Sealed is a format in which you build a 40-card deck using only the contents of 6 boosters (plus as many basic lands as you want). It is the typical format played in paper at prerelease events whenever a new Magic expansion is released.
On Arena, it costs 2,000 to enter, which is more expensive than Draft (1,500 ). I assume that is because, on top of whatever you win by playing, just for entering you get to keep the contents of 6 boosters (which cost 1,200 in the Store), whereas in a Draft you only open 3 boosters. It is also a more forgiving format than Draft: even if you do not win a single match, you still get 200 and 3 prize packs.
In any case, it is not a format I play regularly, but since the Play Bundle includes 2 , I think it is a good way to start getting familiar with the cards before diving into Drafts…
Reality Fracture (FRA) Sealed 1
In my first Sealed I built a Jund deck, which did not seem all that bad to me: it had removal with Last Gasp , Silence the Echo , Wrath of the Bloodmane , and more… It had ramp with Carnivorous Cultivator // Enroot , Way of the Paradox , Konstrari Improviser // Soul Tether … and even some good payoffs: Ghalta the Unstoppable and 2 Craftwork Crusher .
But when it came down to it, the results did not follow. I suppose what it was missing was the ability to draw more cards (even though I could also create a few Jace ). In the first game I was holding up quite well, even taking the initiative in the early turns, but I ran out of gas on turn 6 and drew 4 lands in my last 5 turns.
In the second game the deck worked perfectly. Ramp on turn 4, Ghalta the Unstoppable on turn 6, and then finishing things off with a Craftwork Crusher on turn 8.
The third and fourth games were similar: I lost both on turn 13, highlighting another problem with the deck. If my giant creatures were removed, the deck had nothing else to do. Massacre Girl, Most Wanted and Tarmogoyf were not enough…
In the end, 1-3 and time to go home!
Reality Fracture (FRA) Sealed 2
For my second Sealed I used Draftsim to help me build the deck, and what a difference it made! I ended up with an Esper deck (one of my favorite color combinations).
A more Midrange/Control deck (an archetype very much at home in these colors), with few creatures but all of them providing extra value, good interaction, and win conditions in the form of spells and Planeswalkers (especially Garruk, Veiled Butcher ) that inexorably take over as games go long.
The first game, playing on the draw against a Sultai deck, was possibly one of the closest games I have ever won… We get to turn 14, and I think we have both played very well up to this point; I have an Ajani Resolute and two tapped 4/4 tokens, my opponent kills my Ajani with a Mind Meanderer , deals 2 damage to me with a Primal Witchstalker , and after combat plays a Ghalta the Unstoppable . Life totals are 13 (them) to 12 (me). My turn, my hand is empty and I draw a land, so I pass again. I block Ghalta with both 4/4s and take 6. They draw two extra cards with Way of the Mind Sculptor and Jace . They pass the turn back to me; I am at 6. I draw another land. My hand and board are completely empty. They have 6 power on the battlefield. I pass the turn… and my opponent explodes! I had not realized they had run out of cards in their library!
I dominated the rest of the games quite comfortably and came away victorious and very happy with the Sealed, finishing 7-2! I lost one game against a Gruul deck that put a Ruric Thar, Magecrusher onto the battlefield and I had no answer for it. And another against a Dimir deck, which curiously also won with a Ruric Thar, Biomagus .
The cards from my deck that surprised me most positively were Enlightened Confidant , which does not look like much but, for just , drew me several cards across multiple games (and that is despite the fact that I had almost no lifegain synergies), and Garruk, Veiled Butcher , who is almost capable of controlling a game all by himself with his 3 abilities!
After this first taste of Reality Fracture (FRA) , I am already looking forward to playing some Drafts. My impression is that it will be better than The Hobbit (HOB) .