Prerelease Tactics: Saviors of Kamigawa Edition

When we last left our heroes of the land of Kamigawa, things had gotten, well...bad for the mortals. The Minamo wizard school, where they were developing the magics needed to face the raging kami, has been lost, and O-Kagachi, the mightiest of all kami, has entered the mortal world in search of That Which Was Taken, bringing untold destruction to the perfect empire that Lord Konda was attempting to create. The end of the war is still not in sight.

A quick note before we begin. It has been noted in previous Prerelease Tactics articles that I was gathering most of my information from the rumors site www.mtgnews.com, and until today my impression had been that the site had been closed due to legal reasons. Today it appears to be up and full of new information that I haven’t had a chance to review yet. Since I’m unprepared to discuss that information intelligently , and because I don’t feel like getting caught in any weapons-grade legal fallout, we’re going to skip mtgnews.com and use the information at www.magicthegathering.com exclusively. This means we won’t get a common-by-common analysis as we have in the past.

As expected, Wizards of the Coast is expanding further on the Legendary theme in Saviors, stretching it beyond its borders to new spell types in a variety of unexpected ways. The biggest theme of the new set is that ‘hand size matters.’ This seems very reminiscint of the Scourge theme ‘size matters’ in more ways than one. During Scourge, cards like Accelerated Mutation and Dispersal Shield pushed the borders of sanity in the attempt to make expensive cards not only worthwhile, but powerful, and I expect the same to be done here. While I don’t know what commons might be making use of this set theme, we can expect a number of things. Wizards has told us that we can expect to see cards that will get their power from the number of cards in your hand, others that get their power based on the number of cards in your opponent’s hand, and cards that activate based on whether you have more cards than your opponent does. Looking back at previous Magic sets and their treatment of a theme, we can expect a few cards to come around that punish you for having a large number of cards in your hand, but many more that reward you for maintaining a large hand. This is interesting in part because maintaining a large hand has traditionally only been a secondary value, after playing the spells you need to win the game, and the theme of the Saviors of Kamigawa set will introduce a tension between playing the spells you need to stay alive and keeping cards in hand in order to maintain an advantage.

A number of thoughts about maintaining a large hand size come to me. One is maintaining a more reasonable level of pacing. You don’t have to put down five creatures on the board if you don’t need them to win. Keep an eye on the cards in play and whether you have the advantage. Look for cards that can give you the advantage coming out of your hand, or negate an opponent’s advantage to give you control of the field, but place somewhat less emphasis on swamping the board with lots of creatures and effects. This is counter to my normal Prerelease advice of focusing on creatures in some ways, so it’ll be interesting to see how things had turned out. Possibly the best way of thinking about it is to pretend that Wrath of God or Final Judgment is present in the set and that you can’t afford to overextend yourself unless it’s really necessary.

Also, the ‘hand size matters’ theme grants additional power to the "Splice onto Arcane" mechanic of the Champions of Kamigawa block. The sheer fact that you can maintain a larger hand while still using cards is important. From what little I’ve seen of the set so far, we may also expect to see a number of new cantrips--or cards that perform a small effect and draw another card to replace themselves--and these are another great way to maintain a reasonable hand size while still staying in the game.

Above all, consider card-drawing effects that draw multiple cards, and more importantly, put some emphasis on getting any kind of card drawing that is repeatable. A Journeyer’s Kite is one good example.

A brute force method to maintaining your hand size is also possible by holding lands in your hand. Obviously you’ll need to use some of your land in order to play some spells, but this is unlike other Prereleases where the natural reaction to drawing a land was to play it. Knowing the cost of your most expensive card will be important here, and it might pay off to play cheap, efficient creatures and hold excess lands back solely for hand size bonuses.

Also, look for ways to put creature tokens into play without using more cards. Things such as Orochi Eggwatcher and Meloku, the Clouded Mirror will prove invaluable by allowing you to place tokens to win the all-important Prerelease creature wars while maintaining that hand size.

Pay attention to black’s discard theme. With the increase of importance on keeping a large hand size, any card that can either select a card from an opponent’s hand, such as Distress, or force the discarding of cards multiple times or in multiple numbers, such as Honden of Night’s Reach, will improve in quality.

Possibly your last option is to bow your head, put your shoulder forward, and plow through the ‘hand size matters’ theme. A Prerelease by its very nature won’t be seeing the best use of these new cards, and playing by a more traditional style may be your best bet depending on the cards in your Prerelease card supply. Playing according to the cards you receive should remain the cardinal rule.

In lieu of a review of the commons, due to factors explained above, my intent is to review the card previews officially released by Wizards of the Coast and to discuss their impact and import on the set. Note that this will be less effective than a commons review, as we can expect most of what we see to be cards in the rare category, and you have a good chance of never seeing them in play at the Prerelease.

Prerelease Preview Day One:

Enduring Ideal is an incredibly interesting card, and I’ve talked with some people at length about what the card will actually mean. Wizards has told us that there will be a single cycle of rare Epic cards, and I expect their impact to be minimal due to their rarity. However, none of the information I’ve seen indicates that there won’t be an epic spell or two that would be easier to use in a Sealed environment than Enduring Ideal, so be aware that one of these big guys could still wreck your game.

Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker has even less of an impact on the Prerelease environment in a way, as her card is both rare and void of any block/set theme mechanic. The best I can get from her is to use the card to illustrate the importance of the ability to remove a creature from play. She will destroy you if you allow your opponent to keep her around, either by keeping any offense you have at bay or by annihilating your board position when you do damage your opponent.

Prerelease Preview Day Two:

Measure of Wickedness is an interesting card, but again one that doesn’t tell us much about the set as a whole. This one is too bizarre to plan around, so I wouldn’t expect it to be used much at the Prerelease. It is good to illustrate the power of cards that allow you to sacrifice your permanents at will without using any mana cost, but the Champions of Kamigawa block has been somewhat lacking in that department. On the other hand, eight damage hurts. Hurts. This could be a bizarre finishing move. If your opponent doesn’t have white or green to disenchant spells, it’s something to consider.

The by Scott Wills doesn’t have a card preview, but it is packed with lots of tournament tricks and game play considerations. I don’t consider myself qualified to comment on game tactics of that level, but if you’re planning to go to the Prerelease, it’s a good read.

Prerelease Preview Day Three:

Cloudhoof Kirin is amazing...one of those cards that makes you wonder how Wizards of the Coast dared to print it. One point to note about this card is that they aren’t backing off of blue’s theme of milling your opponent, and the tools they’re providing to do so keep getting better. Given the very small nature of Prerelease deck sizes, milling strategies such as the one provided by Cloudhoof Kirin are abnormally powerful. Play this card if you get one and be otherwise ready to deal with it if it appears, even if it’s only a sideboard plan. Another point to note is that we’ve been told that this won’t be the only Kirin and that the Kirin cards share a general theme. I can’t guess at what the other Kirin might do yet, so be wary. (Is it becoming obvious that removal is a good for this set? Yeah, I thought so too. That’s pretty normal, though.)

Prerelease Preview Day Four:

Promise of Bunrei is a card I like to see. It trumps board clearing effects in an interesting way and remains useful outside of that limited category. Yummy. It is rare, though, better in a Constructed deck than a Prerelease one, and we don’t have any reason to expect a cycle of these cards. Let’s move on.

Prerelease Preview Day Five:

Thoughts of Ruin is where we really start to understand the ‘hand size matters’ theme. A quick review of the advice I gave above (pacing your usage of permanents and saving lands in your hand) work to great advantage both against and for Thoughts of Ruin and its ilk. Using a land-soaked hand to destroy your opponent’s mana base before placing into play the lands you’ve been saving is one good example, as is surviving the tactic by not having all your lands in play.

Prerelease Preview Day Six:

OK, we already knew that flip cards were nutty, but Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant has really got it. It’s more useful in Constructed obviously, but versatile enough to be a powerhouse in a Sealed format. Revealing your hand can be a hefty cost for flipping the creature, but it also doesn’t use any mana and provides you with additional mana to use whatever you have in your hand anyway. Beware of mana burn from this one, though, and if you decide to use it, keep an eye out for mana sink cards. (Cards that can use any amount of mana to boost their abilities.)

Prerelease Preview Day Seven:

Kagemaro, First to Suffer is obviously a powerful card, and there will be a cycle of Maro cards in the set. They’ll be rare, however, and aside from expanding on the importance of paying attention to the ‘hand size matters’ theme even further, this doesn’t do much for us. Again, another good argument for pacing yourself.

Okina Nightwatch finally gives us something useful, and a good solid look at a more reasonable use of the ‘hand size matters’ theme than we’ve been getting from the rare cards. When evaluating cards like this, I’d first ask yourself whether you would play the card even if it lacked the ability. This guy is a great deal like Order of the Sacred Bell, with a small boost in cost for the added ability, and I’d probably have to say that Okina Nightwatch is a go. The Kamigawa block thus far hasn’t had a vast array of large creatures, and this guy will be a bruiser even if you aren’t winning the hand size war. It may also pressure your opponent to compete more aggressively for hand size advantage, which could be what you need to win on the ground.

Prerelease Preview Day Eight:

First of all...finally, some commons to talk about. Barrel Down Sokenzan gives us a good glimpse at a set of very useful cards. The sweep ability on this and other cards will allow you to return lands to your hand to push the ‘hand size matters’ theme while also providing some solid creature removal. (I think I’ll have to give a very high recommendation to this card.) You can go a little more nuts with putting lands into play, and the instant-speed nature of Barrel Down Sokenzan in particular will give you some protection against Thoughts of Ruin. If you’re truly, utterly evil, you can also use this before you use Thoughts of Ruin. There’s a Constructed deck to be made there, somewhere...

Mr. Wills comes in for us again. Thank goodness I have some relevant cards to talk about. Deathmask Nezumi: Seven cards is a lot to keep in your hand, but I can see it happening easily enough after playing a sweep card. A 4/3 fear creature is also very strong, and a 2/2 for three mana is acceptable. He’s also a Rat, which Marrow-Gnawer could put to good use if you’re absurdly lucky. Spiritual Visit probably doesn’t share the same sort of raw power given that Splice onto Arcane will still be difficult to use effectively, but I did note earlier that Splice onto Arcane is potentially more useful in this format by giving you the option to do more things and still be playing fewer cards. Spiritual Visit in particular allows you to continue putting creatures into play along with your other Splicing, so a viable path is open for Splicers with a component of white. Spiraling Embers doesn’t leave much else to say, except that this card can lay down some major pain in the wake of a Sweep card or other hand-filling effect. It’s getting obvious to me at this point that Wizards of the Coast has decided to forego making card drawing effects the main way to fill your hand, but instead will have us sacrificing board position to do. This sounds a bit painful, but the surprise advantage is greater, and it’s good to keep in mind the power of being able to cycle some cards between your hand and your in-play zone. Keep an eye out for opportunities for a repeatable cycle that provides advantage.

Prerelease Preview Day Nine:

The first one here is Wizard’s own little listing of way more of their cards than I had expected. Until just now I hadn’t known this had existed, so it’s becoming more obvious that I’m not as prepared as I’d liked to have been. They didn’t note rarity on the cards, but I’d give the list a good look-over.

Rushing-Tide Zubera is interesting in its own right and in its relation to the rest of the set. First of all, it’s good to note that the initial run of Zuberas from Champions of Kamigawa isn’t complete, and that even if the new Zuberas don’t key off the number of Zuberas dying in a turn, this one still likes to die, and any increase in the total count of Zuberas can be significant. For any who might be wondering what I’m talking about, the Champions of Kamigawa set had a cycle of creatures with the Zubera type that counted the number of Zuberas that had died in the same turn (including each other Zubera dying at the same time if they were destroyed simultaneously) and used that metric to power their effects. If you aren’t familiar with that, however, I’d highly recommend perusing my Prerelease Tactics article for the Champions of Kamigawa set for a brush-up on the commons we do know will be available at the Prerelease.

Prerelease Preview Day Ten:

Hand of Cruelty is in an ambiguous position with relation to the Prerelease as a whole. It’s uncommon, so it’s in the middle ground of availability, but it also isn’t much more than an extremely efficient but small creature. It’s strong but not unbearably so, and even if your opponent can put them down on turn two with the double-black cost reliably, you can probably handle one of these a turn or two later at the least. He is a good card, and he’ll make a big splash in Constructed, but not so much Sealed. He also doesn’t tell us anything insightful about the rest of the set.

Prerelease Preview Day Eleven:

Arashi, the Sky Asunder and Jiwari, the Earth Aflame (for Jiwari, read the article more closely) add the last mechanic we’ll review in this article: Channel. I’d recommend viewing Channel as Cycling born anew. Mechanically, this is almost the same except that Channel doesn’t have an inherent card-draw component, instead opting for a powerful effect that can be used as an ability from your hand. [Editor's note: seems to me like a new form of Madness, which was insanely powerful back in the day.] Saviors of Kamigawa seems a nice place to reveal this mechanic, since the set will be encouraging us to keep cards in our hand anyway, and Channel abilities will be best used with surprise on your side. As far as the cards themselves, they’re too rare to worry about overly much, but I would keep an eye toward a backup sideboarding plan since Prereleases allow for any amount of sideboarding within your Sealed card supply. If you see Arashi in game one of a match, for instance, I wouldn’t take out all your flyers necessarily, but you might want to look into replacing a few flyers with non-flyers. I’m assuming that Jiwari will carry the opposite meaning. If there are common Channel cards, keep in mind that they can't be countered (because they are being discarded rather than played) and could thus turn out to be fairly handy.

Prerelease Tactics Overview:

I haven’t been good during the Kamigawa block about creating articles for reviewing my performance at the Prerelease or letting our readers know about my impressions of the block sets after the fact. While those factors are something I should have taken care of, the primary thing I can bring up now are the lessons I’ve learned over the last two Prerelease events. Betrayers of Kamigawa showed me most clearly that I hadn’t been remembering the lessons I’d learned from past sets, with one forgotten lesson providing some particularly painful results. For the record, Betrayers was the first Prerelease that I left without any booster pack winnings, with a 2-2-1 record. To that end, we’ll do a bit of review here. The list of Lessons Learned needed to be re-formalized anyway.

1. 1) Be early: As a side note, I’m not certain I agree with this one anymore. The main point, however, was to be early enough that you didn’t run out of time, as the Prerelease events run very long.
2. 2) Prerelease deckbuilding is not like booster draft deckbuilding: The point here is that the card supply you have is more limited in the total size, and you can’t cherrypick from the larger card pool. You have to manage with what you’re given, and quickly.
3. 3) Flyers are very powerful.
4. 4) Don’t hesitate to clear the board when at a disadvantage.
5. 5) Be prepared to win swiftly: Forgetting this rule is what cost me the most at the Betrayers Prerelease. My tie of the series came during the first match, and was due largely to the fact that my deck didn’t have a plan to win fast. We made it through the first two games of the match with one win each, and although I had an obvious advantage in the last game, I failed to kill him before our time ran out, and my opponent chose not to concede, as that improved his chances of obtaining winnings.
6. 6) Prerelease tournaments take extraordinary amounts of time.
7. 7) Trading can be difficult at prereleases.
8. 8) Don’t skimp on creatures in your deck.
9. 9) Don’t make too many assumptions about what you’ll be facing when you’ve never played the set before.
10. 10) Never underestimate the ability of one large creature to turn the game around.
11. 11) Removal is powerful in prerelease tournaments.
12. 12) Put the big guys in: For clarification, this means to put some big, bad, mean cards in your deck, because you definitely won’t get too many of them in a Sealed card supply.
13. 13) Toughness can be as or more important as power when attacking.
14. 14) Don’t decide your deck colors beforehand, for any reason.

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Written by Prometheus on May 20th, 2005