It’s Future Sight week here at StarCityGames.com.
We did a similar thing lat time out, if you remember back to Planar Chaos, and I really liked how all of the articles were aimed at the new set from different angles. It gave players a bunch of viewpoints on how different formats would be impacted. I decided my spotlight article would be a little different this time, since I have a lot of individual Future Sight cards that I’d like to take a look at rather than breaking the set down into pick orders so soon after the release. I’d also like to take a look at the impact the set has had on a couple of key archetypes.
One of the main reasons I think it is less valuable to do a pick order article with this set is because of the options presented by the morphs available. Sure, we can figure out exactly how good Whip-Spine Drake is in comparison to Judge Unworthy, but judging Gathan Raiders is much harder and almost completely deck dependent. When you can play the Raiders in any color, and it’s value is largely dependent on your picks in the first two packs, you have a real problem creating an effective order of picks for someone else to follow.
Sprout Swarm
Yes, I talked about this card last week. The problem is that I’ve since then realized that it is ten times better than I initially thought, and it actually has a dramatic impact on the format. The first thing you’ll realize about this card when you play it is that it is perfectly acceptable on its own, and it should win a majority of stalemates. The important thing you’d be missing at this point is that there are a number of game-winning combos that can be created with the Swarm and other commons. The absolute backbreaker is the Pallid Mycoderm, which will be game over in a few turns if you get the Swarm running. If even one token gets through for damage you can pump it through the roof and shuffle up for the next game. Thallid Germinator and Deathspore Thallid are both also unbelievable in combination with this card. Hopefully the wheels are now turning in your head. Strength in Numbers? Essence Warden? Even something like Mycologist goes nuts with Swarm, and it can make the game basically unwinnable for lots of decks. Simpler combos involve Herd Gnarr or Primal Forcemage (lock up the ground indefinitely until you have enough guys to swing back) and are still potent.
But that’s not all. The impact this card has on the board is something any deck would like to have, so isn’t it convenient that the card only costs one Green mana total to play with Buyback? Oh, and yeah, I’m splashing it in my decks with Mystical Teachings, thank you very much.
Still, the most important effect this card has on the format is that the Thallid deck has now found the missing piece and is not only competitive, but actually very strong. This deck has benefits, just like other rogue draft archetypes have in the past… you can pick up good cards for the deck that nobody else wants in the later picks. The same thing happened with Goblins in OLS, and I think Thallids is actually better if you get enough of the components. I’ve drafted this deck twice so far and went 3-0 both times. Have a look at some decklists.
Thallid Shell-Dweller
Saltfield Recluse
Savage Thallid
2 Amrou Seekers
2 Pallid Mycoderm
Giant Dustwasp
Citanul Woodreaders
Knight of Sursi
2 Search for Tomorrow
Coalition Relic
Jedit Ojanen of Efrava
Ichor Slick
Judge Unworthy
Dawn Charm
Ramosian Revivalist
Mire Boa
Sprout Swarm
Sporesower Thallid
Death Rattle
Blade of the Sixth Pride
Mantle of Leadership
8 Forest
7 Plains
1 Swamp
This deck was pretty saucy despite looking kind of junky on paper. I had a Lumithread Field in my board that I boarded in once, and it was amazing with Saprolings so I think that card could be huge in the archetype overall. This deck wasn’t even the full Thallid deck, but it got me interested enough to force the deck in a draft later that week.
Utopia Mycon
2 Essence Warden
Thelon of Havenwood
Mycologist
2 Deathspore Thallid
Thelonite Hermit
2 Thallid Germinator
Psychotrope Thallid
Pallid Mycoderm
Kavu Primarch
Sporolith Ancient
Savage Thallid
Giant Dustwasp
Thrill of the Hunt
Sunlance
Edge of Autumn
Evolution Charm
Bound in Silence
Summoner’s Pact
2 Sprout Swarm
8 Forest
7 Plains
1 Swamp
Now this deck, on the other hand, was just unreal. My life total ballooned in basically every game I played, and I went off with Swarm and one of the Thallids with a good ability or Essence Warden. Savage Thallid is surprisingly strong in this deck, despite the fact that there is now Flowstone Blade along with Shaper Parasite to easily dispatch it. The best part is that most of the cards you want for this deck are junk, and people haven’t caught on to Sprout Swarm just yet, so I’d take advantage of it while you still can.
This archetype has come full circle thanks to Future Sight, as it now has good removal in Bound in Silence and Judge Unworthy and all of the tools it needs to assemble a Fungus army. My advice is to try forcing this deck the next time you open Hermit, Verdant Embrace, or even Thelon of Havenwood (who has gone up tremendously in value).
B/R
This archetype is something I’m still uncertain about. I’ve drafted this color combo four times since we’ve had our hands on Future Sight, and been left scratching my head with mixed results. An important thing to keep in mind is that I hadn’t drafted this much in TTP, as I hated getting screwed in Black in Planar Chaos.
Future Sight seems to have added a number of strong commons to this deck, and I want to step back and give the overall plan you should be going for if you end up here. First of all, you need large men with which to kill people. The first time I attempted this archetype, there were simply no Mass of Ghouls, Flamecore Elementals, or other giant idiots with which to win the game after I’d killed everything my opponent played. Second, Gathan Raiders makes this deck very good, and therefore worth further exploration.
A trend I’m beginning to notice is that a B/R deck with tons of removal that looks amazing on paper will inexplicably perform below par. I’m not sure exactly why this is true, but of the four times I’ve drafted the combination I went 3-0 and 2-1 with decks that looked rather mediocre… and 1-2 and 0-3 with what my teammates described as the actual stones. The first thing I learned about picking cards for this deck is that you should almost never pass up a solid man. There is tons of makeshift removal in the format, from Assassinate to Melancholy to Cradle to Grave, and it is all very playable in the archetype. It’s for this reason I’d almost always take Gathan Raiders over Ichor Slick in these colors, even if I believe the Slick is a slightly better card overall. There are some other things you need to be thinking about in terms of synergy as the draft goes on.
Grave Scrabbler
I think it’s worthwhile to plan for multiples of this guy. What seems to happen is that nobody is picking the Flowstone Channelers and other Madness outlets in the first two sets high enough, and then they get to Future Sight and they can’t take this guy because they only have one outlet. My suggestion is to be the guy who plans to abuse this guy, and pick up that Firefright Mage eleventh pick, or that late Ridged Kusite. The 3-0 deck I had in these colors had three Scrabblers and a few Mass of Ghouls, and just smashed face because I had eight Madness outlets. Don’t forget that there are plenty of other strong Madness cards in the first two sets, so it’s not like you’re all in and wasting your energy if no Scrabblers are opened.
Riddle of Lightning
It seems the Red Mage has a better card than Lava Axe now, especially if you drafted some Gorgon Recluses or other high casters. The best thing about this card is that it fixes your draw and ensures more gas in the mid-game when you would stall out in other situations. I went to the face with Gargadon the other day, and must say it was very satisfying.
Augur of Skulls
I was unsure of this card until I first played it, and am now in love with it in these colors. He essentially serves as double duty by holding the ground and then eventually Mind Rotting your opponent if they don’t correctly play around it. Then again, there are other games where you just Mind Rot them on turn 3 and get him back with Grave Scrabbler later on to block a Green fatty. Multiples are welcome, as they are not dead in the late game like other discard spells would be.
Fomori Nomad versus Mass of Ghouls
There was a rather pointless discussion about which of these guys is better in B/R last Tuesday at CMU. I say rather pointless because most of the discussion was comprised of stupid comments such as “Ghouls has five power, it’s unreal.” I’m personally of the opinion that the Nomad is slightly better because it only costs single Red, and lives through lots of common removal like Sunlance, Rift Bolt, Ghostfire, and likely Erratic Mutation or Judge Unworthy in lots of situations where the Mass wouldn’t.
Henchfiend of Ukor
This could be the biggest reason to try out B/R now that the block is complete. While it’s true that most people can’t pick Grave Scrabbler effectively, this statement is even clearer about Henchfiend, and boy does he ever hit hard. When you’re killing everything, this guy should easily be able to finish your opponent, and he’s quite ridiculous in the late game. I’m thinking that some form of evasion – such as Traitor’s Clutch – could gain a little value if you have multiples of this guy.
No archetype review would be complete without a decklist, so here’s a deck that I went 1-2 with that looked like an easy 3-0 on paper.
Emberwilde Augur
Augur of Skulls
Stingscourger
Big Game Hunter
Flowstone Channeler
Urborg Syphon-Mage
Nightshade Assassin
Grave Scrabbler
2 Henchfiend of Ukor
Sengir Nosferatu
Mass of Ghouls
Gorgon Recluse
Battering Sliver
Greater Gargadon
Dead / Gone
Sudden Shock
Cradle to Grave
Ichor Slick
Flowstone Blade
Fatal Attraction
2 Riddle of Lightning
9 Swamp
8 Mountain
Yeah, no comment on how I lost with this deck. One match did involve casting Riddle of Lightning when my opponent was at 3 life and discovering that all of the top four cards of my library were lands.
Other Thoughts
The full block is definitely an interesting format, and one that I’m planning on exploring more deeply in the coming weeks. These two archetypes were the ones that stuck out in my mind as being the most impacted by Future Sight after having done about ten or fifteen drafts. I’m sure there are still plenty of interactions to discover and things I’m missing, as it’s never possible to solve a format that quickly. One thing that’s become evident is that while most of the Blue commons are playable in the third set, Blue definitely didn’t get stuff that’s as strong as the other colors. I guess it’s good that Blue is awesome in the first two sets, and I have been trying to draft it more to see what direction is best to go in with the color.
Since we’re focusing on Future Sight this week, I figured I’d end with a list of my Top 10 commons (hard to put them in a particular order) for Limited play.
Gathan Raiders
Ichor Slick
Sprout Storm
Ghostfire
Judge Unworthy
Whip-Spine Drake
Sporolith Ancient
Riddle of Lightning
Henchfiend of Ukor
Fatal Attraction
I hope you enjoy the rest of the Future Sight articles, as well as drafting with the new set, and I’ll be back next week.
Nick Eisel
Soooooo on MTGO
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