Subject: Sample Sealed Deck for Mainz Format #1 Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 17:46:39 -0600 From: Da Archangel Reply-To: "Magic: The Gathering, strategy discussion" note: the follow card list was created using the sealed deck generator found at http://www.massmed.org/elliott/magic/ first, the cards: Land Red Blue ---- --- ---- Dormant Volcano Ambush Party Breezekeeper Dwarven Ruins Flare Flight 5 x Forest Goblin Digging Team Flood 4 x Island Goblin Recruiter Knight of the Mists Karoo 2 x Hearth Charm Mystic Veil 4 x Mountain Hill Giant Vision Charm 4 x Plains Hurloon Minotaur Voldalian Soldiers Sand Silos Sabretooth Tiger 5 x Swamp Solfatara Undiscovered Paradise Black White Green ----- ----- ----- Breeding Pit Arenson's Aura Aurochs Cloak of Confusion Caribou Range Crumble Crypt Rats COP: Blue 2 x Feral Instinct Death Watch COP: Green Fog Drain Life COP: Red Giant Growth Kjeldoran Dead Death Speakers Grizzly Bears Python 2 x Freewind Falcon Lure Scathe Zombies Hope Charm Panther Warriors Torture Jamuraan Lion Rabid Wombat Unholy Strength Mesa Falcon Shrink Wake of Vultures Repentant Blacksmith Stampeding Wildebeests Retribution of the Meek Thicket Basalisk Artifacts Sun Clasp Untamed Wilds --------- 2 x Warrior's Honor Wall of Brambles Gauntlets of Chaos Warthog Lead-Belly Chimera Matopi Golem and the choices I made, and the reasons behind them: When first looking at the cards, I notice that most of the creatures are pretty small, and not all that plentiful, altho many of them do have special abilities, so I know that overwhelming my opponent with superior creatures won't happen too often. There also isn't a lot of direct damage available, but there is some creature control. Blue and Red are discarded as potential colors fairly quickly, but first some commentary on them. Breezekeeper - A solid flier than can easily be splashed, good casting cost w/ minor drawback. Flight - While one of the better creature enchantments, it's still a creature enchantment. Flood - A very strong card for controlling the ground wars, it is hard to utilize properly without a heavy commitment to blue. Knight of the Mists - An ok creature for it's cost, only flanking option open to blue, excellent if your opponent also has one or 2 knights as is frequently the case in this environment. Mystic Veil - Used properly, will often net card advantage. Vision Charm - Occasionly sideboarded for land changing ability. Vodalian Soliders - Subpar creature, use for filler as a last resort. Ambush Party - First strike and suprise factor normally make it worthwhile, but vulnerablity can be a problem. Flare - Efficient damage. Kill an annoying creature, and draw a card. Goblin Recruiter - Only if you have close to double digit goblins (seen it happen). Hearth Charm - Most frequent use to kill artifact creatures. Goblin Digging Team - Possible sideboard if against multiple or particularly nasty walls. Hill Giant - The definitive 3/3 creature. Hurloon Minotaur - Will often see some action if going heavy red. Sabretooth Tiger - First strike good, 1 toughness bad. Solfatara - Right. If you really need a cantrip. Outside chance I might sideboard the digging team and/or the hearth charms in extreme cases, w/ probably the flare for balance. lands added - 3 plains, 2 swamps and the main colors of the deck what I used: Karoo - I'll be expecting to use 1W a lot. Undiscovered Paradise - Avoid color screw. 4 x Forest 5 x Plains 6 x Swamps Total land - 17 Death Speakers - Good weenie, will survive Crypt rats. 2 x Freewind Falcon - Another good weenie, flys, ease fears of red. Mesa Falcon - Cheap Flier, Pumpable Defense = hard to kill. Grizzly Bears - Efficient Creature. Panther Warriors - Only big threat. Great after the rat bomb clears the table, or the basalisk. Thicket Basalisk - You want to pair him up w/ lure. Crypt Rats - Control the board, damage your opponent, pair w/ sunclasp for a better chance of survival, use w/ death watch. Wake of Vultures - A flying regenerator, with power 3. Tokens were made to be sacrificed. Kjeldoran Dead - a 3/1 regenerator for B. Did I mention tokens? Total Creatures - 10 Caribou Range - Sacrifice a token for your other creatures needs. Block a big creature, and then gain a life. Just gain life if need be (see crypt rats). Also, see Warrior's Honor. Breeding Pit - Did I mention tokens? Everything the range has to offer, but life. Hope Charm - Suprise! First strike = creature kill. Annoying enchantment on your creature? not any more. Last hope life gain. Retribution of the Meek - Will kill one of our creatures. Bet it kills more on the other side. Try to delay using it w/ tokens until it kills as many as possible. Sun Clasp - Can Rat for 3 a turn, rat still around. Can frequently attack w/ rat and then rat for 3. One rat gets out of death free card. Can also be used to bounce your creature w/ annoying enchantment, enemy's w/ great one, or a creature w/ a coming into play cost, or just an expensive one. Also can work well with retrobution of the meek. 2 x Warrior's Honor - How our tokens will win the day. 2 x Feral Instinct - It's an extra point of damage without using a card, or it insures even or advantages creature exchanges, and can help something see the retrobution of the meek. Lure - Designed with the basalisk in mind, it can also make sure the path is clear for all those honorable tokens when they are ready. Untamed Wilds - Avoid color screw, thin deck. Death Watch - With Lure/basalisk, retrobution of the meek, drain life, and the rat bomb, this will ofen result in a signifigant life swing. Play when you know you will kill the creature, or as a scare tactic in desparate situations. Drain Life - We are playing heavy black, and the long game. Torture - Many of the really annoying creatures have low toughness, and in a pinch can slow down a fatty. Be ready to use right away against white and green. Gauntlets of Chaos - Would you like a token? I'd sure like your best creature, or in rare instances, annoying land. Can also sometimes alleviate severe cases of color screw. Try not to play until there is a desirable creature on the board. You will want to try and have enough mana to use it right away if your opponent is playing red or white. Other - 15 Total - 42 Signifigant Sideboard Cards All of the COPs should be useful if the opponent has it as a primary color, with blue's many fliers, often big, red's decent creatures and direct damage threat, and green's many efficient creatures. Arenson's Aura - Useful if facing a deck heavy in good creature ench. Repentant Blacksmith - Comes in against strong red. Crumble - When you have seen that bad artifact. Fog - Maybe against a deck mounting 20+ creatures. Wall of Brambles - Once you've seen the evil eye. Warthog - Replaces grizzly bear vs. swamps. Giant Growth - Might see action against red, or heavy weenie deck that requires the quick kill. Cards that didn't make the cut: Jamuraan Lion - Nice special ability, but too fragile, esp. w/ the rat. Rabid Wombat - Expensive, fragile to start, many common things that return creatures to hand, or kill outright makes creature enchantments just normally not worth it. Shrink - Might be handy in very limited situations. Stampeding Wildebeests - Not enough green creatures, esp. cheap ones, to make upkeep cost tolerable. Aurochs - Only really impressive in large numbers. Cloak of Confusion - Creature enchantment you will rarely be able to use. Python - An alright creature, dropped here due to BB in cost, and low toughness. Scythe Zombies - An average 2/2 creature for outside of green. Unholy Strength - Warrants some consideration, but not enough. Lead-Belly Chimera - 4 is too much for a 2/2 trampler that is also vulnerable to artifact destruction. Usually only tin-wing is used unless you have 3 or more, or really need the creatures. Matopi Golem - Ok. That's about it. Dormant Volcano, Dwarven Ruins, Sand Silos would all probably be played if going heavily into one of those colors. This deck will require long, patient play, while milking every possible advantage to do well. That's my analysis. How would you build it? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Archangel arkangel@aros.net A dream is a scripture, and many scriptures are nothing but dreams. --Umberto Eco, _The Name of the Rose_