Inside The Deck: What is up with these factions?

We head over to our favorite local store, Yottaquest, to check out the Mirrodin Besieged Prerelease.  To our suprise WOTC had something special up their sleeves for this event.  Come check out what the participants had to say...


 

  At the Prerelease players had to choose a faction, Mirran or Phyrexian.  And they would get 3 packs of Scars of Mirrodin plus 3 packs of the faction they chose.  Each pack only contained cards that went with the faction's theme.  Mirran contained cards that were based off Mirrodin.  Phyrexian cards were based off Phyrexia.  I was surprised that the factions were chosen evenly out of the 72 participants.

This new addition to the Prerelease Tournament was only for the event but it provided with some neat deck archetypes.

There were Black/Green Phyrexian decks and Blue/White or Red/White Mirran decks.  Overall, the winners were all Phyrexian but Mirran had some good decks too.  It seemed that most experienced players chose Phyrexian because of its abundance of creatures with Infest, which is a powerful strategy in Limited.

I asked some players about this new addition to the event and most liked it.  Some disapproved because they liked how Sealed and Draft Tournaments were already set up.  Either way, it proved to be a topic of discussion at the Prerelease.

Card Preview

Mirrodin Besieged aka "Mercadian Masques Part III" (part II was Saviors of Kamigawa) had a huge hit at my small local game store.  72 people showed up (that was max capacity) and so there were 72 mixed feelings.

"The set is good but it won't compete with Worldwake," was the general opinion.  Although I haven't played Magic in a few years, I personally like the set because there are some good cards in it.  So here is a short explanation on each card that seemed to be the favorites.

Black needed some mass removal and I think they got it with Black Sun's Zenith.  This is an improved Infest that will see play in both Standard and Extended.  I don't think it will be a contender in Legacy or Vintage mainly because there are better alternatives.  Either way, it is a good massive removal spell.

I am no pro-player but many have said Go For The Throat is a great instant removal spell.  One player mentioned it is better than Doom Blade which I agree.  I also heard that Terminate is a better card but I can debate that.  Because for the same cost as Terror, it'll be easier on casting cost making it versatile with decks that run Black.  Plus in larger formats as Extended and Legacy, Go For The Throat will be great for a sideboard option especially when artifact creatures are uncommon.
 

Sword of Feast and Famine is really cool just like all the other swords.  Its abilities can be problematic for your opponent if you have a lot of land out in play.  I can see it being used as a sideboard option in Extended.  But like many already have said, "It is no Sword of Fire and Ice."  I do agree with that statement but this is one cool equipment.

The most favorable card of the set is Inkmoth Nexus.  Everybody I asked mentioned it.  And I will concur.  I think it is the best card in the set especially in the long run.  This card is very good for any type of deck but I see it being mostly used in control decks.  Plus this card is versatile in many formats.  Expect to see it in high demand as the set is being released.

Other than the mentioning of potential cards some mentioned a rise in Knights.  With Hero of Bladehold and white becoming stronger, Knights or White Weenie can grow back to competitive play.  But with Jace, the Mind Sculptor in the game I think it'll be casual or even underdog.  Another rising deck could involve around Tezzeret, Heir of Yaghmoth.  Many players mentioned this card and a possible deck but they didn't get far into the details.

This set seems like a downer but I think there will be some good cards playable in Standard and Extended.  Don't expect it to be worse than Saviors of Kamigawa or even Mercadian Masques.  But it definitely isn't one of the better ones.