Draft Table #2: Innistrad Sealed

The Pro Tour Qualifier in Kissimmee, Fl is coming up very soon and a lot of members on MTG Casual Net are planning to attend. I'm really excited to meet everyone and crack open some fresh Innistrad product. When you sit at the table and wait for the judge to give the go ahead to start opening your 6 packs, what should you be looking for?

Since the PTQ is going to be a huge event with a lot of pressure for players to perform well, deck building can be a daunting task. In comparison to the Innistrad prerelease, players will be enforcing the rules a bit more, people have put in their practice for a couple weeks, and you'll run into players with a much higher skill level. What can you do to prepare? First preparations are obviously to familiarize yourself with the set. Take a look at the Innistrad Spoiler and take some focus on the commons and uncommons and do a subconscious ranking of what cards seem very strong and what interactions work well together (ChannelFireball and The Magic Show also have their own reviews). A cute trick I pulled the other day was using Stitcher's Apprentice and Falkenrath Noble to force my opponent to lose a life and me to gain a life every turn. Small synergies like that win games and knowing about these subtle synergies will give you a huge edge over the competition. Sometimes interactions like these can be difficult to see, so I'd recommend getting together a small group, like a team, and prepare before the PTQ and discuss all the cards in the set to get the best idea of how to construct your deck after opening the packs. 

Since the format is Sealed, it's very different from draft in terms of preparation. I would recommend getting  a group of friends (or that team) and opening 6 boosters of Innistrad and individually make a deck from the same set of 6 boosters. Compare differences and choices and figure out what the best method of building a deck from those boosters. 

Some guidelines I've found from Innistrad is the composition of 16 lands and 24 spells. Personally, I've always ran 17 lands, but I feel Innistrad is a fast enough format to not necessarily need the extra land, unless you have a lot of flashback cards with high flashback costs or are running a 3 color deck. Also, you want to have more spells so you have more control over your opponent's transform triggers. Having more spells allows you to prevent your opponent's creatures from transforming or by playing two spells, cause them to transform back. In this format, I wouldn't play more than 3 colors. The set supports 3 colors well enough if you have the right cards in your sealed pool, but probably would run into problems with 4+ colors. 

For Innistrad specifically and werewolf creatures, I'd recommend playing the ones with decent mana cost for what the 'day' version of the card. A 3 mana 2/3 is more than acceptable in Villagers of Estwald; however a 1/1 first strike for 2 mana in Village Ironsmith might not be the best investment. 

For your bomb cards, most of the rares are pretty strong. Probably the best bomb card in the set is Devil's Play. 2 Fireballs in 1 card is enough to give you a creature kill spell in the early game and a huge burn spell in the late game to finish off your opponent or your opponent's bomb. Furthermore, any creature with 3 toughness or more is generally very strong because they evade death to Dead Weight, Geist Flame, and other small removal cards, which there are plenty of! Also, having creatures with flying are always good, especially if they have a lot of toughness to evade removal and block all the little guys in the format. Furthermore, most of the flashback cards are bombs too, since they act as two spells and give you a lot of value in the late game. The player with more flashback cards has the advantage in the match right out the gate. 

Another key piece of advice is sideboarding in between Game 2 and 3. Remember, that your entire sealed pool is your deck and sideboard. If you feel a certain strategy isn't working in the rounds, don't hesitate to drop a color or adopt a new one. I've had several instances where matches were won because I splashed/cut colors and my opponent was not expecting it. When constructing your deck, keep in mind cards that aren't in your colors that could be splashed with Ghost Quarter (destroying your own land, yes. i did it to win a game), Shimmering Grotto, and Traveler's Amulet. A piece of removal or a rare bomb could be just what your deck needs to survive the swiss round grind. 

For my final recommendations, I suggest making sandwhiches the night before and bringing food with you, since it's going to be a long long long day. Also, don't forget to visit the ATM, so you have the money you need for cards at the vendors, side events, and for other expenses. Last thing is probably the most important; watch your stuff at all times. I know there were a lot of problems with theft at Gen Con 2011 and these big events have a lot of people who are disrespectful with other's belongings, so be careful and have a friend watch your stuff if you ever have to leave it unattended.

From first glance at this set, I think Innistrad sealed will be a lot of fun and the PTQ this coming weekend will be a huge event with tons of side events. Hopefully if you're reading this, I'll see you out at the Kissimmee, Fl PTQ hosted by Phoenix Games on Oct 8th. Until then, Magic players.

Interested in more Magic content? Check out every series on the MTG Casual Network Archive!

-David J.

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