Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window). Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, and their logos are The best part about playing this deck was even if the aggression didn’t blow out my opponents early, cards like Repeating Barrage and Tetzimoc kept them on a clock. The most relevant mechanic in this format is Ascend, which has cards that reward having 10 permanents on the board. Elephants are good in weak formats. Now, exactly how to do this cannot be described, it needs to be shown. Out of these, I would rather draft Vampires or Merfolk since I want to be in two colors, but if the right cards present themselves Dinos or Pirates are options to be aware of. Armasaur helps the curve, adds some beef, and has solid synergy with Savage Stomp and Strength of the Pack. As always, a list like this is only a jumping off point to help you with Pack 1, Pick 1 decisions -- or maybe your first few picks. I think it is the best draft deck in the format with the right cards. Crested Herdcaller is incredible, and has good synergy with Thundering Spineback, which can win games alone just like Tendershoot Dryad or Zetalpa, Primal Dawn. of My primary inspiration for writing these articles is that I have looked for something like this myself with minimal success. Apr 23, 2018 - World Shaper. © Wizards My explore cards were good without Lurking Chupacabra, but with it they became great. This deck combined defensive creatures, flyers, and Ascend payoffs across 3 colors. These are: Every set, Wizards of the Coast brings new mechanics to the table, but the stats of creatures is something that stays relatively constant. However, you’ll notice this is one of the first decks I drafted when I was still getting out of Platinum. I mentioned in my Ixalan format that elephants (3 mana 3/3s) are good in Ixalan limited. You will find an overview of the set followed by breakdowns of five different successful decks. Our Privacy Policy. Apr 23, 2018 - Wayward Swordtooth. There are a lot of x/1 creatures it can snipe, or it can work as a combat trick where your opponent blocks with 1 extra toughness and you punish them for it in your second main. The archer is here much for the same reason as in Merfolk, to pick off juicy 1 toughness creatures (cough – Vampire Revenant), serve as a 2nd main trick, or simply block flying in a deck that is vulnerable to it. So, even on their own wayfinders are 3 mana 3/3 scry or 2/2 draw a card (pretty sweet!). And by the way those two guys work really well together because Hammerskull can take away key blockers that would take advantage of the 2 toughness on Frillback. Rivals of Ixalan Pack 1 Pick 1 with BenS. evasion) they may just sit in your hand all game or you may end up needing to cast them as under powered vanilla creatures. The game plan was always to get a creature or two out to get some early damage/pressure in. One reason for this is that the tap lands are uncommon. Apr 23, 2018 - Vraska, Scheming Gorgon. Jungleborn Pioneer comes out as two creatures which adds value to Mistbinder and Spire Winder. Fan Content Policy. Atzocan Archer is a card that I really like in this format. the © 1993-2020 Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All of these guys are efficient and also further the overall plan of the deck. Goblin Trailblazer and Frilled Deathspitter are my favorite to draft. is held by Wizards of the Coast. Ixalan is a pretty weak format in terms of creature power. Having 8 removal spells is what felt unfair most games, and they included Repeating Barrage which is a perfect rare for this archetype. I included Mist-Cloaked Herald to provide some synergy there as well as make a solid target for Squire’s Devotion. Savage Stomp is great with or without Dinos, but I had some good ones in this deck! For example, there are some cards that become very good when you have ascend. Unfortunately, it sat in my hand a couple of the other games and I decided it was not worth drafting. Tetzimoc, Primal Death. Sometimes I casted one 3rd turn in slower games, but being able to consistently get three cards out of these was nuts. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. It also has great synergy with the ascend mechanic, which I will discuss more in a minute. Every time a new set comes out there is a wave of limited reviews and tier lists for each card. He blocks like a champ, adds a permanent for Ascend, and helps with color fixing if necessary. In some games this acts like a 3/2. If they just block the Zealot you still get 5 damage through and you can then save the Zealot if you need him to help Horncrest attack next turn, or let him go and play your next layer of attack in your 2nd main. This is possible in Ixalan more so than formats like Dominaria because the packs go a lot deeper with cards you won’t mind having in your deck. The copyright for Magic: the Gathering and all associated card names and card images On average I want my deck to look something like: 17 creatures, 16-17 lands, 6-7 spells. Luminous Bonds. Obviously the decks you draft won’t be able to include the exact same cards (especially rares), but I think you can form a solid understanding of what kinds of cards are important to support each archetype and get a general idea of their game plan. Grazing Whiptail is actually a great beater in this weak creature format, and doubles as anti-air. So, I propose a better strategy: No, that it isn’t an acronym or anything, just the idea that your cards must work together in meaningful ways. Drifter and I will be tackling the core set beginning next weekend as we review every card for Limited prior to release! I don’t usually play Recover but it gave me a second chance at going off with Lurking Chupacabra if my opponent had an answer. The ratings are initially created by me, but they may also be updated later with information gleaned from AI-backed analysis. If the aggro/combat tricks didn’t get there or this combo never came into play/got shut down, Strength of the Pack was a fantastic alternate win condition. Today, seven of them did wonders again, winning out their second draft to achieve the perfect 6-0 record for the Draft portion. Today, seven of them did wonders again, winning out their second draft to achieve the perfect 6-0 record for the Draft portion. Try not to go overboard with this advice because creatures are always the life blood of any limited deck, but it is still worth noting. So, all ten color combinations are present here. In Ixalan there are a lot of giants with abilities like adding a +1/+1 counter or a +2/+2 buff for a turn. Captain’s Hook is also on point for this deck, which thrives on clearing the board to get through with high attack power creatures (ideally with menace). But then he doesn’t die and archer comes in to finish their 3/3. Let's hunt down these brilliant players and have them share with us how to get better at Rivals of Ixalan Booster Draft. Azor, the Lawbringer. Tetzimoc, Primal Death is definitely the bomb and won me a couple games, but he wasn’t always around or necessary. Now, add the possibility of a shock on top of that, and you have a great payoff card for Lurking Chupacabra. It was my favorite because it is a good example of turning decent cards into great cards with some basic synergy. This is a control archetype, and the plan of attack is through the air. Tier 1: Incredible Bombs. I will be presenting a few of my own examples to you below. There are some cards like sailor of means or evolving wilds that can make 3+ colors work, and I will be writing up a successful Esper deck that used both of these, but under most circumstances you shouldn’t be going for that. I have been playing MTG for 20 years and am an infinite drafter on Arena. I noticed a Lurking Chupacabra in the beginning of pack 3 and had to take it. If you draft a deck like this, remember that even though there are only 14 creatures they are imperative to you winning. Yesterday, an astounding 58 players went undefeated in their first draft. Apr 23, 2018 - Waterknot. It didn’t hurt that this deck also contained the single best card in the format. There are guides for basic limited strategy, so I am going to assume you have read those (but will discuss a few things that I don’t think are emphasized enough). Wind Strider is a solid creature and most people walked into it when I had 5 flash mana open, allowing it to pick off a 2/2. Whereas Ikoria is generally a mess of cycling, sacrifice aggro, and ‘good-stuff’ decks, Ixalan is very much a BREAD-and-butter Limited format. I got away with 16 lands despite a high curve because I drafted two mana dorks and two mana ramp spells: I think these cards give you a good idea of the gameplan: mana ramp into bombs.