Invasion: Emergency Draft Kit Sideboard Staff Invasion is an exciting new set that has even pro players working hard, trying to adapt to the new draft strategies and techniques. We at the Sideboard would like to help the average player by pointing out some of the stronger common draft picks. While more detailed strategy articles about Invasion Limited are on the way, this quick guide will help get you started. Black Agonizing Demise A top-notch removal spell and one of a few pseudo-gold spells that is great without its kicker cost (although paying Kicker can be game-altering when you remove a particularly large monster). Many players will grab this card no matter what colors they've been drafting, then make an effort to splash black just to be able to play it. There aren't many high quality removal spells in this format, so make sure to not to use Agonizing Demise carelessly. Hold on to it until there is a threat on the table you absolutely have to deal with. Fear will keep them in line Duskwalker Fear (may only be blocked by artifact or black creatures) is an important ability in almost every format. Against most decks, Duskwalker with a paid kicker cost is unblockable. Invasion has plenty of ways to force ground creatures into a stalemate, so those creatures that can break through are very important. The fact that Duskwalker may be cast without Kicker is not irrelevant. If you have an incredibly fast opening hand, you might actually consider it as your turn one play. On the other hand, you might drop it as an extra chump-blocker while your other evasion creatures are racing against larger ground monsters for the win. Soul Burn Although Soul Burn isn't quite as powerful a removal spell as Agonizing Demise, it can often take out an important creature - especially those pesky Apprentices that can tap your creatures. The ability to gain you several life points while removing a creature can also be important if you are struggling to make a comeback. Another thing that makes Soul Burn a very high pick is the fact that it is one of the very few ways in Invasion to deal direct damage. In a stalemated game, Soul Burn can allow you to burn an opponent out for the win. Red The Kavu (Ancient Kavu , Pouncing Kavu , Hooded Kavu ) Although a Hill Giant is only an average draft pick in most formats, Ancient Kavu plays a very important role in a red deck. Red's greatest problem are protection from red creatures such as Galina's Knight and especially Crimson Acolyte. Ancient Kavu allows the red deck to keep attacking while you are waiting to find an answer to the Acolyte. Pouncing Kavu is also very good despite a high casting cost (counting Kicker). Its Haste ability can often matter greatly in a game where the two players are in a close damage race. Pouncing Kavu can also be cast without Kicker, especially by decks that have multiple Maniacal Rages, in order to improve your mana curve. Hooded Kavu is a very high pick if you plan on using Swamps. It creates an evasion creature, something very uncommon in red. Of course, decks that do not use Swamps should not be picking Hooded Kavu too early. Scorching Lava / Tribal Flames These two spells are roughly equal in power. Scorching Lava is an instant speed trick and is able to take out one of the common regenerators in the format. Tribal Flames is a sorcery, but it will occasionally deal more than two points of damage for its two mana casting cost. Both are highly valued in draft since they can remove most annoying creatures in the format. Green Mana Acceleration / Production (Harrow , Nomadic Elf , Quirion Elves ) Green does not have a lot of true power cards in the set, but it has an excellent mana base. Most of the better draft decks feature two neighboring colors. Another very powerful strategy is 5-color green. Such a deck plays with as many of the abovementioned cards as possible as well as an occasional Quirion Trailblazer or Fertile Ground. This strategy is extremely powerful because it allows the player to grab powerful off-color cards at will. However, it is also somewhat difficult to construct a 5 color deck correctly. One must be constantly aware of what the proper mana ratios are and which cards are worth splashing for. A huge common threat Thornscape Apprentice There are a total of three creatures with an ability to tap another creature in the set - this one, Benalish Trapper and the blue Stormscape Apprentice. Since the set is light on removal, these 1/1 (1/2, in the case of the Trapper) creatures tend to stick around for a while. These are extremely high picks in both aggressive and defensive decks. You never know when your opponent might cast a Dragon Legend or another huge nasty, and an Apprentice is there to balance the playing field. Even when all the creatures on the table are relatively small, removing the most powerful attacker or blocker from combat each turn is extraordinary valuable. Serpentince Kavu This and other large creatures are the backbone of any deck that is heavily green. There aren't many large common creatures, so a few of these can often overwhelm an opponent, especially it they are backed up by removal spells to take care of Tappers and opponent's larger creatures. Larger creatures are generally less of a problem because green has other combat tricks like Explosive Growth or Aggressive Urge. White Benalish Lancer When kicker is paid, Benalish Lancer is one of the largest common creatures in the environment, and it has first strike to boot! This powerhouse creature belongs in every deck that can afford the double white mana cost (including kicker). Benalish Trapper The best of the three tappers. Its main virtue is not the extra point of toughness, but the fact that it does not require an off color for activation. You can safely pick Benalish Trapper as the very first card of the draft, without dedicating yourself to a pair of colors. Crimson Acolyte / Obsidian Acolyte Although these are not exactly very early picks in the draft, they play an integral role in any heavily white deck. Since all direct removal spells in Invasion are red or black, an Acolyte can not only help stand off a horde of creatures, but make highly drafted cards like Plague Spores and Agonizing Demise useless for a time. Shackles The only direct removal spell for white, it works very well with the common creatures that can tap opponents' monsters. It is also a card you can feel free to play early in order to stay the damage - you can always get it back and replay on a more dangerous creature later on. Blue Exclude / Repulse The top spells for blue, these cantrips are important for any deck. Being able to counter or bounce a creature and draw a card for it not only provides card advantage, it also helps with an all-important tempo advantage race. The best use for Repulse is to deal with an enchanted creature - cards like Armadillo Cloak, Maniacal Rage, Wings of Hope and even Traveler's Cloak see plenty of play. You can also save your creature from a removal spell or put damage on the stack and save your creature in combat. Exclude can deal with a major threat late in the game, but it is generally a good idea to stop almost any creature since it automatically provides two for one card economy. If you know of a creature an opponent has that you absolutely cannot deal with otherwise, hang on to Exclude until he tries to cast that particular monster. Faerie Squadron A common 3/3 flyer is another reason why blue is so popular in Invasion draft. Unlike Duskwalker, Faerie Squadron is virtually never worth casting without its kicker cost. Just treat it as a 3/3 flier for five and plan your mana curve to support it. Probe One of the most underestimated common cards in the set, Probe can be absolutely devastating when its kicker cost is paid. While you cycle through your library discarding excess lands or searching out your first picks, an opponent is forced to lose two cards - by turn five or six, most of the cards left in their hand are likely to be pretty good. Probe can also be useful in getting out of a poor mana draw or trying to find a way to deal with a major threat more quickly, even if you do not have mana or time to pay Kicker. Stormscape Apprentice See Thornscape Apprentice. Gold Armadillo Cloak In any other format, this card would qualify as broken. Akin to Urza's Block Embraces, it makes a huge trampling creature and enchants it with Spirit Link to boot. There have been games where a Cloaked flier faced half a dozen quality creatures and win the game by buying its controller enough time to draw into some blockers. There are plenty of common ways to deal with the enchanted creature - Recoil, Repulse, Agonizing Demise to name a few. Limit your opponent's options by enchanting a black or pro: black creature. Your best possible target is Glimmering Angel - an opponent might be able to destroy or bounce the Cloak, but not gain two-for-one card economy and kill the creature itself. Plague Spores In a format where many players will use three or more colors, this card is huge. Destroying a creature is almost worth the very expensive mana cost on its own, but being able to take out a land your opponent is shy on is even more important. Blowing up whatever land type your opponent has the least might work fine, but consider other things such as creatures that use up colored mana. For example, you might want to destroy a Plains if your opponent has Obsidian Acolytes in the deck. Recoil Only slightly weaker than Repulse, Recoil forces an opponent to discard a card rather than allowing you to draw one. The best possible situation you can be in when holding the card is when an opponent has no cards in hand. That way your opponent will be forced to discard whatever permanent you are bouncing, thus giving you the ability to deal with it permanently. In either case, Recoil can be cast at any point without loss of card advantage, just to slow an opponent down. This card combines well with other blue and black spells like Ravenous Rats.