Dumbledore Shot First: TABLETOP TALES: DRAGON'S MAZE PRE-RELEASE! PT. 3 "HOW I COULD'VE HAD A BETTER DAY ONE."

TABLETOP TALES PRESENTS

"HINDSIGHT IS 20/20 BUT..."

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This article is all about how I could've performed better on my first day. There will be two sections in the article, each detailing a different set of edits I could've done to the deck (original article here) and my thoughts about how I will apply the methodology behind the edits in my next pre-release.

EDITED DECK #1 A FEW GOOD ARMORED CREATURES

- 1 Centaur's Herald
- 2 Riot Controls
+ 1 Armored Wolf-Rider
+ 1 Armored Transport
+ 1 Armory Guard

First, I'll explain my subtractions. This edited version of the deck is basically a way to make this deck stronger without having to completely rebuild from scratch. Centaur's Herald does too little too late and the Riot Controls only have a small temporary effect (useful against weenie aggro decks, maybe and good for sideboard).

Now, let's look at what I added..

Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? This guy can keep swinging and your opponent will probably let him through, at least the first time you pump him up for additional damage and see them glare at you in frustration. This only barely made it's way into the deck over Eyes in the Skies (sideboard vs. flyers). A lack of decent tokens made that strategy unattractive and this guy shine through.

Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? I have a 3/40 chance of getting a gate on the battlefield and this guy as a 2/5 with vigilance fills an important slot. He'd block most weenies with ease and, combined with Gruul War Chant, would be able to swing on home.

Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? I really dislike vanilla creatures that do nothing but exist as a power/toughness block, but Armored Wolf-Rider probably would've saved my bacon more than a few time and would've been just the kind of body I needed to get some damage in and block like a mad man. Still, if this was the best addition, it becomes clear that I might have needed to think outside of the box....Like....

EDITED DECK #2 FOUR-COLORS? WHY NOT?!

This deck is a big overhaul that is built on adding blue to the contents. The reasons I would add blue is to use more blue/red and blue/white cards (I got a lot of them). I had a couple of decent black cards, but nothing good enough to splash. The other way I could've done the deck was to exclude green, but I'd miss out on several vital bombs. Here are the contents of my four color deck...

CREATURES

(13 Creatures: 1 Blue, 3 Blue-Red , 1 Red, 2 Red-Green , 3 White, 3 White-Blue Creatures)

Returning creatures (you can see what I think about them in this or the first article):

Armory Guard (above), Haazda Snare Squad, Ripscale Predator, Scab-Clan Giant, Zhur-Tas Swine

Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Ascended Lawmage was one of the strongest creatures I saw at the pre-release. A 3/2 with Flying and Hexproof can survive most burns, removal, and a good deal of blockers. She is great for slowly chipping away at your opponents health or going in for an alpha strike. I wouldn't be totally shocked if she found some place in Standard (maybe if the format slows down and the big 4 drops cycle out).

Deck contains. 2.
Reasons? I'm pretty surprised that I didn't see the potential of Deputy-- it's a Dramatic Rescue that, rather than netting you a smidgen of life, puts a 2/2 on the battlefield. The best way to use Deputy of Acquittals would be to use it to save your creatures or declare blockers and save a blocker by flashing her in and the creature back to your hand. In a format with a lot of enchantments that muss up your creatures and other obnoxious effects, this little lady would've been nice to have and will DEFINITELY take the place of Restoration Angel once that beauty cycles out of the standard.

Deck contains. 3.
Reasons? A 1/4 blocker can confidently block and chumpblock, but what makes Nivix potentially more nasty is that if you pump it with an instant or sorcery...it gets even bigger. That means Phytoburst makes Nivix Cyclops a 9/9. Your opponents are gonna find it difficult to deal with that swinging in their face, especially if you have someway to set up an alpha strike with the combo. Also, who doesn't wanna play a Big Daddy Cyclops?

Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? A classic creature that has stood the test of time, Wind Drake is a beautiful beasty that is perfectly costed and perfectly built for a limited format. Flying is a big deal in almost any limited format and Wind Drake can definitely put the wind in your sails.

NON-CREATURE SPELLS

(10 Non-Creature Spells: 1 Blue Sorcery, 1 Blue-Red & Red-White Split-Sorcery, 1 Artifact, 1 Green Sorcery, 1 Green-Red Enchantment, 1 Green-Red Instant, 1 Green-Red Sorcery, 2 Red Instants, 1 Red Sorcery, 1 White Instant)

Returning creatures (you can see what I think about them in the first article):

Act of Treason, Clan Defiance, Gruul Charm, Gruul War-Chant, Phytoburst, Punish the Enemy

Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? And here is a bomb that made me wanna splash four colors in the first place: the first spell is gonna get played all the time and the second spell isn't a bad trick when you're backed up into a complete and utter corner by your opponent and have a buttload of mana.

Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? And this is great in limted, especially in this deck. It nets you 2 1/1 flyers for four and, combo'd with Nivix Cyclops boosts him into a 4/4. I wish I had a decent populate suit (only had to two populators), but this wasn't so bad.

Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Cipher this onto flyers and you've got yourself repeating vigilance on two creatures. In this creature heavy format, it does the trick.

LANDS

(17 Lands: 2 Forests, 4 Islands, 5 Mountains, 2 Plains and 4 Others)