Written by KaleGozer on November 27, 2006
Slidin´ under the Radar: Drafting Mono White Aggro in Triple TSP
by KalegozerINTRODUCTION
It has been a while since I wrote my last article. For those of you who are loyal followers of my work (thanks! :), you might have noticed that I recently moved to Amsterdam to live at a student campus, where numerous hot girls of about 21 years-old dwell. In the comments of my last article, the .br cabof told me to "bust some pretty blonde girls." Well, I guess I took that advice to heart ;). Another reason for my recent absence was a disinterest in Magic for the first actual time since 2003. A lot of other things were keeping me busy over the past couple of months, such as college and the infamous "social life," which was the reason I didn't touch a Magic card for quite some time. Poker was also one of the major things that interfered, but as with any poker playing Magicer, a downswing is what made me touch the magical cards again. And I must say the break felt good. Playing the game didn't feel like a must again. In this article, I will tell you about Time Spiral Draft and I deck I like to draft a lot: mono white aggro. And for the fans, there's also a new PV pic :P
RULES OF TIME SPIRAL DRAFT
I got back in the game by buying some packs for MTGO (sorry Koen!) and getting my draft on. I've done about thirty Time Spiral drafts since I got back in the game and in this article I would like to share a few things I've learned in those drafts. I also made a set of rules, which are in essence more a set of guidelines than actual rules. Still, I'd like to call them my rules, as I try to follow them closely during drafting. Without further ado, let me present you those rules:
The first rule is: You do not draft black
The second rule is: You do NOT draft black!
The third rule is: The only time you are allowed to draft black is when you are setting up a damn good UB Madness deck or BR heavy removal.dec. And it better be DAMN GOOD boy!
The fourth rule is: Your deck is either base white, blue or both
The fifth rule is: The only exceptions to these rules are the green based Sliver deck (which usually contains blue or white anyway) and the BR heavy removal.dec, which, as I mentioned, better be DAMN GOOD!
These are my five basic rules for Time Spiral draft. I have a preference for white based aggro decks in this format, so when I'm in doubt I always pick a card that suits that strategy. Since I've stuck to my rule to never draft black, my winnings have increased dramatically. Nowadays, you will see me passing a Sengir Nosferatu pack one in favor of Amrou Seekers, which was probably wrong (according to my Magic Idol Roel van Heeswijk), but still, even considering picking Seekers over it shows how much I hate black.
(Talking about Roel, he's my Hot Tip for Worlds 2006 as the new World Champion, so if you need someone to bet on, I can assure you he's a excellent dark horse pick. Remember, you heard it here first!
In the next paragraph, I will describe the mono white aggro archetype to you. I will tell you which cards are important for this strategy and also which cards are a good splash in their respective colors.)
DRAFTING MONO WHITE AGGRO
THE CORE
The Rebel Chain
-Amrou Scout
-Errant Doomsayers
-Amrou Seekers
-Zealot en-Vec
-Knight of the Holy Nimbus (U)
-Outrider en-Kor (U)
-Defiant Vanguard (B)
The Rebel Chain is a fundamental part of most white based aggro strategies. With Amrou Scout as the most important one of them all, the Rebel Chain can generate massive card advantage by pumping out Rebels on a regular basis. My personal preference when drafting white aggro is to always go for the Rebel Chain. Amrou Scout is obviously the most important one of them all, as he's able to pump out the rest. Pick this guy extremely high! When my deck is good, I usually have about two Amrou Scouts, two Amrou Seekers and two Errant Doomsayers. Zealot en-Vec is a great tutor target and a card I definitely underestimated at first glance. If you have Amrou Scout, try to get your hand on one of these (just one is enough) and he'll make a great tutor target when you need to get rid of those pesky Looter il-Kors, Gemhide Slivers, Crookclaw Transmuters, Keldon Halberdiers, etc. Zealot en-Vec is going very late in draft, so you can allow him table and pick him up about 9th-12th pick. You just need one of them; don't pick them over other important cards, as you will get him late. In the uncommon slot we find Knight of the Holy Nimbus, who's just a beast that keeps going, and Outrider en-Kor, another fine card. I draft both of these cards pretty high. Defiant Vanguard is decent, but his ability is usually too expensive. He can be a nice "poor man's Scout," so I'd pick him reasonably high. The Flanker Special
-Cavalry Master (U)
-Sidewinder Sliver
-Benalish Cavalry
-Outrider en-Kor (U)
-Gustcloak Cavalier (U)
-Knight of the Holy Nimbus (U)
-Pentarch Paladin (R)
-Zhalfrin Commander (B)
The Flanker Special is another possible core of the white aggro deck, which can exist next to the Rebel Chain. Albeit not being as spectacular as the Rebels, the Flanker Special can be a nightmare for the opponent when it comes together. Giving your creatures double flanking makes them basically unblockable and should either end the game in quick order or deliver some unfavorable trades for your opponent. The fundament of the Flanker Special is the Cavalry Master, which resides in the uncommon slot. This is the reason I won't recommend this core to the aspiring white aggro drafter. Usually you're going in a specified Flanking direction if you've already picked up two Cavalry Masters. The Flanker Special combines nice with red because of Blazing Blade-Askari and Undying Rage.
Of the other cards, Benalish Cavalry is a very good card in general and should be drafted highly. Pentarch Paladin is a major bomb and probably the best possible card in the format for the mono white aggro archetype. It should be picked over anything.
ESSENTIAL CARDS
These three cards are essential to the deck. Make sure you pick them all up!
Ivory Giant
The Giant is an essential card to have, as it will set up a great alpha strike when your fast army has been stopped by the opponent. Make SURE you pick this card up, without it it's going to be much more difficult to win.
Icatian Crier / Fortify
I've listed these two cards together as they make a great tag team. Fortify is a great addition to the white aggro deck in general and should thus be picked up fairly early, where Icatian Crier's value goes significantly up if you already have one or two Fortifies. Usually it doesn't take more than one Icatian Crier and one Fortify to win a game. Icatian Crier often goes remarkably late in draft, so you can allow to let that card table and pick it up later on. The Crier also has massive synergy with numerous other cards, which I will tell later on.
GOOD CARDS
Temporary Isolation
Basically it reads "1W - Destroy target creature," which will do for me! It's a great card on both offense and defense and a very high pick for any white based deck. Although it doesn't always work (for example, your opponent can attack, put damage on the stack and if he then somehow gets rid of the creature, usually by bouncing it, the damage won't be prevented anymore), it's a great card to have in your deck.
Celestial Crusader
Crusade has always been a fundamental strategy to any white aggro deck, and Celestial Crusader is not different. If you have two of these bad boys, try to keep your splashes to a minimum and stock up on those Criers! If you are already building a mono white aggro deck, he's probably the number one pick for you after Pentarch Paladin.
Duskrider Pedegrine
A 3/3 flyer for 1W? That's my kind of treat. The Duskrider is a lovely card and fits the deck great. Pick this one high, as they are in great demand by any white deck.
DECENT CARDS
Cloudchaser Kestrel
Nothing special, just a 2/2 flier for three. Problem with this card is that it's only good in the mono white deck. The WW in the cost makes it problematic for two color decks, where I want something good attached to it to play it (Spiketail Drakeling).
Flickering Spirit
He's definitely not bad; I usually play him as it's often the filler card you're looking for. If your draft is insane, this is the card that gets the chaff. The ability is occasionally good and helps a lot when you are in a race.
CARDS I DON'T REALLY LIKE BUT OCCASIONALLY PLAY
Gaze of Justice
If only Gaze of Justice was an Instant... The biggest problem with this card is that it totally goes against the nature of your deck, which is swinging like a madman. The tempo disadvantage is bad, but sometimes it's just necessery evil to play this card. Usually I try to avoid it in my deck, but when I'm in need of removal (in cases when I haven't picked up Temporal Isolation) and/or my opponent has some game-breaking creature (Fortune Thief) that I need to get rid of, I play it. It does remove _everything_, it only comes with a price. Like almost any other card mentioned so far, it's good with Icatian Crier. It's not playable if you don't have any Criers.
Castle Raptors
It's a bit too slow for my liking as it is more a defensive card for U/W control decks, but one to top off your curve isn't a disaster. He's great at "keeping the fort" when your Seekers are pecking away at your opponent's life total.
D'Avenant Healer
Once again, a defensive card that's more in its place in an U/W control deck. It can be added for curve-technic reasons or when you have nothing better, but try to avoid it.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Basically, when we put all this information together, a mono white aggro deck should look something among these lines:
Creatures (18)
1-drop
2 Ivory Giant (Suspend 5)
2-drop
2 Amrou Scout
2 Errant Doomsayers
2 Benalish Cavalry
1 Duskrider Pedegrine (Suspend 3)
3-drop
2 Amrou Seekers
2 Icatian Crier
1 Zealot en-Vec
1 Cloudchaser Kestrel
1 Outrider en-Kor
4-drop
1 Flickering Spirit
1 Celestial Crusader
Spells (5)
2 Temporary Isolation
2 Fortify
1 Griffin Guide
Land
17 Plains
This is an example of a very good mono white aggro deck. These twenty-three commons and uncommons are very synergetic and provide an extremely powerful deck. Cards that can be added into this are either from a splash color or some good on-color rares, like Pentarch Paladin, Serra Avenger, Magus of the Disk, Mangara of Corondor and Tivadar of Thorn. Obviously, this is just a framework that I tried to keep realistic. I.e.: when you already have two Amrou Scouts and you see a third one and a Flickering Spirit, you take the Scout of course as it is a far superior card. Just make sure that you draft all three crucial cards for this deck: Ivory Giant, Fortify and to a lesser extent Icatian Crier.
CARDS TO COMBINE WITH MONO WHITE AGGRO
* RED *
Red delivers the best splash color for an almost mono white aggro deck. The cheap burn adds great value to your deck, without straying too much from your main color.
Them good burn cards: Rift Bolt, Sudden Shock, Lightning Axe and Tribal Flames
These cards don't need an explanation; they are simple and effective and make a great splash for your white aggro deck.
Firemaw Kavu
THIS GOES TO ALL THE DRAFTERS OUT THERE: IF YOU OPEN FIREMAW KAVU, YOU TAKE IT AND YOU SPLASH IT IF NEEDED. NO QUESTIONS ASKED. STOP PASSING ME THIRD PICK FIREMAW KAVUS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. [editor’s note: This might be important –gfo]
(And yes, the same goes for Disintegrate. Of course.)
Undying Rage
A very good card for this deck, although it doesn't warrant a splash on it's own like the burnspells. If you are already adding a couple of red cards, it might be a good idea to add this one too, when you are more building a WR aggro deck than a mono white aggro with a small splash. It's at its best on a flanker, so try to tag a Blazing Blade Askari along as well.
* GREEN *
Green is the second best color to splash into white aggro.
Stonewood Invocation
The stones.
Tromp the Domains
Also very good, just giving your team +2/+2 and trample is sufficient enough. Guess what? It works nicely with Icatian Crier!
Strength in Numbers
A great spell to force a lot of damage through. Works best with Icatian Crier and is an okay splash card, especially when you are missing out on either Ivory Giants or Fortifies.
Herd Gnarr
A good four drop which can be a fruitful addition to your deck. Once again, it works best with Icatian Crier. Not worth a splash on its own, but if you are splashing some good green (Stonewood Invocation), you might consider him as well. I rather have him as 4-drop than Flickering Spirit for example.
Call of the Herd
I don't think that came as a surprise. Once again, just splashing for creatures is bad (unless it's Firemaw Kavu), but if you are adding a couple of green cards, Call of the Herd is going in.
* BLUE *
Blue is one of my favorite colors to combine with white. From efficient bounce to cheap flyers, blue has it all. For this archetype however, blue doesn't really provide much in the common slot besides Snapback and Momentary Blink. The mono white aggro deck is lacking removal, something blue barely provides. Snapback is basically the only removal, but it doesn't justify a splash on its own like the red cards do. Obviously, the UW deck is very powerful, but this article is about the mono white variant.
Snapback
Cheap, versatile removal that provides a very good tempo swing.
Psionic Blast
Well okay :)
Ovinomancer
If there ever was a deck where Ovinomancer is good in, this is it. Usually your curve stops around three, minimizing the Sheep Creator's drawback. He is quite good in this deck, try him out sometime.
Momentary Blink
If you have a Mangara of Corondor, splashing blue to be able to flashback Momentary Blink is a Good Idea.
* BLACK *
No. Just no.
SOME GENERAL THOUGHTS
A good general idea is to always keep in mind if your white aggro deck is going into a mono color on into a two color direction. Cards like Ivory Giant and Celestial Crusader are forcing you to stick close to a mono color strategy. Remeber: synergy is better than raw power, especially in Time Spiral Draft. Another important part of triple TSP is that the format is very tempo based. Missing an early land drop is crucial, which is why I like to play with eighteen lands in most of my draft decks. In the white aggro archetype seventeen will suffice, but as you can see, even with all those low drops you still want a minimum of seventeen lands. Missing a 1st-4th drop is gamebreaking and the risk of flood is minimized by Icatian Crier, who can turn a flood into an army of Citizens.
CONCLUSION
Forcing a deck in a draft is often a bad idea, but if the cards are coming your way, keep the mono white aggro deck in mind. When it comes together, it really is that good; you don't need a second color. I hope you liked this article and got a better idea on how to draft mono white aggro and which cards are important for this strategy. It really helped me to get a lot of good results online and I hope you will too!
Of course, my article wouldn't be complete without a reference to Magic-League's Super Mega Superstar Paulo Vitor Eduardo Adriano Damo da Rosa Ronaldinho Kaka Junior. After winning .br nats (which is, as we all know, obviously a major, major achievement), PV turned from your friendly neighborhood .br into a World Class Superstar. He used to be able to walk across the street without any problems, but after winning .br nats and still being in contention for Player of the Year, he just has to beat the ladies off him. It became so bad that PV had to hire a bodyguard to be able to get from A to B. As we can see in the picture underneath, this guy is not something to be messed with. Too bad PV had to end up like this; he used to be a very approachable and friendly guy. Oh well, I guess this is what stardom does to one...
Well, that's all for now. Join me next time when I report on Worlds in Paris and when we will finally see the long anticipated interview with Fleri on how he barely defeated his toothbrush at Malta Nats.
Till next time!
Your friendly neighborhood
KaleGozer
TheFatOne on 2006-11-27 15:16 EDT Kale before I read this, I love you
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CaptainPayne on 2006-11-27 15:22 EDT It is interesting you wrote this, as I just became a huge fan of the archetype this past weekend. It has won me so many drafts due to the depth of the quality White Aggro creatures. However, there is one card that you didn't mention that is HUGE to the archetype. GRIFFIN GUIDE! How can you talk about MWA without mentioning that monster. Evasion, +2/+2, and eats removal for breakfast. What's not to love?
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Buffalo_Wing on 2006-11-27 15:50 EDT I don't think it had the strategic content of my article, and you misspelled PV's name!
In all seriousness though, great article and good stuff. It would have been nice to see a more solid pick order intertwining the different "core" cards and the others, but WW or Wx is a great archetype. One more comment, though. What is the upside of going monocolor? Obviously Crusader can influence the deck, but if I see any Errant Ephemerons, I'm sure as hell gonna play them, especially as Giant doesn't even tap them down. I've found a 10/7 or 11/6 split takes almost nothing away from mana consistency while still allowing you to cherry-pick 5 or 6 top-quality cards to play in another color.
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Buffalo_Wing on 2006-11-27 15:50 EDT also <3
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Blah234 on 2006-11-27 16:06 EDT PV thinks GW and RW sucks. Although I don't think very highly of GW (unless I get some very good green cards), I think PV spent too much time in the rainforest when he said RW sucked. I would gladly take a RW deck because it can be just nuts.
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RuSheR on 2006-11-27 16:06 EDT yeh nice if you play against a red deck doesn't matter how bad it is i think sulfurous blast wins the game automaticly;<
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sonicqaz on 2006-11-27 16:16 EDT I will agree that the MWA is good, but red is my favorite core color so far. It has the best removal, and it can accomodate any other color as a second color very easily.
Red/Green has been my favorite because most people are under-rating green right now, but red/black has done good for me as well. I know black doesn't have depth, but it does have some power. If you want to pass me the black, I wont mind too much.
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DESTRUCTOR on 2006-11-27 16:31 EDT great article...great archetype to draft...and the splashes should be ok like buffalo_wing said 11/6 or 10/7 is a good land proportion and doesnt give you many problems (many...because you may be screwed or flooded at least once ;) )
PS: griffin guide rulez!! you didnt mentioned :(
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ringman on 2006-11-27 17:28 EDT man mwa ftw and PV TOO!!!!!!
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ringman on 2006-11-27 17:28 EDT BTW <3 KALEGOZER :P
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mikeg542 on 2006-11-27 17:31 EDT I like your writing style and many of your articles, but found the content....inaccurate in many instances. I have drafted following your archetypes maybe....once? And go undefeated for weeks on end at a store quite frequented by pro's of the area. You CANNOT just sum up this format in 5 rules(more or less 3 of them being the same thing at that), but oh well, to each their own?
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sui_slush on 2006-11-27 17:32 EDT I've drafted this deck more than any other so far in TS x3 (and i draft a lot). I agree that it's insanely powerful when the cards come together.
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tg on 2006-11-27 18:19 EDT hi! ehhm a really good card for this deck is ''Cloudchaser Kestrel'' because you have combo with this; pentarch ward, celestial crusaders, ivory giant(for splash), gaze of justice and pentarch paladin(the best combo).
PS: not with amrou seekers pls... Squire ftw!!! xD
Peace!!!
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MadMageQc on 2006-11-27 18:42 EDT Great article and very true content indeed. My favorite archetype in TS draft is WR aggro, wich happens to fit my constructed tendencies. Surprisingly, WR aggro is much better in TSx3 than Boros was in RavX3, because of the quality and depth of common creatures and removal in both colors. Also, the Icatian Crier + Fortify synergy you mentionned can be supported by the good red goblin token producers (Mogg War Marshall and Empty the Warrens).
I think you underrate Cloudchaser Kestrel a lot... 2/2 flying for 3 is an excellent body that is always drafted very highly, even in a format with such depth as TS draft; having two other abilities attached to such a body makes it a superb common. His first ability can make you want to avoid him if you're playing several enchantments, but otherwise it's a net positive. His second ability comes in handy more often than you think; I love it against Skulking Knight among other things.
While you're mentionning Pentarch Paladin as a great rare for MWA, you could also talk about Opal Guardian, wich is a MVP in that deck and tends to table a lot because it's unplayable in any other archetype. If you play it against red (the most powerful and deep color IMO, so you shall face it quite often), it will most likely win you the game.
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Blah234 on 2006-11-27 18:51 EDT I love how you prove to most people that Crier and Fortify are good cards. People underestimate Crier. I drafted mono-white in a Rochester Team Draft on Netdraft the other day. It had 3 Fortify. Needless to say that I beat TheFatOne 2-0 ;)
~Red-
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BoredAndPoor on 2006-11-27 19:49 EDT I think the article was well written, it had an aim at thoroughness which is often lacking in articles on the game.
However, the hate on black is misguided.
There's removal, there are evasion beasties.
Removal + Evasion = The Win.
Mono white rocks, if you're lucky enough to draft a solid mono color deck, I have been fortunate enough to draft a mono white weenie featuring 3 ivory giants and 4 gaze of justices backed by a crier, needless to say it was a clear win. I wouldn't count on coming out with a mono color draft too often, and i think that aiming to do so, or even aiming to go into a certain color with prejudice will get you into a lot of trouble.
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KaleGozer on 2006-11-28 03:36 EDT Hi guys, thanks for those great responses. About Griffin Guide and Errant Ephemeron,the funny thing is they were both in the article before I edited it. Griffin Guide was mentioned after the rares in "and the bomb uncommon Griffin Guide". It should be clear that this card is a major bomb and should be drafted as a 1st-2nd pick all the time. For Ephemeron goes the same, it's a Dragon! The interaction with Giant is great and was something I missed at first glance. Ephemeron was in the blue splash part, but I cut that out after mentioning not to splash for creatures. Ephemeron is a huge beatstick and should make your deck almost always. Buffalo_Wing is right on the splash, it's something you do more often than not, but in this article I wanted to show you the advantages of going in a heavy mono white direction (Crusader, Giant).
On Kestrel, maybe I've walked into a Penumbra Spider too many, but I think if there's one format where a 2/2 flier for 3 isn't really all that, it's triple TSP. It's still good tho, but not the be all and end all. Also, his ability can be a liability if you have a couple of Temporary Isolations. I haven't used his second ability yet, but I might be underrating him. MadMageQc's comment really hit the nail on the head, I'll try to play him more often.
Opel Guardian is just massive. If there's one reason you should go mono W, it's this fellow. Pentarch Ward also should have been mentioned, it's a card I occasionally play as well.
Anyway, keep up the good comments!
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Roar on 2006-11-28 04:47 EDT in a ptq top 8 draft I drafted mono white aggro, I got 3 griffin guides and 3 fortifies, but I should've read your article before... I had too few good creatures so I scrubbed out in the semifinals :S
next time I'll win :P
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Blah234 on 2006-11-28 06:56 EDT Is that supposed to be PV's "biological" father in that picture? I can see that the big guy has a monobrow growing just like PV.
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chang_br on 2006-11-28 15:22 EDT nice pic
pv is beutifull
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Dzy on 2006-11-28 19:19 EDT Good article.
And that guy in the pic next to PV is the owner of the biggest magic shop in the Netherlands. (@Ang-)
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Kev on 2006-11-29 13:14 EDT Does Stan know he's PV's bodyguard?
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Linkman on 2006-11-30 00:51 EDT Prob not.
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KaleGozer on 2006-12-01 09:26 EDT Well, I think he doesn't mind that the 2006 World Champion was in his store. :P If PV wins, I'll send him the pic so he can put it on his site with something like: "GameForce - The Breakfast of Champions".
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Ergil on 2006-12-01 17:26 EDT Cloudshaser Kestrel is mega-useful. White is drafted heavily in these parts so I haven't managed a MWA yet, but I'm usually UW and in 2 recent drafts Kestrel has won me games by messing with protected creatures. In one game my opponent was stoping my blue fliers with Scryb Ranger until I drew the Kestrel, and in another game the Kestrel took Undying Rage off Wildfire Emissary when it came into play, and again when my opponent was foolish enough to put it back on the Emissary :-)
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fatman718 on 2006-12-05 10:30 EDT This article has been a very useful and fun read for me. I WILL definately draft white for all my drafts now. Peace!
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arcanismtg on 2006-12-08 14:13 EDT i must say kalegozer, i dont play magic irl nemore at all, and i rarely play online, but i know 1 thing and thats that i will always love you deep from inside my heart
