So my LGS is doing another sealed league akin to the official one from last month. ($10 entry, get 3 packs, minimum of 30 cards, add one pack each week, or each time you get 3 losses). As of tonight, I just got my 6th pack, and it was a doozy. While this league is being run for fun, so the LGS is allowing use of ANY packs for the league (expect for Masters packs). There's some really weird combinations out there, but I've been sticking with Amonkhet for now. I've been running a grixis deck that looked like this. Our cards are kept at the store, so I'm doing this from memory.
I've really been liking this deck (and I'm a control player at heart). The blue cards give me some draw/filter, and there's always stuff to do with my mana. However, after the last pack I opened, I got some insane green stuff. I'll list some of the other things I have.
The white cards aren't even worth mentioning compared to all this. It's pretty hard to ignore green after I pulled Rhonas, 2nd Colosapede, and 2nd Charioteer from the same pack. The black cards have been all stars though, between the Cartouche (especially with 2 Trials), Bone Picker, removal, and Wander in death. The 3 color manabase hasn't hurt me too much, and the blue just prevents me from running out of gas. At this point, I'm not sure if I should go R/G, Jund, R/B, or Grixis. Another factor is how many cards to play. With so much good stuff, should I keep the deck at 30 cards? The R/G list I crafted up is lacking in any sort of 4 drops, which concerns me a bit, as does potentially running out of gas. I do also have Rhonas's Monument and Hazoret's Monument that can be considered. What would you guys do in this situation? Also, should I keep going for more Amonkhet booster packs (maybe to get a Black Trial or more Cartouches)?
6 packs and 6 playable rares. Not only that, but 4 of the 6 are tier 1 bombs and another is premium removal. That's insanely lucky! Nice pool. My 6-pack Sealed pools are never that good.
I've never built 30-card decks before, so I don't know what the optimal land counts are, but 12/30 sounds a bit low for a 3-color control deck, especially with only 5 mountains to get the double red for Glorybringer (Painted Bluffs can also cast Glorybringer, but a turn later FTL).
Your blue is not giving you enough value. It's just card draw and card selection, but it forces you to play a 3rd color and run worse mana. You have good cards in the sideboard because there's no room for them maindeck with the blue cards. I would cut blue and play either RB or RG. RB has much more removal, even if the 2-drops are bad.
The RG deck has better early game (2-drops, 3-drops) and better finishers (but don't play both Colossapedes with 2 Glorybringer and 1 Scaled Behemoth, because that's too much fat). The RB deck has better removal and tricks. I think it depends on your playstyle.
1 Festering Mummy
1 Battlefield Scavenger
1 Dune Beetle
1 Thresher Lizard
1 Minotaur Sureshot
1 Bone Picker
1 Naga Oracle
2 Glorybringer
1 Cartouche of Zeal
1 Trial of Zeal
1 Cartouche of Ambition
1 Never // Return
1 Reduce // Rubble
1 Wander in Death
1 Hieroglyphic Illumination
1 Trial of Knowledge
1 Final Reward
1 Painted Desert
2 Island
5 Mountain
4 Swamp
I've really been liking this deck (and I'm a control player at heart). The blue cards give me some draw/filter, and there's always stuff to do with my mana. However, after the last pack I opened, I got some insane green stuff. I'll list some of the other things I have.
Green:
1 Rhonas the Indomitable
2 Colossapede
2 Khenra Charioteer
2 Haze of Pollen
2 Spidery Grasp
1 Naga Vitalist
2 Bitterblade Warrior
1 Manglehorn
1 Scaled Behemoth
Other relevant red cards:
1 Insult // Injury
1 Tormenting Voice
Other relevant blue cards:
2 Illusory Wrappings
1 Pull from Tomorrow
1 Winds of Rebuke
Other relevant black cards:
2 Blighted Bat
1 Grim strider
1 Horror of the Broken Lands
1 Merciless Javelineer
The white cards aren't even worth mentioning compared to all this. It's pretty hard to ignore green after I pulled Rhonas, 2nd Colosapede, and 2nd Charioteer from the same pack. The black cards have been all stars though, between the Cartouche (especially with 2 Trials), Bone Picker, removal, and Wander in death. The 3 color manabase hasn't hurt me too much, and the blue just prevents me from running out of gas. At this point, I'm not sure if I should go R/G, Jund, R/B, or Grixis. Another factor is how many cards to play. With so much good stuff, should I keep the deck at 30 cards? The R/G list I crafted up is lacking in any sort of 4 drops, which concerns me a bit, as does potentially running out of gas. I do also have Rhonas's Monument and Hazoret's Monument that can be considered. What would you guys do in this situation? Also, should I keep going for more Amonkhet booster packs (maybe to get a Black Trial or more Cartouches)?
I've never built 30-card decks before, so I don't know what the optimal land counts are, but 12/30 sounds a bit low for a 3-color control deck, especially with only 5 mountains to get the double red for Glorybringer (Painted Bluffs can also cast Glorybringer, but a turn later FTL).
Why are cards like Insult // Injury and Merciless Javelineers in your sideboard?
Your blue is not giving you enough value. It's just card draw and card selection, but it forces you to play a 3rd color and run worse mana. You have good cards in the sideboard because there's no room for them maindeck with the blue cards. I would cut blue and play either RB or RG. RB has much more removal, even if the 2-drops are bad.
1 Festering Mummy
1 Battlefield Scavenger
1 Dune Beetle
1 Thresher Lizard
1 Minotaur Sureshot
1 Blighted Bat
1 Bone Picker
1 Merciless Javelineer
1 Grim Strider
2 Glorybringer
1 Cartouche of Zeal
1 Cartouche of Ambition
1 Trial of Zeal
1 Wander in Death
1 Never // Return
1 Final Reward
1 Insult // Injury
6 Mountain
6 Swamp
Maybe -1 nonland +1 land.
RG has less removal but a lot more beatdown.
1 Battlefield Scavenger
2 Bitterblade Warrior
1 Naga Vitalist
2 Khenra Charioteer
1 Rhonas the Indomitable
1 Thresher Lizard
1 Colossapede
2 Glorybringer
1 Scaled Behemoth
1 Cartouche of Zeal
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Trial of Zeal
1 Rhonas's Monument
1 Insult // Injury
7 Mountain
6 Forest
The RG deck has better early game (2-drops, 3-drops) and better finishers (but don't play both Colossapedes with 2 Glorybringer and 1 Scaled Behemoth, because that's too much fat). The RB deck has better removal and tricks. I think it depends on your playstyle.