Playtest: Challenger Decks
Today marks the release of the Challenger Decks - one of the most hyped preconstructed deck product Wizards has ever released. We know the decks look powerful on paper, but how do they actually play? Let's figure it out!
The plan for today is simple: we're smashing some Challenger Decks into each other. Richard will be playing Hazoret Red and Counter Surge, while I'll be running Vehicle Rush and Second Sun Control. Apart from having some fun, we'll be trying to figure out just how competitive these decks actually are, along with which is the best right out of the box just in case you are planning on running one at an FNM without any upgrades. Then make sure to tune in starting Monday because next week we'll have a series upgrading the Challenger Decks, with both $20 upgrades and full no-budget tier lists!
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Decks
Summary
While we'll have a more in-depth discussion next week with the upgrade series, here's a super short breakdown of the decks. First, the decks are MSRP of $29.99 and they are mass market products. Support your local game store if you can, so you have a place to actually play Magic, but if you don't have a local game store (or if your local store is charging significantly more than MSRP) you should be able to find all of the decks for about $30 at stores like WalMart and Target. They released today, so if you're watching this video you should be able to buy the decks!
- Vehicle Rush is probably the most competitive deck out of the box. Nearly all of its best cards are four-ofs, the manabase is surprisingly good for a three color deck (thanks to a ton of dual lands) and it has the ability to win quick and go long. If I was going to play a Challenger Deck at an FNM right out of the box, this would be my choice, although it's worth mentioning that it's not the best deck to upgrade, since Mardu Vehicles isn't really near the top of the Standard format anymore.
- Second Sun Control would be my second choice for most competitive out of the box. If you're a control deck fan, start here. The deck is consistent thanks to a ton of card draw and cyclying, and while it struggles if the opponent has counterspells (since it doesn't have a main deck back up plan to Approach of the Second Sun) it's good enough that you could steal some wins at the FNM level. Also of note, Second Sun Control is the cheapest deck to upgrade to its fully optimal form.
- Counter Surge is powerful, but it's mana is pretty clunky. While it can certainly win games if things go well, you'll have some limited-esque games where you lose because you get color screwed.
- Hazoret Aggro is aggressive, which is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with the Standard format, but really suffers from the fact that it's three best cards - Hazoret the Fervent, Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Glorybringer - are just one-ofs, so you won't see them very often. While you can certainly steal some wins by being fast and having consistent mana, without the good top end threats Hazoret Aggro is apt to run out of gas if the game goes long, making it one dimensional. The good news is that it has the most valuable single cards (with Chandra, Tourch of Defiance and Hazoret the Fervent alone being nearly $40, which is great for a $30 MSRP product) and when fully upgraded Hazoret Aggro is likely the best of the bunch. If you can afford it, consider buying multiple copies and smashing them together to get additional copies of Hazoret and Chandra.
