Happy New Year!

Now that we’ve cracked and analyzed half a dozen boosters, it’s time to run the second half of this though experiment, by doing some Sealed Deck construction. If you’re unfamiliar with this format, check out the MtG Official Sanctioned Formats, here. In short, you get six boosters, unlimited basic lands and about half an hour to build a 40-card deck.

The Boosters

I’ll be using the six boosters that have already been opened:

• Booster #1 ([card]Mutavault[/card])
• Booster #2 ([card]Planar Cleansing[/card] [card]Ogre Battledriver[/card])
• Booster #3 ([card]Mutavault[/card])
• Booster #4 ([card]Megantic Sliver[/card])
• Booster #5 ([card]Shadowborn Demon[/card])
• Booster #6 ([card]Ratchet Bomb[/card])

The Deck

I sorted everything by color first, and then examined what each color had to offer.  True to their natures, each color exemplified what they do best.  Red had loads of burn spells and pumpable creatures.  Blue had a bunch of cancellation and undos, and very few creatures, where Green had far too many creatures.  White was a mix, but with nothing but small creatures.  Black had some expensive but deadly creatures, and some interesting tricks.

In the end, I went with Red/Black:

[cardlist title=”Sealed Deck”] Act of Treason
3 Chandra’s Outrage
Flames of the Firebrand
Marauding Maulhorn
Ogre Battledriver
Pitchburn Devils
Regathan Firecat
Seismic Stomp
Thunder Strike
Accursed Spirit
2 Deathgaze Cockatrice
Doom Blade
Gnawing Zombie
2 Minotaur Abomination
Sengir Vampire
2 Shadowborn Apostle
Vampire Warlord
8 Mountain
7 Swamp
2 Mutavault[/cardlist] [cardlist title=”Sideboard”] Dragon Egg
Dragon Hatchling
Seismic Stomp
Shiv’s Embrace
Smelt
Wild Guess
Blood Bairn
Diabolic Tutor
Duress
Undead Minotaur
Ratchet Bomb
Staff of the Flame Magus[/cardlist]

For those interested in maths, here’s the deck on TappedOut.net

B.R.E.A.D

Bombs = Creatures

Black donates most of the creatures, notably the two [card]Minotaur Abomination[/card]s as tanks, the fairly self-sufficient [card]Vampire Warlord[/card] and the super deadly [card]Deathgaze Cockatrice[/card]s. If the [card]Ogre Battlemaster[/card] happens to get out early, it makes everything that comes after very nasty. The fairly cheap [card]Regathan Firecat[/card] and [card]Marauding Maulhorn[/card] hit like trucks on the turns they come out. The [card]Shadowborn Apostle[/card]s and [card]Gnawing Zombie[/card] are only present to help balance the mana curve and hopefully provide something to toss onto the field early in the game.

Removal

Here’s where Red shines, though [card]Doom Blade[/card] is definitely worth mentioning. The [card]Chandra’s Outrage[/card] cards are amazing, as is the [card]Lightning Strike[/card]. [card]Pitchburn Devils[/card] has a nasty surprise in store when it dies, and [card]Seismic Stomp[/card] helps shore up the fact that the two [card]Deathgaze Cockatrice[/card]s and [card]Sengir Vampire[/card] are my only flying creatures by removing any normal creatures from the way of my own beasts.

Evasion

As I mentioned, I don’t have much evasion in this deck. I do have [card]Accursed Spirit[/card] though, which is in the deck due to it’s evasive qualities.

Conclusion

I could have swung into white instead of black, but [card]Doom Blade[/card] and the [card]Deathgaze Cockatrice[/card]s made the choice for me.

This deck is fast and hits hard once a few creatures get out. It also has enough removal for me to stop my opponent’s attempts at attacking, or open avenues for my own creatures to get through. I’ve had a few chances to play it, and I really enjoy it.

What do you think?

Did I make good choices? Based on the pool of cards, what deck would you build?