"Dragons of Tarkir PR: Heeding Silumgar's Ruthless Command"

"Dragons of Tarkir PR: Heeding Silumgar's Ruthless Command"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

So it was another Midnight PR and being the night owl that I was I felt like I was in my element again. There was an overwhelming excitement on my part that I had to go and join the 27 other players already in Gmasters in Caloocan from the company clinic that I worked for in SM North Edsa. I would not regret the decision even though I did arrive a few minutes just after midnight and the rush to build a deck. 

After playing Sultai for the 2 other Pre-Release events there was no doubt in my mind which Dragonlord would gain my allegiance and that was Dragonlord Silumgar , He with the Tasigur Bling and the clan full of creatures that exploit other creatures. I wanted to have that level of ruthlessness. That and the cool Muddy Black/Brown Semi-See Through Dice that comes with the Silumgar PR kit.

The night was great as I played very skillful opponents who never knew when to quit. I went on a 3-0 winning streak until I hit a wall in the 4th round against Van Mamokhan who was piloting a much meaner deck than the one that I had. 

Some of the highlights of the night included the deadly combination of Dragonloft Idol and Deadly Wanderings. Opponents who have no answer for a couple of turns against a 5/3 Deathtouch and Lifelink creature usually succumbed rather easily. Sadly I was not able to use any dragons with Deadly Wanderings but the added boost to most of the weenie creatures on the deck were enough for the win.

In the third round I found myself battling a war of attrition where I could not deal any lethal damage and while most of my creatures were coming out one by one they were easily dealt with or mass blocked to the grave. It was an exhausting battle but eventually one of us would not have enough creatures to fight. Fortunately I was able to draw this.

My opponent could only stare on at disbelief as all the creatures he had previously dealt with would now be coming out one by one on the battlefield. A fresh wave of old faces that could neither be dealt with or matched because of the lack of resources. "Lord Silumgar is pleased" is all I could hear. I was able to appreciate this wonderful reprint from Dark Ascension.

The Exploit creatures did not disappoint either. As well as those creatures willing to be exploited by their own clan members.Shambling Goblin, Sultai Emissary and Palace Familiar gleefully dies to help the cause. (target creature -1/-1 , Manifest a card and draw a card respectively). While the exploit cards Qarsi Sadist , Silumgar Sorcerer ,Gurmag Drowner and Sidisi's Faithful were all too happy to exploit them. Sidisi's Faithful is a particular favorite because it is Unsummon on a stick. If you were not able to exploit any creatures it puts an early stop to Dash Shenanigans because of its 0/4 butt. 

Speaking of Dragonlord Silumgar , he was the powerhouse of this deck along with Silumgar's Command.For once I was able to support cards that supported my Seeded packs contents. Opponents became really wary of the 6th land drop because they would expect the Dragonlord to grab something on their side of the board if they their creatures did not have Hexproof. Dragonlord Silumgar was able to win the game for me a total of 4 times because almost all the time I would be able to control something big and attack with it. 

Silumgar's Command proved to be a strong card as well as it delayed or outright eliminated creatures on the battlefield. Most of the time players were able to breathe a sigh of relief when they were able to put 2 massive blockers on the board until they get a key removal card. Silumgar's command takes care of the hope and repays it with Ruthlessness. 

Midnight Pre Release events are always great no matter what the outcome , Heeding the voice of Silumgar and spreading of Ruthlessness turned out to be more fun than I could ever imagine. Now on to Standard Pauper and maybe a Monoblack Standard deck. Brewing time.

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Thanks to my opponents Joshua . Ren and Paolo(tama ba?)...Kay Van Mamokhan di na ako magpapasalamat kasi nagulpi talaga ako....Di man lang nakapalag hahaha.

Gmasters Thank you for always providing a comfortable and safe venue for the players in the CaMaNaVa area and beyond. More power Boss Alvin and Boss Archie!