Posts Tagged ‘Simeon Cortezano’
This week in Magic: Side boarding with Naya Burn
Thursday, April 30th, 2015
Welcome back to another edition of “This week in Magic.” Last week we talked about the basics of Naya Burn and some expectations as I took it to a local GPT for Las Vegas. Sadly, I finished the day with a 3-2 record and just missed Top 8 by .5% point. I can’t be too upset considering how badly I felt I played all day. I felt that I played a little too loose and know I could have done better.
A prime example comes from my first match where I kept a hand of four lands and three spells. I was on the play, so I was already short action spells. My opponent was playing Esper and a turn one Kozilek and I was pretty much out of spells to cast by turn two. My best hands are anything with two lands and five spells or three lands and four spells. When I get the loose hands of four lands and three spells, I tend to mulligan them because there is not enough going on there. However, that first match had me keeping that exact hand. I knew I needed to play tighter if I wanted to have a chance.
My plays throughout the day is something we can save for another time. This week, I promised to tackle the options we have for side boarding. Once again, here is a quick rundown of my Naya Burn list.
Main board
4x Goblin Guide
4x Monastery Swiftspear
4x Eidolon of the Great Revel
2x Grim Lavamancer
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Lava Spike
3x Rift Bolt
2x Skullcrack
4x Boros Charm
4x Atarka’s Command
2x Lightning Helix
2x Shard Volley
2x Searing Blaze
3x Mountain
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Wooded Foothill
4x Bloodstained Mire
1x Stomping Ground
3x Sacred Foundry
Side board:
3x Destructive Revelry
1x Lightning Helix
2x Path to Exile
2x Deflecting Palm
2x Skull Crack
3x Molten Rain
2x Kor Firewalker
Versus Twin
-2 Searing Blaze, -2 Lightning Helix, -1 Shard Volley; +2 Path to Exile, +3 Destructive Revelry.
I’ve played against many twin matchups and I think this is a bit of a coin toss. Obviously during our first game, there is very little we can really do if our opponent has a Twin turn four. We either have enough burn in our hand to remove their Exarch or Mite, or we don’t. It’s as simple as that. Once we’ve boarded, the match stays a coin flip still. They tend to bring in a Spellskite or Batterskull, but the popular choice is to bring in more cheap counterspells such as Dispell or Spell Pierce.
In these situations, I like to bring in Destructive Revelry and Path to Exile. Destructive Revelry is our best defense against Batterskill and can conveniently destroy Spellskites. The one important thing they can destroy, though, are Splintertwins! There is almost no reason for a Twin player not to play Twin on turn four if they have the combo. It’s on us, the burn player to do something or lose.
Path to Exile is another great one-mana removal spell for us. More specifically, it’s there to remove the Exarch from play. One may think I’m over boarding a bit here because Destructive Revelry is good enough, but I like to have more options here. Path can also remove the insect token that Batterskull makes.
Versus Affinity
-2 Lightning Helix, -1 Shard Volley; +3 Destructive Revelry
Before I converted to Naya, this matchup was always in favor of Affinity. Some would argue it was more of a coin flip, but I tend to disagree. Since converting to Naya, we’ve gained more options and a bit more of a reach when it comes to fighting against the robot army.
One thing I’ve learned is that our creature package plays a big part in our match. Previous Mono Red builds relied more on their burn spells than anything else to do the damage. With no creatures in play, we allowed Affinity to run rampant all over us. However with almost a third of the deck being creatures, we have more defend ourselves with.
For our side board options we have the same choices we had with Twin. I like to bring in all of our copies of Destructive Revelry. If you read what the card does, then there is little explanation needed here, and we can get in two points of damage.
I also think Molten Rain is good option to run here as well. Their man-lands can do some serious damage to us if left unattended. Don’t forget, though, that Molten Rain can only hit their lands. As burn players we really need to be careful not to over board in these situations. If you feel Molten Rain is important, then go ahead and run them. Otherwise, you are still fine just running the Destructive Revelry.
Versus Naya Burn
-2 Shard Volley, -2 Lightning Helix; +2 Kor Firewalker, +2 Path to Exile
Kor Firewalker has become one of the most solid answers to anything Burn. So I like to assume that my opponent is going to be smart and bring in their copies of Kor Firewalkers. It’s because of this thinking process I like to bring in Path to Exile. The most important reason for this is because it’s our only way of dealing with the Pro Red creature.
So why did we take out the cards we took out? Out of the entire deck, I feel that Shard Volley is the weakest link. You can also see this because I’ve taken it out of every match, post-side board. As for the Lightning Helix. It’s actually one of the more “clunkier” spells in the deck. First of all, it’s one of only spells in the deck that requires us to pay two different colors in mana. Second of all, a lot of people get distracted by it’s life gaining abilities. I feel that this can cause people to be less aggressive with the spell. Playing a burn deck, you want to burn out your opponent before they can do it to you. Kor Firewalker on your side more than makes up for the fact you’re losing some life gaining abilities, but, in the end, are gaining stronger ones.
Well that’s it for now. Yes, your eyes are correct. We only covered three major opponents in this week’s article. However, if you have any questions regarding any other matchups, then feel free to leave a comment in the section below. Until next week…
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
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Tags: GPT, Magic the Gathering, Modern, mono red burn, MTG, naya burn, Simeon Cortezano
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This week in Magic: Naya Burn for Modern
Thursday, April 23rd, 2015
Welcome back for another edition of “This week in Magic.” With Grand Prix Las Vegas quickly approaching, GPTs have sprung up in the area to help those going get their byes for what will be one of the most massively attended card tournaments ever (even more than World Series of Poker). I’ve even heard numbers as crazy as 10,000 people attending. This weekend, the Abington location will be hosting a Modern format GPT.
As you may all know by now I’ve been playing Mono Red for almost a year now in Modern and have had moderate success with it. However, since the introduction of Khans to the format, it has evolved from Mono Red, to what is now Naya Burn. I’m sure you can still play Mono Red, however, for this week’s discussion, we’re going to go over some of the reasons to play Naya Burn over Mono Red Burn.
In case you’ve been wondering, here is what I’ve been playing lately:
Main Board
4x Goblin Guide
4x Monastery Swiftspear
4x Eidolon of the Great Revel
2x Grim Lavamancer
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Lava Spike
3x Rift Bolt
2x Skullcrack
4x Boros Charm
4x Atarka’s Command
2x Lightning Helix
2x Shard Volley
2x Searing Blaze
3x Mountain
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Wooded Foothill
4x Bloodstained Mire
1x Stomping Ground
3x Sacred Foundry
Side Board:
3x Destructive Revelry
1x Lightning Helix
2x Path to Exile
2x Deflecting Palm
2x Skull Crack
3x Molten Rain
2x Kor Firewalker
Why play Naya over Mono Red?
One of the best additions to the deck has been Atarka’s Command. With the current creature package Burn plays with, this is one of the most back breaking spells in the deck. Imagine this, on turn one you play a fetch land, sac the land getting a Stomping Ground, play a Goblin Guide and swing for two damage. On your second turn you play another land, cast a Monastery Swiftspear, cast a Lava Spike triggering the Swiftspear’s prowess ability and attack with both creatures. By now you’ve done nine damage. One your third turn, with Atarka’s Command, the potential to kill your opponent is extremely high as opposed to not having the command.
Green also allows you to play Destructive Revelry. This card has really changed the way the deck plays and how other play against the deck post-board. While Leyline of Sanctity is still very painful to watch hit the battlefield against you, thanks to Destructive Revelry, it doesn’t mean an auto loss. The fact that Destructive Revelry has the ability to hit both artifacts and enchantments makes it more versatile than something like Smash to Smithereens.
White is provides even more reach thanks to spells like Path to Exile and Kor Firewalker for the mirror. The other week, I played against someone who was able to land a turn two Kor Firewalker against me. Needless to say, they weren’t happy when I play a Path on my following turn and then proceeded to win the match because of it. Path answers so many problems that conventional burn spells can’t. For example, Siege Rhino, a 4/5 which has been running rampant in the Modern format, is something that a Lightning Bolt can’t handle. However, a Path can answer it without any problem. Add to the fact that Path only costs one white to cast, and now Burn players can breath a sigh of relief.
Playing white in the main board means that Burn players can have access to better burn spells such a Boros Charm and Lightning Helix. Charm has easily replaces Flames of the Blood Hand as the better four damage burn spell thank to the fact that it only costs two mana to play. Lightning Helix’s ability to gain you life is such a big life swing it makes it worth playing. However, that’s all it has going for it. That’s why people tend to only play a couple copies of the spell as opposed to a full set of four. Gaining life is almost not worth the inconsistency the card adds to the deck thanks to the two colors needed.
For what it’s worth, I’d suggest playing the Naya Burn list over Mono Red because of the amount of options the colors open up for the player.
Who made the cut?
Of course with the introduction of a full playset of Atarka’s Command, we had to find room in the deck somewhere. It’s hard to tell, but some of the major cuts I’ve made have been to Rift Bolt, Searing Blaze, and Skull Crack. First of all, let’s start with why I made a cut to one of the best “one mana” spells in the deck.
First of all, it doesn’t cost one mana. It never has cost one mana. It will never cost one mana to cast. Unless it’s in your hand within the first couple of turns, Rift Bolt costs three mana to play. However, there are certain situations where the spell will costs you one mana late in the game, but at this point you’re so far in control is doesn’t matter. I felt that because it really doesn’t cost you one mana to cast that I could afford to cut one, but only one.
The next spell on my list was Skull Crack. I felt like having a full set of both seemed redundant, but thanks to the pumping effects of the the Command, it garnered enough attention to play a set. For now, I’ve split up the Skull Cracks with two in the main and two in the side. As for the side board. I’m uncertain about how much longer they will stay there. For now, I don’t mind them taking up slots. They help against the Spellskite plans people love to play against burn. Remember, Skull Crack can only hit another player. So activating a Spellskite doesn’t help. Well, it helps, but here it only helps the Burn player.
I needed to cut one more card to make room for the full set of Commands. Could I run three Commands? I could have, but it’s probably best that I run four. At this point, Shard Volley may have looked like an okay option, but I think some of you forget that it’s one of the best burn spells in the deck. However, because of it’s major setback of sacrificing a land, we can only sustain two copies of the spell. In the long run, I decided to cut a Searing Blaze. We all know my personal feelings for this card by now. Without Landfall, it is by far the worst burn spells in the deck. In fact, it’s the main reason we’re running an absurd amount of Fetchlands in the deck. Don’t get me wrong. I understand how great the card can be. It’s amazing against Collected Company, Infect, and other weenie aggro decks, but it’s one of the worst cards against some of the top tier decks in the game right now. Even worse, it has less of an impact on it’s own.
Well with that we’re going to leave things here and pick up next week. Tune in when we’ll touch upon the side board and our options for different matchups in the meta. Thanks for reading!
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: burn, GP las vegas, GPT, Modern, mono red, naya burn, Simeon Cortezano
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This week in Magic: Dragons of Tarkir Game Day
Thursday, April 16th, 2015
Hello and welcome to another edition of “This week in Magic.” Game Day is coming upon us very quickly. In fact, it’s this weekend. I’m sure plenty of you out there are still wondering what to play. In all honesty, Game Day is a tournament that is meant to bring out the creativeness of the deck builders out there. Game Day is a day meant to try your creations out, and try not to meta-game the field as if you’re playing in a GP. It’s all about fun. With all that being said, I’m sure there is a vast majority of you who will still scramble to find something. So here are a few suggestions I have to offer.
UB Control
I’ve been playing this list for about a week now and have had quite a bit of success with it. I took it the the PPTQ held at the Abington store and piloted it to a Top 4 finish. I recently took it to the Ugin Standard tournament with about 21 players and went 4-1. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt comfortable with a deck, let alone one that is control.
One of the big pros about the deck is that many opponents have told me that it’s very hard to side board against. I can see this considering how hard it is to play against. It just seems to have all of the answers. Thanks to the re-introduction of ultimate price, killing creatures has gotten a lot easier. Therefore relieving a lot of pressure on my end.
However, don’t be fooled by my successsragy. The deck is hard to play. The only real advice I have to get better with the deck is to keep playing it. It’s one of those things where experience is one of the keys to winning with the deck. For example, casting Dig Through Time doesn’t always provide you with a clear answer. There have been a few times where a Dig has provided me with plenty of options. It’s knowing which one is the best that will lead you to victory.
Mono Red Aggro
Mono Red Aggro is always something I know I can fall back on. Of course, there are some who may say I’m a little biased. For now, put those thoughts aside. Monok Red is the real deal. I mean, it did take down the latest Pro Tour. That version splashed Green, but that was mainly for Atarka’s Command – a card that is seeing much more play in Standard.
What makes this deck a winner is how fast it can win. How fast can it win, you ask? It wins under the turn five mark. This is huge because it avoids board wipes such as End Hostilities and Crux of Faith. More importantly, a lot of other decks need more time to establish themselves on the battlefield. The case with Mono Red is that it tries to kill you before you’ve settled in.
Red has always been a reliable color to go to whenever a new meta comes out. However, the major downfall of the deck, in many cases, is how quickly other decks can adapt to the Mono Red strategy. The key to beating Mono Red, in my opinion, is to be able to survive the first three turns. Once you’ve made it past that point, you can feel more confident in your plays. If you can force them into a position where they feel they need to kill you before turn five or sooner, then you’ve accomplished your mission. It’s in these cases that they tend to empty their hands sooner than they would like putting them in a poor position.
Mono Green Devotion
Or sometimes known as GR Devotion. The red in this case is actually a splash for Dragonlord Atarka. If I can play a mono colored deck over any other, then chances are that I will. Reason being is that it’s such a break from tri-colored decks where mana can get a little out of hand. So Why play Mono Green? These creatures are huge! No other color can really compete to tell you the truth. Not only are they huge, but they can be cheap considering the amount of ramp Green has at it’s disposal – Elves, Caryatids, Satyrs.
Elves, Caryatids, and Satyrs alone can stop the early onslaught of weenie decks and Mono Red. Later on it can get out of hand as creatures hit the battlefield that are well out of a Red player’s burn range. The deck can be overwhelming for most opponents which can also mean the end for them.
So what about a downside? Aside from bad draws, I can’t really see one. The game plan is simple: play smaller guys to make bigger guys then swing with the big guys. If there is anything bad about the deck it could be how weak susceptible you are to board wipers. Well you’ll be happy to know that we all are. Get some practice in and learn how to play around them. You’ll be just fine.
Well that’s it for now. Remember to go out and take a shot at your local game day. We’ll be hosting two of them! If there is anything in particular that you’d like me to cover, then drop me a line.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Dragons of Tarkir, Game Day, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Simeon Cortezano
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This week in Magic: Prepping for battle
Thursday, April 9th, 2015
**Writer’s note: Hygiene is a very important subject today in the tournament scene. It’s up to you to take care of yourself. With that said, this post is, in no way, meant to offend anyone. If I have some how managed to upset you or offend you I apologize ahead of time. **
Welcome to another edition of “This week in Magic.” Now that the snow has cleared, and there are massive pot holes left, it means that we are getting closer to our heavy end of the tournament schedule. In the coming months there are two SCG Opens making their way to the are (one in Rhode Island and the other in Massachusetts) with a Grand Prix in Providence later this summer.
This week’s article is not about what deck to play or what meta to expect for the upcoming season. We’re going to talk about how to get ready for a massive tournament with many of your peers. Of course by preparing, I mean the S’s: ****, Shower, and Shave. For those of you who are unaware, the first word is a word that is synonymous with going to the bathroom and other like activities. In fact, it’s the first subject we’re going to tackle.
****
When I was in high school, I always made it a daily ritual to sit on the toilet for at least 30 minutes. Even if nothing happened I made myself sit on that thing because this was the only chance I was giving myself and the only time I wanted to be on that thing throughout the day.
There is something about public restrooms than can be sometimes unsettling. In fact, rarely have I seen a public restroom that has looked welcoming. Have you? The closest thing I’ve seen was at the Foxwoods Casino. The stalls were made of wood, the toilets were set back at least three feet from the door. Talk about ultimate privacy.
In a venue such as the DCU Center with hundreds, if not, thousands of people, the last place I want to be is in a restroom at the same time as many of them. Let’s face it, some of these people didn’t have the best meal or the meal with intentions the night before. There is also the chance they jammed down an absurd breakfast before hitting the road. I’ve seen people eat the night before like they were training for a marathon. However, instead of the marathon, they were going to a gaming convention the next day.
One of the most important reasons to take your poops before leaving your house is because they make your farts smell far less worse. We’ve all been there. You’re feeling that pressure (not from the game you’re playing) and you are scared to death to use the public restroom. “I can wait it out,” you think to yourself. “I can do this.” Guess what, you’re absolutely wrong! That pressure has to go somewhere eventually. With that pressure comes the gas we all know and love to hate.
Please, for your fellow man, woman, and compadre, use the bathroom before you leave the house. If it means you have to take up a half hour earlier, then do it. It will be worth it in the end. You may even keep a friend or two in the process.
SHOWER
Cleanliness is one of my top five feelings in life. Right behind, sneezing, almost being full, a warm fire, and hugs. If it isn’t high on you priority list, then we need to sit down and re-evalute things in your life. There are a lot of advantages to being clean in life, and here are some of them in no particular order.
Being clean helps you keep your friends! I have no idea why Charlie Brown and the rest of that gang loved Pig-Pen, but that’s a comic strip. In real life, chances are that people may start to dislike being around you if you smell. Now, I understand that some people have their personal problems, but guess what. We all have problems. I have problems, but I do my best to make sure I’m at least reasonable to be around. If it means you have to rub a carfreshner on yourself, then do it.
Showering can also cause people to be more alert. I have plenty of friends that even take cold showers to make themselves more awake in the morning. This is great. It can work towards your advantage because you need to be alert to play such a complicated game. Now, if you’re like me, I like to shower at night. That’s fine. You may not be as alert as those who shower in the morning, but the important thing is that soap and water have made contact with your body at some point in a 12 hour span.
This daily activity of cleaning yourself also promotes better health in general. No more convention sickness to worry about. Soon enough we won’t have to carry extra hand sanitizer in our bags which means we can fit more dice. Remember, folks, you can never have enough dice on you. To those of you who don’t carry any dice or bring them with you to a gaming event – I just don’t even know where to start with you.
SHAVE
The shaving portion of this blurb is all the extra stuff you can do to take care of yourself. Shaving in general makes you look less like a caveman and more like a normal person. Getting rid of the hair on your neck also helps. I get it though. Some people look good with a beard and there are those who don’t. However, if you have a beard take care of it. There is no reason it should look like the top of Bob Marley’s head. Unless you’re purposely aiming for dreadlocks in your beard, then comb that thing. Yes, even put some shampoo in it.
This is a grizzly looking man. RAWR
If you’ve ever watched the Pro Tour or other major Magic events on Twitch, then you may have noticed some players dressed up in suites. There is nothing wrong with wearing a suit at one of these events especially if there is a chance you’re going to be on camera. In fact, you should always feel like there is a camera on you.
I have no objections to dressing comfortable for these events as well. If you want to wear pajamas, then go ahead and wear them. Just know that some people may look at you weird and some may be jealous that you look some comfortable and they’re not. Be aware of yourself.
Take care of yourself. This is what I see every time I look in the mirror.
Here’s a small shopping list of things you don’t have to do, but they can help out in the long run:
- Buy a belt
- Wear the belt you bought!
- Make a conscious effort to pull your pants up before you sit down
- Make a conscious effort to pull your pants up when you get up
- Brush your teeth
On a final note, I want to leave you with some of the things I do before I leave the house. I like to look in the mirror one last time and ask myself, “Would I hit that?” If the answer is yes, then I know I’m good to go. If the answer is no, then I need to go over what might be wrong. I also do a check like pilots do right before they take off in their airplane. Do I have my cell phone? Do I have my keys? Do I have my wallet? Do I have my deck?
If needed ask yourself, “Did I put on deodorant?” Did you put pants on?
Look, I could go on for a long time and I’m sure there are things I didn’t touch upon that I should have. The real point of this is to check yourself before you wreck yourself. It’s really easy for a person to point to another and call out their faults. What’s really hard is being able to point at yourself and call out your own faults. It all starts with you. Once you’ve got that down, then everything else around you will fall in place.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: shave, shower, Simeon Cortezano, Tournaments
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Events, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | No Comments »
This week in Magic: Another set, another Fat Pack Challenge!
Friday, March 27th, 2015
Welcome back to “This week in Magic.” This week we’re going to tackle the upcoming Fat Pack Challenge. If you’ve never taken on one of these challenges, they are a fun spin on the 6-pack sealed events stores sometimes host. However, the spin on this even is that players will be opening the entire contents of a Fat Pack, which is nine booster [packs. Additionally, they’re also going to be confined to the contents of that Fat Pack. So, if there happens to be a very weird printing error where they don’t get a certain land in their land pack, well, they won’t have access to that land.
Fat Pack challenges can have huge upsides and downsides. A big upside is that you are given more options than normal. It may only be three more packs than normally opened, but it actually ends up being a lot. At the same time, this can also be a downside. This is where you, as a player, really need to know where to cut down on cards to play.
Another small challenge to the Fat Pack challenge is that there are no seeded packs. Gone is the head start in the color combination you wanted. So here you have nine packs and each of them is totally random – all other rules in regarding Sealed still apply. Once you’ve gotten your Fat Pack my advice is to lay all out you’re cards according to color. Some like to do it by converted mana cost, but I think by laying them out by color, you get a real good sense of what you’re working with.
Once I’ve got my colors sorted, I still go through each one to make sure I didn’t miss anything obvious like killer dragons or giant bombs. Looking through each pile, I can easily get a sense of what I have to play with. In most cases, the piles with the fewest cards I can easily set aside. The colors with the biggest stacks are the colors I tend to play with since they’ll usually have the most options for me to play around with.
There have been a few occasions where the biggest pile didn’t mean I was automatically playing that color. Something important to remember is the theme of the block. Remember, in Khans of Tarkir, players were introduced to five new clans – Abzan, Mardu, Temur, Jeskai, and Sultai. In Dragons of Tarkir, we now have the clans of Dromoka, Ojutai, Silumgar, Kolaghan, and Atarka. When putting your deck together, I think it’s important to keep these clans in mind. They were designed for a reason that goes beyond storytelling. Try to stick to two colors, and don’t got more than three.
Now that we’ve got some of the basic ideas behind deck building out of the way, let’s talk about some of the things I learned from this past weekend’s prerelease and how I can apply it to the Fat Pack Challenge. I finished with a final record of 3-1 this past weekend in my only prerelease event. To start things off, I chose Atarka as my clan. However, after building my deck, I ended up with a Mardu deck. I ended up losing my first match. Once that was over and done with, I took the deck apart to re-evaluate what I may have done wrong.
One of the games I had lost to my first opponent was to a vanilla 5/6 green creature. I got stuck in a loop where I had to play a creature to block it every turn and could not draw one of my removal spells. It was then I had realized that my deck was too small to compete against some of the silly dragons and larger creatures in the set. I reconfigured the deck to find the right balance. This was important because now I know I can’t build a deck like I was playing Khans of Tarkir sealed.
Something I learned is that you can never have too much removal. It seemed like everyone had a Roast in their hand just when they needed it. I’ve also come to the conclusion that I absolutely hate Morph creatures. To burn them or not to burn them, that is always the question and I’m always wrong. However, I guess it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Better to have a 1/1 rather than a 6/5 staring me down. Finally, there is no such thing as enough flying. There is nothing more annoying than playing against someone with mostly flyers for creatures. Just imagine yourself in a field being attacked by a wonderful flock of hummingbirds. Each one slowly pecking at you and there is nothing you can do about it except admire how cute they are and say, “ouch” out loud.
Well, that’s it for me this week. I have to admit, I’ve been struggling a bit to come up with some specific content. I am very open to suggestions you, the audience, may have though. With that said, if any of you reading this has something you’d like me to write about then let me know. You can either email me you ideas at Sims@Battlegroundgames.com or hit me up on Twitter via the Battleground Games Twitter handle. Until next time!
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
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Tags: Dragons of Tarkir, Fat Pack Challenge, Simeon Cortezano
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This week in Magic: Key cards in Dragons of Tarkir Sealed
Friday, March 20th, 2015
Welcome back to a late edition of “This week in Magic.” This weekend is the Dragons of Tarkir prerelease. Who else is just as excited as I am? Oh, you are? Really, Nick Lowe? Well you’re in luck. This week’s blurb is all about my top picks for the Dragons of Tarkir prerelease. If you want a better chance to 4-0 or 3-0-1 your events, then these are cards you may want to look out for.
Now of course, there are obvious bombs. So we’re going to ignore most of the rares as well as the mythics. Today, we’re going to be mostly focusing on some of the unsung heroes: the commons and uncommons. Check them out in no particular order.
Dromka Dunecaster
There is nothing more annoying than your opponent playing a first turn 1/1 creature. Especially if you can’t follow it up with one of your own. That’s why the Dunecaster is one of the cards I think you should look out for. It may not kill the 1/1 creature, but it sure can block it al day as a 0/2. The real kicker is the extra ability to tap own another creature.
You opponent just cast a big fatty? Well, as long as it doesn’t fly, the Dunecaster has your back covered. As long as you have the mana, and the Dunecaster is untapped, than that big, bad fatty isn’t hitting you any time soon. Just keep in mind that the Dunecaster is still only a 0/2 which means it can still be killed quite easily.
Void Squall
I am a big fan of this spell. Yeah it costs five mana, which can be a little high, but I think it has a lot of potential. I think we’re going to see a limited environment full of big creatures (and by that I mean mostly dragons). Bouncing them back into your opponent’s hand can almost be considered like a time walk for yourself.
The key to this spell is the rebound ability. It makes paying five mana almost worth it. You opponent may think twice about re-casting that big guy of their if they know its only going to get bounced again. Keep in mind the spell can target other permanents. So any pesky enchantments or planeswalkers can go bye bye as well.
Death Wind
If I had to pick a card to be the top choice, this would probably be the pick. Death Wind may just be the best removal spell in the prerelease. It get’s around indestructibility, it has a very low casting cost, and it’s an instant. It’s an uncommon, so you’ll be lucky to be running more than one in your deck.
Another great thing about this card is that it’s totally splashable. Is that even a word? Splashable? Anyways, for only XB I would make it worth your while to splash just for it. Should you splash for only one copy? I don’t think so. Splash for two or more. It should be worth it.
Foul-Tongue Shriek
This card is bonkers. I think it’ll even get played in standard. I even have a deck list brewing in my head as I type this. In limited, it’s going to be that card when you reveal your opponent will go, “ugh.” Be warned, I will flip the table if you play this card against me this weekend. I promise. (Okay, maybe I won’t, but in my mind, I will be flipping the table).
One of the best parts of this card is that your creatures don’t have to make contact to kill your opponent. Simply turn them sideways and then cast this spells, or vice versa. However, it’s probably best if you cast it after – for the pure shock factor.
Lose Calm
I once drafted a deck with three copies of Act of Treason. It was one of the main reasons I split for the top prize that night. Lose Calm may cost an additional mana, but the added effect is well worth it. The best scenario is for you to take your opponent’s creature when they’ll be left with less than the appropriate amount of blockers.
Wrap-up
Well, that’s going to be it for now. This weekend is going to be a blast. In case you didn’t’ catch it the first time. here is the full schedule for your convenience:
Format: Sealed Deck*
Date: March 21st Friday night / Saturday morning
Time: 12:00am (midnight) – BOTH LOCATIONS
Entrance Fee: $30.00 per person
This event will run 4 rounds.
Format: Sealed Deck*
Date: March 21st Saturday afternoon
Time: 12:00pm – PLAINVILLE
Time: 2:00pm – ABINGTON
Entrance Fee: $30.00 per person
This event will run 4 rounds.
Format: Sealed Deck*
Date: March 21st Saturday night
Time: 6:00pm – PLAINVILLE
Time: 7:00pm – ABINGTON
Entrance Fee: $30.00 per person
This event will run 4 rounds.
Format: Two-Headed Giant Sealed Deck**
Date: March 22nd Sunday afternoon
Time: 12:00pm in PLAINVILLE
Time: 7:00pm in ABINGTON
Entrance Fee: $25.00 per person
This event will run 4 rounds.
Format: Sealed Deck*
Date: March 22nd Sunday night
Time: 6:00pm in PLAINVILLE
Time: 2:00pm in ABINGTON
Entrance Fee: $30.00 per person
This event will run 4 rounds.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Dragons of Tarkir, Prerelease, Simeon Cortezano
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Card Games, Events, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | 3 Comments »
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