so I wanted to see what people are feeling for the fate reforged prerelease. I know less then half the cards are spoiled but I needed to register for the prerelease early so had to pick a clan now.
This event is the most fate heavy event there will ever be I think, with four packs of fate (a small set) and a seeded pack (which I expect to have some khans and some fate in it). With that taken into account, the spoilers and new abilities are especially relevant and the khans cards are an afterthought. For example, I like manifest and in draft or normal sealed I might expect to go UGx for secret plans etc. but here the odds of getting a specific common even from khans is low.
So what are your thoughts?
So far white has really impressed me, notably with the modal card that acts as a cheap smite the monsterous or can make your guy indestructible. Also, in the uncommon cycle of creatures, the white/jeskai One looks to be the best, with a body who is strong monotone, and a good ability too.
Dash seems good but doesn't go well with raid...thematically they are awesome but in a fast Aggro build are you going to have the mana to dash and then play a raid card after combat? Rarely. That said, with only one pack of khans you won't have much raid, and could concentrate on dash. If you like it this may be the time to do it.
Abzan was my easy choice in the khans prerelease, both for flavor and because outlast is awesome in limited. Bolster is hard to evaluate without seeing more spoilers. They can easily push it if they want, or make it weak if they want. If there is a 2 mana instant with bolster 1 it will be unplayable. If there is a 2 mana instant with bolster 10 it will win every game it is played in. The abzan "lords" (giving flying, lifelink, etc) are what pulled the deck together in triple khans. If they spoil some abzan lords in fate then it will be sweet (like 2 mana for a 1/1 bolster 1, creatures with +1/+1 counters get b: regenerate). If there are no lords, then one pack of khans will not be enough to make it worthwhile.
Sultai isn't my play style though that is super subjective. Also while I know sultai and delve can be great in limited, I like delve only as a splash, with ~3 delve cards in my deck, rather then the theme.
Temur looks good, but it doesn't have access to white, which as I said I am especially interested in, or black, which always seems to be a good limited color, if only for good removal. I think that this would be a good choice, and it might have more manifest support, if the spoilers, and the khans cards are any indication, but it's hard to say.Big creatures and direct damage are impressive and limited, and with access to blue flyers, green delve, this could be an excellent choice.
Jeskai is especially interesting to me. I am really curious how manifest and prowess will play together. On the one hand, they are excellent together, since a lot of non-creature spells will make creatures three manifest, and will still trigger prowess. On the other hand, manifest is at its best in creature heavy decks, since every creature you manifest has the possibility of flipping face up. I am hoping that manifest in prowess work well together, and I'm sure it will be at least interesting. That is the main reason why I will be playing with them. I don't think they were the strongest last time around, but I really do have high hopes for them this time. I want to make sure I have access to white, and they provide that. I will also be honest though, a secondary concern is that the The spoiled mythic is really sweet, and both her personal use and for trade value, I would love to get a promotional version. :-)
I hate to say it but it really doesn't matter what you pick if you don't get the support in your packs. I would say pick what you like and have an idea of what you hope for. But also be ready to do something completely different.
Have a few strategys. And play what looks best.
Honestly I'm not so much of a collector as I am a player. I don't buy packs, booster or starter decks. When I play I build a deck online, order the cards I need, and then I compete. I don't see the point in wasting money on buying packs that you may or may not get what you want. So my advice would be to pay attention to what's released, see what other people are running and make a good judgement call from that.
I don't claim to be a pro but I do know that this has made me Money in competitions and I've made way more then I've lost.
I feel I must have been unclear. I'm looking for which clan you think will be strongest in limited after fate drops...particularly at the prerelease.
If your advice is "don't play limited" or "it doesn't matter, just hope you get lucky" that's not really answering my question. If you won't be playing prerelease, then you can think of it as an acedemic discussion.
I feel like Jeskai was undervalued at Khans prerelease and has really shown that it can hold its own. That being said, I have a Jeskai bias.
I think Abzan picked up the best complimentary ability in Bolster. bolster pours Abzan lords means great synergy. I'd lean towards that being the strongest.
Yea bolster is a solid limited mechanic because the games last so long. I am in love with the jeskai stuff coming out so I will probably pick that if there is the slightest chance I can get a {monastery mentor} in my seeded pack
I'm leaning towards abzan and mardu for my 2 prereleases. Maybe I'm a bit biased because of my playstyle so that's what I play the best, but in khans I've found those to be very strong and it seems that way too in FRF.
Dash seems like a good way to get in damage even if you don't get to stick creatures, because once you get them on the back foot and blocking your guys are going to be at least equal to theirs because yours are a turn or 2 early, and so should at least trade 1 for 1.
Bolster seems relatively strong, but could as you said be pushed either way, but I can't go a prerelease without playing my favorite wedge.
That's my $.02, keep in mind I haven't had time to really examine the spoilers in depth.
Yeah, I have taken to calling momentary mentor "old pyromancer". I would love a foul of him or of the soul fire guy.
Bolster will be good in limited if they give abzan lords and if they are aggressive in how high they put the bolster numbers at. I wanted to wait and get more spoilers in abzan before picking for prerelease, but my lgs sell out fast.
And don't forget, that abzan guy that moves +1/+1 counters? He can target your opponent. You would rather have him in an abzan deck then a non abzan deck, but I am more concerned about my opponent playing him and stealing my +1/+1 counters.
I just called my store to check the times of the tournaments and was told that in one out of the three abzan was almost full :P