Getting off the Ground

Current Record: 12-6 Draft 16-4 Sealed

While I'm likely not going to post my Sealed records repeatedly as I've got nothing left to practice it for, I'll try to keep a running tally of my Draft record so you guys can see how I'm doing.  If it's staying very positive, great, my process is probably working.  If it's not, there are some obvious things I've got to fix.  As a quick breakdown, I have 2 3-0s, 3 2-1s, and an 0-2 in Draft, while I've managed a 5-0, 2 4-1s, and a 3-2 in Sealed.  All of these records are from MTGO, I'm not planning on playing much Arena for Throne.

As a habit, I've been only really saving my 3-0s for the past few years, and very rarely I'll keep a particularly interesting deck or one that did much worse than expected.  I'm looking to change that process going forward, as I think it's a lot better when trying to learn to see a variety of decks, rather than just successful ones.  Another commitment I'm trying to make is to save my Draft Logs for outside scrutiny, although remembering to enable it every time I open MTGO has been a struggle.

Mono Color Madness

The biggest miss from my set review until now has been on the whole mono color theme.  While I initially dismissed all but the best mono color cards, there's a bunch of factors I glossed over that tell a different story.

• Much better mana.  Mono color decks are vastly more consistent than their 2 color counterparts.  The difference between not having to worry about drawing a second color ever vs. always needing access to both is massive, and it improves everything to how consistently you can cast spells on curve to how often you can keep various hands.
• Cards with deceptive power.  While I initally panned Ardenvale Paladin, that card has impressed whenever it's a consistent 3/6.  Adventure cards have also really fallen under this umbrella; although they also are benefactors of better mana, having cards that have 2WWW, 1RR, or UU versions when you're trying to cast both halves at once means mono color decks will power them up a notch. 

• Self-contained strategies.  Each color has a cohesive gameplan available just in its own color, and in some cases has a few.  While the R/B Knights might be a supported archetype, Black and Red mono color Knights are both playable on their own.  While we're not at the level of non-Blue colors having counterspells, or non-Black colors killing anything, each color has access to a good curve of creatures and a few options each for removal spells.  While White is still my pick for worst color, even mono White is a reasonable deck to play and can lead to winning Drafts.

The following was from a mono Black deck, where I managed to assemble some pretty sweet combos.

While I can't imagine you'll always get your on color Noble rare, building a deck with Cauldron Familiar, Sorcerer's Broom, and Witch's Oven can lead to a massive broom overstock. I'd happily try to attempt a deck like this again, even though it wants to combine specific uncommons together.  For anyone wondering, I go on to lose this match despite going off in the first game.

Mono Color Quick Tips

• Speculate on Hybrid cards.  Many of the Hybrid cards are the biggest pay-offs to be mono color, so if you have a few Green cards and see Rampart Smasher, consider taking it.  I'm a lot less stoked on Loch Dragon and Elite Headhunter than the other eight, but will still happily play them.  What to take over what gets fuzzy fast, as I've picked Rampart Smasher over Scorching Dragonfire and been happy, but I'm not sure if I'd pick Deathless Knight over Bake into a Pie early on.
• Pick cards with your mana base in mind.  While many of your mono color decks will splash for a powerful card or something that fills, a hole, like an extra removal spell, many of them will want to be as devoted to their base color as possible.  The more cards like Ayara and Torbran you have, the bigger your incentive is to stay as focused on that color as possible.  In my R/b deck at the top of the article, I splash for some removal spells and a few Knight cards, but I've also got a Tournament Grounds and a lack of huge Red commitments early.
• Make sure your color of choice is sufficiently open.  As long as you can pick up 7-9 playables in pack 1 you're often in good shape to pivot back into the two-color world, but you always want to have a good exit strategy in case your color dries up.  There will almost never be enough of a specific color for multiple players to draft it exclusively, meaning that even if someones fighting you at the other side of a draft table, you'll feel it.

Addressing Recent Inactivity

I didn't plan on taking last week off, but I found myself busy enough with work and GP Montreal prep that I had a tough time writing anything here.  In the future I'll try to have a few articles prepped for such an occasion, but I do apologize if you came here last week just to repeatedly see a lack of updates.

Until next time,
Kevin
@sealedawaymtg on Twitter
Link here for the latest podcast, finally back in action on Soundcloud.