If you've played at a prerelease, what cards did you find surprisingly good? Were there any that were much worse than you thought?
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Some facts of magic:
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
Crypt Ghast. The fact that my partner and I each pulled one (2HG pre-release) and that Extort hits each opponent made it absolutely insane when I would untap with him.
Gift of Orzhova was everything I had hoped for and more. Very rarely did I lose a creature within 2 turns of being enchanted (which most of the time happened to be Knight of Obligation), so it was a beautiful addition to the lifegain from Extort.
I had expected my singleton Kingpin's Pet to turn games for me, but I don't remember ever actually getting him onto the field. Felt to me like Basilica Screecher was infinitely better, being able to kill off a lot of the 1/1s that came our way, and get early Extorts off to make up for any creatures too big to block.
I can't believe anyone is excited about this card. It is absolutely unplayable. I wouldn't even play her in LIMITED. Easily the worst walker printed since the green elf one. Absolutely terrible.
For me Frilled Oculus was an all star, pulled 3 and usually had a 3/5 swinging on turn 3 against orzhov decks or a 3/5 potential blocker against gruul and boros decks, also was fantastic for triggering my evolve creatures.
Extort is amazing. Knight of Obligation is super good. It's great to have Prophetic Prism back. Cipher is way better than I expected it to be. Every time I played Shadow Slice my opponent took at least 8. I didn't get to blow anything up with High Priest of Penance, but once he hit the board there were no opposing attacks, so that was fun. All in all, I'm very satisfied with this limited environment. It's much more fun than RTR, IMO. My only disappointments of the night were: a) not pulling any charms and b) not pulling any Syndic of Tithes.
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:orzhov:Luck is probability taken personally.:orzhov:
The key point to the format seems to be that the orzhov deck virtually starts at 30 and everyone else starts at 10. Can your gruul/boros/simic deck win under those conditions?
Did anyone have/see successfull mill? It feels like too many of the mill cards hedge with damage/strong creatures as well, and you're wasting your time trying to deal them damage of any sort.
The key point to the format seems to be that the orzhov deck virtually starts at 30 and everyone else starts at 10. Can your gruul/boros/simic deck win under those conditions?
Did anyone have/see successfull mill? It feels like too many of the mill cards hedge with damage/strong creatures as well, and you're wasting your time trying to deal them damage of any sort.
Not sure how you figure this out? Even given that my opponent is straight Orzhov with a great build. They would need to keep an extort creature on the field from turn 1 till turn 12 and be able to play something which allows them to pay the extra mana for the extort play. With one 1mana creature with extort at uncommon i don't see this happening.
Until I see it in action I just can't get around having to play low cc cards in later turns of the game so that you can make sure to have to extra mana for the extort. If my opponent try's to sit back and extort I hope he has bigger creatures and enough removal otherwise My Gruul deck should walk right over them. Also being able to add G plus hybrid from the Simic and R plus hybrid from the Boros gives me access to enough creatures to curve out well and run my opponent into the ground.
A mill deck won our pre-release last night. The Consuming Aberration is just insane!! Luckily out of all of my matchups I only saw it in one game, and it didn't mill me for too much. But just the fact that ability is dormant on that card is crazy. For that whole reason I have thought about switching to play it today. On my side I played Boros and I have to agree that Madcap Skills is amazing!! I only drafted this card 1 time, and wow did it come out of no where. I was attacking for 5 on turn three for about every game.
Thrull Parasite, while most people probably saw his potential, I saw a 1 mana 1/1 with a mostly irrelevant ability when I was breezing over the set. But extort for one mana is SO GOOD, and curving out on extort is so backbreaking. He also pulls his weight late game.
Vizkopa Guildmage was a big underperformer for me. I initially didn't like her much when I was looking at the set. But a friend changed my mind about her, and I regret being persuaded. Although I can see her being strong if you already have lifelink creatures, if she's your sole way to gain life, she's very disappointing.
Agoraphobia was also surprisingly stronger than I initially gave it credit for. It's ability to move around, while also being a repeatable, late game enabler for extort is pretty dandy. Even without extort, the ability to move it around threats and save it from removal is beastly. Unfortunately extort hard with instant speed tricks and end-of-turn shenanigans, but its aforementioned strength makes up for that.
Kingpin's Pet - This guy is a lot stronger than your average wind drake
Deathcult Rogue - This guy is pretty close to Phantom Warrior a lot of the time and my two copies did a ton of work for me while I held down the ground with Basilica Guards.
Dutiful Thrull - Exactly what Orzhov decks need. A cheap way to survive early game beats and a nice card to Extort off of in the lategame.
Under-Performers:
Debtor's Pulpit - If you ever have to cast this when you have only 5 mana it feel terrible. The card is just really clunky and while I would always play a single copy in my white decks I don't think I'd go out of my way to pick them up in draft.
Immortal Servitude - It just played out like a really bad Rise from the Grave a majority of the time. Perhaps my deck wasn't the best suited for it but even then it seems really expensive if you want to get any sort of good value from it.
A mill deck won our pre-release last night. The Consuming Aberration is just insane!! Luckily out of all of my matchups I only saw it in one game, and it didn't mill me for too much. But just the fact that ability is dormant on that card is crazy. For that whole reason I have thought about switching to play it today. On my side I played Boros and I have to agree that Madcap Skills is amazing!! I only drafted this card 1 time, and wow did it come out of no where. I was attacking for 5 on turn three for about every game.
I'm signed up for Gruul because I'm doing Dimir in 2headed tomorrow and I dont want anyone saying I snuck in cards (we recently had it happen at a local RTR pre-release). But the Aberration makes me wanna do Dimir both days. Plus having access to a 3 mana counter that also makes the discard 2 is nuts. Add in the grind submechanic and the fact I can add Simic U and Orzhov B and I'm gonna switch. I just won't bring anything with me tomorrow but a drink and snacks.
Wildwood Rebirth won me two games off the top of my head. Bloodrushing Rubblehulk on 5 lands and then snagging him back at my opponent's eot in order to cast him the following turn felt so, so good. I also Bloodrushed a Slaughterhorn twice in one combat for the win.
After reading the spoiler, I came away underwhelmed with Gruul Charm, but after seeing it in action, I think it's quite good. One of the gotcha moments of the prerelease for me was when I cast Act of Treason on my opponent's fatty, expecting to swing in for a huge chunk of his life and upon declaration of attack step, he Gruul Charmed his dude back.
Debtor's Pulpit- Do you really want to cast this for 5 mana? In most cases, no, but 6 will do just fine. That said, if you're running a deck that can reliably stabilize and hit 6 mana, it just takes over the game. It's even better than Martial Law sometimes in that you get to take out creatures at much more opportune times. It carried me through so many games, though you really don't want more than one.
Guardian of the Gateless- It's basically a massive brick wall in front of a weenie army that is also a 3/3 flier.
Prophetic Prism- The bombs in this format are insane. All the promos are incredible in limited, Obzedat and Gideon are almost unbeatable, and the Primordials are all extremely relevant. You want to be able to splash for and draw them as fast as possible, and this helps with that.
Aetherize- Baiting an opponent into a miserable failure of a counterattack won more than its fair share of games in blowout fashion.
Losers:
Skygames- Cut this one pretty quickly. I wasn't expecting much, but I quickly realized I'd rather just have another threat.
Gruul decks- Nobody finished in the top 16 from Gruul. Granted, a lot of newer players were representing it, but so many people misplayed Bloodrush as removal for a creature that didn't urgently need removing rather than the massive reach it provides.
Also, I was Gruul, but splashed blue for Keymaster Rogue and I have to say, he was worth it. Great Bloodrush target, bounced Bloodrush dudes to force through damage when necessary and worked really well with Ivy Lane Denizen.
Vizkopa confessor was awesome for me. I had two and every time he landed, opponent had 1-3 cards in hand and it almost always ripped a bomb away. Then it's extort just bought the life back.
I also splashed blue for dusk mantle seer, that was great too, especially with the low curve and life gain in orzov
Mind grind basically won our event, if you do it for 5 or more you almost mill someone's entire deck, especially if you had other cards that mill them until they get a land.
Finished slightly off top8 (at last game it came to "who'll topdeck removal", and since I haven't even opened any...) as Boros with slight splash on green.
Bloodrushers blown my mind: Scorchwalker - easily the best common of the set. Holy uncounterable +5 to power. His only "problem" that he wasn't ever played as creature. Ghor Clan Rampager can be and was a creature several times, and its bonus is also nothing to frown upon. Initially I thought any removal will turn these into 2-for-1, but I guess I wasn't alone with removal problems.
Same goes for Madcap Skills. I even pulled "I normally do not play auras, but when I do, it's +3/+0 can be blocked by less than two for splashable two" on someone.
Court Street Denizen - I've suspected that free tapping is effective, but this gal is nuts.
Underperformers: Odruun Veteran. If you don't have Batallion trigger, he is uuuseleeeess. For 4 mana, dang it. Especially pathetic it looked with him and Daring Skyjek around.
Someone else mentioned Gift of Orzhova as an overperformer, and I wholeheartedly agree. Putting it on Warmind Infantry on turn 4 saved me a couple games. Additionally, Skyknight Legionnaire worked really well today; made for surprise battalion in many games.
Vizkopa confessor was awesome for me. I had two and every time he landed, opponent had 1-3 cards in hand and it almost always ripped a bomb away. Then it's extort just bought the life back.
I also splashed blue for dusk mantle seer, that was great too, especially with the low curve and life gain in orzov
Really? I think Vizkopa Confessor is one of the crappiest cards in the whole set. Its the Rakdos Ringleader forg GTC. 5 mana for a 1/3 that dies to anything, ina guild where you want a low curve, and you pay life to rip 1 card? woohoo. Sign me up.
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
More facts of magic
Gift of Orzhova was everything I had hoped for and more. Very rarely did I lose a creature within 2 turns of being enchanted (which most of the time happened to be Knight of Obligation), so it was a beautiful addition to the lifegain from Extort.
I had expected my singleton Kingpin's Pet to turn games for me, but I don't remember ever actually getting him onto the field. Felt to me like Basilica Screecher was infinitely better, being able to kill off a lot of the 1/1s that came our way, and get early Extorts off to make up for any creatures too big to block.
On my partner's side, Boros Charm and Boros Reckoner unsurprisingly did a lot of the heavy-lifting.
Smite was all-around good for the both of us, throwing off our opponents and even proccing Extort from time to time.
Standard - GW Humans
Modern - B Infect
EDH - G Baru, Fist of Krosa (ramp/land theme)
Casual - WR Defender
Fixes your mana early game. Late game it can give you 1 or even 2 extort triggers.
:orzhov:Luck is probability taken personally.:orzhov:
Did anyone have/see successfull mill? It feels like too many of the mill cards hedge with damage/strong creatures as well, and you're wasting your time trying to deal them damage of any sort.
Not sure how you figure this out? Even given that my opponent is straight Orzhov with a great build. They would need to keep an extort creature on the field from turn 1 till turn 12 and be able to play something which allows them to pay the extra mana for the extort play. With one 1mana creature with extort at uncommon i don't see this happening.
Until I see it in action I just can't get around having to play low cc cards in later turns of the game so that you can make sure to have to extra mana for the extort. If my opponent try's to sit back and extort I hope he has bigger creatures and enough removal otherwise My Gruul deck should walk right over them. Also being able to add G plus hybrid from the Simic and R plus hybrid from the Boros gives me access to enough creatures to curve out well and run my opponent into the ground.
Vizkopa Guildmage was a big underperformer for me. I initially didn't like her much when I was looking at the set. But a friend changed my mind about her, and I regret being persuaded. Although I can see her being strong if you already have lifelink creatures, if she's your sole way to gain life, she's very disappointing.
Agoraphobia was also surprisingly stronger than I initially gave it credit for. It's ability to move around, while also being a repeatable, late game enabler for extort is pretty dandy. Even without extort, the ability to move it around threats and save it from removal is beastly. Unfortunately extort hard with instant speed tricks and end-of-turn shenanigans, but its aforementioned strength makes up for that.
Kingpin's Pet - This guy is a lot stronger than your average wind drake
Deathcult Rogue - This guy is pretty close to Phantom Warrior a lot of the time and my two copies did a ton of work for me while I held down the ground with Basilica Guards.
Dutiful Thrull - Exactly what Orzhov decks need. A cheap way to survive early game beats and a nice card to Extort off of in the lategame.
Under-Performers:
Debtor's Pulpit - If you ever have to cast this when you have only 5 mana it feel terrible. The card is just really clunky and while I would always play a single copy in my white decks I don't think I'd go out of my way to pick them up in draft.
Immortal Servitude - It just played out like a really bad Rise from the Grave a majority of the time. Perhaps my deck wasn't the best suited for it but even then it seems really expensive if you want to get any sort of good value from it.
I'm signed up for Gruul because I'm doing Dimir in 2headed tomorrow and I dont want anyone saying I snuck in cards (we recently had it happen at a local RTR pre-release). But the Aberration makes me wanna do Dimir both days. Plus having access to a 3 mana counter that also makes the discard 2 is nuts. Add in the grind submechanic and the fact I can add Simic U and Orzhov B and I'm gonna switch. I just won't bring anything with me tomorrow but a drink and snacks.
I am Dimir and I know your secrets
That'd be my overperformer, especially when bloodrushed by Scorchwalker. Court Street Denizen would be my MVP, especially with Beckon Apparition or Knight Watch. Those really helped my Boros push damage through things like Basilica Guards.
After reading the spoiler, I came away underwhelmed with Gruul Charm, but after seeing it in action, I think it's quite good. One of the gotcha moments of the prerelease for me was when I cast Act of Treason on my opponent's fatty, expecting to swing in for a huge chunk of his life and upon declaration of attack step, he Gruul Charmed his dude back.
Winners:
Debtor's Pulpit- Do you really want to cast this for 5 mana? In most cases, no, but 6 will do just fine. That said, if you're running a deck that can reliably stabilize and hit 6 mana, it just takes over the game. It's even better than Martial Law sometimes in that you get to take out creatures at much more opportune times. It carried me through so many games, though you really don't want more than one.
Guardian of the Gateless- It's basically a massive brick wall in front of a weenie army that is also a 3/3 flier.
Prophetic Prism- The bombs in this format are insane. All the promos are incredible in limited, Obzedat and Gideon are almost unbeatable, and the Primordials are all extremely relevant. You want to be able to splash for and draw them as fast as possible, and this helps with that.
Aetherize- Baiting an opponent into a miserable failure of a counterattack won more than its fair share of games in blowout fashion.
Losers:
Skygames- Cut this one pretty quickly. I wasn't expecting much, but I quickly realized I'd rather just have another threat.
Gruul decks- Nobody finished in the top 16 from Gruul. Granted, a lot of newer players were representing it, but so many people misplayed Bloodrush as removal for a creature that didn't urgently need removing rather than the massive reach it provides.
Cubetutor Link
I also splashed blue for dusk mantle seer, that was great too, especially with the low curve and life gain in orzov
Bloodrushers blown my mind: Scorchwalker - easily the best common of the set. Holy uncounterable +5 to power. His only "problem" that he wasn't ever played as creature. Ghor Clan Rampager can be and was a creature several times, and its bonus is also nothing to frown upon. Initially I thought any removal will turn these into 2-for-1, but I guess I wasn't alone with removal problems.
Same goes for Madcap Skills. I even pulled "I normally do not play auras, but when I do, it's +3/+0 can be blocked by less than two for splashable two" on someone.
Court Street Denizen - I've suspected that free tapping is effective, but this gal is nuts.
Underperformers: Odruun Veteran. If you don't have Batallion trigger, he is uuuseleeeess. For 4 mana, dang it. Especially pathetic it looked with him and Daring Skyjek around.
Extremely good:
Mad cap skills
Syndic of tithes
Basilica Screecher
Disappointing:
Executioner's swing - really awkward all the time.
Arrows of Justice (not terrible but really bad vs bloodrush
Spire Tracer or Experiment One
enchanted by Alpha Authority and Madcap Skills won me a good portion of Boros games.
cockatrice: Antz0r
Modern:
UW Tron
BR Vampires
WX Death and Taxes
Someone else mentioned Gift of Orzhova as an overperformer, and I wholeheartedly agree. Putting it on Warmind Infantry on turn 4 saved me a couple games. Additionally, Skyknight Legionnaire worked really well today; made for surprise battalion in many games.
UBW Sharuum
BR Olivia Voldaren
UR Jhoira
URG Riku
U Vendilion Clique
Really? I think Vizkopa Confessor is one of the crappiest cards in the whole set. Its the Rakdos Ringleader forg GTC. 5 mana for a 1/3 that dies to anything, ina guild where you want a low curve, and you pay life to rip 1 card? woohoo. Sign me up.
Standard:
RW Boros devotion/Purphoros combo
RGB Jund Midrange
Modern:
WB Martyr.proc