##BG Sacrifice in Battle for Zendikar (BFZ) Tips on building a Black Green sacrifice archetype in a limited (sealed or draft) environment. These tips will be supported by articles from professional magic players, the Magic community, results from games (MTGO, Grand Prix's, Pro Tours), and my own experience.
I write this with the hopes that 1. you will win more games :) and 2. you gain a better understanding of the archetype and the overall limited environment within Battle for Zendikar.
###Goal/Purpose Joel Larsson has already done this for us (Thank you Joel!):
The idea behind the Black-Green Sacrifice deck is to have a well-rounded attrition game, taking the games to a grind and finish them off with big Eldrazi, a huge Voracious Null or Rot Shambler.1
###Available Win Conditions
- Tron - Turn one or more of your creatures into a huge threat, ie a 6/6 Voracious Null or a 10/10 Rot Shambler.
- Control/Attrition - Play for the long-game by effectively trading creatures with your opponent and take advantage of your creatures "on death" effects and sacrifice cards.
- Ramp to a powerful 8+ drop Eldrazis like: Breaker of Armies, Void Winnower, or Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
- Going-wide / Alpha-Strike - Take advantage of your wide board and use a 'finisher' card that buffs all your creatures. Since this is a combo win-condition it may not be as reliable as others. Examples: Tajuru Warcaller, Tajuru Beastmaster, and Swarm Surge.
##Drafting Guide ###High-Level Overview
TODO: enabler/exploiter??
Top Tier - Straight-up bombs or good cards in more than 1 archetype. Should be 1st pickable.
- Ob Nixilis Reignited (Mythic)
- Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger (Mythic)
- Ruinous Path (Rare)
- Oblivion Sower (Mythic)
- Grip of Desolation (Uncommon) - 'neutral' removal, good in multiple archetypes.
- From Beyond (Rare)
- Endless One (Rare)
- Complete Disregard (Common) - 'neutral' removal, good in multiple archetypes.
Questionable/Controversial:
- Greenwarden of a (Mythic)
- Undergrowth Champion (Mythic)
- Blight Herder (Rare)
Core Tier - Cards essential to the archetype. Without these cards, your deck's power level will be significantly weaker.
- Eyeless Watcher - 1/1 and 2 scions for 3G.
- Catacomb Sifter - Scry 1 every time a creature dies.
- Blisterpod - 1/1 for G that replaces itself with a scion when it dies.
- Call the Scions - 2 1/1 scions for 2G.
- Grave Birthing - Cantrip that creates a scion for 2B. Exile enabler. Can also be used on opponent's declare attackers step to create a blocker.
- Carrier Thrall - 2/1 for 1B and replaces itself with a scion on death.
- Bone Splinters - Great removal spell but at the cost of 2-for-1'ing yourself. Anecdotal evidence (from MTGO sealed winning decks) appears to indicate that you should have a ratio of 1:4 or 1:5; 1 Bone Splinters for every 4 to 5 creatures you are willing to sacrifice. For example if your deck had 1 Blisterpod and 1 Eyeless Watcher, you would have a total of 5 sacrificial creatures (2 from Blisterpod, 3 from Eyeless Watcher).
Support Tier - Cards that are not essential but give support to the archetype. In other words, cards that make you 'Happy' when they are in your deck and 'Sad' when they are not.
- Lifespring Druid - pick value goes up even higher when you have splashed a 3rd color.
- Ruin Processor - 7/8 body for 7 with upside (+5 life). To enable the upside, you'll want cards like Grave Birthing and Complete Disregard. See Exile Enablers list.
- Giant Mantis - Good for defense against fliers.
- Spawning Bed - Land that can be sacrificed for 6-colorless to create 3 Eldrazi Scions.
##Example Deck Guide I examined approximately 8 winning decks (no losses or 1 loss) that used the BG archetype, or at least used cards common in the archertype. Data was from mtggoldfish.com and the dates of the Sealed tournaments were from 10/31/2015 and 11/01/2015.
Mana Curve: CMC of the cards.
Average: Average number of cards for the specified Mana Curve slot.
+/-: Plus-minus is the number of cards you can add or subtract to the Average.
Min: Minimum number of cards that should be at that slot. Approximation to help less-experienced players from underdrafting the slot.
Max: Maximum number of cards that should be at that slot. Approximation to help less-experienced players from overdrafting the slot.
Cards: Example of Cards to look for that will fit into the Curve slot.
| Mana Curve | Average | +/- | Min | Max | Cards | Splashable Cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Blisterpod, Sludge Crawler, Bone Splinters, Vampiric Rites | Clutch Of Currents |
| 2 | 3-4 | 2 | 3 | 7 | Culling Drone, Snapping Gnarlid, Kalastria Healer, Carrier Thrall, Oran-rief Invoker, Altar's Reap | Tightening Coils, Anticipate |
| 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 8 | Catacomb Sifter, Call The Scions, Complete Disregard, Lifespring Druid, Pilgrim's Eye, Tajuru Stalwart, Grave Birthing | splash |
| 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | Eyeless Watcher, Woodland Wanderer, Giant Mantis, Broodhunter Wurm, Silent Skimmer, Smothering Abomination, Mire's Malice, Hedron Archive | Incubator Drone, Adverse Conditions |
| 5 | 2-3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | Demon's Grasp, Kozilek's Channeler, Tajuru Warcaller, Blight Herder, Brood Butcher, Geyserfield Stalker, Kalastria Nightwatch | Turn Against, Exert Influence, Windrider Patrol |
| 6 | 2-3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Grip Of Desolation, Tajuru Beastmaster, Nissa's Renewal, Gruesome Slaughter | Wave-Wing Elemental, Sire Of Stagnation |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Cards | Ruin Processor |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Cards | Breaker of Armies |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Cards | Void Winnower |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Cards | Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger |
##Observations of Decks You don't have to stay to 2-colors! This archetype can have a splash OR be splashed into (from another color)
I saw 3 decks that were mainly UB and splashed green. Example splashes: for From Beyond, Brood Butcher, Catacomb Sifter, or Eyeless Watcher.
I saw 2 decks that were mainly GB and splashed blue. Example splashes: Wave-Wing Elemental (late-game flier), Clutch of Currents, or Eldrazi Skyspawner.
I saw 1 decks that were mainly GB and splashed red. Example splashes: Turn Against, Touch of the Void, and Forerunner of Slaughter.
Most of the 'action' of this archetype occurs at the 3-mana slot
The 3-mana slot has one of the best removals (Complete Disregard) and one of the core cards for the BG archetype in Catacomb Sifter. Combine that with a number of support cards (Lifespring Druid, Call the Scions, Grave Birthing) and it's easy to see why the 3-mana slot is usually the tallest in the curve.
The 2 and 4-mana slots are usually 'balanced', with an equal number of drops (+/- 1) between the two
Draft the priority drops, then continue the draft to fill-in gaps in your curve.
Averages
Creatures: 14, +/- 2
Instants: 3.75
Sorceries: 3.25
Lands: 18
Removals: 5 +/- 2
Artifacts: run only 1, Hedron Archive Enchantments: run only From Beyond. If you splash blue, 1-2 Tightening Coils.
In my perfect version of a Black-Green Sacrifice deck, I'd want 15 - 17 creatures, 6 - 8 removal spells and 17 lands.
##Pick Order List Necessary?
##Exile Enablers
- Complete Disregard
- Grip of Desolation
- Sludge Crawler
- Grave Birthing
- Culling Drone
- Dominator Drone
- Transgress the Mind
- Titan's Presence
- Unnatural Aggression
- Aligned Hedron Network
- Bane of Bala Ged - late drop, not a typical enabler.
- Scour From Existence - late drop, not a typical enabler.
- Oblivion Sower - late drop, not a typical enabler.
- Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger - late drop, not a typical enabler.
##References
- Battle for Zendikar Draft Archetypes by Joel Larsson (mtgmintcard.com)
- A Pick Order List for Battle for Zendikar by Frank Karsten (channelfireball.com)
- Owen’s Battle for Zendikar Pick Order by Color (Even Green) by Owen Turtenwald (channelfireball.com)
- LRCommunity Set Reviews - Battle for Zendikar by author (sites.google.com / reddit.com/r/lrcast)
- title by author (site)