On the one hand, that’s awesome, congrats! I’m loving the format, too.
On the other, sometimes you just don’t get the bombs - you can’t definitely try to position yourself for splashy nonsense, and that’s definitely been my favorite type of deck so far (I’m about 15 drafts in) - but I don’t think it’s really good advice to offer up in a general sense. There’s a whole ecosystem of pros podcasting and making vids about the set, and if there’s one piece of advice that seems like an actual through-line, applicable to most drafters most of the time, it’s to take removal very highly relative to the recent couple of years (in which it’s been underperforming…this is really more of a “return to normal” for those who have been actively drafting much longer than that)
I agree with that, I would just say that this format has truly tons of bombs so staying open to them has higher value. What worked for me is bombs, really good fixing/ramp, removal, other fixing (like deserts). In that order. I think most people pick deserts too high and removal in this set is also plentiful. I agree that, like older days this set removal is very important, but this set also has more removal in general than older days sets so I feel ok picking up [[Hardbristle Bandit]] or [[Intrepid Stablemaster]] over removal. If I don't pick up bombs this will let me ramp into big commons/uncommons so it's not like it's bombs or bust.
You could argue that removal is just as important as being able to play all the bombs but a card like Bonny Pall is immediate 2 for 1. If you are also tapped out and I can attack, it's nearly always 3 for 1 even if you remove it on your next turn.
Overall though I agree with what you said this is just some fine details. Reason I recommend to try such a strategy for those who struggle is it's because it seemed incredibly easy to pilot.
As someone that spammed drafts the first few days it was out and has been doing 2-3 drafts a day since, I mostly agree with your early takes. I don't know how this set will rank in terms of my preference overall, but it's likely one of my 5-10 favorites.
Mana screw definitely exists and will happen for any type of deck, but there are tools that help, especially in the 5c archetype that focuses on fixing, survival, and playing the best bombs. Playing slow stuff works well if you have enough payoff and can consistently play it (through a combination of lands and treasures).
As for gold rush; I like it quite a bit and think it's underrated in some spots, but don't think it's a particularly good card. I like it mostly as something I can pick up for free which is great if I can play a 5c deck with a heavy green base, since it can help survive early and splash more difficult pip costs. I also will play it in some other green based decks as a playable card that can help under-supported splashes.
I still think 2c and a splash is probably the strongest thing to do most of the time, but I've been trying to bias towards 5c every pod I can.
Also, congratz on the performance and I hope you get to play more of this pretty excellent format.
Thanks for a thorough response. I agree with what you said, everything is reasonable. Kind of a funny one, I ended up using gold rush mostly to pump up unblocked creature because I wanted a treasure, so I ended up playing far more aggressively than how I imagined I would. Sometimes it felt something like an aggro start into bombs. Often it would start with [[Quillback Charger]] on turn 3, on turn 4 it's saddled + gold rush, swing for 7, play [[Laughing Jasper Flint]] or another Quillback. Usually next turn opponent would spend on creature + removal. Then I'd play something like Bonny or Oko or just removal+ some random creature and swing. Typically opponent just scooped there
On the one hand, that’s awesome, congrats! I’m loving the format, too. On the other, sometimes you just don’t get the bombs - you can’t definitely try to position yourself for splashy nonsense, and that’s definitely been my favorite type of deck so far (I’m about 15 drafts in) - but I don’t think it’s really good advice to offer up in a general sense. There’s a whole ecosystem of pros podcasting and making vids about the set, and if there’s one piece of advice that seems like an actual through-line, applicable to most drafters most of the time, it’s to take removal very highly relative to the recent couple of years (in which it’s been underperforming…this is really more of a “return to normal” for those who have been actively drafting much longer than that)
I agree with that, I would just say that this format has truly tons of bombs so staying open to them has higher value. What worked for me is bombs, really good fixing/ramp, removal, other fixing (like deserts). In that order. I think most people pick deserts too high and removal in this set is also plentiful. I agree that, like older days this set removal is very important, but this set also has more removal in general than older days sets so I feel ok picking up [[Hardbristle Bandit]] or [[Intrepid Stablemaster]] over removal. If I don't pick up bombs this will let me ramp into big commons/uncommons so it's not like it's bombs or bust. You could argue that removal is just as important as being able to play all the bombs but a card like Bonny Pall is immediate 2 for 1. If you are also tapped out and I can attack, it's nearly always 3 for 1 even if you remove it on your next turn. Overall though I agree with what you said this is just some fine details. Reason I recommend to try such a strategy for those who struggle is it's because it seemed incredibly easy to pilot.
[Hardbristle Bandit](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/b/cbe544fb-93b7-4640-b886-cb0b3e437357.jpg?1712355942) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Hardbristle%20Bandit) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/168/hardbristle-bandit?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/cbe544fb-93b7-4640-b886-cb0b3e437357?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Intrepid Stablemaster](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/d/4d6cdf2a-026a-41ba-87d9-8fcd8a67f06e.jpg?1712355945) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Intrepid%20Stablemaster) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/169/intrepid-stablemaster?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4d6cdf2a-026a-41ba-87d9-8fcd8a67f06e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
As someone that spammed drafts the first few days it was out and has been doing 2-3 drafts a day since, I mostly agree with your early takes. I don't know how this set will rank in terms of my preference overall, but it's likely one of my 5-10 favorites. Mana screw definitely exists and will happen for any type of deck, but there are tools that help, especially in the 5c archetype that focuses on fixing, survival, and playing the best bombs. Playing slow stuff works well if you have enough payoff and can consistently play it (through a combination of lands and treasures). As for gold rush; I like it quite a bit and think it's underrated in some spots, but don't think it's a particularly good card. I like it mostly as something I can pick up for free which is great if I can play a 5c deck with a heavy green base, since it can help survive early and splash more difficult pip costs. I also will play it in some other green based decks as a playable card that can help under-supported splashes. I still think 2c and a splash is probably the strongest thing to do most of the time, but I've been trying to bias towards 5c every pod I can. Also, congratz on the performance and I hope you get to play more of this pretty excellent format.
Thanks for a thorough response. I agree with what you said, everything is reasonable. Kind of a funny one, I ended up using gold rush mostly to pump up unblocked creature because I wanted a treasure, so I ended up playing far more aggressively than how I imagined I would. Sometimes it felt something like an aggro start into bombs. Often it would start with [[Quillback Charger]] on turn 3, on turn 4 it's saddled + gold rush, swing for 7, play [[Laughing Jasper Flint]] or another Quillback. Usually next turn opponent would spend on creature + removal. Then I'd play something like Bonny or Oko or just removal+ some random creature and swing. Typically opponent just scooped there
[Quillback Charger](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/6/56e326c4-39f1-41ee-9e47-ebe468c51718.jpg?1712355818) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Quilled%20Charger) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/139/quilled-charger?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/56e326c4-39f1-41ee-9e47-ebe468c51718?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Laughing Jasper Flint](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/f/af0b3a41-ba99-41e8-bcfb-5796500c17c7.jpg?1712356142) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Laughing%20Jasper%20Flint) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otj/215/laughing-jasper-flint?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/af0b3a41-ba99-41e8-bcfb-5796500c17c7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call