Tales from the Rise of the Eldrazi Prerelease

Well, another prerelease has come and gone, and we’ve all got our hands full of Rise of the Eldrazi. I was participating in a conference on water and sustainable development over the weekend, but I arrived back in Edmonton to make a draft flight or two.

Rise of the Eldrazi limited is something that’s quite different than the vast majority of limited environments, with a strong emphasis on massive creatures in the late game. However, these titans are not the only cards which determine how 40-card decks fair, there are levelers and aura which can easily swing the tide of the game.

For example, consider this deck I drafted:

So this deck has some really great things going for it. Most obviously we have bombs in the form of the board sweeper All is Dust and Deathless Angel. We also have 3 of (in my opinion) one of the best Eldrazi in limited: Ulamogs Crusher. As an additional win condition, we have Dawnglare Invoker, which will pretty much kill your opponent if it doesn’t get removed. Unlike the other members of the new Invoker cycle, this one has a much more drastic effect on the board.

During the mid-game, we have a pair of the always-awesome Wall of Omens, as well as a pair of Knight of Cliffhaven. This will hopefully allow us to make some early drops, and then effectively use our mana to follow through for the following turns with effective midrange drops. If all goes according to plan, we should be able to drop a win condition relatively easily.

One thing I’d like to address is the 19-land manabase. I had people at the launch party saying that it was a ridiculous call, and that it would be ineffective. However, I must tell you that the above deck would never have worked without the ability to consistently hit your land drops. The one or two turns i’ll draw an extra land are mitigated by the fact that I can almost assuredly win out with this deck in the late game.

Here’s how the deck faired:

Round 1: vs Steven

Steven is a player who just starting coming to Wizard’s comics, and he’s been a great addition to the crowd of local regulars. In game 1 he drops double Sporecap Spider with an Ogres Cleaver. However, I have a Wall of Blossoms and a Kabira Vindicator which levels up fully. This lets me stall enough to force Steven to overextend, and I happily cast All is Dust to reset the board. An Ulamogs Crusher just gets there over the next few turns.

In game 2 I drop a pair of Dawnglare Invoker and follow them up with a Knight of Cliffhaven. I get to 8 mana, and just tap his team every turn to allow me to attack through his army of Cleaver-wielding Spiders with my creatures.

1 – 0

Round 2: vs Atilla

Atilla starts the first game with a few walls including Vent Sentinel and Battle Rampart. I drop a Kight of Cliffhaven but his progress is halted by a Rage Nimbus. I resolve Deathless Angel and Atilla has the double Flame Spike. Again, I force Atilla to overextend into my All is Dust, and I use a Hand of Emrakul to lock up the game.

Game 2 involves us trading creatures and removal spells for the first while, but I’m able to resolve a Ulamogs Crusher and whittle his permanents down and kill him.

2 – 0

Round 3: vs Matt

It’s 8pm and I have a 7am class the next day, so we agree to draw. After this arrangement, Matt says that my deck was probably better than his.

2 – 0 – 1

So I go home with 4 packs of Rise and the sexy new plastic box for cards, although its still no Dragon’s Egg. I also got to judge the last couple drafts, which is awesome practice for when I finally am able to get my level 1 certification.

This deck was extremely powerful, and I can easily see the 8/8 eldrazi for 8 becoming picked much higher (I got them as late as 5th pick) due to the awesomeness it brings to the table. As well, [card[Dawnglare Invoker[/card] should not be underestimated by any means, because it can stave off entire armies of creatures. I believe that Red/White is an excellent draft archetype because of the removal and efficient creatures it gives you, and I hope to draft a similar deck this Friday at the Rise of the Eldrzai Launch Party.

As always, feel free to contact me via email (zak -AT- power9pro.com) or through my twitter feed at www.twitter.com/zturchan.

Until next time, Cheers, and have fun opening some Rise!

Tags: draft, limited, prerelease, Rise of the Eldrazi