I want to like the Archer, but it has been mediocre in practice.
this is my experience. On paper the Archer seems like the obvious better pick, but in practice it is about on par with the Grovedancer, and in some situations is worse.
that's why I like the Grove, putting that counter on an evasive guy lets you push through the final damage or can let you attack into something you normally wouldn't be able to. Maybe Archer is better, but it's not that high of a pick IMO.
I just don't see how Archer is that good. It doesn't attack or block very well at all. You can save to bestow onto but draft is a fast format and by the time you get 4-5 mana to bestow it you have taken so much damage.
To me it's Grovedancer and it's not close, more easily castable and can strenghten another creature with evasion. Archer is good in decks with lots of bestow but is just really fragile and mana restrictive.
I still think Whip of Erebos is the best card. It can bring you back if your behind and if you get in in play the game is usually over. Yes it needs a decent creature base but if you have one this card is nuts. I think it and Elspeth are the 2 best cards.
Swarmborn Giant: Don't underestimate him. It requires a bit of attention when played, but if you manage to get 1-2 blockers up it's a pain. 6/6 at turn 3/4 is just too big to handle for almost everyone. Just put some flying/reach creature in your deck and be ware that Aqueous form is a card
don't you have to sac swarmborn giant with any combat damage? If you don't block with it but block with another creature it dies right?
Font of Fertility is not much worse than Voyaging Satyr, if at all. Can't chump block or get in for 1 damage, but doesn't die to removal, removes lands from your deck and lets you splash something for free.
also eats up two turns and doesnt advance the board at all.
black has great removal but has a terrible creature base. i think blue is probably the safest choice
that W/G heroic deck looks amazing, your just short like 5-6 playables and playing those cards make the deck a lot worse. I think you might just have to go with G/U heroic deck. You have triggers in stratus walk, raised by wolves, etc. to trigger heroic and have a few heroic creatures. Floodtide serpeant wouldn't even be that bad.
it's too slow for white weenie, your wasting T3 just to play it and all of T4 to just equip it. WW should have you dead by turn 4 or 5 anyway. Wasting two turns just to play this card makes WW too slow to beat control decks.
So, i attended my first PTQ yesterday and it was a great experience. I learned a lot about building a sealed deck and learned a lot from the mistakes i made in building a deck and playing.
I played a white/green heroic deck and went 1-3 before dropping. should of been 2-2, but made a stupid mistake and punted real hard.
here is the pool. ill post what deck i made at the end.
I went with green/white heroic. it was either that or maybe black/blue or white/black. black had premium removal but was lacking a decent creature base and heroic triggers. blue was lacking playables but had some good stuff.
I'll see if I have time to write up a list later, but I agree UG is a trap. I like RB here myself...it's a bit less aggressive than some RB decks, but Nighthowler, Keepsake Gorgon, and Gild are are great tools black brings to the table...plus Asphyxiate and the Ordeal go quite well with an aggressive plan.
GR is okay, but 2 Swordwise Centaurs + 3 Cereberus's makes for an awkward and inconsistent mana base.
swordwise centaurs are double green, but they are so good not to use. 3 of any card is to much unless its a amazing. i would only go with 1 cerberus. I agree that BR is the second best deck behind GR, but i dont see how your going to win with RB. your black is removal and your red is early game creatures that are not strong late game. Green gives you the bigger creatures for later game that allows you to win.
There is no way you can go blue, you blue is just too weak.
I think that you are confusing 'thin' and 'weak'. The two are not the same. It's true that blue is not DEEP in this cardpool, but it is still a very strong colour. What red card is as good as Kiora? None of them are. What's as good as Thassa's Emissary? None of them are.
You are choosing a deep red colour over a high powered but shallow blue. Here's the differences between my UG build and your GR build:
I think that Kiora and Thassa's Emissary are better than any of the cards that are in the RG list. I do accept that the lack of depth means that the UG build is running some G cards that didn't make the cut in the GR list, but there are some red cards in there that I think are pretty questionable. Deathbellow Raider? Scouring Sands? Thunderous Might?
From my perspective there are weak cards in both lists, but the UG list has a more powerful top end, and more card drawing to draw you your top end.
still like my deck better. either go aggro or go control, you cant have both. if your going to go blue then your better of running black than green. UG deck has good cards but has no synergy and just does nothing. its not aggro, its not control, and it doesnt have any late game bombs. UG might have the better cards, but RG will give you the best chance to win.
snake of the golden grove, starbreaker, pillar of war, chorus of tides, and noble quarry are all terrible cards. they should only be played as a 22nd or 23rd card. kiora's follower doesnt do much in this deck, and kiora the crashing wave does nothing as well. whats an extra land going to do. there is no late game for that extra land to do anything. i would much rather have 3-4 burn spells and agressive early red creatures.
how can you say deathbellow raider is questionable? two mana for a 2/3 in sealed/draft is good.
There is no way you can go blue, you blue is just too weak. Don't get trapped into blue just because you have kiora, the crashing wave and kiora's follower. Black, Red, Green, and White are all very good and probably equally strong, all depends on what deck you want to play. Your black is really good for a control deck with the Baleful Eidolon, Gild, Sip of Hemlock, and Keepsake Gorgon, but ordeal of erebos is for an aggro deck and nighthowler is only good with creatures in your graveyard which a control deck would not have. You cant put black with your red or green because your black is control and your red and green are aggro. Your white is good, but you dont have enough early game creatures to make an aggro deck and not enough heroic enablers.
Your ONLY option is to go GR aggro, you have a lot of removal with time to feed, bolt of keranos and fall of the hammer. Overall, your pool is really not that good, you have a lot of good stuff, but its all evenly distributed among your colors so no one color is absurdly strong.
This deck is your best bet. its nothing special, but you can only play with what you have. not good enough to top 8, but you probably will get a win or two with it.
Obviously its a good card, but i dont feel it really has a deck as of now.
White weenie is really the only deck it can be played in. G/W aggro, Orshov aggro all have the three mana spot already locked up.
Banisher priest, Ajani, Spear, Xathrid, Fiendslayer are all three drops. Also boon satyr. G/W aggro already has trouble casting its spells, this will make it harder.
Also dont forget that Brismaz costs double white to cast. In double color deck this is very hard to cast. Most of the time G/W has a hard time casting banisher priest. I dont think banisher priest can be played with Brismaz.
If you think Brismaz is better than spear of heliod or Ajani then i can see it being played, but i dont think its better than these cards. Brismaz is also legendary so no more than 3 in a deck will probably be played.
It could be played in a Boros deck relatively well, but i dont think it fits the curve as of now, reckoner is just better.
i also forgot about Archetype of Courage which is another three drop that costs double white. I would rather play this card in a weenie deck than Brismaz. First strike is huge.
Knowing what cards are in your deck would be helpful.
I really like Destructive Revelry but it does not handle the gods as they are Indestructible. Anger of the Gods would be great if you are behind on board presence. I know it will kill your creatures too but save some in your hand then cast them afterwards. Plummet would be something to think about as there are plenty of pesky flyers right now.
As for Reckoner I can't think of a good way to deal with him and not take any damage. I guess you could gain control of him then use burn and send the damage to their face. That would be great but having the right cards at the right time would be rare.
i am pretty sure destructive revelry kills gods as they are enchantments. i do run act of treason which could help against bigger creatures.
i am also thinking about adding gruul charm and/or plummet. im just happy with everything in my board and really cant afford to take anything out.
this is my experience. On paper the Archer seems like the obvious better pick, but in practice it is about on par with the Grovedancer, and in some situations is worse.
Which do you pick middle of pack 1?
To me it's Grovedancer and it's not close, more easily castable and can strenghten another creature with evasion. Archer is good in decks with lots of bestow but is just really fragile and mana restrictive.
don't you have to sac swarmborn giant with any combat damage? If you don't block with it but block with another creature it dies right?
also eats up two turns and doesnt advance the board at all.
black has great removal but has a terrible creature base. i think blue is probably the safest choice
I played a white/green heroic deck and went 1-3 before dropping. should of been 2-2, but made a stupid mistake and punted real hard.
here is the pool. ill post what deck i made at the end.
blue
red
White
Green
Black
multicolored
artifacts
I went with green/white heroic. it was either that or maybe black/blue or white/black. black had premium removal but was lacking a decent creature base and heroic triggers. blue was lacking playables but had some good stuff.
swordwise centaurs are double green, but they are so good not to use. 3 of any card is to much unless its a amazing. i would only go with 1 cerberus. I agree that BR is the second best deck behind GR, but i dont see how your going to win with RB. your black is removal and your red is early game creatures that are not strong late game. Green gives you the bigger creatures for later game that allows you to win.
still like my deck better. either go aggro or go control, you cant have both. if your going to go blue then your better of running black than green. UG deck has good cards but has no synergy and just does nothing. its not aggro, its not control, and it doesnt have any late game bombs. UG might have the better cards, but RG will give you the best chance to win.
snake of the golden grove, starbreaker, pillar of war, chorus of tides, and noble quarry are all terrible cards. they should only be played as a 22nd or 23rd card. kiora's follower doesnt do much in this deck, and kiora the crashing wave does nothing as well. whats an extra land going to do. there is no late game for that extra land to do anything. i would much rather have 3-4 burn spells and agressive early red creatures.
how can you say deathbellow raider is questionable? two mana for a 2/3 in sealed/draft is good.
Your ONLY option is to go GR aggro, you have a lot of removal with time to feed, bolt of keranos and fall of the hammer. Overall, your pool is really not that good, you have a lot of good stuff, but its all evenly distributed among your colors so no one color is absurdly strong.
This deck is your best bet. its nothing special, but you can only play with what you have. not good enough to top 8, but you probably will get a win or two with it.
7 Forest
1 Reverent Hunter1 Minotaur Skullcleaver1 Satyr Nyx-Smith2 Swordwise Centaur1 Staunch-Hearted Warrior1 Two-Headed Cerberus1 Purphoros' Emissary1 Deathbellow Raider1 Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass1 Satyr Firedancer1 Centaur Battlemaster
1 Reverent Hunter
1 Minotaur Skullcleaver
1 Satyr Nyx-Smith
2 Swordwise Centaur
1 Staunch-Hearted Warrior
1 Two-Headed Cerberus
1 Purphoros' Emissary
1 Deathbellow Raider
1 Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass
1 Satyr Firedancer
1 Thunder Brute[/cards]
1 Savage Surge
1 Scouring Sands
1 Fall of the Hammer
1 Thunderous Might
1 Bolt of Keranos
2 Time to Feed
1 Coordinated Assault
1 Rise to the Challenge[/cards]
White weenie is really the only deck it can be played in. G/W aggro, Orshov aggro all have the three mana spot already locked up.
Banisher priest, Ajani, Spear, Xathrid, Fiendslayer are all three drops. Also boon satyr. G/W aggro already has trouble casting its spells, this will make it harder.
Also dont forget that Brismaz costs double white to cast. In double color deck this is very hard to cast. Most of the time G/W has a hard time casting banisher priest. I dont think banisher priest can be played with Brismaz.
If you think Brismaz is better than spear of heliod or Ajani then i can see it being played, but i dont think its better than these cards. Brismaz is also legendary so no more than 3 in a deck will probably be played.
It could be played in a Boros deck relatively well, but i dont think it fits the curve as of now, reckoner is just better.
i also forgot about Archetype of Courage which is another three drop that costs double white. I would rather play this card in a weenie deck than Brismaz. First strike is huge.
i am pretty sure destructive revelry kills gods as they are enchantments. i do run act of treason which could help against bigger creatures.
i am also thinking about adding gruul charm and/or plummet. im just happy with everything in my board and really cant afford to take anything out.