With M11 hitting the street, and with Release Events this weekend and M11 Sealed Grand Prixs tournaments on the horizon, I thought that it’d be useful to write a piece on Core Set Sealed theory as it pertains to M11 before sharing a Sealed pool below.
It’s hard to build aggressive decks from most Core Set Sealed pools. Expansion sets are designed, in part, to show off new mechanics. One of the ways to do that is to include a bunch of creatures that have abilities related to those new mechanics, so instead of Grizzly Bears and Goblin Piker, we get Nest Invader and Plated Geopede. However, we also get creatures related to other mechanics; think Beastbreaker of Bala Ged and Highland Berserker. In expansions, therefore, there are usually multiple creatures at every point on the curve, so it’s quite feasible to build aggressive curve-based Limited decks.
In Core sets, there are no mechanics to highlight, so there are fewer creatures at redundant points on the mana curve, and what creatures do exist tend to have less powerful evergreen mechanics. Because of this, aggressive decks tend to be worse in Core Set Limited. Exacerbating the problems for aggressive decks, most Core Set Limited decks tend heavily towards midrange, and most of your opponents will play several three- and four-mana creatures that are approximately Hill Giant-sized simply for lack of other playables. A squad of four-mana 3/3s and 2/4s are pretty hard for a team of Runeclaw Bears to break through, and because combat tricks are also comparatively rare in Core Sets it’s difficult for the aggressive deck to trade Giant Growth for a four-mana guy.
It follows that, generally, hyper aggressive decks built around a low curve are ineffective in Core Set Sealed. You’ll curve out with a bear and a random three-drop, and then your opponent will bring your offense to a screeching halt with Giant Spider. Your opponent will then sit there topdecking huge animals, while you’ll be drawing essentially blank two-mana 2/2s. In fact, in M11 Limited, I would go so far as to say that you don’t want to include any non-evasive creatures in your Sealed deck that cannot survive combat with a two-power creature unless it can trade with a four-toughness creature. Barony Vampire, for example, can’t profitably trade with very many creatures on defense, but if you’re using him to attack, you’ll either be embarrassed by some random 2/4 or trade for an otherwise-blank 2/2. I view Nether Horror with deep suspicion, but he is a fine man on defense against most large creatures.
Unlike most formats, large ground-pounders are quite good in Core Set Limited simply for their ability to dominate the battlefield even when the board has begun to stall; it’s not hard to find creatures that can hold off three-power creatures and trade with three-toughness creatures, but Spined Wurm, Yavimaya Wurm, and Craw Wurm can tear through a Giant Spider-based defense pretty quickly.
Evasion, obviously, is at an even higher premium in a format where ground stalls abound. Everyone is aware of this, but I mention it anyway for the sake of completeness. However, it’s worth noting for the purpose of M11 specifically that most of the common fliers in M11 are 2/2s or 2/1s. Cloud Crusader will rule the skies. Only Azure Drake and Cloud Elemental can survive combat with Crusader, and neither creature trades with it. Nightwing Shade trumps the rest of the common fliers in the late game, but obviously you can’t just start using him as a mana sink every turn.
The nature of a format where defensive creatures are abundant, removal is scarce, and highly aggressive decks are a rarity implies that spending a turn to draw cards won’t get you blown out by a removal spell on your four- or five-drop. Whoever draws more cards (or, past a certain point, fewer lands) in a game of Core Set Limited is a significant favorite, to the point where I think that Foresee is a card you’ll want to splash almost as badly as Doom Blade. Jace’s Ingenuity is also a huge beating, and in general any effect that puts you up cardboard is worth looking at.
A brief note on Crystal Ball: At the prerelease, there were some who wanted to leave Crystal Ball on the bench, citing that it was slow and caused inherent card disadvantage. Ball is slow, sure, but the reality of most Sealed decks is that one or two of your cards are going to be miles better than your other cards, and you want to draw your bombs as often as possible. As for ‘inherent card disadvantage,’ when you draw a land in the late game, it’s essentially blank; to my mind, scrying away lands with the Ball is virtual card advantage.
Concerning which utility spells can be maindecked and which should be left in the sideboard:
Plummet: I’d always play the first Plummet. You could conceivably leave the second one in your sideboard if you had a lot of other removal or other answers to fliers, but most Green decks will struggle enough with fliers that I’d generally start two and board in more as appropriate.
Negate: I was always amused by the number of people who decried M10 Limited as a luck-based format based entirely on who opened what bombs while simultaneously leaving Negate on the bench. There’s no Overrun, but you can still pick off Fireball and several other powerful uncommons with Negate, not to mention opposing removal spells. One Negate is pretty much always reasonable in Sealed.
Naturalize: The only common that you’ll really want to Naturalize is Pacifism, but there are several uncommons that you might want to hit with it; Mind Control and Armored Ascension as well as artifacts such as Juggernaut, Stone Golem, and Crystal Ball. I’d bring it in against a U/W opponent even if they didn’t show me any saucy targets in game one; most of the draw towards a U/W Sealed deck are the Pacifisms and the uncommon bombs. Still, I wouldn’t maindeck it.
I should note that drafting M11 isn’t nearly the same as playing M11 Sealed. In draft, you can assemble a coherent mana curve that can support an aggressive deck, and you can pick up the spells necessary to complement it. In Sealed, well sometimes you open three Maritime Guards and no Aether Adepts.
A final note: I chose to draw all weekend and was happy with the decision every time.
…
And now, in the style of Craig Stevenson, a Sealed pool, with comments: [Ho ho ho – Craig, amused.]
White:
Goldenglow Moth
Elite Vanguard
Elite Vanguard
Silvercoat Lion
Silvercoat Lion
Ajani’s Pridemate
Squadron Hawk
War Priest of Thune
Blinding Mage
Roc Egg
Wild Griffin
Tireless Missionaries
Tireless Missionaries
Siege Mastodon
Condemn
Ajani’s Mantra
Excommunicate
Armored Ascension
Day of Judgment
White’s creatures make up the low end of a pretty reasonable beatdown curve, but topping out with Tireless Missionaries instead of Assault Griffin and other fliers is not going to get things done. Conceivably, a few Mighty Leaps to send Silvercoat Lion to the skies might make White attractive as the shell of a beatdown deck, but as it is there’s not a lot. Aside from Armored Ascension, the spells are much more suited to a control deck, and it’s likely that I’ll only want White as a sideboard option if I want to lower my curve against a beatdown deck.
Blue:
Merfolk Spy
Merfolk Spy
Maritime Guard
Wall of Frost
Armored Cancrix
Tome Scour
Diminish
Diminish
Negate
Mana Leak
Jace’s Erasure
Ice Cage
Mass Polymorph
Traumatize
It would be a little too easy to write “Next!” and move on, but, honestly, there’s nothing here. Any blue deck would want to be supporting a squad of Azure Drakes and Cloud Elementals, and neither have shown up today. The tricks are reasonable, but the creatures are non-existent. Mass Polymorph could have been a neat combination with Squadron Hawks, but, alas.
Black:
Bloodthrone Vampire
Bog Raiders
Bog Raiders
Liliana’s Specter
Nether Horror
Gravedigger
Grave Titan
Disentomb
Sign in Blood
Sign in Blood
Sign in Blood
Quag Sickness
Mind Rot
Blood Tithe
Rise from the Grave
Rise from the Grave
Grave Titan is obviously unreal, especially with the number of ways to rebuy him. Gravedigger is also very powerful, but is best paired with a color that will get you involved in early trades; having to miss your four drop in order to get an extra card out of Gravedigger later can be tricky. A Black-White could be reasonable, but it’ll struggle against most Green decks unless I draw the Titan. Black’s spells aren’t particularly impressive, though all those copies of Sign in Blood will certainly help dig to the Titan.
Red:
Goblin Balloon Brigade
Goblin Tunneler
Ember Hauler
Arc Runner
Fiery Hellhound
Manic Vandal
Vulshok Berserker
Fire Servant
Berserkers of Blood Ridge
Earth Serpent
Volcanic Strength
Thunder Strike
Act of Treason
Demolish
Chandra’s Outrage
Wild Evocation
Red’s creatures are reasonable enough. Arc Runner can pick off the occasional Juggernaut or Stone Golem, and Fiery Hellhound can trade with a bear on turn three or a Wurm on turn six. Vulshok Berserker isn’t too impressive, though; he’ll probably just end up charging into a bear. Red’s fat is okay, but feels a little underwhelming compared to Green…still, the differences between four and five power are pretty negligible. All Red really needs is a few more solid creatures or a couple of extra removal spells and I’d be pretty excited about pairing it with Black or White…but as it is there’s no real pull.
Green:
Birds of Paradise
Llanowar Elves
Garruk’s Companion
Awakener Druid
Spined Wurm
Greater Basilisk
Protean Hydra
Giant Growth
Fog
Naturalize
Naturalize
Plummet
Plummet
All of the Green creatures are pretty sweet. Playing Spined Wurm on turn four or Grave Titan on turn five off Birds and Elves is pretty unfair. The top of Green’s curve is quite nice, and Awakener Druid and Garruk’s Companion will fill the curve in quite nicely. The Plummets will have to do since I’ve opened virtually no other removal. Giant Growth isn’t super exciting, but it’s a solid playable if I am sort, assuming I can find enough creatures. The Naturalizes and Fogs could at least get boarded in.
Artifacts:
Crystal Ball
Whispersilk Cloak
Warlord’s Axe
Juggernaut will probably make any deck I make, even though I’ll probably be forced to trade him for Barony Vampire more than I’d like. The Axe would’ve been quite strong in M10, but M11 is a little bit faster and I’d like to avoid playing the small creatures that would benefit most from it. Whispersilk Cloak is okay in some decks that need a solid win condition, but I don’t really need to give huge Green animals evasion, and I have other ways to close games in most of my colors.
Land:
Building this deck was pretty tricky, mostly because it was hard to find a configuration I liked that had enough creatures. All I ever want in my Sealed deck are four-drops, but I opened almost none.
I ended up with this:
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Garruk’s Companion
2 Bog Raiders
1 Awakener Druid
1 Liliana’s Specter
1 Nether Horror
1 Juggernaut
1 Gravedigger
1 Spined Wurm
1 Greater Basilisk
1 Plague Titan
1 Protean Hydra
1 Giant Growth
2 Plummet
2 Sign in Blood
1 Crystal Ball
1 Mind Rot
1 Quag Sickness
1 Rise from the Grave
1 Terramorphic Expanse
8 Forest
8 Swamp
This was the only build that allowed me to play the Titan in a deck with a reasonable mana curve. I was in a late flight, and it fired soon after I arrived, so I hadn’t had much time to scout around and see what people were playing. Gavin Verhey told me that black had been fairly popular, so I assumed that the Raiders would be swampwalking most of the time. It turns out that most decks are either base green or base white for fat or fliers, and that black isn’t a super popular option. Still, without the Raiders I’d be pretty much unable to defeat a deck with a bunch of 2/2s, and I needed something to add value to Gravedigger.
Share your thoughts on the build and on M11 in general in the forums!
Max McCall
max dot mccall at gmail dot com