Dragons of Tarkir Draft!

So it's official, black blue is the best color pair in Dragons draft. Seriously it destroys people. If you get the right cards is by far the best deck.

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

I decided to go down to FNM (Friday Night Magic) with my friends and draft. I watched some videos and I knew that black blue, mainly black, were the best colors. For my first pack, my rare was Haven of the Spirit Dragon, which is a horrible card for draft. The pack in general was not that good, so I took the best card which was an Aven Surveyor. From there I just went straight blue black picking up some sweet cards like Cloudform, Ukud Cobra, Silumgar Sorcerer, Youthfoul sScholar, Gurmaag Angler, and a Ruthless Deathfang. I even got passed a Silumgar, the Drifting Death and a Sage-Eye Avengers in the last pack! The deck was super solid and had a really good curve. The only problem is that I didn't have any removal, but who needs that when you have a Silumgar?

All of my matches were pretty easy. My first match up was against a green white deck and it was really close. He had an Ojutai Exemplars which was super scary. That card is really hard to beat because if they have any non-creature spells, it isn't going no where and it is going to run you over. I eventually got him by flying over him with all of my flyers. Oh and let me tell you about value. I had a youthful scholar out (a 2/2 creature that draws you two cards when it dies) and then exploited it with my Aven Surveyor (a 2/3 flying creature that draws you two cards if you exploit a creature). Lets just say drawing four cards just wins you the game. I beat my opponent 2-1

In my second match, I was against a green red deck that had a bunch of removal and big guys. I pulled silumgar every single game against him so you know, silumgar. It was actully really funny when I played Cloudform and manifested my silumgar, so when I flipped it up, it had hexproof, flying, hexproof, and flying. That's a thing right? Double Hexproof? But I just ran him over with my flyers because he has absolutely no protection against it. I endend up beating him 2-0

In my last match, I was paired up against one of my friends and I destroyed him (his blog here). He was playing a blue white tempo deck. The first game I was able to kill him in the skies before he could stabilize, and in the second game he got mana screwed so I beat him again. It always sucks if your opponent is mana screwed. You might win the match but it's just not a fun game.

I ended up going 3-0 at the draft and it was super fun. All my other friends went 2-1, so I was the best. Yup, I'm flipping amazing. Best magic player in the world. My pool was really good so that's probably why I did so well. I still had an awesome time and would recommend drafting to any Magic player. Well I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see you next time!

Dragons of Tarkir Prerelease

image courtesy of Wizards
Dragons of Tarkir set symbol

Last weekend I went to the Dragons of Tarkir Prerelease and it was super fun! If you don't already know, a prerelease is a sealed magic event where you get to play with cards from the set that is about to come out. It is a super awesome experience and I would recommend anyone player of magic, new or old, to go to one of these events.

At the Dragons of Tarkir Prerelease, you get to choose one of the five different dragon clans. The dragon clans are Dromoka (green and white), Atarka (green and red), Ojutai (white and blue), Silumgar (black and blue), and Kolaghan (red and black). You get a seeded booster pack and a promo card for the chosen clan. You then get 4 Dragons of Tarkir booster packs and 1 Fate Reforged booster pack. You then build a 40 card deck and play against different opponents.

I chose the Dromoka clan and my promo was Sunscorch Regent (review on it here). I never actually got to play it until the last game and I was already dead, so I didn't really get to see how good it was. I made a pretty good green white aggro deck with a bunch of low drop creatures. I knew it was going to be a pretty decent deck, but the only problem I had was that I didn't have any removal. In sealed (prereleases) almost everyone has huge bombs so it is very important to include some good removal in your deck. This is definitely how I lost most of my games. They play out their bomb and I sit there and cry. I usually could overrun my opponent before they could get out their bombs so I did pretty well.

The cards in my deck were the basic Dromoka bundle of putting a million +1/+1 counters on all of your creatures. I has some good synergies in the deck such as Lightwalker, which is a 2/1 for two mana that gets flying if it has a +1/+1 counter on it, and Inspiring Call, which gives all of my creatures with a +1/+1 counter on it indestructible. Other than that I had some pump and fight spells to overcome their big creatures. I also had some late game cards if I got into a big board stall. One of those cards was Shieldhide Dragon, which is a 3/3 flying lifelink dragon for 6 mana and has megamorph for 7. This card won me a couple games just because of its lifelink.

SO MANY PACKS!!!!!!
(packs my friends and I won)

I ended up going 3-1 so I did pretty well. My friends also did well and we won a bunch of prize packs! It was a super fun time and I would do it again any day. I hope you guys had fun at your Dragons of Tarkir prerelease. Thanks for Reading!

Deck List
Spells (23)
2 Shieldhide Dragon
1 Stampeding Elk Herd
1 Inspiring Call
1 Champion of Arashin
1 Epic Confrontation
1 Scaleguard Sentinels
1 Tread Upon
1 Press the Advantage
1 Sandcrafter Mage
2 Misthoof Kirin
1 Shape the Sands
1 Dromoka Captain
1 Elite Scaleguard
1 Abzan Skycaptain
1 Guardian Shield-Bearer
1 Colossodon Yearling
1 Hunt the Weak
1 Lightwalker
1 Sandsteppe Outcast
1 Sunscorch Regent
1 Arashin Foremost
Lands (17)
9 Plains
8 Forests

Dragons of Tarkir Spoilers: Part 4

It's time to finish up the Dragons of Tarkir Spoilers with some more awesome rares!

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Illusory Gains is a an enchantment aura that casts for three colorless and two blue. It has, "You control enchanted creature," and, "Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under an opponents 's control, attach Illusory Gains to that creature." HAH! This card is hilarious. Taking over any creature they play out is just rude. It's like, "I'll pay 7 mana and play out this Atarka... oh wait... he's yours..." There is a lot of ways to play around this card though. If you play out your bomb and then a small creature, the enchantment gets the smaller creature. Not necessarily a good card, but funny nonetheless.

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Avatar of the Resolute is a 3/2 Avatar with reach and trample that cast for two green. It has, "Avatar of the Resolute enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it for each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it." Although this card is fairly simple, it is really good. Playing it on turn two is good. The important part is that it is still very relative later in the game. If you draw this thing and your in a huge board stall where all of your creatures have counters, it could swing the game towards your favor. Any creature that is relevant throughout the whole game is very valuable and very good.

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Risen Executioner is 4/3 Zombie Warrior that can't block and casts for two colorless and two black. It has, "Other zombie creatures you control get +1/+1," and, "You may cast Risen Executioner from your graveyard if you pay one more to cast it for each other creature card in your graveyard." Eh... I don't have much to say about this card. It not being able to block really puts it's power level down. Sure it buffs all of your other zombies but it just isn't that impressive. Even though you can bring it back from the graveyard to the battlefield, that cost could get pretty high as the game goes on. Not a great mythic.

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Clone Legion is a Sorcery that casts for seven colorless and two blue. It has, "For each creature target player controls, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of that creature." This card is SUPER expensive, so its really only playable in commander. In commander, it could be a huge blowout. If you get to the point in a game where everybody's boards are huge, you can double your board or just get all of your opponents creatures. Super fun card in commander and every Magic: The Gathering set has to have an overly priced blue mythic.

That's the end of our Dragons of Tarkir spoilers. I hope you guys enjoy this new set just as much as me. Thanks for reading!

Dragons of Tarkir Spoilers: Part 3

Here with some more Dragons of Tarkir Spoilers. So many awesome cards!

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit is a 2/2 Spirit Soldier that casts for two white. She has whenever another nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, bolster 1. The new anafenza is super good. Getting counters on creatures whenever a creature enters the battlefield is pure value. This card is really good in decks that flood the board with a bunch of small creatures. Her flavor text is also super cool. Martyred for worshiping her ancestors , she now walks among them. I guess that's what you get for not obeying your dragon lords.

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Sarkhan Unbroken is a 4 loyalty planeswalker that casts two colorless, one green, one blue, and one red. His +1 is, "Draw a card, then add one mana of any color to your mana pool." His -2 is, "Put a 4/4 red dragon creature token with flying onto the battlefield." His -8 is, "Search your library for any number of Dragon creature cards and put them onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library. This card is definitely good, but it is just a little boring. All of his abilities are super good. A draw card as a +1 is already good, the extra mana is just nice. A 4/4 flyer for a -2 is really good. Sorin's -2 only makes a 2/2 flyer. His ult just wins you the game if he is in the right deck. Sarkhan is super good, just wish he had some more interesting abilities.

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Assault Formation is an enchantment that casts for one colorless and one green. It has, "Each creature you control assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power," "One green: Target creature with defender can attack this turn as though it didn't have defender," and, "Two coloress and one Green: Creatures you control get +0/+1 until end of turn." This card is really cool. The most important ability on this card is to give your whole team +1/+1 (since your creatures deal damage equal to their toughness). I have a deck that I have been play testing with that revolves around creatures with high toughness. This card could make that deck into a decent standard deck. Super cool card that might create some unique standard decks.

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Icefall Regent is a 4/3 Dragon with flying that casts for three colorless and two blue. It has, "When Icefall Regent enters the battlefield, tap target creature an opponent controls. That creature doesn't untap during its controllers untap step for as long as you control Icefall Regent," and, "Spells your opponents cast that target Icefall Regent cost two more to cast." Being able to lock down a creature and get a creature with good stats for only five mana is amazing. Play this thing out, lock down their biggest creature, and then have a huge flyer bash in for 4 every turn. The last ability just makes it harder for your opponent to kill it. An awesome blue tempo dragon.

What do you guys think about Dragons of Tarkir? I think that it is going to be a super awesome draft format. I'll publish another Dragons of Tarkir Spoilers post and a post on the Dragons of Tarkir prerealese. Thanks for reading everyone!

Dragons of Tarkir Spoilers: Part 2

It's time to look at some more awesome cards from Dragons of Tarkir. This set it looking to be a blast!

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Dragon Whisper is a 2/2 Human Shaman that casts for two red. He has "One red: Dragon whisper gains flying until end of turn," "One colorless and one red: Dragon whisper gets +1/+0 until end of turn," and a formidable ability that gives you a 4/4 red dragon creature token with flying if you pay four colorless and two red (you can only use a formidable ability if the total power among creatures you control is at least 8). This card is a really good card. It is definitely a little bit clunky but it can be pretty awesome. If making a bunch of dragons isn't enough, you can get in with a bunch of damage late game if you have the mana for it. Dragon whisper is a very interesting card but probably won't see that much constructed play.

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Deathmist Raptor is a 3/3 Lizard Beast (ITS A DINOSAUR!) with deathtouch that casts for one colorless and two green. It has "whenever a permanent you control is turned face up, you may return Deathmist Raptor from the graveyard to the battlefield face up or face down" and megamorph for four colorless and one green. This card is super good! A 3/3 for three mana with a totally relevant keyword is good already. Its other abilities just make it never able to really die (unless it is exiled). Definitely an amazing card in limited and standard if a morph/manifest deck ever shows up.

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Arashin Foremost is a 2/2 Human Warrior with doublestrike that casts for one colorless and two white. She (I think) has "Whenever Arashin Foremost enters the battlefield or attacks, another target warrior gains doublestrike until end of turn." This card is so gross. If you don't already know about the insane warrior tribal deck, this card would fit in perfectly. My friend (his blog here) has a standard warrior deck and this would fit in perfectly. Warriors always have huge power, so giving one doublestrike can make a devastating blow. This card will be played in every warrior tribal deck for forever.

image courtesy of Mythic Spoiler

Sidisi undead vis... wait a minute... SHE'S BACK!?!?!? NO! I  HATED YOU SIDISI GO BACK TO KHANS OF TARKIR NO ONE WANTS YOU HERE.

Anyways...

Sunscorch Regent is a 4/3 Dragon with flying that casts for three colorless and two white. It has "Whenever an opponent casts a spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Sucscorch Regent. This cards is super amazing in commander. Play this thing out and it will be bigger faster than your opponents can cast all of their spells. Even in a 1 vs. 1 match, it can still get big and fly over all of your opponents blockers. A good card overall.

All of the cards in Dragons of Tarkir are super good. Looks like I'm going to be drafting a ton of this. I'll be back soon with even more spoilers. Thanks for watching!

Dragons of Tarkir Spoilers: Part 1

SO MANY DRAGONS!!!!! Dragons of Tarkir spoilers are finished and there is a ton of super sweet rares and a bunch of dragons. I'm going to look at some of the cards spoiled and see how awesome they are.

image courtesy of Channel Fireball

Narset Transcendent is a six loyalty planeswalker for two colorless, one white, and one blue. Her +1 is look at the top card of your library. If it is a nonland, noncreature card, you may reveal it and put into your hand. Her -2 is the next time you cast an instant or sorcery spell, it gains rebound. Her -9 gives you an emblem that doesn't allow your opponents to cast noncreature spells. When I looked at this card, I wanted to puke. IS SO GOOD. No matter what format she is in, she is super good. Getting six loyalty for only four mana is amazing for a planeswalker. Her abilities are just gross. Even if you can't get her ult off (which is amazing) her -2 and +1 are good on their own. Giving a spell like Dig Through Time rebound will make your opponents cry and concede. This is definitely one of the better planeswalker that wizards has released.

image courtesy of Channel Fireball

Dragonlord Silumgar is a 3/5 Elder Dragon with flying and deathtouch that casts for four colorless, one blue, and one black. He has "Whenever Dragonlord Silumgar enters the battlefield, you may gain control of target creature or planeswalker card until Dragonlord Silumgar leaves the battlefield. Did I read that right? Lets see... takes over target creature or PLANESWALKER! This card is totally insane. Being able to take over any creature or planeswalker can totally turn around any game. The dream is to steal a planeswalker right before they can activate their ult. This card has a strong chance of being played in both modern and standard.

image courtesy of Magic: The Gathering

Ojutai's Command is an instant that casts for two colorless, one white, and one blue. It has choose two - Return target creature with converted mana cost 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield - You gain 4 life - Counter target creature spell and - Draw a card. This card is definitely one of my favorite cards spoiled so far. Just like the charms from khans, the command has so much versatility. Even if you don't need to use it for the conditional options (counter target creature and return a creature with converted mana cost 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield) drawing a card and gaining a card for 4 mana is fine by me. Some might say that the price is a little high, but I think its just right for what the card is doing.

All of the new spoilers from Dragons of Tarkir are totally amazing. These cards will bring a lot of different decks to standard (cough cough-blue white control-cough cough) and a very fun limited format. I'll have even more awesome spoilers on Dragons of Tarkir soon. Thanks for reading!