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The Sealed Deck Experiment! -- Posted by Stuart on Friday, February 25 2005
Welcome to the Sealed Deck Experiment!
Stuart Haffenden.
One Champions of Kamigawa starter and 3 Betrayers of Kamigawa boosters were opened and then I (Stuart Haffenden), Dave Page, David Saluzzo, Lee Hutchinson and Shane Mussell all made decks independent to each other to see what we felt was the best combination of cards available….

Firstly here are the cards we had to work with…

White
1 Mending Hands
1 Final Judgement
1 Call to Glory
1 Blessed Breath
1 Ethereal Haze
1 Quiet Purity
2 Silerstorm Samurai
1 Kami of Tattered Shoji
1 Hundred-Talon Kami
1 Kitsune Healer
1 Faithful Squire
1 Empty-Shrine Kannushi
1 Indebted Samurai
1 Kitsune Blademaster
1 Yosei, the Mourning Star
1 Mothrider Samurai
1 Kami of False Hope
1 Opal-Eye, Konda’s Yojimbo
1 Waxmane Baku


Black
1 Ragged Veins
1 Midnight Covenant
1 Rend Flesh
1 Devouring Greed
1 Hideous Laughter
1 Oni Possession
1 Genju of the Fens
2 Stir the Grave
1 Call for Blood
1 Cruel Deceiver
1 Wicked Akuba
1 Nezumi Ronin
1 Hired Muscle
1 Takenuma Bleeder
1 Okiba-Gang Shinobi
1 Marrow-Gnawer
1 Skullmane Baku

Green
1 Uproot
1 Wear Away
1 Serpent Skin
1 Traproot Kami
1 Moss Kami
1 Matsu-Tribe Sniper
1 Humble Budoka
1 Child of Thorns
1 Hana Kami
1 Gnarled Mass
1 Jukai Messenger
1 Sukura-Tribe Springcaller
1 Venerable Kumo
1 Budoka Pupil

Red
1 Kumano’s Blessing
1 Crushing Pain
1 Torrent of Stone
1 Overblaze
1 Ire of Kaminari
1 Glacial Ray
1 Devouring Rage
1 Sideswipe
1 Sowing Salt
1 Sokenzan Bruiser
1 Akki Blizzard-Herder
1 Mannichi, the Fevered Dream
1 Brutal Deceiver
1 Ronin Houndmaster
1 Brothers Yamazaki
1 Frost Ogre
1 Ember-Fist Zubera
2 Frostling
1 Earthshaker

Blue
1 Veil of Secrecy
2 Ribbons of the Reikai
1 Cut the Tethers
1 Toils of Night and Day
1 Consuming Vortex
1 Minamo’s Meddling
2 Shimmering Glasskite
1 Minamo Sightbender
1 Hisoka’s Guard
1 Sire of the Storm
1 Wandering Ones
1 Quillmane Baku
1 River Kaijin

Misc.
1 Pincrest Ridge
1 Shizo, Death’s Storehouse
1 Hankyu




Stuart HaffendenStuart Haffenden.

Blue/Red
(40 cards)

1cc
2 Frostling
1 Wandering Ones
2cc
1 Ember-Fist Zubera
1 Glacial Ray
1 Crushing Pain
1 Hisoka’s Guard
1 Minamo Sightbender
1 Consuming Vortex
3cc
1 Brutal Deceiver
1 Ronin Houndmaster
1 Brothers Yamazaki
1 Toils of Night and Day
1 River Kaijin
4cc
1 Torrent of Stone
1 Ire of Kaminari
2 Shimmering Glasskite
1 Minamo’s Meddling
5cc
1 Frost Ogre
1 Devouring Rage
6cc
1 Earthshaker
1 Sire of the Storm

8 Island
9 Mountains

15 Dudes and 8 Spells

After separating the cards into their colours I went though each colour and made two piles, one for playable cards and one for crap cards.
I first looked at White and found that the creature base was ok but slow and defensive. There were a few good dudes like Yosei, the Morning Star, Kitsune Blademaster, Mothrider Samurai and Indebted Samurai but the others were too expensive. White Spells tend to be defensive and I’m not going to play a defensive deck so White was soon discarded.

Black: 8 creature, 5 of which require BB to cast, Hmm, that’s not good but the Spells were better, namely Genju of the Fens, Rend Flesh, 2 Stir the Grave, Hideous Laughter and Devouring Greed; all of which are playable but only 2 removal spells unless you count the expensive and rubbish Call for Blood. At this stage I’m thinking Black can be a splash colour but the BB required for Hideous Laughter and only one Rend Flesh made me decide to drop Black completely.

Green: 11 creatures and only 2 require GG to cast. Good quality dudes here namely, Hana Kami, Child of Thorns, Humble Budoka, Matsu-Tribe Sniper, Moss Kami and Gnarled Mass (assuming your land comes out nicely). These are all playable along with some of the others and two of the three spells were ok too, Wear Away and Serpent Skin are both worthy of a slot. I’m really tempted to play Green but as you can see it was just pipped at the post by both Red and Blue.

My deck has 7 Arcane spells and 10 Spirits. It has 5 “Removal” spells in Glacial Ray, Ire of Kaminari, Torrent of Stone, Crushing Pain and Minamo’s Meddling. Add 2 Frostlings that can take down a 2/2 dude in combat and also any x/1 dude with cunning abilities, an Ember-Fist Zubera that can also deal a point of damage somewhere as it dies and the Earthshaker that does 2 damage to each non-flying dude each time I play one of the 17 Spirit or Arcane spells.
Then I have Consuming Vortex to slow you down and Toils of Night and Day to mess with your Combat Maths.
The Creatures are ok too, lots of cheap dudes to get myself into each game, backed up by the removal of course.
Hisoka’s Guard has to be dealt with before any other dude can be targeted. Minamo Sightbender can help force through damage when needed. Two hard to kill Shimmering Glasskites have flying along with the expensive but solid Sire of the Storm which nets me a card each time I play one of those 17 Arcane and Spirits spells. Devouring Rage was included because it can win you games, especially if you have flying dudes or dudes that are unblockable.
As you can see above the Mana Curve is solid too and I think I would enjoy playing this deck, however I don’t think it’s strong enough to win a Sealed Deck event outright. It looks like a good top 4 deck to me unless you have a big slice of Lee, err I mean Luck !!


Dave PageDave Page.

Here are my thoughts.
There is not enough quality removal in either black or red for me.
There are no strong creatures in black. So black is definitely out.
There is a limited amount of burn and conditional removal in red plus some efficient creatures so might be worth a splash.
Green has some good creatures but no game breakers and little evasion. Whilst attractive on creature count its not really an option for me.
This leaves blue and white, no removal, but plenty of evasion and a couple of game breakers, Yosai and a well timed final judgement. There is also some good ground defence and stalling cards to buy those turns to push home with the flyers.
White must be the main colour due to the WW casting cost on some key cards so the only UU card to consider is the expensive but bonus laden Sire.
This also means that splashing red is out now. I don’t like the reliability of three colours either.
So, here’s the deck list:

White/Blue
(40 cards)
1cc
1 Kami of false hope 1/1 – stay alive for a turn
1 Etheral haze – as above
1 Empty shrine kannushi 1/1 – pro W and U?
1 Wandering one 1/1 – no headed chumpy spirit
1 Hankyu e4 – Who’s not got removal then!
1 Quiet purity – because we all hate ghostly prison unless we get one ourselves
2cc
1 Minamo sightbender 1/1 – another evader
1 Hisoka guard 1/1 – protection
1 Call to glory – surprise!!!
3cc
1 Opal-eye 1/4 – possible staller/ odd tricks
1 Faithful squire/ Kaiso 2/2 or 3/4 f – possible fat fast flyer
1 Kitsume blademaster2/2 b1 fs – Hit me with less than a 4/4 then
1 River kaijun 1/4 – another fine staller
4cc
2 Shimmering glasskite 2/3 fl – you beauties!
1 Motherider samuri 2/2 fl b1– takes out a glasskite
1 Indebted samuri 3/3 b1– gets bigger as samuri die
5cc
1 Hundred Talon Kami 2/3 fl – it flys
1 Kami of tattered shoji 2/5 – massive blocker that might fly
6cc
1 Yosai 5/5 fl – hello big boy!
1 Final judgement – lets hope they over commit

10x Plains – must see white
7x Islands

Overall the set of cards doesn’t look strong enough for a win as it lacks removal or killer speed. It could finish top 4 on a good day if it can hold the rush and get to work in the air.


David Saluzzo

Here's my deck and explanation of card choices:
It's a hazardous 3 colour spirit deck

Red/Black/Green
(40 cards)

RED
1 glacial ray (removal spell - hana kami target)
1 crushing pain (removal)
1 ire of kaminari (removal - to finish your opponent)
1 brutal deceiver (spirit creature to power devouring rage/greed)
2 frostling (removal - spirit creature to power devouring rage/greed)
1 ronin houndmaster (solid 2.2 creature with haste and bushido)
1 torrent of stone (removal)
1 mannichi, the fevered dream (spirit creature to power devouring rage/greed with nice ability)
1 ember-fist zubera (spirit creature to power devouring rage/greed)
1 devouring rage (win condition)
BLACK
1 genju of the fens (good enchantment that creates an extra spirit)
1 cruel deceiver (spirit creature to power devouring rage/greed)
1 hired muscle (very easy to flip by turn 4 and becomes a 4.4 legendary spirit)
1 rend flesh (removal)
1 wicked akuba (spirit creature to power devouring rage/greed)
1 devouring greed (win condition)
2 stir the grave (to get back possible removed creatures and to target hana kami to get back any arcane spell)
GREEN
1 hana kami (spirit creature to power devouring rage/greed - arcane spells recur)
1 moss kami (spirit creature to power devouring rage/greed with trample)
1 venerable kumo (spirit creature to power devouring rage greed)
1 child of thorns (spirit creature to power devouring rage/greed)
LANDS
6 swamps
1 shizo, death's storehouse
6 mountains
1 pinecrest ridge
3 forest
not sure about the lands....maybe 7 swamps and 5 mountains works better but I'm crap with mana base.
The deck really needed green to add some spirits and to enable you to use hana kami, which I think it's great in this deck (if you draw it of course).
It could perform well or badly...I don't know....on paper looks kinda good :-)



Lee HutchinsonLee Hutchinson.

White/Red
(40 cards)

White
1 Kitsune Blademaster
1 Kitsune Healer
2 Silverstorm Samurai
1 Yosei, the Morning Star
1 Indebted Samurai
1 Mothrider Samurai
1 Faithful Squire
1 Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo
1 Waxmane Baku
1 Empty-Shrine Kannushi
1 Final Judgment

Red
1 Sokenzan Bruiser
1 Frost Ogre
1 Brothers Yamazaki
2 Frostling
1 Ember-Fist Zubera
1 Brutal Deceiver
1 Ronin Houndmaster
1 Mannichi, the Fevered Dream
1 Torrent of Stone
1 Glacial Ray

Land
9 Plains
8 Mountains


Shane MussellShane Mussell.

White/Blue/Red
(40 cards)

White
1 Kamo of false hope
1 Ethereal haze
1 Blessed breath
1 Kitsune blademaster
1 Motherider Samurai
1 Indebted Samurai
1 Hundred-talon kami
1 Kami of Tattered shoji
2 Silverstorm Samurai


Blue
1 Hisoka's guard
1 River kaijin
2 Shimmering glasskite
1 Quillmane Baku
1 Sire of the storm

Red
2 Frostling
1 Ember-fist zubera
1 Glacial Ray
1 Mannichi, the fevered dream
1 Ronin houndmaster
1 Torrent of stone

Artifact
1 Hankyu

Ok now a little bit on why I chose what...

I was hoping to see the Glasskite in the cards and was chuffed to bits knowing this card is very strong in limited, sealed the deal for me so they both went in (2 being VERY strong). Apart from that I was left struggling.. Black just didn't look good to me so I dumped it right away and my experiences of Green left me cold so I brushed past that too. Leaving 2 other colours to choose from for the second colour to Blue. White and Red - I liked a couple of cards in Red and soon noticed I was going to use Red and Blue again as the main basis for the deck.

After building a R/U deck and weeding out the cards that were not really suited, either because they lacked speed or just didn't fit into the game plan, I ended up with a problem. Not enough cards to make a deck! So back to the White I went and started to notice some cards I had over looked Silverstorm Samurai is a damn expensive cards but being a Samurai means Bushido and having it as an instant just rocks so they both go in. Along with some more airborne assault in the form of Motherider Samurai and Hundred-Talon Kami this increased my card count up to a reasonable level but I was missing something and that something was filled with Hankyu which was as near a clock I could find. Let me explain - in my ideal deck 4 things are needed
1. Airborne Creatures (or unblockables)
2. Removal (be it direct damage or spot removal it's needed)
3. A Clock (even a simple clock can cause pain for the opponent)
4. Speed (long ago I realised that winning the game in limited is all about swarming the opponent forcing them to chump block and generally playing havoc with their plans by running right over them)

With this deck I'm as close as I could be to what I'd like to play..


Conclusion

Well the only conclusion I can come to is that this was a very evenly balanced set of cards. Every one of us managed to choose a different deck list. The least popular colours were clearly Black and Green but all the others were used multiply times.
Although I stand by my deck list and don’t particularly like a couple of the list given I have to say that each participant made their case very well and all the decks are playable.
The next time you play a sealed deck make sure you look at all your options rather than say you were unlucky because you opened crap cards. This experiment shows that different players look for different types of cards when constructing their decks. If you consistently do poorly in Sealed Decks this could mean that you are looking at the wrong type of cards.

What you should be looking at…
Solid creatures.
This doesn’t mean huge expensive creatures that, although strong, aren’t actually going to get cast very often because you are already dead!
Removal.
Black removal spells, Red burn spells and Odd stuff like Umezawa’s Jitte or Shuriken combined with Ninja’s.
Evasion.
This could be Unblockable dudes or Flying dudes.
Game Breakers.
Cards like Devouring Greed.

Also try to make your deck fast rather than slow. If you are already behind in Life after 3-4 turns because you don’t have anything cheap and quick then you will always be playing catch-up. It’s easier to win from a fast start than to win from a slow one.(unless you are Dave, who always has slow starts, mid-game and end-game !!)
Look at your mana curve! Do you have a good range of spells in your deck.

‘We’ hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as ‘We’ enjoyed writing it.
Until next time… Chow for Now!


TOURNAMENT CALENDAR


For all events
doors open at 10.00
with events starting at 10.30

Contact David for details and to register.

MAY

Sunday 22nd
Saviors of Kamigawa Pre-Release
Sealed Deck
Entry fee £15.00
With side events.
JUNE

Sunday 5th
Saviors of Kamigawa Release Weekend
Sealed Deck
Entry fee £15.00


 

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