…I was 0-1 but feeling good about my chances.

Match 2– Played an opponent showing Bant colours and got blown out in game one by a well-timed Dromoka’s Command and a bunch of fliers.  Game 2 was more of the same and was dead in short order.  Yuck.  0-2 and not really enthused.

Match 3– Opponent was playing Esper.  I got out to a good start but a couple of quick removal spells took care of most of my pressure.  We both stalled a bit and built out our boards for a bit and were in a stalemate.  This is where the lack of a bomb hurt me because he cast Dragonlord Silumgar, took my Temur Sabretooth, and the rest was academic.  Game 2 was very similar and we stalled out pretty good.  I was likely slightly ahead, but I had a tough time gaining any advantage profitably without taking a pile of damage on the crack back.  Temur Sabretooth was on board and playing good D.  I was eyeing up casting Pinion Feast on his Abzan Skycaptain thinking that I could handle the counters landing on his Jeskai Sage, but I’m glad I held off.  The next turn he cast Silumgar again and I immediately Feasted it.  Thank goodness. It still didn’t help me much as I got pecked at by some fliers and eventually couldn’t answer the flying creatures.

0-3 and a little disappointed, but I didn’t feel like I mis-played my cards. Sometimes mistakes cost you games.  Sometimes your opponents have better decks.  However, there are a few things I’ve learned from this.

  1. Myth Realized is exactly that…a Myth.  I wanted to try and make it work and I wasn’t impressed.
  2. Press the Advantage:  This was not a good combat trick for me and was almost always sided out.  The story might have been different if I hadn’t been on my back foot so frequently, but this is not a high priority for me going forward.
  3. Pinion Feast is not a sideboard card.  It is main deckable, particularly if you are in colours that struggle with fliers.
  4. Draft more Creatures.

 

Like I said, I felt the deck was solid.  I knew I was a little light on creatures, but with a pair of Formless Nurturing I figured I was ok on that front. I liked my removal package and felt it was quite solid considering my colours.  The only problem was the lack of a genuine bomb to seal a game.  Sigh.  Oh well. Next time I end up drafting this sort of deck I will need to be sure to pack more creatures and fewer spells to give this sort of underpowered deck a better fighting chance.

Thanks for stopping by to read.  I hope you guys have a great MTG day and stop by for some more Casual Encounters soon!

 

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

@bgray8791 on Twitter

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Bruce Gray - March 10, 2015

Casual Encounters – G/B “I like Big Butts”

Nessian Asp - Casual standard deck

G/B “ I like Big Butts”

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

Sir Mix-a-Lot would be proud of me.  Perhaps not in the same way as his famous song, but I too admire a good back side.  The bigger the better.  Of course, when I’m talking about playing Magic I’m referring to the toughness of creature which is sometimes referred to as the creature’s “butt”.  C’mon! What did you think I was talking about?  Get your mind out of the gutter! Sheesh. Today I’ve got something a little off the wall that some of you might enjoy the next time you sit around the Kitchen table to battle it out.  Let’s see what I’ve got on tap for you guys.

A couple of weeks ago I was playing a Theros Block sealed event on MTGO and opened up a busted pool.  Elspeth, Ajani, Pain Seer, good removal in Black, solid creatures in Green…including a Scourge of Skola Vale.  I ended up playing Abzan (also known as Junk) mostly for Elspeth and Ajani, however my deck was predominantly B/G.  Yes, Elspeth and Ajani were amazing and they were the number one reason I won a number of my games.  However, The Scourge of Skola Vale was my big hitter.  The worst part was, when I put him in the deck I just imagined that he might be useful, but little did I know that he would be awesome.

The Scourge of Skola Vale is a rather janky rare from Born of the Gods that is 3 mana for a 0/0 Hydra that enters play with two +1/+1 counters on it and trample. Those stats are hardly overwhelming. However, tap Scourge of Skola Vale, sacrifice a creature, and at instant speed it can gain +x/+x counters where X is equal to the toughness of the creature that is sacrificed.  That still hardly seems game breaking, but let me assure you, the ability can be very potent.  The question is all a matter of timing.  You declare a creature as being a blocker.  That ensures that there actually is a block and you don’t get hit.  Then, before damage is assigned, sacrifice your creature (particularly if it was going to die anyway) to the Scourge and boost the Scourge. In short order your Scourge of Skola vale is an unhealthy sized creature with Trample that no longer behaves like a 3 drop but more like a 6 or 7 drop.

The question remains, How do you maximize the number of counters you put on the Scourge of Skola Vale? Clearly you want to play things with high toughness , block with them, and sacrifice them to your Scourge. It seems simple, but the problem with most high toughness creatures is that they attack very poorly or not at all.  What is a guy to do? Let’s see what I did.

 

G/B “I like big butts” – Casual standard deck

 

The creature package is pretty straight forward.  Elvish Mystic is going to be a big key to the game plan because it helps ramp you to some of the more expensive pieces in your deck.  You really want to play one of these guys on Turn 1 to get you out of the gate quickly.  On Turn 2 you really want to be playing an Archers’ Parapet to hold off any immediate threats and early drops that your opponent can get down and bash away with.  Also, with 5 toughness, the Parapet is an ideal target to sacrifice to the Scourge.  The curve is a little wonky because you don’t really want to play a Scourge on Turn 3 so you end up skipping and waiting to play a 5 drop.  Nessian Asp  or Pheres-Band Centaur are both really solid 5 drops.  With either of these guys on board you can follow up with Scourge and still hold up mana for a Ranger’s Guile.  It is pretty key to hold up the Ranger’s Guile the moment  your opponent sees you tap out your  Scourge is going to eat a removal spell.  Ranger’s Guile pretty much laughs at targeted removal spells and ensures your Scourge survives.   Sac just about ANY creature to your Scourge, protect it with a Ranger’s Guile and then rumble in for a huge pile of damage.  Sound like fun?  I thought so.

The other route this deck can take is a little different.  You have a whole bunch of creatures that have been sacrificed and are in your graveyard thanks to your own Scourge and you are running out of ways to get through for damage.  What can you do?  Well, hello my old friend Nighthowler.  Bestow this on just about anything with a whole bunch of creatures in the graveyard and you instantly have a menace requiring an immediate fix.  The synergy between the Scourge and Nighthowler is unmistakable because as you power up the Scourge you are powering up future Nighthowlers.  I love a good plan B!

The spells all exploit creatures with high toughness.  Grim Contest  is a neat take on the fight mechanic that will ensure that just about anything you fight will die thanks to the extremely high toughness stats on many of your creatures.  Kin-Tree Invocation gives you yet another potent attacker so long as you have something sizable kicking around on the boardFruit of the First Tree pairs really nicely in this sort of deck because if it is on a creature, sacrifice that creature (to Scourge no less) and then reap the benefits of gaining a whole pile of life, but more importantly, drawing a whole pile of cards. Green card draw is a little tricky to find and play, but the reward for using it like this is extremely high and could really dig you out of a jam.

There’s the deck.  It isn’t very fancy, but it does take a bit of peculiar take on getting to your opponent.  The best part is that the whole deck is really quite affordable.  The rares are all $0.50 bulk rares, the other spells are also equally cheap and the mana base is ALL basics. Could it really get any cheaper ?  Not really.  There are lots of ways to upgrade the deck ranging from Scry lands and Life Gain lands in the mana base to Courser of Kruphix and Sylvan Caryatid in the creature package thanks to their versatility and high toughness.  Also, some other potent creatures like Rotting Mastodon and Swarm of Bloodflies work well in this deck and could be added in as need be. There are also a number of other options available to you too that can help maintain this deck and help you to keep the cost down while still having a loads of fun.

This looks like something fun to take for a spin around a kitchen table.  Will it have legs at a competitive event?  No way.  The curve is way off, the removal is suspect and is generally too slow.  However, around the kitchen table with your pals this will get a giggle or two…until your Scourge of Skola Vale stomps a mud hole through one of your pals and then they will sit up and take notice.  It’s cheap, is capable of some silly shenanigans and is totally unassuming from the outset.  Time to play rope a dope and be crowned Kitchen Table Champ!

Thanks for taking the time to stop in here at Casual Encounters and Three Kings Loot.  I hope you guys enjoy the deck and have a chance to go on out and give it a try.  Until the next time, have yourselves a great MTG day and remember keep it fun, keep it safe…and keep it casual!

 

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

@bgray8791 on Twitter

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Bruce Gray - February 25, 2015

Visiting with Vorthos: Dragons of Tarkir

Dromoka, the Eterna- Dragons of Tarkir

Visiting with Vorthos: Dragons of Tarkir

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

We witnessed how the Abzan submitted to Dromoka and her brood and accepted fealty to the giant dragon.  That’s a mighty tough pill to swallow, but given the fact that the dragons appear to be growing in size and strength, you can see the logic behind this.  However, once one Legendary Dragons gets a host of followers, it only stands to reason that the others want the same. I hear Dragons can get a tad jealous. So, you get the scenes that unfolded in this week’s Uncharted Realms and the assaults on the ancient Khans of Tarkir.

This is an interesting development and slightly unique to this sort of fantasy writing.  There are LOTS of fantasy novels that have worlds where dragons and humans co-exist, but those universes usually make it such that the humans are the dominant power.  In some the dragons are sub-servient beasts that carry knights like steeds.  In others, the Dragons have gone into hiding and hoard treasure while avoiding contact with humans.  However, in the world of Tarkir the humans are NOT the dominant power.  They are prey, the play thing, the sub-servient being to the dragons.  That is a new twist and that’s going to likely impact the sort of cards we see in the final story of this Block.

What interests me about this is how the humans are going to fit into this new arrangement.  It will be unlike anything we have seen in terms of story, but that should hardly be a surprise at this point.  We have already seen that many of the Dragons on Tarkir exhibit a much different series of traits than what is considered to be the “norm” for this genre.  Dragons are often seen as being simple, but vicious primitive forces.   On occasion they exhibit intelligence and cunning, but usually to serve their own greater good.  On Tarkir the dragons of each brood have their own “social order” of sorts and live within those norms…and potentially meaning the humans have no place in that social order.  IF they have a place, will it be as an equals to the dragons?  Doubtful.  Humans are FAR more fragile than the enormously powerful dragons so it is hard to conceive of them being equals.  Slaves?  Far more likely. But as slaves, what exactly does that mean?

I’m not prepared to speculate on the various social orders fostered by each of the broods, but it will likely give each dragon/clan alliance the chance to renew hostilities against each other because of the lack of a “common” enemy that they previously shared: the humans.  It will mean that there will be some pretty exciting Dragon on Dragon crime and some very obviously pushed powerful effects coming up.  It will also mean a larger number of dragons that are going to appear in the set going forward.

A few words on Sarkhan and “the Timeline”.  I have heard people critique the fact that Sarkhan has effectively altered the timeline, no longer triggering his own spark, and potentially having a cascading effect beyond the plane on Tarkir.  I would love to start back tracking through the story and play the “what if” game at each juncture where Sarkhan has played a major role in the events of the Multiverse, but that doesn’t feel productive.  It feels like a fun activity, but ultimately the number of parallel planes and timelines that may be created as a result of these changes is pretty immense.   I feel like the easiest explanation is likely to be that some alternate planeswalker we haven’t met yet will follow in the footsteps of Sarkhan Vol to maintain the basic structure of the multiverse.  From a writing perspective, it is the easiest solution if not the most elegant.  All of us who read and enjoy the weekly articles will be decidedly disappointed because it feels like a bit of a cop out.  However, from the standpoint of having to totally backtrack and revisit a number of planes this is perhaps the easiest mechanism.  However, IF you wanted to go back to all those planes (because they were awesome!) this would present the ideal opportunity to go back and revisit the altered timeline.

Lastly, the death of Elspeth and the removal of Sarkhan from the Planeswalker batting line up is starting to take its toll.  Don’t forget, Garruk has gone nuts, Elspeth and Venser are dead, and now Sarkhan just doesn’t exist (at least in theory).  Sure, we got Ashiok, Kiora, Ugin and even Xenagos, but the death/removal of some of the more established walkers hurts a little bit.  They are kind of like old friends that you can turn to and latch on to…or awesome spells to cast in the middle of the game to push you over the top. Regardless of how you look at them they are powerful characters in the stories of Magic and losing them stings.  It might be nice for a change to NOT have a tragic demise to all our favorite walkers…a story with a happy ending usually sells pretty well too.

Thanks for reading…and I hope you have an awesome MTG day.

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

@bgray8791 on Twitter

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Bruce Gray - February 11, 2015

Crack a pack MTG Fate Reforged with Bruce #21 (2nd )

Fate Reforged Booster - Crack a pack MTG

Crack a pack MTG Fate Reforged with Bruce #21  (2nd )

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

Good morning and thanks for stopping by here at The Bag of Loot and my Casual Encounters column.  For those who are new here, I will be cracking a pack of Fate Reforged and looking at what I would select first if this was Pick 1, Pack1 in my next draft.  Let’s take a look at what I’ve got.

 

Commons

 

 

Uncommons

 

Rare

 

Land

 

 

Fate Reforged seems a little more heavy with bombs than Khans was, so let’s start with the rare.  Yasova Dragonclaw is a pretty strong starting place.  She’s efficient to cast as a 4/2 for 3 mana and comes with Trample making her pretty solid from the outset. She triggers Ferocious if that matters to your deck as well, which is always a benefit. However, I get most of those same stats with an Alpine Grizzly so what makes her so appealing?  Her ability to effectively Act of Treason one of their blockers each turn is actually really difficult to handle.  Even if the creature you’re pulling aside isn’t a huge bomb, it can really upset combat math to pull aside their blocker and then swing in.  The only catch is that she can only target a creature with power less than hers.  That may or may not be ideal because you might only be pulling aside a Wetland Sambar or an Ainok Tracker. If you can find a way to Bolster her or to augment her to steal something larger then you might find things will get a little out of control.  I’ve played against one in a match and while her ability is kind of tricky, it certainly is beatable. However, she’s still a very powerful card and would be pulled straight to the front of the pack for some careful consideration.

 

Mistfire Adept is a very nice uncommon and has some solid stats.  The basic body is that of Hill Giant, which is quite reasonable.  However, the Prowess and the ability to grant something Flying is the real perk here.  You cast a spell and suddenly you have a 4/4 flier. That’s nothing to take lightly.  There’s not really a whole lot of downside here because this is a useful to just about any deck playing Blue and would be getting a long hard look as well.

 

Renowned Weaponsmith is underwhelming in every regard.  The artifact theme is not strong enough to warrant this guy, and the ability to tutor up a bad artifact is also not overly relevant.  His base stats are a little on the poor side as well because he gets quickly outclassed.  Sadly, this guy isn’t very good and will likely a late pickup for filler to someone in Blue.

 

Hewed Stone Retainers feels like a downgraded version of Illusory Angel.  If this had Flying, or First Strike, or anything really, you’d consider playing it, but at a vanilla 4/4 the answer is probably not.   Don’t get fooled by the casting cost, the fact that you need to cast this as the second spell this turn increases the cost of this and unless you have a deck with some cheap spells to fire off this might get stranded in your hand for a while.

 

Write into Being is a card I quite like.  One of the concerns I have with the Manifest mechanic is that I often feel like I don’t have much control over what gets manifested.  It might be that land I really need, or that super efficient removal spell, or that hyper expensive creature that I was really hoping to find in the late game.  In all of these of situations having the card get Manifested is less than ideal.  Write into Being gives you some measure of control over what spell you end up getting and that is very useful.  The casting cost puts it right on curve with other Morphs and the fact that is a non creature spell helps provide you with fuel for Delve spells and triggers Prowess.  While this is a long way from being a home run it is a deceptively powerful card and is ultimately very useful.

 

Temur Runemark is NOT something I like.  Most auras are a surefire way to get yourself in a situation where you lose out in a 2 for 1 situation.  Unless the Aura is really powerful, it is usually a better idea to play cards that stand on their own merit.  I’m not going to say I won’t play an Aura, but I’m certainly not looking to play those auras unless I’m pretty desperate.

 

Collateral Damage is a card that I like in certain decks, but is usually not something I’m too keen to grab.  I never like sacrificing MY board state to deal damage, so sequencing this spell just right to have maximum impact is tricky and pretty important.  If I can’t find a way to sacrifice something that is being blocked (and dying anyway) to take out something else I’m just not overly keen to play this.  The ONLY other way I play this if I have a tokens strategy where I can use the tokens as fodder, but even there I’m not going crazy with this card.  This a tricky card and something that certainly has a benefit when played correctly, but not always available in the optimal way.

 

Whisperer of the Wilds was in last week’s pack too and I’m still a fan.  I’d be flipping this to the front of the pack, but likely won’t be first picking this at this point.

 

Sultai Runemark. Please see my notes on Temur Runemark up above.  They are essentially identical for this card.

Gurmag Angler is the sort of aggressive mid-round pickup you just love to see.  The big body on this one is very appealing and the fact that the casting cost can be significantly reduced with Delve makes this very appealing.  I don’t think I really want to first pick this because if you are in on the Delve plan you have a limited number of cards slots that can be devoted to delve cards and this guy may not be the best way to go.  However, he is a very nice early pickup and a big body to sure up the board.

 

Rakshasa’s Disdain.  No.  This is very poor conditional counter magic and not worth the card slot.  Go and grab a Cancel before you play this and hard counter that spell.

 

Typhoid Rats are one of those common cards that you always overlook, but it always makes your deck.  Nobody likes attacking into or blocking a 1/1 deathtoucher and the rats just do some much work.  It isn’t a first pick, but it certainly is a good mid-round pick.

 

Grim Contest is interesting because it is an unusual take on the “fight” mechanic that green usually gets for removal.  The part I like about this is that it is at Instant speed meaning that you can use it on your opponent’s turn and leaving you to do whatever you like with your mana on your turn.  Sadly, it is a gold card and fits into fewer decks, but if you have Green and Black in your deck I see no good reason not to take this mid-round and see if you can make it work for you.  This would have been ideal in M15 Limited with Rotfeaster Maggot, but that is a digression. This is an interesting spell and something that will garner mild interest, but is in no way a first pick.

 

 

Top 5 cards

 

  1. Yasova Dragonclaw
  2. Mistfire Adept
  3. Write into Being
  4. Whisperer of the Wilds
  5. Gurmag Angler

 

First Pick

While a number of the cards in this pack are pretty interesting, there is no doubt that I would be taking Yasova from this pack with my first pick.  I feel like Green leaves you open to go into some very powerful combinations by making Abzan, Sultai and Temur all available and her raw stats are very solid.  Her two toughness is an issue because she dies readily to Wild Slash , Douse in Gloom and Debilitating Injury but there is plenty of upside to her because her repeatable “Act of Treason” is quite powerful and will really mess with combat.  I don’t think she’s an insane bomb the way some of the Legendary Dragons are, but she’s very good and a cut above the other cards in this pack.

 

Thanks for stopping in today here at Casual Encounters and taking the time read.  I hope you guys have an awesome MTG day!

 

 

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

@bgray8791 on Twitter

 

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Bruce Gray - January 30, 2015

Crack a pack MTG Fate Reforged with Bruce #20

Crack a pack MTG Fate Reforged

Crack a pack MTG Fate Reforged with Bruce 20

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

Well, welcome back to our continuing Crack a pack MTG Series here at Casual Encounters and Three Kings Loot.  I’m very happy to say that this is crack a pack number 20 for me! I can’t believe that I’ve got to 20.  It seems like not all that long ago I was pitching the series to the guys at Three Kings Loot.  The goal for 2015 is to continue writing these and hopefully build up some more readers who are keen to get into a discussion about the cards and the selections.  So, let’s see what we’ve got on deck for today!

 

Today we’ll be opening a shiny new pack of Fate Reforged.  Remember, as Fate Reforged enters the draft environment we are now drafting one pack of Fate and 2 packs of Khans meaning you will still be pretty heavily Khans focused.  That said, Fate Reforged dove tails pretty well with Khans so it should move pretty seamlessly.  Here we go.

 

Rare

 

Uncommons

 

Commons

 

 

Oh boy…we just opened something pretty spicy in Crux of Fate. People have been calling for a re-print of Damnation for a long time and this may be as close as we ever get.  This is an awesome mass removal spell in Black, something that doesn’t come along in every set.  The fact that this is modal could be relevant in Draft if you have a couple of the uncommon dragons on board and need a way to punch them through, but you will mostly look at this as premium mass removal that you will grab first almost each and every time.

 

Valorous Stance is a tremendously versatile card and both modes are very relevant.  It is extremely efficiently costed at 2 manaand just does exactly what you need it to do every time.  In most packs this would be first pickable, but today it’ll like slide to the 2nd pick in this pack.

 

Neutralizing Blast is a very underwhelming counter spell.  The fact that it only targets multi-coloured spells is a huge issue because the number of such spells is quite low.  Think about it, there were some in Khans, but many of those were Morph creatures (that aren’t multi-coloured if cast face down) and a cycle of uncommon spells like Ride Down. In Fate, there is once again a cycle of common spells and the cycle of Rare Dragons.  That means that there aren’t a lot of relevant targets for this…so you’re likely just best to pass this and see if you grab it late as a sideboard option for the greedy 5 colour deck that the guy next to you is building.

 

Shifting Loyalties is a super powerful effect and could really turn the tide quickly as you trade you junky creature for their awesome one…but the variance on this is high.  If they only have a Gore Swine do you really want to spend 6 mana and trade you Jeskai Sage for it?  Likely not.  So you have a dead card in hand. If you have a Jeskai Sage and they have Atarka…well…that’s different.  I’d be careful with this one and wouldn’t prioritize it too highly because it could really backfire and just sit dead in your hand.

 

Sandteppe Outcast is a very useful 3 drop.  3 mana for a 2/1 creature and a 1/1 flier OR a 3/2 creature is nice versatility.  I imagine the 1/1 flier is the most likely mode you’ll pick, but I could make a case that you really want the 3/2 if you have the Abzan Falconer or Abzan Battle Priest on board.  Either way, this is very good and efficiently costed and could be a first pick if you were hard pressed.

 

Write Into Being is an interesting take on Manifest.  It is a sorcery that only costs 2 and a Blue for a total of 3 mana.  That is on par with Morphs…so that’s a perfectly acceptable casting cost for a 2/2.  However, the fact that you get to look at the top two cards and pick which one gets Manifested is actually excellent value.  You can essentially craft exactly which card you want turned over as a 2/2.  That gives you a lot of control and could allow you to play some very fun head games with your opponent.  Not a first pick, but a nice spell that likely goes in the early half of the round.

 

Fierce Invocation is another Manifest Sorcery.  I like this one less, but it is still a 4/4 for 5 mana which isn’t bad…and if it is a creature…you’re in business.  This is a mid-round pick up.

 

Douse in Gloom is Pharika’s Cure…just slightly more expensive.  This is another early pick in this pack because it deals with everything from facedown creatures to Alpine Grizzly without any difficulty.  This one isn’t flashy, but is the backbone of most limited decks.

 

Cunning Strike feels too expensive and just not good enough for 5 mana.  At 5 mana I want to do something AWESOME…this just feels slow and awkward.  Couple that with the fact that it is two colours and there is no doubt that this will table.  I’d pass and only take this as a last resort.

 

Arashin Cleric…and the consensus is…NO.  It doesn’t do enough.  It can’t block Morphs and Manifested decks profitably, the life gain is fairly modest, and it gets outclassed quite quickly.  No, don’t take this, you can do better.

 

Collateral Damage is a spell I really like.  In a tokens strategy, or heck, just with that dumpy Arashin Cleric, sacrifice the creature for 1 red mana (at instant speed) for a Lightning Bolt.  That seems fine to me.  Not a crazy high pick, but very reasonable once you establish your colours as a mid-round pick up for some inexpensive removal/damage.

 

Gore Swine is just a 4/1 vanilla creature. I’m not going to dump on this creature because it can be quite serviceable, but if I have better options I’m taking those long before I take this.  All that can be said for this thing is that at least it triggers Ferocious.

 

Bathe In Dragonfire is an excellent red removal spell.  The 4 damage is very useful and deals with most threats.  I’m not a fan of the Sorcery speed on this thing because it won’t catch Dash creatures, but you can’t expect too much from a common.  For the record, this continuing the trend of seeing removal slowly become more and more expensive…so while this is pretty reasonable it likely would have been cheaper had it appeared in a set 3-5 years ago.

 

 

Top 5 Cards

  1. Crux of Fate
  2. Valorous Stance
  3. Sandsteppe Outcast
  4. Bathe In Dragonfire
  5. Douse in Gloom

 

First pick

This is pretty much a no brainer…you grab Crux of Fate and move on.  There really isn’t anything that would match up well with Crux, and if suggested anything else I would out right lying to you. So, while the other cards are pretty good…Crux is the hands down winner.

 

Wow…that was easy.

 

Well, thanks for reading folks and thanks for coming along for the ride to get to 20 Crack a Pack MTG.  20 may not seem like a lot to you guys, but let me assure it has been quite the trip.  Let’s see if we can get to 30!  Thanks for reading and until next time may you open nothing but Mythic rares.

 

By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

@bgray8791  on Twitter