Why not RB? The creature base is roughly as strong as the RW deck's and the sac synergies give it some actual power. All the creatures Fireshrieker is good on in RW are also in RB.
With this pool, I would start with the Bubbling Cauldron/Angelic Accord combo and work from there. It's a very difficult combo to beat once it's active. It's also not hard to include in most of the playable builds for your pool. You even have other ways to get Angelic Accord active, since you have Fireshrieker and a couple of 2-power Lifelink guys, as well as Mark of the Vampire.
Something like that, anyway, would allow you to play a good amount of removal, the combo (plus Fireshrieker+lifelinker or Mark on a 2-power creature will activate Accord as well). Auramancer can get back Accord, Pacifism, or Mark. The creature suite has some weak links, but at least you can sacrifice them for value at some point.
Another option is to start with red and its 2x Act of Treason. You can either go R/W with the Angelic Accord combo, R/B without the combo, or R/B/w splashing the Accord. With all the sac outlets available, R/B/w splashing Accord off of 2 Plains might be the build with the most upside, though R/B might be good enough with 2x Act of Treason, 2x Liturgy, Wring Flesh, Shock, and Chandra's Outrage.
This deck feels like it may want one more sac outlet, which is why I put in Barrage over Wring Flesh. It may be right to cut one Altar's Reap instead, since it's easier to have 4 mana for a steal+sac combo than 5. It would also be nice to fit in Mark of the Vampire and Fireshrieker. In any case, there's quite a bit of synergy in R/B, with the 2x Act of Treason being one of the most compelling parts of this pool due to the number of sac outlets you have to work with.
I think the pool is a little weak overall. I would probably have gone for a R/B sacrifice deck as you had 2x act of treason, Blood bairn, Pitchburn Devils, caldron, Dragon Egg, and some decent, unconditional removal.
Not a pool that wins the GP..but..I would have gone RB with the Steal/Sac cards. You have Festering Newt, Dragon Egg and Pitchburn Devils which also benefit from sacing.
RB has much more removal than WR due to Act of Treason functioning as a very good removal spell in the RB deck. I think the RB deck is very good, and it is what I would play. The only real incentive to be white here is Angelic Accord, but I'd rather not have that as my plan A.
Then again, you're running 14 creatures in an aggro deck, three of which are garbage in an aggro deck (wall, hatchling in heavy W, and auramancer).
This pool is overall a little light on playables, which is why the BR list also runs the Hatchling, and the WB version also runs the Wall/Auramancer combo.
I agree that the two-drops in WR are extremely unexciting. But runnign removal heave lists is a good way of getting to the late game (where you don't care about two drops). Auramancer is a playable grey ogre, and this list has a bunch of tricks to make him seem relevant.
No matter how you slice it, you have to run marginal cards in this pool. I think that the better way of looking at it is to ask yourself why you *are* running the colour combination you are.
With WR, it's because white has the best removal, and red's creatures are the best complement to Fireshrieker.
With RB, it's the Sacrifice combo (1 Festering Newt/1 Dragon Egg/1 Pitchburn Devils/2 Act of Treason + 1 Blood Bairn/1 Vampire Warlord/1 Barrage of Expendables/1 Altar's Reap). The only downside is that most of those sac outlets are pretty weak themselves.
With BW... well, really it's just worse than either the RB or WR options.
warplord's WB list, to within a card or two, is what I ended up registering. (Though I stared at the RB build for a while during deckbuilding.) My reasoning had to do with the specific tournament I was playing, and the specific player I am.
See, I know I'm not a very good player; I can usually 2-1 most FNM drafts at my local shop, but in this crowd, I'm at a pretty severe skill disadvantage. (That said, I don't believe I punted any games that day.) So I know I'm going to have to get a little bit lucky in order to make day two (which requires a 7-2 record, since I have no byes.)
So that's strike one. Strike two is the pool; magicmerl's comment that it's "a bit light on playables" is being kind, in my opinion. Thus, if given the choice between a build that is consistently mediocre (the RB build, in my opinion, fits this description), or a build that will either succeed or fail spectacularly (the WB build), I'm taking the latter; my average win percentage may take a hit, but my chances of making day two probably increase by a small amount. I'll take that trade.
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ARTIFACT:
WHITE:
BLUE:
BLACK:
RED:
GREEN:
Put it this way: When your first reaction upon opening your pool is "well, the blue's unplayable," you're not in a good spot.
1 Dragon Hatchling
1 Banisher Priest
1 Auramancer
1 Academy Raider
1 Fiendslayer Paladin
2 Master of Diversion
1 Regathan Firecat
1 Blur Sliver
2 Battle Sliver
1 Pitchburn Devils
1 Dawnstrike Paladin
2 Show of Valor
2 Pacifism
1 Celestial Flare
2 Fireshrieker
1 Chandra's Outrage
10 Plains
7 Mountain
1 Lava Axe
1 Barrage of Expendables
1 Dragon Egg
2 Act of Treason
1 Angelic Accord
1 Divine Favor
1 Pay No Heed
1 Siege Mastodon
1 Suntail Hawk
Seems decent, if glutted on 3 and 5 drops.
Curve
1 s
2 ccsssss
3 ccccccccss
4 s
5 cccc
1 Banisher Priest
1 Celestial Flare
2 Master of Diversion
2 Pacifism
(plus combat tricks and walls)
vs
1 Festering Newt
2 Liturgy of Blood
1 Wring Flesh
(and only the Liturgy is really *good* removal)
W/B:
1 Suntail Hawk
1 Angelic Wall
1 Auramancer
1 Banisher Priest
1 Fiendslayer Paladin
2 Master of Diversion
1 Blood Bairn
1 Undead Minotaur
1 Liliana's Reaver
1 Siege Mastodon
1 Dawnstrike Paladin
1 Angelic Accord
2 Pacifism
1 Altar's Reap
1 Bubbling Cauldron
1 Fireshrieker
1 Mark of the Vampire
1 Divine Favor
8 Swamp
Another option is to start with red and its 2x Act of Treason. You can either go R/W with the Angelic Accord combo, R/B without the combo, or R/B/w splashing the Accord. With all the sac outlets available, R/B/w splashing Accord off of 2 Plains might be the build with the most upside, though R/B might be good enough with 2x Act of Treason, 2x Liturgy, Wring Flesh, Shock, and Chandra's Outrage.
R/B:
1 Festering Newt
1 Dragon Hatchling
1 Blur Sliver
1 Academy Raider
1 Regathan Firecat
1 Dragon Egg
1 Blood Bairn
1 Undead Minotaur
1 Liliana's Reaver
2 Battle Sliver
1 Pitchburn Devils
1 Vampire Warlord
1 Chandra's Outrage
1 Shock
2 Liturgy of Blood
2 Altar's Reap
1 Barrage of Expendables
9 Mountain
8 Swamp
Also, Liliana's Reaver is pretty good.
1 Festering Newt
1 Striking Sliver
1 Dragon Hatchling
1 Undead Minotaur
1 Academy Raider
1 Regathan Firecat
1 Blur Sliver
1 Blood Bairn
1 Dragon Egg
1 Liliana's Reaver
1 Pitchburn Devils
2 Battle Sliver
1 Vampire Warlord
1 Shock
1 Wring Flesh
1 Barrage of Expendables
1 Altar's Reap
2 Act of Treason
1 Mark of the Vampire
1 Fireshrieker
1 Chandra's Outrage
2 Liturgy of Blood
I can't even fit all the cards I want to: Mark of the Vampire is on the side.
Then again, you're running 14 creatures in an aggro deck, three of which are garbage in an aggro deck (wall, hatchling in heavy W, and auramancer).
This pool is overall a little light on playables, which is why the BR list also runs the Hatchling, and the WB version also runs the Wall/Auramancer combo.
I agree that the two-drops in WR are extremely unexciting. But runnign removal heave lists is a good way of getting to the late game (where you don't care about two drops). Auramancer is a playable grey ogre, and this list has a bunch of tricks to make him seem relevant.
No matter how you slice it, you have to run marginal cards in this pool. I think that the better way of looking at it is to ask yourself why you *are* running the colour combination you are.
With WR, it's because white has the best removal, and red's creatures are the best complement to Fireshrieker.
With RB, it's the Sacrifice combo (1 Festering Newt/1 Dragon Egg/1 Pitchburn Devils/2 Act of Treason + 1 Blood Bairn/1 Vampire Warlord/1 Barrage of Expendables/1 Altar's Reap). The only downside is that most of those sac outlets are pretty weak themselves.
With BW... well, really it's just worse than either the RB or WR options.
Maybe BR is better.
nvm, wrong hex, meant blightcaster. Still go WB though.
warplord's WB list, to within a card or two, is what I ended up registering. (Though I stared at the RB build for a while during deckbuilding.) My reasoning had to do with the specific tournament I was playing, and the specific player I am.
See, I know I'm not a very good player; I can usually 2-1 most FNM drafts at my local shop, but in this crowd, I'm at a pretty severe skill disadvantage. (That said, I don't believe I punted any games that day.) So I know I'm going to have to get a little bit lucky in order to make day two (which requires a 7-2 record, since I have no byes.)
So that's strike one. Strike two is the pool; magicmerl's comment that it's "a bit light on playables" is being kind, in my opinion. Thus, if given the choice between a build that is consistently mediocre (the RB build, in my opinion, fits this description), or a build that will either succeed or fail spectacularly (the WB build), I'm taking the latter; my average win percentage may take a hit, but my chances of making day two probably increase by a small amount. I'll take that trade.