Welcome all to the Daily Dose of Ravnica Allegiance and the last day of prerelease week.
So far this week, I've talked about the best commons and uncommons, and shared a guide to help you with combat tricks and removal cards. Yesterday you saw a test deck build from a Prerelease kit to make you a little bit more comfortable while building your own this weekend. And now, on the last day before Prerelease, I want to go over the play styles of the five guilds you can choose from.
Each guild and colour combination has its own way to build and play the deck. I find that these colour combinations play out much differently than in Guilds of Ravnica, so it should be a fun Prerelease! Please note that this doesn’t mean you are locked in to these colour combinations, but because of the seeded pack you will receive (15 card based on the guild you choose), your card pool will often lead you towards one of the five guilds.
Gruul (Green / Red)
How it plays: Gruul can be a very aggressive deck but can also play the late game with large creatures. It lacks many flying creatures so must rely on removal to deal with them unless you can get some key creatures with reach. Riot creatures will lead you to the tough decision of quick damage now vs. more damage and battlefield stability later.
Some of the key cards:
Why choose Gruul? Do you want to play lots of large creatures and keep attacking with the biggest battlefield? Do you like haste and trample? If so, Gruul is the guild for you.
Simic (Green / Blue)
How it plays: Simic often wants to play for the late game by playing cheap creatures early, then using spells and its Adapt ability to transform them into the largest creatures on the field. You'll likely need more mana than you'd think thanks to the mana cost of activating the Adapt ability.
Some of the key cards:
Why choose Simic? If you want a challenge in how to best use your mana, then Simic is for you. It's probably the hardest of the guilds to play, but could be the best if played correctly.
Orzhov (Black / White)
How it plays: Orzhov is the go wide strategy for this set. Their strategy involves making good trades during combat and being left with multiple 1/1 Spirit tokens that can take over the game. You’ll never have the biggest creatures, but you will often have the best spells to use.
Some of the key cards:
Why choose Orzhov? If you like value out of your cards then Orzhov is the way to go. You'll always have something on the battlefield that can attack your opponent.
Rakdos (Black / Red)
How it plays: Rakdos wants to deal damage and deal it quickly. This is the most aggressive guild in the format. It finds ways to deal extra damage through creatures or with its spells so you can drop your opponent to 0 life in the best way possible.
Some of the key cards:
Why choose Rakdos? If you want to have some extra time between rounds to grab some food or talk to your friends at Prerelease, choose Rakdos.
Azorius (White / Blue)
How it plays: Azorius is all about control and tempo. Its spells and creatures tap down your creatures and allow their own to get through and deal damage. Azorius will have the most flying creatures and provide the spells with the most card advantage.
Some of the key cards:
Why choose Azorius? If you like to have big creatures in the air while controlling the game with counterspells, then this is guild for you.
Now you have a guide to help you play your Prerelease this weekend depending on which guild you choose. Is there any information I missed to help you prepare for Prerelease? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks again for reading the Daily Dose of Ravnica Allegiance. Join me next week as I get into some Standard Deck Techs for each of the five guilds.
