Introduction
Kaldheim is the first set of 2021, taking inspiration from Norse Mythology and Viking Folklore to create their major themes. As such backstory is rich in different types of creatures, Kaldheim is a tribal set with ten different tribes, each corresponding to their own colour pair.
Whilst people may not be able to gather currently to play in a prerelease tournament, the boxes are still on sale for people to add them to their collection or to take part in virtual prereleases. The one I bought was acquired from the UK retailer Troll Trader Cards (not sponsored, just a fan).
So, I decided to record what I opened this time and try build a deck out of it. Will I have built a deck worthy of the top prize? Or am I doomed to enter the Milkshake Bracket once more?
Set Mechanics & Quick Review
- Returning – Tribal Mechanics: Pretty straightforward, different creature types have bonuses based on other creatures of the same type being in play. Tribes are humans, spirits, zombies, demons, trolls, giants, angels, elves, dwarves, and changelings (all creature types simultaneously)
- Returning – Snow Mana: Mana produced by a Snow permanent can be used to pay for other Snow cards or activate abilities requiring Snow mana
- Returning – Modal Double-Faced Cards: Double-sided cards that can be played as one side or the other from the hand, cannot shift during play
- New – Foretell: Think of it like Morph for all sorts of cards. Foretell cards are exiled from hand by paying two mana, and then can be played for a “Foretell” cost later on, sometimes having additional benefits if a card was foretold
- New – Boast: An ability that can be activated once per turn and can only be used after a creature has attacked (note: attacked, meaning this can be used in response during combat)
Being the first fully tribal set since Ixalan block, Wizards of the Coast had a lot to learn from the missteps that set made. (Rosalia’s note: this sentence hurts to write because as much as it is true, this is the set that I got into Magic on, and gave me my favourite tribe of Merfolk. I’m sorry Ixalan T_T)
In my opinion Kaldheim learns from these mistakes and sets up a standalone tribal set on a par with Lorwyn block. Each tribe being assigned to a colour pair allows for less hoarding of one particular tribe during a draft, and the additional of changelings in Simic provides more versatility to change path and/or shore up a struggling tribal deck.
Whilst I appreciate the inclusion of God cards from a Commander perspective, there are some strange design choices around their inclusion. This is especially highlighted in the card “”Forging the Tyrite Sword”, which I find strange for being a card that references a specific card by name. Designs like this in draft are fun to chase after, in theory, but ultimately dilute the pool of usable cards.
Speaking from the commander perspective entirely, there are some amazing legendary creatures in this set, especially at the uncommon level. Whilst it does lead to some power creep in certain areas, having more good legendary cards at uncommon grants more accessibility into commander and expands the potential for budget decks.
Promo Card
Taking inspiration from Yggdrasil itself, the World Tree is a pretty nice card to open as a foil promo. It gives a surprising amount of versatility in a draft environment mainly for the middle ability, as it provides an unconditional mana fixing solution after the sixth land. The last ability is unlikely to see much use, more for the steep activation cost as opposed to the actual effect.
Pack 1
Two major potential bombs right off the bat in the first pack. Both Eskia’s Chariot and Maja, Bretagard Protector are very powerful cards in a limited environment. Maja’s cost holds her back from being massively impactful but both cards ability to constantly generate additional value gives heavy indication towards building Green/White.
Pack 2
Pack 2 brings further indicators towards a green deck. Masked Vandal is a good cheap creature with the additional benefit of potentially removing an opponent’s threat, and Path of the World Tree is a decent pick considering this deck has the actual World Tree and can activate the last ability after a period of time.
Pack 3
Broken Wings is a great piece of green removal to find in Pack 3, especially as it offer more versatility than a Plummet or Naturalise would in the same setting. The Golgari modal double-faced land provides an out into expanding into said colour pair with a great piece of fixing.
Pack 4
In Search of Greatness is… an interesting card in a draft environment. With a focus on low mana creatures it could provide some rapid and aggressive tactics in the right deck, but it would require a very specific sort of deck. Usher of the Fallen is a great aggro pick for a potential green/white deck, being a cheap creature that can be used to generate more value.
Pack 5
Giant Ox and Colossal Plow in the same pack? And a fantastic white rare bomb? That settles it, this is going to be a green/white deck. The Giant Ox and Colossal Plow combo may not even be that good, but the fact they came in the same pack seems almost like a sign for me.
Pack 6
And finally, we finish off with two decent white evasion cards but not a whole lot else. Battlefield Raptor is a great early game card to start putting pressure on an opponent (similar in a way to Healer’s Hawk from Ravnica Allegiance), and Goldmaw Champion can use it’s Boast ability during combat to potentially remove a powerful blocker.
Deck Building
For this deck build, I’ll be running through the BREAD acronym to go through how I built my theoretical prerelease deck. BREAD stands for:
- Bombs – Powerful cards, usually at rare, that make an impact the turn they are played
- Removal – Cards that are able to get rid of an opponent’s permanent without much fuss
- Evasion – Flying, trample, unblockable. Anything that gets past an opponent’s defenses and to their life
- Aggro – Cheap, effective creatures that can be played on curve and start putting pressure on an opponent’s life total
- Duds – Usable cards, but definitely not the first choice. Normally used to fill up a deck near the end.
B – Bombs
Sigrid and Eskia’s Chariot are definitely my most powerful cards here, with Sigrid being a removal bomb with First Strike and a relevant protection ability in this set, and Eskia’s creating more value as time goes on. Clarion Spirit and Maja are less potent, but the amount of value each can generate in addition to the anthem effect of Maja can lead to extremely powerful boards.
R – Removal
Bound in Gold is your expected Pacifism type card in a set, with the very relevant point of it being unable to crew vehicles or activated abilities, completely locking a creature down. The potency of Broken Wings has already been discussed, but Struggle for Skemfar is a Hunt the Weak with a potential discount if it is able to be foretold.
E – Evasion
Sigrid appears again for her First Strike and protection ability, but aside from the cards discussed during pack opening there is very little else. Goldmaw Champion can tap something down but this cannot be used on an opponent’s turn due to the limitations of boast, and Battlefield Raptor is a good early start but can be quickly outpaced.
A – Aggro
It is not a good combo, but Giant Ox and Colossal Plow is something I want to run in this deck, and Ox is a decent early game creature that can hold up as a blocker for a good part of the early-mid game. Story Seeker is the best card here, as a two mana 2/2 with a very good keyword ability, Lifelink providing a bit of longevity as it attacks or blocks.
D – Dregs, Duds, or Da Rest
As we come to the final five cards, we find some usable cards but nothing entirely great. Path to the World Tree provides some function due to the fixing The World Tree provides. Ravenous Lindwurm is a decent stat body with a reasonable ability, but it is no Colossal Dreadmaw. And finally Arachnoform can be used to enhance a strong blocker like Giant Ox, or to give a bit more aggression/pressure on Battlefield Raptor.
Final Deck Evaluation
This is… not a great deck honestly. There is a handful of good cards that would provide an impact on the field when played but there is very little in the way of solid core cards to provide a decent early game to give way to those cards. If this was in a four round prerelease tournament at my FLGS I reckon I would go 1-3, not exactly Milkshake Bracket territory but still far from how I have placed before. Let us see what my consolation prize packs would have been then:
Prize Pack 1
Prize Pack 2
End Step
This was honestly a really fun project to try undertake, though it was slightly rushed due to having a day delay on receiving the prerelease kit, so, apologies for the messy photos (taken on a not great phone) and for some of the analysis probably not being entirely logical.
This was done as a way to get the prerelease experience I have almost gone a year without now (if any of my MtG friends are reading this, know I miss you greatly right now) at home, and to create a more unique piece of MtG content on my site. It was a bit disappointing to find no mythic rares in both kit and prize packs, though I reckon that foil Snow Covered Island is worth quite a bit to the right person.
Rosalia Rambles 
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