by Dan Kramer
There was GP Trial this past weekend and Team Mana Deprived stormed the field taking down the top 3 places. First place went to our resident Limited expert and he’s here to tell you all about it. Take it away, Dan!
Good day one and all and welcome to the 4th instalment of Drafting with D.K. You had a break from my written mumblings last week as I posted a draft video that many of you seem to disagree with parts of. I did my best to address your concerns – most of which are explained by my preference in draft style – in the comments of that article, so feel free to check back there if you had any questions.
Today, my friends and foes alike, we’re going to move away from draft to take a little look at M11 Sealed Deck. After my rating spiked following a 10-6 performance at Pro Tour Austin last year, a dismal 3-4 drop at Pro Tour San Diego and then a 7-5 at Canadian Nationals last month afforded me the utter privilege of playing in a Trial this past weekend to earn a third bye for Grand Prix Toronto in October.
With that said, I headed out to Canada’s Best Magic Store ™, Montreal’s Jeux Face a Face (Hi Sam!), to compete with 22 others for the right to sit out rounds 1 to 3. As it turned out, I was far from the only one there with the first 2 byes already in their back pocket, so despite the minimal turnout, this would be no cakewalk.
Sitting down to crack boosters, I see a Grave Titan opened to my right, and then a Primeval Titan to my left. “C’mon swap to one side or the other,” I think to myself. Then I open my fifth booster and see… FOIL Grave Titan. Boooo. The pool I opened was a pretty sick Black/White number with, in addition to the Titan, a Steel Overseer, a Vengeful Archon, a Pacifism, and a pair each of Blinding Mages, Gravediggers, Stormfront Pegasi, and Black Knights amongst other goodies. And, just for fun, the other three colours included a Fireball and Ancient Hellkite, an Obstinate Baloth, and a Mind Control.
But alas this pool was not to be mine. The deck swap was, however, just one to the left, so after passing off a Foil Grave Titan, I am gifted with a nonfoil copy of the big black bomb. But will there be the right cards to build around it? I will let you decide. Here is the card pool, sorted by colour, creature vs. spell, and converted mana cost:
WHITE
Elite Vanguard
Goldenglow Moth
Ajani’s Pridemate
Blinding Mage
Squadron Hawk
2 Wild Griffin
2 Assault Griffin
Cloud Crusader
Tireless Missionaries
Angelic Arbiter
Condemn
Silence
Ajani’s Mantra
Excommunicate
Safe Passage
BLUE
2 Merfolk Spy
Maritime Guard
AEther Adept
Cloud Elemental
Azure Drake
Air Servant
2 Armored Cancrix
Diminish
Tome Scour
Ice Cage
Jace’s Erasure
Mana Leak
Negate
Leyline of Anticipation
BLACK
Viscera Seer
Barony Vampire
2 Bog Raiders
Liliana’s Specter
Relentless Rats
Howling Banshee
Nether Horror
Grave Titan
Disentomb
Duress
2 Doom Blade
Assassinate
Mind Rot
Quag Sickness
Rise from the Grave
Corrupt
RED
Ember Hauler
Goblin Piker
Goblin Tunneler
Arc Runner
Chandra’s Spitfire
Fiery Hellhound
Manic Vandal
Canyon Minotaur
Vulshok Berserker
Berserkers of Blood Ridge
Fling
Thunder Strike
Volcanic Strength
Demolish
Lava Axe
GREEN
Awakener Druid
Greater Basilisk
Llanowar Elves
Giant Growth
Hornet Sting
Back to Nature
Naturalize
Plummet
Cultivate
Leyline of Vitality
ARTIFACTS
Juggernaut
Kraken’s Eye
Wurm’s Tooth
Warlord’s Axe
Whispersilk Cloak
Sorcerer’s Strongbox
LAND
Sunpetal Grove
Terramorphic Expanse
Though I think most of the build is pretty straightforward, there are still a good number of choices / possibilities, so go ahead, take some time, see what you would do with it. When you’re ready, scroll down and you’ll see how I built it.
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MAINDECK
Elite Vanguard
Blinding Mage
Ajani’s Pridemate
2 Wild Griffin
Barony Vampire
Liliana’s Specter
2 Assault Griffin
Cloud Crusader
Howling Banshee
Juggernaut
Grave Titan
Angelic Arbiter
Duress
Condemn
2 Doom Blade
Assassinate
Quag Sickness
Rise from the Grave
Corrupt
Terramorphic Expanse
9 Swamp
8 Plains
The deck ended up being eerily similar to the one I would have played with the pool I opened. The main trade-off being a less good 7-mana flying white finisher and fewer early game creatures for a much better removal package.
The colours seem quite evident, with the only possible option being to splash the Air Servant. With only a Terramorphic as a fixer, plenty of double black and double white requirements, and having a strong enough 40 without the extra flyer, I felt it best to leave it in the board.
Talking about a couple of card choices… first, I’m really really really not a fan of Warlord’s Axe. In a deck with a very high creature count and few tricks to speak of, then it likely should make the cut. But in the kind of sealed I had, and really the kind of sealed you want, I find it to be way too slow and clunky. I know a lot of Pros defend the card and claim it to be quite good, but I’ve never bought the hype and it has been nothing but awkward for me. Excommunicate, Safe Passage, and Mind Rot are all very playable in sealed, but I already have a high spell count and don’t consider any of these better than the cards I’m running. The Passage did come in vs. Fireball and Overrun decks of course though. One decision you might debate is the inclusion of Duress over Mind Rot. There are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which are the better fit in the mana cost, and the better ability to protect the two rare bombs. Peeking around the table during building revealed lots of Mind Controls, Crystal Balls, Fireballs, and Overwhelming Stampedes, all of which Duress is quite adept at snatching as well. On the creature side, Nether Horror is certainly playable, but the deck already features 5 4-drop men, all of which are better. Lastly, there is a second playable equipment in Whispersilk Cloak, which did get boarded in for a round or two, but with the high number of flyers and removal spells in the deck, it seemed a little redundant.
All in all, the deck looked quite strong, but walking around a bit, there seemed to be a large number of deadly pools. The Primeval Titan pool to my left also included Conundrum Sphinx, a pair of AEther Adepts, and most of the good green and blue spells. Another deck that somehow lost the round before Top 8 featured 2 Mind Control, Jace Beleren, Liliana Vess, Crystal Ball, Frost Titan, Water Servant, and numerous removal spells. Making this most unfortunate was that, given the number of players, the elimination rounds would not be played as a booster draft, but would rather continue with our same sealeds.
But enough doomspeak. The day started out on the right foot.
ROUND 1
“This is only appropriate. My day begins with a bye and will end with three,” I say smugly.
1-0-0
ROUND 2 vs. Francois “Franky Richards” Richard
Franky Richards, of beating me in the finals of our hotel room draft at Pro Tour Austin fame, is playing a GUr number with some big monsters, solid card manipulation, and – oh yeah – an Overwhelming Stampede. I feel like I’m taking over game 1, only to lose to a Fireball to the dome. The next two games, however, removal spells did what they generally do against high-costed green fatties, and Angelic Arbiter shut off a number of my opponent’s potential answers (which also included Sleep, as it turned out).
2-0-0
ROUND 3 vs. Francisco “Mexican” Leon Valencia
I helped analyze and rebuild Francisco’s pool after he finished his first round, so I’m aware of the danger he poses. Amongst other things, his pile included 2 Fireballs, 2 Crystal Balls, 2 Chandra’s Outrage, a Chandra’s Spitfire, and a Prodigal Pyromancer. He mistakenly opted to supplement the broken red with some blue cards including such hits as 2 Maritime Guards, Harbor Serpent, and a Cancel. A much better black/red deck could have featured further removal and much higher card quality on the whole. Game 1 has my opponent mulliganing to 5 and struggling to find lands while I go on the offensive. In the second one, now with my opponent’s list having the DK Seal of Approval ™, there is a one turn window where, after I play Grave Titan against his Viscera Seer, I am pretty dead to Act of Treason. But he doesn’t have it and so, a few turns and chump blocks later and facing a lethal team, he has one last chance to draw a Fireball which would kill me in conjunction with Chandra’s Spitfire, but he doesn’t draw it.
3-0-0
ROUND 4 vs. Alex “Insane” Hayne
Three wins and a draw are what are required to lock into Top 8, so we agree to call this one as such. Plus, I had seen Alex’s deck in earlier rounds, and wasn’t exactly looking forward to playing against Chandra Nalaar, Crystal Ball, Sword of Vengeance, Pyroclasm, 2 Serra Angels, and THREE Chandra’s Outrages.
3-0-1
ROUND 5 vs. Vincent Thibault
The final round of swiss pits me against ManaDeprived’s own Vincent Thibault. We are both guaranteed to make the final rounds, but pack payout is to be based on final swiss standings, so we decided to play for top seed. The first game has us each playing early guys and trading until my Grave Titan rumbles around to take over. The second one sees a dominant rare on Vincent’s side as his Sword of Vengeance gets the job done, along with a timely Celestial Purge on a Titan. I did side in a Forest, Sunpetal Grove, and Naturalize, but didn’t draw the 2-mana green instant. The decider again has me facing down an early Sword with no Naturalize in hand. On Vincent’s fifth turn, he plays an Acidic Slime hitting my only Swamp while I’m tapped out. I draw Rise from the Grave, replay a Swamp, look at the Doom Blade in my hand, and smile. Do you see it coming? My opponent attacks with his Sworded Garruk Companion, though he keeps the Slime at home (I was hoping he’d offer to trade it for my Barony Vampire). I take the hit and drop to 5. Vincent appears to be out of gas, allowing me to end of turn Doom Blade the Slime, drawing a raised eyebrow from the Canadian National runner-up. Then it all makes sense. Rise from the Grave steals it, blowing up the Sword, and from there I begin playing out threats while he floods on land.
4-0-1
TOP 8 vs. Julien “Ichorid” Perreault
Finishing #1, I draw the 8th place participant which, unfortunately, is the recipient of the card pool I registered. Named Ichorid for his physical resemblance to the 3/1 from Torment (only joking), Julien has a build close to what I would have gone with, so it’s sure to be a touch match. And game 1 is indeed a long, drawn out affair, where I am the first to find Angelic Arbiter, only to see the trump card of Vengeful Archon hit the board. I am ahead in the race at this point, but a removal spell takes down my flyer, and I have to rely on a Blinding Mage to keep the 7/7 at bay. A Grave Titan eventually hits for the home team, and once I find removal for the Archon, I’m able to swing. Unfortunately, my adversary draws a Gravedigger to bring back the Archon with mana to replay it. I alphastrike here with few cards left in my deck and no removal, knowing that the attack will end up 1 damage short because of my opponent’s untapped Plains. Julien’s mindset had him dead on board though, so after doing some math and seeing that 4 was coming through, he packs them in, forgetting about his one available mana for a prevention shield. The second game has the other side struggling on mana a little, while my deck takes to the skies. Flyers trade on both sides, but I manage a turn 6 Titan that ends things quickly.
5-0-1
TOP 4 vs. Unknown
My opponent’s deck doesn’t seem overly impressive, but he has made it this far just based on the consistency of his Green and White men. Neither game is particularly close in the match, with our creatures being similarly matched, but mine being backed by quality removal for his best beaters. Grave Titan seals the deal in game 1, and the Arbiter takes #2.
6-0-1
FINALS vs. Alex “Insane” Hayne
“This is like round 3 of the Grand Prix right now. Just the one of us that loses gets another chance at it.” – Alex
Ah, so for the finals, we have an All Mana-Deprived match-up. The deck that intimidated me earlier with its bombs and burn was now all that stood in the way of me and what I came to achieve. The first game, Alex is shy on lands after a mulligan to 6 but, as my deck is not super fast, fails to put up much pressure. A flyer is Condemned, leaving only an Elite Vanguard who takes Alex all the way down to 12 before he is disposed of via Pyroclasm. On my turn I draw Rise from the Grave, and seriously consider bringing back the Vanguard for a short while before passing. A couple of draw-go turns later, with me now flooding, I draw Angelic Arbiter. Alex, who has now amassed most of his needed mana, responds with Chandra Nalaar, immediately trading for the flyer. Fortunately, I still had the Rise, so the Arbiter comes back and Alex does not find another answer.
The second game is a close one as I start out with a number of dudes, while Hayne sets himself up with Crystal Ball. He is quite a bit behind, but finds his Sword of Vengeance and a Blinding Mage to face off against my flyers. I look to pull ahead, casting Juggernaut and a Blinding Mage of my own, only to see Alex Act of Treason the Juggy and then, after getting in for 5, Flinging it at the Mage. I don’t draw my again boarded in Naturalize, and a few turns of Balling combined with Sword action do me in, again stuck with plenty of lands in hand.
Alex mulls to 6 in the third game, but again opens on Blinding Mage and Crystal Ball. My early flyers get in for a few points, and Alex adds Fire Servant. With 6 lands in play, I decide to make my move, casting Doom Blades on both the Servant and Mage at the end of Hayne’s turn, and untapping into Angelic Arbiter, getting in for 4 with onboard flyers. Unfortunately this plan was not to be, as an Act of Treason steals the Arbiter, which is promptly Flung at one of my sky critters. The race is soon on, with my offense dealt with, but Alex at 6 life and digging away. For the third game in a row, I hit a pocket of consecutive lands, and am forced to Condemn an Assault Griffin to slow the incoming clock, bringing Alex to 8. With 8 Swamps in play, and facing death from a Sword of Vengeance’d Ember Hauler, I say “C’mon Corrupt!” (he had seen it in game 2), but instead draw Rise from the Grave. It buys me a turn as it trades for the sword-wielding Goblin, and Alex needs to dig to find another threat. My next draw yields just another land, while Alex plays with his Ball for a Serra Angel which threatens to end the game the following turn by morphing into Akroma. Now resigning myself to a second place finish, I reach for my final draw step. And then, it happened. “Corrupt you.”
7-0-1, Mission Accomplished.
So with a little luck and coming out on top of a number of close games, I’ve ensured all 3 of my byes for the Grand Prix Toronto. For those unaware, the event will be Scars of Mirrodin limited and will take place on October 23rd-24th. With plenty of time left to make your travel arrangements, I do hope to see you all there!
As a final note about the tournament, I chose to draw first whenever I had the choice. In this (and most) sealed format, unless you have a highly aggressive, consistent, straight two-colour deck, I believe this to always be correct.
So, please, feel free to post below if you would have done anything different with the card pool. Or if you have a pool of your own you’d like myself and/or the community to discuss, go ahead and post it! Or, if anyone would like to discuss anything in detail, you can also e-mail me at dkramermtl@gmail.com.
For now, D.K., signing out, and see you all next week!
D.K.
Kar Yung Tom (KYT) is the Digital Content Manager for Face to Face Games. He oversees the F2FTour.com and Magic F2F websites. He is also the lead host of the First Strike podcast.
