If you’re looking for an edge in Dominaria United Draft, look no further!
It seems we’re at the point where everyone understands what’s good, what’s bad, and what’s in-between. So now you have found yourself fighting over the same cards as everyone else at the table.
What do you do? Adapt!
Everyone knows what’s good, but not everyone knows what can be good in the right circumstances. This is where you can take advantage of the monotony of the table. A bad habit drafters may form, myself included, is writing cards off entirely and forgetting they do have a deck they can belong to. In this article, I want to outline some “horrific” cards that can absolutely shine in the right circumstances.
Let’s start off with an amazing deck full of “bad cards.”
Mono-Red
Individually, we have some really unexciting cards, but within the context of the deck, they are the best cards for the job. Besides the obvious flood prevention, Thrill of Possibility works well by discarding Phoenix Chicks to recur from the graveyard, as well as enabling Keldon Flamesage. The Equipment are great enablers for not only the Chicks, but also creatures that our enlist creatures can recruit. Dragon Whelp looks like a true Firebreather in Mono-Red, essentially turning it into a flying Fireball even Shivan Dragon would be proud of. In Thrall to the Pit removes a blocker and adds an attacker. What’s not to love!
Now that we’ve expanded our brains, let’s talk about some individual cards and potential applications!
Yotia Declares War
Yotia Declares War is a surprisingly versatile card in the sense that it doesn’t really matter what colors you are as long as you’ve got some artifacts. I don’t have a ton of experience with this card, but I have an example of one of the times I’ve been able to use it successfully. It’s best in aggressive decks, and to that point, it’s not terrible by itself. Combining this card with Equipment is key. Not only will that enable a bigger ping for Chapter II, you can hand your Ornithopter token an Axe after its story ends.
Founding the Third Path
In the right deck, Founding the Third Path slices and dices. The first chapter is pretty irrelevant, though it could have some potential for an early play. Chapter II, self-mill? Let’s take a look at all the ways that helps this deck: Cult Conscript; Urborg Repossession; Tribute to Urborg; Vohar, Vodalian Desecrator; Eerie Soultender; Monstrous War-Leech; Tolarian Terror. Okay, and Chapter III lets us re-cast one of our kill spells. Now that’s a great story!
Join Forces
I’m actually quite proud of this one. The combination of Join Forces and two Haunting Figments results in eight points of unblockable damage! They already have vigilance, but untapping them really makes a statement about your intentions.
Molten Monstrosity
The combination of Ghitu Amplifier and Colossal Growth makes Molten Monstrosity cost one in this deck. Molten Monstrosity is essentially a combo card, most commonly combining with either Gaea’s Might or The Weatherseed Treaty because of their cheap mana costs, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other powerful combinations to explore!
These are just a few of the many cool, niche possibilities in Dominaria United. I’m still eager to discover some fun interactions I can lean on to gain an edge on the competition. Keep an open mind, and get creative.
See you in the arena!
