Khaaaaaaaans
September 18, 2014 7:06 AM Subscribe
I'm going to my first Magic: The Gathering pre-release on Saturday, for Khans of Tarkir. What should I expect to happen and how can I best draft a deck that is fun to play?
I've been playing M:TG casually for almost 20 years, but I've only ever done one draft (at a friend's house) and the actual deck building is the weakest part of my game. Of course there's a lot of info on the new set, and how to draft in general, but it's really in-depth and I find it hard to keep up with if you're not intent on practically memorizing the card set.
Basically I just want to build a deck that isn't inherently broken and won't bore me, while also trying to score some good green and black cards for my existing casual decks.
(Also if anyone is going to be at the 20-Sided Store in Brooklyn on 9 AM on Saturday, look me up.)
I've been playing M:TG casually for almost 20 years, but I've only ever done one draft (at a friend's house) and the actual deck building is the weakest part of my game. Of course there's a lot of info on the new set, and how to draft in general, but it's really in-depth and I find it hard to keep up with if you're not intent on practically memorizing the card set.
Basically I just want to build a deck that isn't inherently broken and won't bore me, while also trying to score some good green and black cards for my existing casual decks.
(Also if anyone is going to be at the 20-Sided Store in Brooklyn on 9 AM on Saturday, look me up.)
You sure it's going to be a draft? To my recollection, most prerelease events are run as Sealed these days, and have special product associated - you'll pay your entry fee, get a special box with one 'pack' tailored to the clan you've chosen and 5 others, and then you'll have time to build a deck with all the cards you've opened. There are two G/B/x clans in Khans, so you should be able to get something in your colors (at my local store, blue boxes run out quick during prereleases).
Agreeing with DigDoug's general strategy. You want to run as close to 40 cards as possible, with lots of creatures if you can swing it. Combat tricks and 'big' sorceries tend to be good, as Sealed events tend to have a slightly slower pace than draft (with the exception of the people that open bombs in every pack :P).
There are plenty of cards that produce multiple colors of mana in this set, but it's a 3-color focused set (like Shards of Alara), so you'll potentially want to splash something outside of G/B.
Have fun!
posted by isauteikisa at 7:32 AM on September 18, 2014
Agreeing with DigDoug's general strategy. You want to run as close to 40 cards as possible, with lots of creatures if you can swing it. Combat tricks and 'big' sorceries tend to be good, as Sealed events tend to have a slightly slower pace than draft (with the exception of the people that open bombs in every pack :P).
There are plenty of cards that produce multiple colors of mana in this set, but it's a 3-color focused set (like Shards of Alara), so you'll potentially want to splash something outside of G/B.
Have fun!
posted by isauteikisa at 7:32 AM on September 18, 2014
I don't know if this still holds true but run a good curve of costs. Don't saturate with 5-6 cost things or you end up with little to do some games except wait for land drops.
posted by Slackermagee at 7:34 AM on September 18, 2014
posted by Slackermagee at 7:34 AM on September 18, 2014
Related, http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/fundamentals/12549_Learning_How_To_Draft.html - it has some handy tips there for limited formats. The BREAD acronym is something I remember everytime I build a sealed deck, though I'd sub the E for Evasion - flying, landwalk, etc.
posted by isauteikisa at 7:36 AM on September 18, 2014
posted by isauteikisa at 7:36 AM on September 18, 2014
Yeah, it's probably a sealed, not a draft. The two clans that have Green and Black in them are Abzan and Sultai. That just means you get one pack out of six that is seeded with a bunch of cards from that clan. It could be that the rest of your five packs are pointing you in a completely different direction, so don't be afraid to ditch the clan you've chosen (or maybe just throw one card in as a splash).
Draft and sealed are much more about bombs than constructed formats. Unless you have a super aggressive deck (hey Mardu, what's up?) then chances are you and your opponent will have plenty of time to get 6, 7, 8, etc lands on board. This means that powerful cards that are unplayable in a competitive constructed environment are awesome here.
The word out there is that unless you manage to build a two colour deck (unlikely in Khans) you'll want 18 lands in your 40 card deck. This is due to the extra colour requirement along with wanting to make sure you don't miss that 3rd land drop for the morph creatures.
From what I've seen so far (granted, it's early) you're looking to build a three colour deck based on a clan's colours which you'll probably choose based on the bomb rares you get. Then you might splash a fourth colour for another powerful card or two if you have the fixing for it.
Take a look at the full set and see if any cards interest you. Then keep an eye out for them.
Finally, Rattleclaw Mystic is awesome and should be played in every deck. That's probably only a slight exaggeration.
posted by ODiV at 7:50 AM on September 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
Draft and sealed are much more about bombs than constructed formats. Unless you have a super aggressive deck (hey Mardu, what's up?) then chances are you and your opponent will have plenty of time to get 6, 7, 8, etc lands on board. This means that powerful cards that are unplayable in a competitive constructed environment are awesome here.
The word out there is that unless you manage to build a two colour deck (unlikely in Khans) you'll want 18 lands in your 40 card deck. This is due to the extra colour requirement along with wanting to make sure you don't miss that 3rd land drop for the morph creatures.
From what I've seen so far (granted, it's early) you're looking to build a three colour deck based on a clan's colours which you'll probably choose based on the bomb rares you get. Then you might splash a fourth colour for another powerful card or two if you have the fixing for it.
Take a look at the full set and see if any cards interest you. Then keep an eye out for them.
Finally, Rattleclaw Mystic is awesome and should be played in every deck. That's probably only a slight exaggeration.
posted by ODiV at 7:50 AM on September 18, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'd recommend playing around with this Kahns deck building widget before the event -- it'll give you a decent sense of what those six packs are going to throw at you, and take the edge off of looking at a giant pile of unsorted cards.
posted by iNeas at 10:00 AM on September 18, 2014
posted by iNeas at 10:00 AM on September 18, 2014
Perhaps the most important thing in building a limited deck (whether it's sealed or draft) is mana curve, particularly for your creatures.
The idea is that you should have a 1-mana creature to play on turn one, a 2-mana creature on turn two, a 3-mana creature on turn three, and then either a 4-mana creature or two more 2-mana creatures to play on turn four. If you can manage that, you are well on your way to winning in an event like this, almost regardless of how good your creatures are and what other spells you have.
You probably want your curve to peak at about 2.5 and, in truth, it generally considered smart to skimp on 1-mana creatures. So, with say 18 creatures in the deck, I'd aim for:
2 1-mana creatures
6 2-mana creatures
5 3-mana creatures
3 4-mana creatures
2 5+ mana creatures
Morph gives you a lot of flexibility here because you can grab a morph creature that's off curve (i.e. Minecraft Elephant) and still sort of count it in the 3 slot. I'd probably actually count that 0.5 of a 3-mana card and 0.5 of a 7-mana card when planning my curve. Delve is also relevant, but I would not count on getting more than a 1 or 2 point discount, even on expensive creatures, when planning my curve.
In creature selection, it can be tough to know how to compare two different creatures at the same mana cost. Abilities like Outlast or Regenerate definitely add value, but the two most important things you want in your creatures are power and evasion.
For power, in general, a power number equal to or greater than the mana cost is what you're looking for. Alpine Grizzly may not look like much, but with 4 power at 3 mana, I'd take him over many of the rares in the set.
Regarding evasion, flying is obviously the gold standard (Icefeather Aven is great even if you ignore its morph ability), but trample counts too. Landwalk only barely counts usually, but it's a lot better in Khans where most people will have 3-colour decks.
Morph is, in a way, a kind of rattlesnake evasion. People will be a lot less likely to block your face down morph card, provided you have mana up, even if they have a 3/3 to block it with, because they're afraid of losing the combat if you morph it up. So you can sneak in 2-damage that otherwise wouldn't get through.
Sorry, this is getting long, just a few more points.
Your going to want 18 lands, split between your colours roughly proportional to the number of that colour mana symbol in your deck. Even if you only run one card of a particular colour though, include at least 4 lands of that colour. A swamp is still useful with no black cards in hand, but Debilitating Injury is completely useless without black mana.
You're going to want around 18 creatures, on roughly the curve I indicated above.
Your remaining 4 cards should ideally be removal and card draw. Combat tricks like Awaken the Bear can count as removal in a pinch.
It sounds simplistic, but following that recipe gets you a long way to a winning deck.
And finally, if you do end up drafting, remember that you are drafting a deck, not individually good cards. I'd first-pick Alpine Grizzly in the third pack if I'm short on 3-drops.
Have fun! In my experience, prereleases are pretty much the most fun you can have playing Magic.
posted by 256 at 10:29 AM on September 18, 2014
The idea is that you should have a 1-mana creature to play on turn one, a 2-mana creature on turn two, a 3-mana creature on turn three, and then either a 4-mana creature or two more 2-mana creatures to play on turn four. If you can manage that, you are well on your way to winning in an event like this, almost regardless of how good your creatures are and what other spells you have.
You probably want your curve to peak at about 2.5 and, in truth, it generally considered smart to skimp on 1-mana creatures. So, with say 18 creatures in the deck, I'd aim for:
2 1-mana creatures
6 2-mana creatures
5 3-mana creatures
3 4-mana creatures
2 5+ mana creatures
Morph gives you a lot of flexibility here because you can grab a morph creature that's off curve (i.e. Minecraft Elephant) and still sort of count it in the 3 slot. I'd probably actually count that 0.5 of a 3-mana card and 0.5 of a 7-mana card when planning my curve. Delve is also relevant, but I would not count on getting more than a 1 or 2 point discount, even on expensive creatures, when planning my curve.
In creature selection, it can be tough to know how to compare two different creatures at the same mana cost. Abilities like Outlast or Regenerate definitely add value, but the two most important things you want in your creatures are power and evasion.
For power, in general, a power number equal to or greater than the mana cost is what you're looking for. Alpine Grizzly may not look like much, but with 4 power at 3 mana, I'd take him over many of the rares in the set.
Regarding evasion, flying is obviously the gold standard (Icefeather Aven is great even if you ignore its morph ability), but trample counts too. Landwalk only barely counts usually, but it's a lot better in Khans where most people will have 3-colour decks.
Morph is, in a way, a kind of rattlesnake evasion. People will be a lot less likely to block your face down morph card, provided you have mana up, even if they have a 3/3 to block it with, because they're afraid of losing the combat if you morph it up. So you can sneak in 2-damage that otherwise wouldn't get through.
Sorry, this is getting long, just a few more points.
Your going to want 18 lands, split between your colours roughly proportional to the number of that colour mana symbol in your deck. Even if you only run one card of a particular colour though, include at least 4 lands of that colour. A swamp is still useful with no black cards in hand, but Debilitating Injury is completely useless without black mana.
You're going to want around 18 creatures, on roughly the curve I indicated above.
Your remaining 4 cards should ideally be removal and card draw. Combat tricks like Awaken the Bear can count as removal in a pinch.
It sounds simplistic, but following that recipe gets you a long way to a winning deck.
And finally, if you do end up drafting, remember that you are drafting a deck, not individually good cards. I'd first-pick Alpine Grizzly in the third pack if I'm short on 3-drops.
Have fun! In my experience, prereleases are pretty much the most fun you can have playing Magic.
posted by 256 at 10:29 AM on September 18, 2014
[Apologies for going long on this]
Nthing that you're likely going to be doing Sealed and not Draft, which simplifies things and complicates things.
First, you're going to be picking a clan, which are all three colored. That gets you one of eight different Clan promos, a seeded Clan pack, and five other regular booster packs. Open them all, sort the cards out by color. Khans is a wedge set, which means that it's focused around three-color groupings (the Clans).
For Sealed, you're going to want to build your deck around your bombs, which generally means rares, and generally means creatures. It could also be very good removal. Look at what your bombs are, look at what colors there are.
In general, try to build a two-color deck out of whatever colors you have the most/best cards in. I know you might have an amazing bomb in a completely different color, but unless you have other cards it's probably not worth splashing for (more on that later). Because Khans is a three-color set, splashing for a third color is not unheard of, but it really depends on your fixing (that is, things that can make the correct color of mana. Do you have dual-lands, fetchlands, artifacts that make mana, etc? Good! If not, try to avoid playing the Devil's Manabase (6-6-6), because you're never going to have the right color when you need it. Avoid going into a fourth color on your first prerelease.
Now that you have a rough idea of what colors you are in (based on quantity of cards and bombs present), let's look at your curve. Your typical limited deck of 40 cards is going to be 17 lands, and 23 nonlands. Seriously, don't go below 17 lands, and I don't care how many mana rocks (artifacts) are in there. You'll regret it. Depending on how heavy your splash is, how many high cost (high CMC) cards you have, 18 lands might be good. Play 40 cards, never play more than 40 cards. Making cuts is hard, but playing more cards than you have to is always suboptimal (except in corner cases). Most of those nonlands should be creatures, 16 or more. Noncreature spells should be removal. Don't play spells that just gain you life. Your life total only matters when it is the last point of life, it's much more important to kill your opponent first, rather than keeping yourself alive.
Take the cards in your colors and lay them out by converted mana cost in columns. This is your curve. In general, you want more cards on the low end, and only a few on the high end (CMC>=5). This can vary depending on the set, and Khans might be a slow set. Sealed prereleases in general are slower, so a few more high cost cards isn't the worst thing. How many cards you need at each level also depends on what sort of deck you're trying to build. An aggro deck with a lot weenies (Mardu in this case) wants a lot of cards it can cast every turn, eventually a couple a turn. They will have a lot of 2-drops, and not a lot of cards with a CMC higher than 4. Slower decks that kill opposing creatures until it can find and cast it's amazing bomb will have a different style of curve.
In general, the biggest level up in terms of looking at your curve came in terms of thinking about when you're actually casting a spell. That means, look at cost, color requirements, and when that card is going to be useful. A creature may cost three, but if it is three different colors then you are not likely to cast it turn 3. A spell might have a cost reduction (more on that later). A removal spell might cost 2 mana, but you're probably not casting it on turn 2 against a really weak creature, you're going to cast it on turn 5 or later against something good. This might be a bit too high level for you right now, but it's something t consider.
So what about Khans specifically? Well, there's Morph, which means you can cast a card with Morph for 3 colorless as a facedown 2/2, and then turn it up by paying its Morph cost at any time (ANY). There are a lot of cards that cost a lot, but have Morph, which means that they are functionally three drops that have additional value late in the game when you get the mana. A 2/2 for 3 isn't very good, but it's 3 colorless. So if you stumble on mana or color, you'll have something to do mid-game. Delve is a mechanic that will be relevant to you, basically you exile cards from your graveyard to make a card cost less. But be careful about this, as putting a bunch of Delve cards into the same deck can backfire. If you exile five cards for one spell, those cards won't be around later to Delve away. Also, be honest about how many cards are going into the graveyard, and how they are getting there.
For black and green specifically, you're looking at Abzan (WBG) and Sultai (BUG). Abzan makes a bunch of creatures and then slowly makes them bigger, grinding out the long game. Sultai has Delve, and I'm not really sure how it works.
In general, just focus on 17 lands, 23 non-lands, mostly creatures. A good balance mana costs, and work towards two colors.
posted by X-Himy at 10:47 AM on September 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
Nthing that you're likely going to be doing Sealed and not Draft, which simplifies things and complicates things.
First, you're going to be picking a clan, which are all three colored. That gets you one of eight different Clan promos, a seeded Clan pack, and five other regular booster packs. Open them all, sort the cards out by color. Khans is a wedge set, which means that it's focused around three-color groupings (the Clans).
For Sealed, you're going to want to build your deck around your bombs, which generally means rares, and generally means creatures. It could also be very good removal. Look at what your bombs are, look at what colors there are.
In general, try to build a two-color deck out of whatever colors you have the most/best cards in. I know you might have an amazing bomb in a completely different color, but unless you have other cards it's probably not worth splashing for (more on that later). Because Khans is a three-color set, splashing for a third color is not unheard of, but it really depends on your fixing (that is, things that can make the correct color of mana. Do you have dual-lands, fetchlands, artifacts that make mana, etc? Good! If not, try to avoid playing the Devil's Manabase (6-6-6), because you're never going to have the right color when you need it. Avoid going into a fourth color on your first prerelease.
Now that you have a rough idea of what colors you are in (based on quantity of cards and bombs present), let's look at your curve. Your typical limited deck of 40 cards is going to be 17 lands, and 23 nonlands. Seriously, don't go below 17 lands, and I don't care how many mana rocks (artifacts) are in there. You'll regret it. Depending on how heavy your splash is, how many high cost (high CMC) cards you have, 18 lands might be good. Play 40 cards, never play more than 40 cards. Making cuts is hard, but playing more cards than you have to is always suboptimal (except in corner cases). Most of those nonlands should be creatures, 16 or more. Noncreature spells should be removal. Don't play spells that just gain you life. Your life total only matters when it is the last point of life, it's much more important to kill your opponent first, rather than keeping yourself alive.
Take the cards in your colors and lay them out by converted mana cost in columns. This is your curve. In general, you want more cards on the low end, and only a few on the high end (CMC>=5). This can vary depending on the set, and Khans might be a slow set. Sealed prereleases in general are slower, so a few more high cost cards isn't the worst thing. How many cards you need at each level also depends on what sort of deck you're trying to build. An aggro deck with a lot weenies (Mardu in this case) wants a lot of cards it can cast every turn, eventually a couple a turn. They will have a lot of 2-drops, and not a lot of cards with a CMC higher than 4. Slower decks that kill opposing creatures until it can find and cast it's amazing bomb will have a different style of curve.
In general, the biggest level up in terms of looking at your curve came in terms of thinking about when you're actually casting a spell. That means, look at cost, color requirements, and when that card is going to be useful. A creature may cost three, but if it is three different colors then you are not likely to cast it turn 3. A spell might have a cost reduction (more on that later). A removal spell might cost 2 mana, but you're probably not casting it on turn 2 against a really weak creature, you're going to cast it on turn 5 or later against something good. This might be a bit too high level for you right now, but it's something t consider.
So what about Khans specifically? Well, there's Morph, which means you can cast a card with Morph for 3 colorless as a facedown 2/2, and then turn it up by paying its Morph cost at any time (ANY). There are a lot of cards that cost a lot, but have Morph, which means that they are functionally three drops that have additional value late in the game when you get the mana. A 2/2 for 3 isn't very good, but it's 3 colorless. So if you stumble on mana or color, you'll have something to do mid-game. Delve is a mechanic that will be relevant to you, basically you exile cards from your graveyard to make a card cost less. But be careful about this, as putting a bunch of Delve cards into the same deck can backfire. If you exile five cards for one spell, those cards won't be around later to Delve away. Also, be honest about how many cards are going into the graveyard, and how they are getting there.
For black and green specifically, you're looking at Abzan (WBG) and Sultai (BUG). Abzan makes a bunch of creatures and then slowly makes them bigger, grinding out the long game. Sultai has Delve, and I'm not really sure how it works.
In general, just focus on 17 lands, 23 non-lands, mostly creatures. A good balance mana costs, and work towards two colors.
posted by X-Himy at 10:47 AM on September 18, 2014 [2 favorites]
Interesting! I was going to add a proviso about making sure that you knew the morph costs of a couple of scary morph creatures so that you could keep the mana open to bluff that particular threat, but thought that might be more advanced than griphus is looking for. I hadn't realized that they had made that so much more important in this set. I like it.
Given that, it's worth knowing that Witness of the Ages exists, so you can always represent morphing into a 4/4 with 5 mana of any color.
posted by 256 at 12:36 PM on September 18, 2014
Given that, it's worth knowing that Witness of the Ages exists, so you can always represent morphing into a 4/4 with 5 mana of any color.
posted by 256 at 12:36 PM on September 18, 2014
Melissa DeTora's article this week discusses the different clans in Khans.
She is a Pro Tour player and specializes in limited formats (draft, sealed).
It sounds like you're most interested in the clans with Black and Green cards, so check out what she says about Abzan and Sultai.
You could also check out Luis Scott-Vargas' reviews for Abzan and Sultai.
He is another Pro Tour player who is also a Hall of Famer.
posted by nickthetourist at 11:53 AM on September 19, 2014
She is a Pro Tour player and specializes in limited formats (draft, sealed).
It sounds like you're most interested in the clans with Black and Green cards, so check out what she says about Abzan and Sultai.
You could also check out Luis Scott-Vargas' reviews for Abzan and Sultai.
He is another Pro Tour player who is also a Hall of Famer.
posted by nickthetourist at 11:53 AM on September 19, 2014
Response by poster: I won one match out of four and had a really fun time. Thanks for your hell, everyone!
posted by griphus at 12:05 PM on September 20, 2014
posted by griphus at 12:05 PM on September 20, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
17 lands, 23 'spells'
only 4-5 non-creatures
You'll likely get at least one rare that's worth building as your kickass card for the sealed stuff.
IF you want to have fun, and feel like you're not wasting your time with drafts, go ahead and rare draft. You won't have enough experience to crush the regulars, so just focus on 2 colors, get a few cards you want, and make sure you get enough low casting cards that you're not sitting around watching your opponent play.
posted by DigDoug at 7:23 AM on September 18, 2014