How did your Magic 2014 DOTP sealed deck turn out?
Sealed deck play for Duels of the Planeswalkers was one of my biggest requests for Magic 2014, and Wizards delivered. While some have complained about the lack of 2HG or the cost of additional deck slots, I’m glad to see Stainless bringing the other “half” of Magic gameplay into the series.
As you’ll see in the videos below, I jumped right into sealed deck mode and began piecing together a red/green/white (Naya) deck. While I had a few problems with the enormity of the cards to sort, the system worked well and I was soon ready to stomp Jace’s stupid face.
After a closer re-examination of my cards (and more bombs pulled in later packs), I decided to drop red from my deck altogether. Now a green/white pile, it’s powered by tons of ramp and removal, not to mention late-game beats from Primordial Hydra, several big Beasts, and a pair of angels who usually spell game over for my opponents. Of course, there’s always room for improvement, and I’ll be looking to balance creature/removal/utility slots carefully as I play.
What kinds of cards did you pull for your sealed campaigns? Did you end up building decks around a few key bombs, or find a happy synergy across a multitude of commons and uncommons? More importantly, have you managed to pull off a Door to Nothingness win yet?
I’m trying out different combos – so far a red green tramble/blast-thing, but i am incredibly annoyed, that they removed the only black female avatar from the selection – didnt think that meant anything until the option wasn’t there :-/
I’m thinking that you secretly you like green. All that love for ancient wilds, the first deck you evaluate is Chant of MulDaya, and now this green heavy deck? Sounds like someone’s green with green envy.
Join us!
P.S. I too hate Jace!
Hey, *I* wrote that guide! While he’s busy playing f’ing Slivers!
Well, my good deck out of the two that I got was a Rakdos deck with almost no creatures in it, only Young Pyromancer, I believe a few other stalling guys, and two Rune-Scarred Demons plus some six-mana 4/4 haste flying dragon. Simple idea; Spam removal and other nonpermanent spells in order to have the Pyromancer crap out a ton of tokens and stall the game until the big guys could win it.
I like it. A lot, in fact. So much that I consider writing a short story about my all time favorite redhead the Pyromancer. It’s right there on my schedule, together with another chapter of the novel, getting accepted into the society of story critics, writing more for TTT…
Well, I’ll be sure to let you know when I do get around to doing it, modest as I always am.
Slivers!? That traitor!
I’m digging sealed pretty well, enough that my usually-obstinately-frugal self has considered purchasing another slot. But that would be a slippery, slippery slope…
The decks:
My first deck was based (quite loosely) around a Protean Hydra. For the largest part, it wound up a Blue-Green Aura/Control deck.
My second deck came out Black-White, based around Grave Titan with a couple Diabolic Tutors and a lot of stall, including Lifelink, Protection, yadda yadda.
YES Toraka I officially love you now (no homo) Young Pyromancer is one of my favourite red cards in the sealed pool.
*Blatant comment-at-the-top-where-people-will-read-it hijack*
I tried to redraft the same deck as I just described in the second slot (because my arse will I pay a two snickers’ worth per slot unless somebody sponsors me) which, due to a lack of core cards such as more than one Pyromancer and Molten Birth each, sucked balls.
So I went back into it, rifled through my pool, and got my eye caught at two very specific cards, for one Angelic Destiny and for the other Windsomething Sphinx, I believe it’s called. Wouldn’t know, Steam is telling me the horror story of wiping my saves data if I try to launch it again and it’s a new card in 2014. Basically it’s a 3/7 flier for 5UU that lets you draw whenever a creature with flying attacks. It doesn’t have to be itself, it doesn’t even have to be YOUR flier, and it triggers once per creature that’s attacking.
Yeah, from there on out, the deck more or less built itself. Stomping every AI in the first attempt later, I now have a deck filled to the brim with cheap flying and often vigilant creatures with tons of synergy between them and card advantage. Picture this: Suntail Hawk now cycles in addition to dealing 1 damage if it gets blocked, and if it doesn’t, I dealt one to the enemy and got a free card out of it, to do it again next turn! The deck also has a Belltower Sphinx in it in case things go directly southward and as a lovely alternate win condition, though it’s obviously more of the threat of the win condition that scares them out of attacking with power 4 or less dudes (read: ALL cards in Sealed.)
Though, this is ironically one scenario where I wished I had Healing Salve instead of Stave Off, simply because the Sphinx’ ability will do bugger-all if all the damage is prevented. Oh, those first world problems.
In a flash of incredible maturity, I instantly declared that this pile of fliers and control spells shall henceforth be named “Azorious Flap Flap Fap” and set out to conquer the world with it. Oh yes, did I mention that it maxes out the deck strength gauge? No, literally. The thing’s standing at “Awesome” (a fitting deck for Doctor Awesome) with not the slightest bit of blue to be seen in it.
Didn’t have a chance to test it against humans yet, considering that it’s currently 1:40AM here and I’m under attack by insects that just refuse to stop creepily wiggling their limbs even though I already separated their heads into three different parts. Holy shit, pure karma is at work here.
Once I do get to use it on humans though, Xiant better be prepared. And have lots of luck. He’ll need it.
Oh, also @Evil Mee: Who said you had to be homo to love me?
REMOVAL SPAMMING?!?! Look how the high and mighty have fallen…I am always watching and my memory is very good.
Unfortunately, my first pool was quite terrible with the only playable rare being Brittle Effigy. I got a Protean Hydra and a couple Overwhelming Stampedes in the extra packs, but Red Black was the strongest with three Shocks and three Flames of the Firebrand, as well as a couple Volcanic Dragons, a Vampire Nighthawk, and some other nice creatures.
My second pool seems better with TWO actually standout rares in the opening six, and 3 other playables if I wanted to play slightly worse colors.
I did get Door to Nothingness, didn’t pull it off though. AND my decks are always terrible since I’m very new to the Magic scene, I might have good cards but I’m still watching your videos to figure out what’s the best combo I can make! ;)
Hell yes i was about suggest a sealed results page with what cards you got/what you made of your pool.
Nice too see what people got, i brought a couple slots so I got some good and some bad.
Hey did you guys know you can have over 4 of a card in sealed? I got 5 sentinel slivers YUCK and 5 ragathan firecats for my red/white deck.
And play them in your deck.*
Yes, this is actually one of the cool things about sealed. It is part of the normal paper Magic rules for sealed.
I only pulled terrible, terrible cards out of my boosters, and not even one good rare/mythical
I find sealed to be pretty limited. It’s impossible to make a single color deck. The color you do choose from are limited, because some of the cards you get will be useless to make any type of decent deck. I feel like the choice of my deck is chosen for me. You usually go with the colors that you have the best cards in. I rarely feel I have multiple options in what type of deck I want to build. I really dislike using 3 colors, but it may be be something I have to get over if I want to play sealed.
I have 10 sealed decks and it just seem’s like out of the pulls that the strongest color is black, while for me at least blue is the weakest color. I have like 7 or 8 out of my 10 have black in it. While in one sealed pack I actually pulled enough to make a solid mono black deck.
My second strongest color is white, then red and then green. So far my favorite deck is my Blue/White Flyer deck named
Skyfall:
Lands:
8 Plains
8 Islands
1 Terramorphic
Creatures:
Sentinel Sliver x 1
Fog Bank x 1
Master of Diversion x 1
Griffin Sentinel x 1
Trained Condor x 2
Charging Griffin x 2
Phantasmal Dragon x 2
Archangel Thune x 1
Serra Angel x 1
Faerie Invaders x 2
Windreader Sphinx x 1
Spells:
Day of Judgement x 1
Divination x 1
Glimpse the future x 1
Essence Scatter x 2
Pacifism x 3
Absolutely badass deck!
Thanks, It was my fun sealed campaign vs all the other one’s that felt kind of generic.
My first pool is very versatile and I could probably pull off a door to nothingness deck if I had a little more ramp/stall cards in there. I eventually went with my favorite UR. the Young Pyromancer Molten Birth combo is quite hilarious if you win the flip a couple times. That and some fliers and burn spells it’s actually working quite well have swept through to get my other 3 packs and am currently 3-1 online with it. The other pool pissed me off considerably. I feel as if black is overpowered in sealed and everyone splashes it or has it in their build so I didn’t want it going into the pool. Sure enough I rip nightmare two sign in bloods rune scarred demon and the mythic demon that I have to sac a creature on upkeep. So I said f**k it I’m running mono black and it works quite well. I find my self early game pumping unblockable 1/1 with that +2+2 lifelink for some good spread damage and late game it’s even better on nightmare who I seem to draw like its nobody’s business. Overall I’m having a blast with it. Here’s to hoping wingspan does some form of tournament around sealed!
Just built a deck similar to this. It’s tons of fun!
My so far is my black-white deck
1 Stave off (I love this card)
1 Honour the pure
1 Sign in blood
1 Roc Egg
2 Master of Diversion
1 Griphon Sentinel
1 Staff of the Death Magus
4 Murder
2 Assassinate
1 Angelic Desitny
2 Archangel of Thune
3 Dawnstrike Paladin
2 Sengir Vampire
1 Diabolic Revelation
1 Rise from the Grave
8-8 split between Swamps and Plains
Sideboard – black:
1 Black Knight
3 Giant Scorpion
1 Gravedigger
2 Rotting Legion
1 cower in fear
Sideboard white:
1 Warpriest of Thune
2 Sentinel Sliver
3 Pillarfield Ox
1 Pacifism
2 Mighty leap
1 Safe Passage
2 Solemn Offerings
My favourite so far is my black-white deck – don’t know why the word got dropped.
I’m running…
2 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Windstorm
1 Goblin Shortcutter
1 Deadly Recluse
1 Rampant Growth
2 Regathan Firecat
2 Advocate of the Beast
2 Marauding Maulhorn
1 Briarpack Alpha
1 Rumbling Baloth
1 Awaken the Ancient
1 Silklash Spider
1 Acidic Slime
1 Cleaver Riot
1 Turn to Slag
1 Overwhelming Stampede
1 Phyraxian Hulk
2 Earth Servant
2 Yavinaya Wurm
9 Mountain
12 Forest
woke up around 3 am and for some reason had a crazy idea to build the door deck. since i was had absolutely no ramp or stall i had to rely on the 1G spider with reach and deathtouch, fog bank, and the 2B scorpion with deathtouch. i try my hardest to stall with them while gaining card advantage through sign in blood, mind spring ( which is quite a great card, IMO) and divinations, while removing things my deathtouch babies cant deal with through murder and public execution. i have a healer of the pride (3W, 2/3 that works as a soul warden but only on your side of the BF and is 2 instead of 1 life) combo’ed with young pyromancer and molten birth for life gain, and 2 diabolic tutors to go and fetch the door to nothingness if i cant draw it. i eventually went through enough playtesting to grow the balls to play it online and won my first game against a UW deck, to which after the win i recieved some nice hatemail.
I’m having no luck with sealed. I’m trying to beat garruk for like to 20th time using a blue/black deck. I’ve been getting mana flooded every time.
Care to post your deck list?
3 tormented soul
1 unsummon
1 maritime guard
2 black knight
1 ravenous rats
3 essence scatter
1 mind spring
1 distress
3 sign in blood
2 giant Scorpion
1 frost breath
1 murder
1 glimpse the future
1 phantasmal dragon
1 archaeomancer
2 bloodhunter bat
1 tricks of the trade
1 mark of the vampire
1 disorient
1 diabolic tutor
1 crumbling colossus (I wanted it just so no matter what lands I drew I could play it)
2 switcheroo (cause it works so well for jace!)
1 xathrid demon
2 Minotaur abomination
I wanted to play blue for all the combat tricks and counters I got and black for the creatures. As of right now this deck by game standards is “average”.
20 lands is not nearly enough. You really should aim to have a deck closer to 40 cards, with about 17 lands (no fewer than 16).
Ditch cards like Disorient, Maritime Guard, Archeomancer, possibly the Scorpions. Ditch Xathrid Demon, he will be hard to play with BBB in his cost in a 2-color deck. Minotaur Abomination kind of sucks. Tricks of the trade is okay, but Mark of the Vampire is better. Trim the fat!
I forgot to mention I have 9 islands and either 11 or 12 swamps
So I finally won with the deck I posted (I actually edited it before I posted that version) I think the tables finally turned and he got mana flooded. It wasn’t a true win but I’m honestly past the point of caring. Depending on what I get out of my next pack I change it up and go red/white (I’ve been eyeing this inferno Titan)
I might change*
Its fucking retarted that you cant delete a sealed deck to start again. biggest let down of this game since this is why i bought it… why bother playing sealed when you only get to do it twice? unless you pay money of course. Sorry i am a big fan of magic but they have pissed me off with this one. too hungry
Yeah, it is much cheaper to play in live tournaments or Magic Online.
my first deck ended up being a u/w control deck (Misdirection) w/ scroll thieves / frost breath as a draw engine, 2 clones and serra angels as bombs, indestructibility / day of judgement as a unique combo play, and 2 redirects and a switcheroo to mix things up. fun, but tricky to win with…
second slot (Sliverdoom) started out b/g, but after some effective red pulls, is now a r/g siiver deck w/ 7 total slivers (5 predatory!), 2 tectonic rift to help get them through, swiftfootboots, 3 giant growths, and a ring of 3 wishes to fetch any of the above. very light on removal though. but i’ve had opponents call it the most aggressive sealed deck they’ve seen!
bought a 3rd slot, currently r/b (Hellgate), but having no murders is a real weakness. got 2 mythic red and black creatures, so its tough to see it built w/ different colors…
also, i want to comment on a few awesome decks i’ve seen others use against me:
one guy had 3 protean hydra, along w/ leonin scimitar and enlarge that combo’d well w/ ’em. his other color was white, good removal to support his hydras…
a guy on my friends list managed to make a badass mono-black deck w/ 2 nightmares, rune-scarred demon, the black staff, gravediggers, murders… i felt like i was playing against liliana in campaign mode!
the most frustrating deck i faced (and suprisingly so) was a b/g deck that seemed to have playsets of acidic slimes and gravediggers, which he used in tandem to destroy one half of my lands, while chipping away at me w/ said oozes, a tormented soul, and some bloodhunter bats (surprisingly great in sealed play).
My first pack had a time warp as a rare. I subsequently drew 4 x Archeomancer. I just had to make that deck. ;) I got a rune- scarred demon, Vampire Nighthawk and fog bank too. It’s not very competitive but can really go into degenerate mode if given enough time.
I pulled a Grave titan on my first pack , which happens to be my favourite card in the game too. (Have 2 in RL). Second pack was a Xathrid Demon (Another card I use in RL LOL), Then I pulled an Angelic Arbritator, Aegis Angel and 2 Indestructibility. This pretty much garunteed I was gonna make a black and white deck, I got a lot of removal/control too, so early in games I just Assasinate, Pacify, Safe Passage, etc. got a couple Vampire Nighthawks, and a spirit mantle which I want more of. One and two mana creatures for now are tormented soul and that bat. Overall I’m pretty pleased with it and it handles itself pretty nicely. I just wish their were more boosters available for free
I cracked three – THREE – Protean Hydras in the first packs for my first sealed deck.
From there, every question I might have asked became some version of “does this buff Hydras’ toughness and/or help Hydras smash face? Yes/No/Maybe”.
It was awesome.
Result: A blue/green deck whose MVPs were Oakenform and Leonin Scimitar. Invincible Hydras? HAYO!
in my second deck I pulled:
2x Hypnotic Spectors
2x Windreader Sphinx
I’m stoked
I’m running a green/red deck on the ps3.
2 Terramorphic expanse
10 Mountains
6 Forests
1 Leonin Scimitar
2 Goblin Shortcutter
1 Deadly Recluse
1 Swiftfoot Boots
4 Ragathan Firecat
2 Advocate of the Beast
2 Oakenform
2 Slaughter Cry
4 Marauding Maulhorn
1 Awaken the Ancient
1 Garruk’s Packleader
1 Overwhelming Stampede
The last card pretty much sums up the deck.
A have 2 serra angel on my second deck. And 2 1/3 flying vigilance(forgot the name) planning to elaborate it with some blue spells… :-D
Jace rule! Lol