TABLETOP TALES PRESENTS
MY GATECRASH PRE-RELEASE!
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This article serves two purposes: To share the nerd entertainment around with anyone who might find it interesting and, in this case, to share my experiences with my fourth pre-release.
You can find Magic Cards in super stores (Ex. Walmart, Target) but the best place you can buy your cards, meet other players, and play in events is at your local comic book store or hobby shop. I buy most of my cards at The Comic Cellar. Here is a link to its Google Maps location at 3620 Austin Peay Highway #2 Memphis, TN 38128.
And here is a link to Comic Cellar's Website
Bloodrush (Gruul, Red-Green) - Found on creatures with X being a variable cost, Y/Z variable bonus to power/toughness, and Q being a possible added effect. (X, Discard this creature: Target attacking creature gets +Y/+Z and Q until end of turn.)
MY GATECRASH PRE-RELEASE DECK:
RED-GREEN-BLUE EVASIVE AGGRO!
I think I was inspired by the fact that I was torn between going with Gruul or Simic with which guild to rock in the Gatcrash pre-release or the fact that I had some pretty sweet blue spells that would help me evade blockers and hit my opponents full force with my big stompers. Its funny that I mostly played two-colors in the last pre-release, with some three-color exploration of bant, but in this pre-release I really pushed it thanks to having a pretty decent mana base (two guildates and two keyrunes) that allowed me to play what I wanted to play and, while I had some trouble with it, I loved playing RUG Aggro!
The only question I have now is... what the heck am I gonna play in Dragon's Maze? In that set, every guild is an available option with an interesting twist-- secret guild alliances so that I'm thinking you wind up playing three colors. Now, I gotta wonder, do I choose Selesnya or Gruul?
Anywho, I don't have much to say, but I'm glad to have played what I played and wouldn't have changed much (but perhaps my pool of cards). Keep reading and check out what spin I had to spin to play this three color deck..
Contains 40 Cards
CREATURES
(11 Creatures: 3 Blue, 2 Green, 4 Red, and 2 Green/Red Creatures)
Reasons? And here is a great reason to play blue with the hybrid evasion and aggro strategy I chose to ran on Sunday. The secret to using this guy was simple; attach Madcap Skills makes him an unblockable 5/2 and sets him up to deal 5 dmg every turn, unless he is removed, and more if I bloodrush!
Reasons? This guy was a late addition but certainly made the difference and, if I had another one, would've given me the bulk to block and surprise my opponents who often undervalued this fellow's chunky qualities. The fact that he has 3 toughness also made him tricky to remove.
Reasons? This was probably the closest thing I got to a Loxodon Smiter with my draft as an uber efficent and cool creature that brings the pain cheap. It's easier to remove than Loxy, but trample helps enable bloodrush and his own bloodrush ability could give a creature what he needs to push an attack over the top.
Reasons? This guy is a perfect example of a creature that has no business in constructed but, in limited, finds his place as a big blocker and flyer you can enable for victory assuring deathblows as you pump him up for an alpha attack. Mindeye lead round-winning victories after I added him to my deck by boosting his damage over the top.
Reasons? Mr. Rubblehulk is made to play late game-- you either wanna put him down as your battering ram or use his bloodrush to add about 7 or more damage onto an alpha attack. I think the one big drawback is his overall cost to keep him from being playable in standard...but it remains to be seen.
Reasons? This fella isn't too great as anything but a way to add five damage to the attack my opponent's can't block. His only other use is to block and kill fatties, but he is too much of a fragile glass cannon for his price.
Reasons? I was a little skeptical about playing this big fat bruiser that I worried wouldn't be playable, but my mana base was so solid that I could put him down and smash faces with him if I ended up going to turn eight or so. He is gonna be super splashable in a Maya the Anima deck!
Reasons? Little goblins are whimpy, but necessary to give me something to put down. I should've ran some more small creatures so I could have a better defensive line against the Orzhov and Boros weenies.
Reasons? I wish I had another one of these big bruisers that works best when you use his bloodrush for a weaker giant growth...that can't be countered!
Reasons? Last, but not least, in my creature arsenal was this nasty defender with a bloodrush that makes the creature survive an onslaught or two and hopefully take some blockers on the way.
NON-CREATURE SPELLS
(13
Non-Creature Spells: 3 Artifacts, 2 Blue Instants, 1 Blue Sorcery, 1 Blue-Green Instants, 3 Green Instants, 2 Green/Red Instants, 2 Red Enchantments, 1 Red Instant, 1 Red Sorcery )
Reasons? Keyrunes precipitated the convenient three-color build and kept the low number of creatures from ruining me. I should've played more monsters but putting this guy down turn three was perfect ramp into most of my creatures and his 3/2 creature form with trample could win out games with bloodrush help or just out some damage against weenie decks.
Reasons? I loved this card with my evasive aggro cuz it set up the possibility of me hitting my opponent and then hitting them again and again. I think I can see Hands of Binding having some sort of place in standard since its not quite as easy to deal with as an aura. Also, who doesn't love getting to play three keywords in one day (I had more evolve in an early version of the deck).
Reasons? Evasion and power make this my pick for one of the best enchantments in limited! I was lucky enough to get two of these suckers and built a lot of my deck and strategy around attaching this to the right creature. The only drawback of this sort of aura is that its a twofer if your opponent kills the creature, but removal is slow enough in this sort of format to survive long enough to be useful against most enemies.
Reasons? Slow removal that helps set up strikes make this card a must for this deck and, most of the time, made my creatures nigh unblockable. I used it a lot to kill Kingpin's Pets and other cheap whimpy flyers.
Reasons? Another reason to splash blue was to see the look on someone's face when you counter their big fat 5 or more mana creature they've been planning to slam you with and putting down a creature that can block and hammer. I only got to pull it off once, but it won me a round.
Reasons? Removal that favors the creature heavy deck-- Pit Fight only has a small drawback in that its a bit of a mechanic that is easy to get confused over. I wasted a creature, by accident, because I forgot abilities don't apply with Fight mechanic. Sads.
Reasons? This is mana fixing with a bonus of, at the very least, netting you a card. I think I should've played a creature over this though because I didn't really wind up having mana problems in most games.
Reasons? This keyrune was the other reason I could afford to splash blue since he sets up the ability to splash and, a 2/3 crab that can't be hit with instants, is useful for blocking.
Reasons? Skullcrack works out when you need that extra 3 damage, but more importantly when you need to make your opponent's lifelink and lifelink completely useless. I'm looking at you Orzhov!
Reasons? This is a fantastic bit of removal that favors UG combos! If you got beefy creatures, which playing my combo I tended to have at least one creature with 4 or 5 power to keep my opponent from being able to deal with this potent counter spell.
Reasons? This bit of removal also comes in handy against bombs, but I'm not sure another creature would've been preferrable.
LANDS
(16 Lands: 4 Forest, 4 Islands,6 Mountains, and 2 Others)
IDEAL 1ST HAND
And that's it. Leave some recommendations and comments, as I take my adventure to build my next deck. Suggestions?
