Rise of the Eldrazi Pre-Release roundup

This past weekend I attended my first pre-release (and Limited) event at my local shop, Numbskullz. I am usually a Constructed player so switching gears to Limited was a challenge. No longer could I build a deck and test it for weeks before I brought it to FNM, I was on the spot and I had to get a deck together within 30 minutes. 24 players showed up and the event lasted about 5 1/2 hours. We played 5 rounds and then the top 4 decided to split because of the time. Over all I went 2-3 which I consider to be fair since I never attended a Limited event before. My deck started out as a tri color (black, blue, green) that won me round one. Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief was hands down the key card for me both of the games we played. I used her ability to kill off all the creatures my opponent had out and attacked for 10+ two turns in a row. With no creatures to block, thats game over. I only had one copy of this card, but I managed to draw it both games. Round one was the highlight of the day unfortunately, with things going downhill fast. Rounds two and three I lost 0-2, both within 15 minutes. I kept drawing single color land which totally crippled my hand. After the third round I decided to switch my deck completely. I ended up with a white green deck that was smaller (45 cards) and faster. I won round four 2-1 and lost round five 1-2. Round four was somewhat frustrating to me because the player I was facing jumped down my throat over every little thing I questioned. I have been playing for many years but I do not consider myself all knowing when it comes to the rules. Factor in the new set with new mechanics, I was questioning/reading every card in play. Just because you thought out the card and what you are going to do with it doesn’t mean I will as soon as it drops into play. Overall the event was a great learning experience and I am considering attending the release event as well.

As for the new set itself, it plays very slow in Limited. It seemed to be a race to see who can get out the first Eldrazi and attack with it. I don’t remember a player who lost a match with an Eldrazi on the table first. Ironically, I never played a single Eldrazi (I had 3 in my deck) so maybe that was a flaw in my deck building. I am looking forward to seeing what impact this set makes on Standard. I have a few ideas floating around for my Jund deck (Vengevine anyone?) and I also am thinking about changes to my Vamp/Mono White decks. Green seems to be the big gainer with ROE so I might start a Mono Green Eldrazi deck. I have most of the cards already and a deck like that is dominating FNM week in and week out. I have 2 booster boxes pre-ordered so I should get some good pulls.

I hope everyone likes the new theme and good luck with your release events this weekend!