Since I've come back to playing Magic tournaments, I've hit a halfway successful run at Prerelease tournaments (3-2, 3-1, 2-2, 3-1, 2-0-1), prizing out 4 out of 5 times. I did a decent amount of research in the mtgsalvation forums and drafting/sealed-decking out on ccgdecks.com. This led me to believe that two potential decks were a clear cut favorite over everything else: GW Umbra and RW Defender, with the Umbra build being slightly more potent. My pool at Alter Reality Games yielded very few Red defender creatures and no Vent Sentinels at all, so the RW plan was out. So, I tried to put together the GW deck.
Green was solid, containing card such as Aura Gnarlid (best green common), a couple of Spider Umbras, Beastkeeper of Bala Ged and Vengevine ($30 right there). My White pool was very good as well, with Dawnglare Invoker, Mammoth and Hyena Umbras, Knight of Cliffhaven and a number of removal spells. However, while potent, the amount of actual white cards was small and I would not be able to have more than 3-4 cards of flexibility for my GW deck. So, I abandoned it.
Blue was completely worthless for me, with the only worthy mention being two Regresses. Red was about as bad, though I had Forked Lightning and Flame Slash as removal. Neither color contained any finishers for me.
Black looked to be the next best color, with 2 Vendettas, Last Kiss and Induce Despair to go with a Hellcarver Demon, and a few Cadaver Imps. I put the deck together, but regretted the decision to abandon my research to go with a color combination that I deemed not feasible without any Growth Spasms. So, I abandoned GB and went back to the GW deck with a few minutes left before round 1.
Round 1 vs. Jeff (GW)
Game 1: He blows me out pretty fast, with me not able to suffice much more than a Vengevine with no backup creatures.
Game 2: I land an early Knight of Cliffhaven and start applying some flying beats before he stalls me out with flying defenders. I land an Aura Gnarlid and start getting pressure back on, but a Guard Duty slows me down. He drops Ulamog's Crusher and I repay the Guard Duty gesture. Over the next few turns, He plays Skittering Invasion, Broodwarden and Tuskcallers and starts to build up a sizable army. However, the turn before he could swarm me, I draw and play Dawnglare Invoker with enough mana to keep his guys tapped down for the win.
Game 3: He goes for the full sideboard audible and switches to BR, but misreads Thought Gorger and is forced to discard his entire hand. I win pretty quickly after that.
1-0, 2-1
Round 2 vs. ??? (UB)
Game 1: I'm not impressed with U/B, and game 1 proved it with his slow levelers that don't do much in the face of fatties.
Game 2: And by "slow levelers" I mean "Black Assassin that kills my guys dead." I kept trying to bait him into blocking my 3/3 with his active then-2/2 Assassin so I could Smite it, but he never bit and I lose my army over the next few turns and am locked down.
Game 3: See game 1. Again, I don't like UB in this format. The concept is nice, but more often than not it just loses to the green decks.
2-0, 4-2
Round 3 vs. Anthony (GWU)
Game 1: Anthony is a pleasant guy. Don't recall much, but I think I manage to win game 1 by virtue of Vengevine sucking up removal.
Game 2: He plays 3 Dawnglare Invokers. Nuff said.
Game 3. Hyena Umbra on a Daggertooth Basilisk makes for a very fine creature. Removal Spells are not seen.
3-0, 6-3
Round 4 vs. Bob (RW)
Game 1: Unfortunately, his last round ended in a draw so he had to play the round out. He manages to drop a Linvala and shut off my Invoker, but Aura Gnarlid gets in there.
Game 2: He sides in Luminous Wake to offset some big damage, but Aura Gnarlid still gets in for 6 damage after the 4 life gain. Daggertooth Basilisk + Hyena Umbra holds back any attackers.
4-0, 8-3
Awesome! My first undefeated run in a Prerelease!! I didn't talk much about the Umbras in my report, but my Gnarlid always had at least a Spider Umbra on it. I hope everyone had fun at their own PR events!!!
Ransac, cpa trash man
Green was solid, containing card such as Aura Gnarlid (best green common), a couple of Spider Umbras, Beastkeeper of Bala Ged and Vengevine ($30 right there). My White pool was very good as well, with Dawnglare Invoker, Mammoth and Hyena Umbras, Knight of Cliffhaven and a number of removal spells. However, while potent, the amount of actual white cards was small and I would not be able to have more than 3-4 cards of flexibility for my GW deck. So, I abandoned it.
Blue was completely worthless for me, with the only worthy mention being two Regresses. Red was about as bad, though I had Forked Lightning and Flame Slash as removal. Neither color contained any finishers for me.
Black looked to be the next best color, with 2 Vendettas, Last Kiss and Induce Despair to go with a Hellcarver Demon, and a few Cadaver Imps. I put the deck together, but regretted the decision to abandon my research to go with a color combination that I deemed not feasible without any Growth Spasms. So, I abandoned GB and went back to the GW deck with a few minutes left before round 1.
Round 1 vs. Jeff (GW)
Game 1: He blows me out pretty fast, with me not able to suffice much more than a Vengevine with no backup creatures.
Game 2: I land an early Knight of Cliffhaven and start applying some flying beats before he stalls me out with flying defenders. I land an Aura Gnarlid and start getting pressure back on, but a Guard Duty slows me down. He drops Ulamog's Crusher and I repay the Guard Duty gesture. Over the next few turns, He plays Skittering Invasion, Broodwarden and Tuskcallers and starts to build up a sizable army. However, the turn before he could swarm me, I draw and play Dawnglare Invoker with enough mana to keep his guys tapped down for the win.
Game 3: He goes for the full sideboard audible and switches to BR, but misreads Thought Gorger and is forced to discard his entire hand. I win pretty quickly after that.
1-0, 2-1
Round 2 vs. ??? (UB)
Game 1: I'm not impressed with U/B, and game 1 proved it with his slow levelers that don't do much in the face of fatties.
Game 2: And by "slow levelers" I mean "Black Assassin that kills my guys dead." I kept trying to bait him into blocking my 3/3 with his active then-2/2 Assassin so I could Smite it, but he never bit and I lose my army over the next few turns and am locked down.
Game 3: See game 1. Again, I don't like UB in this format. The concept is nice, but more often than not it just loses to the green decks.
2-0, 4-2
Round 3 vs. Anthony (GWU)
Game 1: Anthony is a pleasant guy. Don't recall much, but I think I manage to win game 1 by virtue of Vengevine sucking up removal.
Game 2: He plays 3 Dawnglare Invokers. Nuff said.
Game 3. Hyena Umbra on a Daggertooth Basilisk makes for a very fine creature. Removal Spells are not seen.
3-0, 6-3
Round 4 vs. Bob (RW)
Game 1: Unfortunately, his last round ended in a draw so he had to play the round out. He manages to drop a Linvala and shut off my Invoker, but Aura Gnarlid gets in there.
Game 2: He sides in Luminous Wake to offset some big damage, but Aura Gnarlid still gets in for 6 damage after the 4 life gain. Daggertooth Basilisk + Hyena Umbra holds back any attackers.
4-0, 8-3
Awesome! My first undefeated run in a Prerelease!! I didn't talk much about the Umbras in my report, but my Gnarlid always had at least a Spider Umbra on it. I hope everyone had fun at their own PR events!!!
Ransac, cpa trash man