Outsiders Pre-release Primer [Part 1]
The first part of what you should know about Outsiders Pre-release and first impressions on the sealed format!
Outsiders Pre-release is barely in a week’s time, and we will be getting Down and Dirty with all kinds of skullduggery, mischief and tomfoolery. So here’s a primer to get you prepared for the pre-release!
Part 1 will cover the assassin, ninja and ranger class cards of Outsiders, while Part 2 will cover the rest of the card pool. For the sake of brevity, I will only be covering the commons and rares to look out for, as the Legendries and Majestics in this set are quite good and does not really require further elaboration as to why you should run them.
Assassin Cards
I think Assassin decks will be the easiest of the three classes to build in sealed. Regardless if you are playing Arakni or Uzuri, the Assassin card pool is the largest, due to the existence of Hybrid class cards. That said, being able to identify key Assassin, Generic and Hybrid cards can help you decide which of the two heroes are better suited to helm your sealed deck.
Prowl (RED/YEL/BLU)
Prowl was designed for Arakni. A Stealth card with no Go Again that gives the next card with Stealth played +1 lines up perfectly with how you want to sequence Arakni’s turns. It also gives the average 2 card hand about 7 points of value, with the second Stealth attack accruing more value if it has an on hit. For Prowl, the +1 attack on your next Stealth card is mostly what you’re looking for, so I’d be happy to run all 3 colours of Prowl in Arakni. Opening 3-4 copies of any colour in a sealed pool is a strong incentive to play Arakni.
Sneak Attack (RED/YEL/BLU)
Just as Prowl was designed for Arakni, Sneak Attack was designed with Uzuri in mind. Being able to threaten 7 damage with 2 cards is pretty on rate for any deck, but I would also consider running the yellow and blue versions in sealed. Having multiple copies of Sneak Attack in your sealed pool is a good start to building a strong Uzuri deck. This card being a rare does make it hard to obtain multiple copies in sealed, though.
Overall, the other Assassin cards play very well into either hero and seem to share a similar archetype of playing 2 card hands quite well. The thing that might set Assassin decks apart would be the quality of Generic cards in each sealed pool.
Ninja Cards
Harmonized Kodachi was a menace in Welcome To Rathe (WTR) draft, but their power level might be slightly lower in Outsiders. The overall quality of blue 0 cost cards for ninjas is a lot lower compared to WTR, making their second cycle worse. Ninjas might be slightly harder to build in sealed due to their reliance on the combo mechanic.
Mask of Many Faces
This card has “combo potential” written all over it. While the potential for judge calls being caused by this card is high, the amount of opportunities this card can create for Katsu and Benji decks are quite insane. This card can basically have 0 block and still be playable in both ninja decks because you’ll be using the Instant ability of this card 90% of the time to form combo lines which would not have been possible to do in limited due to either not drawing the right card, or not even having it in your sealed pool.
Surging Strike (RED/YEL) > Descendant Gustwave (RED/YEL)
The best combo line for Katsu in limited with common cards, this combo line threatens 10 damage off 3 cards while still retaining your action point. The yellow versions of Surging and Whelming are also very playable, and the more of these two cards you have in your sealed pool, the better your Katsu deck.
Twin Twisters (YEL/BLU) > Back Heel Kick (RED)
Yellow/Blue Twin Twisters into Back Heel Kick is probably the highest damage combo line Benji can pull off with common cards. This line threatens 9 damage off 3 cards, not including the 2 Kodachi attacks before the combo, meaning the potential damage this combo line can do in Benji is actually 11!
Head Jab (YEL/BLU) > One-Two Punch (RED/BLU)
Another potent combo line available for Benji at common is the Yellow/Blue Head Jab into Red/Blue One-Two Punch. This combo line can potentially deal 8 damage off 2 cards should your opponent choose not to block. With the Blue version of One-Two Punch, it threatens 6 damage off 2 cards that cannot be blocked with cards from hand. The Yellow version of One-Two Punch is not as good, as after the Head Jab hits, Benji’s hero power gives the next attack +1, so a yellow Punch would be put at 3 attack, making it very easy to block.
In sealed, Benji might have the upper hand as he benefits from the yellow and blue pitch ninja cards better than Katsu, while Katsu relies on red ninja cards to maintain efficiency and break point threats.
Ranger Cards
At first glance, the Ranger class seems to be the trickiest to build out of the 3 classes. You need your sealed pool to have enough Ranger or Generic Non-Attacks and enough Arrow cards to have a playable Ranger deck in sealed. Of the two rangers, Azalea might be the easier ranger to build around, as Riptide lacks the dominate keyword on his attacks to close grindy games.
Wayfinder’s Crest
This equipment is cracked in Azalea. Covering block points while being able to check the top card of your deck is exactly what Azalea wants to be doing in limited. Being able to gain additional information about top of your deck can go a long way in planning your next turn as Azalea. See an arrow that you like? You can use Azalea’s ability to give it dominate next turn. See something else? This equipment has given you information on at least 1 card that you might be drawing next turn. Additionally, Wayfinder’s Crest works really well with the Seeker’s equipment set.
Infecting Shot (RED/YEL)
This has got to be one of the best, if not the best Attack in the set. You might think that the 2 additional damage from the Bloodrot Pox is “conditional”, but having to pay 3 resources does not make it worthwhile to prevent, meaning 90% of the time, your opponent is going to take the 2 extra damage, making this a 1 for 7 attack. Give it an aim counter and it becomes a 1 for 8. Of course this attack should rarely hit opponents as they will block out the attack, but with Azalea you can dominate this attack, making Infecting Shot a premium common for her, and a very decent one for Riptide.
Widowmaker (RED/BLU)
Yet another premium common for Azalea, you mainly want the Red and Blue versions of this. While Widowmaker’s attack buff can be technically negated by blocking with equipment, the equipment in this set either have Blade Break or have no defense value printed on them, at worst you’re getting 1 card and a full equipment from them. Azalea can give dominate to more or less guarantee the attack buff, and Riptide can use this arrow and try to force a 2 card block from the opponent.
Lace with Bloodrot
Previously, I mentioned the value of the Bloodrot Pox token in Infecting Shot, so this card being a noteworthy rare to open in your sealed pool makes sense. You would be happy to run Lace with Bloodrot on both Azalea and Riptide, more so than the other Laces in this cycle. That said, I don’t think opening this card in your sealed pool immediately signals a strong Ranger pool, as this only works with arrow attacks.
Overall, I think a good Azalea pool in sealed might be the best in this limited format, as her hero power plays very well into the second cycle, and gives her the closing power in grindy games, while also being able to disrupt decks not as interested in blocking. However, Azalea’s strength in sealed is balanced out by the number of arrows she needs to run for her to be effective; having too few arrows in your sealed pool could mean that you might be better off playing another hero.
Riptide on the other hand, is all about the number of trap cards in your sealed pool. With 3 traps in Majestic, Rare and Common rarity, you will be hard pressed to find the traps required for Riptide to work in sealed, unless your Pulls are insanely trap-heavy, and you opened Buzzsaw Trap and/or Collapsing Trap.
Conclusion
Well, that is all for Part 1 of the Prerelease Primer! Assassin looks to be the class with the most flexible deckbuilding strategy, while Azalea looks to be the class with the most powerful strategy. Overall, I think Arakni, Azalea and Benji are looking quite strong in sealed as their strategies revolve mostly around strong commons, while Katsu, Riptide and Uzuri need a few rares for them to really shine. Until then, always be going 1 for 7 in your games!
