For sealed, my vote goes to W>B>G>>>U>R. Amonkhet seems too synergy-focused to just play a pile-o-goodstuff and expect a win. R, for instance, is quite powerful when it gets its aggro strategy rolling, but if your other colors don't offer cards geared for that gameplan, then R just won't work.
3-2.
Lost to crappy BW Bontu deck. A single Fan Bearer was too much for this deck
Got crushed by RG exert feat. Glorybringer. Heaven // Earth was the game winner for me many times.
Multiple times I'd attack with emberhorn minotaur, trigger on the stack it gets impeccable timinged, in response I cast prepare for massive lifelink damage, then fight postcombat for even more lifelink, and just absolutely obliterate a close race.
Exert is not a trigger. Emberhorn Minotaur attacks as a 5/4 with menace.
Multiple times I'd attack with emberhorn minotaur, trigger on the stack it gets impeccable timinged, in response I cast prepare for massive lifelink damage, then fight postcombat for even more lifelink, and just absolutely obliterate a close race.
Exert is not a trigger. Emberhorn Minotaur attacks as a 5/4 with menace.
Exerting is done as attackers are declared during the declare attackers turn based action. But doing so does put a trigger on the stack, indicated by the "when you do" clause. All that follows this clause is a trigger that can be responded to. Otherwise Ahn-Crop Crasher wouldn't work, because only objects on the stack can have targets. Therefore exerting Emberhorn Minotaur also creates a trigger that can be responded to. Until that trigger resolves, it is just a 4/3, it will become a 5/4 with menace when the trigger resolves.
Two bombs in white had me pretty sure I was starting there. Black had 2 Lord of the Accursed and a Final Reward so that was my first choice but I also had a Decimator Beetle and some good green so I wanted to see how it looked. Not good enough and the BW curve just looked better and more powerful. I ended up much more synergistic than it looked during building. I swept my prerelease going 4-0, 8-0.
The first match was against a kid. I've played against kids in prereleases and I'm usually fairly impressed by them but this one feels like I shouldn't brag. He was base RB but had a lot of green splash with double green and dubious mana. The first game went ok, he had a good board stall and it was a grindy game but I came out on top thanks to Card Advantage from Oracle's Vault. Didn't even draw my two bombs. The second game he mulled to 5 but I let him draw 6 and scry anyway because it's prerelease. Apparently, he kept a hand of 2 mountains and mostly green cards so it wasn't much of a match.
Match 2 was against the deck I wanted to build, GB counters with a Decimator Beetle and two cartouche of strength and all the -1/-1 counter synergies. Man, did I want to open that deck. Instead, I played Regal Caracal on turn 4 (Oketra's Monument), swung with all cats on turn 5 and when he blocked my cat lord with a combat trick, I cast one of my own in Supernatural Stamina, trading for his two spells and getting two more cats. He scooped. Match two was a bit more of a grind but eventually, enough Zombies and anthems pushed through for the win.
Match 3 was UR spells and while the deck had much more synergy than I gave it credit for, I was just too aggro for him to catch up. Those Who Serve don't seem like an aggressive card but it turns out with a Lord the next turn they beat face just fine. In game 2 OP had the 5/3 sphinx but I was firmly ahead and happy to 2 for 1 myself letting Djeru's Resolve get countered so I could Final Reward it into exile. He scooped.
Match 4 was the hardest of the day and the second match really could've gone either way. It was UB cycling and he had the big Demon, Archfiend of Ifnir, but he didn't draw enough cyclers before I drew my Oblivion Ring Angel. Both games went long but I still went 2-0 for the perfect finish.
It wasn't my first 4-0 at a prerelease but it was the first undefeated day. I usually play at a different spot with 5 games so the best I've finished is 4-1 and I've never just 2-0'd the whole day. Guess a solid white rare, a bonkers white mythic, two zombie lords and enough removal and combat tricks make a good deck it turns out. Those Who Serve ended up being big players. They block well, attack well, and with one or two Lords, they're way too hard to deal with unless you spend a removal spell you don't want to use on a 2/4 common. I never did get to live the dream of a 4/4 embalmed Sacred Cat with the Cat Lord and both Zombie lords but I did get it up to a 3/3 menace lifelink attacker. The Cat just seemed pretty good as a chump blocker with recursion. Oracle's Vault did work when it came down. I usually only hit lands. Even Oketra's Monument did work. In slow games like sealed it just made my bombs cheaper and got me chump blockers with each creature cast so I could keep turning actual guys sideways. Once I hit my big mythic angel when I couldn't cast it but even then I was still fine with it. Heck, I forgot the entire day that once it has 3 brick counters the spells are free. I PAID for every spell I cast that day and it still was a card advantage machine. Amonkhet looks fun and I've already drafted it about 8 times.
1x Exemplar of Strength
1x Bitterblade Warrior
1x Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
1x Doomed Dissenter
2x Pouncing Cheetah
2x Ornery Kudu
1x Watchful Naga
1x Khenra Charioteer
1x Quarry Hauler
1x Emberhorn Minotaur
1x Samut, Voice of Dissent
1x Decimator Beetle
1x Shefet Monitor
1x Greater Sandwurm
1x Cut // Ribbons
1x Mouth // Feed
1x Wander in Death
1x Cartouche of Strength
1x Final Reward
4x Mountain
5x Swamp
8x Forest
3-2.
Lost to crappy BW Bontu deck. A single Fan Bearer was too much for this deck
Got crushed by RG exert feat. Glorybringer.
Heaven // Earth was the game winner for me many times.
Exert is not a trigger. Emberhorn Minotaur attacks as a 5/4 with menace.
Exerting is done as attackers are declared during the declare attackers turn based action. But doing so does put a trigger on the stack, indicated by the "when you do" clause. All that follows this clause is a trigger that can be responded to. Otherwise Ahn-Crop Crasher wouldn't work, because only objects on the stack can have targets. Therefore exerting Emberhorn Minotaur also creates a trigger that can be responded to. Until that trigger resolves, it is just a 4/3, it will become a 5/4 with menace when the trigger resolves.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
1 Sacred Cat
2 Anointer Priest
1 Doomed Dissenter
1 Cursed Minotaur
2 Lord of the Accursed
1 Those Who Serve
2 Soulstinger
1 Gravedigger
1 Regal Caracal
1 Angel of Sanctions
1 Supernatural Stamina
1 Compulsory Rest
1 Impeccable Timing
1 Trail of Solidarity
1 Cartouche of Ambition
1 Oketra's Monument
1 Oracle's Vault
1 Final Reward
8 Plains
1 Plains (Foil Full art, Important Information)
1 Evolving Wilds
The first match was against a kid. I've played against kids in prereleases and I'm usually fairly impressed by them but this one feels like I shouldn't brag. He was base RB but had a lot of green splash with double green and dubious mana. The first game went ok, he had a good board stall and it was a grindy game but I came out on top thanks to Card Advantage from Oracle's Vault. Didn't even draw my two bombs. The second game he mulled to 5 but I let him draw 6 and scry anyway because it's prerelease. Apparently, he kept a hand of 2 mountains and mostly green cards so it wasn't much of a match.
Match 2 was against the deck I wanted to build, GB counters with a Decimator Beetle and two cartouche of strength and all the -1/-1 counter synergies. Man, did I want to open that deck. Instead, I played Regal Caracal on turn 4 (Oketra's Monument), swung with all cats on turn 5 and when he blocked my cat lord with a combat trick, I cast one of my own in Supernatural Stamina, trading for his two spells and getting two more cats. He scooped. Match two was a bit more of a grind but eventually, enough Zombies and anthems pushed through for the win.
Match 3 was UR spells and while the deck had much more synergy than I gave it credit for, I was just too aggro for him to catch up. Those Who Serve don't seem like an aggressive card but it turns out with a Lord the next turn they beat face just fine. In game 2 OP had the 5/3 sphinx but I was firmly ahead and happy to 2 for 1 myself letting Djeru's Resolve get countered so I could Final Reward it into exile. He scooped.
Match 4 was the hardest of the day and the second match really could've gone either way. It was UB cycling and he had the big Demon, Archfiend of Ifnir, but he didn't draw enough cyclers before I drew my Oblivion Ring Angel. Both games went long but I still went 2-0 for the perfect finish.
It wasn't my first 4-0 at a prerelease but it was the first undefeated day. I usually play at a different spot with 5 games so the best I've finished is 4-1 and I've never just 2-0'd the whole day. Guess a solid white rare, a bonkers white mythic, two zombie lords and enough removal and combat tricks make a good deck it turns out. Those Who Serve ended up being big players. They block well, attack well, and with one or two Lords, they're way too hard to deal with unless you spend a removal spell you don't want to use on a 2/4 common. I never did get to live the dream of a 4/4 embalmed Sacred Cat with the Cat Lord and both Zombie lords but I did get it up to a 3/3 menace lifelink attacker. The Cat just seemed pretty good as a chump blocker with recursion. Oracle's Vault did work when it came down. I usually only hit lands. Even Oketra's Monument did work. In slow games like sealed it just made my bombs cheaper and got me chump blockers with each creature cast so I could keep turning actual guys sideways. Once I hit my big mythic angel when I couldn't cast it but even then I was still fine with it. Heck, I forgot the entire day that once it has 3 brick counters the spells are free. I PAID for every spell I cast that day and it still was a card advantage machine. Amonkhet looks fun and I've already drafted it about 8 times.
CUBE: http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/73964;jsessionid=2DE1F5FF41A24820A137448A2FD5CF8F
I LIKE DRAGONS!