Bonjour!
There have been plenty of times during draft where I was close to being in a single color but ended up falling just a bit short. I recently lived the dream as the only white drafter in an 8-man pod at my LGS. I P1P1ed Ornitharch and didn’t look back. Here’s what I ended up with.
Mono White
| Creatures (15) 1 Hopeful Eidolon 1 Loyal Pegasus 1 Leonin Snarecaster 2 Oreskos Sun Guide 1 Phalanx Leader 1 Vanguard of Brimaz 1 Lagonna-Band Elder 2 Scholar of Athreos 1 Wingsteed Rider 2 Heliod’s Emissary 1 Celestial Archon 1 Ornitharch Spells (8) 1 Gods Willing 1 Mortal’s Ardor 1 Acolyte’s Reward 1 Chosen by Heliod 1 Ordeal of Heliod 1 Dauntless Onslaught 2 Divine Verdict | Lands (17) 13 Plains 4 Swamp |
I plan on giving you all an idea of how each card fared as a role player in this Mono White build by pretty much showing you the emotion I felt when I encountered each card. I will be using the following range of faces to help illustrate the point:
Off we go!
This little guy was a great role player in this deck. He triggered my heroic dudes, generated significant life swings, and even came down early against slower match ups to give Loyal Pegasus a much needed friend.
I was a big fan of this card when the set first came out but the more I play with it, the more I wish I hadn’t. It’s very fragile, requires set-up, and works much better in multiples. On average, I found that it just didn’t deal much damage during my matches.
I’m usually not that impressed by the Snarecaster, but paired with two Heliod’s Emissary’s, it helped close out many games. Also, an occasional Phalanx Leader buff was able to turn this little bugger into a threat of its own.
This card won the reward for the most removal/tricks baited. The threat of adding an additional two point life swing each turn continuously led to the Cat Monk’s early demise.
This deck is full of a bunch of weak dudes, therefore getting a few triggers off of this guy on a full board was essential. I typically spent the first few tuns of the game developing and would hold onto Phalanx leader until I was able to play him and trigger him on the same turn. This usually led to groans and an occasional look of despair on my opponents end.
I essentially treated this card as a 2/2 vigilance for two. Triggering heroic for an additional 1/1 didn’t change the clock much, plus I’d rather save the enabler to gain a more powerful effect off of Phalanx Leader or Wingsteed Rider. Although, this card does look dashing wearing a Chosen by Heliod.
Sure, it’s three power and fits my curve, but other than that, I was unimpressed.
I played four swamp just for this activation and it was 100% worth it. If I were to build this deck again, I may even go up to five. Being able to double activate the Scholar’s ability during the later turns of the game may be exactly what’s needed to finish off your opponent with style.
Yet another creature that ate removal spells like it was its job. I was always happy to have a Wingsteed Rider in my hand and I was even happier to have it on the battlefield. With plenty of ways to trigger it, this card became a must answer threat very quickly.
Heliod’s Emissary was a superstar in the deck. Having two made it very difficult for my opponents to block effectively and being able to cast it with bestow gave this card that added element of surprise. I always knew this card was good, but playing it in this build allowed me to develop a new found respect for it.
These weren’t just win conditions, they were win-more conditions. This deck did pretty well on its own but if I ever ran into a snag where my opponent began to stabilize, playing one of these must-answer flyers usually sealed the deal within a turn or two.
Having the ability to protect my important creatures was especially appreciated during the critical turns of my matches and God’s Willing is one of the best spells out there to assume that role. It was also an added bonus when it triggered heroic.
I was sure that this card deserved a slot in my deck, but a lot of the time I wish it was just a Battlewise Valor or another God’s Willing. The lifelink was always negligible since my creatures generally remained small, and for the same reason, the +1/+1 buff was just not enough in most cases. The only thing it was exceptional at was triggering Phalanx Leader with very little strain on my mana.
I was slightly disappointed that this card didn’t perform better than it did. Yes, it protected my important creatures and triggered heroic, but it was the second part of the card that I felt underperformed. I was expecting to two for one my opponents left and right with this guy, but at best it was an even trade.
This cards toughness buff was very appreciated. Cheap white creatures are notoriously weak, so having a way to beef them up a bit as well as get a card out of it, sweetened the deal.
Since the release of Theros, I went from loving ordeals, to hating them, to loving them once more. You just get some much value out of one card. Granted, Ordeal of Heliod isn’t the best of them, but three +1/+1 counters and 10 additional life is nothing to turn your nose up at.
Yes honey (times two).
I didn’t think this deck really had the time and resources to dedicate to removal. I was too busy attacking to even have time to worry about my opponents creatures. Yes, it came in handy from time to time, but this card was never a game changer. And having two of them was a mistake.
I finished the draft 3-0 with this pile of awesomeness. It felt great to live the dream of not worrying about color screw except for an occasional swamp getting in the way of casting Vanguard of Brimaz on curve. I was lucky to have opened Ornitharch in pack one and was able to ride the wave all the way to the shore, but I also had to make risky picks along the way hoping to get there. I recommend staying as open as possibly before deciding to choose a less impactful card over another just for the sake of building a mono colored deck. But if the signals are showing you that it’s open, for goodness sake hop on it before someone else does!
Feel free to share your views in the comments section below and as always, thanks for reading!
Monique Garraud is a Brooklyn native who started playing Magic in 2011. “Grinding It Out” is her weekly take on the trials, tribulations, and joys of being a competitive tournament player.