MTG Salvation

So we're going to be doing a 2HG tourny in a week that is using:

M12
M13
SOM
MBS
NPH
ISD
DKA
AVR

We think it looks pretty mid-rangy, not much chance for any out of the norm decks besides MAYBE infect.

Thoughts...

So we've done sealed sims, it's not too uncommon to get 5-6 infect creatures, some of which are really good like the 4/1 regen that's common. Along with 2-3 playable-good proliferate spells.

There's a lot of auras and equipment that can support well, like:

• Barbed Battlegear
  
• Butcher's Cleaver
  
• Call to Serve
  
• Copper Carapace
  
• Dark Favor
  
• Darksteel Axe
  
• Demonmail Hauberk
  
• Divine Favor
  
• Executioner's Hood
  
• Firebreathing
  
• Flayer Husk
  
• Furor of the Bitten
  
• Goblin War Paint
  
• Grafted Exoskeleton
  
• Greatsword
  
• Guise of Fire
  
• Heavy Arbalest
  
• Heavy Mattock
  
• Infiltration Lens
  
• Infinite Reflection
  
• Kitesail
  
• Lightning Prowess
  
• Livewire Lash
  
• Mask of Avacyn
  
• Necropouncer
  
• Piston Sledge
  
• Predator's Gambit
  
• Rancor
  
• Ring of Kalonia
  
• Ring of Xathrid
  
• Silver-Inlaid Dagger
  
• Skeletal Grimace
  
• Spectral Flight
  
• Spirit Mantle
  
• Strandwalker
  
• Swiftfoot Boots
  
• Sylvok Lifestaff
  
• Talons of Falkenrath
  
• Tormentor's Trident
  
• Trepanation Blade
  
• Tricks of the Trade
  
• Trollhide
  
• Viridian Claw
  
• Volcanic Strength
  
• Wreath of Geists

Suppose you open 6 infect creatures, 2 good proliferates, and 5 of the above auras/equipments?

I've never play-tested a 2HG like that, but do you think a good infect build pull like that would be any good against this mid rangy somewhat board stall format?

No. To a large extent, your creatures with infect might as well have defender.

Remember, you have to put your opponent to 15 poison counters. This ain't gonna happen when you only have 6 infect creatures and your opponent has 14 cards in hand at the beginning. You have no chance to swarm them and no chance to mise them with an early Blighted Agent.

Ya, kind of what I was thinking.

What if it was a top 10% infect pull, 7-8 infects, 3 proliferates, and 7 good auras/equipments to boot? One teammate could be casting most of the auras and red/white spells that buff power.

Then there's cards like: Blightsteel Colossus Corrupted Conscience Flesh-Eater Imp Grafted Exoskeleton Hand of the Praetors Inkmoth Nexus Phyrexian Crusader
Phyrexian Hydra Phyrexian Swarmlord Putrefax Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon Spinebiter Toxic Nim Triumph of the Hordes Viral Drake Contagion Clasp Contagion Engine Inexorable Tide Plaguemaw Beast Throne of Geth

Would any of these lead you to try for poison win condition?

Poison was pretty questionable in 2HG even when you were playing with all scars block. It happened occasionally, but not often. If you're only using 3 packs of scars block, you can basically forget about it. 7-8 infect creatures, is like 1/4 of your team's total creatures, and that's really the high end you're looking at with only 3 boosters of som blocks cards.

Just forget about most block-specific mechanics because you'll never have critical mass to use them properly. Metalcraft will never trigger. Your opponent will never die to poison counters. (Infect becomes Wither & Defender.) You'll never get enough Exalted to really build around it. (It can still be fine, it just won't swing games.)

The Innistrad & Avacyn mechanics are actually fine because not many of them encourage you to build around them.

Forcing Infect out of 8 packs seems pretty bad to me, especially since infect does suffer in 2hg compared to other routes of aggro.
Just play as many wraths and blood artist type cards as you can find. Best rare card to open here... Probably Sunblast Angel? Bonfire even? I don't know, its a big pool.

Ya, we'll treat infect creatures as blockers even on a top 5% pull; but aren't SOME of the infect bombs or renewable proliferate sources enough for a win condition in this slow board stall format?

I listed all the potential extra powerful ones.

And I never said "forcing", I said is "a top 10% pull like this even enough?"

Quote from SpiderWaffle

aren't SOME of the infect bombs or renewable proliferate sources enough for a win condition in this slow board stall format?

In my opinion, no. Your opponents will have removal for any "Infect bombs" you might present and Proliferate is probably too slow to get the job done when you don't also have enough Infect creatures to help things along.

Don't devote mental effort to a strategy that might work in 1 out of 1,000 card pools.

Ya, most likely just going to be generic removal and potent creatures, and some stuff for late game.


So infect is something like 1/1,000, But what about Mill?

There's some pretty bomby Mill win conditions.

Mill is rarely viable in Sealed because the cards are so sparse. However, if you get a freakish pool that has a far-above-average amount of mill, you could make the mill deck. But I think we are talking some truly unusual event like getting one of the best milling threats in the set from multiple packs (e.g. Dreadwaters, Increasing Confusion, Sands of Delirium, Curse of the Bloody Tome, and Merfolk Mesmerist).

I know mill was phenomenal in 8*AVN, 3 or more dredge waters, and maybe 1 other mill like those creatures that mill for 5 when they die, and you were set to win the tourney.

There's just the mill bombs you mentioned, which can almost be enough by themselves it seems, increasing confusion being the game winner and one of LSV's favorite cards in limited. Sands of Delirium isn't a bad card to build decks around either. ^^

PS. Jace too...