GP Sydney WORK UP

Work up, work out. Same thing! Today I have posted another article to Good Games Sydney, but that takes too long! Here is my break down of how to build for Sealed, and in particular a run down of the Commons for Ravnica.

Team You Don't Say will definately be there, and we will rip a new arse into the fabric of Magic/space/time in Sydney. Aside from that, my mate Petr (hilarious writer and only artist over at http://nyxathidgoestotown.com/) plans on ambushing the ChannelFireball.com crew and asking for a writing post. Good luck to him!

Aside from that, have at you!

This IS just a preview, the full article will only be on Good Games site.

Aerial Predation will stop everyone’s plans, if they’re after a flying attack. If you see any big slow flyers bring it in, considering Isperia, Desecration Demon, etc etc, are all game finishers if left unchecked. As for whether you could maindeck it, I’d say “definitely” but still with some caution. If you had Thoughtflare and a flightless opponent, you could gain some value of a AP with no target by having it ready to discard.

Annihilating Fire exiles a creature, so bring it in against scavenge opponents or someone playing recursion ala Treasured Find. Although “bring it in” sounds kind of stupid, don’t forget it’s a hard splash because of the RR in its cost. If it’s not in your main colours try another piece of removal that’s not so tight.

Augur Spree kills a lot of things, considering it deals with 4 toughness. Be clever and smart, and do NOT cast on your opponent’s turn. I’ve seen entire games swing hugely in one players favour after they attacked with a mere Daggerdrome Imp. A 2/2 from scavenge, the Imp attacked and was killed with Augur Spree. Well, nearly. Giant Growth made the Imp a 9 power lifelink, and that was game. Cast it on your turn, and do note it kills regenerators/indestructible critters dead.

Avenging Arrow has a “cute” damage dealt application. Izzet Staticaster can be killed after it’s dealt damage. Niv-Mizzet shooting you pre-combat can be killed by it. On the other hand, Rix Maadi Guildmage isn’t a target after using it’s -1/-1 ability. Exercise caution and read cards you’re hoping to kill with it. Does it actually say “damage”?

Axebane Guardian is an archetype all its own. It blocks. They might have more Defenders. It provides a LOT of mana in multiples and fixes mana too. A turn 3 Axebane Guardian can mean a turn 4 Armada Wurm. The potential here is incredible, so I’d suggest killing one on-sight games 2/3 if you’re seen anything scary, and in game 1? Do you think their plays thus far mean they have ‘that bomb’ in hand, or is it simply a blocker to help them survive?

Axebane Stag is huge, and easy to splash, and if games go long you can expect one. Ideal for Ultimate Price or Stab Wound, perhaps.

Catacomb Slug is brilliant, and wonderful, and no one knows about it. It’s just our secret tech, OK? For five mana you get 6 toughness, which HOLDS OFF half an Armada Wurm all day. And 2 power to boot, that kills a lot of would-be attackers. The SECOND this guy hits the field your opponent is going to need prompt removal, or consider shuffling.

Centaur Healer will be played all day by all manner of players. It’s a good on-curve 3/3, and gaining three life can undo the first two turns beatings.

Chorus of Might might just win the game. +X/+X and trample is always huge, and if you suspect it from the opponent, trade where possible. If your opponent has creatures that look good for beating but they aren’t attacking, also be concerned. They might just be scared of your removal, but there’s also a chance they’re saving body-count for a big ‘Might or Collective Blessing.

Common Bond is a great card, because it ticks a lot of the above. It’s a spell that kills a creature (surprise, mine is bigger!) while also advancing your clock (+2 power should do that in many cases). It’s cheap, but it’s also so good that it’s obvious. If you suspect it, keep a trick handy.

Cremate is a cute answer to graveyard shinanigans. If you saw HORRIBLE GIANT SCAVENGE CREATURE game 1, or Treasured Find, bring this in. Even if you never need to use it, it cycles for B.

Daggerdrome Imp can come down turn 2 and keep going all game. With any pump he’s ridiculous, without he can level the very earliest turns of a game before blocking to save you alota pain and gain a final point of life.

Dead Reveler is your standard Rakdos bash deck frontliner, seeing he’s common and a 3/4 at just three mana. As with all Unleash creatures, you can force them into “can’t block” mode if you’re able to put a +1/+1 counter on them somehow (scavenge, Common Bond). That’ll be relevant at some point, believe me.

Deviant Glee is good because it’s quick, but great because it grants trample. So Rakdos has the best time with this Aura of dangerousness! Having said that, it isn’t another creature, so you can kill the creature it is on and ride to card advantage victory! Beware of Deviant Glee on Daggerdrome Imp for early lifelink beatdowns.

Dispel is worthy of noting, because there is a great chance you spent more on your Instant then Dispel. Unless you Dispel Dispel, but whatever. Make sure you read your cards type line when killing your opponent’s stuff. Rites of Reaping is a Sorcery, right? Launch Party is an Instant, right? Also beware the untapped Transguild Promenade.

Doorkeeper might be just a blocker and very slow plan Z for winning, or a sign that the opponent is Defenders.dec. That might indicate more Axebane Guardians and Lobber Crews.

Dramatic Rescue kills a token, bounces a huge monster that took until turn 7 (and a turn’s worth of mana) to show up, and otherwise saves your guys. It’s good, but not a reason itself to play blue/white.

Druid’s Deliverance is shocking when you don’t expect it. Especially when it’ll populate another 8/8 into play. You can apply pressure forcing the opponent to fog early, or simply have a killspell for their biggest token when it comes about. Do note – 8/8 vigilance tokens aren’t mono coloured.

Dynacharge is another small version of the “keep your creature count high” type cards, like Collective Blessing. You can lose outta nowhere if you don’t count the possibility of another +2 per attacker.

Electrickery is the only common that kills a turn 2 Rat Pack. 1 damage can do massive things against the blue/white flyers deck, or the white/green aggro ground pounders deck, so it’s worth maindeck inclusion. Also if you’re lucky enough to open Rat Pack wait til turn 5 when you can drop and activate in the one turn. No reason to give your opponent the chance to Electrickery it, right?

Essence Backlash. The only note here is that it’s based on POWER, not casting cost. Hilarious against the Worldspine Wurm player.

Explosive Impact has an explosive impact in any game. Every one of your opponents can go Mountain, Impact for the win. Or deal five damage wherever they like! The card is easily splashable, will always do something good for you and shouldn’t be in your sideboard, ever. Unless you got zero red sources in your mana pool, and even then simply adding two Mountains to your land base could be worth it.

Eyes in the Skies is another reason why breakneck aggro isn’t great. By breakneck I mean any and all creatures that have power = casting cost, meaning a lot of 1 toughness guys. Eyes in the Skies reads “populate”, not “get two Birds”, which is something to note. Centaurs outta nowhere are scarier than 1/1 Birds.

Frostburn Weird is everyone’s nightmare. It blocks super well early, it wears a Deviant Glee very well, it bashes aggressively late game, can even kill itself if enchanted with a Stab Wound and dodges an Ultimate Price pretty easily. He’s great.

Gatecreeper Vine isn’t necessarily a sign of the Defender deck, because it’s flexible fixing no matter your deck. Might just be getting your Gate so your Ogre Jailbreaker can attack, for example.

Giant Growth is pretty scary. It saves a creature while it kills theirs, or simply pumps them to death. Works great with Wild Beastmaster.

Goblin Electromancer will save you a mana or two before it might die, but Explosive Impact for only five mana is really nuts, and Mizzium Mortars becomes Flame Slash with overload. Or it’s just a 2/2 to block for one turn while you see if you don’t draw that wrath you need.

Golgari Longlegs should show up everywhere he can. Seeing he’s hybrid he’s practically colorless in Golgari decks, so a 5/4 anytime is great.

Gorehouse Chainwalker is scary. Allows for racing.

Horncaller’s Chant I’m actually against. I liked it when I first saw it, but 8 mana is CRAZY to pay. Granted, this is the format where a stalled board is bound to occur, and having 8 trampling power can deal with that, but drawing it any time before you reach 8 mana is really bad beats.

Hussar Patrol, expect it every turn 4.

Inaction Injunction can be great against the early Rakdos beats, but against other decks that aren’t ready to go to town that early, it can be just a cycler.

Inspiration you know I love. Play it if you’re blue.

Keening Apparition is quite funny, because it’s the first time I’ve thought this ability was an auto include in Sealed. Stab Wound, Knightly Valor at common, Detention Sphere and Collective Blessing at rare, there is plenty of Enchantments to beware. Otherwise it’s a turn two 2/2 that beats!

Knightly Valor is an apex predator. When it comes down, if it sticks, it’s really bad for whoever didn’t play it. It makes an attacker into a lethal attacker, and comes with an extra 2 power that can attack and defend. What’s not to love? It’s splashable, though it seems quite out of sorts if it suddenly pops up in a Rakdos build. Think of any typical Rakdos opening hand, then add this. Still strong though, but imagine a Thrill-Kill Assassin, unleashed with this on? 4/5 vigilance deathtouch with buddy? I think the main point is, this makes anything into a proper threat, BUT beware all the usual rules for playing Auras. If they kill the target, you don’t get even a 2/2 and spent all your mana!

Korozda Monitor is a fine 3/3 trample for 4. And if it dies, the scavenge is totally relevant, at some point in the future. As with Daggerdrome Imp any kind of pump will make it ever scarier, but towards late game he can play blocker than pump next turn and really swing things around. You Lizard fans should be proud.

Launch Party kills everything, even one of your guys. The two life can be relevant, and maybe you want someone to die, maybe someone your opponent has targeted with Stab Wound when you’re on very low life? It loses plenty of potential when you don’t have any creatures that play nice with the graveyard.

Lobbercrew should kill you at some point during an entire GP. One damage a turn with 4 blocking toughness, as well as a free ping for every multi-coloured spell! Beware the sloppy playing opponent, if they say “Do you mind?” you do mind! Don’t let them have damage triggers they missed.

Mind Rot is something to be aware of against the black players. Keep extra lands in hand, or if you’re both in topdeck mode it’s worth playing the first land you draw, then keeping the second one to bait out a suspected Mind Rot. Seeing you play the first one your opponent will think you’re playing them all out, until you keep a card back, which clearly isn’t a Land. Right?

Mizzium Skin may counter spells, watch out. Also +0/+1 toughness is quite underrated as a combat trick.

Pursuit of Flight is pretty much the same as Deviant Glee. Flight over trample closes more games out, but blue/red seems to be a wonky combination in most cases anyway.

Rakdos Shred-Freak. You’d need a lot of guys like this to make the aggro deck and make it well, but if you can then you’re at a real advantage because it’s certainly not expected. Just imagine how you’ll feel when the board is stalled, and you need to break through, drawing this :/.

Rootborn Defenses is the same as Druid’s Deliverance. Win a combat, get a 3/3 or 8/8 or 4/4 trample. Indestructible is relevant, it usually means your own tricks will only save your guys, not kill theirs.

Rubbleback Rhino should not be underestimated. Much like the days of Hexproof Magic 2012 this guy is where you plant your Auras that you need to resolve. Not only that, he’s a gaurenteed blocker. As a 3/4 for five he’s power and toughness ain’t the brilliantest, but that’s not what you’re playing him for.

Runewing is great for block n trade. You’re not down a card, and probably killed an X/2 on the way.

Seller of Songbirds is irritating for sure. Do you know how many bird token populates this card has been responsible for? We asked MODO to calculate the number and it rebooted the system.

Sewer Shambler’s benefit of having Swampwalk comes at the cost of playing Swamps yourself! It’s possible to splash without a single Swamp, but those deck building acrobatics are up to you.

Skull Rend is good as long as the opponent has cards in hand. Not great against Mr Graveyard. Two damage can be redirected to Planeswalkers, but hitting two pieces of removal and leaving the opponent with Land, Land in hand is a bit like a four for one. Of course you won’t know that’s what happened, unless your opponent’s face looks like this:

[image: you don’t say]

Sluiceway Scorpion blocks anyone, like an 8/8, then pumps someone else. Great!

Stab Wound. Splash it. Enchants anything, kills the opponent a bit, kills off quite a few creatures.

Stealer of Secrets really wants a Rogue’s Passage to dominate a game, but occasionally an opponent just won’t have a turn 3 blocker.

Sundering Growth is good all-round removal for troublesome cards, but feels more for the combo populate player. With a Detention Sphere, you can drop the Sphere, target their anything, but before that resolves cast Sundering Growth on it! You get another 8/8 token, then Sphere is destroyed, returning NOTHING to play (nothing’s been exiled yet). Then the original target of Detention Sphere is gone forever. Nice, hey?

Swift Justice is just as potentially devastating, and therefore just as obvious, as Giant Growth. The lifelink will throw a spanner in many a beatdown players plans, but not if they plan for it accordingly.

Syncopate means play your Lands before you cast your spells, OR have your own Dispel ready. It can target any spell however, so that’s good.

“David Tenement” Crasher here means you can’t be resting easy against the red opponents. You may just have to leave back TWO blockers.

Towering Indrik is quite a good blocker, and stops flyers too, but if you’re looking at a hand full of creatures and can’t choose which one, drop this one first. Your other “flavoured” animals can do better work later in the game, as TI simply makes it hard for their early attack to get there.

Trained Caracal says no. Probably a teensy bit less than Bellows Lizard, who you’ll notice never even got a mention. Friends don’t let friends play Trained Caracal/Bellows Lizard.

Traitorous Instinct is bound to be in the decks that do get aggro, and have red. There’s nothing better than a solid 5/5 blocker on the opponents side, so you can turn it into a 7/5 attacker for you. Swing them down to Just About Dead with Explosive Impact to finish the game. This is another reason why Rubbleback Rhino isn’t a bad card.

Transguild Promenade is better in Sealed than Draft, because as we said earlier it’s not so fast a format. If you need fixing, play it. It’s “keep guessing” value should also be pretty good. With just one of any mana available, you can Giant Growth, Dispel, Swift Justice or Electrickery. What do?

Trestle Troll will stop a lot of attacks, and regenerates, so while he’s a good indicator you’re against the Defenders deck, he’s not a lock. He’s always a good blocker, but certainly horrible as a splash because you need to save your mana for regenerating every turn.

Trostani’s Judgment is probably the most powerful removal spell in the set, seeing nothing can really dodge it save hexproof, and populate once again allows you to really swing the game in your favour. Especially at instant. It’s well worth the six mana.

Voidwielder kills a token and blocks whoever’s left, so he’ll show up in blue defensive decks, and I don’t imagine he’d be a bad splash in nonblue decks against tokens, for example. He has an immediate impact when he shows up, and can continue to block for many good turns thereafter.