Let’s get something straight, right from the outset:
If you’re hoping to read this article, or series of articles, and pick up quality tips on how to build your sealed decks for the unfortunately-named CoK block, then I’ve some sad news for you…
I’m rubbish at Limited. I suck the badger’s tadger.
But hey, we all want to improve, right?
So come with me on my merry dance. Read my article. It concerns the new cards.
After all, the spoiler for the next set is a long way away…
…
I purchased two boxes of CoK product: one box of boosters, and one box of starters. As with all new card releases, I was sorely tempted to simply crack and stack the goodies. But with the Sealed season upon us like leather on goth, there are infinitely better things to do than watch my precious cards gather dust.
Instead, I made twelve sealed decks. One starter deck, two boosters each.
In this series of daily articles, I will take a pool of cards and describe my thought processes and card choices in some detail. I will lay bare my deckbuilding soul. And frankly, I’ll open myself up to derision in the forums.
Still, it beats working.
Hopefully, the great and good out there in Cyberland will pick up on my failings, and my small victories, and we can form some consensus of the correct and incorrect choices. As with any new set, there are mistakes to be made. Like Jesus, I’ll cleanse you of such sins by casting the first stone. Or something.
By reading StarCityGames.com and pals, we’ve all made a conscious statement: we want to improve our game. Here’s hoping we can help each other in this regard. Christ knows I need it.
So here’s the first card pool.
White:
Call to Glory
Kabuto Moth
2 Kitsune Blademaster
Kitsune Diviner
Kitsune Riftwalker
Konda’s Hatamoto
Lantern Kami
Quiet Purity
Reciprocate
Samurai of the Pale Curtain
Takeno, Samurai General
Terashi’s Cry
2 Vigilance
Blue:
Aura of Domination
Callous Deceiver
Consuming Vortex
Floating Dream Zubera
Peer Through Depths
Psychic Puppetry
2 Reach Through Mists
Soratami Cloudskater
Soratami Savant
Student of Elements
Uyo, Silent Prophet
Black:
2 Cursed Ronin
2 Deathcurse Ogre
Devouring Greed
Hideous Laughter
Gutwrencher Oni
Iname, Death Aspect
Kami of the Waning Moon
Night of Soul’s Betrayal
Nezumi Ronin
Ragged Veins
2 Rend Spirit
Thief of Hope
2 Villainous Ogre
Red:
Akki Avalanchers
2 Akki Rockspeaker
Battle-Mad Ronin
Ember-Fist Zubera
2 Hearth Kami
Initiate of Blood
Kami of Fire’s Roar
Lava Spike
2 Ronin Houndmaster
2 Sideswipe
Uncontrollable Anger
Unearthly Blizzard
Green:
Commune with Nature
Dripping-Tongue Zubera
Humble Budoka
2 Kashi-Tribe Warriors
Kodama’s Reach
Order of the Sacred Bell
Orochi Leafcaller
2 Serpent Skin
Thousand-Legged Kami
Time of Need
Artifacts:
Uba Mask
Land:
Cloudcrest Lake
Tranquil Garden
Right, now go away and build a deck. I’m off to the shop, as I’ve ran out of milk.
.
.
.
I’m back, and the kettle’s on. Let’s look at the White cards:
White
The White offering here isn’t too bad. For a start, we’ve double Kitsune Blademaster, and it’s hard to argue with a virtual 3/3 first striker on turn 3. Indeed, turn 3 and 4 Blademasters have a tendency to ride the damage boat all the way to the distant shoreline. Coupled with the goodness of the Kabuto Moth, the quick beats of the Samurai of the Pale Curtain, and the pseudo-Transfixer called Kitsune Diviner, it seems we’ll have a decent creature base in White from which to build.
There is, however, a number of White cards that we sorely miss, most notably Cage of Hands. In fact, there’s little in the way of defensive Whiteness. There’s no Kitsune Healers, no Innocence Kamis, no Indomitable Wills… it seems that if we go the White route, we’d better pack a removal color if possible, or our small guys will be overpowered.
So what else does White offer? Well, we have the semi-decent Reciprocate, which can deal with a big fat dragon without triggering their graveyard-based drawback. In fact, the spirit-tapping Diviner is also a decent foil against those dragon-packers that always open the good cards. We have the Lantern Kami, a guaranteed first-turn Lava Axe but appalling in the late-game. We have the pro-sprit pro-arcane Kitsune Riftwalker, who may, or may not, be good. We have Terashi’s Cry, which is cute but not a patch on the mighty Blinding Beam. Then we have the Samurai cards: Takeno, Samurai General and Call to Glory. These may make the cut depending on the Samurai count. Takeno, costing six mana, isn’t hideous… but he still dies to Yamabushi’s Flame.
Base-White seems passable, but not too exciting. With the correct support cards, however, it could do well.
Blue
I’m not keen on the Blue. I’ll admit it; this is a prejudice of mine that stems from many counter-backed beatings at the hands of control scumbags. Wizards ban Counterspell, but the Blue mage still hands me my arse on a plate time after time. Still, in the words of the disenchanted proctologist, I might as well go through the motions.
We have some nice creatures, I suppose, but nothing that screams “pick me, coach!” The mana-leaking Soratami Savant is nice, as is the 4/4 Uyo, but they have no backup and double Blue is prohibitive as a splash. Sure, we could play the not-quite-as-good-as-Merfolk-Looter that is Soratami Cloudskater, but Student of Elements? Callous Deceiver? I’ll take the bus, thanks.
A quick word on Zebras:
Did you know that Romans called zebras “hippotigris” and trained them to pull two-wheeled carts for exhibition in circuses? In contrast, Romans had no word for Zubera, and hadn’t even heard of Magic the Gathering. And they had the cheek to think themselves civilized.
The Floating Dream Zubera is playable, I grant you. He’s half-a-Jens. He’s a Je. Or maybe a Ns. Having said that, he’s hardly a beatdown machine. I’d much rather drop a turn 2 Nezumi Cutthroat.
So, let’s look at the usual savior of Blue, the support spells.
Hmm…
The Vortex?
Back away from the Blue, Sparky.
Moving on…
Black
Ah, the first removal color. If we’re going White, we need good stuff here. And upon examination, it doesn’t look too bad…
Firstly, there’s a board-clearer in Hideous Laughter. Infest was always a playable card, and I see no difference with this choice. The splice effect is gravy. Coupled with this is double Rend Spirit.
There’s been a lot of talk in the forums about which card is better, Rend Spirit or Rend Flesh. The question is largely academic, as you can guarantee that whichever you draw, it’ll be the wrong one for the problem at hand. While Rend Spirit is nice, I think the Flesh just wings it. Spirit can bring down a dragon, but that generally leads to Bad Things Happening ™. And the Soulshift chain means that killing a spirit can lead to more spirits. At least the fleshpots stay dead. But regardless, the two Rend Spirits are a fine addition to a possible base-White build.
As for the rest… Night of Soul’s Betrayal is Constructed passable, and Ragged Veins is arse-biscuits. For our purposes, both should stay home and play X-Box.
The creatures?
Firstly, take that Iname and place it in your fifty-cent rare pile, where it’ll rub shoulders with your Goblin Games and your Ancient Oozes.
Now that unpleasantness is over, let’s take a look at the rest.
Cursed Ronin is playable, especially if we’re going heavy Black. Two might seem excessive, as a 1/1 for four mana ain’t exactly the cod’s pods. Then again, he’s a Samurai, which fits with the White tribal cards mentioned above… and if played cagily, he’s a bugger to kill. Deathcurse Ogre, on the other hand, is atrocious. For six mana, you can play a 5/5 flying dragon. A Hill Giant isn’t quite as impressive. Nezumi Ronin is a nice addition, being a Samurai and a decent early beater. Thief of Hope and Kami of the Waning Moon are possibles, dependent on the arcane/spirit count. The Thief is particularly juicy, but oftentimes arrives to delay the inevitable loss rather than actively win you the game.
What of Villainous Ogre? The Ogre is a nice early beater, but lack of blocking is an out-and-out bitch. He’s simply a slightly expensive modified Spineless Thug, as his regenerative ability is largely pointless, however many Demons you control. Backed with good removal in, say, a Black/Red deck, he’s quite an asset. Time will tell on this one, I feel.
Gutwrencher Oni combos well with the Ogres, and a 5/4 trampler on turn 5 is a nice play no matter what the drawback. I’d play him with no Ogres in a quick beatdown build, but would want to see a few Ogres if playing, say, Black/Blue.
Devouring Greed is a card that I’m unsure of. In a heavy spirit deck, it’s a cast-and-win card. But if you’ve enough spirits on the board, you’re probably winning anyway. It doesn’t target creatures, sadly, which relegates it to the Where-Are-They-Now file in my eyes. But as I said, I’m far from certain. What do you think? [I think it’s pretty awesome, as combat stalls do happen in this format, and this gives you a way to break through them. – Knut, who has played it now many times in draft]
Red
The removal in Black was playable if not deep or spectacular. Let’s hope that Red treats us well.
*flicks through Red cards*
“Judge, when are the drafts starting?”
No Glacial Ray, No Yamabushi’s Flame… It looks like the Black removal gets the vote.
So, how about the creatures? The Ronin Houndmasters are obvious inclusions in the base-White build. Samurai, speedy, bushido… but the three-drop slot is in danger of becoming clogged. In a heavy removal build, the Hearth Kami serve a beatdown purpose, and their ability can be randomly relevant. The other guys, with a couple of exceptions outlined below, are cardboard garbage. So what are the exceptions?
The Initiate of Blood should see play, as his flip condition is a real possibility and his flip ability is a real threat. The Kami of Fire’s Roar is another spell that depends on the arcane/spirit count. Without a healthy number of such cards (the exact ratio of which will probably be analyzed and revealed by Zvi, Eisel, or Budde), he’s likely to be little more that a fat chump.
Of the spells, the only one worth mentioning is the Uncontrollable Anger. In a heavy Red deck, this card is a no-brainer, but the double Red makes the splash absolute gash. The Falter-effect of Unearthly Blizzard is passable but uninspiring, and playing cards such as these are the last gasp of a desperate man.
By the way, those of you who use the Lava Spike/Arcane spell route need a gentle shooting in the face. Behave yourselves, people.
In conclusion, Red is pretty dead in this card pool. As with Blue, the creatures are largely unimpressive, and the support cards are terrible. A splash color at best. Let’s hope Green is better.
Green
*flicks through the Green cards*
So, Black/White it is, then.
The Green here simply hasn’t got the power. Let’s start with the strength of the color and examine the frankly poor creatures available. I’ll start with the good stuff, which won’t take too long.
Order of the Sacred Bell is a decent man, or couple-of-men, as beating down with Bald Green Monks seems funny. They’ll get the job done, but they’re boring as hell. I hate the word “vanilla”, it’s so bloody bland. People who eat vanilla ice-cream as their dessert of choice are the type of people who don’t blink and pull the legs off spiders. Alongside these dual Voiseys are the Kashi-Tribe Warriors. Their ability seems weak, but might have an impact. If they could block flyers, they’d be well worth the money… but they’re snakes and not spiders, and while snakes may stop Indiana Jones in his tracks, they’re powerless when Superman comes knockin’.
The only other guy worth mentioning is the Thousand-Legged Kami. If he trampled, then he’d be semi-playable, but eight mana is a heavy investment, especially when the common removal in the block is pretty wide-reaching. A spirit-chain build might have a home for him, but he’d still be one of the first to hit the showers.
Of the support cards, we all know that Kodama’s Reach is pretty special… but the rest? Time of Need is bilge without a decent target, Serpent Skin is too situational, and Commune with Nature simply sucks [This Champions of Kamigawa joke has been vetoed. – Knut].
Without the decent creatures, Green will always suffer. The Green cards here are not worth the effort.
Artifacts
Uba Mask?
No.
Lands
I’ve played a few games with the new lands included in my decks, and I don’t like them. Played early, they cost some vital tempo. Played late, their ability is pointless. If forced into an even-split three-color build, or a four or five color heathen monstrosity, I’d play them. But in honing my deck and its mana requirements to a playable two-color plus splash, I’d hope to leave them in the deck-box.
For your perusal, here’s my decklist, with a few closing thoughts:
White (9):
Kitsune Diviner
Konda’s Hatamoto
Samurai of the Pale Curtain
Kabuto Moth
2 Kitsune Blademaster
Takeno, Samurai General
Reciprocate
Call to Glory
Black (9):
2 Villainous Ogre
Nezumi Ronin
2 Cursed Ronin
Gutwrencher Oni
Hideous Laughter
2 Rend Spirit
Red (5):
2 Hearth Kami
2 Ronin Houndmaster
Initiate of Blood
Land (17):
7 Plains
6 Swamp
4 Mountain
Creatures: 18
1 mana=1
2 mana=4
3 mana=8
4 mana=3
5 mana=1
6 mana=1
Some thoughts on the build:
The split is a little too “three-way” for comfort. I generally try to limit the splash color to three cards at most. Sadly, the Hearth Kamis were important to make some headway on the heavy three-drop mana-curve.
I included Takeno, and Call to Glory, as I rustled up ten Samurai for the deck. The Takeno isn’t too bad, as hopefully the removal will be at a premium at the six-mana stage. The Call to Glory is a little desperate, but it does act as a situational mini-Inspirit, which isn’t too shabby. At least it knocks seven bells out of Defensive Maneuvers.
The Konda’s Hatamoto made the cut, as I do have a legendary Samurai in Takeno. And the Hatamoto is a 2/3 blocker for two mana, which can’t be bad.
The spirit/arcane count was pretty low on this deck, meaning that running cards such as Thief of Hope and Kami of Fire’s Roar was largely pointless
Alternatively, how about this White/Blue splash Black build? I think it’s slightly more stable that the deck above, but heavy on the filler cards and far too reliant on key spells such as Uyo for victory:
White (11):
Lantern Kami
Kitsune Diviner
Konda’s Hatamoto
Samurai of the Pale Curtain
Kabuto Moth
2 Kitsune Blademaster
Takeno, Samurai General
Reciprocate
Terashi’s Cry
Call to Glory
Blue (9):
Floating-Dream Zubera
Soratami Cloudskater
Callous Deceiver
Soratami Savant
Uyo, Silent Prophet
Consuming Vortex
Peer Through Depths
2 Reach Through Mists
Black (3):
2 Rend Spirit
Nezumi Ronin
Land:
7 Plains
7 Islands
3 Swamp
Three Swamps for three Black spells seems fair, especially with the card-drawing included. After all, the removal is light and should be saved for the late-game big spirits if possible, when a Swamp should be freely available.
Overall, not the best of card-pools to begin with, but still some room for discussion and food for thought. Let’s hope the other eleven offer tastier treats.
If I opened these cards at a PTQ, I wouldn’t be too confident of success. All things considered, I think I’d play the White/Black splash Red deck. After all, Blue is the color of pure evil.
So, do you agree with my analysis of the pool, and the deck choices made? If so, or if not, chime up on the forums. As I’ve mentioned, I’m looking for feedback and debate here. Of course, if you’re of the “OMG u scrub iname is the r0x0rs” school of criticism, kindly leave the crayons in the toy-box and return to your playpen, thanks.
After all, I know my limitations at this game.
That’s why I want to improve.
See you on the forums.
Until the next pile…
Thanks for listening.
Craig Stevenson
Scouseboy on MTGO
[email protected]