I’ve been writing for years now and avoided self-identifying with the Iron Chef gag. It seemed too cheap and easy a gag. Iron Chef, Japan… it’s just too kitschy. I’ve got a green pepper around here somewhere.
I’ve got to lead off this week with a hat off to Wizards, for throwing together the finest coverage yet at Pro Tour: Geneva. The video content is lively and quick to access. I appreciate the contrast between Randy Buehler and BDM’s banter and insight, and the clarity and professional interest of Richard Hagon. The incidental music and production adds a lot of character to the audio podcasts, though it’s a little overdone at times. Hagon does a good job of taking a brief pause from play by play and intricate Q&A to take a step back and give less experienced players a taste of the context. It’s a nice touch. If you haven’t checked it out yet, run to Wizards’ page and hear what you’re missing.
And while I am on my soapbox for a minute… Seriously, though, Mr Hagon, work on your Japanese pronunciation! Remember, Japanese has no blending vowels. I would also like to have the alliterative term "Japanese juggernaut" permanently retired. It’s catchy the first time or two, but after that the term spoils quickly. Yes, dealing with monikers from all corners of the world can be a real challenge, and you do a reasonable job with the Euros. But please, for my sake if no one else’s, please work at it!
It’s true that I write and comment a lot about Magic in Japan. I love the white and the red flag. I’ve played here for over five years now, just a little less than I’ve logged in the U.S. (And one year in Finland. I get around.) But deep down, I love to see Americans winning Pro Tours. (Making Top 8 isn’t shabby either. Congrats to Ervin Tormos.) Why did Hron go all the way? Looking at his games, drafts, and interviews, it’s his work ethic that sets him apart. He’s very perceptive and hard working, and he seems to respect his opponents a heck of a lot. That’s my two cents, anyway.
If you’re going to go to a Japanese GP this year, the absolute best one to go to is Kyoto. Never mind the Standard format. Kyoto’s the most beautiful, traditional, and tourist-friendly city in Japan, and this GP is situated right in the middle of sakura (cherry blossom) viewing season. The event venue is in the middle of a majestic park that will be filled with partiers appreciating the seasonal treasures. Without a shadow of a doubt, cherry blossom season is the most picturesque time of year to go to the best city of the country. I’m very psyched up about the event. I hear that the local gaijin debauchery will be of epic proportions.
Enough of the kitchen sink. For those of you who went through the Geneva coverage with a fine-toothed comb like I did, you’ve got a better clue as to how to draft the format. For better or for worse, we’ve got to throw that newly gleaned knowledge off to the side for now and instead zoom in on a motley crew of seventy-five. This article will demonstrate how to inspect these raw, unshaped pieces of cardboard and cook up a work of art. We’ll highlight the Planar Chaos cards in particular to try to analyze how much of a role they can play today and how they would look in the context of other pools.
This pool is a lot more contentious than the previous contender.
Creatures (48)
- 1 Drudge Skeletons
- 1 Whirling Dervish
- 1 Goblin Snowman
- 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
- 1 Blazing Blade Askari
- 1 Cloudchaser Kestrel
- 1 Cyclopean Giant
- 1 Dream Stalker
- 1 Firemaw Kavu
- 1 Firewake Sliver
- 1 Flowstone Channeler
- 1 Fury Sliver
- 1 Glass Asp
- 1 Goblin Skycutter
- 1 Harmonic Sliver
- 1 Penumbra Spider
- 1 Savage Thallid
- 1 Sedge Sliver
- 1 Spike Tiller
- 1 Spiketail Drakeling
- 1 Spinneret Sliver
- 1 Thallid Shell-Dweller
- 1 Tolarian Sentinel
- 1 Trespasser il-Vec
- 1 Watcher Sliver
- 1 Aeon Chronicler
- 1 Aquamorph Entity
- 1 Blightspeaker
- 1 Bog Serpent
- 1 Deadwood Treefolk
- 1 Frenetic Sliver
- 1 Giant Dustwasp
- 1 Gossamer Phantasm
- 1 Keldon Marauders
- 1 Mycologist
- 1 Necrotic Sliver
- 1 Poultice Sliver
- 1 Prodigal Pyromancer
- 1 Reflex Sliver
- 1 Shade of Trokair
- 1 Simian Spirit Guide
- 2 Spitting Sliver
- 1 Synchronous Sliver
- 2 Uktabi Drake
- 2 Veiling Oddity
Lands (2)
Spells (25)
- 1 Aether Web
- 1 Bewilder
- 1 Call to the Netherworld
- 1 Cancel
- 1 Chromatic Star
- 1 Detainment Spell
- 1 Fool's Demise
- 1 Fortify
- 1 Lightning Axe
- 1 Momentary Blink
- 1 Paradise Plume
- 1 Paradox Haze
- 1 Phthisis
- 1 Plunder
- 1 Premature Burial
- 1 Snapback
- 1 Traitor's Clutch
- 1 Wipe Away
- 1
- 1 Dust Corona
- 1 Fatal Frenzy
- 1 Healing Leaves
- 1 Hunting Wilds
- 1 Mana Tithe
- 1 Shrouded Lore
T
o
m
‘
s
D
i
n
e
r
b
y
S
u
z
a
n
n
e
V
e
g
a
… is a good song to listen to while building your deck. It’s also a reasonable substitute for plain old white space. I wonder how the menu there stacks up to Alice’s Restaurant.
In our last outing, I juggled the color review order in order to build suspense. Yes, it’s a little unorthodox. I reserve the right to do that. After all, if I go right to the best goods, why would you consider even bothering to read the rest?
White
Solid: Akroma, Angel of Wrath; Cloudchaser Kestrel; Fortify; Shade of Trokair
Decent: Mana Tithe; Momentary Blink; Poultice Sliver; Watcher Sliver
Weak: Detainment Spell; Mycologist
We don’t have a wide selection of White cards, but what we’ve got has potential. Akroma, Angel of Finishers, performs much better in Sealed than she does in draft. She’s a devastating finisher, making White worth considering. Maybe there’s a winner gold card…
Shade of Trokair’s an underperformer today, as the we don’t have quite as many White cards as we’d like to back it up. The guy’s no slouch, but this deck won’t be thrilled to have it.
Mana Tithe’s better when you’ve got three or four, cowing your opponent into playing conservatively in game 2. It lends itself to draft, a format with a stronger emphasis on tempo. Play it if you’ve got a Spellshaper or two.
The more evasion your forces have, the safer it is to play Poultice Sliver without fear of reprisal. He excels at holding down the fort repeatedly.
If there’s no Blue mana available, I hate playing Momentary Blink.
Miss Mycologist, I know Thallid Shell-Dweller. Thallid Shell-Dweller is a good friend of mine. And you, madam, are no Thallid Shell-Dweller. You block hardly anything at all, and die to both Crookclaw Transmuter and Merfolk Thaumaturgist. Why, you don’t even piggyback off Sporesower Thallid. I disapprove.
Blue
Solid: Aquamorph Entity; Gossamer Phantasm; Snapback; Spiketail Drakeling; Wipe Away
Decent: Dream Stalker; Synchronous Sliver; Tolarian Sentinel; 2 Veiling Oddity
Weak: Aeon Chronicler; Bewilder; Cancel; Fool’s Demise; Paradox Haze
As of late, I’ve been doing quite well in Time Spiral / Time Spiral / Planar Chaos draft using W/U. Aquamorph Entity and Primal Plasma perform admirable jobs blocking big uglies while your fliers go overhead. The Entity can also trade to kill a Durkwood Baloth or Bog Serpent. It’s hard to pass up this guy.
The list of things that kill Gossamer Phantasm is quite long. However, the list of things that would kill any one-toughness creature in the Limited format is only slightly less long. Like Mana Tithe, it’s a better performer in decks with Spellshapers.
I’m quite a fan of Synchronous Sliver. He turns Slivers with tap abilities into absolute terrors. Unfortunately, we haven’t opened any of those today. Still, vigilance is nothing to sneeze at.
Veiling Oddity’s one of those cards that people don’t seem to read carefully enough. If you want the Falter effect, you can’t hardcast it. The trick’s about as subtle as a megaphone, but gets better when you have cards like Clockspinning or Fury Charm to throw off your opponent’s math. Even so, time counter tricks squandered on the Oddity resemble stupid human tricks.
Aeon Chronicler doesn’t work in a format with so many critical Grizzly Bears and Grey Ogres. I appreciate his potential in the late game, but most of the time he’ll jump into the fray as a 2/2 or 3/3. Compare his relative stats to Phyrexian Gargantua and you’ll see why he’s a bad deal.
This is a perfectly reasonable and inoffensive pile of Blue cards. We’re looking for more value, however.
Black
Solid: Bog Serpent; Phthisis; Trespasser il-Vec
Decent: Blightspeaker; Cyclopean Giant; Drudge Reavers; 2 Spitting Slivers; Premature Burial; Shrouded Lore
Weak: Call to the Netherworld; Traitor’s Clutch
Bog Serpent is a lot more potent in Sealed, where you’re going to be facing off against lots of people splashing Swamps for removal. In Draft, he’s a big lug who won’t attack most matches. He Trades With Baloth (ever the relevant statistic) at a reasonable price, so I’ll give him a thumbs up. In a color short on big luggoons, value Bog Serpent higher than you would Sea Serpent.
How many sources of Black mana do we need to run to make Phthisis a valid splash card? My money’s on four. Anything less is asking for trouble. You want to suspend it on turn 3 at the latest. [Suspend it? Not on my watch, – Craig.]
Blightspeaker’s all dressed up with no place to go. No searching in this pool. Even so, he’s borderline playable as a 1/1 that gets through every turn for unblockable damage.
Spitting Sliver’s humble, yet has a certain charm. It whips your army of Sliver defenders up into shape. He’s got a reasonable amount of oomph when on his lonesome. A little pricey, but you get what you pay for.
Shrouded Lore’s a magnifier, upping the power of decks crammed with only the choicest of cards. If you’ve got a suboptimal pool, don’t even think about running this. It’s an utter waste of time. But if you are playing a deck with lots of powerful cards that lack synergy, Shrouded Lore can make up the difference. It’s best in a deck crammed full of removal.
Black is narrow but potent today.
Red
Solid: Dead / Gone; Firemaw Kavu; Goblin Skycutter; Lightning Axe; Prodigal Pyromancer; Sedge Sliver
Decent: Blazing Blade Askari; Fatal Frenzy; Flowstone Channeler; Fury Sliver; Goblin Snowman; Simian Spirit Guide
Weak: Dust Corona, Keldon Marauders, Plunder
Dead / Gone opened my eyes. Red’s one damn sneaky varmint in Planar Chaos. When you face off against a Mountain mage, your minions live only one breath away from the Divine Circle of the Jaya Cinderhood. Now you’ve got to anticipate watching them scarper off like Sir Robin. Gone eviscerates any opponent foolish enough to double block. Is your man trampling? Your opponent will feel the pain in spades. You know that Dead / Gone is good, but it’s better than you think it is. I’d advise holding back instead of rushing it out against the peons.
Prodigal Pyromancer is a good reason to start including Subterranean Shamblers in your Red splashes. You will see this guy across the table from you all the time.
Sorry, Hedge Troll, but you’re no Sedge Sliver. We like Sedge Sliver. A brooding version of the Trollish original, Sedge Troll is tons better than the Timeshifted staple Uthden Troll. Since we’ve got a smattering of good Slivers in White and reasonably bodies in Black, he may very well work out. Unlike most other Slivers, he only donates his abilities to the other side of the table a little more than half the time.
I keep confusing Fatal Frenzy with Fatal Fury, a pretty good old school SNK fighter. It’s a reasonable spell that allows your guys to get rid of Baloths. The prospect of a Berserked double striker does warm my heart. You still end up trading, however. In a Red/Green deck, this is a fine card, but you’ll never get the card advantage you’re looking for.
Simian Spirit Guide’s a Grey Ogre with an ability that may turn out to be relevant once in a while. It also blocks the irritating Skirk Shaman, so it’s a little better than you may have thought. It’s a reasonable 22nd card.
Dust Corona sounds like the name of a vacuum cleaner. And we all know what vacuum cleaners do. I will concede that it might be reasonable when played on a Shadow guy on turn 3. That’s not something you can reliably see in Sealed, however.
We have a Tolarian Sentinel and Dream Stalker in this pool, but that still doesn’t make me want to play Keldon Marauder.
Again we’re handed another fine pool of Red goodies. The removal’s top notch, but the creatures don’t have a ton of resilience. It’s hard not to want to play these guys.
Green
Solid: Deadwood Treefolk; Giant Dustwasp; Healing Leaves; Penumbra Spider; Spike Tiller; Spinneret Sliver; Thallid Shell-Dweller; 2 Uktabi Drake
Decent: Aether Web; Hunting Wilds; Savage Thallid; Whirling Dervish
Weak: Glass Asp; Reflex Sliver
I already sang my praises of Deadwood Treefolk and Giant Dustwasp to the heavens last time. My opinion on them hasn’t changed.
Uktabi Drake’s a fascinating card. It loathes Prodigal Pyromancers. Given the relative clogginess of Sealed mana curves, it’s a little awkward, but on the other hand it gives Green a hasty early beater that stays around. I’m very excited to play these guys. Frankly, I’m unnerved that I’ve got three mana-efficient flyers in Green this time out. The situation’s more awkward than a timely ellipses.
…
There are a lot of decks that would crave Hunting Wilds. Decks with Durkwood Baloths, Havenwood Wurms, and other fatties. Unfortunately, we don’t have any of these today. Our curve stops at five. A late game pair of 3/3s isn’t nearly as exciting as a single early 3/3, as in the case of Elephant Ambush.
Reflex Sliver is overpriced and doesn’t have the funky combat jazziness of Firewake Sliver. I’d rarely feel tempted to run this guy. And since we do have Firewake Sliver, it’s safe to ship this guy into the junk bin.
This Green definitely has the Planar Chaos vibe marked all over it. Having three fliers gives us the most evasion of any of our colors. That’s what I call chaotic. The Time Spiral affords us a nice defensive edge. Penumbra Spider, Thallid Shell-Dweller, and Spinneret Sliver are fine defensive creatures. Spike Tiller’s won me quite a few Sealed games.
Does Green have what it takes to make the cut? Look at all those cards I call Solid!
Everything Else
Solid: Chromatic Star, Frenetic Sliver, Necrotic Sliver
Decent: Firewake Sliver, Harmonic Sliver, Urza’s Factory
Weak: Gemstone Caverns, Paradise Plume
With all those Slivers, the deck’s got the potential for synergy. But we’ve only got a single, one-shot mana fixer. So I wouldn’t recommend any sort of five-color Sliver special. We need a little more concrete approach.
Necrotic Sliver’s the end game terror you always want on your team. He turns your part of the Brood into bomb-wreckers. But that isn’t the real value on this guy. Since we’ve got Sedge Sliver and Poultice Sliver helping us out, he’s also a regenerating bruiser who will draw so much attention that he’ll drive your opponent batty. I don’t think I’m venturing into dangerous territory when I predict that he’ll be a universal in any sixty-card Sliver deck.
Remember, if you want to play Necrotic Sliver as a straight up Desert Twister and your opponent has a Sliver and mana open, you can deny your opponent the opportunity to play the ability. Play the ability when you get priority after resolving the Necrotic Sliver. Then sacrifice as many Slivers as you like without ever giving your opponent priority. Just be sure to sacrifice your Necrotic Sliver last.
Frenetic Sliver’s another great Grey Ogre, just a skosh behind Necrotic in quality. He makes opponents loathe to trade. It’s one of the most easily back-firing Sliver abilities, on the other hand.
…
Man, this is a tough pool to build! But at least it’s a labor of love. We’ve got solid cards in all five colors, including a plethora of gold Slivers. The only shoo-in color is Red.
Here’s what I came up with.
1cc: Shade of Trokair, Chromatic Sphere, Dead / Gone, Lightning Axe
2cc: Goblin Skycutter, Phthisis
3cc: Blazing Blade Askari, Cloudchaser Kestrel, Flowstone Channeler, Necrotic Sliver, Poultice Sliver, Prodigal Pyromancer, Sedge Sliver, Simian Spirit Guide, Trespasser il-Vec, Fatal Frenzy, Fortify
4cc: Watcher Sliver
5cc: 2 Spitting Sliver
6cc: Firemaw Kavu, Fury Sliver
8cc: Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1cc: CSSS
2cc: CS
3cc: CCCCCCCCCSS
4cc: C
5cc: CC
6cc: CC
8cc: C
This is a deck on the draw if I’ve ever seen one. Yes, you have an abundance of three-drops, but at the same time the mana demands are pretty strict. The deck doesn’t want to go all out offensive, either. It’s better off trading your non-Slivers early on, preserving your Slivers for the eventual endgame. If your opponent lacks a solid defense, however, by all means exploit his weakness.
This deck has an abundance of mid-game attackers and defense, reasonable removal, and a finisher or two. That’s what’s bad about the Green build; nothing there feels like an honest-to-god finisher. There’s synergy, but not enough to make sweat pour down your opponent’s brow. Green’s Sliver selection is the weakest of the bunch. So we’ve got to find our power elsewhere.
We have enough removal to handle most flyers and two on-board pingers to dispose of shadows. Personally, I’m rather fond of unkillable double striking men attacking for the kill with two left at home, but I’ll happily take Akroma and Fortify as backup finishers. Fortify can be used to counter some removal spells or dominate a combat.
I was tempted to cut Phthisis, Simian Spirit Guide, and Trespasser il-Vec to add Momentary Blink, Frenetic Sliver, and Synchronous Sliver. That’s going past greed into Michael Milken territory, however. By doing so we reduce the number of swamps that make Sedge Sliver worth playing. If we’re going down the route with Blue, it’s also a reasonable call to cut the Fatal Frenzy in favor of Aquamorph Entity. At least he’ll always hit the table. Fatal Frenzy tends to sit in the hand a little too long for my taste. And then there’s Frenetic Sliver… man, that Blue looks more and more alluring. This pool’s tough, no matter how you slice it.
This sort of build has so much power, and yet so many ways to go wrong. I went down a conservative path by sticking to a three-color build. In testing, this deck smashed all the other contenders. Too bad there’s no opportunity to play in a PTQ with this deck.
This build illustrates a key principle of Sealed I often see others overlook. You’ve got to play the most powerful deck, which may not always involve playing the color with the highest number of quality cards. It’s easy to see solid cards that operate fine on their own, but it’s more challenging to put together a team that manages to have enough individual consistency to compete, yet surpasses the all-star team through synergy. Many times the all-star team turns out to be the right call, but that’s not always the case. The easiest path is not always the right one.
It’s still a little too early to be able to pin down the most significant trends, but we’re making headway.
As always, bring your builds and nitpicks to the forum. This pool’s got a lot more room for argument than the previous one. Just be sure to play nice.