Dunkelste Stunde: Masters Edition IV Draft Set Review

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GREEN

Commons:

Alluring Scent**
Argothian Pixies**
Citanul Druid**
Crumble***
Elite Cat Warrior**
Fog*
Giant Growth****
Ironhoof Ox****
Sandstorm**
Scavenger Folk***
Southern Elephant**
War Mammoth**

Green is so… boring. It has some nice artifact hate in Crumble and Scavenger Folk, but the only other commons I want to play are Ironhoof Ox and Giant Growth… It’s tough to get excited about vanilla combat tricks. The other cards are either inefficient creatures or minor effects like Sandstorm, Alluring Scent and Fog.

The only card I’m not entirely sure about is Citanul Druid. Let’s guess that an average Masters Edition IV Draft deck will play 6-7 artifacts, which means 3-4 in the top 20 cards. So if you get out the Druid on Turn 2, he may be as big as 4/4 around Turn 8, and if you draw him Turn 10, he might become 2/2… if you’re lucky. I just don’t see how this creature is good in the maindeck. Argothian Pixies is similar, but at least stronger against a regular deck. Most of the the times it’s still just a vanilla 2/1. Also, don’t expect Elite Cat Warrior‘s Forestwalk to ever become relevant. Some serious things have to go wrong if two people have to play green.

Uncommons:

Argothian Treefolk**
Bee Sting****
Gaea’s Avenger**
Instill Energy**
Kudzu*
Radjan Spirit**
Squall***
Sylvan Tutor***
Whiptail Wurm***
Wild Ox**

No Giant Spider in common is strange, but none at uncommon is downright confusing! What the hell is up with green?! Squall is pretty good against the commons, but doesn’t hit the really good cards, and Radjan Spirit is a worse joke than Wood Elemental. At least we got Bee Sting, a card that I think will get splashed some times along with Crumble. Sylvan Tutor is a fine card to find bombs, despite making disadvantage. Argothian Treefolk and Gaea’s Avenger are relics from the past and don’t even shine in Limited a lot. Though as a friend of the storyline, I sympathize with them.

Instill Energy will usually sit in the side, but I can imagine playing it in some cases… there must be a combo or some synergy that I have overlooked! Kudzu is just utter crap (and possibly another sideboard card against the Urza lands, Workshop and Library… but with a huge drawback). Whiptail Wurm offers a fine finisher for control, and Wild Ox an answer to the busted black cards- not much to say here.

Rares:

Channel**
Cyclone****
Deathcoil Wurm***
Drop of Honey***
Fastbond**
Force of Nature****
Lifeforce*
Living Lands***
Regrowth****
Scarwood Bandits****
Titanias Song***
Wood Elemental*****

Unlike the rest of green, the rares at least are not disappointing (except for the lack of a big flyer for or a even larger spider). I’ll get to the Limited relevant cards, but let me start with the Legacy banned ones. Channel is similar to Dark Ritual, but on a more absurd level. Have you ever wanted to be the villain who summons his Diabolic Machine on Turn 2? Now your time has come! Channel will make it into the 40 rarely, but it can make for some busted openers. But even then, I don’t think that it really belongs in a Draft deck. Regrowth is something else like a reversed tutor. You already had to find your bomb, but if it dies you just play it again. It also works well doubling removal. And then there is Fastbond, another card that usually sucks in Limited, except for a few lucky moments. Oh, and did I ever told you how much I hate color hosers in limited? No one likes Lifeforce or the poor embryo on it.

Like I alluded to earlier, WotC put a few good green rares into ME4. While Living Lands, Drop of Honey and Deathcoil Wurm aren’t always great, Cyclone, Force of Nature and Scarwood Bandits are. These three rares and Regrowth might make me pick green cards. (And, if I open it early, Titanias Song. (You can easily build a cool deck around it with all these superb cards like Staff of Zegon or Rakalite.) Well okay, at least the Staff is useable, but I do think from time to time a deck will appear that can make use of the Song.

Oh, and did I ever tell you about Wood Elemental? No joke, it dominates the late game for any mono-green deck . Good luck surviving until then with all your Giant Spiders.

Conclusion: Green lacks efficient fatties and has only a few humble ways to deal with flyers. At least, it should dominate affinity and metalcraft style decks.

Possible Archetypes:

Gx Haterator
Gx Titanias Song
Mono-Green Force Cyclone
Wood Elemental.dec

Well okay, I can imagine some of the artifact destroyers get splashed, or some white-green decks that resolve around Righteous Charge, but green is no cornerstone for any possible archetype.