One thing I can point out is if I need to Mulligan down to a hand of 5 for example to get a gate in the opener. Scrivener can help get us back on even footing.

Something else in Blood Scrivener 's favor, it kind of helps us balance our curve a little. if we continue to grab gate keeper (which we should) our curve will be high as it is. So... possible card advantage eventually, or possible combat tricks?

The 2 drop factor is something I have considered, that's the only reason I'm not sure the big guy is our pick. The fact that he has such a small back end means that we can't trade him effectively, he will not stop an attack, and he will likely die before his effect is any use anyway. A card like that really has to have a group of little dudes being played constantly to tank removal for him, and he belongs in a deck that drops it's hand, which ours hopefully will not. I think he will disappoint more than he will help. I think that the Maw will just straight up wreck people.

Do you want to attack into him, a gatekeeper, and a 2/2 knight token with a 4/3? Usually, you would lose your 2/4, your 3/3 in a trade, or your 2/2, only the 3/3 would trade. With him in the equation, he loses his guy for the cost of your 2/2. I'll trade a 2/2 for a 4/3 any day.

On the attack after a big board stall, he's even stronger. You alpha, they choose their blockers. You can sack any creatures that will just lose the fight anyway, and wipe their creatures of your choice, or they eat a bunch of damage.

I just think that the blood will be a 2/1 for 1 way too often where the Maw will be a problem for the opponent most of the time, but I'll consent to the fact that blood's pretty good sometimes.

I'm really leery of the Maw's high mana cost. Yeah it has a good ability, but for the cost it really should be a bomb. I'm just seeing the Maw clogging up opening hands already full of 4 drop gatekeepers.

As a 2 drop, the Scrivener can be expendable for soaking removal. If he gets to live to help us out of topdecking, great. If we manage to get cards to bounce our gatekeepers back to our hands, we aren't going to want to be sacrificing them to the Maw, anyway.

With that said, I'm firmly in the +1 Blood Scrivener camp.

By the way, shouldn't we be at 2x Orzhov Guildgates now?

I'm going to go:

+0.5 Blood Scrivener +0.5 Maw of the Obzedat

Truly, I can see both of them doing well in our deck, I mostly don't want to be facing down the Maw of the Obzedat in a board stall from an opponent... that would suck.

+1 Blood Scrivener

Boros Mastiff is nice too, but we aren't going to have enough dudes to activate his Battalion.

+1 Blood Scrivener

I think he is gonna be nice in a stall. Maw is nice and all, but I don't think we have any creatures we really want to sac.

+1 Blood Scrivener

Against aggressive decks it can trade with something early to buy time. Against slower decks, the card draw might come in handy. Maw of the Obzedat fails the vanilla test, and I don't really see it being very good in our deck.

@ sewellius: Fixed the Guilgate

Okay, the support for Scrivener means it's the winner!

Next pack in 4 hours, 35 mins.

Saruli Gatekeepers, all the way.

Guildgates are going fast and furious, might have to look at taking them early pack 3 as well. Lame.

+1 Saruli

Truthfully the missing gate worries me greatly...

We actually have a few viable choices, but I do think the gatekeeper is the pick.

Fatal Fumes is nice enough, as is mastif, but I'm looking at Hired Torturer as a potential win con that we are currently lacking. I think it's pretty safe to assume that we will see more though. Thoughts?

We'll see more in later picks, I don't think we can pass up a gatekeeper though. We had Torturers come around mid-late last pack, no reason to think that wouldn't happen again this and next pack.

If we had a more solid blue mana base Warped Physique is even a strong card...

We have to consider not only the fact that the gate is missing... we also have to consider that they took it over a number of solid cards.

We need to get about 5 more gates and 3-6 more keepers. (2-5 if we take a keeper here)

We probably want to get Hired Torturers at some point (since I think we'll be able to stall pretty well, so that's lots of time to hit with the torturer), as well, but that's lower priority.

I'm not too worried about the gates, because I think we'll be passed 5 more, but we absolutely have to prioritize because I'm not sure we'll get passed more than that. Even if we get an out of color gate, we might have to just take it.

Gatekeepers, we just take as many as we can get, when gates aren't around.

I have to agree with that. Remember though, we need something to win with. Currently, our best hope is bronze beak with unflinching on it... that's shaky at best. We need something strong with evasion to put it on, or some form of gradual damage like the Hired would give us.

I say +1 Saruli Gatekeepers .

we need 3-6 more 4 drops???? we have no early game and no actual win con ;/

+1 Hired Torturer

again I would vote Boros Mastiff but we're never going to be reliably hit Battalion

also to mention our Gates/Gatekeepers strategy is looking a bit thin right now, there's a good chance we don't end up with what we need for that to even work...

+1 Saruli Gatekeepers

Just keep taking the gatekeeper.

+1 Saruli Gatekeepers

I think sticking to the plan is still our best option.

I agree, but we have to FORCE it. We might need to take any gate that comes along no matter the color for the rest of this pack. I just hope we hit a bomb or at least a solid win con or we are up shit creek without a paddle.

+1 Saruli Gatekeepers

At least the 7 life will help us stabilize and find our mythical win condition, lol.

Can we hope for an AEtherling ? xD Everyone would just lose, and we would probably splash the black (since we already have the gates anyway) and go WGU.

as much as i really want the torturer, I think it's best to stick to the plan we came up with earlier. I'm going to vote for +1 Saruli Gatekeepers, hopefully everything works out. :P

all of our games are going to go to a draw. we have no offense.