(Editor’s Note: A�Okay, I fully admit that it might be time to retire this terrible dad joke headline gag that I’ve been milking for the past few articles. A�This one really does go too far and I almost want to apologize for it.)

Chris already gave you his impression of Amonkhet, the new Magic the Gathering set, via his recap of the prerelease he attended. A�Yes, you read that right. A�We had 2 Guys Gaming! A�We almost had another episode of that podcast in the can, too, but I wasn’t able to go over there because I wasn’t feeling well. A�But, we will take any positives and who knows? A�The podcast may be back soon enough.

I was not able to make it to this prerelease because it was Liam’s big weekend as Eugene in the local high school production of Grease. A�But, no regrets and I got to live vicariously through Chris. A�He kept me updated about his exploits via text. A�you can read about itA�here. A�Spoiler Alert! A�He split the pot, but would have won.

While I wasn’t able to make it to the prerelease I was still very excited about this set. A�As a filthy casual, I didn’t care much about cards, so I didn’t keep up at all on spoilers. A�However, the lore based on ancient Egyptian civilization intrigued me. A�I’m a sucker for ancient civilizations and their stories. A�Therefore, I wanted to experience the set one way or another.

Unfortunately, another obstacle stood in my way. A�Spring semester has ended. A�Summer hasn’t started yet. A�So, I’m in between checks and can’t afford to join events either in real life or on Magic Online right now. A�Luckily, I am practiced in the arts of cheap ass gaming. A�I created a “new” account on MTGO, which gives new player points that can be used to join phantom drafts. A�I don’t get to keep the cards, but I do get to play with them.

I did one draft this way. A�Without having looked at spoilers much, I went into the draft mostly blind. A�Armed with the limited (get it?!) knowledge, I went with the little bit that I did know. A�Zombies are decent this block. A�I forced BW embalm even after P1P1 a Glorybringer. A�Yeah, I know. A�Hear me out.

First, I find it humorous that both Chris and I pulled the dragon in our limited events. A�He’s lucky to have an actual card in hand (well, deck, actually), while I only have memories of an 0-2 performance. A�Should have done more research, I guess.

So, how did I end up BW after drafting one of the great limited bombs of this set first? A�Well, it’s a tale s old as time. A�As old as people have been drafting, at least. A�Red just dried the eff up. A�I don’t know if there were to red bombs in the draft and the other guy just bullied me off. A�When I say dried up, I am talking Sahara desert dry. A�Sure, there was the oasis of the occasional good red card, but by that time I had switched gears to the zombies.

Don’t get me wrong. A�The deck was decent. A�Sure, I went 0-2, but the games and matches were all close. A�Ever since I started taking Magic a bit more seriously, I can hold my own in most games. A�But, it just wasn’t the “draft a bomb and win” that I thought it might be after the dragon. A�It’s never that easy, is it?

More recently, I got to experience the prerelease life (sort of) by doing a sealed with Chris. A�I bought my usual box and bundle. A�So, instead of doing our Winchester draft as we had been doing recently, Chris suggested the sealed. A�Neither of us opened a Glorybringer this time, but I got to finally see actual cards in action.

He went Naya exert for his deck. A�I probably tried to do too much with BG counters/cycle, but it worked out for me game 1. A�I flooded big time in game 2 and then saw a major threat pacified in game 3. A�but, and let’s say it all together now. A�”All three games were close.”

I had considered rebuilding or swapping pools, but Chris asked to play some modern, so I obliged. A�Again, he beat me 2-1 with a Boros aggro against a “Fun Police” deck. A�Apparently, it just wasn’t my night. A�That’s okay, though. A�I’ll get him the next time. A�That’s how our matches seem to go. A�Back and forth like that.

Also, I had fun. A�The set is a good limited set. A�There are a wide variety of viable archetypes in draft and sealed. A�Heck, I think this is the first time that I was able to pivot from a bomb and put together a decent secondary plan. A�Maybe that’s a result of me improving as a player? A�Perhaps, but I do think that this is a great limited set. A�I do have new player points for 3 more drafts. A�We’ll see if I still think that after them.