My First Grand Prix Trial

The pool I opened was pretty good. It had 3 Giant Scorpions, a Halo Hunter, a Bloodghast, 2 Kor Hookmasters, and a Lotus Cobra. But instead I got passed a pool with junk. Here’s my sealed pool:

White (11): 1 Arrow Volley Trap / 1 Caravan Hurda / 1 Kor Aeronaught / 1 Kor Catrographer / 2 Kor Sanctifiers / 1 Numbus Wings / 1 Noble Vestige / 1 Ondu Cleric / 1 Pillarfield Ox / 1 Steppe Lynx

Blue (11): 1 Aether Figment / 1 Hedron Crab / 1 Ior Ruin Expedition / 1 Lethargy Trap / 1 Lorthos, the Tidemaker / 1 Reckless Scholar / 1 Seascape Aerialist / 1 Spell Pierce / 1 Summoner’s Bane / 1 Welkin Tern / 1 Windrider Eel

Black (15): 3 Blood Seeker / 1 Crypt Ripper / 2 Hagra Crocs / 1 Hideous End / 1 Mindless Null / 1 Mind Sludge / 1 Mire Blight / 1 Nimana Sell-Sword / 2 Ravenous Trap / 1 Vampire’s Bite / 1 Vampire Nighthawk

Red (16): 1 Burst Lightning / 1 Demolish / 1 Goblin Gudie / 3 Goblin War Paint / 1 Hellfire Mongrel / 2 Highland Berserker / 1 Kazuul Warlord / 1 Magma Rift / 1 Molten Ravager / 1 Ruinous Minotaur / 1 Spire Barrage / 1 Tuktuk Grunts / 1 Zektar Shrine Expedition

Green (17): 1 Baloth Cage Trap / 1 Grazing Gladehart / 1 Greenweaver Druid / 1 Harrow / 1 Khalni Heart Expedition / 1 Nissa’s Chosen / 1 Oran-Rief Survivalist / 1 Quest for the Gemblades / 2 Relic Crush / 2 Savage Silhouette / 1 Tajuru Archer / 1 Tanglesnap / 1 Vastwood Gorger / 2 Zendikar Farguide

Artifacts (7): 1 Adventuring Gear / 1 Blazing Torch / 1 Carnage Altar / 1 Explorer’s Scope / 1 Grapling Hook / 1 Spidersilk Net / 1 Stonework Puma

Lands (7): 1 Jwar Isle Refuge / 1 Kabira Crossroads / 1 Marsh Flats / 1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood / 2 Soaring Seacliff / 1 Teetring Peaks

Here’s my deck:

Creatures (17): 3 Blood Seeker / 1 Crypt Ripper / 2 Hagra Crocs / 1 Mindless Null / 1 Nimana Sell-Sword / 1 Vampire Nighhawk / 1 Goblin Guide / 1 Hellfire Mongrel / 2 Highland Berserker / 1 Kazuul Warlord / 1 Molten Ravager / 1 Tuktuk Grunts / 1 Stonework Puma

Spells (5): 1 Hideous End / 1 Mind Sludge / 1 Burst Lightning / 1 Spire Barrage / 1 Adventuring Gear

Lands (18): 1 Marsh Flats / 10 Swamp / 7 Mountain

I eventually went 2-3 and dropped after the I received my 3rd lost in the 5th round. I knew that my deck could go 3-3 and maybe even 4-2 with a little luck, but by no means could my deck go 5-1 or better. Regardless, I still had fun even though I was feeling a little under the weather.

My deck really lacked good early drops. My only 1-drop was a Goblin Guide which isn’t that great in limited unless you are really aggressive. If you’re going to play Goblin Guide, it’s best to have 3 to 5 other really aggressive 1 to 2-drops. My Goblin Guide only sped up my opponents’ tempo while only doing 4-6 damage on average. My two drops were horrible: 3 Blood Seekers and 2 Highland Berserkers. Blood Seeker is a cute card but they’re not effective creatures at all, I’d rather have Lacerators, Mauraders, or Guul Draz Vampires instead. Highland Berserker is best played when you need to give your allies first strike or if you have other allies in your hand, not as a 2-drop creature.

I also lacked bombs. My strongest creatures where my 2 Hagra Crocs, a Vampire Nighthawk and unfortunately a Crypt Ripper and a Molten Ravager. I did also have a Kazuul Warlord but that meant that if I wanted to get maximum return out of him I would have to play him first and then the rest of my Allies, which often would be a bad play anyways.

I was thinking about splashing G or going B/R/g, but if I did go G then I would lose some of my Ally synergy, plus there weren’t any good G splashable cards that could turn the game around.

In Sealed, I think Explorer’s Scope is worth maindecking. I’d rather have an Explorer’s scope and mill through my deck faster than having a bad creature.

For Zendikar, 17 lands is plenty. 17 lands makes your deck 42.5% land. You should be able to hit 5 land drops within your first 6 turns regularly. If you’re playing with cards with a converted casting cost (CCC) of 7 or higher, then maybe 18 lands might be necessary. But if you’re two colors in Zendikar then 17 should be fine. I was constantly getting mana flooded with 18 lands.

Would you guys of built my Sealed pool differently? I know for sure I would of dropped a Mountain for an Explorer's Scope. Maybe I should of went B/G/r and played with the Grappling Hook on my bigger G creatures? What do you guys think?

Grand Prix: Minneapolis is this weekend! I'm pretty excited! I have more research that I want to do but I have lots of homework and work work to do as well.