As I said, this pool took me almost the whole time, and Zen's build was exactly why I was struggling, though I'm not sure why Zen left out Feast. Looking at the pool, I immediately knew White was the deepest color, and that I should set aside Blue and Green, though I kept Mistcutter Hydra on top of the pile in case I found I could splash. King Macar was drawing me to black and I was looking at it for the longest time, thinking about playing white/black. I was very aware of the limitations with the deck though.
When I was playing in a Theros tournament a while back, I overheard a pro in my area talking about Theros limited and he said "Theros is a set that makes bad players look good." At the time, I thought he was only talking about the Bestow mechanic, but I've come to realize there was more to it. Cards like Scourgemark and Chosen by Heliod are cards that, in any other block, would likely be 22nd or 23rd cards at best. Heroic, however, turns what might be considered a bad play into a strategic and calculated risk, either by pumping up the creature faster such as Favored Hoplite, or by an effect going off that gains an advantage such as Leonin Iconoclast that mitigates a chance at being 2 for 1'd. However, this pool does not have the Heroic cards you would ideally want for such a build.
2nd, this deck seems ridiculously dependent on getting King Macar or Dawnbringer Charioteers going. The rest is solid, but without enough removal, you need to win before any of your opponents potential bombs can go off. Cards like Chosen and Scourgemark can get you to them, but especially with the Charioteers, you want those to go on them.
Now I understand this is sealed, and if you have no better options, you go with the best you have and live with it. However, to me, I felt I had a better option. This is the build I went with:
1 x
Akroan Mastiff1 x
Bladetusk Boar1 x
Dawnbringer Charioteers1 x
Everflame Eidolon1 x
Flamespeaker Adept1 x
Ill-Tempered Cyclops1 x
Kragma Butcher1 x
Leonin Iconoclast1 x
Minotaur Skullcleaver1 x
Observant Alseid1 x
Oreskos Swiftclaw1 x
Skyspear Cavalry1 x
Stoneshock Giant2 x
Stonewise Fortifier1 x
Supply-Line Cranes1 x
Deicide1 x
Harness by Force **MVP**
1 x
Magma Spray1 x
Ray of Dissolution1 x
Reprisal2 x
Starfall9 x
Plains8 x
MountainOur local shop runs it such that we play until one person is undefeated and then payout goes from there, so our midnight release went six rounds (and would have been seven if the third undefeated hadn't lost to the person he got paired down against), and I thought when it was initially announced at 7 rounds that would go 4-3, maybe 5-2. I went 6-0 and still can't believe it happened. The deck just beat down more often than not, but was surprisingly able to win when that beatdown failed. A few things on the deck:
Harness by Force was my MVP. I am one of those people that is notoriously down on Threaten effects unless you have a way to sac the creature you steal. But Harness is less like Threaten and more like Insurrection. Every time I drew it, it turned the game into a victory, and usually it was just for two creatures from my opponent. It single-handedly won round six by finishing both games. I thought it was a good card, but it turned out to be a legitimate bomb.
Deicide and Ray of Dissolution were fantastic. Instant speed enchantment removal messed with combat in my favor more often than not. It also took out Master of the Feast after the card draw on upkeep in one match. I even cleared out a Pin to the Earth off a Cyclops in combat for lethal after it wasn't blocked.
Starfall worked decent. A poor man's Punish the Enemy to be sure, but the extra damage helped when it worked. Not something I would ever play two of again if I could get away with it though. Too costly.
I wish the Iconoclast was a second Mastiff now though. I never had anything to use off the Heroic when I did draw it, and the extra power was not worth the ability to lock down a Bestowed creature.