Attack early, grow an Army, or outlast them
Make the opponent defend early, then turn a cleared blocker or an equipped attacker into another profitable attack.
Your available black and red cards already cover early creatures and interaction; choose the branch that your supporting cards actually enable.
Four checks while you draft
Does this selection add a creature you can actually cast early?
Prowler attacks without setup; Plate Mail can supply a menace attacker.
Which opposing blocker can this answer really remove?
Pinecone deals three damage; Blade makes the opponent choose a creature to sacrifice.
Will another amass spell only enlarge your existing Army?
Dori leaves a Treasure as well as a body; another creature keeps one removal spell from ending your pressure.
Can you use this card after the first trades?
Gathering can return a traded creature to hand while amassing; Blade can equip a surviving attacker.
Choose the missing job before another reward that needs it.
Your first turns contain spells but no creatures.
Prefer a castable body over another expensive threat.
Compare both cards together; one can repair your opening turns.
Your creatures repeatedly stop at one large blocker.
Consider suitable removal before another small attacker.
Pinecone cannot kill every large creature by itself.
The support is missing
Without Noisemaker or a late-game engine, build around castable creatures and removal. Do not draft missing pieces as though they are guaranteed.
Repeated useful cards are clues, not proof that the colors are open.
Pinecone targets a creature, not the opponent. Do not count it as the final three life.
Several weapons on an empty battlefield cannot attack. Another creature may be the most important second pick.
Two amass cards usually build one Army, not two creatures. If your pool lacks blockers beside that Army, spend one of the picks on a real body when the available cards justify it.
Crude Bent Blade64.4% GIH · 8,950 instances
Bothersome Noisemaker63.9% GIH · 4,775 instances
Desolation Prowler63.8% GIH · 3,852 instances
Burn, Burn, Tree and Fern63.6% GIH · 3,619 instances
Down, Down to Goblin-town62.5% GIH · 3,784 instances
Gollum, Silent Slinker62.3% GIH · 7,979 instances17Lands ↗ · Aug 11–29, 2026 · at least 100 card-in-hand instances in this pair’s no-splash decks. Choose the job your deck needs first.
Gollum, Riddle Master 1BPunishes odd- or even-cost spells without a tribal engine. One B is splashable with fixing, but an early Gollum needs reliable black.
Head of the Hunt 2BBExiles opposing creatures that would die and makes Wolves. BB rewards a black base; keep answers and early creatures.
Smaug the Magnificent 2RRFlying haste closes games; add Treasures for attack damage. RR makes red a main color, not a light splash.
The Arkenstone 52WColorless main spell boosts creatures and draws cards. Fits any mana base; only the optional Adventure needs white.17Lands Pick-Two ↗ · Aug 11–29, 2026 · 100-instance minimum
Gathering of DarknessReturns creature to hand and amasses Goblins three.
Gollum, Silent SlinkerA one-mana Adventure is a noncreature spell for Noisemaker; the same card later supplies a four-power menace attacker.
Examples apply the printed rules; judge the board, costs and timing.
| Pick-Two | One-pick | Sealed |
|---|---|---|
| Check whether the pair adds two jobs or only more size to one Army. An independent creature plus removal can improve the pressure deck more than two additional amass spells; Noisemaker changes that calculation only with support. | Keep useful creatures and interaction ahead of unsupported specialization. Choose pressure, amass or grind from the actual cards arriving instead of forcing all three into the same curve. | A strong black-red pool may win through ordinary creatures and removal without assembling a draft engine. Test independent bodies, sacrifice costs and later resources before relying on several amass cards to defend several attackers. |
Each cast triggers Noisemaker. Tidings also amasses on resolution; flashback triggers another cast, usually growing the same Army.
Sacrifice a small Army to Hunter for a card you may play. The Equipment remains; later amass can create a new Army.
A one-mana Adventure is a noncreature spell for Noisemaker; the same card later supplies a four-power menace attacker.
Casting the Saga triggers Noisemaker once. Its later chapters build an Army and drain life; those chapters do not count as casting spells.
Pinecone Strike
Dori, Bearer of Friends
Ravening Warg
