Introduction
This is the initial installment of my trophy-winning decks on Magic Arena. Right now, I am jamming all of the Kaldheim drafts I can. Or at least until the gems run out. I did purchase the 22,000 gem package when Kaldheim was released, and have lost track of just how many drafts I have completed. I have, though, completed enough to obtain a full set of Kaldheim rares through drafting, and all but 16 mythic rares so far. Not infinite, but not bad for someone who loves drafting and playing constructed. It’s the most economical (and enjoyable) way to complete sets.
You can find me on Magic Arena under MagicLibrarian or Ludologists.
The Draft
I’ll be posting several trophy-winning decks shortly, and unfortunately, none of them have the draft included. I will try to make this standard in the future.
The Deck
The visual decklist:
and the textual decklist:
1x Jaspara Sentinel
1x Depart the Realm
2x Guardian Gladewalker
1x Golden Pick
1x Icebind Pillar
1x Mistwalker
1x Glittering Frost
1x Gnottvoid Recluse
1x Horizon Seeker
1x Mammoth Growth
1x Realmwalker
1x Old-Growth Troll
1x Svella, Ice Shaper
2x Sarulf’s Packamte
1x Binding the Old Gods
1x Berg Strider
1x Squash
1x Rootless Yew
1x Run Ashore
1x Ravenous Lindworm
1x Cyclone Summoner
4x Island
1x Swamp
1x Snow-Covered Mountain
9x Forest
1x Surtland Frostpyre
1x Rimewood Falls
Sideboard:
Since this is Bo1, the sideboard doesn’t get to be used mid-games. However, I open the comments for suggestions on how I could have improved the deck. Just because it won a trophy (going 7-2) does not mean I built this optimally. Despite having powerful cards, I did not feel very confident with this deck and was surprised it made it to the end.
Deck Thoughts
The Mana
The auto-land suggestion definitely did not include 9 forests, but I thought it important to ensure I could hit the early green creatures. Obviously Jaspera Sentinel, but the remaining creatures as well just to make sure I could make it to the later game.
I ended up going with the four-color deck: it felt like Binding of the Old Gods was much better than the next card available, and I had just enough mana fixing to make it work. Mana fixing includes:
1x Jaspera Sentinel
1x Golden Pick (another reason to make sure I hit early creature drops)
1x Svella, Ice Shaper
1x Glittering Frost
1x Horizon Seeker
1x Rimewood Falls
The Bombs
This deck had what ended up being three bombs: Old-Growth Troll, Svella, Ice Shaper, and Cyclone Summoner.
The Overperformers
Two foretell cards that usually don’t make my decks really overperformed during this run: Depart the Realm and Mammoth Growth. Since I was not relying on tempo to win, I was concerned that these two cards would not be successful; however, I found that I was able to create locked board states, which allowed these cards to eventually shine.
Rootless Yew also overperformed thanks to Cyclone Summoner. I really liked Rootless Yew when I first started drafting the set, but have consistently found it to be a card I cut often. But tutoring up a mass-bounce card will elevate the performance of any card.
Last Cuts
Bind the Monster was the only card I considered including in the final 23. Granted, it may not have been terribly close since this is not a card I favor including in decks. Especially slower, grinder decks.
