Breaking a Format: Gatecrash Draft

[John Galli]

Breaking a Format: Gatecrash Draft

Typically I don’t have a pulse on a limited format, even ones that I’ve gone on hot streaks with and even when I’ve done 3-6 drafts a week in previous years. But with Gatecrash Limited I think I’ve cracked some good initial draft strategies that not only have I been having success with but that I think are easy to battle through multiple drafters of the same guilds with. I’m going to overview the process here:

(note – rares are not mentioned because most of them should be obvious)

Initially you should be going Orzhov if possible, Dimir if Orzhov is not open. With both, you should be stressing black cards as they can dip into either of these guilds. Your curve at the end will top out at 5, occasionally 6 with orzhov and occasionally 7 with dimir. For the most part though, the deck will be very aggressive with mostly 2-3 drops and a few 4 mana auras / extort guys. You can ignore pretty much anything I don’t mention that’s 5 mana or above.

The really important cards are the Auras, these will make or break the deck and allow you to go over the top. The other factor is getting a certain threshold of extort to be able to fight off competing good decks from other guilds or the mirror match. If possible, as a side theme, you want to try and get as many fliers as possible too so long as it doesn’t wreck your curve. If you go Dimir, you want to incorporate a few heavier drops because they have some at the 4cc-7cc range that are game changers (mostly rares and Dinrova Horror).

This strategy I think works well because you not only have a lot of lifegain (obviously) but also because this format is light in cheap removal. While it does exist, people typically don’t run a lot of it and most of the cheap stuff is very conditional. This allows you to usually ride a powerful aura either 2-3 turns or the entire game. This allows you to beat decks that on paper might be better than yours from either Simic or Gruul as you can withstand higher damage totals. A lot of people in this format are always going Boros too, but I’ve rarely seen a quality Boros deck. Anything close to good is usually on the back of some sick rares and a nut-stream of two-drops. And if there are 2-3 people at a table drafting it, good luck seeing that kind of deck. You can also just board in more removal and usually be fine against even the nut decks.

1st Picks:
Gift of Orzhova, Holy Mantle, Hands of Binding, One Thousand Lashes, Orzhov Charm, Basilica Screecher, Syndic of Tithes, Cloudfin Raptor, Kingpin’s Pet, Deathcult Rogue, Dimir Charm, Killing Glare.

That’s a lot of cards, but these are the big hitters that make the deck, and these are the ones that typically your opponent has very few cards that can answer them. Or they’re just aggressive in this format or ones that have no chance of wheeling.

2nd – 4th Picks:
Devour Flesh, Thrull Parasite, Syndicate Enforcer, Cartel Aristocrat, Dinrova Horror, Call of the Nightwing, Assault Griffin, Dutiful Thrull (very important to holding off opponent's ground army), Grisly Spectacle, Metropolis Sprite, Way of the Thief (the trump card for dimir), Last Thoughts, Mindeye Drake, Knight of Obligation

Later Picks:
Guildgates (for Dimir only), Zarichi Tiger, Urbis Protector, Aetherize, Gutter Skulk, Smog Elemental, Executioner’s Swing, Agoraphobia, Keymaster Rogue, Sapphire Drake, Boros Elite, Daring Skyjek, Knight Watch, Shielded Passage, Smite, Armored Transport, Millennial Gargoyle

Situational or Wheel Picks:
Psychic Strike, Midnight Recovery (dimir), Shadow Slice (dimir), Spell Rupture, Rapid Hybridization, Angelic Edict, Basilica Gaurds (only if you’re short on extort), Nav Squad Commandos, Court Street Denzien, Balustrade Spy

[JediCheese]

I can't say that I would force Orzhov.

In the one draft I have played so far, I went Gruul and I steamrolled both an Orzhov player and a Boros player (split 1st on round 3 - he was Boros). I did audible third pick pack one after realizing that R/x was open and primarily picked Red first pack. Second pack green was open and so I went R/G. Third pick I got everything I wanted R/G but could have easily gone R/G/w if there was something splashable (ended up nothing worth splashing).

I will say Disciple of the Old Ways is a nut card vs most decks. He can attack into an army of creatures and with a Gruul pump spell can wipe out an opposing army at value or can stop an army of x/2's from attacking profitably.

I think there are three top colors: Orzhov, Gruul, and Boros. Dimir is a half step lower than all three. Then the lowest valuation is Simic. I just feel that they didn't push the blue cards as hard as they should have out of worry it would break a format (understandable).

[Travis Lannoye]

I think Simic can be good, but it takes awhile to get your position established. If you can cast/evolve enough flyers, it's probably very good, and Ivy Lane Denizen can really add some sick value.

I'm really unimpressed with Dimir, despite what Pat did with his sealed pool on prerelease day.

The power level of Orzhov depends a lot on the number of extort triggers you can make. That means not only drafting extort guys, but also drafting enough cheap spells to be able to pay for the extort cost. In my sealed pool, I left a Lord of the Void in my board because it was so expensive that I couldn't afford the extort triggers.

[John Galli]

Let me clarify because I think what I posted was glossed over or misunderstood:

- I wasn't advocating to just "force orzhov" I was advocating to force this specific strategy as outlined. Travis, I saw your Orzhov deck at the last Saturday draft, and while it might have been light on a few things due to what you saw, some of the choices wouldn't fall specifically how this is outlined.

- I also wasn't saying there isn't a good deck in other guilds, such as simic or gruul. I'm just saying that this strategy is for sure effective at least for the moment. While it's a small sample set, I've gone 6-0 in recent games with this strategy and the games haven't really felt that close. I've played against good decks in the process but having some of these key cards can put you over the top most of the time.

Of course I'd love if nobody adopts this strategy or puts their full effort in the opposite direction because it means I get all the stuff I want, but I just thought I'd share since there is something going on here that is more than just "a few solid drafts".

@dimir - Pat's deck was loaded with heavy hitters and rares, far different from what I'm advocating. That deck was absolutely good too, but this deck can be drafted dimir and work just fine. Your curve will be slightly higher because you're likely to see rares in the 4cc-7cc range that work very well in this form, but you also have some absolutely killer cards that can trump your opponent. The one drawback is less extort and no access to Holy Mantle or the 1 mana regenerator. But you typically make up for it with more meat at the 3cc and 4cc spots.

[Travis Lannoye]

My deck last week was mostly Boros, splashing black for a couple of Death's Approaches. I opened a Frontline Medic in pack one, then got passed a Boros Guildmage, and finally settled on a mostly-red Boros deck.

[JediCheese]

Sorry, I read too much into the title 'breaking a format'. I took that to mean you have a strat that wins nearly all the time.

I think Gatecrash relies upon reading the packs and finding the open color.

I've seen orzhov as more of a midrange/control deck with the Extort to claw back some life after the aggro decks nearly run you out of life.

[John Galli]

3-0 again this weekend with Gruul, and 3-0 with Orzhov. Urrrrr winnin pacccks

[Travis Lannoye]

I went 2-0-1 on Friday with an Orzhov deck splashing blue for a Hands of Binding, a Bane Alley Broker, and a couple of Metropolis Sprites. I opened Blind Obedience pack 1, Watery Grave pack two, and finally remembered at the start of pack three that Cipher triggers Extort. Unfortunately by that time I had passed a second Hands of Binding or else my deck would have been even better. Still, double Syndic of Tithes + double Basilica Screecher + a couple more extort guys was pretty nice.

My three prize packs contained two more shock lands, so I definitely made my money back.

[John Galli]

Hot damn dude I wish I could rip the hawt rares like you're doing. I got a lone shockland in my prize packs and an aurelia's fury in my latter draft (both of which were traded for stomping grounds and a few miscellaneous cards). I did get another Blind obedience too (which was hilariously passed to me in draft).

Hands of Binding is so dumb in this format. A dimir player almost beat me on the back of that card alone holding me at bay for some 10-15 turns (I should have used removal on it right away). Definitely worth splashing for. And yes, extort is awesome with cipher