wrongwaygoback: Magic 2010 Drafting Strategies - Mono Coloured
Magic the Gathering Blog
I've taken a look at the Core Set Spoiler and put together a Draft summary.

I'll talk about Mono-COloured Drafting today, and Dual coloured drafting a little later.
Under each colour I talk about:

* BEST BOMBS
* REMOVAL
* CORE DUDES
* COMBAT TRICKS

I haven't discussed every card, just the ones I expect to see the most play. I've given each of the cards a rating of either one, two or three +'s.

MONO-WHITE

Probably the strongest of the mono-colours for draft, mono-white is agressive, has excellent tricks, and even a sweeper. The key theme of white is Soldiers, with a lot of the cards synergistic with the Soldier type. These are backed by Knights and Angels, with various tricks that either pump them all, or prevent damage.

As someone with super-human abilities I can forsee the future, and it tells me this: The biggest problem with mono-white is that EVERYONE will try to force it. Your best bet may simply to counter-draft against it as everyone else ends up with mediocre two-colour decks.

That said, here are the key cards to look for when drafting mono-white:

BEST BOMBS

White has some stupidly insane bombs.

+++ Captain of the Watch: Nine power for six mana across four dudes? The Cap'n is the type of bomb that wins games. Plus he pumps all the other Soldiers you've drafted. If he drops, you should win.

+++ Baneslayer Angel: Wow? If it's real, it will just crush the opposition.

+++ Honor of the Pure: I consider this a bomb, due to the effect it will have on the board. If you see it, draft it.

++ Ajani Goldmane: Fantastic backup for your little white men, he should make your guys too aggressive to handle.

+ Lightwielder Paladin: A 4/4 first striker for 5 is nothing to sneeze at, but the ability to exile red/black permanents is icing on the cake. Does seem, though, that the situational activiated ability won't come off to often.

REMOVAL

White lacks great pinpoint removal, but has the only real sweeper in the game.

++ Planar Cleansing: Nowhere near as great as Martial Coup, it may sometimes get you out of a tight spot in time to play a bomb afterwards. The question is whether white can recover so far from behind.

++ Pacifism: Not quite as good as Crystalisation, will be a clear choice of slow removal for almost any opposing creature.

+ Celestial Purge: A situational removal card at best. Great sideboard material.

+ Divine Verdict: Neck Snap 2.0. Will ultimately see play, but when does mono-white really want to hold the mana open for it?

DUDES

+++ Elite Vanguard: Whitemane Lion 2.0. The core of the drafting strategy for the deck. You'll want two or three at these at the very least.

+++ White Knight: Excellent 2 drop immune to Doom Blade. Why would you play Silvercoat Lion if you can draft this guy instead?

+++ Veteran Swordsmith: Pumps the aggressiveness of your small white dudes. High pick.

++ Stormfront Pegasus: A 2/1 Flyer for 2. If you need early evasion, this is your dude to do the job. Again, why draft a Silvercoat Lion when you can draft this guy instead?

++ Serra Angel: Now at uncommon, you can expect to pick up a couple.

++ Veteran Armorsmith: Will be interesting to see how highly this guy is picked, now that ordering combat damage is part of the new rules.

+ Rhox Pikemaster: As a turn 4 drop this guy could be - could be - brutal. Smells like a "win more" card though.

+ Blinding Mage: Can help push through damage, and a cheap tapper is always nice.

COMBAT TRICKS

+++ Harm's Way: The much-hyped blow-out card of the set. A super-high pick.

+++ Silence: Of course, you'll be drafting this for the $$. But it's also perfectly costed to time-walk your opponent and getting in with your cheap, aggressive creatures.

++ Glorious Charge: An easy combat trick that should wreck your opponent if played correctly.

++ Righteousness: With the next combat rules, this card will be heavily drafted. The only question is why, if you're playing white, are you blocking at all?

+ Safe Passage: A potential blow-out card, I'm not sure it does the trick. Only testing will prove its worth.


MONO-BLUE

Okay, here's the thing. You shouldn't be drafting mono-blue. There are barely enough merfolk to get the merfolk sub-theme working. The countering is slow and terrible. The fliers are overcosted in comparison to the other colours. Hell, there's a creature [Alluring Siren] that forces your opponent to attack you - just the counter-intuitive control shite you don't need.

BEST BOMBS

Blue has some slow bombs that barely seem worth the effort.

++ Merfolk Sovereign: Not as good as Lord of Atlantis, more expensive, and without the team to support him. Um. Yeah.

++ Djinn of Wishes: A strictly better Air Elemental, he'll die before you can use his effect to grab a Coral Merfolk at the accidental price of 4 mana.

++ Time Warp. Delays your death by a round.

++ Clone: He's fun, sure. Draft him for the new text that says "Battlefield".

+ Sphinx Ambassador: Sure, if you survive long enough against your opponent, the effect seems kinda worth it. IF.

REMOVAL

+++ Mind Control: Beating your opponent with their best guy is good times. Probably your best bet at removal in Limited.

+ Unsummon: Another card that delays your impending doom by a round. Good luck with that unsummon.

+ Ice Cage: It's great until they play a Righteousness on their caged dude at the end of your declare attackers step. THEN you die.

CORE DUDES:

The only good thing about Blue's core dudes is that they generally have an evasive ability [unblockable, flying]. The question is, what to do about your opponent's creatures?

+++ Wall of Frost: I would draft these pretty highly, if only so that you can get your useful control cards and unblockable creatures online. By that time, of course, you'll be pretty beat up.

++ Phantom Warrior: I wouldn't underestimate this guy, especially with Walls online.

++ Air Elemental: He's big and fat and flying. Why they printed both this guy and Djinn of Wishes in the SAME SET I'll never know.

++ Zephyr Sprite: Flying man! Just noting its existence.

+ Snapping Drake: A reasonably costed sky beater.

COMBAT TRICKS

+++ Sleep: KA-POW. Gets in there! Actually, a stupid aggressive card [note that it's sorcery speed, so you can't really get two turns out of it] for a control deck. Still, probably very good at what it does.

YUP, that's basically ALL your combat tricks. GOOD FUCKING LUCK MONO-BLUE.


MONO-BLACK

I feel that Mono-black got an upgrade this set. Some very, very sweet cards for winning the attrition race. Good removal, solid recursion, fun interactions. I think Mono-black will be heavily drafted by Blue control players with no home to go to.

Mono-black's strategy will be around lifegain + recursion, so any cards that fit into that category will be best for the interactions ahead. Black will almost always win the long game.

BEST BOMBS

+++ Vampire Nocturnus: If you can get two of these bombs into play, you've basically won the game. CONGRATS!

+++ Liliana Vess: One of the best Limited Planeswalkers. Kill of your opponents hand, find the removal or bomb you need, and a great 'ultimate ability'. A high draft pick.

+++ Nightmare: I may be an old softie, but I love me some Nightmare.

++ Cemetery Reaper: The new Zombie Lord, he's got a great ability, is easy to cast and has just enough Zombie backup to make him worth while. Probably only as good as your removal, but at least makes ALL your creatures a 2 for 1 trade when they die.

++ Royal Assassin: I consider him a bomb simply because of the way he changes the game state so dramatically.

+ Underworld Dreams: At least it puts your opponent on a clock.

+ Xathrid Demon: A testy, testy bomb. Will work great with Cemetery Reaper.

REMOVAL

+++ Doom Blade: An upgrade of Terror at the same cost. Will go quickly in draft.

+++ Tendrils of Corruption: A great removal spell that only gets better as the game goes on. Can swing a game completely.

++ Consume Spirit: Not quite as good as Tendrils, Consume can also hit the opponent. There's probably a Tendrils + Consume drafting strategy to be explored.

++ Assassinate: It's what Royal Assasins do.

+ Deathmark: Situational, but effective.

CORE DUDES

+++ Black Knight: Admit it, you're just waiting to draft this guy.

+++ Child of Night: I really like the life gain subtheme of Black. I would pick this guy very early on.

++ Looming Shade: A situational beater. Some people don't like to play the pump effects. Your milage may vary.

++ Gravedigger: Recursion will be a big factor with winning with Black.

++ Dread Warlock: Unblockable 2/2. Sweet.

+ Relentless Rats: swingy, depending on how many rats you draft.

COMBAT TRICKS

Oka,y Black doesn't have any real combat tricks outside straight removal. But it does have a few cards worth of note:

+++ Rise from the Grave: An excellent card. Note it can also target your opponent's creatures.

+++ Sign in Blood: It can draw you two cards or shock your opponent at the end game. A sweet little card.

+ Disentomb: Again, the recursion.


MONO-RED

Mono-red has definitely had a power upgrade. Suicide Burn is a real possibility, if you find the right cards. Can it beat mono-white? I don't know.

BEST BOMBS

+++ Bogardan Hellkite: Flash on this guy is the icing on the cake. No reason why you can't win if your still alive to cast it.

+++ Ball Lightning: Okay, not really a bomb, but should be thought about as one

+++ Siege-Gang Commander: If he's good enough for Extended, he's good enough for Limited.

++ Chandra Nalaar: An underestimated planeswalker. Great for the burn deck you'll be drafting.

++ Shivan Dragon: ROAR!

++ Goblin Chieftain: There aren't a great deal of goblins in the set - and one of them has haste anyway. But the interaction with Siege-Gang Commander is fanastic.

+ Capricious Efreet: Could be as good for you as against you. Testing will prove whether it's playable or not.

+ Magma Phoenix: As above. The recursion effect is pretty damn costly though.

REMOVAL

+++ Fireball: An excellent, versatile card that is capable of blowing White Weenie out of the water.

+++ Lightning Bolt: Will be picked very, very highly due to it's stupid power/cost ratio and versatility.

+++ Seismic Strike: BASH YOUR DUDE. By the time you can cast it, it's already doing 3 damage to something at instant speed. Predict it will be under drafted.

++ Earthquake: The fact it hits players will make this card a high pick.

++ Pyroclasm: Much worse than before the rules changes. Still, a sweeper is a sweeper.

+ Ignite Disorder: The nail in Blue's coffin.

CORE DUDES

+++ Lightning Elemental: Surprise! Ball Lightnings younger, more stable brother.

+++ Jackal Familiar: A 2/2 for 1, when your other dudes have haste, is fantastic.

++ Fiery Hellhound: An excellent card, exactly red's style in this set.

++ Prodigal Pyromancer: Tim's ugly brother, he gets the job done. Very intesting with the new blocking rules in charge.

++ Canyon Minotaur: A later pick that gets the job done.

+ Dragon Whelp: Another Fire Breather.

+ Goblin Piker: Small, but will see play, especially if you draft Goblin Chieftain

+ Sparkmage Apprentice: He's cute and effective.

+ Goblin Artillery: Suicide Red's favourite artillery. You'll probably have better picks to use though.

COMBAT TRICKS

++ Trumpet Blast: The three mana seems a lot, but if you've got more than two creatures in play the damage will certainly add up.

++ Kindled Fury: Effectively a removal spell. Good for getting rid of Knights.

+ Panic Attack: A removal spell without the removal. Could see play in an aggressive enough deck, especially against Blue decks.

+ Burst of Speed: Note it's ALL your creatures. I can see playing 2 x Jackal Familiar followed by a Burst of Speed for a surprise win.

+ Lava Axe: Still, 5 damage is 5 damage.


MONO-GREEN

Green has suffered so, so much in Limited. However, M10 certainly promises to change all that, with some very aggressively costed cards. There's a clear Elf sub-theme, but the best thing about Green seems to be the ability to consistently two-for-one your opponent, someting the other colours seem to lack. Green also has the token making ability that appears to be no-where else.

Green is more green than ever. Small creatures that keep you alive, but aren't terribly aggressive, until you can put your huge creatures into play instead. Green's sub-theme of shroud and regeneration helps keep it alive, as does it's tiny, self-replacing creatures.

BEST BOMBS

+++ Garruk Wildspeaker: The perfect embodiment of green in Planeswalker form.

+++ Elvish Archdruid: The Elvish theme just sets this guy off. BOOM! I KILL YOU NOW! And to put the boot in, I then play my biggest dude. This guy will just crush people.

+++ Howl of the Night Pack: The perfect card for a mono-green player. With no mana ramping, will generally produce seven wolves. Combined with Master of the Wild Hunt it basically means your opponent can't have a creature on the board.

+++ Kalonian Behemoth: The only problem is keeping him alive until you get there. Plays nicely with Elvish Piper.

+++ Master of the Wild Hunt: A token generating, Arena making bomb. Pick it first.

++ Ant Queen: Necrogenesis is good. Ant Queen doesn't even have to worry about having fodder to use when churning out tokens. If you believe the theory that the player who can sink the most mana into spells abilities wins Limite matches, then this is the creature for you.

++ Elvish Piper: A situational card, The fact he can get something into play at instant speed for 1 mana is just great in limited. If he drops and survives, you should win.

++ Lurking Predators: The card advantage green needs. How can you not win with this in play?

++ Protean Hydra: I love this Hydra. You cut a head off, it grows back two. Great flavour, a huge bomb.

+ Great Sable Stag: In limited, a situational bomb. Carves up mono-blue and mono-black though.

REMOVAL

Okay, Green doesn't have a lot of removal. I guess it's form of removal is turning creatures sideways and seeing what blocks and dies. Just something to think about while playing Mono Green.

+ Windstorm: The removal you need against the flying creatures of mono-white and mono-blue.

+ Entangling Vines: The worst kind of removal - a slow, heavily costed enchantment.

CORE DUDES

Green's core dudes are a little high on the mana scale, but it also has the best access to that mana.

+++ Deadly Recluse: Deadly Recluses are what will keep you alive until your fatties come on line.

+++ Acidic Slime: A excellent card that can auto two-for-one your opponent.

++ Mold Adder: A wonderful card against mono-black and mono-blue. Jeez, mono-blue really can't catch a break, can it?

++ Mist Leopard: A shrouded time-buyer that can tangle with most creatures.

++ Cudgel Troll: A well costed creature with regeneration.

++ Birds of Paradise: Not as big a bomb in limited, still worth grabbing ASAP.

++ Llanowar Elves: Plays nicely with the Elvish Archdruid to ramp quickly into the fatties.

++ Borderland Ranger: A great mana ramping bear card.

+ Elvish Visionary: The card draw/blocker you need to keep you alive until you have enough mana to crush your opponent.

+ Runeclaw Bears: Rawr?

COMBAT TRICKS

+++ Overrun: Overrun just wins games, like that. Take it when you see it.

+++ Fog: A potential blow-out card against Mono-White.

++ Might of Oaks: With the new blocking rules around, will see a lot of useage.

++ Nature's Spiral: Just remember you can only return Permanent cards. This is not going to get back your Overrun.

+ Giant Growth: Draft just to stop your key guys getting Lightning Bolted.



IN SUMMARY

I expect people to draft Mono White, Mono Green and Mono Black pretty heavily. I can see how Red could easily be a splash colour, but could also be a strong Mono colour as well. I just don't know what to think of Blue. Blue, you old dog, has your time finally come?
0 Comments :: posted by wrongwaygoback at
Older Archives

The old non-Magic the Gathering related wrongwaygoback.com archives.

Everything on this site Copyright Neale Talbot 2009.