Theros Primer #5: Red

Hi, i'm Beusapu and i'm gonna talk you about drafting the best color ever: RED.

Actually, i don't think it is the best color for Theros draft, which is tied between blue and green, but it has the bees removal and some good creatures.

The red emissary is a very good card. As a creature, he's a great target for auras.

As a bestow, he'll make one of the biggest threats in the table, and it requires too blockers every turn, which is a very high cost if the opponent doesn't want to take a bunch of damage.

The cost is a bit high (7 mana), but we're being able to give evasion to an already big creature (and with all the monstrosities, we should have some).

The ordeal is also very good. While we don't have a lot of heroic creatures, but this card offers a Lightnig Bolt stapled to a Giant Growth. It also works well with monstrosity.

But what makes red a really good choice is the removal. This set doesn't have a lot of removal, and most of it is slow and expensive. We have Lightning Strike and Magma Jet, two cheap and effective options. And we also have Rage of Purphoros, to deal with bigger creatures.

We also have really good commons. Ill-Tempered Cyclops has solid stats on its own (a 3/3 trampler for 4), but the monstrosity gives it the possibility to impact the board at any time of the game.

Portent of Betrayal is also a good common. This format is full of huge creatures such as monstrosities, and being able to steal them is much better than usual.

One of the things i like from red in this format is that red is a very splashable color. It works really well paired with blue or green, as it gives you something those colors lack: good removal.

 And finally, for those who want to go to the prerelease, our promo:

- Beusapu

Theros Primer #2: White

With the prerelease just next week and with all the 249 cards of Theros now revealed, I'll be discussing the colors one by one, and sharing my views on their playability and chase commons those colors entail.

 At the very beginning of the color pie, we have white, which has some relevant creatures at uncommon and rare, and the prerelease promo is just brilliant. A very versatile card, and it's bestow could be a blowout if the games go long as they look to be. Theros limited looks like a drawn-out and long limited, possibly lasting 14+ turns.

 White also has possibly the very best Ordeal, Ordeal of Heliod.

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 This card, once it reaches three +1/+1 counters, gives you a massive tempo swing, unmatched by any of the other Ordeals. Not only does it leave you with a creature with a permanent Giant Growth on it, it lets you outlast your opponent quite efficiently.

Another card that catches my eye in white is Heliod's Emissary, a Canyon Minotaur with an amazing upside.

 Not only is he an efficiently costed 3/3, he also has one of the most combat-positive abilities of the uncommon Emissary cycle, making your opponents unable to leave up good blockers.

 The problem with white in this format, is it's rather weak low end commons. It faces a similar dilemma to white in M14, with it's rares and uncommons quite brilliant, but with it's low end with much to be desired. This seems to be far more pronounced in Theros, with low-end creatures being outshone in every other color. The only commons I can see that might make any difference are the common heroic enablers, namely  Battlewise Valor and Gods Willing, as well as the most potent removal in the set, Divine Verdict. Setessan Griffin could prove to be worthwhile in WG decks, but not otherwise. Aside from these cards, white is quite weak. Since it's low end leaves much to be desired, steering clear of white as a central color is suggested, however it's still to be seen how it does in prerelease and in drafts to come. 

 Keep in mind that this is just an initial impression, and that I could be wrong. As always, have fun drafting!

Cheers, 

Brick