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TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 21 Sep 2014, 23:12
by Graham
The crew wrapped up their KTK Sealed Prerelease and ran right over to the Moonbase to tell you about it!

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 22 Sep 2014, 01:36
by RedNightmare
To counter Cameron's point about delve cards and at what cost you should run them: I found that running delve cards that you would be fine playing if their cost was -2 without delve worked well. Hooting Mandrills and Sultai Scavenger made the cut for me, where as Shambeling Servants was just to expansive for what it did.

Also, playing a few good enablers that are playable on their own were really useful (Taigam's Scheming or Bitter Revelation for example).

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 22 Sep 2014, 06:54
by ShadowChorus
I think I need to dispute the 'you'd never use lens of clarity' thing. Maybe not after this set is over, but in a set where morph is relevant, I can see the use of that. You may want to see which of your opponent's morphs are most dangerous, or which ones are about to pop, and which you want to kill fastest. Seeing your opponent's face-downs could be rather relevant.

Then again I'm listening to the cast now, so they may cover that later, and this may be a wasted post. I dunno.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 22 Sep 2014, 09:27
by Graham
We don't get into it further.
It's one of our accepted draft tenants to refer to "the value of a card".

Marshall on LR gets into it more than we ever would but essentially:
The effect might be neat, but it is not worth a card in your deck. You only get 23 spell cards in limited Magic, and they all have to do something to help you win.
Lens might give you information, but it's not doing anything.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 22 Sep 2014, 09:49
by SomeCallMeTim
I loved Cameron's response to the cranefly at around 1:10. Poised, composed, in con-GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!

It was sweet to hear about all your decks in such detail. I did run my promo copy of Trail of Mystery because I had 7 morph creatures, one of which was Ashcloud Phoenix. The rampant growth attached to it actually fixed my colors quite nicely, and I got to get to double red (for the Phoenix mainly) quite easily. It's not the best combo, but it's a cool synergy. I went 4-1 and got beaten by some bad draws against a bad deck (he was running 45 cards and 17 lands! How did I lose?!)

I actually was more of a lucksack than Graham, for I got a Flooded Strand and a foil Polluted Delta! Afterwards, me and a few of the other players ran off to a restaurant to eat and draft with our prize packs. Really fun night, and the set looks super exciting. Gonna play this set a lot, I think.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 22 Sep 2014, 10:14
by Steelwolf
Just listening to the podcast and noticed something odd about James' experience with Zurgo Helmsmasher.

Zurgo can't be the target of a Disruption Field because his toughness is 2 not the necessary three. Of course, if something blocked Zurgo and died he'd get a counter and then could be targeted.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 22 Sep 2014, 10:33
by ShadowChorus
Graham wrote:We don't get into it further.
It's one of our accepted draft tenants to refer to "the value of a card".

Marshall on LR gets into it more than we ever would but essentially:
The effect might be neat, but it is not worth a card in your deck. You only get 23 spell cards in limited Magic, and they all have to do something to help you win.
Lens might give you information, but it's not doing anything.


I can see the point of that, and I get your stance. I am just of the personal opinion that it would be a good sideboard if your opponent is running a lot of dangerous morphs that you might want to prioritize.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 22 Sep 2014, 11:10
by Lord Hosk
I sided in lens when my opponents got down more than 4 morph in our games.

That information is VERY very relevant.

If your opponent has a Canyon Lurkers, Efreet Weaponmaster, Witness of the Ages, and Master of Pearls morphed and you can look at them and say "I kill the master of pearls"

There are a lot of morph spells that dont really matter, and some that completely change the game.

It is by no means a main deck card but against the morph deck its worth having it. I would rank this equal to naturalize, its solid in the side.



Also, On the draft format its going to be:
Kahns Kahns Kahns,
Fates, Kahns, Kahns.
"Louie" "Louie" Fates.

Kahns and "louie" will not be drafted together.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 22 Sep 2014, 12:40
by Dubious_wolf
I'd take the outpost.
It's either a tri-land or it's a guild gate in 2 other clans. (abzan, and jeskai)
And as we learned from dragon's maze dual lands are super important in 3 clot draft decks.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 22 Sep 2014, 17:44
by Lord Hosk
I found that the "life lands" or "better gates" as we were calling them were better than the Triple lands.

Maybe its because in one I was half white 1/4 abzan a few black and green and in the other I was 33% white 33% black 34% red but I never had mana problems and the extra 3-4 life was very relevant.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 23 Sep 2014, 08:55
by Dubious_wolf
The banners I think will be more necessary in draft where you have a lower critical mass of good mana fixing. I think you run it if you have one color of mana that's really hungry.
In my first prerelease I got an Abzan pack but went Jeskai. Any one else have similar a similar experience?

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 24 Sep 2014, 18:48
by Novus-Spes
I think Lens has a limited window of use and the reason was actually covered in the video. Eventually, we are going to know all the morphs and have an idea what morph our opponent is playing based on lands they have and the methods they are using it. However, we stood brand new at the prerelease with no such knowledge. Thus, I actually main-decked Lens it and it turned out to be super useful! In the coming drafts of the weeks to come? Yea, less so the more time passes.

As for the banners, I think Dubious_wolf has a good point for their possible value when draft starts coming around and we need those fixings. Perhaps sealed has spoiled us a bit in that area.

Oh Cameron, I feel your Jeskai woes. In hindset I probably had plenty of cards for a solid Mardu deck, but I really want to try Jeskai. Heck, I wore my Jeskai pin just cause I thought it was cool to be one of the "underdog" clans at my store. I'm afraid I have to take Kathleen's word on the usefulness of the Riverwheel Aerialists. They always got blasted shortly after resolving for me.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 25 Sep 2014, 16:27
by UNHchabo
For a minute I thought that you could keep casting the spell exiled by Kheru Spellsnatcher, but after some research it looks like I'm wrong, based on rulings about Fiend of the Shadows. I thought if you countered a Lightning Bolt, for instance, that you could then immediately ping them for a billion damage, which would be pretty gross.

But yeah, being able to cast Zurgo next turn is also pretty nice. :-D

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 25 Sep 2014, 22:15
by korvys
The thing with the lens is this: If you opponent has 2+ morphs, and you use the lens to see what you need to block, you'd probably be in a situation that is as good or better if the lens was just another creature, or a removal spell, or whatever. The impact of your knowledge is not to be underestimated, but also not to be overestimated. It is almost never as good as just having another, even mediocre, card.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 27 Sep 2014, 22:00
by Lord Hosk
I disagree entirely, I would much rather know that my opponent has a Canyon Lurkers, Efreet Weaponmaster, Witness of the Ages, and Master of Pearls, and know to destroy the master rather than have almost any creature or spell.

Morph cards in this set go from Meh to Holy Crap you just won the game and that knowledge is huge. In constructed, you can tell with much more certainty but in limited, especially in the prerelease, it could be anything and do anything.

Its the same as look at your opponents hand and (thing) you dont just (thing) you look at the hand, and sure its a "prevent cheating" method but that information is still extremely useful.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 28 Sep 2014, 14:35
by korvys
I my opponent has all of those out at the same time, I dare say I've lost already.

If my opponent has all of those in his deck, and only 1 in play, I'd probably just kill it, and rely on my higher concentration of useful spells, having cut the lens, to see me through.

Re: TTC - Khans Prerelease

Posted: 23 Oct 2014, 06:40
by Lord Hosk
So now that I know the set Im really down on the lens, I still maintain that it was a very relevant card in the prerelease.

I think part of the disconnect on the card was people who knew the set going in and people who didnt. People like Marshal or LRR, and many people here obsess over the spoilers and know the set backwards and forwards before stepping foot in the store then there are other people who go in without any of that knowledge so getting to see what their morphs are is valuable information.

I know what the cards are now, so if im playing a Absan guy I know its the guide, I know im unlikely to see a Master of the pearls in that deck. I would never take the lens now but I still maintain that the information was more than worth the card. I would have rather had that lens in the prerelease than half of the other cards in the set.