Top 5 bombs for Rivals of Ixalan Sealed
Bomb’s away!
The pre-release for Rivals of Ixalan is round the corner (or here if you are playing online), and promises a big shake-up to Ixalan’s underwhelming Sealed format. This is also the last chance for WotC to make good on two-set Sealed, as from this year’s Spring set (Dominaria), Magic’s quarterly expansions will all be large sets, designed for 6-pack sealed alone.
So what contenders has Rivals brought to the fray? I’ve been sifting through the trash to find the treasure, and now I humbly present my top 5 cards for RIX sealed:
Tetzimoc is my pick for the most powerful of the Elder Dinosaurs. Whilst the deathtouch won’t be relevant in most cases (making him a Colossal Dreadmaw in disguise), this card will regularly end the game the turn it comes down. Playing slightly off-curve to mark up your opponent’s creatures with prey counters across turns 4 and 5 is a pretty low cost overall, and now forces them to get aggressive for fear of losing their creatures. To top it off, Tetzimoc is a powerhouse when drawn in the late game; with seven or more mana you can fire off the ability and drop him in the same turn, giving you a powerful mana sink. The investment is steep, but the return is Plague Wind on a 6/6.
Rekindling Phoenix is the gift that keeps on giving. Already a great rate on the front face, a 4 power flyer for 4 would be the best card in your deck a high percentage of the time. The infinite recursion this card offers takes it over the top – it offers an attack for 4 every turn after the first thanks to the haste or otherwise infinite blocking against even the mightiest dinosaur. To top it off, Rivals has only three clean answers in the set (Waterknot, Profane Procession, Bishop of Binding), with a further four in Ixalan, with only one of these seven being a common. All in all, it’s a complete package that will make racing in either direction a nightmare for your opponent.
Tendershoot Dryad is Humpty Dumpty, all the King’s horses and all the King’s men in one neat little package. This army in a can calls back to Verdant Force from Tempest, creating an extra body on each player’s turn. On its own it will very quickly enable Ascend and generate 6 extra power every turn cycle, whilst also powering up all of you other Ascend effects. It’s a little frail on its own, but even surviving your turn to die to a sorcery removal spell will leave you with a 1/1 Saproling as profit. It may take a little finesse to bait out your opponent’s removal or otherwise protect the powerful Dryad, but the reward is an avalanche of card advantage that will bury your opponent in a couple of turns.
Azor, the Lawbringer is the complete package as far as Sealed win conditions go. Huge body, evasion, resistance to removal, massive card advantage and life gain to stabilise. The first time you get to attack with Azor the game will end on the spot – six damage in the air alongside a minimum of 3 life and 3 cards is an enormous swing which is near impossible to race both in terms of damage and advantage, putting you firmly in the driver’s seat even if he’s killed the following turn. I’d push my mana base to the limit to fit him in as a splash; they really don’t come much better than this.
1 – The Immortal Sun
No introduction necessary.
The best card in every deck, The Immortal Sun is everything you’re looking for. It provides immediate board impact by pumping your team, making things difficult for your opponent to close the game quickly. If they’re not able to to so, an extra card per turn alongside the cost reduction allowing you to drop your cards as quickly as you draw them will run your opponent out of the gym in a hurry. The text disabling planeswalkers is just an added bonus that may close off your opponent’s outs in a close game. Why this really shines over the powerhouse beaters is that it goes in every sealed deck thanks to its colourless cost, making your deckbuilding a whole lot easier.
Good luck at the prerelease!
