Power 9 Pro – Magic The Gathering Accessories – Tournament Discussion – Deck Analysis

With the Magic 2010 Prereleases just around the corner, we’re going to have a much more interesting time playing limited with this core set than any other.  So, in order to give you a better shot at winning your tournamnt, I’m going to discuss which common cards you should look out for, in both draft and sealed events.  Let’s start with white.

White has a number of basic utility commons that server their role extremely well.  The first card is the age-old favourite, Pacifism, which I really hope gets some new art (I’m kinda sick of the creepy looking dud from Mirage).  Pacifism is an easy first-pick, and is well worth splashing as it is a solid removal spell.  Any card like this that can deal with annoying bombs (Read Shivan Dragon, Bogardan Hellkite, Baneslayer Angel, etc.), is a terrific card for limited.

Another removal spell that white gets is Divine Verdict, which is a functional reprint of Lorwyn’s Neck Snap.  Again, a sloid removal spell, it is worthy of a first pick in a draft, barring anything stunning at the uncommon or rare slots.  Removal is always good, although this does require you to leave 4 mana open if you want to take your opponent by surprise, which can get annoying if they don’t attack you with something worth killing for a while.

Another pseudo-removal spell that white gets is a functional reprint of Master Decoy.  Being able to tap down your opponent’s most powerful guy is quite a boon, and Blinding Mage does this with flying colours.   This mage also provides a way to free up room for some of white’s smaller attackers to get through, and that is always a good thing.  However, beware of your opponent’s removal spells coming straight for this guy, as he won’t live long once he starts ruining your opponent’s combat plans.

The three cards I’ve discussed have already been seen in some form before, but my 4th pick for white commons is a brand new card.  Veteran Armorsmith is a white Elvish Warrior, but it also gives a relevant boost to your soldiers, which are a sort-of underlying subtheme amongst white’s creatures.

Those are the only commmons that really stand out for me when I’m playing white, so let’s move on to blue.  Blue got hit pretty hard in Magic 2010, with cards like Jump, and Disorient.  However, there are still some cards that will help it out.  Believe it or not, Blue gets 3 counterspells at common, in the form of Cancel, Negate, and Essence Scatter (a reprint of Remove Soul).  Because of the small set size (compared to 10th Edition), it wouldn’t be all to uncommon to get a very nice quite of countermagic.  Paired with some  green fatties, you’re looking at a very nice control deck in a draft.

I wouldn’t pick a counterspell first pick, but I would start to pick them up en masse if I saw that they were flowing my way throughout picks 6 and on.  The few cards I might pick earlier are all under-whelming for blue.  Wind Drake and Snapping Drake both provide some sort of offense in the air, which is how you’re going to have to win if you end up playing blue.

Ice Cage is a variant on a blue Pacifism that seems strong, however a single Giant Growth will destroy the enchantment.  I would still play this card, but only as a half-removal spell, for it is easily circumvented by an ability or spell.

With the new rules changes which are effective as of the Magic: 2010 Prerelease, cards like Unsummon are not nearly as powerful, because you cannot save your blockers after damage has been placed on the stack.  Unsummon is still a powerful effect, but now it has to be played a little bit earlier.  Expect these to go much later than normal, perhaps pick 7-9, but with so few blue cards that are playable, they may be taken earlier.

Black is relatively strong in Magic 2010, primarily because of the large suite of removal spells it has at it’s disposal.  Although Terror has been ousted from the core set after its brief return in 10th edition, a new variant promises to be even better.  Doom Blade allows for the possibility of the target creature being Regenerated, but it can hit artifact creatures.  I believe that this was necessary after the high-volume of artifact creatures that were present in the Shards of Alara Block, so that now there is a black removal spell that can hit the likes of Sharding Sphinx and Master Transmuter.  Almost always first-pick this, and splash it if you open it in your sealed.

Assassinate returns for another year in Magic 2010, and it is still a solid removal spell.  Again, a first-second pick, it’s just really great removal for its cost.

Tendrils of Corruption was one of my favourite cards from back in Time Spiral, and it’s great to see that it’s back, with even more awesome art.  This is probably a ~5th pick, simply because it requires you to be pretty heavily in black.  However, because black is relatively deep in M10, this may get picked earlier.  If nothing else in the pack is promising, don’t be afraid to snap this one up early.

Black also has two common creatures I think are worth laying.  Vampire Aristocrat is a new Nantuko Husk, and Child of Night is a 2/1 with Lifelink.  Both of these cards are fine early drops for a black deck, and should be considered.  Although the Aristocrat is less powerful after the rules changes, it is still a force to be reckoned with.  Expect both of these to go around picks 6 or 7.

Red has basically the best common in the set.  Lightning Bolt can take a chunk out of your opponent’s life, as well as kill a great number of creatures that you may find on the other side of the battlefield.  First pick, undoubtedly.  Simply an amazing card that will always be relevant.

Many people have been dumping on Sparkmage Apprentice.  I personally think he is a fine card to go in a red deck.  He gets rid of cards like Prodigal Pyromancer and Child of Night, as well as providing a small body.  Although a poor candidate for a splash, he is a solid card that will go into most decks that play red.  He’ll probably go around pick 5-6.

Siesmic Strike is a nice piece of red removal that can be played at instant speed, which is always useful.  Like Tendrils of Corruption, it requires a bit of a commitment to red, which does make it’s playability suffer.  Depending on how heavy in red some drafters are, I can see this going between pick 4 and 8.

Red has a nice new beater in the form of Fiery Hellhound.  A 2/2 for 3 with Firebreathing is a solid card that will often get into the red zone for increased amounts of damage unless it is dealt with.  A solid, all-around card that really helps the aggressive side of any red deck.  Keep in mind that this also requires a heavier commitment to red, especially if it is run in multiples.

When we get into green we see some efficient creatures that will hopefully be able to outnumber your opponent’s removal spells.  Borderland Ranger and Centaur Courser are both excellent 3 drops that pull their weight.  Reprints of Civic Wayfinder and Nessian Courser respectively, these are creatures that will be able to outrun the opponent, and in the case of the Ranger, removal spells will be much worse, as you get to fetch a land upon its coming into play.  Any damage he can deal just makes him that much better than a Sylvan Scrying.

We also see that the Dehydration effect has been moved into Green with the addition of Entangling Vines.  This is useful, because Green doesn’t get very much removal, and this will help your efficient beaters to get in for more damage.  It should go around pick 3   in a draft, and is definitely splashable.

The key to a green deck is lots of big creatures, and joining the classic Craw Wurm is Stampeding Rhino, a 4/4 Trampler for 5, which will serve an excellent role as a dumb guy who can bash through blockers, as well as a way to draw removal spells from your opponent, as an undealt-with trampler could spell the end for your opponent.

The artifacts in Magic 2010 are all uncommon or rarer, so I guess all I have to say is that if you see a Darksteel Colossus, draft as many Llanowar Elves and Rampant Growths as you can, as well as lots of Fabricates, and you;ll be on your way.

Have fun at your Magic 2010 Prereleases, and I’ll be back in a week once we’ve all has a chance at playing with the new set!

As always, any questions, suggestions ro comments can be emailed to be at zak – at – power9pro.com, or through my twitter feed at www.twitter.com/zturchan.

Cheers,

Zak

Tags: draft, limited, M10, Magic 2010, sealed

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 1:58 pm and is filed under card discussions, limited. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.