Subject: How to be a Playa - Dickhead Style (Sealed Deck Edition) Date: 25 Sep 1997 20:34:25 GMT From: trucb@support.ucla.edu (Truc Bui) Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy What up boys and girls! Once again it's time for a lesson on how to be a playa - Dickhead style. This time its Sealed Deck for 5th/Visions. Due to popular demand I am rehashing an old seal deck strategy article I wrote, but this time taking it step by step and using the state of the art sealed deck generator by Toby Elliot (best thing since oriental massage). :) First thing to note is which sets you are dealing with get to know the cards in the sets. This way you will be familiar with the environment. First you sit down and crack open the packs and see what ya gots. Here's the stuff I got. Land Artifacts Black Blue Dormant Volcano Clockwork Steed Bog Rats Brainstorm Dwarven Hold Crystal Rod Bog Wraith Breezekeeper Forest Feroz's Ban Crypt Rats Cloud Elemental Forest Lead-Belly Chimera Frozen Shade Dandan Forest Phyrexian Walker Funeral Charm Flood Forest Snake Basket Funeral Charm Force Spike Island Kjeldoran Dead Impulse Island Green Lost Soul Lab.Minotaur Island Aurochs Mole Worms Merfolk of P.T. Island Cat Warriors Necrite Mystic Veil Mountain Fungusaur Necromancy Shrieking Drake Mountain Ghazban Ogre Nekrataal Vanishing Mountain Hungry Mist Python Zephyr Falcon Mountain Johtull Wurm Tar Pit Warrior Mountain War Mammoth Thrull Retainer Plains Wake Of Vultures Plains Wicked Reward Plains Plains Red White Ruins of Trokair Dwarven Catapult Blessed Wine Swamp Dwarven Vigilantes Disenchant Swamp Fireblast Eye Of Singularity Swamp Hearth Charm Hipparion Swamp Hulking Cyclops Longbow Archer Swamp Imposing Visage Mesa Pegasus Ironclaw Orcs Pearled Unicorn Keldon Warlord Remedy Panic Sun Clasp Raging Gorilla Sabretooth Tiger Solfatara Tremor From these I use my system of separating the cards. Instead of sorting by color I sort by the following categories: STARTERS - These are the cards that will go into the deck if you play that color. FIRST OFF THE BENCH - Not as good as the starters but provide strong back up and good team chemestry. CHEERLEADER - Just like real cheerleaders, never gets into the game. Roots for the rest of the team from the sidelines and if you like them you can take them home after the game. (I took a City of Solitude home last weekend) :) By doing this it makes the color you should be playing fairly obvious. Of course you have to do it right and remember, if you have to think about wether or not a card is good, feel free to assume it sucks. Here's what I did. STARTERS BENCH CHEERLEADERS Clockwork Steed Lead Belly Chimera Crytal Rod Snake Basket (yeah) Bog Rats Feroz's Ban Bog Wraith Funeral Charm Phyrexian Walker Crypt Rats Funeral Charm Eye of Singularity Frozen Shade Kjeldoran Dead Necromancy Lost Soul Nekrataal Mole Worms Tar Pit Warrior Necrite Thull Retainer Python Wake of Vultures Wicked Reward Breezekeeper Brainstorm CloudElemental (Puffy) Dandan Flood Force Spike Impulse Merfolk Lab. Minotuar Mystic Veil Aurochs Shrieking Drake Fungusaur Vanishing Johtull Wurm Zephyr Falcon War Mammoth Cat Warriors Dwarven Catapult Ghazan Ogre (or Rainbow Vale :)) Dwarven Vigilanties Hungry Mist Fireblast Hearth Charm Ironclaw Orcs Hulking Cyclops Keldon Warlord Imposing Visage Longbow Archer Panic Mesa Pegasus Raging Gorilla Remedy Sabretooth Tiger Sun Clasp Solfatara Disenchant Tremor Blessed Wine Hipparion Pearled Unicorn From this you can tell that Black.Red and Blue are the colors to play, shucks no good cheerleaders. ;( Both Black and Red had very good starter and a good bench while blue had good straters but no bench. White and Green just sucked. Here's the deck I made: S - Clockwork Steed S - Snake Basket S - Bog Wraith S - Crypt Rats S - Frozen Shade B - Funeral Charm B - Necrite S - Necromancy S - Nekrataal B - Python S - Tarpit Warrior S - Thrull Retainer S - Wake of Vultures S - Dwarven Catapult S - Dwarven Vigilantes s - Fireblast S - Ironclaw Orcs S - Keldon Warlord B - Raging Gorilla B - Sabretooth Tiger S - Breezekeeper S - Cloud Elemental S - Impulse 8 Swamps 6 Mountains 3 Islands The rest get put on the bench. The thing that stands out most is the exclusion of the Flood. Even though it is one of the best cards I felt that the red was much better and I only want to splash the blue. Remember there ar no cards that you HAVE to play with. I also chose a Funeral Charm over the Lab. Minotaur because I had enough creatures and needed another form of removal. I then sort out the SB card I think I will be using. This is so I remember I have them. Funeral Charm - In case in need another Kjeldoran Dead - Although a good card, I don't like them much Lost Soul - Another swamp walker, should go in for the tiger or gorilla Hearth Charm - vs artifact creatures Tremor - vs weenies Minotaur - just in case you decide to leave the cotex on. Mystic Veil - for deck with good removal you can use as a counterspell Shrieking Drake - Heavy inchantments and you can go Janky with the Nekrataal. Thats all for now. Questions, critiques, comments, money, phone numbers of "bui-ful" women are all welcome (especially the last two). :) Late, Truc Bui Team Dickhead trucb@support.ucla.edu TGPN supporter