HOW I GOT OWNED - OATH OF THE GATEWATCH PRERELEASE WEEKEND

1. COHORT SUCKS

Having twice found himself drawn into an ally-oriented assault formation, this gaming journalist can attest to one thing for sure: Cohort is slow, and not particularly powerful. Being able to target only other allies means you must grow your game board by multiples of two for your Cohort abilities to begin stacking up on your opponent. Many of the rares in the set are easily chopped off by the ample removal in the set, and in fact, if your opponent is playing black your cohorts will rapidly find themselves cooling off in the graveyard.

Hello, is it me you're looking for?

Simply put, having allies in your deck is a less advantageous and synergistic venture than in the previous format. If you find yourself with ally cards after drafting the OGW packs, you will be wishing hard for a Rally card like Resolute Blademaster.

2. ALWAYS ELDRAZI. ALWAYS.

Eldrazi forces in OGW are less intimidating at first than the brood of Ulamog that brought the focus in Battle for Zendikar. There is however much more synergy on the side of the Eldrazi. There are finishers that aren't 7 and 8 mana.  Most sealed players found that both Wastes and Holdout Settlement were very easy to find, and INSTANT SPEED believes drafters will find them just as often. It seems like either an epic flavor fail, or a sign that everyone needs four Planeswalkers on their side to win.

3. BLACK HAS THE REMOVAL

Here a Tar Snare, There a Tar Snare, EVERYWHERE, a Tar Snare.

Black has RIDICULOUS removal in the coming format, and plenty of it, and since red has fewer burn spells (following a declining trend in the burn power of Red), Black having a ton of good removal is already making it the most played color in OGW.

Add Grasp of Darkness, Unnatural Endurance, AND Flaying Tendrils?

And of course, limited players have an off chance of slamming BONKERS removal in the third period with Grip of Desolation.

Need I say more?  PLAY BLACK, or be seriously ready to deal with the consequences.

4. FOIL PROMO NISSA

This opponent got to ultimate Nissa twice, yet after drawing 6-8 cards, we still drew the match. He still had a great time blocking even my most menacing allies and storm-chased mages with -1/1 plant tokens (thanks to Dampening Pulse) and allowed him to dig deep into his deck looking for, incidentally, a Birthing Hulk, one of the great new reasons to play green.