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Sealed Revealed 3: Card Pool One.

The Limited Lover’s fan favorite is back, this time covering the many colors of Ravnica in all its sealed deck goodness.

It’s been a funny few months in Magic, for me at least.

While I’m enjoying the game as always, I feel at the mercy of Fate. Not a kind, benevolent Fate, I hasten to add. That’d be altogether too simple, as I’d win everything entered. No, my personal Fate is a prankster Fate, a Fate with attitude. I’m pursued by Loki, and all I can do is ride with his whims.

Traditionally, my strengths lie in Constructed. Not construction, sadly, but the playing of Constructed Magic. So I love the chance to throw myself at the metagame of English Nationals.

This year? 0-3 in the first Standard portion, out of contention before a single booster was cracked. That’s Loki.

Conversely, I fear Limited. Especially a brand-spanking-new Limited, rich in meaty goodness. I become scared quickly, as there are no tech or teachings to sop up from the internet. Thus, prereleases are fun but arduous for me.

This year, for Ravnica? 6-1 in Florida, after losing my first round. Again, that’s Loki.

In Sealed Revealed articles of yore, I’ve had a goal. I’ve spied an important Limited event, and attempted to hone my Sealed game in order to attend/excel. Unfortunately for me, the event this time has been and gone. Grand Prix: Nottingham came too soon for me to don my Sealed Revealed hat and gain the Knowledge through forum fire.

So this time, I use it as a start. For my first foray toward the Revealing of Sealed Ravnica, I bring you my card-pool from the Grand Prix itself. Later on, I’ll tell you how I did, but you can skip all that and visit the official coverage if you’re desperate to know.

For now, I’ll simply wind back the clock, crack my GP: Nottingham product, and pray that Loki isn’t feeling too frisky.

So here we are, at Grand Prix: Nottingham. It’s at an ice-rink, and the floor beneath us springs and slips. Rumor has it that Torvil and Dean are to play a feature match at some point, with Tonya Harding as the table judge.

I sit at my table, and crack the stack of packs. What could be inside, I hear you wonder… Well, wonder no more!

*whipping off the white hankie*

Ta-daaaaaaaaaaa!

Go scout my list, and weep.

White

2 Conclave Equenaut
Dromad Purebred
Nightguard Patrol
Oathsworn Giant
Screeching Griffin
Suppression Field
Veteran Armorer

Blue

Dizzy Spell
Flight of Fancy
Flow of Ideas
Grayscaled Gharial
Halcyon Glaze
Induce Paranoia
Muddle the Mixture
Remand
Stasis Cell
Tattered Drake
Vedalken Entrancer

Black

Clinging Darkness
2 Disembowel
Golgari Thug
Infectious Host
Necromantic Thirst
Ribbons of Night
Roofstalker Wight
Sadistic Augermage
Shred Memory
Strands of Undeath

Red

Barbarian Riftcutter
Blockbuster
Goblin Fire Fiend
Goblin Spelunkers
Hammerfist Giant
Incite Hysteria
Rain of Embers
Seismic Spike
Sell-Sword Brute
Sparkmage Apprentice
Viashino Slasher

Green

Dryad’s Caress
Elvish Skysweeper
Farseek
Gather Courage
2 Nullmage Shepherd
Rolling Spoil
Stone-Seed Hierophant
Trophy Hunter

Gold and Hybrid

Boros Swiftblade
Chorus of the Conclave
Consult the Necrosages
2 Dimir Infiltrator
Drooling Groodion
Phytohydra
Rally the Righteous
2 Skyknight Legionnaire
Szadek, Lord of Secrets
2 Thundersong Trumpeter
Woodwraith Strangler
Centaur Safeguard
Gleancrawler

Artifact

Boros Signet
2 Golgari Signet
Grifter’s Blade
Selesnya Signet
Spectral Searchlight
Terrarion

Land

Golgari Rot Farm
Foil Island

Some nice cards there, as you can see. A few nice Boros creatures, some lovely White flyers, a big fat Gleancrawler… but what would you build from it?

Grasp the candle, and bang on.

A joke for you…

A bloke walks into a pub, and sees Van Gogh propping up the bar. Impressed, he strides over.

“Hello, Van Gogh,” he says. “I’m a big fan of your paintings. Can I buy you a drink?”

“No thanks,” says Van Gogh, pointing at his pint. “I’ve got one ear.”

That’s time, ladies and gents. Let’s have those glasses!

How did it go? Did you come up with the goods?

Here’s what I thought of the pool…

White

Ah, the heady aroma of White piecemeal. Slightly maggoty, but with some nuggets of chocolate.

On the plains of Kamigawa, I made sweet love with the White cards night after night. In fact, we produced offspring: the card Baby Scouse Blademaster is due out in Guildpact.

Ravnica, however, is a cabbage of an altogether different stew…

Let us begin, as they say, at the beginning. What better way to start than with the staple 3/3 flyer… the Conclave Equenaut. This pool gives me two of the blighters, which can’t be bad. Yes, they cost six, but they’re convokable so they’ll come down for five, four, or even three at a pinch. And they’re horses… with wings. I pity the poor sod who has to change the paper at the bottom of their cages.

Next up, the four mana 2/2 flyer Screeching Griffin. Sure, he’ll do. If you’re Boros, of course, his ability is more than relevant. Many an opponent will die with this guy screeching obscenities in his ear.

Nightguard Patrol, a 2/1 Vigilance First-Striker for three mana, is hardly a Kitsune Blademaster, but he’ll do. In sets past, the First Strike ability would be golden, but Ravnica has many fat-assed blockers ready to take the sting out of this particular patrolman. He makes the cut generally, and especially in Boros, but I’d look to cut him if I could.

Two mana, 2/2, Veteran Armorer. Yeah, he’ll do. Let’s face it, he’d make the grade without an ability, and his “pump your mates” talent is appreciated. [Uh oh, I sense censorable jokes coming. — Knut] That said, if he were truly a veteran at armoring things he probably would have learnt how to armor himself. And you’ve gotta love his porn moustache… cue the slap-bass and German accents. “Hallo young ladies, I haf come to mend your armor… Why yes, I do haf a big tool.”

On the playable front, we’re kissing biscuits from here on in. Five mana buys us a ludicrous llama in the form of Dromad Purebreed. Make him three mana, give him defender, and we can do business. As he is? Meh.

Oathsworn Giant is a 3/4 for six mana. Once upon a time, six mana bought us a 4/5 spirit-linked flyer that could swing on turn 4… we’re not in Kansas any more. Oathsworn? I was the one swearing, I can tell you.

One more card in the White pool, and it’s not a creature: it’s the eminently playable Constructed uncommon, Suppression Field. Sadly, for Limited, it’s pretty weak, as it’ll likely be useless most of the time, and late-game opponents won’t mind sinking the extra mana to, say, pump out a Selesnya Guildmage token.

This pool gives us some burly White man, but nothing in support. Two Conclave Equenauts, however, may force the issue towards a White-style build… time will tell. It’s early days, and we’ve yet to check the Colored and Hybrid offerings…

Blue

English is a strange language.

For example, if you’re happy, you can be described as “Tickled Pink.”
If you’re angry, it can be said that you’re “Seeing Red.”
If you’re honest and pure-of-heart, you’re “Whiter-than-White.”
And if you’re depressed? You’re “Feeling Blue.”

See where I’m going with this?

Blue, the color of petty-minded irritants. Still, best press on…

Creatures! One mana! Islandwalk, 1/1! Grayscale Gharial! OMGWTFBBQ this guy is the bombzorz I must buy sixteen foils of him and lay down a cardboard shrine before which I pray naked each night smeared in lard and greased for action. Please God, pull the plug.

I’m hardly being fair starting with the above rectum of a card. There are a couple of playas in the Blue pimp’s posse. We have the Tattered Drake, a five mana 2/2 flyer… who isn’t exactly Morphling, but his regeneration ability is very useful.

Next up, the Vedalken Entrancer. Yeah yeah, we all know the Dimir mill deck is obscene in draft (even though the only time I’ve drafter it saw me get happy-slapped to the sidelines in the first round), but Sealed is probably a mite temperamental to rely on such shenanigans. Still, a 1/4 blocker with a relevant long-game ability is Fair-Trade Freddie.

The only other Blue creature isn’t actually a creature after all. It’s an enchantment. The three mana Halcyon Gaze, part-time 4/4 flyer, is a great card. Just remember to put real creatures in your deck too, or you’ll look like a proper banana.

Right, let’s take a gander at the spells… first up is the one-mana Dizzy Spell. As it stands, it’s hardly bootylicious, but it can transmute for something important in a pinch. That also costs one mana. Hmmm… maybe if I was low on removal and needed an emergency Disembowel tutor, but I’d rather not play this unless forced at spoonpoint (like knifepoint but a bit more cuddly).

And while we’re on the subject of transmute, let’s have a big ol’ Mexican Wave for Muddle the Mixture! This one transmutes for a two-mana spell! As with all things in Magic, it all depends on your other cards. Though I’d hazard to say that a five mana transmute spell will probably have more of an effect on the game than a one or two mana equivalent. Oh yeah, the card does something else too. Something largely unimportant. It may snag a piece of removal, but don’t come running to me if you need a chump-blocker and you draw a useless counterspell.

This pool is rife with countermagic (see that segue? Seamless!) Two mana gives us the tempo-riffic Remand. Would I play it in Limited? No. Have I lost to it in Limited? Yes. Make of that what you will.

Higher up the Counter Tree we have the Draft-playable Induce Paranoia. As with the Vedalken Entrancer, the mill archetype seems a little redundant on the Sealed stage. However, the format is a slow one, and a card like this could give you a well-needed victory. Thoughts?

I’ll be brief on Flow of Ideas, the six-mana Island-specific card drawing abortion. In a set open for multi-colored invention, a card that screams “mono-Blue” is hardly appropriate. Flow of Ideas is a puddle of piss.

So what else have we got? Ah yes, Flight of Fancy. It grants a guy flying and it nets you two cards. Personally, I quite like it, but I can see its weaknesses. As with all creature enchantments (sorry, I mean Enchantment- Auras) it is prone to instant-speed removal. I’d probably play this in a big dork deck such a Blue/Green, but then again we haven’t yet seen proper guild support for such a travesty.

Finally, we have the poor man’s Shackles: Stasis Cell. Sorry, but I think it’s too expensive, and the move-about cost is also rather steep. Would I play it? Probably not. Have I lost to it? Yes. Again, draw your own conclusions (and then come and share them on the forums).

Blue has some niceness, I suppose, but it’s hardly the poster-boy for strength-in-depth. I can’t see myself treading the Blue boards unless something drastic happens.

Black

Black, the emo-goth color of choice, is often the Go-To Guy where removal is concerned. This is particularly true on the mean streets of Ravnica, as Red has slim pickings all round. So how do we fair?

I have a poem for you:

Watch your step! I’m on the prowl!
I’ll bring you down with my boogly scowl!
I’ll run you through! I’ll make you howl!
Phear my Double Disembowel!

This card is decent removal. I like it. However, the best thing about this is the name of the artist: Chengo McFlingers. I’ll repeat that, in case you missed it… ChengoMcFlingers. Phil Foglio, surely? Nowadays, whenever I cast this spell, I don’t say ‘disembowel your guy.’ I say “Chengo your dude. McFlingers him in the bin.” Iamsosmrt.

Next up, the two-mana Clinging Darkness. This acts as true removal for pesky 1/1 spods, and also answers guys such as Moroii and other lard-butt beaters. Very playable.

The Removal roll-call is completed by Ribbons of Night. This card name should be voiced by Bela Lugosi. “Rrrribbonsss….. ov Niiiiiiiiiiight!” Lifegain, removal and card drawing in one fancy-pants package. Approved.

The pick of the remaining support cards must be Stands of Undeath. Regeneration is very handy down the Ravnican back-alleys, and the double-discard dog-bomb is a peachy surprise. I like this.

Shred Memory is a situational sideboard answer to Dredge and similar evil. Even so, I wouldn’t play it unless my opponent was dredging like a demon. The transmute ability may be vaguely useful, but I’d rather jack. The Slinky skull artwork, however is definitely Tier One.

Support duty is rounded out by the limping squid that is Necromantic Thirst. Don’t even bother reading it. It’s rubbish.

On the creature front, we start small. The 2/1 sometime flyer Roofstalker Wight is a playable, if unspectacular, bloke. He swings for two on turn 3, and can take to the air should you draw your foil Island. Accepted.

Two mana also finds us at the bus-stop of Golgari Thug. I like this little guy, as if you’ve danger in the graveyard he’s either nigh unblockable or he’ll hold back the tide. He is, however, slower than an Ent on Valium. What do you guys think?

Upping the tempo, we have a Sadistic Augermage. A 3/1 body for three mana is okay, but you’ll need some decent removal to make an ultra-quick beats deck work to his strengths. As for his ability: I say pshaw, and pshaw again.

Lastly, at three mana, there’s the Infectious Host. Christ on a bike, this guy is poor. If he’s the host, I’d hate to be a guest at one of his parties. He looks as though he’s vomiting Hubba Bubba.

Black, as usual, gives us some decent removal backed by smeg-awful creatures. Let’s hope that the Gold and Hybrid blokes take up the slack here.

Heh.

Gleancrawler.

Red

In the Red corners of Ravnica, things are generally not going well. All multicolored nonsense aside, it seems Red in Ravnica Limited has taken an Odyssey-style shafting up somewhere dark and painful.

Really, in order to truly consider Red outside of the strict Boros framework, we need Galvanic Arc. In multiples. This pool gives us Galvanic Arc in Multiples. Sadly, it’s multiples of zero. The removal we have? Blockbuster. Pathetic. Seven mana for a selective wrath? No thanks.

Looking to the guys… we have the Flametongue Apprentice… sorry, that’s the Sparkmage Apprentice. He serves a purpose, but he’s hardly a bloody Ball Lightning.

What else do we have? Oooh, Viashino Slasher! Bask in his slashy goodness. In the realms of fanfic, “slash” translates as fictional boy-meets-boy shenanigans. In reality, I think I’d rather go there than stay here with this turkey.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it does. Four mana for a 1/1 dork should make him an ability-driven powerhouse. At the very least he should do something useful. Goblin Fire Fiend? Arse Biscuits.

Sell-Sword Brute is a card I’d play, but only in a deck with true speed potential. Let’s face it, he’s no Jackal Pup. While the Shock-on-death is largely irrelevant, it can be annoyingly important at times. I wonder how much cash he got for his sword… did he stick it on eBay?

Three mana brings us the techy mirror-match winning Goblin Spelunkers. He’s basically a mountainwalking Morph. The thing is, no-one is really playing Mountains, so he seems a little superfluous. Against Boros, he’ll be killed quicker than a mallard at a duck hunt.

11282005stevenson1.jpg

Five mana, 3/3, Barbarian Riftcutter. Wow, he destroys lands. I don’t care. Maybe if they’re packing Sunhome or Vitu Ghazi or Svogthos… but overall I’m unipressed. I’d be much more impressed with a Barbarian Haircutter. “Spiral perm, is it? Would you like a blue rinse? How about a decapitation while you’re here?”

Lastly, for six mana, we have the Hammerfist Giant. For six mana, you get a 5/4 frame and a ground-based Wrath… not too shabby. Playable, definitely. Edward Hammerhands can certainly pack a punch.

The remaining support cards do nothing to tweak my loins. For starters, there’s Seismic Spike. It’s Land Destruction, and thus has a very limited appeal for Limited play. Heh. I said Limited twice. I rule.

Rain of Embers, the Yamabushi’s Storm of the set, is a decent card, I suppose… and it’s golden against the Selesnyan token machines. When I say it’s golden, I don’t mean it’s an actual Gold card: it’s still Red. And it’s not made of gold either. It’s cardboard.

Last, we have Incite Hysteria, a card so memorable I’ll have to look it up on the database…. Ah, it’s a Radiating Falter. Could be useful, I suppose. I doubt it. The art’s cool though. I love a crowd scene, me.

Red is, without question, a fetid pile of ox-vomit. One Hammerfist Giant does not a strong deck make. Can the Boros cards help out here?

Heh.

Double Skyknight double Trumpeter.

Green

If you believe the hype, Green is the color to be. After all, it has traditionally brought us the crazy-cool mana-fixers needed to boost multicoloured glory, so Ravnica should be a base-Green paradise. And it has big fat men! How kewl!

How do we fair this time?

We’d better start with the creatures, as they appear to be getting restless. I’ll crack off with the Trophy Hunter, a splendid guy with “remove me” written all over him. If he avoids early hate, and manages to swell in the belly, he’ll rule the game. He certainly gets the Trophy of Respect from me.

Sadly, things soon sag into the soup of despair. We have a double-team Nullmage Shepherd, which is frankly uninspiring. Tap and army, destroy a signet? Not my idea of power. Especially since the enchantments in this set do most of their damage on the way down.

Stone-seed Heirophant is another pube in the pudding. She probably does something silly in a combo deck, but I’ll leave those eggs to Einstein. All she does in Limited is vaguely resemble Linda McCartney.

Last up, we have the Elvish Skysweeper. His ability is costly, but in a Selesnyan token deck he can kick nuts. A 1/1 with attitude, he’s so anti-flying he’s practically Mr. T.

The guys are largely bowels in this pool. The support spells are, sadly, little better. Two mana fetches us a land with Farseek, I suppose, but that won’t win us the game unless we plan on using it to paper-cut our opponent to death.

The only other playable card is Gather Courage, a cheeky tap-out combat trick. Any Giant Growth style effect demands respect, and this one is no different. Pop it in and smash face (until end of turn).

Now we begin dredging the bottom of the poo-lake. Dryad’s Caress is awful. Gain life and untap creatures? Wow, count me in! It’s hardly a powerful move… it’s like being caressed by a natural yoghurt.

Rounding out the Satsuma of Despair is Rolling Spoil. More land destruction… how lovely. Actually, this one has some game in a Golgari deck, as it hoses the tokens of Selesnya and can probably do some mischief to the pesky Boros bastards too. Sideboard-a-gogo!

So Green is the best color for Sealed in the set, is it? My arse.

Of course, nothing can be truly decided before we tackle the Gold and Hybrid sweetmeats on offer…

Gold and Hybrid

Finally, finally, we get to the interesting stuff.

I’ll be breaking these down by Guild. It’s the modern way.

Boros Guild

Thus far, it seems our White is nice but our Red is poor. How do the Red/White guys (pink?) fair.

OMG! WHEEEEEE!!!!!!1!!!11!!!!!eleven!!!!

Double. Skynight. Legionnaire.

Double. Thundersong. Trumpetter.

I don’t think I need say anything else here. Those for cards? Fantastic!

We also have a double-striking Boros Swifblade here. If I’m being honest, I quite like him. However, I think he may actually be pointless. Thoughts?

Rounding out the guys we have the not-quite-Boros-but-he’ll-do Centaur Safeguard. A 3/1 for 3 is acceptable in a quick deck, and the lifegain is an additional bonus… but he’s a little anaemic for my tastes. If we had more true removal, I’d happily throw him into the mix, but here? The mulleted donkey can stay home and chomp grass, unless I wedge some Green in there too.

As for spells, we’ve one. It’s a decent one. Rally the Righteous is a decent finisher that plays to the strengths of the Skynights and Trumpeters. A definite inclusion, if a little poor in the mirror-match.

I’ll admit it: the Boros deck looks pretty sweet. Oh for a Helix or a Galvanic Arc!

Selesnya Guild

Again, it seems that the White spells make the meat of the Green/White pairing. The colored additions are few.

What do people think of Phytohydra? I like it, but I don’t know why. Sure, he stops attackers stone-dead, but he dies to almost every Black removal spell in the set. Is he a Cool Things card?

Chorus of the Conclave, however, sees me harboring no such quandaries. I think it’s a terrible card. Powerful, maybe… but eight mana for a game-breaker that needs you to cast other creatures seems poor. At least they’ll have a torrid time trying to Disembowel it.

Centaur Safeguard yadda yadda yadda horse-face yadda yadda yadda mullet yadda yadda yadda booooooo.

Green and White simply under-perform. Where are the token generators?

Golgari Guild

Hehehe. Now we’re cookin’.

Six mana brings us a Gleancrawler. He’s fatter than me, far more dangerous than me, and he does obscene things from time to time (also like me). Wonderful stuff, a game-winner without question.

Knocking heads with the creepy crawler is the impressive Drooling Groodion. What the deuce is a bloody Groodion? I’m all for entertaining names, but this is ridiculous. By the way, did you know that a “Kudzu” is actually a real plant? It’s the fastest-growing plant on Earth, the only plant whose growth is measured in miles-per-hour. Anyway, the Groodion combos nicely with the Gleancrawler, and together they swing for ten sans trickery. Need I say more?

Finally, there’s the Woodwraith Strangler. This is, I feel, on the very edge of playable. Regeneration is very nice, after all. And this pool has no Dredgers, so the cost isn’t that steep. Thoughts?These cards add some much needed beef to our growing Hunkmuscle Sandwich. But is it enough to set aside the streamlined Boros offering?

Dimir Guild

Why am I bothering with this guild? Surely it’s a straight fight between base-Boros and base-Golgari?

Oh yeah… Szadek.

Eight mana, 5/5 flyer with ridiculous ability… but is he invaluable? I like him, and one swing will likely end the game… yet he’s more expensive than Prada caviar. Thoughts?

The two Dimir Infiltrators are passable. They act as early walls, and can become something else at sorcery speed. And they swing past everything, which is an appreciable talent. I wouldn’t bet my house on them, though.

11282005stevenson2.jpg

Finally, we have the desirable Consult the Necrosages. I’d love to see that problem page… Dear Necrosages. I think my husband is cheating on me. How can I be sure? Wendy from Canada………Dear Wendy. Thanks for your letter. We at Necrosage HQ have sacrificed a goat on an obsidian altar, and we can confirm that your spouse is indeed playing away. Kick him to the kerb, girlfriend! Love the Necrosages. Erm, yeah. Play it, it gives you options.

We can’t go Dimir. We just can’t. Sure, we can shoehorn a Gleancrawler in there too, but even so… it just ain’t happening, Szadek be damned.

Artifact

We have four, Four, Four Signets. So how many is the correct number? And how do they affect the land-to-spell ratio, and how does the deck’s color requirements alter accordingly? Do we play off-color Signets, like off-color Myr? Come to the forums and tell me.

Of the three remaining artifacts, two of them are mana fixers. The first, Spectral Searchlight, is the better of the two. It’s repeatable mana of any color, plus it can serve as a Prodigal Sorcerer if the time is right. I’d play it over a Signet, but should I play it with a Signet? What about with two Signets? Or three, or even four?

Terrarion is a playable alternative to Chromatic Sphere, for Limited at least. Again, I’ve played and enjoyed its effects… but where does it fit with the signets? To be honest, I get confused easily. I once called my Mum “Jeff,” which cause all manner of upset. I can understand why. Her real name is “Brian.”

Last up, we have the Grifter’s Blade, and instant-speed Equipment. I quite like it, but then it’s not exactly a Jitte. Usually, it’ll make a weak deck but not a strong one. What do you think?

Land

I’ve two fancy land, and neither of them is a New Dual. Must be something to do with those Ultra-Rares I’ve heard so much about.

The Golgari Rot-Farm would see play if I needed both Black and Green mana for my deck. The same can be said for all the common lands and their respective colors.

As for the Foil Island, I’ll probably only play this if I’m playing Blue spells in my deck. I’m not sure about this, though… maybe I need it when playing other colors too. Any help in the forums is appreciated on this tricky conundrum.

So there are my thoughts, red in tooth and claw. Do you agree? I doubt it. Come share in the forums.

Here is the deck I played at the GP:

White
Veteran Armorer
Nightguard Patrol
Screeching Griffin
2 Conclave Equenaut

Black
Golgari Thug
Roofstalker Wight
2 Disembowel
Strands of Undeath
Ribbons of Night

Green
Trophy Hunter
2 Nullmage Shepherd
Gather Courage
Farseek

Gold and Hybrid
Centaur Safeguard
Photohydra
Woodwraith Strangler
Gleancrawler

Artifact
2 Golgari Signet
Selesnya Signet
Terrarion

Land
5 Forest
5 Plains
5 Swamp
Golgari Rot-Farm

Is it the best build? Not a chance.

A few words on card choices:

In the end, the Green/Black contingent won out. I was forced to throw a heavy White aspect in there, but I was bringing the flyers out to rain pain on my helpless foes.

Having plumped for Green/Black, I somehow ignored the Drooling Groodion. Why? I have no idea. Sometimes, I just mess things up.

There were some bad color synergies here. Screeching Griffin with no access to Red, Ribbons of Night with no access to Blue… wrong wrong wrong.

If I’m honest, I must admit I really wanted to add Szadek too. I’m a weak-willed man.

Armed with my monstrosity, I took to the field of battle. Below, I present an in-depth tournament report. Don’t worry, there wasn’t a bloke with meat on a sword anywhere in sight.

Round One.

I had a bye.

1-0

Round Two.

I got battered 2-0.

1-1

Round Three.

I got battered again, again 2-0.

1-2 (out of contention for Day 2)

Appalling.

After round two, I gave my deck a major overhaul. After all, I knew something wasn’t right. I threw together a passable Boros build (splashing Black), and vowed to sideboard into it after game one of round four.

Round Four.

In round three, I’m playing a relative novice at the game. The GP was his third tournament. he ran a very weak Boros build, ramping up to Excruciator. His play was also rather poor, which is only to be expected from someone just starting out. Of course, he was a nice guy and a fun opponent.

I took the first game with ease, and almost talked myself out of my sideboard plan.

Don’t be lazy, said Loki. You’re here to learn. Not sideboarding as you’d planned is insulting to your opponent.

So I sided my deck into my Boros build.

Result?

A 2-1 loss.

1-3 (and pretty f**ked off).

For the record, here is the Boros build I played:

White
Veteran Armorer
Nightguard Patrol
Screeching Griffin
2 Conclave Equenaut

Black
Sadistic Augermage
2 Disembowel
Strands of Undeath
Ribbons of Night


Red
Sell-Sword Brute
Sparkmage Apprentice
Hammerfist Giant

Gold and Hybrid
Boros Swiftblade
2 Thundersong Trumpetter
2 Skynight Legionnaire
Rally the Righteous

Artifact
Boros Signet
2 Golgari Signet
Spectral Searchlight
Terrarion

Land
6 Plains
6 Mountain
4 Swamp

I don’t know which deck, if any, is the “correct” build.

I don’t know if I missed the memo completely and have over/undervalued certain cards.

I don’t know if it was down to Loki, or if I really am terrible at Magic.

I do know I need your help. Come to the forums and tell me how much I suck.

Until the next pool,
Thanks for listening.

Craig Stevenson
[email protected]
Scouseboy on MTGO