If I learned one thing from Grand Prix Vancouver, it’s this: Sealed and
Draft are as far apart as possible in Ultimate Masters . In my preparation for the event, I knew they were
different. I understood that cards like Moan of the Unhallowed and
Wickerbough Elder were much better in Sealed than in Draft. But I didn’t
truly grasp how this was the case for so many cards in the set.
Draft:
Put together a deck with a plan. Be as focused as possible on maximizing
this plan.
Sealed
: Just play your good cards and make sure you have creatures.
Sealed plays out a lot more like many Limited formats. Two-for-ones are
premium, you need creatures of reasonable rate, and your deck is usually
just some variant of midrange. I play Cathodian in almost all my Sealed
decks in this format, but hope I don’t include the card in any of my Draft
decks. The formats really are night and day. Red is above and beyond the
best color in this Draft format, but Black is the best for Sealed. Unholy
Hunger and Last Grasp get better, and Moan of the Unhallowed and Death
Denied provide so much value that they pull me into black in Sealed. If
you’re going to MagicFest Prague, remember to keep this in mind. Make sure
you practice both Sealed and Draft. Understanding one does not help that
much towards understanding the other.
If your plan is to win the event, you’ll have to go through both. Imagine
you’re sitting down at a table at MagicFest Prague about to draft this set.
What would you take?
Pack 1, Pick 1
The Pack:
The Pick:
I started this format thinking that the heroic decks were going to run
rampant. While they can be quite good, I’m not a huge fan. They’re less
resilient than other archetypes, and they don’t have access to the same
quality of card advantage and selection. Wingsteed Rider was a card I was
initially happy to first pick. This isn’t the case anymore.
Between the black cards, it’s close between Last Gasp and Apprentice
Necromancer. After playing a lot of this format, I’ve found Chainer’s Edict
to often not be good. I still start it because of the high ceiling against
heroic decks but aggressively sideboard it out. I would rather have the
first Last Gasp. Apprentice Necromancer is a potent combo piece, but it
does really need the right deck. Unlike most reanimation spells, this card
is weak to every single interactive spell, which is a noticeable downside.
I’m leaning towards Apprentice Necromancer over Last Gasp, but there could
be too huge a difference in card quality where the removal spell is
correct. However, neither of these are the pick.
There aren’t many cards I take over Wild Mongrel in this format, and this
pick is no exception.
My last article about the best commons in
Ultimate Masters
outlines a variety of reasons for this. The short version is that Wild
Mongrel is often the best card in your deck. It functions as a
madness/graveyard outlet and a potent threat for just two mana! I think
it’s the pick here, and I don’t actually think it’s all that close.
Pack 1, Pick 2
The Picks So Far:
The Pack:
The Pick:
I started this format taking Magmaw highly, but now I just think it’s
inefficient. Five mana is too much for the card, and I’d rather have
Reckless Wurm in 99% of my red decks. Fire is a great red removal spell,
but overall, if I’m taking a red card it’s Squee, Goblin Nabob. This card
can be an amazing engine in this format. And don’t forget that it has a
super secret mode of “chump block every turn.”
Boar Umbra is a powerful card that’s on-color with Wild Mongrel. And
Terramorphic Expanse is the best fixing in the entire set. In fact, Expanse
is a card I prioritize very highly as it synergizes quite well with delve
cards and Circular Logic. However, I don’t think either the Umbra or the
Expanse compare to what Squee can do. So I’ll be taking the unkillable and
adorable little Goblin out of this pack.
Pack 1, Pick 3
The Picks So Far:
The Pack:
The Pick:
This pick is extremely easy to me, but it’s not clear until you’ve “done
the thing.” Anger is one of the best possible cards to combo with Wild
Mongrel. Attacking for three on turn 2 is pretty fantastic, and God forbid
you follow that up with a hasty Reckless Wurm. I’m taking Anger here. Not
only does it combo with Wild Mongrel, but if we don’t play green, Squee,
Goblin Nabob and Anger is a good start in red, and red is also the best
color.
Satyr Wayfinder, Blast of Genius, and Boar Umbra are all fantastic cards
for their respective decks, and they would be closer to contention if this
was pack 1 pick 1. But they don’t compare given the cards we already have
drafted.