Early Color Consideration In Theros Beyond Death Draft

Both Nessian Hornbeetle and Warbriar Blessing are much better than they look. The majority of fight spells are mediocre, but the ones that augment power and/or toughness are often quite good and Warbriar Blessing takes this to the next level. The synergies with enchantments and Auras are high enough such that it’s often a fight spell with two upsides. But is that enough to beat out an efficient two-drop?

I find Theros Beyond Death Limited to lack good two-drops. In the majority of Limited formats, cheap removal is often the pick above cheap creatures. This is also the case with Theros Beyond Death in most scenarios. But not this one. Nessian Hornbeetle is one of the best two-drops green can have, and it’s even better when drafted early because it’s easy to then prioritize four-power creatures. This pick is the exception over the rule, and I believe it is correct to take Nessian Hornbeetle.

Omen of the Forge is a solid removal spell, and would potentially be in the discussion if Final Death was not in my draft pool. However, with a black removal spell in the pool, Inevitable End is a substantially better pick than Omen of the Forge.

Inevitable End has impressed me. In most scenarios, cards that give the opponent a choice are much worse than they look. Because of this, my initial evaluation of Inevitable End was that it is a fine, yet unexciting, removal spell. However, it is a lot closer to Murder than I initially believed. There aren’t many disposable bodies running around in this format. 

I am quite certain that Inevitable End is better than Loathsome Chimera. However, my pool has three green cards to one black card, which I believe tips the scale such that this decision is close. In fact, I would take Inevitable End if Nessian Hornbeetle were replaced with a random green card. The curve of Nessian Hornbeetle into Loathsome Chimera is one of the best in the format, and I think picking up a Chimera to ensure that as a possibility is the tiebreaker that leads me to pick Loathsome Chimera in this scenario.

Soulreaper of Mogis is no Spark Reaper. We’ve seen this kind of card before, and sometimes it’s great, but that’s not the case in Theros Beyond Death for the same reason that Inevitable End is good: there aren’t many disposable bodies. Even though it’s the only playable in this pack with overlapping colors with my pool so far, it’s enough below par that I would rather speculate on a more powerful card.

Sunmane Pegasus obliterates races. However that means the power of the Pegasus is a function of the matchup. Against a blue control deck, Sunmane Pegasus is mediocre at best. But against an aggressive deck, it’s above par. Considering all of that, it’s a very solid card that I’m happy to play, though it’s a worse pick than Pious Wayfarer.

If you’re not on the Pious Wayfarer train yet, do yourself a favor and hop into a draft and try and get as many as you can. This card is awesome! The card somehow still wheels (maybe the one from Pack 1, Pick 4 will too), and I view as one of the most important white commons. And the speculative pick here is logical because Selesnya is an enchantment-based strategy, and the green cards in my current pool pull in that direction already. 

While the speculative pick didn’t work out, it only came at the cost of a Soulreaper of Mogis, which I likely wouldn’t include in the final deck anyway. If you’re curious about other decisions during the draft, you can check out the entire draft log here and the deck below.