This last Monday, we over here at Master of Magics got to do something very special. Thanks to the wonderful people at Wizards of the Coast we got to have our very own mini Dominaria Prerelease, and we couldn’t have been more excited. As a group, we usually try to get together at one of our houses with a few Prerelease packs and play some fun and relaxed games with the crew. This will often happen a week or so after the release of the set, but this time we would be cracking packs and crafting decks nearly a week before anyone else.
We all arrived at Abbie’s house in the evening and were very keen to get started as soon as we could. After the obligatory cup of tea (we are British after all), we set to work cracking our packs and seeing what we would open. Personally, I had my fingers crossed for some Saproling-based goodness, but as always, you have to play what you are given.
The first thing we noticed was when we opened up our packs was that we got not one, but two foil date stamped promos in our Prerelease kits. One was the usual foil Rare or Mythic card from the set. The other was one of the Legendary Creatures from Dominaria. These could be Uncommon, Rare or even Mythic if you are very lucky, and are a nice addition to help make Dominaria feel more special and unique. Abbie was particularly jammy in her pulls, but you don’t have to take my word for it – you can check it out for yourself.
I myself opened a pretty sweat Esper Historic deck, with some Knight creature synergies. In fact, everyone seemed to open up some great card pools. After a few minutes of deck building, we were all ready to give Magic’s latest set a test drive. Rather than playing a tournament-style bracket, we decided to play some fun and friendly games with one another. We also decided to film all of Abbie’s matches to see if the deck we built was as good as we thought it was. Below you will find the three matches we recorded for your viewing pleasure.
A quick note though. As this is a new set, mistakes were made in the games we played. This is something that comes up regularly at Prereleases, and you might find yourself in similar situations this coming weekend. This is all part of the experience, as we get used to new cards and mechanics. These can be fun and learning experiences for us all, so don’t take it too seriously and ask for help when you need it.
Right. PSA over, let’s get to the games.
Game One: Abbie vs James
Match video is on its way
Game Two: Abbie vs Samuel
Game Three: Abbie vs Sam
Match video is on its way
So, what were our first thought about Dominaria? First of all, the set is awesome. We all had a ton of fun and found the Limited environment to be enjoyable while still being challenging enough for experienced players. While quite a few of us ended up playing some combination of White and/or Black, each deck felt different. The synergies between each archetype were clear to see and we are all looking forward to having another crack at Dominaria Limited.
Secondly, Historic spells matter. Sagas especially are very strong in a Limited environment, giving you multiple effects over the course of three turns. I was running three in my deck and most of the time they proved to be useful in my games. I would even recommend that you include some mainboard Enchantment removal in your Sealed decks this weekend to help handle them.
Finally, the format is not super-fast. While it is true that the right draw can lead to some quick victories, the vast number of Legendary Creatures and high-end bombs lend the format to more value-centric mid-range strategies. As you could see in Abbie’s deck tech, the majority of her power was in the five drop slots. Even then, she was able to battle effectively and win thanks to the synergies of her Legendary Creatures.
Overall, we had a blast playing together with Magic’s latest set. If you were on the fence about going to a Prerelease this weekend I hope this article has shown you how much fun these kinds of events can be. Personally, I can’t wait to have another crack at Dominaria Limited and I hope you all take the opportunity to do so too. Once again, a massive thank you to the wonderful people at Wizards of the Coast for giving us the chance to have our own little Prerelease. I hope you have a great time this weekend, and that all of your pools are as sweet as ours. But most of all remember, Good Luck and Have Fun.
