This pack isn't particularly strong, but didn't feel like there was an obvious pick either. Certainly many of us have opened middle of the road packs like this, so its good to go over them.
The standout cards for me are Singing Bell Strike, Mardu Hordechief, Bellowing Saddlebrute, and Riverwheel aerialists.
I'm sure Bloodsoaked Champion has its place in constructed, I just don't feel that a recurring, 2/1 non-blocker is very useful in Limited. Especially with a set full of larger creatures. I guess he's a good trigger for himself and other raiding creatures, if nothing else.
I know the Hordechief is a very strong common to many people. Hes relatively cheap, easy to cast, and will often add a 1/1 body to the field.
I really like the Saddlebrute tbh. So far it feels like he's being underrated. a 4cc 4/5 is very solid, even without evasion, and you should rarely have to take the 4 life hit.
I feel like the Riverwheel Aerialists is the Strongest card here. 6cc will not be problem in this format, and a huge flier that pumps when you cast your removal or draws spells is great.
Bloodsoaked champ is kind of a constructed card, no way to pick it over saddlebrute honestly. I go with the brute because its pretty damn effective, one color, easy to overcome drawback.
Riverwheel Aerialists, and I don't think it's terribly close. Air Elemental is so good in Limited that they don't print it anymore. For the typical 1 colored mana = 2 colorless exchange, you get Air Elemental with +0/+1 and the ability to become Mahamoti Djinn on command. Seems really solid. Saddlebrute is probably second, and Dazzling Ramparts probably third (never underestimate a Decoy, particularly one with 7 toughness).
Riverwheel Aerialists makes this a really easy pick. This looks like a slowish format, giving you plenty of time to make use of a guy like this. Great as both the top of the curve in an aggressive deck or as the finisher in a slower deck. And on top of all that he only requires a single blue, leaving you about as flexible as possible moving forward. I don't see any need to get fancy with this pick, giant flyers at fair costs win a lot of games.
The only other card I would even consider here is the Saddlebrute, as I do prefer to draft aggressive decks whenever possible and his stats put him 1-2 turns ahead of the curve against most opponents (who will need a 5-mana morph, i.e. 8-mana total investment, or a 6-drop to play something that big).
IMO the card that shouldn't even be in consideration here, yet is somehow netting 40% of the votes, is the Bloodsoaked Champion. Don't get me wrong, he looks great for constructed, but in limited his value drops tremendously as he can become a dead card in a hurry (inability to block + less removal + more random dudes on the other side of the board that can block him without dying). It is also worth noting that one drops are a lot less likely to actually be played on turn one if you are trying to play three colors. In fact I would much rather have the one drop with deathtouch than this guy. Is there a deck that wants him? Absolutely, heck I want to be playing that deck if I can. But that same deck probably wants Saddlebrute more, and picking Saddlebrute leaves you much more flexible going forward as you don't have to play a particular deck for him to be good (and then of course you have the Aerialists, which outshine both of them).
Saddlebrute is one of the best 4 drops in KTK. Due to morphs, you're going to have an abundance of stuff to do on your 3,5 and 6 mana turns. Filling the 4cc slot with something excellent is much harder.
Compare this to Horizon Scholar in Theros block limited. I feel like Scholar was a card that people played often and were happy about it. Riverwheel looks like it is a better card by a good margin. And Scholar was played in Theros, which I think was a significantly faster limited environment than KTK will be.
A strong case can be made for the Aerialist, but personally I'll always go for any type of removal, even tappers. So I take Dazzling Ramparts. Blocks everything on the ground, and can also deal with an evasive threat if needed. Plus, if I come across a Kin-Tree Invocation it has incredible synergy.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DCI Level 2 Judge
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
This pack isn't particularly strong, but didn't feel like there was an obvious pick either. Certainly many of us have opened middle of the road packs like this, so its good to go over them.
The standout cards for me are Singing Bell Strike, Mardu Hordechief, Bellowing Saddlebrute, and Riverwheel aerialists.
I'm sure Bloodsoaked Champion has its place in constructed, I just don't feel that a recurring, 2/1 non-blocker is very useful in Limited. Especially with a set full of larger creatures. I guess he's a good trigger for himself and other raiding creatures, if nothing else.
I know the Hordechief is a very strong common to many people. Hes relatively cheap, easy to cast, and will often add a 1/1 body to the field.
I really like the Saddlebrute tbh. So far it feels like he's being underrated. a 4cc 4/5 is very solid, even without evasion, and you should rarely have to take the 4 life hit.
I feel like the Riverwheel Aerialists is the Strongest card here. 6cc will not be problem in this format, and a huge flier that pumps when you cast your removal or draws spells is great.
Maybe the bell strike will table?
What would you pick and why?
Aerialists.
Edit: This pack doesn't have good removal, and aerialists are a very splashable pseudo-bomb.
Interested in Custom Card Creation.
My Cube:Cardinal Custom Cube
A custom version of a third modern masters: MM2019
(filter->rarity to see in set rarity).
UBDragonlord Silumgar WGKarametra, God of Harvests
BRUNekusar, the Mindrazer BGMazirek, Kraul Death Priest
URMelek, Izzet Paragon UGPrime Speaker Zegana
WUHanna, Ship's Navigator BWUSydri, Galvanic Genius
WUBRGSliver Queen RBBladewing the Risen
WBKarlov of the Ghost Council RGXenagos, God of Revels
GFreyalise, Llanowar's Fury RWAurelia, the Warleader
RIb Halfheart, Goblin Tactician BDrana, Liberator of Malakir
UAzami, Lady of Scrolls WNahiri, the Lithomancer
WBGDoran, the Siege Tower CEmrakul, the Promised End
The only other card I would even consider here is the Saddlebrute, as I do prefer to draft aggressive decks whenever possible and his stats put him 1-2 turns ahead of the curve against most opponents (who will need a 5-mana morph, i.e. 8-mana total investment, or a 6-drop to play something that big).
IMO the card that shouldn't even be in consideration here, yet is somehow netting 40% of the votes, is the Bloodsoaked Champion. Don't get me wrong, he looks great for constructed, but in limited his value drops tremendously as he can become a dead card in a hurry (inability to block + less removal + more random dudes on the other side of the board that can block him without dying). It is also worth noting that one drops are a lot less likely to actually be played on turn one if you are trying to play three colors. In fact I would much rather have the one drop with deathtouch than this guy. Is there a deck that wants him? Absolutely, heck I want to be playing that deck if I can. But that same deck probably wants Saddlebrute more, and picking Saddlebrute leaves you much more flexible going forward as you don't have to play a particular deck for him to be good (and then of course you have the Aerialists, which outshine both of them).
Still, in just about every Limited format ever, reasonably-costed fliers are hard to go wrong with.
I take the Riverwheel Aerialists.
Compare this to Horizon Scholar in Theros block limited. I feel like Scholar was a card that people played often and were happy about it. Riverwheel looks like it is a better card by a good margin. And Scholar was played in Theros, which I think was a significantly faster limited environment than KTK will be.