And this would be my 3rd event, past two being Scars and Beseiged and didn't do very well. Now I'm looking to at least break even instead of 1-X. What kind of advice can you guys give me regarding JOU? Colors, aggro/control/midrange, cards that you should absolutely try and play when you can, mana curve, land count, etc.
I like to play tempo type of decks, but I can play anything. I don't have the previous Hero cards.
So, with the set now fully spoiled, what thread should I read to try and get ahead of the game?
Well, if you just follow (or participate in!) the most active threads in the limited forums here, you'll get to see the MTGS limited community arguing about the best, worst, and hardest-to-pin down of the new cards and strategies. And over the next week we'll probably see some set reviews and prerelease guides going up on the major magic sites like the aforementioned limited resources, channelfireball, star city games, etc. The writers/pros/etc on those sites will disagree on some things, and can of course be wrong, but it's a good introduction to approaching a new set.
The consensus that develops here, in the MTGS Limited Hivemind, is of course the result of a delocalized supra-organic metaintelligence, and is not subject to the same fleshly foibles as individual Magic pros. As such, it is flawless. It is, however, sometimes correct in ways that transcend ordinary categories of "right" and "wrong" (i.e., we're sometimes wrong )
Everyone else had some good advice for you. I would add that you want to be careful adding cards to your deck that are only situationally good. For example pump spells and equipment are only good if you have creatures to use them on, so you should only play a lot of pump spells if you are playing a lot of creatures. As for the format it is relatively aggressive so you should make sure either you are aggressive or you are prepared to deal with aggressive starts. White and red decks are usually aggressive in this format, while black decks are usually controlling.
Ok, just came back from my prerelease and I went 2-2, using BWr. I really shouldn't have gone 3 colors, but I couldn't help myself lol. I chose black and here's my deck:
I know I said WBr, but after match 2 I dropped red. I was basically using red for SB cards which was a horrible idea, and I knew it was risky but I did it anyway. Now that I've burned myself, I won't do it again. Any way for the sake of furthering my ability, what do you guys think of that the final build of my deck and why?
If I have you guys my entire card pool was, could you guys tell me what I should have chosen, put in, and why?
Ok, just came back from my prerelease and I went 2-2, using BWr. I really shouldn't have gone 3 colors, but I couldn't help myself lol. I chose black and here's my deck:
I know I said WBr, but after match 2 I dropped red. I was basically using red for SB cards which was a horrible idea, and I knew it was risky but I did it anyway. Now that I've burned myself, I won't do it again. Any way for the sake of furthering my ability, what do you guys think of that the final build of my deck and why?
If I have you guys my entire card pool was, could you guys tell me what I should have chosen, put in, and why?
I'm sure some people will be glad to help you if you post your entire pool. But just looking at the list you posted, I don't think you should be playing with Font of Vigor. It's literally the worst card in the set.
Ok, just came back from my prerelease and I went 2-2, using BWr. I really shouldn't have gone 3 colors, but I couldn't help myself lol. I chose black and here's my deck:
I know I said WBr, but after match 2 I dropped red. I was basically using red for SB cards which was a horrible idea, and I knew it was risky but I did it anyway. Now that I've burned myself, I won't do it again. Any way for the sake of furthering my ability, what do you guys think of that the final build of my deck and why?
If I have you guys my entire card pool was, could you guys tell me what I should have chosen, put in, and why?
I'm sure some people will be glad to help you if you post your entire pool. But just looking at the list you posted, I don't think you should be playing with Font of Vigor. It's literally the worst card in the set.
It's not entirely bad. That small bit of life gain was able to let me live long enough to finish a game, but in most situations it was bad. As stated from Tomsawyer, it's a situationally good card, and I fell right into that trap.
After I posted this, I built another deck from the card pool. It came out to be BR.
Your BR build has only 12 creatures (counting Flurry of Horns as a "creature"), which feels like too few for a sealed deck. Especially since many of your spells require a creature under your control to do anything. In general, out of your 23 spells, you want 14-16 creatures and 7-9 non-creature spells.
With your pool, I would build W/B. But maybe I'm overvaluing your good W heroic creatures.
* Favored Hoplite and Dawnbringer Charioteers are good Heroic creatures. Your dream opening would be T1 Favored Hoplite T2 Ordeal of Erebos, attacking with a 3/4 and threatening to pop the Ordeal the next turn.
* Stonewise Fortifier and Nyxborn Eidolon both function primarily as boring 2-mana 2-power creatures, which are always playable in Sealed. Their other abilities is secondary to this. "Sealed is won off the backs of bears" is a good saying to remember.
* I don't like playing Traveler's Amulet in decks that don't need the fixing, since you lose tempo playing them and the deck-thinning aspect is a very small effect and not worth the tempo loss.
I like to play tempo type of decks, but I can play anything. I don't have the previous Hero cards.
Well, if you just follow (or participate in!) the most active threads in the limited forums here, you'll get to see the MTGS limited community arguing about the best, worst, and hardest-to-pin down of the new cards and strategies. And over the next week we'll probably see some set reviews and prerelease guides going up on the major magic sites like the aforementioned limited resources, channelfireball, star city games, etc. The writers/pros/etc on those sites will disagree on some things, and can of course be wrong, but it's a good introduction to approaching a new set.
The consensus that develops here, in the MTGS Limited Hivemind, is of course the result of a delocalized supra-organic metaintelligence, and is not subject to the same fleshly foibles as individual Magic pros. As such, it is flawless. It is, however, sometimes correct in ways that transcend ordinary categories of "right" and "wrong" (i.e., we're sometimes wrong )
1 griffin dreamfinder
1 hopeful eidolon
1 leonine snarecaster
1 lagonna-band trailblazer
1 favored hoplite
1 supply-line cranes
1 Akroan mastiff
1 dawnbringer charioteers
1 squelching leeches
2 dreadbringer lampads
2 pharika's chosen
1 returned Reveler
1 doomwake giant
1 necrobite
1 silence the believers
1 feast of dreams
1 viper's kiss
1 nyxborn eidolon
1 dictate of erebos
1 font of return
2 traveler's amulet
8 swamp
7 plains
I know I said WBr, but after match 2 I dropped red. I was basically using red for SB cards which was a horrible idea, and I knew it was risky but I did it anyway. Now that I've burned myself, I won't do it again. Any way for the sake of furthering my ability, what do you guys think of that the final build of my deck and why?
If I have you guys my entire card pool was, could you guys tell me what I should have chosen, put in, and why?
I'm sure some people will be glad to help you if you post your entire pool. But just looking at the list you posted, I don't think you should be playing with Font of Vigor. It's literally the worst card in the set.
It's not entirely bad. That small bit of life gain was able to let me live long enough to finish a game, but in most situations it was bad. As stated from Tomsawyer, it's a situationally good card, and I fell right into that trap.
After I posted this, I built another deck from the card pool. It came out to be BR.
1 Kragma Butcher
1 Rageblood Shaman
1 Oracle of Bones
1 Purphoros's Emissary
1 Returned Centaur
1 Squelching Leeches
2 Dreadbringer Lampads
1 Doomwake Giant
1 Viper's Kiss
1 Font of Return
1 Dictate of Erebos
1 Cruel Feeding
1 Feast of Dreams
1 Lightning Strike
1 Rise to the Challenge
1 Necrobite
1 Silence the Believers
1 Blinding Fate
1 Portent of Betrayal
2 Flurry of Horns
9 Swamp
8 Mountain
I think this was a better version. Anyway, here's the rest of my card pool.
1 Phalanx Formation
1 Tethmos High Priest
1 Stonewise Fortifier
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Dawnbringer Charioteers
1 Akroan Mastiff
1 Supply-Line Cranes
1 Favored Hoplite
1 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
1 Leonin Snarecaster
1 Hopeful Eidolon
1 Griffin Dreamfinder
1 Font of Vigor
Blue
1 Nullify
1 Thassa's Emissary
1 Triton Shorethief
1 Griptide
1 Interpret the Signs
1 Font of Fortunes
1 Flitterstep Eidolon
1 Fate Foretold
1 Thassa's Devourer
1 Countermand
1 Pin to the Earth
Black
1 Returned Reveler
2 Dreadbringer Lampads
1 Doomwake Giant
1 Viper's Kiss
1 Font of Return
1 Dictate of Erebos
1 Returned Centaur
1 Squelching Leeches
1 Cruel Feeding
1 Feast of Dreams
1 Rise to the Challenge
1 Necrobite
1 Silence the Believers
1 Rotted Hulk
2 Pharika's Chosen
1 Agent of Erebos
1 Nyxborn Eidolon
1 Scourgemark
1 Ordeal of Erebos
1 Kragma Butcher
1 Rageblood Shaman
1 Oracle of Bones
1 Purphoros's Emissary
1 Lightning Strike
1 Blinding Fare
1 Portent of Betrayal
2 Flurry of Horns
1 Lightning Volley
1 Pharagax Giant
1 Rage of Purphoros
1 Rollick of Abandon
1 Starfall
1 Boulderfall
1 Riddle of Lightning
2 Lightning Diadem
1 Bladetusk Boar
1 Impetuous Sunchaser
1 Satyr Rambler
1 Satyr Hoplite
Green
1 Nemesis of Mortals
1 Pheres-Band Centaurs
1 Satyr Hedonist
1 Culling Mark
1 Charging Badger
1 Desecration Plague
1 Oakheart Dryads
1 Renowned Weaver
1 Satyr Grovedancer
1 Ordeal of Nylea
2 Feral Invocation
1 Kruphix's Insight
1 Nessian Asp
1 Font of Fertility
1 Polis Crusher
1 Ephara's Enlightenment
Artifact
2 Traveler's Amulet
With your pool, I would build W/B. But maybe I'm overvaluing your good W heroic creatures.
1 Favored Hoplite
1 Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
1 Hopeful Eidolon
1 Leonin Snarecaster
1 Stonewise Fortifier
1 Tethmos High Priest
1 Akroan Mastiff
1 Dawnbringer Charioteers
1 Supply-Line Cranes
2 Pharika's Chosen
1 Nyxborn Eidolon
1 Squelching Leeches
1 Doomwake Giant
1 Dreadbringer Lampads
1 Phalanx Formation
1 Cruel Feeding
1 Scourgemark
1 Ordeal of Erebos
1 Feast of Dreams
1 Necrobite
1 Silence the Believers
1 Dictate of Erebos
8 Plains
9 Swamp
Some thoughts about card choices:
* Favored Hoplite and Dawnbringer Charioteers are good Heroic creatures. Your dream opening would be T1 Favored Hoplite T2 Ordeal of Erebos, attacking with a 3/4 and threatening to pop the Ordeal the next turn.
* Stonewise Fortifier and Nyxborn Eidolon both function primarily as boring 2-mana 2-power creatures, which are always playable in Sealed. Their other abilities is secondary to this. "Sealed is won off the backs of bears" is a good saying to remember.
* I don't like playing Traveler's Amulet in decks that don't need the fixing, since you lose tempo playing them and the deck-thinning aspect is a very small effect and not worth the tempo loss.