The Dominaria prerelease has come and gone. I was busy over the weekend and could only get in two rounds at my local store, but it was fun to crack the packs and play two tight rounds with an okay deck. The limited format feels powerful and full of shenanigans. Zach wrote a good analysis of how it will play, and it matches my impression. If you are heading to Grand Prix Columbus this weekend, be sure to check out his thoughts.
Rather than trying to speculate based on my handful of games played, I want to highlight a few common and uncommon cards that caught my attention, good or bad.
My deck at the prerelease was green-black with very little removal. I decided to run Broken Bond in the main deck to help deal with artifact creatures and sagas. I think that’s reasonable in Dominaria Sealed, and maybe perhaps in draft as well. However, I doubt you’ll get much “ramp” value out of this card. The one time I cast it, on turn seven, I had already played all my lands from hand. If you can manage to hit Bloodtallow Candle on turn two, you got there. That said, it seems fine as sorcery Naturalize, but it’s no great shakes.
Memorial to Folly is everything Haunted Fengraf wishes it were. The entire Memorial cycle looks good, but I got absolutely buried by this one, buying back Siege-Gang Commander and the like. Getting a free Raise Dead on a swamp that comes into play tapped is a great deal. With all the bombs and value creatures running around, Memorial to Folly is going to bring back something powerful.
Equipment doesn’t get any more simple or cheap than Short Sword. These types of cards have been pretty good in past Sealed formats and even sometimes in draft. With the added historic benefit, this could be a sought-after card. My deck had a decent amount of Saproling token-making, where this card shines, but even with regular old 2/2s and 3/3s, the +1/+1 bonus makes a difference in combat.
Wow this card is a beating. Zach was dead on: this card should be a rare. Why does it also give everything else haste? Garna isn’t super fast or anything, but it will grind you down. The 3/3 body is a good size for combat, and you can either flash it it to ambush or to buy back whatever just got killed. Never mind being able to get back multiple creatures after a big battle. And then there’s the end-of-turn Garna followed up by a giant creature that now has haste, putting two surprise attackers on the board after you pass your turn.
The lands come into play untapped! This is a strong ramp spell. I got crushed by one opponent who curved Llanowar Elves into Grow from the Ashes in the two games he won. Kicking it is even better, since the kicker cost is effectively free. Green decks have tons of ramp options in Dominaria, but this one also provides strong mana fixing. I expect it to be a dominant card in Sealed, where splashing all your bombs will be very common.
I never drew my copy of Thallid Omnivore, but I lost an opposing one. The lifegain is real, and you mostly want to sacrifice Saprolings anyway. I don’t like the mana cost, but a 3/3 body is easier to attack without having to sacrifice anything.
Carrie O’Hara is Editor-in-Chief of Hipsters of the Coast.