DTK/FRF: Dragons

April 30, 2015 Leave a comment

Dragons of Tarkir has more Dragons than most sets. But does it have enough to merit drafting either Dragon Tempest or Dragonlord’s Servant? And do the tribal abilities on some of the Dragons in the set affect their value? Probably not, but let’s double check.

All the Dragons in Dragons of Tarkir and Fate Reforged are either monocolor or in an allied color pair.

  • Common: Fate Reforged has Lightning Shrieker, which is usually only played as a Lava Axe in very aggressive decks.
  • Uncommon: Dragons of Tarkir has a cycle of monocolored 3/3 Dragons for 5C (they can also be played face down and have a megamorph cost of 5CC), and a cycle of 4/4 allied color Dragons that costs 4CD. There’s the colorless Scion of Ugin, which rarely sees play but might be playable in a Dragons tribal deck. And Fate Reforged has a cycle of monocolored 4/4 Dragons for 4CC.
  • Rare: Dragons of Tarkir has a cycle of monocolored Dragons, and another cycle of allied color Dragons. Fate Reforged has a cycle of allied color legendary Dragons.
  • Mythic: Dragons of Tarkir has the allied color Elder Dragon cycle.

If we exclude the mostly unplayable Lightning Shrieker, all colors have access to the same number of Dragons as each other, and all allied color pairs have access to the same number of Dragons as each other. There are an average of 0.9 allied color Dragons in each allied color pair, 1.6 monocolored Dragons in each color, and 0.6 Scions of Ugin in an 8-person draft. Consequently, a monocolor deck has access to 2.2 Dragons, an enemy color deck has access to 3.8 Dragons, and an allied color deck has access to 4.7 Dragons. However, you’re unlikely to be passed a mythic or rare Dragon in the first pack of Dragons of Tarkir, and even the uncommon allied color Dragons won’t make it very far, so in practice you’re unlikely to see more than 2-3 Dragons in your colors if you draft an allied color deck.

That’s enough to make it worth playing Dragonlord’s Servant in a slower R/X deck (U/R control or R/G ramp), since it’s still a 1/3 for 2 mana and so can also help you survive until you can start casting Dragons. However, it’s difficult to justify playing Dragon Tempest if you only have 2-3 Dragons, so you probably shouldn’t bother drafting it, even on the wheel. And the Dragon tribal effects will rarely be relevant, so you don’t want to value those cards any higher than usual.

Are any of these cards more valuable in a 3+ color deck? A 3-color shard deck has access to an average of 7.2 Dragons, a 4-color deck has access to an average of 9.7 Dragons, and a 5-color deck has access to all 13 Dragons in a typical 8-person draft. Most decks wouldn’t want to run more than a few, but you’re drafting a 3+ color control deck that runs red, Dragonlord’s Servant should go up in your pick order. However, so much needs to go right for Dragon Tempest to be even somewhat decent that you’re still better off passing under most circumstances.

Filed under Dragons of Tarkir, Fate Reforged Tagged with , , ,

DTK/FRF: Warriors

April 21, 2015 Leave a comment

Warriors was a viable archetype in KTK/KTK/KTK and FRF/KTK/KTK. Dragons of Tarkir has a few Warrior tribal cards, but are they good enough, and are they supported by enough good Warriors, that the archetype remains viable in DTK/DTK/FRF?

Let’s start by looking at the Warrior tribal cards in Dragons of Tarkir:

  • White: Herald of Dromoka (common), Arashin Foremost (rare)
  • Black: Blood-Chin Rager (uncommon), Blood-Chin Fanatic (rare)

Fate Reforged also has Mardu Woe-Reaper and Diplomacy of the Wastes, but neither provides strong incentive to play additional Warriors. This means that a DTK/DTK/FRF draft has 1.8 white and 0.9 black Warrior tribal cards that might cause you to draft a Warriors tribal deck, so such decks are likely to be rare in this format. When you do draft them, they are likely to still be W/B.

Next, let’s look at the expected number of Warriors by color in an 8-person draft, how many of them are playable, and which color pairs could potentially support the archetype (assuming your tribal cards are either only in white or only in black). Bold indicates the cards I think are playable on their own merits.

  • White has an average of 11.5 Warriors in an 8-person draft, 6.6 of which are playable on their own merits:
    • Common: Champion of Arashin, Dromoka Warrior, Herald of Dromoka, Lightwalker, Aven Skirmisher (filler without raid or Raiders’ Spoils), Sandsteppe Outcast
    • Uncommon: Aven Sunstriker, Dragon Hunter, Mardu Woe-Reaper (downgraded to filler because there are more 2-drops)
    • Rare: Arashin Foremost, Hidden Dragonslayer, Dragonscale General, Daghatar the Adamant
  • Blue has no Warriors in either Dragons of Tarkir or Fate Reforged.
  • Black has an average of 9.9 Warriors, 5.3 of which are playable on their own merits:
    • Common: Dutiful Attendant, Hand of Silumgar, Kolaghan Skirmisher, Alesha’s Vanguard, Sultai Emissary (less impressive in an aggressive deck)
    • Uncommon: Blood-Chin Rager, Battle Brawler, Mardu Shadowspear, Merciless Executioner
    • Rare: Blood-Chin Fanatic, Mardu Strike Leader
    • Mythic: Risen Executioner, Brutal Hordechief
  • Red has an average of 6.4 Warriors, 5 of which are playable on their own merits:
    • Common: Kolaghan Aspirant, Sabertooth Outrider, Defiant Ogre
    • Uncommon: Atarka Pummeler, Qal Sisma Behemoth
    • Rare: Zurgo Bellstriker, Alesha Who Smiles at Death, Flamerush Rider
  • Green has an average of 3.3 Warriors, 2.9 of which are playable on their own merits:
    • Common: Atarka Beastbreaker
    • Uncommon: Salt Road Ambushers, Abzan Kin-Guard
    • Rare: Den Protector, Surrak the Hunt Caller, Yasova Dragonclaw

White and black have the most number of Warriors but only about half of them are playable on their own merits. Surprisingly, red has about as many playable Warriors as black, so if all your Warrior tribal cards are in a single color and you are cut off from the other one, you could attempt to draft a R/W or B/R Warriors deck, which would also give you access to Volcanic Rush and/or War Flare. (You probably don’t want to try for a 3-color Warriors deck since DTK/DTK/FRF doesn’t have enough mana fixing to support that, and since aggressive decks don’t do well when they stumble on colors.)

It’s also worth noting that most of the playable Warriors are in Dragons of Tarkir and that even a W/B deck only has access to about 12 playable Warriors. If you want to ensure you have enough Warriors for a focused tribal deck, you might need to take playable Warriors somewhat higher in your first 2 packs, and use the last pack to round out your tricks and mana fixing.

Filed under Dragons of Tarkir, Fate Reforged Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

DTK/FRF: The +1/+1 counters deck

April 14, 2015 Leave a comment

In a recent draft, I took a Gleam of Authority first pick, followed by Scale Blessing, Epic Confrontation, Inspiring Call, Enduring Victory, and Enduring Scalelord. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up with many cheap sources of +1/+1 counters to maximize the value of my early picks. (Sandsteppe Outcast always made a flier, I never triggered the ferocious on Frontier Mastodon, and Shieldhide Dragon doesn’t give counters until you have 7 mana, so my main sources of counters were Gleam of Authority, Abzan Advantage, Scale Blessing, and Enduring Victory.) I still won both matches I played, but much of that was on the strength of a good curve and Gleam of Authority. Here’s the deck I played:

Creatures (14):
– 2cc: Lightwalker, Soul Summons, Dromoka Warrior, Atarka Beastbreaker
– 3cc: 2 Sandsteppe Outcast, 2 Shieldhide Dragon, Salt Road Quartermaster, Frontier Mastodon
– 4cc: Abzan Skycaptain, Champion of Arashin
– 5cc+: Enduring Scalelord, Wardscale Dragon

Non-creatures (9):
– 2cc: Gleam of Authority, Abzan Advantage, Center Soul, Epic Confrontation
– 3cc: Inspiring Call
– 4cc: Scale Blessing, Great Teacher’s Decree
– 5cc: 2 Enduring Victory

Land (17): Blossoming Sands, 9 Plains, 7 Forests

Here are the cards in the format that care about +1/+1 counters. I had 4 out of the 6 non-rare cards in this list.

  • White: Lightwalker, Scale Blessing (uncommon), Gleam of Authority (rare)
  • Green: Ainok Artillerist, Battlefront Krushok (uncommon), Inspiring Call (uncommon), Avatar of the Resolute (rare), Sunbringer’s Touch (rare)
  • Multicolor: Enduring Scalelord (uncommon)

Let’s take a look at the sources of +1/+1 counters in DTK/DTK/FRF, to see whether there are enough options available to justify taking Scale Blessing and Inspiring Call early next time. Bold indicates the cards I think fit particularly well in this archetype, usually because they’re playable on their own merits and/or provide counters before you get to 5 mana.

  • White:
    • Common: Aven Tactician, Enduring Victory, Misthoof Kirin, Sandcrafter Mage, Sandstorm Charger, Abzan Advantage, Abzan Skycaptain, Sandsteppe Outcast
    • Uncommon: Aven Sunstriker, Dromoka Captain, Echoes of the Kin Tree, Scale Blessing, Shieldhide Dragon, Elite Scaleguard, Honor’s Reward
    • Rare: Anafenza Kin-Tree Spirit, Gleam of Authority, Hidden Dragonslayer, Sunscorch Regent, Citadel Siege, Daghatar the Adamant, Dragonscale General
  • Blue:
    • Common: Dirgur Nemesis, Ojutai Interceptor, Aven Surveyor
    • Uncommon: Belltoll Dragon, Gudul Lurker, Monastery Loremaster, Silumgar Spell-Eater
    • Rare: Stratus Dancer
    • Mythic: Shorecrasher Elemental
  • Black:
    • Common: Marsh Hulk, Ancestral Vengeance, Hooded Assassin
    • Uncommon: Acid-Spewer Dragon, Marang River Skeleton, Fearsome Awakening, Grave Strength
    • Rare: Silumgar Assassin
  • Red:
    • Common: Atarka Efreet, Kolaghan Stormsinger, Defiant Ogre, Fierce Invocation
    • Uncommon: Stormcrag Elemental, Stormwing Dragon
    • Rare: Ire Shaman
    • Mythic: Shaman of the Great Hunt
  • Green:
    • Common: Aerie Bowmasters, Guardian Shield-Bearer, Pinion Feast, Sandsteppe Scavenger, Segmented Krotiq, Servant of the Scale, Ainok Guide, Formless Nurturing, Frontier Mastodon, Hunt the Weak, Map the Wastes
    • Uncommon: Ainok Survivalist, Dromoka’s Gift, Herdchaser Dragon, Salt Road Ambushers, Salt Road Quartermasters, Scaleguard Sentinels, Cached Defenses, Wildcall
    • Rare: Den Protector, Foe-Razer Regent, Sunbringer’s Touch, Sandsteppe Mastodon
    • Mythic: Deathmist Raptor, Warden of the First Tree
  • Multicolor:
    • Rare: Dromoka’s Command, Dromoka the Eternal

Here are the expected number of cards of each color from the list above in an 8-person draft, as well as the expected number of bolded cards.

E(bolded) E(all)
White 8.3 17.3
Blue 3.8 7.3
Black 3.5 6.5
Red 1.9 7.4
Green 7.7 21.7
G/W 0.5 0.5

G/W, which has all the +1/+1 counters matter cards, also has the most number of playable cards that provide +1/+1 counters. An 8-person draft will have an average of 16.5 such white, green, or G/W cards (and 39.5 if you’re willing to play filler or wait for your counters), which means you have a reasonable chance of assembling a deck with a critical mass of such cards if you stay on task. It’s much more difficult to get that in any other color pair; W/U has the second highest number of playables at 12.1, and also doesn’t have access to the 6 green or G/W cards that care about +1/+1 counters.

Filed under Dragons of Tarkir, Fate Reforged Tagged with , , , ,

FRF: Lotus-Eye Mystics and Abzan Advantage

March 10, 2015 5 Comments

Lotus-Eye Mystics and Abzan Advantage both get better if the format has good enchantments, although for different reasons. Khans of Tarkir had very few good enchantments, so neither of these cards would have been strong in a triple Khans of Tarkir draft deck. While Fate Reforged brought more enchantments to the format, including some excellent uncommon, I’ve often ended up with just a 3/2 prowess creature or a +1/+1 counter and am not sure whether my experience is representative. Let’s try to get a better sense of how many playable enchantments exist in the format, and in which colors. (I’ve left out the enchantments whose quality is still TBD — Ancestral Vengeance, Molting Snakeskin, and Frontier Siege — as I suspect they are unplayable in most decks.)

  • White: Lightform (uncommon), Sage’s Reverie (uncommon), Suspension Field (uncommon), Citadel Siege (rare), Mastery of the Unseen (rare) = 1.8 copies in an average 8-person draft
  • Blue: Jeskai Runemark, Singing Bell Strike, Cloudform (uncommon) = 3.3 copies
  • Black: Debilitating Injury, Raiders’ Spoils (uncommon), Retribution of the Ancients (rare) = 2.5 copies
  • Red: Dragon Grip (uncommon), Rageform (uncommon), Outpost Siege (rare) = 1.3 copies
  • Green: Trail of Mystery (rare) = 0.3 copies
  • Multicolor: Secret Plans (uncommon), Abzan Ascendancy (rare), Mardu Ascendancy (rare), Sultai Ascendancy (rare), Temur Ascendancy (rare) = 1.6 copies

So an 8-person draft has only 11 playable enchantments on average. Of the clans, Jeskai is expected to have most number of playable enchantments available in a draft (6.5), so I would expect a typical Jeskai deck to have no more than a couple of enchantments. This means that while Abzan Advantage is a reasonable card for your sideboard, it is probably not worth playing maindeck unless the +1/+1 counter is particularly relevant to your deck. Similarly, if you already have a couple of enchantments, it makes sense to draft Lotus-Eye Mystics more highly, but it’s probably not worth drafting early with the expectation of picking up enchantments to go with it. If you do draft it, keep an eye out for Debilitating Injury.

EDIT: I somehow missed the Khans of Tarkir auras in the list above. Singing Bell Strike, Debilitating Injury, and Dragon Grip (uncommon), are all quite playable, so I’ve added them to the analysis above.

Filed under Fate Reforged Tagged with ,

KTK/FRF: Act of Treason and sacrifice effects

March 3, 2015 Leave a comment

I still don’t have a good handle on how good Act of Treason is in this format. I don’t mind running one copy as a finisher in aggressive R/X decks, but I often prefer Barrage of Boulders; in a recent draft deck, I played 3 copies of the latter and left both copies of Act of Treason in my sideboard (I had 8 creatures that could trigger ferocious). I have played Act of Treason in other decks, although it has been a little inconsistent for me, ranging from underwhelming to amazing, depending on the board state.

Act of Treason does get better if you can sacrifice the borrowed creature or if the format has a lot of creatures with relevant combat triggers. This format does have multiple ways to borrow creatures (there’s also Jeering Instigator, Mob Rule, and Yasova Dragonclaw at rare), so it’s worth examining how many effects are available in both categories.

Here’s a list of all the sacrifice effects in the format, along with their costs and rarities. One-time effects allow you to sacrifice a single creature for the specified cost, while recurring effects allow you to sacrifice a creature for the specified cost if you already have the permanent in play.

Recurring One-time
Artifact 4: Ugin’s Construct (uncommon)
Black 1B, {T}: Qarsi High Priest (uncommon)
2B: Kheru Bloodsucker (uncommon)		 2B: Merciless Executioner (uncommon)
Red R: Collateral Damage
Green 1G: Kheru Dreadmaw
Multicolor 0: Butcher of the Horde (rare)

There are only 2 sacrifice effects at common, both of which are unplayable in most decks. The uncommons are much better, although the one-time effects require 6+ mana if you want to play them on the same turn as Act of Treason, and many aggressive decks may not want to run a Qarsi High Priest since it’s a 0/2. To this list, I will also add Rite of Undoing, since it allows you to bounce 2 of your opponent’s creatures if you use it on a stolen creature. That gives us a rare and 5 uncommons, an average of 2.4 cards in a 8-person draft. Even if you are willing to play Collateral Damage, this only goes up to 3.8 cards, and Collateral Damage and 4 of the 5 uncommons are in Fate Reforged, so you can’t wait until you have a couple of copies of Act of Treason before you draft them. Given this, you probably shouldn’t draft Act of Treason with the expectation that you’ll be able to draft sacrifice effects to go with it.

The other reason to run Act of Treason is because you can profit from stealing a creature with a combat trigger. I enumerated the list of such creatures in my last post. To that list, I will also add Dromoka the Eternal, Kolaghan the Storm’s Fury, Ojutai Soul of Winter, Silumgar the Drifting Death, and Yasova Dragonclaw. That’s a total of 20 creatures, but most of them are rares, and the expected number of such creatures in an 8-person draft is only about 7. So that is not a reason to draft Act of Treason either.

So you should draft Act of Treason on its own merits, and not in the hopes that you will either be able to steal a creature with a useful combat trigger, or that you will later be able to draft a way to sacrifice the creature.

Filed under Fate Reforged, Khans of Tarkir Tagged with ,

FRF: Reusing enters-the-battlefield effects

February 27, 2015 Leave a comment

Fate Reforged brings 4 creatures that allow you to profitably reuse enters-the-battlefield (ETB) effects:

  • Temur Sabertooth is a near bomb, being a 4/3 for 4 mana and making most of your creatures unkillable if you have 1G open.
  • Flamerush Rider is exceptional, especially in an aggressive deck.
  • Jeskai Barricade is situational, since it doesn’t fit in any of the aggressive white decks, but may have a home in a controlling Abzan or 5-color deck.
  • Ambush Krotiq is usually unplayable, both because it costs 6 mana and because returning a creature to your hand is not optional.

In addition to these, there are also several blue bounce spells that let you reuse ETB abilities. While they usually target your opponent’s creatures, some of them can be profitably aimed at your own creatures, for instance, Rite of Undoing, Sage-Eye Avengers, and Supplant Form.

My evaluation of these 4 cards could be affected if the format has an usually low or high number of ETB effects. In addition to ETB effects, I am also interested in abilities that trigger when a creature is turned face up, creatures that you might want to recast later in a game (e.g., Clever Impersonator and Hooded Hydra), and a small number of other cards that cause you to want to return creatures to your hand (e.g., Lightning Shrieker and Outpost Siege), or to its owner’s hand in the case of Act of Treason. Let’s look at what’s available, to get an idea of what colors/clan we should prefer once we have 1 or more of these creatures. (Cards in italics are only really worth reusing with Temur Sabertooth since a single reuse doesn’t provide much gain.)

  • White: Arashin Cleric, Mardu Hordechief, Sandsteppe Outcast, Elite Scaleguard (uncommon), Lotus-Eye Mystics (uncommon), Mardu Woe-Reaper (uncommon), Watcher of the Roost (uncommon), Timely Hordemate (uncommon), Daghatar the Adamant (rare), Master of Pearls (rare), Mastery of the Unseen (rare), Wingmate Roc (mythic)
  • Blue: Aven Surveyor, Mistfire Weaver (uncommon), Kheru Spellsnatcher (rare), Thousand Winds (rare), Clever Impersonator (rare)
  • Black: Mardu Skullhunter, Merciless Executioner (uncommon), Orc Sureshot (uncommon), Ruthless Ripper (uncommon), Sibsig Muckdraggers (uncommon)
  • Red: Act of Treason, Lightning Shrieker, Horde Ambusher (uncommon), Mardu Heart-Piercer (uncommon), Jeering Instigator (rare), Outpost Siege (rare)
  • Green: Frontier Siege (rare), Sandsteppe Mastodon (rare), Temur War Shaman (rare), Trail of Mystery (rare), Hooded Hydra (mythic)
  • Multicolor: Efreet Weaponmaster, Ponyback Brigade, Armament Corps (uncommon), Bear’s Companion (uncommon), Icefeather Aven (uncommon), Secret Plans (uncommon), Sultai Soothsayer (uncommon), Warden of the Eye (uncommon), Siege Rhino (rare), Temur Ascendancy (rare), Sidisi Brood Tyrant (mythic)

In addition, Temur Sabertooth and Jeskai Barricade allow you to return a creature to your hand at instant speed, so you can also use them to save a creature from removal or a disadvantageous block (especially if you attacked to trigger an ability). Let’s take a look at the cards in this format that you might attack with to trigger an ability. (I won’t list the multicolor dragons here since they can rarely be blocked advantageously.)

  • Artifact: Heart-Piercer Bow (uncommon)
  • White: Wardscale Dragon (uncommon)
  • Blue: Sage-Eye Avengers (rare)
  • Black: Mardu Shadowspear (uncommon), Mardu Strike Leader (rare)
  • Red: Goblin Heelcutter, Mardu Blazebringer (uncommon), Vaultbreaker (uncommon), Alesha Who Smiles at Death (rare)
  • Multicolor: Mardu Roughrider (uncommon), Ankle Shanker (rare), Avalanche Tusker (rare), Anafenza the Foremost (mythic), Mardu Ascendancy, Narset Enlightened Master (mythic)

These 2 lists have a lot of rares/mythics, as well as a lot of cards in italics. We’re unlikely to take 1 of the 4 cards above in the hopes of opening or being passed a specific rare, and we already know to draft Temur Sabertooth if we can play him, so let’s strip out those 2 categories. That leaves us with the following cards:

  • Artifact: Heart-Piercer Bow (uncommon) = 0.6 copies in an average 8-person draft
  • White: Sandsteppe Outcast, Elite Scaleguard (uncommon), Lotus-Eye Mystics (uncommon), Timely Hordemate (uncommon), Wardscale Dragon (uncommon) = 3.1 copies
  • Blue: Aven Surveyor, Mistfire Weaver (uncommon) = 1.9 copies
  • Black: Mardu Skullhunter, Merciless Executioner (uncommon), Orc Sureshot (uncommon), Sibsig Muckdraggers (uncommon) = 2.8 copies
  • Red: Act of Treason, Goblin Heelcutter, Lightning Shrieker, Mardu Blazebringer (uncommon), Mardu Heart-Piercer (uncommon), Vaultbreaker (uncommon) = 5.8 copies
  • Multicolor: Efreet Weaponmaster, Ponyback Brigade, Armament Corps (uncommon), Bear’s Companion (uncommon), Icefeather Aven (uncommon), Secret Plans (uncommon), Sultai Soothsayer (uncommon), Warden of the Eye (uncommon) = Abzan has 0.6 copies, Jeskai has 2.2, Mardu has 1.6, Sultai and Temur have 1.8 each (I’m counting the 2 U/G uncommons in both Sultai and Temur)

Red has by far the most cards that combo with the 4 creatures, although a number of them are not ETB effects but finishers like Act of Treason and Lightning Shrieker. Those don’t pair well with the already expensive Ambush Krotiq, and while they might pair better with Jeskai Barricade in a R/W, Jeskai, or Mardu deck, those decks are too aggressive to want to play a 0/4 creature. On the other hand, while green has both Temur Sabertooth and Ambush Krotiq, it has no good ETB effects to pair with them at common/uncommon. This probably means that Ambush Krotiq is just as unplayable as we initially anticipated. There’s no clear color combination that maximizes Temur Sabertooth, but you probably shouldn’t be trying to build your deck around 1, or even 2, copies of the card. I think the main outcome of this exercise is that we now have a fairly comprehensive list of all the cards in the format that combo with Temur Sabertooth and Flamerush Rider.

Finally, let’s take a brief look at the artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers you might want to return to your hand, since Rite of Undoing lets you return any nonland permanent. The playable ones are Singing Bell Strike, Cloudform (uncommon), Lightform (uncommon), Rageform (uncommon), Sage’s Reverie (uncommon), Suspension Field (uncommon), Abzan Ascendancy (rare), and planeswalkers (mythics) after using their -N abilities.

Filed under Fate Reforged Tagged with , , , ,

KTK/FRF: Mnemonics for tricks

February 17, 2015 Leave a comment

I’d posted a spreadsheet of the combined instant-speed removal/tricks in Khans of Tarkir and Fate Reforged a few weeks ago. However, I found it less useful than I’d expected. Even though it gets rid of the chaff and several categories of effects that are less relevant to limited, there are still 72 effects left (although some spells appear in the list more than once if they have multiple effects). Not only is that a lot to memorize, it’s nearly impossible to recall all the possibilities in the middle of a game, especially if you’re playing under time constraints.

However, while I was studying the list in preparation for GP San Jose, I noticed there were several patterns that, taken together, cover almost all the different effects. The cards will sometimes appear in more than one place in this list if they have more than 1 effect or the effect falls into more than 1 category; if the same mode of a modal spell appears more than once, each instance will be in italics. I will list rarities in parentheses after the number of spells in the category to get a sense of how common each of these effects is, with C meaning common, U meaning uncommon, R meaning rare, and M meaning mythic, so CCU means that there are 2 commons and 1 uncommon that provide this type of effect. These are listed in order of increasing rarity, and are not in the same order as the spell summaries that follows. All descriptions are very approximate. Let’s break down the tricks by categories:

  • 12 pump (7 commons, 5 uncommons): Assuming X is the converted mana cost of the spell,
    • 3 (CUU), all green, give +X/+X to 1 creature: +2/+2 & trample (1G), +3/+3 & trample (2G), +6/+6 (5G – delve)
    • 3 (CCU) give X/2 (rounded up) +1/+1 counters to 1 creature: 1 counter & protection (1W), 2 counters distributed across 1-2 creatures (WBG), 2 counters & untap (3G)
    • 2 (CU), all white, give X-1 +1/+1 counters to the creature with the lowest toughness: bolster 1 & opponent sacs an enchantment (1W), bolster 2 & gain 4 life (2W)
    • 3 (CCU), all with red in their casting cost, give all your creatures +M/+N, where M+N = X-1: +1/+1 & lifelink (URW), +2/+0 to attacking (2R), +2/+1 & untap (2RW)
    • 1 (C) gives +1/+0 & draw a card (W )
  • 9 flash creatures (mostly uncommons, with only one common):
    • 4 have a combined power (and usually also a combined toughness) 1 less than the converted mana cost (CUUM): 2 1/1 Warriors with first strike until EOT (RWB), manifest 2 (3UG), 4/4 (4R), 6/7 with prowess (5UU)
    • 5 remaining (UUURM): 0/4 wall that may bounce your creature (1W), exile your own creature and manifest the top card (1U), 3 1/1 Warriors (4W), 6/6 (2GUR), bounce creature and copy it (4UU)
  • 5 untap effects (CCCUR), most of which have G or RW in their casting cost: untap & draw a card (1U), untap & reach + deathtouch (1G), 2 +1/+1 counters & untap (3G), untap all & +2/+1 (2RW), untap & flying + double strike (3URW)
  • 3 fog (UUU): Fog, only opponents’ creatures if ferocious (1G), redirect all damage from you and your permanents to a creature (5W), -4/-0 to opponents’ creatures & draw a card (4U)
  • 2 falter (UR): creatures with power <= 3 can't block, untap & flying + double strike

A number of other effects require a particular color:

  • White:
    • 3 save a creature for 1W (CUU): +1/+1 counter & protection, indestructible, 0/4 wall that may bounce your creature
    • 2 kill attackers/blockers for 2W (CC): destroy attacker, 5 damage to attacker/blocker
    • 3 power/toughness-based removal (CUU): power >= 3 (WBG), power >= 4 (3W), toughness >= 4 (1W)
  • Blue:
    • 6 bounce/Repel (CCUUUR): bounce creature (1U), Repel attacker/blocker (2U), Repel creature (URW), bounce your nonland and opponent’s nonland (4U – delve), bounce 1-2 creatures (4UU), bounce creature and copy it (4UU)
    • 3 freeze (CCR): freeze & draw a card (2U), freeze 1-2 (4UU – delve), tap X, or freeze X if ferocious (XU)
  • Black: 7 removal (CCCUUUR): 2 damage & gain 2 life (2B), kill creature with 4 toughness (4 damage for RWB, -4/-4 for 4B), kill creature (kill permanent for 2WB, 4B – delve, colored for 4B, monocolored for BGU)
  • Red: 7 removal (CCCUUUU): 2 damage (R, also tap another creature for 1UR, also draw a card for 3UR), 3 damage (R + sacrifice creature), 3-5 damage (3R), 4 damage (RWB), 6 damage (4R)
  • Green:
    • 2 fight (CU): toughness-based fight (1BG), +1/+1 & fight (GUR)
    • 3 flyer removal (CUU): untap & reach + deathtouch (1G), kill flyer (3G), X damage to all flyers (XG)

That leaves only 10 tricks that aren’t covered above (or with an effect that isn’t the focus of one of the categories above):

  • 2 white (CU): tap creature & draw a card (1W), damage to creature equal to damage that would be dealt to you and your permanents (5W)
  • 1 blue (U): exile creature & manifest card (1U)
  • 3 red (CUU): double strike, and trample if ferocious (1R), +2/+0 and first strike, at instant speed if ferocious (2R), add R to your mana pool for each attacker you control & attackers get Firebreathing (2R)
  • 4 multicolor (CURR): damage equal to # of creatures you control & gain that much life (1WB), destroy blocker & trample (RW), redirect damage from source to its controller (RW), 2 damage to each opponent and they sacrifice a creature with the highest power among creatures they control (RWB)

Filed under Fate Reforged, Khans of Tarkir

KTK/FRF: GP San Jose recap

February 10, 2015 2 Comments

Last week, I posted our pool from GP San Jose, the decks we built, and how I would build them today. We had a ridiculous pool, with Duneblast, Elite Scaleguard, Sage-Eye Avengers, 2 Sagu Maulers, Silumgar the Drifting Death, and several other powerful cards, but dropped at 5-2-1 and finished in 94th place. I’m unsure whether we misbuilt because my teammates wanted to follow a fairly ad hoc method for building our decks, or due to tournament time pressure. (While I’d built a few team sealed pools with local players under timed conditions and with deck registration, neither of my teammates had.)

Teaming with friends that live near a GP makes certain things easier: there’s less worry that they will cancel because they can’t find cheap flights, and you may also not have to pay for a hotel room. However, it makes it far more difficult to practice together and agree upon an approach to building a pool. In addition, not having to pay airfare could result in them treating the event as just another local tournament, so they may approach the event less seriously than you do. I would still rather play with friends and do poorly than play with good players and do well, and made the conscious decision to team with Chris again, even though he was having a wisdom tooth surgery a week before the tournament. But I was still disappointed with the outcome since I believe we could have been among the 7.2% of teams that made day 2 with the pool we opened.

Here are our results for each round, what each opponent was playing, and what the game results were. (I was playing U/G/r/b ramp in seat A, Alan was playing B/G/w control in seat B, and Chris was playing R/W aggro in seat C.)

  1. Elliott Ballard Ballard (211th place after the swiss): 2-0 vs Jeskai, 1-0 vs Mardu, 2-1 vs Sultai
  2. Modarressi Diamond Twerdahl (377th place): 2-0 vs Mardu, 2-0 vs Abzan, 2-1 vs Temur
  3. Martin Martin Martin (363rd place): 2-0 vs Temur, 2-0 vs Sultai, 2-0 vs Mardu
  4. Cipriano Nabi Pannell (29th place): 2-1 vs Abzan, 2-1 vs Mardu, 0-2 vs Temur
  5. Sperling Williams Rietzl (2nd place): 2-0 vs Temur, 0-2 vs Sultai, 0-2 vs Mardu
  6. Dentith Hardin Mulligan (172nd place): 2-1 vs U/B, 2-1 vs R/W, 0-2 vs Abzan
  7. Ma Cerone Post (96th place): 1-1-1 vs Jeskai (game 1 took 28 minutes and ended with me running out of cards in my library), 1-2 vs Abzan, 2-1 vs Sultai
  8. Rubin Boccio Bragg III (5th place): 1-2 vs Jeskai, 1-2 vs Sultai, 2-1 vs Mardu

Some observations gleaned from this very small sample size:

  • All but one of the teams we faced had each player playing a 3-color deck, although the third color was frequently a splash.
  • The decks we faced most often were Mardu (6 times) and Sultai (5 times). We faced Jeskai the least (3 times), all in seat A, and both my losses were to that deck.
  • None of the teams we played had a color that was either unplayed or played by all 3 players. (I wasn’t keeping track of which colors were main colors and which ones were splashes, so it is possible that some teams may have had 1 or even more colors that were not main colors in any deck.)
  • Black was the most popular color among our opponents, occurring in 16 decks. White and red appeared in 14 decks, and blue and green appeared in 13. (Again, this does not distinguish main colors from splash colors, and black may have been more in more decks because multiple decks were splashing black removal while fewer decks were running it as a main color.)
  • There was no pattern to which deck the middle players were playing. Alan (our player B) faced 2 Abzan, 2 Mardu, 3 Sultai, and 1 R/W deck. (We’d talked about putting the deck that could beat aggro in the middle based on some of my observations, but ended up with Abzan control in our middle seat because that’s what Alan decided to play.)

Filed under Fate Reforged, Khans of Tarkir Tagged with ,

KTK/FRF: GP San Jose team sealed pool

February 3, 2015 2 Comments

Team Merchant-Comer-Luhrs had a decent run at GP San Jose. We won our first 4 matches before losing to Sperling-Williams-Reitzl (the eventual runners up). Our other loss was in round 8 to Rubin-Boccio-Bragg (#5 after the swiss), and that plus our draw in the previous round knocked us out of contention for day 2. 5-2-1 drop was disappointing after the preparation we’d put in, although we still placed 94th out of 656 teams.

I’ll talk more about the tournament itself in a subsequent post, but first I’m curious how others would have built our sealed pool. (The pool is also posted on TappedOut if you find that easier to work with.) I’ll post our build in the comments later in the week.

Land
Bloodfell Caves
Dismal Backwater
Frontier Bivouac
2 Jungle Hollow
Nomad Outpost
Rugged Highlands
Scoured Barrens
3 Swiftwater Cliffs
2 Thornwood Falls
Wooded Foothills

Artifact
Abzan Banner
Lens of Clarity
Mardu Banner
Temur Banner

White
Abzan Falconer
2 Ainok Bond-Kin
Alabaster Kirin
Firehoof Cavalry
2 Kill Shot
Mardu Hateblade
Sage-Eye Harrier
Smite the Monstrous
War Behemoth
Watcher of the Roost
3 Abzan Advantage
Abzan Runemark
Abzan Skycaptain
Arashin Cleric
Aven Skirmisher
2 Dragon Bell Monk
Elite Scaleguard
2 Great-Horn Krushok
Jeskai Barricade
Mardu Woe-Reaper

Blue
Crippling Chill
2 Embodiment of Spring
2 Glacial Stalker
Jeskai Elder
Jeskai Windscout
Mistfire Weaver
Mystic of the Hidden Way
Scaldkin
Scion of Glaciers
Weave Fate
Whirlwind Adept
2 Aven Surveyor
Cloudform
Enhanced Awareness
2 Lotus Path Djinn
Monastery Siege
Neutralizing Blast
2 Rakshasa’s Disdain
Reality Shift
Refocus
Rite of Undoing
Sage-Eye Avengers
Will of the Naga
Write into Being

Black
2 Debilitating Injury
2 Mardu Skullhunter
Mer-Ek Nightblade
2 Molting Snakeskin
Raiders’ Spoils
2 Rite of the Serpent
Ruthless Ripper
Shambling Attendants
Sidisi’s Pet
Throttle
Alesha’s Vanguard
Dark Deal
2 Diplomacy of the Wastes
Douse in Gloom
Gurmag Angler
2 Hooded Assassin
Mardu Strike Leader
Reach of Shadows
Sibsig Muckdraggers
Sultai Emissary
Sultai Runemark
3 Typhoid Rats

Red
Ainok Tracker
Barrage of Boulders
Bloodfire Mentor
Bring Low
Crater’s Claws
Goblinslide
Leaping Master
Summit Prowler
3 Swift Kick
Trumpet Blast
2 Bathe in Dragonfire
Collateral Damage
Defiant Ogre
Goblin Heelcutter
Gore Swine
Humble Defector
2 Lightning Shrieker
Mardu Runemark
Rageform
2 Smoldering Efreet
Vaultbreaker

Green
Archers’ Parapet
Awaken the Bear
Hooting Mandrills
Meandering Towershell
Pine Walker
Sagu Archer
2 Scout the Borders
Smoke Teller
Abzan Kin-Guard
2 Ainok Guide
Ambush Krotiq
2 Archers of Qarsi
Destructor Dragon
Feral Krushok
Formless Nurturing
Frontier Mastodon
Frontier Siege
2 Map the Wastes
Return to the Earth
Shamanic Revelation
Sudden Reclamation
Temur Sabertooth
Whisperer of the Wilds

Multicolor
Abzan Guide
Armament Corps
Bear’s Companion
Death Frenzy
Duneblast
Efreet Weaponmaster
Kin-Tree Invocation
Master the Way
Ponyback Brigade
2 Sagu Mauler
Trap Essence
Winterflame
Cunning Strike
3 Ethereal Ambush
Silumgar, the Drifting Death

Filed under Fate Reforged, Khans of Tarkir Tagged with , ,

KTK/FRF: Team sealed pool #4

January 30, 2015 1 Comment

My fourth team sealed pool is below, this time with 6 packs of Fate Reforged, the format that will be used at GP San Jose. (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 tomorrow.

(Note that within each color, the Khans of Tarkir cards are listed first followed by the Fate Reforged cards, so the full list isn’t alphabetically sorted.)

Land
2 Bloodfell Caves
Dismal Backwater
Flooded Strand
Opulent Palace
Polluted Delta
2 Swiftwater Cliffs
Thornwood Falls
3 Tranquil Cove
2 Wind-Scarred Crag

Artifact
Altar of the Brood
2 Cranial Archive
Jeskai Banner
Sultai Banner
2 Temur Banner
2 Pilgrim of the Fires

White
Ainok Bond-Kin
Alabaster Kirin
2 Erase
Firehoof Cavalry
2 Kill Shot
Mardu Hordechief
Rush of Battle
Sage-Eye Harrier
Siegecraft
War Behemoth
Abzan Advantage
Abzan Skycaptain
Arashin Cleric
2 Aven Skirmisher
Dragon Bell Monk
Great-Horn Krushok
Jeskai Barricade
Lightform
Lotus-Eye Mystics
Pressure Point
Sandsteppe Outcast
Soul Summons
Wandering Champion

Blue
2 Force Away
Jeskai Elder
Mistfire Weaver
Riverwheel Aerialists
2 Scaldkin
Set Adrift
2 Taigam’s Scheming
Weave Fate
Wetland Sambar
Whirlwind Adept
Aven Surveyor
2 Cloudform
2 Enhanced Awareness
Jeskai Runemark
Jeskai Sage
3 Lotus Path Djinn
Rakshasa’s Disdain
Refocus
2 Rite of Undoing
Sage-Eye Avengers
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
Supplant Form
Will of the Naga
Write into Being

Black
Bitter Revelation
Disowned Ancestor
2 Krumar Bond-Kin
Raiders’ Spoils
2 Rite of the Serpent
Sidisi’s Pet
Throttle
Unyielding Krumar
Alesha’s Vanguard
Douse in Gloom
Grave Strength
2 Gurmag Angler
Hooded Assassin
Palace Siege
Reach of Shadows
2 Sultai Emissary
Sultai Runemark
2 Typhoid Rats

Red
Act of Treason
2 Arrow Storm
Barrage of Boulders
Bring Low
Hordeling Outburst
Mardu Heart-Piercer
Shatter
Swift Kick
Tormenting Voice
Trumpet Blast
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
2 Collateral Damage
Defiant Ogre
2 Goblin Heelcutter
Gore Swine
Humble Defector
Lightning Shrieker
Mardu Runemark
Mardu Scout
Pyrotechnics
Rageform
Smoldering Efreet
Temur Battle Rage
Vaultbreaker

Green
3 Dragonscale Boon
Heir of the Wilds
Hooting Mandrills
2 Sagu Archer
Scout the Borders
Smoke Teller
Temur Charger
Trail of Mystery
Tusked Colossodon
Ainok Guide
2 Ambush Krotiq
Archers of Qarsi
2 Destructor Dragon
Formless Nurturing
Frontier Mastodon
Hunt the Weak
2 Map the Wastes
Return to the Earth
Temur Sabertooth
Whisperer of the Wilds
Wildcall

Multicolor
Armament Corps
2 Death Frenzy
2 Duneblast
Efreet Weaponmaster
Jeskai Ascendancy
Jeskai Charm
Mardu Roughrider
Ponyback Brigade
Winterflame
Cunning Strike
2 Ethereal Ambush
Grim Contest
Harsh Sustenance

Filed under Fate Reforged, Khans of Tarkir Tagged with ,

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