Whenever a new set comes out there are usually 3-5 cards that I really want to try and build decks with. I think there are a lot of really strong, constructed playable cards in this set, but I have a gew clear favorites. Here is my short list for Conflux cards that I want to build with:

Master Transmuter
Nyxathid (aka Handogoyf)
Knight of the Reliquary (aka Landogoyf)

Nyxathid looks like it is playable in both extended and standard. He seems like a natural fit in the rock decks that play Raven’s Crime and Life From the Loam. There is a good amount of hand disruption in standard right now as well: Thoughtseize, Ravenous Rats, Distress, Mind Shatter, Scepter of Fugue, Rotting Rats, and of course Raven’s Crime. Nyxathid could also give Cunning Lethemancer, a card that has never quite been good enough for competitive play, a chance to shine. Nyxathid looks like it could be great in some kind of mono-black aggro deck or a BG aggro-rock deck. Mike was always a big advocate of taking the The Rack out of Black Rack, so maybe now would be a good time to revisit that strategy,

Master Transmuter isn’t normally the type of card I would want to build around. I think this lady is too fine to ignore, and Master Transmuter could be the cornerstone of a really good artifact deck in block or standard. There are some really interesting synergies with Transmuter and comes-into-play effects. BDM has been mentioning for a while that comboing Transmuter with Tidehollow Sculler could allow you to RFG 1-2 cards from your opponent’s hand a turn. Transmuter can also sneak something big into play, like a Platinum Angel or a Sharum. I could definitely see some series of plays like this during block season: Transmute Sphinx Summoner into play, Tutor Sharum into hand –> Transmuter the Summoner back to hand, windmill slam Sharum into play (reanimating something) –> Transmute Sharum back to hand, putting Summoner into play… repeat until your opponent concedes.

Knight of the Reliquary is the card I like the most from the set. In the early game he can fix your lands and accelerate your mana. Late game, he is an undercosted win condition. I thought building a deck with him would be pretty easy, but every time I try to draw up a list I keep getting hung up on the lands. His second ability is not that stellar when you want to be three or four colors. The best thing I could figure to do with him was to put him into the GW little kid deck that was somewhat popular during block. That deck ran enough basics to make his ability worth while, and using him to fetch out some Treetop Villages seems pretty awesome. The other card I think would be awesome in the GW deck is Lapse of Certainty, which would give the deck a way other than Gaddock Teeg to combat a Wrath of God. Knight of the Reliquary seems like it could also work in a GW big mana deck, maybe something that plays a lot of lifegain (Primal Command and Feudkillers Verdict in the same deck!). This is the type of deck I will likely try to work on for the next PTQ season.

Anyone else have any pet cards from the new set? Working on any new deck lists? Lets hear about your impressions in the comments! I will be working on building a Nyxathid deck this week, so I will post again in a few days with a list and some early results.

~WillPoP

Round 4: Brett McGarry

Brett was running hot coming into the final round of the tournament and was thrilled to have done as well as he had to this point. His deck was terrific and he played pretty well despite being very nervous about playing me — which was flattering but not warranted. His Dawnray Archer worked me over real good in game one — I have never seen that card be as effective as it was in this game — but eventually a combination of fatties and Hissing Iguanar left him choosing between the lesser of two evils every attack step.

The more I mulligan, the more games of Magic I win. Mike has been talking up mulligans quite a bit over on 5WFlores and it is really the easiest way to measurably improve your game. Don’t keep hands that don’t or can’t do anything. I kept a hand with a two drop, 4 lands, and two land cyclers despite knowing I should pitch it back. The deck had been performing seamlessly for throughout and I just told myself that good cards would come — a classic indicator that I am about to lose a game.

I did play the Spearbreaker on turn 6 but I also drew few other action cards. Brett had O-Ring for the fattie and tore me apart with his Bant guys and a difficult-to-kill Elspeth.

In game three I felt like I was always one turn away from taking control but Brett’s deck kept exalting his fliers and I could not squeeze through enough damage to kill Elspeth. My sideboarded Naturalize took out an O-Ring midcombat but the creature under it was not exactly a game changer — I think it was Aven Trailblazer — and Brett took the first pack from the bounty that was on my head. He also won the first flight of the day despite being incredibly nervous during the final turns of the game when it looked like he would win with his friends peering over his shoulder.

Good games Brett and congrats on your first tournament win!

Round 3: Kesley Weeks

My deck fired on all cylinders this round with Knotvine Mystic powering out Meglonoth and basically ending the game in three swings. The card is absurdly unfair. I thought it seemed fine when it was previewed but it is just a total game changer. Your opponent can never reasonably attack you on the ground — and I even had Spearbreaker backup for him — and they are forced to play into your combat tricks with gang blocks.

Game two was fun as I had Topan Ascetic and one of my Rhox Chargers as well as a Bant Charm for his foily Cliffrunner Behemoth. I also got to parlay Druid of the Anima into a turn three Rhox Meditant. The fun part was using a mid combat Glean of Resistance. He decided to not block the 2/2 which was able to do the final 10 damage all by itself.

Glean of Resistance — and all the basic landcyclers — are some of my favorite cards in the set.

Glean was used over the course of the day as an ersatz Fireball with the Ascetic, to counter the tapping mode of Naya Charm, and to regularlly assure Knotvine Mystic mana on turn three. Sylvan Bounty is one of the only good answers to a Banefire, and Fiery Fall was such a good removal spell for me on the day that I was usually cycling the Glean in order to find the Mountain I needed for Fiery Fall.

Updates did not quite go as planned yesterday. I had hoped to post updates throughout the day and in between rounds of my flights. The first update went up pretty fast but after that it was pretty much non-stop Magic for the next 11 hours as I pitted my Sealed Deck against other competitors, giving away a Conflux booster if I lost a tournament match or gunslinging game.

My opening Sealed Deck aquitted me quite nicely giving up a minimum of packs losing only to Elspeth in the final round and a couple of draft decks that could easilly out-tempo a Sealed Deck.

I played a handful of Constructed matches, borrowing a red Burn deck from someone who’s name I have embarassingly misplaced. I lost one game to five color but it incinerated the rest of the challengers — including a timely rip of Demigod of Revenge to squeak out a win against an opponent at 10.

Anyway… I am going to catch up on my updates while flying home to catch the Superbowl. There is wireless Internet access on the flight which is both cool and bizarre. Cool because I can chat, email, and update via my iPhone (good thing I did not bring a laptop because, let’s face facts, I would just be running midair Modos) but bizarre because the plane I am on is not exactly a model of cutting edge aviation technology.

The armrests basically have plates with the no smoking symbol soldered over the ashtrays and thumbwheel controls for the audio programming. Basically it is like being on a bus that is capable of time travel.

Round 2: Joe Garcia

“Its Murphy’s Law of tournaments,” laughed Joe Garcia as we sat down to play. Joe and I had been talking between rounds and he relayed a win that included Wooly Thoctar, Banefire, and Titanic Ultimatum. “If you talk to someone about a deck you will play them a round later.”

In game one we traded blow back and forth with Wild Leotaus on each side. Court Archers game him an edge in the race and by the time I tried to slow things down he was able to finish me off with Banefire.

The second game underscored the abilty of Wall of Reverance to change a game. I was gaining between 5 and 7 life a turn buy neither Joe or I were getting much damage through. Joe had O-Ringed my Behemoth so the Meglonoth was mortal, which meant neither of us was really attacking. I was well over 50 life and waiting on Naya Charm which showed up at some point to lock up the game.

Game three saw a turn four Meglonoth followed up by Rhox Charger. The game notation consists of maybe four pen strokes.

2-0 on the day so far against Banefire.

Round 1: Andrew Hurwitz

There is not really much to say about this round. Andrew seemed like a really nice guy who did not get very good draws in either of our games. I had been on the fence about Knotvine Mystic coming into playing round one but quickly became a believer. Hitting your Shard colored three drops on turn three has gotten much easier with the addition of the Ziggaraut, Spire,and basic landcycling.

The Mystic came down and I had six mana to work with from turn four on in both games. Even without a six drop it was fine for playing a Rhox Charger and having two mana to cycle or play Sigil Blessing.

After the match Andrew good naturedly showed me the Banefire he never had a chance to play in either game.

I just finished building my first Shards-Conflux Sealed Deck pool and I am really confounded as to the viability of a number of the commons. Ruptured Spire is the one giving me the most fits — as it seems to be doing for many of the players here.

It basically eats a whole turn to come online since you have to play it tapped and pay 1 when you do. I have no problem playing Rampant Growth on turn two and even though this does not ramp you mana the Spire seems like a reasonable play both early and late. It’s those pesky turns three through five that are the bitch.

It looks like my deck is going to be solidly Naya with only the slightest hint of blue to accomodate Bant Charm and I am worried about the Spire disrupting my curve but I think I will have to see it in action before I pass judgement.

I also have Ancient Ziggurat to fix mana and it also seems like a it can create some clumsy situations. You can’t use that mana to cycle, activate a Panaroma, or anything else that is not a creature. I am very curious what other players experiences were with these two cards.

Another card that I have been wrestling with is the aptly named Lapse of Certainty. Basically an off-color, slightly more expensive Memory Lapse — and old favorite in Limited and Constructed. In the end I decided not to play them since my deck was quite mana hungry. Had I been Bant I would have definitely given them a try.

I am in Los Angeles this weekend as a guest of Glenn Goddard and the fine folks at Sun Mesa Events to gunsling at their LA Conflux Prerelase — one of forty Regional Prereleases that mark the reintroduction of the “big” Prerelease.

Not only do I get to play a ton of Magic with the new cards but I get to escape the grey dreary cold that has settled over New York for the past several weeks. Plus I get my hands on a Conflux playmat — something that is only available at Regional events and even then not at all of them.

Vectis Agents us not going to have a big impact as far as cards go but the art blows up real good to make a striking playmat.

I am going to be headed to Los Angeles this weekend to gunsling at the Conflux Prerelease — one of a handful of large events going on around the country this weekend. If you are a Top8Magic listener in the LA area and are planning on attending the LA event please stop by and say “hello”. I will almost certainly be doing live updates to the site from the tournament so if you want to get a first look at how the Conflux cards fare in action be sure to check in this weekend.

You can find all the event details here. You can find all the Prerelease locations here.

I am very interested to see how the new Sealed deck format plays out. As you may or may not know Wizards is doing away with Tournament Packs and all Sealed Deck events will be run from a selection of five booster packs — although it is three Shards and three Conflux for this weekend, I believe. While the Tournament Pack based format was dominated by bombs this booster based version may turn out to be much more dependent on redundant commons. There was only the slimmest of chances that you could open a pool contain multiple Sanctum Gargoyles if this event was being run with a Tournament Pack — basically you would need an aberrant print run or a foil — but it is conceivable that players could end up with two or three under the booster based version. My dream pool would contain a couple of Sanctum Gargoyles, a capsule or two, and this bad boy:

My Hero!