Another Magic: The Gathering set, another prerelease event for some sealed action. Prerelease events are becoming some of my favorite MTG events of the year – which I suppose is a good thing, since there are so many Ugin-forsaken sets now – and with Tarkir: Dragonstorm offering the most in-universe flavor of the year (or, at least, it seems that way), this one was shaping up to be a special one.
First things first: Before I could build a deck, I had to choose an allegiance. Tarkir: Dragonstorm's prerelease offered me the opportunity to choose a prerelease kit themed after one of the five tri-color factions: Abzan, Sultai, Mardu, Temur, or Jeskai. The decision wasn't hard for me; my first-ever Commander deck was in Mardu colors, so Mardu is what I chose.
(A quick aside: it sounds like I was lucky just to have that choice. I went to the Friday night event at my local game store, and the staff was reporting that with three events to go on the weekend, they were down to just nine Mardu kits total. It seems the allotment wasn't as even as they'd hoped. Not sure if this was a common issue, but definitely noteworthy considering the specifically-seeded kits needed here.)
I remembered that just because I chose the Mardu kit didn't mean I was locked into it; if the card pool was better in a different color scheme, I should certainly go for it. Luckily for me, I didn't have that problem in the slightest:
Nearly every card in the set with Mobilize in the text box appeared in my pool – including two copies of Stadium Headliner, which is a heck of a one-drop in a deck like this – so it was Mobilize or bust for my prerelease experience. While I did bust a few times, I enjoyed the Mobilize mechanic so much, it inspired me to build an entire Commander deck around it…but that's a story for another article.
Here's how each round went down:
Round 1
My first match was against a good pal Zach, who ended up pulling a Dracogenesis and loaded his deck with dragons in the hopes of casting them for free. While I never did see that card, I did a lot of back-and-forth, grindy games that led to 1-1 split and a down-to-the-wire game three.
He had me down to one life, and I had him to six. It was an even board, I had enough blockers to stave off his attack while keeping some of my bigger hitters, as well as a Bone-Cairn Butcher and Dragonback Lancer on the field to make blocking my onslaught more difficult. The problem, unfortunately, is that Zach had two aces up his sleeves – or should I say, two Coordinated Maneuvers – which took out my two biggest blockers and allowed him to sneak in for the win. Close, but no cigar.
RESULTS: Loss (0-1 match record, 1-2 game record)
Round 2
Another grindy affair in round two, this time against an Abzan deck with some pretty nifty things going on. Game one went my way pretty quickly, as I was able to get out Mobilized warriors quickly and overwhelm my opponent before he could really get going. Game two, however, was a much different story thanks to Hollowmurk Siege, Reputable Merchant, and Severance Priest. I was making Warriors every combat, but eventually his creatures simply got too big, and I was powerless to stop them.
In game three, I once again got out to a fast start, but as my deck sputtered, his began to gain steam, and we were locked in a bitter stalemate. Eventually, I got him down to three life, which forced him to refrain from attacking simply to have enough blockers to stay alive. That's when he played his trump card: Ugin, Eye of the Storms, which allowed him to exile one of my creatures and gain three life, putting him at six.
Thankfully, once the math checked out and attackers and blockers on my combat were decided, that three life was not enough to keep him alive, and I was able to take the match. My opponent successfully cast Ugin, and I somehow still won. I may play the lottery after that one.
RESULTS: Win (1-1 match record, 3-3 game record)
Round 3
My commentary in Round 3 isn't going to focus on the match so much. It was Mardu vs Mardu, and I have way less experience in 40- or 60-card formats than my opponent has, so he essentially wiped the floor with me in two straight games, and I can respect that.
What annoys me – and I would like to point out that I do not place the blame on my opponent for this, he was acting as the rules allow – is that my Round 3 opponent sat down with a completely different deck than the Sultai one he built before the tournament started. Prerelease rules (at least those at my LGS) state that every card you pull in your prerelease pack is part of your sideboard, so you are technically allowed to switch the entire thing up if you so choose.
This means my opponent split with his Sultai build, decided he wanted to try Mardu in round three, and proceeded to turn my deck into dust. I feel like that shouldn't be allowed, that once you build your 40-card deck, you stick with it until the end. The only effect this had on me was the amount of store credit I earned for my final record – and there's no guarantee, of course, that I would have beaten the Sultai build – but that allowance for flip-flopping doesn't sit well with me. I wager I'm alone in this thought, it may be a "hot take," but that's where I'm at.
RESULTS: Loss (1-2 match record, 3-5 game record)
Despite that slightly annoying finish, I once again had a blast at my LGS's Tarkir: Dragonstorm prerelease event. Building a deck from scratch, on the fly, always gets the creative juices flowing in my brain in ways few other activities can, and considering that my goal in every event is to win one match, I was able to complete that goal this time with my Mardu build.
Check with MTGSalvation for more Tarkir: Dragonstorm coverage, including the Commander deck build that was inspired by this prerelease build.
Comments