Shards of Alara Sealed Pool PTQ-Springfield

I went 3-4 PTQ-Springfield 11/15/08 playing Naya Aggro. Here is the list I played...

Naya Aggro

1 Obelisk of Naya

1 Ajani Vengeant

1 Wild Nacatl
1 Cylian Elf
1 Court Archers
1 Algae Gharial

1 Exuberant Firestoker
1 Incurable Ogre

1 Akrasan Squire
1 Knight of the Skyward Eye
1 Bant Battlemage I should have put in Gustrider Exuberant or Sanctum Gargoyle
1 Guardians of Akrasa
1 Yoked Plowbeast

1 Steward of Valeron
1 Woolly Thoctar
1 Rakeclaw Gargantuan

1 Resounding Roar

1 Dragon Fodder
1 Resounding Thunder
1 Soul’s Fire
1 Skeletonize

1 Oblivion Ring
1 Resounding Silence

1 Naya Charm

Mana Base:
1 Bant Panorama
5 Forest
4 Mountain
1 Naya Panorama
5 Plains
1 Seaside Citadel

Red=Hot, Blue=Cold

Here is the card pool...

Planeswalker
1 Ajani Vengeant

Artifacts
1 Obelisk of Esper
1 Obelisk of Naya

Black
Creatures
1 Demon's Herald
1 Dregscape Zombie
1 Glaze Fiend
1 Grixis Battlemage
1 Skeletal Kathari
1 Tar Fiend
1 Undead Leotau
1 Vein Drinker
1 Viscera Dragger
Spells
1 Banewasp Affliction
1 Immortal Coil
1 Onyx Goblet
1 Resounding Scream
Blue
Creatures
2 Cloudheath Drake
2 Dawnray Archer
2 Esper Battlemage
1 Jhessian Lookout
1 Steelclad Serpent
1 Vectis Silencers
Spells
1 Coma Veil
1 Couriers Capsule
1 Resounding Wave
1 Spell Snip
Green
Creatures
1 Algae Gharial
1 Court Archers
1 Cylian Elf
1 Sacellum Godspeaker
1 Wild Nacatl
Spells
1 Resound ing Roar
1 Savage Hunger
2 Soul's Might
Red
Creatures
1 Exuberant Firestoker
2 Goblin Mountaineer
1 Incurable Ogre
1 Ridge Rannet
Spells
1 Dragon Fodder
1 Resounding Thunder
1 Skeletonize
1 Soul's Fire
1 Vicious Shadows
White
Creatures
1 Akrasan Squire
1 Bant Battlemage
1 Guardian of Akrasa
1 Gustrider of Exuberant
1 Knight of the Skyward Eye
1 Sanctum Gargoyle
1 Yoked Plowbeast
Spells
1 Marble Chalice
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Resounding Silence
Mulitcolor
Creatures
1 Carrion Thrash
1 Deft Duelist
1 Goblin Deathraider
1 Rakeclaw Gargantuan
1 Sprouting Thrinax
1 Steward of Valeron
1 Waveskimmer Aven
1 Windwright Mage
1 Woolly Thoctar
Spells
1 Naya Charm
1 Sangrite Surge
Land
1 Bant Panorama
1 Naya Panorama
1 Seaside Citadel

Could I have gone with Esper? Grixis? If not, what creature(s)/spell(s) should I have included/excluded? Go ahead and give me some sharp criticism because I want to do way better in OKC next weekend.

I would want to play the red cycling creature and splash black for Thrinax, Carrion Thrash, and the Skeletonize. I would have also played the Esper Obelisk rather than the Naya to help with the outside colors (black, white).

Ben cycled a Rannet early game the other night then got it back when I was forced to kill Carrion Thrash late game. Thrash seems better when you have two of the big cyclers.

Thanks for posting your list, I need the mental exercise if I am going to OKC Saturday.

You should just be Naya. Basically all your removal is in Naya, as well as Ajani and Naya Charm, which are both bombs. I too would have played Ridge Rannet instead of Bant Battlemage. Savage Hunger is a card you can board in if worst comes to worst. Gustrider Exuberant is bad. I was also not impressed with Sacellum Godspeaker, though he can be insane if you draw your 5-power guys.

I wouldn't splash black, since there's no removal there and you just have a bad (2-color) Obelisk to help you. I think it's just asking to be manascrewed repeatedly.

Thanks for the input guys! I agree with Ridge Rannet instead of Bant Battlemage, she was terrible. I thought about Sacellum Godspeaker, but I felt like there were not enough 5 power guys to warrant it. Overall, my cardpool was rather weak especially the lack of mana fixing and bombs. I actually think I did fairly well although I had to mulligan to try and get a good card or two in my hand. Better luck next time I guess.

This was my pool

White
1 Angelsong
1 Ethersworn Cannonist
1 Welkin Guide
1 Akrasan Squire
1 Guardians of Akrasa
1 Yoked Plowbeast
1 Sanctum Gargoyle

Blue
1 Master of Etherium [foil woot]
2 Coma Veil
1 Gather Specimens
1 Catharic Adept
1 Jhessain Lookout
2 Sphinx's Herald
2 Courier's Capsule
1 Call to Heel
1 Cloudheath Drake
1 Outrider of Jhess

Black
1 Bone Splinters
2 Scavenger Drake
1 Skeletal Kathari
1 Undead Leotau
1 Blister Beetle

Red
1 Dragon Fodder
2 Exuberant Firestoker
1 Soul's Fire
1 Resounding Thunder
1 Ridge Rannet
1 Skeletonize
1 Lightning Talons
3 Incurable Ogre

Green
1 Behemoth's Herald
1 Cylian Elf
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Rhox Charger
1 Rssounding Roar
3 Wild Nacatl
1 Mosstodon
1 Cavern Thoctar
2 Topan Ascetic
1 Algae Gharial

G/W/U Golds
2 Rhox Warmonk
1 Waveskimmer Aven

U/B/R Golds
1 Kederekt Creeper
1 Goblin Deathraiders

B/R/G Golds
1 Blightning
1 Branching Bolt
1 Violent Ultimatum

Mana Fixers
1 Obelisk of naya

1 Seaside Citadel
1 Bant Panorama
1 Obelisk of Bant

2 Grixis Panorama
1 Obelisk of Grixis

1 Esper Panorama

Here's the deck list I ran with

1 Bant Panorama
1 Grixis Panorama
1 Seaside Citadel
4 Island
5 Forest
3 Plains
1 Mountain [For the Nacatl/Grixis Pan's]

2 Rhox War Monk
1 Waveskimmer Aven
1 Welkin Guide
1 Akrasan Squire
1 Guardians of Akrasa
1 Yoked Plowbeast
1 Sanctum Gargoyle
1 Cloudheath Drake
1 Outrider of Jhess
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Rhox Charger
3 Wild Nacatl
1 Mosstodon
1 Cavern Thoctar
2 Topan Ascetic
____
19 Creatures

1 Obelisk of Naya
1 Obelisk of Bant
2 Courier's Capsul
1 Call to Heel
____
5 Other Spells

I also went 3-4. This was the deck I played, but when we got home Ben took a look at my pool and showed me something better. I didn't realize how important removal is to sealed. And I thought my build was gunna rock it because it is so fast. But the only thing it could do was build up really fast in turns 1-6 and get them doung to about 10 almost every game, then they would catch up on board presence, we'd stalemate out, until they could drop their bombs. My only kill condition was to Exalt up my fliers to get in ftw.

I've deduced what I've learned though.
1. Even if you do drop 3 Nacatl's and 2 Pancake Flippers.... that doesn't necessarily mean you should go Bant
2 Someone there is going to open a ridiculously sick pool of cards and they will get into top 8 without much work. I learned you should be that person. And if you can't... there's still 7 spots left.
3. Either sleep the night before... or don't miss your 2pm appointment with a caffeine pill. Luckily by that time my record didn't care if I was half asleep or not.

Your pool was at least twice as good as mine! You definitely should have stuck in removal, though you didn't have much. Violent Ultimatum?! Nice!

Yeah even though my deck was registered completely Bant, on the last match, after the initial game, I took out like 1/4 of the deck and put mana in just to play Violent Ultimatum. Mainly because it didn't matter, and I got a chuckle out of it. I won with it too. xD

Jesse, is there an online tool to do this quickly, or did you have to type that out?

I had to do it the old fashioned way.