While I won’t be at Grand Prix Las Vegas, I’m sure a large number of the people reading this will be. With the new changes to Grand Prix structure locking the event at fifteen rounds, being able to 6-0 the Draft portion has never been more important. I’ve seen some predictions saying that the Top 8 cut will be x-1-1, and picking up a loss in Sealed is something you have less control over relative to Draft.
This isn’t a guidebook on how to 3-0 a Modern Masters draft, but the information is here if you put in the work to process it.
Size
Despite multiple people saying otherwise, this is not a smaller set. Most of the raw numbers change is due to the lack of basic lands in the set. In terms of Limited playables, Modern Masters is the same size as Gatecrash with one exception: the uncommons. There are only 60 uncommons in this set compared to 80 in Return to Ravnica. This slight boost makes it easier to plan certain archetypes around seeing a copy of certain uncommons, but beyond that doesn’t affect the format much.
The one foil a pack also slightly changes distributions, but as I don’t know how the foil is inserted into packs, I won’t speculate on how this exactly changes percentages. At most, it’s a very minor boost.
Archetypes
There is a huge archetype-related issue that has to be addressed. This is clearly a synergy-heavy format. The question is whether it’s a Rise of the Eldrazi, with very narrow and linear archetypes, or an Innistrad/Time Spiral, where there is more fluidity, more synergy in packages, and more true Limited play behind the scenes.
In my experience, the latter is true. This format is very reminiscent of a higher-powered version of Time Spiral Limited. Good cards still take over games, but a sum of synergistic cards can be enough to overtake that.
Below are each of the major name archetypes I’ve seen split into enablers and incentives. Other archetypes exist, but they don’t carry the same mechanical/tribal branding as these.
Rebels
Enablers
Incentives
Amrou Seekers
Avian Changeling
Bound in Silence
Saltfield Recluse
Deepcavern Imp
Rathi Trapper
Worth noting is that most of the Rebels you are searching for are just good cards. They are also all commons. There are also very few enablers. Rebels isn’t really a deck per say; it’s more of a "I’m in white and/or black and these cards will be in my deck" kind of thing. Whether or not I have an Amrou Scout doesn’t change my decision to play a Bound in Silence.
This also means that a color that traditionally grinds very poorly has a real card advantage engine. Beating Rebels with raw card advantage will be difficult. Try to trump their mana expenditure going late instead.
Giants
Enablers
Stinkdrinker Daredevil
Thundering Giant
Avian Changeling
Hillcomber Giant
Ivory Giant
Hammerheim Deadeye
War-Spike Changeling
Cloudgoat Ranger (Uncommon)
Feudkiller’s Verdict (Uncommon)
Incentives
Kithkin Greatheart
Blind-Spot Giant
Crush Underfoot
Thundercloud Shaman (Uncommon)
Stinkdrinker Daredevil is kind of a level zero enabler. Most of the other Giant incentives work the other way around, with you wanting the Giant in play first. Daredevil doesn’t provide the same kind of boost it did in Lorwyn because the Giants here are a bit less…giant. You are more likely using it to curve into Giant plus another spell instead of the old school Axebane Giant on turn 4. I’m not sure how good it is or isn’t, but a lot of that relies on the second part of this review and looking at raw Limited stats.
In terms of incentives, they are all quite good. Additional common removal spell that scales well, huge early game creatures, and Plague Wind. The best part is that aside from the 4/4 no one else is going to be taking these cards. By pack 3, if you have carved out your niche as the Giants player, you should be nicely rewarded.
Affinity
Enablers
Court Homunculus
Etherium Sculptor
Aether Spellbomb
Arcbound Stinger
Arcbound Worker
Bonesplitter
Pyrite Spellbomb
Executioner’s Capsule (Uncommon)
Relic of Progenitus (Uncommon)
Paradise Mantle (Uncommon)
Incentives
Court Homunculus
Sanctum Gargoyle
Faerie Mechanist
Myr Enforcer
Frogmite
Shrapnel Blast (Uncommon)
Esperzoa (Uncommon)
Myr Retriever (Uncommon)
This is a true linear Draft archetype. Cards like Esperzoa and Myr Enforcer are absolutely unplayable outside of a dedicated artifact deck, though Sanctum Gargoyle in multiples is probably good enough anywhere. Arcbound Worker isn’t really great unless you are pulling more than a 1/1 out of it, and neither is Arcbound Stinger. Put everything together though and you have a deck. Not necessarily an awesome, stupidly good deck, but a deck.
I expect this deck to look more like Alara block Esper decks than Mirrodin ones. Without Myr and artifact lands, it appears difficult to just Myr Enforcer people on turn 4. The grindy enter the battlefield triggers on Faerie Mechanist and Sanctum Gargoyle will be the dominant interaction since those are a bit more self-contained and rely on you having any artifact to be good as opposed to specific cheap ones.
Arcbound Wanderer, Etched Oracle, and Skyreach Manta provide an interesting strategic overlap here. While Arcbound Wander has the obvious Modular tie-in, the others don’t appear to mesh on a surface level. Still, being an artifact-based deck affords you the ability to stretch your mana and enable larger sunbursts. Add to that the fact that this is a deck that both wants Paradise Mantle for Affinity and has the cheap bodies to activate it and you have the incentive and tools to play sunburst cards at full value.
Note that I didn’t list Thirst for Knowledge here. The card is just good and doesn’t really incentivize having a bunch of artifacts. Being a normal deck with a couple Spellbombs should be more than enough.
There is a lot of Affinity hate in this set. Fury Charm randomly gets you, Trygon Predator really gets you, and there are two common Disenchants (Dispeller’s Capsule and Terashi’s Grasp) that get you. If you see the cards for this deck floating around, raise your evaluations of the hate cards appropriately. Note that none of these hate cards are exceptionally good versus Sanctum Gargoyle loops, which again points towards that being the best build of this deck.
Flicker
Enablers
Otherworldly Journey
Flickerwisp (Uncommon)
Incentives
Ivory Giant
Aethersnipe
Sanctum Gargoyle
Faerie Mechanist
Vedalken Dismisser
Warren Pilferers
Thieving Sprite
Hammerheim Deadeye
Marsh Flitter (Uncommon)
Mulldrifter (Uncommon)
Riftwing Cloudskate (Uncommon)
Cloudgoat Ranger (Uncommon)
Meadowboon (Uncommon)
Thundercloud Shaman (Uncommon)
Eternal Witness (Uncommon)
Murderous Redcap (Uncommon)
Similar to Rebels, this is a bit of a package theme. The same concepts apply: you are light on enablers and the incentive cards are all very good on their own.
The good thing for you is that Otherworldly Journey is pretty bad outside of this exact deck. The M10 rules changes were not kind to it, and there are not a lot of tokens you want to kill with it.
Arcane Mill
Enablers
Peer Through Depths
Petals of Insight
Reach Through Mists
Horobi’s Whisper
Torrent of Stone
Otherworldly Journey
Lava Spike
Hana Kami
Kodama’s Reach
Incentives
Technically, any other form of card draw or removal is also an "enabler" here, but there are definitely "normal" control decks that are very separate from the mill deck.
Quite frankly, I’m not sure enough cards exist to support this deck in most cases. Similar to the first time around, it’s the kind of thing you watch for and move in on if the cards exist. Peer Through Depths and Dampen Thought will likely circle the table, so if you see a couple early you can plan to have them later on.
Suspend Storm
Enablers
Rift Bolt
Giant Dustwasp
Durkwood Baloth
Search for Tomorrow
Errant Ephemeron
Peer Through Depths
Reach Through Mists
Perilous Research
Petals of Insight
Pyrite Spellbomb
Aether Spellbomb
Careful Consideration (Uncommon)
Mulldrifter (Uncommon)
Thirst for Knowledge (Uncommon)
Grinning Ignus (Uncommon)
Desperate Ritual (Uncommon)
Manamorphose (Uncommon)
Riftwing Cloudskate (Uncommon)
Relic of Progenitus (Uncommon)
Incentives
Empty the Warrens
Grapeshot
Rift Elemental
Echoing Courage
Tromp the Domains
Given the scarcity of ritual effects and the density of blue card draw, I expect that this deck will be A) base blue and green splashing red and B) not something that will happen every draft. A lot of specific situations need to occur for Empty the Warrens to be something worth doing. You need enough Empty the Warrens to reliably go off, enough enablers to make your Empties big enough to matter, and enough pump effects to make midgame Empties for ten lethal.
I expect there will be some significant overlap between this deck and the tokens/Thallids strategy. Both overlap on colors and both maximize Echoing Courage. Thallid Shell-Dweller is the wall you need to set up, and old school Thallid is a pseudo-enabler as a one-mana spell.
I also expect the green mana ramp to be very important here. There aren’t enough plus mana rituals to make a traditional Storm deck, and instead you will likely be aiming for a turn 5-6 kill by just playing spells the normal way.
Dredge
Enablers
Stinkweed Imp
Greater Mossdog
Deepcavern Imp
Moldervine Cloak
Dampen Thought
Perilous Research
Thirst for Knowledge (Uncommon)
Careful Consideration (Uncommon)
Dakmor Salvage (Uncommon)
Incentives
Death Denied
Warren Pilferers
Auntie’s Snitch (Uncommon)
Eternal Witness (Uncommon)
Worm Harvest (Uncommon)
Masked Admirers (Uncommon)
Reach of Branches (Uncommon)
Narcomoeba (Uncommon)
All of your enablers are common. Most of the incentives are uncommon. Most of the cards in both categories are good anyway.
Dredge, like Rebels, is an incidental archetype. I’ve listed the blue cards, but I think that is likely trying too hard. Most Dredge decks will be the result of taking a few Stinkweed Imps, wheeling a Worm Harvest, and then realizing that Death Denied is a Mind Spring.
This is Dredge how Wizards first envisioned it: a source of recurring marginal advantage.
Faeries
Enablers
Mothdust Changeling
Faerie Macabre
Faerie Mechanist
Pestermite
Marsh Flitter (Uncommon)
Incentives
Thieving Sprite
Spellstutter Sprite
Dreamspoiler Witches
Latchkey Faeries
Peppersmoke
Faeries is a solid core strategy, but it is light on early-game defense and end-game finishers. Pestermite and Peppersmoke seem especially important among the cards I’ve listed. Among the other cards in the set, Rathi Trapper, Festering Goblin, and Warren Weirding could help fill in the gap. The other plan against early aggression is to assume they won’t be that fast and to take over around turn 6 with Errant Ephemerons, Aethersnipes, Dreamspoiler Witch triggers, and Vedalken Dismisser.
Either way, this is the engine I want running in my blue and black control decks. There is enough card draw that you can get by without it, but the Faeries backbone is a real source of card advantage that lets you pull ahead in the mid-to-late game.
Goblins
Enablers
Mogg War Marshal
Festering Goblin
Stingscourger
War-Spike Changeling
Murderous Redcap
Empty the Warrens
Marsh Flitter (Uncommon)
Incentives
Warren Pilferers
Facevaulter
Mad Auntie (Uncommon)
Auntie’s Snitch (Uncommon)
Tar Pitcher (Uncommon)
Tar Pitcher and Mad Auntie are quite powerful incentives, but at uncommon you will have to find them early and move in quickly. Fortunately, their rarity prevents you from having to fight over the archetype with multiple players in a pod most of the time.
Your most important goal is going to be establishing fuel for your Tar Pitchers. Many of the commons are already good at dying (Stingscourger, Mogg War Marshal, Festering Goblin) and loops exist. Auntie’s Snitch is a good self-contained loop, and double Warren Pilferers is the standard from back in Lorwyn.
In general, this strategy is more grindy than aggressive. You will have your fair share of Mad Auntie beatdown draws, but be aware that you can often expect Goblins to win a long game.
Domain
Enablers
Sylvan Bounty, Fiery Fall, Gleam of Resistance, Traumatic Visions, Absorb Vis
Kodama’s Reach
Search for Tomorrow
Thallid Shell-Dweller
Vivid Lands (Uncommon)
Incentives
Citanul Woodreaders
Walker of the Grove
Drag Down
Petals of Insight
Aethersnipe
Vedalken Dismisser
Arcbound Wanderer
Skyreach Manta
Etched Oracle (Uncommon)
Tribal Flames (Uncommon)
Mulldrifter (Uncommon)
Yes, that is a lot of random incentive cards. It’s really just any big durdly card other people might undervalue in any color that you can play in your twenty-mana source deck. Notice that a few of the land cyclers, namely Fiery Fall, are already these kinds of high cost, high impact cards.
Notice how few white cards there are on these lists. Most of the cards I would want to splash are double white. Cloudgoat Ranger, Bound in Silence, Path to Exile, and Feudkiller’s Verdict are great, but those are mostly uncommon and the best ones are double white. I wouldn’t expect most instances of this archetype to play basic Plains.
Thallid Shell-Dweller is an enabler in the sense that it blocks everything, letting you live long enough to cast your infinite six-drops.
Kodama’s Reach is by far the most important enabler. You can expect to be four colors most of the time, and getting both missing colors or fixing for a double splash is a huge benefit.
Citanul Woodreaders and Petals of Insight are especially important. You are land heavy and as a result prone to flood. Citanul Woodreaders also helps fill in your early game as a simple River Kaijin / Horned Turtle.
Saprolings
Enablers
Thallid
Thallid Shell-Dweller
Thallid Germinator
Sporoloth Ancient
Cenn’s Enlistment
Pallid Mycoderm
Cloudgoat Ranger (Uncommon)
Sporesower Thallid (Uncommon)
Incentives
Echoing Courage
Gleam of Resistance
Tromp the Domains (Uncommon)
Meadowboon (Uncommon)
Stir the Pride (Uncommon)
There are a lot more Overruns than you would expect in this format, and all of them are good. Gleam of Resistance is probably the worst, but it gets a pass due to land cycling. If you want to play tokens, be aware that it won’t be too difficult to find finishers. If you have enough token production, you might not even need an Overrun to go lethal. In particular, the trio of Sporoloth Ancient, Thallid Germinator, and Sporesower Thallid get lethal really fast.
Most of the Thallids are just good cards. Thallid Shell-Dweller, Thallid Germinator, Sporoloth Ancient, and Sporesower Thallid are all reasonable bodies. Thallid itself isn’t quite good enough as a 1/1, but if you are deep enough on the Overrun plan, it probably makes the cut.
First, you get the Fungi; then, you get the pump spells.
Curve Layouts
Suspend creatures will be labeled at their suspend cost as well as their actual cost if it is within castable range (six or less).
White
Common
|
1 |
2 |
1/1 –> 2/2 (Court Homonulus) |
3/4 Suspend (Ivory Giant) |
|
|
|
2 |
3 |
2/1 (Amrou Scout) |
2/1 –> 3/2 (Kithkin Greatheart) |
2/2 (Veteran Armorer) |
|
|
3 |
3 |
2/2 Intimidate (Amrou Seekers) |
2/2 Flying (Avian Changeling) |
1/2 (Saltfield Recluse) |
|
|
4 |
4 |
2x 1/1 (Cenn’s Enlistment) |
3/3 (Hillcomber Giant) |
2/4 (Pallid Mycoderm) |
2/3 Flying (Sanctum Gargoyle) |
|
Removal |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
Trick |
4 |
||||
|
Other |
0 |
|
|
|
|
White has a flat and solid curve. Its creatures are on the small side, with the largest being a 3/4, but it has multiple Wind Drake style creatures at three.
If you haven’t played with Blinding Beam, don’t judge it based on the imposters that have popped up over the years. It’s the best parts of Sleep mixed with the best parts of Frost Breath. Want to Falter their whole team for two turns? It does that. Want to lock their guys from attacking for two turns? Does that too.
Saltfield Recluse has been awesome for me. Creature sizing in this format is fairly flat at 2/2, meaning Recluse shuts down entire boards on top of being a Rebel you can search for.
Sanctum Gargoyle is playable even outside artifact decks. It isn’t a phenomenal four-drop, but 2/3 rules the midgame skies. Additional copies set up a loop of blockers, but I’m not sure how good that actually is in this format.
White has a lot of tricks, but none of the pump spells we have become used to in recent years (see: Show of Valor, Swift Justice, Moment of Heroism). You’re supposed to break through larger creatures with evasion, removal/Blinding Beam, or just raw numbers. Generic ground guys are fairly low value in matchups where your opponent will have larger bodies (see: Hillcomber Giant, Pallid Mycoderm). Even if their deck is all 2/2s, odds are their 2/2s have evasion and your clunky 2/4 is just a poor choice for the matchup.
Uncommon
|
1 |
0 |
|
|
|
2 |
0 |
|
|
|
3 |
1 |
3/1 Flying (Flickerwisp) |
|
|
4 |
2 |
3/3 (Meadowboon) |
1/3 (Sandsower) |
|
5 |
1 |
3/3 + 3x 1/1 (Cloudgoat Ranger) |
|
|
6 |
1 |
5/5 (Feudkiller’s Verdict) |
|
|
Removal |
1 |
|
|
Trick |
1 |
|
|
Other |
0 |
|
Cloudgoat Ranger, as always, is amazing. It was an unbeatable uncommon in Lorwyn block, and it’s approximately as good this time around. Don’t pass it.
Feudkiller’s Verdict is also amazing. Ten life is a lot to be behind, especially when white is a fairly aggressive color. 5/5 is also massive in this format.
Even past the two outright bombs, white has awesome uncommons. Sandsower? Awesome stall breaker. Stir the Pride? Instant Overrun. Meadowboon? Split card of relatively large body or Glorious Anthem.
All of this adds up to white being the raw best color in Modern Masters. Awesome commons with a solid card advantage engine, methods to break stalls, and a full stack of overpowered uncommons.
Blue
Common
|
1 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
2 |
3 |
4/4 Suspend Flying (Errant Ephemeron) |
1/2 (Etherium Sculptor) |
1/1 Flying (Spellstutter Sprite) |
|
3 |
1 |
2/1 Flying (Pestermite) |
|
|
|
4 |
2 |
2/2 Flying (Faerie Mechanist) |
3/1 Flying (Latchkey Faerie) |
|
|
5 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
6 |
2 |
4/4 (Aethersnipe) |
2/2 (Vedalken Dimisser) |
|
|
Removal |
4 |
||||
|
Trick |
3 |
|
|||
|
Other |
4 |
The blue creatures are small when you ignore the high-drops. Water is wet, grass is green, what’s new. Try to pair blue with a color that can pick up the slack and appropriately value early-drops in your secondary color.
Once the game goes late, you should have a huge advantage. Errant Ephemeron is one of the largest common creatures, let alone common fliers. Your six-drops provide large board swings, especially when backed by your counterspells.
Petals of Insight at common is a big deal. Very rarely do you see legitimately good card draw show up at lower rarities, and it tends to be very powerful when it does. I have seen it lapping tables online, and that just feels wrong. Rush of Knowledge, Brilliant Plan, Foresee, and Jace’s Ingenuity were all awesome, as was this card the first time around. There is also enough fixing in this format that I can see people easily splashing this card.
Uncommon
|
1 |
0 |
|
|
|
2 |
2 |
1/1 Flying (Narcomoeba) |
2/2 Suspend Flier (Riftwing Cloudskate) |
|
3 |
1 |
4/3 Flying (Esperzoa) |
|
|
4 |
0 |
|
|
|
5 |
2 |
2/2 Flying (Mulldrifter) |
2/2 Flier (Riftwing Cloudskate) |
|
Removal |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Trick |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Other |
3 |
Wow, that’s a lot more card draw. Maybe I can understand why Petals goes late now. Well, not entirely, but maybe a little. Careful Consideration and Mulldrifter are both definitely better than it. Regardless, just don’t overdo it on the card draw. Blue already has issues establishing a board.
Take Possession is an interesting one. I’ve seen it make laps around the table almost every time I’ve seen it open, which feels simultaneously wrong and right. On one hand, it’s a seven-drop. On the other hand, it’s a Mind Control. It seems like something the Domain deck would want, but in my experience that deck doesn’t have room to play more than two Islands. That’s probably enough to play a seven-drop with some land cyclers, Vivid lands, and Kodama’s Reach, but just be aware it won’t always be the case.
Black
Common
|
1 |
2 |
1/1 (Facevaulter) |
1/1 (Festering Goblin) |
|
|
|
2 |
2 |
1/1 (Blightspeaker) |
½ (Rathi Trapper) |
|
|
|
3 |
4 |
2/2 Flying Haste (Deepcavern Imp) |
2/2 Flying (Faerie Macabre) |
1/2 Flying (Stinkweed Imp) |
1/1 Flying (Theiving Sprite) |
|
4 |
1 |
2/2 Flying (Dreamspoiler Witches) |
|
|
|
|
5 |
2 |
3/4 (Street Wraith) |
3/3 (Warren Pilferers) |
|
|
|
Removal |
4 |
|
||||
|
Trick |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other |
5 |
We really have been spoiled by post-Shards of Alara creature sizing. Again, we see a near dead stop at 2/2 in terms of creature size.
There are a lot of black three-drops, but none of them are exceptional. Thieving Sprite is a fine Ravenous Rats, but it doesn’t hold its own as a body outside of a deck trying to use the creature type. Stinkweed Imp is a fairly poor aggressive body in B/W and B/R. Faerie Macabre costing double black is often a deterrent to playing it. Deepcavern Imp has a drawback. Aside from B/U, where you are short on threes and want Faeries, I wouldn’t want any of my decks to be base black.
Black is also fairly light on removal. All of the classic Murder / Terror style removal is at uncommon, leaving the common slot with mediocre but serviceable options. Rathi Trapper is awesome, but past that we have a -1/-1 effect in a world of 2/2s, a card that is three mana -2/-2 in most decks, and an edict.
Aside from Rathi Trappers, the one all-around awesome black common is Warren Pilferers. 3/3 is large for the format, and Gravedigger is always good value. The haste is a fairly marginal benefit, but frosting on the cake is rarely a bad thing.
If you can’t pick up Warren Pilferers, Death Denied can also tag in.
I’m really not sold on the retrace cards here, but I would also not be shocked to be proven wrong. This format is quite light on reach, so Syphon Life may have a niche as a unique effect. Raven’s Crime is even more marginal, but it’s worth noting that it has some synergy with Rebels. Playing an attrition game when you have a Jayemdae Tome in play is a favorable interaction.
Uncommon
|
1 |
0 |
|
|
|
2 |
0 |
|
|
|
3 |
2 |
3/1 (Auntie’s Snitch) |
2/2 (Mad Auntie) |
|
4 |
1 |
“3/3” Flying + 2x 1/1 (Marsh Flitter) |
|
|
Removal |
4 |
Death’s Rattle |
|
|||
|
Trick |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
The weakness of the black commons is made up for in the uncommons. Three great removal spells and two great creatures is a good place to be.
Phthisis is an interesting card that I’ve been having trouble evaluating. The effect is very powerful, but the mana cost is an issue. In my past experience with this spell, suspending it is almost a non-option. Most of the decks I want seven-drops in are Domain and can’t come close to supporting a BBBB spell. I’m sure there are a few Dredge or Faeries decks that would love to pick this up as a late game breaker, but most of the time this card will come late.
Red
Common
|
1 |
1 |
1/1 (Rift Elemental) |
|
|
|
2 |
1 |
2x 1/1 (Mogg War Marshal) |
|
|
|
3 |
2 |
4/3 (Blind-Spot Giant) |
1/3 (Stinkdrinker Bandit) |
|
|
4 |
3 |
1/1s (Empty the Warrens) |
2/2 (Stingscourger) |
3/3 (War-Spike Changeling) |
|
5 |
1 |
4/3 (Thundering Giant) |
|
|
|
6 |
1 |
3/3 (Hammerheim Deadeye) |
|
|
|
Removal |
8 |
||||||||
|
Trick |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Other |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I’ve opted to slot the echo commons at their echo cost, not at their actual cost. You can play Stingscourger as a 1R sorcery speed Unsummon or Hammerheim Deadeye as 3R Plummet, but that’s not fulfilling their role as a body.
War-Spike Changeling is secretly a big game. 3/3 first strike wins the fight against almost every nongreen common, with the exceptions being some blue six-drops.
Back to Stinkdrinker Daredevil from way earlier, 1/3 looks like a good blocker until you realize that all the 2/2s fly or have other evasion. The body isn’t great and the ability doesn’t seem super relevant, so I would not take this card early for now.
For those counting, there are seven common giants for Blind-Spot Giant between white and red, but two of those are high drops. Taking this card means a commitment. You will not stumble into enough Giants to make it playable.
The curve on red looks light because it has literally all the removal spells. Note that only one of these spells kills a 5/5 (Fiery Fall), and that 5/5 also dodges most Drag Downs. Imperiosaur rules this format.
Red also has almost all of the Giant Growths. Brute Force is a unique effect in this format. Value it accordingly.
Uncommon
|
1 |
0 |
|
|
2 |
0 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
2/2 (Grinning Ignus) |
|
4 |
1 |
2/2 (Tar Pitcher) |
|
5 |
1 |
4/4 (Thundercloud Shaman) |
|
6 |
1 |
4/4 Flying (Pardic Dragon) |
|
Removal |
5 |
|||||
|
Trick |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
I’ve already talked about how Tar Pitcher and Thundercloud Shaman are archetype defining. I’ll mention it again so you don’t forget.
Shrapnel Blast is the one piece of Lava Axe sized reach in the format. Unfortunately, red is not very artifact friendly. I’m not sure what the minimum required artifact count is to play this card, but it’s going to take a few Bonesplitters and Ephocrasites to get there.
Don’t suspend Pardic Dragon. You might think it’s right, but it’s not. Just accept that Shivan Dragon is an uncommon and live with that.
Grinning Ignus pops out as a Storm enabler, but I’ve been slightly unimpressed with it as such so far. It obviously does work on that end, but you are often light on red mana to really go crazy. The better use I’ve found is jumping from four to six mana for Durkwood Baloths and Pardic Dragons.
Green
Common
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1 |
4 |
5/5 Suspend (Durkwood Baloth) |
1/1 (Hana Kami) |
1/1 (Thallid) |
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2 |
2 |
3/3 Flying Suspend (Giant Dustwasp) |
0/5 (Thallid Shell-Dweller) |
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3 |
6 |
1/4 (Citanul Woodreaders) |
3/2 (Nantuko Shaman) |
+3/+3 (Moldervine Cloak) |
2/2 (Thallid Germinator) |
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4 |
4 |
3/3 (Greater Mossdodg) |
5/5 (Imperiosaur) |
3/2 Suspend (Nantuko Shaman) |
2/4 Reach (Penumbra Spider) |
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5 |
3 |
3/3 Flying (Giant Dustwasp) |
4/4 (Sporoloth Ancient) |
4/4 (Walker of the Grove) |
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6 |
2 |
1/4 (Citanul Woodreaders) |
5/5 (Durkwood Baloth) |
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Removal |
0 |
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Trick |
1 |
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Other |
1 |
This green curve is not representative of playable counts. Between suspend, kicker, and evoke you have the option to play a ton of things whenever you need them to be there.
That is except at two.
Green is especially prone to clunky draws that don’t get on the board early in this format. Thallid Shell-Dweller may be the most important green common because it is the only one that provides a significant board presence before turn 3.
That doesn’t make it the best green common, however. That honor goes to Penumbra Spider or Imperiosaur. Both are massive for the format, let alone for four-drops. Imperiosaur is actually larger than every nongreen common, and Penumbra Spider is not just large but your only trump to the many 2/2 or similar fliers across the Esper colors.
Sizing note: green has four common creatures that are 4/4 or larger. That is more than exist across all the other colors combined.
Also worth noting: the ramp isn’t as good as it looks. If your main trump commons are at four and a ton of your "higher" drops can also be cast in the early game (Durkwood Baloth, Giant Dustwasp, Citanul Woodreaders), why do you want to spend your turn 3 to skip to five? Search for Tomorrow on turn 1 is the right jump, but that’s a very high variance play. It and Kodama’s Reach should be viewed more as fixing than ramp.
The lack of two-drops in green has really turned me off of Moldervine Cloak. It’s probably fine in white decks for the nut two-drop into Cloak curve or blue decks for the evasion, but it’s not close to as good as it was in Ravnica.
Uncommon
|
1 |
0 |
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|
2 |
1 |
2/2 (Riftsweeper) |
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3 |
1 |
2/1 (Eternal Witness) |
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4 |
2 |
3/2 (Masked Admirers) |
4/4 (Sporesower Thallid) |
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5 |
2 |
+3/+3, +2/+2, +1/+1 (Incremental Growth) |
2/5 (Reach of Branches) |
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Removal |
0 |
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Trick |
1 |
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Other |
0 |
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Reach of Branches and Masked Admirers grind hard, but neither really helps on the evasive bodies’ front. I’m not inclined to think this is an especially grindy format with all the evasion, but they aren’t bad and there are some matchups that do bog down. Basically, they are both good but not amazing.
Riftsweeper is not a may trigger. Awkward when green is the suspend color.
Tromp the Domains is a card I feel like I’m drastically undervaluing. It does nothing, I always feel like my Green decks are short on doing things early, and in Domain I always feel light on creatures. I feel like I’m being logical, but I also feel like I’m wrong.
Artifacts
Common
Even if you are just in three colors, Skyreach Manta is fine. 3/3 is the second largest common flier. Just be aware that it competes with Giant Dustwasp for that curve slot in green.
Bonesplitter is awesome. The format is all Wind Drakes versus 4/4s, so plus two power is either unblockable or lets you trade up for something you would have difficultly trading for otherwise.
Myr Enforcer is the actual incentive to play artifact aggro. 4/4 for cheap is huge, and without artifact lands it’s difficult to get enough Frogmites down in time for it to matter. Given this, Etherium Sculptor is very important in the deck as you are trying to count to a rather large number.
Uncommon
Epochrasite is quite good. It’s a two-drop in a format that is notably light on them, and beyond that it both affects the current board state (unlike suspend creatures) and offers a relevant late-game body (unlike normal two-drops).
Having played against it, Paradise Mantle seems like a bad land. It is difficult to ramp into a four-drop with it, and we’ve already discussed how ramping into five-drops isn’t great in this format.
Multicolored
My only comment here is that Plumeveil has been coming to me way too late. Remember that 4/4 is huge and there aren’t a lot of tricks. Plumeveil is a mix of the best of Rebuke, Twinstrike, and Moat.
Final Thoughts
– White is the best color, black is the worst color, and B/W is the most reliably great deck.
– If you end up with a good 40 for any of the deeper synergy archetypes, that is an easy route to a 3-0. The bad lists are very bad though.
– Of the really synergistic archetypes, Giants probably has the best "bad" decks since you can operate fine as W/R Aggro.
– Two-drops are very important. Value them highly.
– Removal is relatively abundant, but it’s still good. Just watch for what your spread actually covers. If you are going to have a ton, try to have a mix of cheap spells and ones that answer more things.
– There aren’t many combat tricks in this format.
Overall, I’ve really enjoyed drafting this format. It’s a good mix of synergy and Limited fundamentals, and I expect the Top 8 of Grand Prix Las Vegas to represent the high level of skill required to play these cards.
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