KTK: Team sealed pool #3
December 17, 2014 2 Comments
My third team sealed pool is below. (It’s also posted on TappedOut if you find that easier to work with.) How would you have built this pool? Post your builds in the comments and I’ll post my build there later in the week, along with the results of some experiments with the team sealed deckbuilding process.
Land
Bloodfell Caves
3 Blossoming Sands
Dismal Backwater
Frontier Bivouac
Jungle Hollow
Nomad Outpost
2 Opulent Palace
Sandsteppe Citadel
Scoured Barrens
3 Swiftwater Cliffs
Thornwood Falls
Artifact
2 Abzan Banner
Briber’s Purse
Dragon Throne of Tarkir
Lens of Clarity
White
Ainok Bond-Kin
2 Alabaster Kirin
Brave the Sands
Erase
2 Firehoof Cavalry
High Sentinels of Arashin
Jeskai Student
2 Mardu Hateblade
2 Mardu Hordechief
Rush of Battle
2 Sage-Eye Harrier
2 Salt Road Patrol
Take Up Arms
War Behemoth
Blue
2 Cancel
2 Crippling Chill
Disdainful Stroke
2 Embodiment of Spring
Icy Blast
Jeskai Elder
Jeskai Windscout
Kheru Spellsnatcher
2 Mystic of the Hidden Way
Quiet Contemplation
Scion of Glaciers
Singing Bell Strike
3 Taigam’s Scheming
Treasure Cruise
Waterwhirl
3 Whirlwind Adept
Black
Bitter Revelation
2 Debilitating Injury
Despise
5 Disowned Ancestor
3 Dutiful Return
Gurmag Swiftwing
Kheru Bloodsucker
Kheru Dreadmaw
4 Krumar Bond-Kin
2 Mardu Skullhunter
2 Mer-Ek Nightblade
Retribution of the Ancients
Rite of the Serpent
Rotting Mastodon
Swarm of Bloodflies
3 Throttle
Unyielding Krumar
Red
2 Act of Treason
3 Ainok Tracker
Arrow Storm
Ashcloud Phoenix
4 Barrage of Boulders
2 Bloodfire Mentor
Burn Away
Goblinslide
Horde Ambusher
2 Hordeling Outburst
2 Mardu Heart-Piercer
Shatter
3 Summit Prowler
Swift Kick
Trumpet Blast
Valley Dasher
War-Name Aspirant
Green
3 Archers’ Parapet
2 Awaken the Bear
Become Immense
3 Feed the Clan
2 Highland Game
4 Hooting Mandrills
2 Kin-Tree Warden
Longshot Squad
Naturalize
Rattleclaw Mystic
Sagu Archer
Scout the Borders
See the Unwritten
2 Tusked Colossodon
Woolly Loxodon
Multicolor
Abomination of Gudul
Abzan Ascendancy
2 Abzan Guide
Chief of the Edge
Crackling Doom
Death Frenzy
Deflecting Palm
2 Efreet Weaponmaster
Kin-Tree Invocation
Mardu Charm
2 Secret Plans
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
2 Sultai Charm
Sultai Soothsayer
MTGDissected 
Here’re the decks we built from the pool. We crushed with these decks, winning both team matches 3-0, and dropping only 3 individual games. There are still a few things I would do differently today, which I will mention in a follow-up comment.
Deck A: B/W/g outlast/warriors (2-0 in matches, 4-0 in games)
Creatures (17):
– 1cc: 2 Disowned Ancestor, 2 Mardu Hateblade
– 2cc: 2 Mardu Skullhunter, Ainok Bond-Kin, Chief of the Edge
– 3cc: 2 Mardu Hordechief, 2 Abzan Guide
– 4cc: 2 Mer-Ek Nightblade, High Sentinels of Arashin, Longshot Squad
– 5cc: Swarm of Bloodflies
Non-creatures (5):
– 1cc: Retribution of the Ancients
– 2cc: 2 Debilitating Injury
– 3cc: Abzan Ascendancy
– 4cc: Rush of Battle (with 11 warriors)
Lands (18): Sandsteppe Citadel, Scoured Barrens, 3 Blossoming Sands, 8 Swamps, 4 Plains, 1 Forest
Sideboard (28):
– Lands: Bloodfell Caves
– Artifacts: 2 Abzan Banner
– White: 2 Alabaster Kirin, Brave the Sands, Erase, 2 Firehoof Cavalry, Jeskai Student, 2 Sage-Eye Harrier, 2 Salt Road Patrol, Take Up Arms, War Behemoth
– Black: Despise, 3 Disowned Ancestor, Gurmag Swiftwing, Kheru Bloodsucker, Rite of the Serpent, Throttle, Unyielding Krumar
– Green: Become Immense
– Multicolor: Crackling Doom, Mardu Charm
Deck B: U/R (2-0 in matches, 4-1 in games)
Creatures (14):
– 2cc: War-Name Aspirant, Horde Ambusher, Jeskai Elder
– 3cc: Jeskai Windscout, 2 Mystic of the Hidden Way, 2 Efreet Weaponmaster
– 4cc: Ashcloud Phoenix, 2 Mardu Heart-Piercer, 3 Summit Prowler
Non-creatures (8):
– 2cc: Singing Bell Strike
– 3cc: 2 Crippling Chill
– 4cc: –
– 5cc+: Burn Away, Arrow Storm, Waterwhirl, Treasure Cruise, Icy Blast
Lands (18): Frontier Bivouac, Nomad Outpost, 3 Swiftwater Cliffs, 6 Mountains, 5 Islands, 2 Plains
Sideboard (30):
– Artifacts: Briber’s Purse, Dragon Throne of Tarkir, Lens of Clarity
– Blue: 2 Cancel, Disdainful Stroke, Quiet Contemplation, Scion of Glaciers, 3 Whirlwind Adept
– Red: 2 Act of Treason, 3 Ainok Tracker, 4 Barrage of Boulders, 2 Bloodfire Mentor, Goblinslide, 2 Hordeling Outburst, Shatter, Swift Kick, Trumpet Blast, Valley Dasher
– Multicolor: Deflecting Palm
Deck C: Sultai morphs (2-0 in matches, 4-2 in games)
Creatures (17):
– 1cc: 2 Embodiment of Spring
– 2cc: 3 Archers’ Parapet, Rattleclaw Mystic, Kin-Tree Invocation
– 3cc: Woolly Loxodon, Sagu Archer, Kheru Spellsnatcher, 4 Krumar Bond-Kin, Abomination of Gudul
– 4cc: Sidisi Brood Tyrant
– 5cc: Sultai Soothsayer
Non-creatures (6):
– 2cc: 2 Secret Plans (with 9 morphs)
– 3cc: 2 Sultai Charm
– 4cc: –
– 5cc: Throttle, Death Frenzy
Lands (17): 2 Opulent Palace, Thornwood Falls, Jungle Hollow, Dismal Backwater, 6 Forests, 5 Islands, 1 Swamp
Sideboard (28):
– Blue: 3 Taigam’s Scheming
– Black: Bitter Revelation, 3 Dutiful Return, Kheru Dreadmaw, Rotting Mastodon, Throttle
– Green: 2 Awaken the Bear, 3 Feed the Clan, 2 Highland Game, 4 Hooting Mandrills, 2 Kin-Tree Warden, Naturalize, Scout the Borders, See the Unwritten, 2 Tusked Colossodon
If I were building the decks today, here’s what I would do differently:
– Deck A (B/W/g outlast/warriors) would run Rite of the Serpent instead of an 18th land, since it has a low curve and few ways of dealing with larger creatures. In addition, Rite of the Serpent sometimes gives you a creature, which is relevant since this deck has a couple of effects that enhance all its creatures. I would also consider moving the Nomad Outpost and Jungle Hollow to this deck since it has more need for them, but it may also be problematic for an aggressive deck to have 7 lands that enter the battlefield tapped.
– Deck B (U/R) tries to be aggressive even though most of its creatures cost 4 mana. Also, when I was playing it, I often had trouble finding white mana to unmorph the Efreet Weaponmasters. I would replace them with the 2 Bloodfire Mentors; their high toughness allows them to trigger raid for Mardu Heart-Piercer, they can stall the ground while your evasion creatures attack, and they provide fuel for Treasure Cruise. I would also replace Singing Bell Strike and the 3rd Summit Prowler with 2 Cancels; Singing Bell Strike is best in an aggressive deck, and countermagic works well with Bloodfire Mentor out since you have an alternate use for your mana if your opponent doesn’t present a good target for the countermagic.
– Deck C (Sultai morphs) runs a lot of 0-power creatures that block well but otherwise do little to advance your game plan. I would remove the 3 Archers’ Parapet, and also the Kin-Tree Invocation (since it is much worse without the Archers’ Parapets). I would replace them with 2 Kin-Tree Warden, a 2nd Throttle, and an 18th land. The Kin-Tree Wardens give you 2 additional morphs to power the pair of Secret Plans, but otherwise serve much the same purpose as the Archers’ Parapets, and the 18th land increases our chances of being able to cast a morph on turn 3 without the help of Embodiment of Spring or Rattleclaw Mystic (which this deck would often prefer to play face down anyway).
Note that unlike our previous pools, this one does not contain a R/G deck. This makes sense given that the pool doesn’t contain any Savage Punches. The rest of the decks we built match my expectation since we have a B/W/g deck and a Sultai morphs deck.
I’d mentioned that I would share results of some experiments with the team sealed deckbuilding process, but I had enough to say about it that it’s going to be its own post.