Avacyn restored my Prerelease

There is only so much you can do with a bad card pool. Here is what I opened and what I looked at in order:

Rares:

• Moonsilver spear(A) (yeah, the promo card)
• Harvester of souls(B)
• Demonic rising(B)
• Wolfir silverheart(G)
• Captain of the mist(U)
• Descendant’s path(G)

**Ok, I think I’ll go black or green… or both. Let’s see the rest**

Number of cards

• White: ≈ 15
• Blue: ≈ 20
• Black: ≈ 20
• Red: ≈ 10
• Green: ≈ 20
• Artifact: 3

**Ok, no red. What’s playable?**

• White: 3 creatures, 1 removal, 0 bomb
• Blue: 1 creature, 2 removals, 0 bomb
• Black: 7 creatures, 2 removals, 3 bombs
• Red: 1 creature, 0 removal, 0 bomb
• Green: 7 creatures, 1 removal, 1 bomb (+1 situational)
• Artifact: 1 creature, 1 bomb

**Sight… BG so it seems, and loner at that! Demonic Rising(B) and Homicidal reclusion(B)… So I’m stuck to play around my rares… Sight.**

Even with all the time spent and preparation, you still need luck to win. The player right next to me opened both a Griselbrand(B) and Bruna, light of alabaster(M) with an awesome card pool. I just had a suboptimal card pool that coudn’t play anything other than it’s rares’s color, like so many others at the prerelease. So I finished with a mediocre 6/5 win rate over five matches. I won some games by curving from a turn three Angel’s tomb(A) into a turn four Druid’s familiar(G). By stacking you’re triggers correctly, the bear can pair with the angel and will stay bounded even if it reverts to an artifact. Wolfir silverhearth(G) won by pairing on a simple Bucher ghoul(B). It is so powerful! But I was most impressed by the loner mechanism since I was forced into that. Demonic rising(B)’s best friend is Bone splinters(B) and it is surprisingly easy to end your turn with only a single creature. I could still play lots of soulbond in my deck and be able to trigger the Rising every time it came out or gain tons of life to Homicidal seclusion(B). Driver of the dead(B) was really weak, just a plain 3/2 for 4. There was not enough 2 mana quality creatures in the set to make it awesome, although it did curve well as a virtual vanilla. The most obvious target, Bucher ghoul(B), never stayed in the grave long enough to get raises. I lost many games to Angelic armaments(A) and didn’t have the luck to find an Eaten by spiders(G) to deal with it. This equipment was really strong, once on a paired Nearheath pilgrim(W) and another time on a really annoying Dark imposter(B). Good time.

Just a though like that, would you play this kind of Titan?

• Soul titan
• 4BB
• Creature- Demon
• 5/5
• Deathtouch
• Whenever Soul titan comes into play or attacks, you may draw two cards.

Because this is the way I see Harvester of souls(B). The turn it comes into play, I almost always drew 2 to 3 cards and another 2-3 the next turn when I attacked. I will not be surprised to see this take the place of Grave titan in 3-4 months when M13 bumps the Titans out of view.

Anyway, I had a good day at the prerelease.

Analysing Avacyn restore sixth day: The combat tricks

I’ll go by color and mana cost. The tips are for when you play against that color.

White: Tip. Avoid trading creatures unless your opponent is tapped out.

W (and 2U): Cloudshift (and Ghostly flicker(U)). This depends on the creatures you opponent has in play. It can give protection with Midvast protector(W) and many other tricks. At its most simple form, it will be used to block a creature and save its own to prevent damage, or will be used to counter a card that target one of his creatures. So if you think your opponent is holding one, and you have a spot removal for that creature, just attack and watch how he reacts. If he cast it, burn/destroy his creature on the stack.

1W: Zealous strike. Your opponent sits on two lands, he’s attacking with a creature you could just eat… Let it through and don’t risk to lose this much card quality.

2W: Leap of faith. This card won’t be maindeck much because it is fairly weak, but it can be used as a combat trick in two ways. First, to give flying for a creature to punch through. Not much you can do other than saying thanks and playing Eaten by spiders(G)… The other way is to play it on a creature that would soon trade with another one. Once it is blocked, the flying clause has no more effect and only the fog shield will have effect. To dodge this trick, avoid any trades you can’t come back from and use the mana advantage he gives you by playing more threats. Then attack with smaller creatures.

3W: Restoration angel. Much like Cloudshift(W), but with a big body attached. If you suspect something like this, save your Thunderbolt(R), Eaten by spiders(G) or Geist snatch(U) for combat. Play your sorceries and creatures on the second main phase.

 

Blue: Tip. If you can, save two smaller spells before playing your game winning bomb if your opponent sits on 4 lands. 2 lands? Play now!

U: Outwit. “Why do you play that card?”

1U: Peel from reality. I remember when this card was used with Izzet chronarch to keep two creatures lock down for the entire game. Now, your opponent may be playing Mist raven(U) for about the same results. Really annoying, but not game winning. Play smaller creatures and wait until he exhausted his ravens so that you don’t lose too much mana and tempo to the bounces. If he uses more mana than you to keep your creatures off the table, you gain the advantage.

1U: Second guess. He he he, most of you will hate this card, but won’t fall twice in the same trick. Play your best spell first, preferably after combat, or play two “test” spells, the second of which is the cheapest. In the case your opponent has 4 lands untapped and you know he has this and Geist snatch(U) in his deck, I would recommend not playing any game winning spells this turn and use your mana more efficiently by playing smaller threats.

2UU: Geist snatch. For newcomers to the game, this card will introduce a very basic and elementary rule: play your spells AFTER combat, and not BEFORE. If you don’t, the token can ruin your attack and gain enough time for blue to play bigger spells.

 

Black: Tip. Three lands untapped? Necrobite!

2B: Necrobite. The regenerate clause is particularly deadly. Even a mere 1/1 flying spirit token from Geist snatch(U) can eat the mighty Vorstclaw(G) with this. You can save your creature with a flicker or try to kill the target before combat damage, but the best alternative is again to not attack with anything meaningful. Necrobite will be able to turn the tide of the game because of a single misstep, but it shouldn’t scare you enough to keep you from attacking with an Archwing dragon(R). This may be a good time to side in your Fleeting distraction(U) and Righteous blow(W).

 

Red: Tip. Don’t ever let your life get to 5 or lower.

1R: Thunderbolt. Okay, it’s a burn. You’re playing against red, so just watch your life total. See Uncanny speed(R) and Thunderous wrath(R).

1R: Uncanny speed. Acts like another burn to me. It even gives haste to turn a creature into unexpected damage.

2R: Rush of blood. Not really good, but can push the last few damages from a big unblocked creature. Worst than Uncanny speed(R) by a lot. There is nothing to worry if you’re just considerate of your life total, like for any game against someone that can just burn you for the win.

R? Or 4RR?: Thunderous wrath. See above. Funny that this is the only spot removal spell at instant speed in red. This means that against red, your creatures are safer than you are!

3RR: Aggravate. This is probably overcosted but the instant card type is interesting. You can attack with a swarm of small creatures into bigger ones and wipe them after combat. Or you can play it during your opponent’s turn to force a bad attack. Still, not good enough to completely turn over a situation or to go through loops to dodge its effect.

 

Green: Tip. Need to be careful against 2 and 3 untapped lands, but no more. Attack at your own risks.

1G: Terrifying presence. It is a terrifying card, almost as good as Moonmist was back in Innistrad. It is better in defense though so if you make an attack that’s back up by something, Necrobite(B) for regenerate, Leap of faith(W), Peel from reality(U), you should be safe. Since it is cheap, you probably won’t see it coming, but it is one of the best tricks of the set other than Cloudshift(W). Get used to plan into it.

2G: Eaten by spiders. Cloudshift(W)? Hexproof? This card will almost always find its way, especially if you play blue or white (or even black). And strangely it is extremely potent against Angelic armaments(A). Face it, one of your creatures’s going to die, so just keep hold of your biggest flyers until you know the ground is safe.

1GG: Wolfir avenger. Don’t attack with anything that can’t deal 3 damages on the third turn if your opponent has two forests and a land untapped. In the late game, it is mostly a 2GGG card for the regenerate. As long as he doesn’t have a third forest, you’re fine to barge in. The best he could do would be to trade.

Analysing Avacyn restored Fifth day: Second half of the builds

After my last post, I realised that the loner mechanism was strong in blue too. I was out of the track by saying that BW was good for a loner deck. Sure, the life gain and angels are good, but blue can offer counterspells, bounces, Fettergeist(U), Havengul skaab(U), Lone revenant(U) and a bunch of ways to control your own number of creature like Peel from reality(U) and Alchemist apprentice(U). My mistake, I should have seen that earlier. Still, you need to have a great card pool to build this deck. Don’t force it if you have better options.

Now, on to the real thing.

UG Flying/flying hate and soulbond. Blue/green is strong. Whether you go the soulbond route or the flying hater route, you have the best mix of bombs and control spells of the set. Soulbond is straightforward, so I won’t talk about it. Simply put, you need to have more than half your 22 spells with soulbond to make Flowering lumberknot(G) playable. The flying hate is really interesting. To compensate for all the flyers in the set, green has way more reach creatures and “destroy target flying creature” than usual. In a normal set, 3 or 4 of thse card is enough. AVR has 6, with only one that’s not really good (Grounded(G)). Those spells, while situational, will always have a target, even if you’re playing against RW humain because they will be playing angels! Ok, they don’t kill Avacyn herself, but Griselbrand(B), the Powerpuff angels, Demonic taskmaster(B) and about every white and blue bombs in the sets dies to this build. Don’t put more than 1 card that does nothing else than hoose flyers in the case you encounter a RG opponent. This means only one out of Bower passage(G) or Eaten by spiders(G), preferably the latter one; the rest, don’t be afraid of playing them: Glomwidow(G), Snare the skies(G) and Geist trappers(G). But this is only the first half of the build. You want to make you own creatures as powerful and as difficult to block as you can! Favorable winds(U) is the engine here, boosting your already big flyers even more. Wingcrafter(U) can pair up with the biggest green creatures in the set and you’ll be able to dominate the sky. Keep some control at hand with blue to remove annoying attackers and blockers and card advantage tanks to Triumph of ferocity(G). And what’s with Vorstclaw(G)? Alpha tyrranax was plenty playable in M12! Abuse…

Engine: Favorable winds(U), Triumph of ferocity(G)

Curve:

1: Wingcrafter(U)

2: Wandering wolf(G)

3: Gloomwidow(G), Fettergeist(U), Latch seeker(U), Wolfir avenger(G)

4: Druid’s familiar(G), Mist raven(U)

5: Geist trappers(G), Gryff vanguard(U), Yew spirit(G)

6+: Vorstclaw(G), Pathbreaker wurm(G), Howlgeist(G)

Spells: Bower Passage(G), Eaten by spiders(G), Snare the skies(G), Geist snach(U), Angelic armaments(A), Triumph of ferocity(G), Blessing of nature(G)

Rare picks: Spirit away(U), Wolfir silverheart(G), Champion of lambholt(G)

Two headed giant: Win. That’s all there is. You have the best bombs and the best control spells. You can win any game that goes long and those will certainly go long. Your partner will have a choice of white, black and red. He should take the two colors with the higher number of bombs and control spells. That’s how THG is won.

BG highest power. This build can gain a huge advantage by continually having the highest power among creatures. This is their goal, and it is a goal way easier to achieve than to keep exactly one creature alive. Both Triumphs will produce massive card advantage and cards like Essence harvest(B), Howlgeist(G) and even Rush of blood(R) as a splash reward you for having a power higher than the creatures of you opponents. And if your creatures are bigger than your opponent’s creatures, you’re already ahead in the race. This build also aims to control and kill opposing creatures with combat tricks and removals. It has a wild assortment of spells and tricks like Terrifying presence(G), Bone splinters(B), Death wind(B), Necrobite(B) and Grave exchange(B). Apetite for brains(B) takes the biggest threat out of your opponent’s hand. If you control your opponent well enough, your big creatures should have no problem to cross the red zone.

Engine: Triumph of cruelty(B), Triumph of ferocity(G)

Curve:

2: wandering wolf(G)

3: Demonic taskmaster(B), Trusted forcemage(G), Gloomwidow(G)

4: Druid’s familiar(G), Nettle swine(G)

5: Wildwood geist(G), Yew spirit(G)

6+: Vorstclaw(G), Holwgeist(G)

Spells: Tormentor’s trident(A), Terrifying presence(G), Blessing of nature(G), Essence harvest(B), Death wind(B), Bone splinters(B), Grave exchange(B), Necrobite(B), Rush of blood(R)

Rare pick: Wolfir silverheart(G), Ulvenwald tracker(G), Champion of lambholt(G), Harvester of Souls(B)

Two headed giant: This build, like the last one, is already made to be good in THG. I repeat myself, but bombs and control is the best. The best partner you can have is a WU flicker because you will both provide tremendous card advantage in the long run. Just be careful that you really take higher power creatures, even Renegade demon(B) because you need to at least tie for highest power against 3 other players. This is also why WU as your partner is best because it won’t interfere with this plan. Unhallowed pact(B) also becomes very potent, as well as Batter in blood(B).

… … …

That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. I can’t envision anything to do with red, which is bad. It seems red is too straightforward to build any real strategy on it. There is 3 slith vampires, but only 2 supporters in the form of Fervent cathar(R) and Malicious intent(R), the latter of which also needs you to remove an attacker for its effect. I believe it is correct to say that red is weak in limited and that, bearing good human tribal or absurd bombs, you shouldn’t go red. Tomorrow’s the big day and I’ll be there early with my friends. They will go THG and me, sealed unless they succeed to convince me. I’ll post one last article tomorrow morning, before it starts to warn you about the dangerous combat tricks and instants you should keep in mind while playing. I will post my results the day after that.

Analysing Avacyn restored fourth day: The builds

Before I start, I found out yesterday that draft was no longer a format at the prerelease. It has been replaced by Two headed giant sealed. I only played once a two headed sealed and frankly, I don’t like it. Still, I will write a few lines on each strategy on how to play it at a two headed giant sealed. If you don’t know, this sealed is played by teams of 2. Each team is given 8 boosters to make their two decks. The shared life total is 30 and the poison counters are upped to 15.

Now, the strategies.

The first one I wanted to address was B loner deck. Don’t go that route unless you have THE perfect pool for it. It is too much of a gamble. If you absolutely need to play it, here are a few tricks. First off, you need creatures. It is not because you have some Demonic taskmaster(B) and Homicidal seclusion(B) that you can just lower you creature count. If this doesn’t work, you’re screwed. Instead, play at least 14-16 creatures with an assortment of sacrifice. That way, you can control the number of creatures you have in the case of a seclusion. The loner strategy is your back up plan. For the main plain, you will need tough creatures, ones that don’t die easily to compensate for your sacrifice and to stand their ground as a loner. Undying, regenerate, hexproof, resurrection and the likes. Lifelink will be useful for staying alive against an aggressive opponent and to regenerate Marrow bats(B). White will be the best second color for the early defence and Cloudshift(W).

Engine: Homicidal seclusion(B), Predator’s gambit(B)

Curve:

2: Bucher ghoul(B), Nearheath pilgrim(W)

3: Bloodflow connoisseur(B),  Demonic taskmaster(B)

4: Corpse traders(B), Driver of the dead(B), Evernight shade(B), Seraph of dawn(W)

5: Marrow bats(B)

6+: Maafield twins(B), Goldnight redeemer(W)

Spells: Batter in blood(B), Bone splinters(B), Essence harvest(B),Grave exchange(B), Mental agony(B), Necrobite(B), Unhallowed pact(B), Cloudshift(W), Defy death(W), Homicidal seclusion(B)

Rare pick: Demonic rising(B)

In two headed giant: Shift from white to blue or red and leave white and green to your partner. Take more removal, even situational ones because there will be twice as much opportunity to play them. Go the control route with strong creature bombs. Your ally should have some vigilance creatures and all the board presence. Don’t go aggressive though, in this format, slower decks win more than aggro ones. Focus on bombs and removals. Soulbond should be the theme of your partner.

 

RW human tribal is next in line. This one can be really aggressive, and that’s good. There is allot of support for human in white and red and they have many great rares as support. This deck wants 18+ creatures and the rest in removals and support. Normally, I wouldn’t recommend 1 power creatures in sealed, but because of the power boosting spells and the human counting one, they gain their place here, but you still don’t want too many. Other than that, it is fairly consistent and has access to a bunch of good removals. A good strategy overall. Just be extremely careful against flyers, as you can’t interact with them in any ways other than Thunderbolt(R).

Engine: Goldnight commander(W), Riot ringleader(R), Vigilante justice(R)

Curve:

1: (Exceptionally, this deck can have one drops, though no more than 3. Seriously!) Midnight duelist(W), Somberwald vigilante(R), Stonewright(R)

2: Moorland inquisitor(W), Thraben valiant(W), Kruin striker(R)

3: Devout captain(W), Fervent cathar(R), Hanweir lancer(R), Kessig malcontents(R), Riot ringleader(R)

4: Goldnight commander(W)

5:

6+: Goldnight redeemer(W)

Spells: Builder’s blessing(W), Commander’s authority(W), Banners raised(R), Pillar of faith(R), Thunderbolt(R) , Thatcher revolt(R), Bladed bracers(A)

Rare pick: Angel of glory rise(W), Cathar’s cruisade(W), Riders of gavony(W), Gallows at willow hill(A),

Two headed giant: Don’t even think about it. You play against two opponents, a shared field of potential blockers and you took the most aggressive cards from you shared pool, leaving your partner with blue, black and green. Oh and you need to deal 30 point of damage, not 20. It will simply not work. As I said, two headed giant is a slow format and in a slow format, big bombs dominate small weenies decks. If you’re stuck with red and white in THG, play lots of angels and devils, slith vampires and big spells. Rite of ruins(R) becomes much more attractive here. If ever, by any luck, your partner can find beatdown cards in UG, then maybe you could overrun your opponents before they play their big spells, but I wouldn’t bet my hand on that.

 

WU flicker, third white strategy today. Man white is strong! And this build is particularly strong too if you get some Nephalia smuggler(U), Cloudshift(W) and Ghostly flicker(U). White and blue have a whole bunch of great come-into-play creatures and can really gain a huge advantage by flickering them repeatedly. You can draw tons of cards, bounce your opponent’s creature forever, gain tons of life, give protection or hexproof at instant speed and much, much more. You can counter spells without any counterspell! This one will be a force to be reckoned whit the right card pool. I know that if I open a total of 5 flicker cards, I will go this route!

Engine: Nephalia smuggler(U), Deadeye navigator(U)

Curve:

1: Cathedral sanctifier(W), Nephalia smauggler(U), Wingcrafter(U)

2: Nearheath pilgrim(W)

3: Emancipation angel(W), Mist raven(U), Tandem lookout(U)

4: Goldnight commander(W), Midvast Protector(W), Elgaud shieldmate(U)

5: Gryff vanguard(U)

6+: Goldnight redeemer(W), Voice of province(W), Havengul skaab(U)

Spells: Cloudshift(W), Defang(W), Crippling chill(U), Ghostly flicker(U), Ghostly touch(U), Peel from reality(U), Angel’s tomb(A)

Rare pick: Restoration angel(W), Deadeye navigator(U), Conjurers’s closet(A)

Two headed giant: This one plays great in a two headed giant. The engine is pretty slow, and since THG is slow, you will have time to settle and start to combo. Add in card drawing to dig out your Nephalia and take all the higher casting cost come-into-play creatures. Give red and green to your partner. He will hold the ground with huge creatures and powerful spells. Don’t forget flying hate! It will be useful, especially in THG.

Tomorrow, the rest of the builds.

Analysing Avacyn restored third day: The rest of the list

Yesterday, I talked about half of the cards that made my list. Today, since I want to talk about the build-around-me cards, I will throw you the rest of the cards as they come.

Cards seen yesterday:

White: Commander’s authority, Emancipation angel, Goldnight redeemer and Seraph of Dawn

Blue: Fettergeist, Ghostly touch, Latch seeker, Tandem lookout and Gryff vanguard

Black: Demonic taskmaster, Evernight shade and Marrow bats

Red: Hanweir lancer and Heirs of stromkirk

Green: Blessing of nature, Druid’s familiar, Holwgeist and Trusted forcemage

So now the rest of my list by color.

White has Archangel(W) as a big dragon-like creature. High mana cost, but will win games. You will only need one big angel at the top end of your curve. I prefer Goldnight redeemer(W) because of the one less mana cost. The fact the redeemer has an immediate impact on the game and put you out of reach of a swarm attack is also a point to keep in mind.

Defy death(W) is great. It is rare that white has an unconditional raise spell. Even on a simple Emancipation angel(W) you’re left with a mighty 5/5 flyer. Of the cards I talked up to now, there were 4 angels so I bet you can find something to go along Defy death. It is still very good without an angel.

Goldnight commander(W) is really brutal in a white weenie deck. AVR doesn’t have many token producing spells so if you can get your hands on a few copies of Commander’s authority(W), this will become a constant stream of big creatures. Otherwise, even if you only get one or two triggers out of it you should be aggressive enough to win the game. This goes well with my next card…

Moorland Inquisitor(W). This card is especially aggressive. Attacking with 3 mana open is a threat and a bluff. There is no good choice to blocking and so they will not block most of the time. Put an equipment on it and it becomes a monster!

Blue’s last two cards of my list are the conditional ones you saw in yesterday’s graph. The first is Crippling chill(U). Frost breath from M12 was really good, and this card acts much in the same way. Timing your spell correctly gives you two safe attacks and prevents two attacks from the target, with no card disadvantage. The best use of it is after you’ve put some aggressive creatures on the board to keep a big blocker down (or a loner from doing its job).

The second one is Wingcrafter(U). Personally, I’m not fond of this creature but I must say that in the context of the set, it is almost a must have. You see, this set abuse of flying creatures. Because of the overabundance of flying, you need to play flying to even have a chance to block you opponent’s threats. Players that don’t play flying or flying hate won’t be able to win. Wingcrafter gives you that much desired flying blocker and can really stall the game with a Commander’s authority(W). And there is always the possibility of giving flying to Vorstclaw(G)…

Black now. Maalfield twins(B) screams card advantage and really feels like a miniature Grave titan. It is also one of the few cards to give extra bodies, not counting undying. Don’t forget that.

Driver of the dead(B) is aggressive and resilient. Again, it gives multiple bodies with a single card, but if you think it is worst off than an undying creature, think about raising back a Butcher goul(B) or a Falkenrath exterminator(R).

Undead executioner(B) is both a creature and a spot removal. It can keep up with undying or gain card advantage against white and blue. It’s a solid card that can be put into any deck with black mana.

The next two are conditional. At my first reading, Mental agony(B) made me think of Blightning from Alara. It can act like it, card advantage and burn in a single spell, but the extra mana means that your opponent may have already played their cards if they’re aggressive. Still really good against slower decks.

Lastly, Batter in blood(B). Do you know Damnation from Planar chaos? It’s the same thing. Play it when you have no creatures and your opponent have two to come back in the game. Follow up with a big five mana monster.

Red. Gang of devils(R) is overcosted, but still playable. Acts much in the same way as Maafield twins(B), but with better accuracy.

Somberwald vigilante(R) is one I’m really not sure what to think about. Ashmouth hound was good because of the 2 power. The vigilante may be awesome with equipment or with a Druid’s familiar(G), but may be just a plain 1/1 first striker otherwise.

For green’s cards, it will be easier to go by bunch. Vorstclaw(G), Pathhbreaker wurm(G) and Yew spirit(G) are just huge and the latter two are smaller repeats off game breaking cards: Chameleon colossus and Gravetiller wurm. Big and powerful.

Wolfir avenger(G) is obvious and was already largely talked about.

Al that’s left is Geist trappers(G). This one is there much for the same reason as Wingcrafter, but on the other hand, it is much better than the smaller one. It can be played alone and act as a Greater basilisk, or with other big green creatures to wreak your opponent’s flyers. Almost a must have for green to keep up with flyers.

… … … … …

The first part took longer than I wanted even if I wrote only a few sentences on each. Now that this is out of the way, let’s go to the build around me cards.

White’s only card that needs support is in fact very playable anywhere. It’s Builder’s blessing(W). In any deck, it will make your creatures harder to kill, but with a dedicated vigilance deck (which white can totally pull off) this card becomes significantly better. Add in control and removals and your Commander’s authority will be unstoppable.

Blue has better cards here. It has Favourable winds(U) that will play just like Honor of the pure for white with all those fliers. It has Nephalia smuggler(U) and Havengul skaab(U) that are just absurd with white flickers and come-into-play abilities. An then it has Mass appeal(U) as a cheaper Distant melody in human decks. Slam all your cheap creatures on the table and then draw four or five cards into your bombs.

Black has Blood artist(B) which is a smaller version of Falkenrath noble. This is not a two drop, but a four or five drop that ensures that your creatures deal damage whatever appends. Homicidal reclusion(B) is a glass canon. It plays incredibly well with Marrow bats(B) and Bones splinters(B). Still, if you go the loner route, you will need many creatures and protection spells like Cloudshift(W). Another good card, Corpse traders(B) can lock down your opponent really fast if you have a handful of recursion and undying. Paired with Triumph of cruelty(B), your  opponent will quickly be left topdecking.

For red, the previously mentioned Falkenrath exterminator(R) and its big brother Havengul vampire(R) can seal games in the blink of an eye. Paired with Fervent cathar(R) or Hanweir lancer(R), they become nearly unstoppable. Slith beside, red can build a great human tribal deck with Vigilante justice(R) and Riot Ringleader(R). The justice is also really good with Commander’s authority(W), so RW human seems like the aggressive deck of choice in AVR.

Green doesn’t have much. It has the almighty Triumph of ferocity(G) that is way, way better that its cruel counterpart, and Flowering lumberknot(G) that can be really good with a Wingcrafter(U). Other than that, it’s all in the big bombs.

… … …

Okay, today’s article was somewhat rushed. Tomorrow, I’ll stop talking about individual cards and start listing the best strategies of the format. Here’s what I want to cover tomorrow and the day after that (as you can see, W, U and G are dominant):

RW human aggro

B Loner

WU flicker

GU Flying/flying hate

GW soulbond

Analysing Avacyn restored limited Second day: The List

Hello everyone! Now is time for me to share my list with you. But be aware that I won’t go column by column on my sheet, but by similar cards. You need to make links to apprehend that data, so I’ll mix it up to make it easier to understand. Oh and I won’t post pictures because the post will never end if I do. So please keep your favorite visual spoiler at hand. To facilitate reference, I’ll type the name of a card, followed by its color in parenthesis, like this: Vorstclaw(G). Hope it helps.

First of the numbers:

Commons/uncommons worth keeping

• White: 8
• Blue: 5 (+2 situational)
• Black: 6 (+2 situational)
• Red: 3 (+1 situational)
• Green: 9

Just from this, I can already conclude that white and green have the biggest amount of bombs in the set. Red is full of small creatures, but won’t be able to keep up in the long run at all. This doesn’t mean you should stay away from red. It can still make a really aggressive deck, but don’t expect that deck to survive the long run.

Build around me cards

• White: 1
• Blue: 4
• Black: 4
• Red: 4
• Green: 2

Here it’s the opposite. White and green are really straightforward. Their power level is stable and known while a dedicated blue, black or red deck can achieve way better results with a specific cards. Just so you know.

Before I dive in, I want to say that every card that I mention made the cut to the top 10 cards of their color in common and uncommon. I may say that a card is better than another, but it is mostly to point at the power level among colors. All cards here are worthy of any sealed or draft deck.

The first three cards I want to look at are Emancipation angel(W), Fettergeist(U) and Demonic taskmaster(B). They are the same card made differently in all three colors. They are the lone 3 mana big flyers that can so easily steal games with a little support. Fettergeist(U) is for me the best of the three because of the extra point of toughness, of the easy to cast mana cost and because its drawback is not really a drawback. If it ever becomes a burden, you can just sacrifice the geist. The Taskmaster is the weakest because it truly suffers if it isn’t alone and can so easily be stopped by a simple Defang(W). The angel is a safe choice and its bounce can reset soulbond, but because of the double white in its mana cost it will be impossible to splash and sometimes may even not come down on the third turn because of mana problems.

Next are the soulbond trio that made my list: Tandem lookout(U), Hanweir lancer(R) and Druid’s familiar(G). Actually, I also added Trusted forcemage(G) in the lot because the familiar was not 3 mana, but it isn’t of the same power level as the other three. Out of the first three, the familiar is the best by far. Not only is it in the same color as the forcemage, giving green an ideal curve of soulbond, the four more power it brings when it comes into play are a real beating. Remember Festehide boar from Innistrad? And Ulvenwald bear? Well, the familiar is both into a single card, and it doesn’t care that something died this turn. Green’s three drops are big, really. Wolfir avenger(G) and Gloomwidow(G) are both 3/3. And what if you played a Fettergeist(U) in your UG deck? Ouch! The lookout is second best because, even if it needs a lot of support or evasive creatures in a color that don’t normally care about attacking, it is very rewarding. And there is much more flyers around than usual. More on this later. The lancer is good, but not great. It is somewhat weaker than Stromkirt captain from DKA, but more versatile.

Next set: Commander’s authority(W), Ghostly touch(U) and Blessing of nature(G). Maybe you don’t see what links those cards together, but they are all noncreature spells that boost your creatures in some way. The white aura is the weakest, but not by much. The only thing that keeps the card from being really good is that it takes time to get a significant advantage. If it just gave vigilance along with the rest, it would be at the top, but because it doesn’t have an immediate impact on the game it stays below the other two. Gostly touch is really hard to pinpoint. It can do so much that I may be tempted to say it’s broken. It can remove a key blocker, give vigilance to a creature, gain another shot at a tap effect, and fix and boost your mana. What’s not to like? Blessing of nature is the best here. I will always play it at five mana, but miracle for 1? That’s just over the top! It plays about as an overrun, but way more versatile.

Seraph of Dawn(W), Latch seeker(U), Evernight shade(B), Heirs of stromkirk(R) and Howlgeist(G) are all about equal. Don’t underestimate those five! They are deadly, even the seraph. The angel can just keep pounding in and gain you a ton of life. Even if it is blocked (or blocking) you will gain life, making it a reliable way to stay ahead in a race. The vampire can quickly go out of hand. Since there is only two artifact creature in the set, intimidate is about the same as unblockable. The spirit comes down a turn earlier, but doesn’t grow like the vampire. It still puts your opponent in a race to find a removal. And the shade? Big. And doesn’t die! Because of the size it can get, it can easily net three or four cards if your opponent is force to double block twice or use an assortment of removals! And then there’s the wolf! This one is the most annoying. It is a combination of the seeker and the shade with appropriate mana cost. Be wary of them.

Goldnight redeemer(W), Gryff vanguard(U) and Marrow bats(B). The redeemer is better here, although the other two are great as well. The better body of the angel allows it to survive removals quite well and the life boost is always nice. It is simple and powerful just like Serra angel. The Gryff is more interesting. When you play it, you immediately get back your card and your opponent is put on his toes to find an answer. Card advantage on an interesting body. The bats are worst off, but if you stockpiled on life, lifelink or life drain effect, it can be really, really hard to kill and net you allot more cards than the Gryff. It needs support, but if you do support it, it becomes way better than the other two.

Wow, again this passes so quickly! And I only did half my list. So sad. Come tomorrow for more.

Analysing Avacyn restored limited First day: The methode

Okay, first day with the full visual spoilers.

I’ll start by describing my method so that you can do this yourselves next time. The first step is to scan through the visual spoilers with a sheet of paper and a pencil. The sheet should be divide in 6 columns on one side and another 6 on the other side, one column for each color plus coloress. On one side of the paper, mark “Commons” and on the other “Uncommons”. We need to separate those two to get a better view of each color. This way we can tell if a color lacks more on the good commons or uncommons and check if that color is very solid on the other side to compensate. You also need a note system. I use letters references to go faster. Here is my notes legend:

B- Bomb

C- Card advantage

P- Gain a board position

M- Maintain a board position

D- Defensive

A- Aggressive

T- Tribal or synergy caring

V- Versatile

A bomb is a card that is able to win the game by itself, or with minimum support. Cards like Lunk errant, Alpha tyrranax, Stromkirt captain or even Skywinder drake.

Card advantage is pretty straightforward, but note that I also count big toughness as card advantage because of the need of double block to kill that creature. A toughness of 5 or more is almost always worth this mention.

Gaining a board position is usually creating a number of tokens or bodies that can give you an attacking or blocking potential. Cards with vigilance, untap or that can repeatedly kill or control my opponent creatures also give me a board advantage.

Maintaining a board advantage is subtler, but more frequent. It is cards that are better if you are already ahead in the race, like Deadly allure. Death trigger enters this category, along with creature control and cards that care that you control a creature to take effect.

A wall is a good example of a defensive card. Fog effects, vigilance and control spells enter this category. All spot removals get this mention, whether they are aggressive or not.

Aggressive is also straightforward. Creature with haste, attack triggers or spells that deals damage to the opponent while doing something else are aggressive.

Tribal include all cards that care about an exterior quality, whether it is a creature type, a certain type of permanent, the number of land you have or if your graveyard is full of spells. Snapcaster mage fits this category, along with Stitched drake and the likes. It is usually a limiter factor that we don’t like in limited because it forces us into a certain type of deck, but under the right circumstances, they are usually really powerful.

A versatile card is the opposite of tribal. If there is many ways of using it, it is versatile. Modular cards, flickers and cards that are useful in a lot of different situations receive this mention.

Whit this grid and your sheet of paper, you’re ready to skim through the spoilers for every interesting cards. When a card catches your attention, write its name in the appropriate color columns with all the letters is correspond to. Don’t be afraid of putting card on your sheet or to take more than one sheet of paper. This is when you get your first impression of the set, so take your time. As a comparison, I wrote about 2/3 of every commons and uncommon on my sheet with the appropriate comments. That’s about 8-9 uncommons and 12-14 commons per color. This first scan won’t give any result yet. If you’re like me, white and blue on my list have fewer cards than the others, with green having a huge number of interesting cards. This is because your mentality changed through the first time. You viewed cards differently at the beginning than at the end, no big deal. Just look back quickly to see if you have a new opinion on white and blue cards. Done?

Now look at your blackened sheet with 2/3 the set’s commons and uncommons. Take another sheet and draw 5 columns on each side (there isn’t enough artifacts most of the time for them to do a second selection), but this time write at the top “Cards worth keeping” and “Build-around-me cards”. This time, you will choose from your first list which cards make the cut to the second list. If need be (and it will) refresh your memory with the spoilers open, but personally at this point I prefer looking at spoilers without the picture, just the description of the card. This way I am really objective and don’t love/hate a card just for its art. You can find AVR spoilers with no picture here.

During this second selection, every card should count. Either they are game winners or really solid. There is not much place for spells, although if a spell is so awesome it will win you the game each time you play it, it definitely makes the cut. On the “Build-around-me” section, choose cards that are totally awesome in the right context, even if they are unplayable otherwise. Strategies are usually built around those cards, so keep an eye on them. After all is said and done, I had no more than 10 cards for each color, counting both of the sides. These are the best commons and uncommons of the set and you can now have a global idea of the strengths and weakness of each color.

 

Oh my, already this long? But,… I’m so not finished! Oh well, I said it would be on five days so I’ll follow my planning. Tomorrow, I’ll share my list with you and my thoughts about each card, along with analysing patterns and I will continue with a recommendation on which color is better in AVR. Be there, because I think the post will be quite early in the day!