So, anyone go to the prerelease? I did. Didn't get anything too snazzy, best thing I got (IMO) was probably an Angel of Jubilation.
I didn't. The store near my campus is only two weeks old and just made Core, so there wasn't enough time for prerelease. (Actually one and a half weeks to make Core store is pretty damn good.) I didn't have the time to drive 20 to 30 minutes one way to the next town and spend most of the day playing a card game when I had a research paper and general studying for finals. We're going to be doing a midnight release draft and a non-rated draft Friday night, though. Between those two events and the Fat Pack I plan on getting I should be able to get enough good draws to do SCIENCE with this set.
I went off to one. The best card I ended up with was a copy of Entreat the Angels. I did also get a Terminus, so I'll see how well that plays compared to the ordinary Wraths I use. I played a W/G/R soulbond deck and did all right with it. Oh: I also managed to get both a Slayer's Stronghold and an Alchemist's Refuge, which are both quite nice cards. Other than that, I don't normally like prereleases very much and indeed I find it difficult to play four or five hours of M:tG - twelve straight games - so this actually has the distinction of being the first prerelease I've been to that I managed to stay until the end of. (It is my third prerelease ever: in both M12 and MBS prereleases I was only able to stay for three matches out of four. I just can't play that much M:tG!) So by the end I was pretty much just sticking around so that I could pick up my snazzy Helvault card. Sadly the store was overfull and I only got the double-sided token, but that's the best thing in the Helvault anyway. I have many D20s and the general cards would indeed be nice if I was going to make an EDH deck based around one of the AVR legends, but I am not.
I want to run a strategy by my fellow MTG players here. Just today I bought a booster pack and got my first really nice card -- Gisela, Blade of Goldnight. So set about building a R/W Angels/humans deck. The main functions of the deck seem to be burn and possibly discard/reanimation. My question is this: Is it worthwhile to put a few Faithless Looting and a Reforge the Soul as a way to dump my fattie angels (namely Gisela, Herald of War, Angelic Overseer, and Angel of Jubilation) into the graveyard so they can be reanimated by Defy Death? Also, would it be worth dropping a couple Serra Angels in along with them?
1. Defy Death? Eh... Five manacost is pretty bad for a reanimate function. Especially when the cards you want to reanimate are already 5 manacost. 2. Reforge the Soul is good if you have an aggro/burn deck. You use your hand up really fast killing the enemy or summoning cheap creatures and then BAM load up seven more cards and go for a second round. Because let me tell you, top decking SUCKS. 3. I don't like Faithless Looting. It's only in the deck for when, "ah shit, I REALLY need to get this card or I'm fucked" and even then the chances that the one card you need is on top of your deck isn't in your favor. Most of the time I play against a deck with faithless looting it's because the fucker has flashback functions or he's running a Havengul Lich/Heartless Summoning/Priest of Urabrask tri-combo. I'd like to see other people's opinions tho. Now that I found this thread again, anybody think of any good additions to my Havengul Lich/Heartless Summoning deck? Creatures 2 Black Cat 1 Consecrated Sphinx 4 Havengul Lich 1 Massacre Wurm 2 Perilous Myr 3 Phyrexian Metamorph 3 Rune-Scarred Demon 2 Skinrender 4 Solemn Simulacrum Spells 4 Heartless Summoning 4 Mana Leak 1 Divination 3 Killing Wave 4 Ponder Land 4 Drowned Catacomb 8 Island 10 Swamp Sideboard (so far) 2 Harvester of Souls 4 Myr Superion 2 Think Twice 4 Tragic Slip 1 Necrotic Ooze 2 Skinrender The goal for this deck is to take most advantage of Havengul Lich and Heartless Summoning. That means creatures with ETB effects sometimes take the place of cheaper spells with the same function (like Skinrender taking the place of kill spells, because he can also become a chump blocker and reused later over and over by Havengul, whereas a Spell I have 1 shot with him, 2 if I have a snapcaster on hand). Black Cat can be used to completely shut out my opponent via constantly reviving him, with Perilous Myr there for boardwipe/finishing off. Heartless Summoning + Rune-Scarred Demon and Phyrexian Metamorphs = I can put down 5 4/4 fliers one turn for only 3 mana and 8 life. Ponder is so my combo can be achieved quicker, and Mana Leak is there to protect me from Surgical Extractions, my worst fear. Might have to upgrade to straight Cancels tho.
It's the last block for innistrad. They might return to it in the future (they returned to Ravnica and Mirrodin) but I doubt it. The quest chains that binded the main characters to Innistrad (Sorin and Liliana) are completed.
1. True, but it makes the angels stronger too. In Herald of War's case, it immediately reduces the cost of casting other angels or humans by 2 colorless. In any case it's insurance if Gisela or another angel eats removal. 2. Yes, and a good portion of my deck is burn with a touch of aggro, so I think I can use it. 3. I see your point. Also, I plan on putting a couple Thunderous Wraths in the deck, and Faithless Looting could antisynergistic with the miracle mechanic of the TWs and Reforge the Soul. Not that I'm an expert, but here's a couple things I would do: Balance out the Killing Waves with targeted removal like Tragic Slip. You already have TSs in your sideboard, but you could balance out the KWs and TSs evenly on the mainboard and pull out more KWs when going against an aggro player and use the TSs when going against someone who focuses on fatties or control. Also, I wouldn't play a full suite of Mana Leaks. When you get down to that fourth mana leak, chances are your opponent will just pay the extra mana. If you really want a fourth counter I would use something like Dissipate or Negate. To be completely accurate, a "block" is made of (usually) three "sets", with the block usually sharing the name with its first set. For the Innistrad block, yes, Avacyn Restored is the last set. Anyways, here's the deck I constructed around Gisela. Any thoughts, opinions, or advice? Creatures: 2 Somberwald Vigilante 2 Gideon's Lawkeeper 1 Lightning Mauler 2 Kruin Striker 2 Elite Inquisitor 2 Emancipation Angel 1 Angel of Jubilation 2 Goldnight Commander 1 Herald of War 1 Angelic Overseer 1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight Non-Creature Spells: 1 Bladed Bracers 2 Righteous Blow 2 Thunderous Wrath 2 Burning Oil 2 Incinerate 1 Reverberate 1 Reforge the Soul 4 Thatcher Revolt 1 Oblivion Ring 1 Curse of Bloodletting 1 Cathar's Crusade 1 Defy Death Lands: 1 Slayer's Stronghold 12 Plains 11 Mountain One thing I particularly like is how Thatcher Revolt can combo with Kruin Striker. Turn 2 play Kruin Striker, and turn 3 play Thatcher Revolt. Smack your opponent in the face for 8 damage, with no worries about chump blockers thanks to trample and multiple attackers. Edit: In fact, I'm realizing more about the potential of Thatcher Revolt when comboed with other cards. Goldnight Commander? Throw at least 12 or 17 damage at your opponent. Cathar's Crusade? Permanently put 3 1/1 counters on every creature you have and toss 12 damage at your opponent.
