Farewell to Welcome to Rathe Draft Tips

By: Anthony Junta

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With the Farewell to Welcome to Rathe events on the horizon, I wanted to write something on WTR Limited, but not a full set review. So here is a rundown of my Top Commons for Pack-1 Pick-1 and each of the four classes. 

Top 5 (or 7) Pack-1 Pick-1 Commons

1. Sink Below (Red) - Sink Below is my #1 Common for the set. I'd pick it over many of the class specific options below. I also think it's the best Pack-1 Pick-1 Common. With Warrior having so many reactions, Razor Reflex and Pummel at Common, and a number of Common sources of Dominate (including Bravo's hero ability), having access to a defense reaction is huge. The hand filtering is also great in Limited where your card quality can be more irregular. 
2. Heartened Cross Strap - This would be my top Common equipment pick for Pack-1 Pick-1. Every class can use this to help pay for an attack either to go wide or maintain pressure on a turn after you've heavily blocked. It can often enable some of your decks' best turns and is never bad. 
3. Scar for a Scar (Red) - Scar for a Scar is an excellent attack that is playable and good in any deck in the format. It has a good rate, and it's not too difficult in Limited to manipulate the life totals to give this 'go again'. This will always make your deck and that makes it a great first pick.

I'm not going to mention any of these top 3 for the specific classes because they are excellent across the board and I can only rave about Sink Below so much.

1. Snapdragon Scalers - Snapdragon Scalers is another very powerful and flexible equipment piece. Though it might slant more towards low-cost Warrior and Ninja decks, Brute can pair it with 1-cost attacks and even Guardian can make use of it with some Generics. It poses a potent threat of activation and shines in Ninja to threaten combo lines without a starter.
2. Razor Reflex (Red) - Razor Reflex is one of the best finishers in the set. Applied to a Kodahi, Dawnblade, or cheap attack it can go over the top of your opponent's blocks to finish the game. Only costing one makes it more difficult to play around than Pummel.
3. (Honorable Mention) Goliath Gauntlet - Goliath Gauntlet is great in Brute or Guardian, but you can probably get good value from it in any class as long as you pick up a couple more expensive attacks. It's great to strip an extra card in the late game or ought a Dominate attack over the top.
4. (Honorable Mention) Regurgitating Slog (Red) - Regurgitating Slog is my preferred Generic Dominate attack. As long as you're running at least one Sloggism, this is a great way to close out the game on a two-card hand. Especially if you can pair it with Goliath Gauntlet.

Brute Top 5 Commons

1. Wrecker Romp (Blue) - This is the only blue pitch card with 6-power in the set, which makes it a premium pick. Whether you have to pitch, block, discard, or play this, it will always perform.
    
   
2. Awakening Bellow (Red) - Pitch stacking Awakening Bellows is one of your best win conditions as Brute. +3 Power and taking a defensive card from hand makes this a good deal and blocking for 3 gives this good flexibility.
3. Awakening Bellow (Yellow) - Slightly less power that the Red counterpart but the ability to pitch this to pay for a club swing also makes the yellow version a top pick.
4. Pack Hunt (Red) - Brute can be vulnerable to fatigue in Limited since many of your attacks require a discard. To combat that, I try to prioritize the ones that don't. Pack Hunt only costing two gives you good options to pair it with Awakening Below for a 7+ power double Intimidate turn. The fact that it has 6-power to trigger Rhinar and your club is a nice bonus.
5. Smash Instinct (Red) - I like Smash Instinct for all the same reasons I like Pack Hunt. It's slightly less flexible to combine with Awakening Bellow, but carries more of a punch on its own. 7-power demands a 3-card block to avoid taking damage in most instances so this is a good threat on a two-card hand.

Guardian Top 5 Commons

1. Unmovable (Blue) - 3-cost Blues are priority picks for Guardian to enable Anothos for 6. While many of the Guardian cards fit the bill, Unmovable offers defensive utility beyond those options, and with defense reactions and Dominate prevalent in the set, this is a priority pick in Guardian. It does have some diminishing returns: 1-3 copies is enough. 
2. Pummel (Red) - Running the densest resource curve of any of the WTR heroes, Pummel excels in Guardian. It can force through your crush effects and cause a discard from your opponent. It's often a bit telegraphed since 2 floating resources usually could also have been used to give the attack Dominate. Still, it's a good finisher for this deck. 
3. Debilitate/Cartilage Crush/Crush Confidence/Buckling Blow (Blue) - The blue versions of these are all basically interchangeable and you will want a bunch of them in Bravo. These all turn on Anothos for 6 and block for 3, which is really everything you want. 
   
   
   
4. Debilitate (Red) - While 3-cost Blues are important for Guardian decks, you will want some threats to help close out the game and Debilitate is my preferred one. You can still Dominate off a three-card hand with two blues and when you do your opponent's counterattack will be weaker for it.
5. Goliath Gauntlet - Goliath Gauntlet is my favorite equipment for Guardian. Adding 2 power to a Dominated attack really extends the range from which Bravo can close games suddenly. It can hit most attacks you'd want to play in the deck, and is a great finisher.

Ninja Top 5 Commons

1. Snapdragon Scalers - I've said enough about Snapdragons above, but the ability to turn a Combo card without 'go again' into your Combo finisher with these is great. I want a copy in any Katsu deck and as a powerful Generic you'll have to take it highly.
2. Rising Knee Thrust (Blue) - Blue 0-cost cards that can give your Kodachis 'go again' are very important for Katsu decks. Rising Knee Thrust also blocks for 3 and has Combo to go with any Flik Flaks. I like it slightly more than our next card just because I slightly prefer the Leg Tap combo line.
3. Whelming Gustwave (Blue) - Blue Whelming Gustwave is good for all the same reasons as Rising Knee Thrust. It also threatens a card draw on the back of Surging Strike but in Limited, this combo line is harder to pull off with the higher rarity finishers and more intensive resource cost.  
4. Razor Reflex (Red) - Similar to Snapdragons, Razor Reflex can be a key enabler for your Combo lines. It doubles as a great finisher as opponent's can't really play around Razor on two Kodachi swings on low life.
   
   
   
5. Leg Tap (Red) - Leg Tap is my favorite combo line for Limited. Kodachi, Kodachi, Leg Tap, Rising Knee Thrust threatens 11+ damage on a 3-card hand that is a nightmare to block. Costing 1 and coming in at 4 power makes this the best Common followup to a pair of Kodachi swings.  
6. (Honorable Mention) Breaking Scales - Since two of the Generics I already mentioned made the Ninja list, it feels wrong not to mention Breaking Scales here. The threat of activation on any Combo card late game is potent, and can regularly force over-blocks.

Warrior Top 5 Commons

1. Refraction Bolters - Refraction Bolters are a key piece for Limited Dorinthea decks. It's a reliable source of 'go again' for your Dawnblade which also comes with a big threat of activation and a point of armor for good measure. Being able to turn an unblocked naked Dawnblade into a threatened counter is a game changer. 
   
   
   
2. Driving Blade (Red) - Getting 'go again' on your Dawnblade isn't easy in Limited, but Driving Blade fits the bill. As the only Warrior action card to do so at Common, you'll need a couple of these to threaten counters for your Blade. The unconditional 'go again' also sets you up for a follow up attack if your opponent does block the Dawnblade.
3. Flock of the Featherwalkers (Red) - Flock is another solid way to enable multiple Dawnblade swings at Common. Most of your pumps and reactions cost less than 1, so playing this in Dori shouldn't be a problem. It's good to set up your next turn with a Quicken token and card in Arsenal, while threatening a fair chunk of damage. 
4. Razor Reflex (Red) - Warrior has access to a few great attack reactions at Common, but Razor Reflex is still the most flexible. It can give +3 to Dawnblade without relying on your opponent's blocks and can also hit the cheap Generic attack actions that fit well in Limited Warrior decks. It's still reasonably efficient at just 1 resource and is difficult to play around. 
5. Stroke of Foresight (Red) - This was close between Stroke of Foresight and Ironsong Response. While Ironsong gets the edge for efficiency, it also relies on Reprise. In Limited, it's more difficult to consistently threaten 'go again' on your Dawnblade and on a naked Dawnblade, which your opponent is less likely to block, Stroke will still get you +3, so I give it the slight edge. 

Conclusion 

That's my list of the Top P1P1 Commons in WTR and my Top 5 Commons for each class. Flashy Rares and Mythics can only take you so far, and I believe the cards in this list are key building blocks for any successful WTR Limited deck! Let me know what you think I got right or wrong and happy Drafting as we bid a fond farewell to WTR. 

There should still be opportunities to find a Farewell to Welcome to Rathe Event at an LGS near you.
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