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JOU Prerelease Prep – Combat Tricks and Optimizing Your Pick

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Planning to play the prerelease? It might be good to know what might blow you out.

This article has some good graphics that may help, and I think everyone should check it out.

(click images below for full-size versions)

born of the gods instandt page 1

born of the gods instants page 2

Elsewhere on the internet, spikey players are talking about which color box to take to make sure your seeded pack gives you the best chance of winning. The best discussion I saw was on the spikes subreddit, seen here.

The consensus seems to be that white is the best color given its solid creatures and its superior promo. It's hard to argue. Also, white has a chance at an Athreos in its seeded pack so given all of those factors, white is the clear favorite.

Green has a chance at Ajani (JK, green can only get Kruphix or Pharika, apparently), though, and solid creatures although the promo is lacking. Blue has the best tempo stuff and its fliers are solid, so Green and Blue seem like they are favorites for everyone's backup colors.

Can we really rule out Black? Having so many good removal spells is going to make it a force to be reckoned with. Red has burn and I won the Theros prerlease on the back of some burn, some efficient creatures and a Purphoros, God of the Forge. If they run out of White, or if you are at the prerelease to have fun, there is a case to be made for every color, so just play your favorite. You can't be variance, after all, and a good Black box will always beat a bad White one, no matter how good their promo is.

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Jason Alt

Jason Alt is a value trader and writer. He is Quiet Speculation's self-appointed web content archivist and co-captain of the interdepartmental dodgeball team. He enjoys craft microbrews and doing things ironically. You may have seen him at magic events; he wears black t-shirts and has a beard and a backpack so he's pretty easy to spot. You can hear him as co-host on the Brainstorm Brewery podcast or catch his articles on Gatheringmagic.com. He is also the Community Manager at BrainstormBrewery.com and writes the odd article there, too. Follow him on Twitter @JasonEAlt unless you don't like having your mind blown.

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Posted in Free, Journey Into Nyx, Sealed, StrategyTagged , ,

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8 thoughts on “JOU Prerelease Prep – Combat Tricks and Optimizing Your Pick

  1. Just as a small note. You cant get Ajani in the seeded packs. The only mythics you can open in the seeded packs are gods that share a color with the one you chose.

      1. Not on the seeded packs…but still have a chance at any of the mythics from the booster(s) included….so ajani is still a possibility, albeit a small one.

        1. Absolutely. Im hoping for the tiny chance of getting Athreos in my seeded pack, ajani in a regular pack and wrecking face with a limited Junk build.

          I was already going to pick white for the same reasons listed, but it is great being validated. I love the article!

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