Information Dup: AVR Draft Initial thoughts
Best Commons by color (these lists according to Louis Scott Vargas of Channel Fireball, additional commentary can be found on his set reviews.WhiteTop 5 White Commons5.
Thraben Valiant
4.
Righteous Blow
3.
Voice of the Provinces
2.
Defang
1.
Seraph of Dawn
The best 4 white commons are a 2/4 Lifelink flyer for 4, a slightly worse Pacifism, and a 6 CMC 3/3 that brings you a token, and a situational removal spell. For the most part, this aligns white with being a slow, controlling color with strong removal. Thraben Valient goes in a completely different direction, making it a niche or role player that will be wanted in decks where whit is a supporting color.Other notables: Cloudshift appears to be underestimated as a counterspell for removal and a re-triggering of ETB effects. Notable White Uncommons:
Nearheath Pilgrim
Goldnight Redeemer
, Goldnight Commander
Emancipation Angel
Defy Death
.BlueTop 5 Commons5.
Crippling Chill
4.
Scrapskin Drake
3.
Amass the Components
2.Gryff Vanguard1. Mist Raven
AEther Adept
was the type of card one would always run if they were blue. It buys time, it gains tempo, it helps you whether you are ahead or behind. The same can be said for Mist Raven. Adding a mana for flying is not a bad deal. This set also has multiple blink effects making ETB effects even stronger. Gryff Vanguard is a little slow, but the format seems to support slow cards. After the Number 2 slot, things seem to go downhill for Blue. The color does not have the support necessary to be an aggressive color, making
Scrapskin Drake
underwhelming and oftentimes a liability due to its inability to block.
Crippling Chill
seems underrated on LSVs list, and I would put it closer to 3rd on the list. You cant cast
Amass the Components
if youre already dead. Other Notables:
Elgaud Shieldmate
brings a lot of value to the table. Good with blink effects etc. etc.
Peel from Reality
is a good tempo card that will probably see play.Notable Uncommons:
Into the Void
is a back-breaking tempo card, and a good reason to play blue.
Black
Top 5 Commons5.
Undead Executioner
4.
Ghoulflesh
3.
Searchlight Geist
2.
Grave Exchange
1.Death WindBlack is underpowered at the common level.
Death Wind
is a fine removal spell, but it will typically require a wasted turn of Tempo to play, and this set thus far seems to be dependent on tempo. It will also be difficult to when if you sink your mana into this card only to be blown out by a Cloudshift or other feasible trick. heatray was never very good in Rise Of Eldrazi, and based on that experience, Im not favoring
Death Wind
either. Grave Exhange is a good value card, but it resolves so late in the game that its hard to justify playing. Your opponent will often have a less relevant creature to sacrifice, so this card does not catch you up, and the value of
Disentomb
+ Diabolic Edict is not so backbreaking that it puts you way ahead on an even board.Searchlight Giest is costed well to be played in aggressive decks, and gaining deathtouch makes it relevant later in the game, making this a fine staple card in many decks. Goulflesh will be a format defining card. This set has a huge amount of X/1s across the color spectrum, making Goulflesh an all-star sideboard card and justifiable in the mainboard. This card wont be picked early, but will be a great pickup in picks 5-8, giving black some desperately needed depth.
Other Notables:
Driver of the Dead
not really sure of LSV missed this guy, or what, but this guy drives you straight to value town. He also sets up a lot of nice combos with Bloodflow Conneisseur.
Butcher Ghoul
should be mentioned here. These three cards actually give Black some strong tricks at the common level. Whether there are enough supporting cards remains to be seen. Notable Uncommons: Blood Artist is probably actually as good as Falkenrath Noble was, and fits with Blacks sac-a-go-go tricks theme. Maalfed Twins also takes you to value town.
Red:
Top 5 Red Commons (edited as
Thunderous Wrath
is uncommon and LSV is a silly durdle)5.
Hanweir Lancer
4.
Heirs of Stromkirk
3.
Thunderbolt
2.
Pillar of Flame
1.
Mad Prophet
We found the agro! It was hiding in red all along, I dont think LSVs ratings do red justice, since
Fervent Cathar
,
Riot Ringleader
, and
Kruin Striker
make red based agro feasible. Good Removal like
Pillar of Flame
helps, and Thunderbolt is one part removal, one part Lava Axe. This is the sort of archetype that makes good use of
Thraben Valiant
and might actually want to cast Thatcher's Revolt. An archetype that makes use of niche and underrated cards will have more depth because those cards tend to come later in the draft. Other Notables:
Guise of Fire
will be coming in and out of sideboards as the red Ghoul Flesh. Becoming a strong late pick-up and a justifiable mainboard card. The added must attack clause also makes it a great tempo card for agro decks that want to get rid of a blocker and dont mind taking some damage. Notable Uncommons:
Thunderous Wrath
please and thank you. Aggrivate
Lightning Prowess
is very good. If you get this plus a
Nightshade Peddler
its hard to lose.
Lightning Mauler
Kessig Malcontents
FalkenWrath Exterminator
Vigilante Justice
is very good in some matchups, though I dont see most red decks wanting this effect. Overall I really hope red can pull its weight as an aggressive color, if an agro deck isnt feasible, cards like Gryff Vanguard skyrocket in value and cards like
Kruin Striker
become nearly unplayable. Fingers crossed!
Green
My list made before LSVs review: 5.
Joint Assault
4.
Abundant Growth
3.
Wandering Wolf
2.
Nightshade Peddler
1.
Borderland Ranger
Green seems very shallow at the common level.
Borderland Ranger
remains heads and shoulders above the rest of the field, and probably the only green common to justify moving into the color.
Wandering Wolf
is not a bad beater, but the support is not available and it would appear that most agro decks will be of the Red/White variety. The color fixing makes green a strong base color, and a good place to be if the color is under drafted. LSVs List:Top 5 Commons5.
Wandering Wolf
4.
Timberland Guide
3.
Nettle Swine
2.
Borderland Ranger
1. Trusty Forcemage
Other Notables:
Flowering Lumberknot
becomes another strong niche card if the soulbond archetype is feasible.
Trusted Forcemage
is probable a close 6th on my top 5 list. Notable Uncommons:
Blessings of Nature
, Druid's Familiar,
Gloomwidow
,
Howlgeist
, Wolfir Avenger.Green is not short for strong uncommons, and these are the reasons to be in the color. Read Wolfir Avenger, that card is redonk. Green might be the place to be if you open one of these cards. Best archetypes:Archetypes are important in the early phases of a new draft format. They give your deck cohesion, they help you rank draft choices, and they open up niche cards that will be undervalued by the rest of the table. Falling into a theme in early drafts is a good way to evaluate the format and foster early success.
R/W Aggro: Im still crossing my fingers that this is actually an archetype. The obvious staples are all the 2-mana 2/1s across the colors, efficient removal, and burn effects such as
Thunderous Wrath
and
Thunderbolt
. Other colors could be paired with red, but the deck wants a strong human them to work effectively. Soulbond: Flowering Lumbeknot and
Joint Assault
are the cards that make this archetype tick. If you have 7+ playable soulbond creatures, then these niche cards become very good. While green has to be one of the colors in this deck, its advantageous that there are strong soulbond creatures in red, blue, and white to support this archetype. Black/X Sac-a-go-go Im not convinced this strategy is strong enough to be drafted around, the lack of a Threaten effect at common makes this deck less appealing. Sure you can live the dream with Zealous Conscripts, but if youre casting that card youre probably winning anyway. That said Bloodflow Connoisseur and Butcher Ghoul go hand-in-hand and make use of an otherwise shallow black common pool.U/W/X control/tempoWhile I yearn for the days of triple Zendikar block, I should probably face the fact that this format is likely to be slow and controlling. Mist Raven and
Seraph of Dawn
are very strong and punish decks trying to be fast. The best place to be is probably in blue or white, so long as they are open. The best strategy is likely to gain card advantage and out-tempo your opponent. If everyone in the draft pod is new to the format, these are the colors to be in.
Color rankings by strength:While color rankings are highly debatable, its always a good idea to see where the power is leaning in a format. These rankings are entirely my opinion.1. White2. Blue3. Red4. Green5. Black
There are some initial thoughts on the format, its just about AVR drafting season! Best of luck to all of you!
