Sealed Pack and Booster Draft are two very different beasts. I feel that in a draft, I have a lot of control over the deck that I am going to play. If you have read any of my articles on Booster Draft concepts, you probably know that I’m a serious believer in reading signals. In order to draft the best deck at a table, I feel that one must be able to adapt quickly and adjust to the information received as each pack is passed. Sealed Pack is vastly different. In Sealed Pack, there are always options, but sometimes fate deals some pretty slim pickings.

When the four main teams in Heralds of Galactus don’t provide enough playable cards to create a desirable and cohesive deck, you might find yourself looking to some of the legacy characters and generic cards. As we wrap up this series touching on the ten most noteworthy cards that each team in Heralds of Galactus has to offer, we will not only get to take in the most powerful generic plot twist, but we will also find ourselves scouring the leftovers for the hidden gems. Speaking of gems . . .

The Gems

Power Gem, Infinity Gem is a card I always want in my Sealed Pack card pool. There is really no drawback to playing a card like this. Sure, on the turns when you don’t control the initiative, the wearer of this gem probably won’t get any bonus from it. But if that character stuns, you get to choose who wears the gem later in the game. On a side note, Clumsy Foulup is not a particularly good wielder of the Power Gem.

Reality Gem, Infinity Gem is one of those cards that I love but don’t always find room for in my Sealed Pack deck. I’m probably wrong each time I choose not to play it. There are just so many strong ongoing plot twists and locations in this set that Reality Gem always seems to have a target.

I always try to find room in my deck for one copy of Mind Gem, Infinity Gem. It seems that the largest or second-largest character I have in play gets stunned each turn, so I play it as early as possible. The Mind Gem is nice by itself, but nothing is cooler than drawing three cards per turn and discarding only one . . . except drawing four per turn and discarding only one. Combine the Mind Gem with its protector and you have a pretty sick combo.

The Characters

Moondragon, Protector of the Mind Gem is one of the most fun cards to play in the entire Heralds of Galactus set. Cards like Mind Gem and Elemental Converters go quite nicely with Moondragon. I myself have never drawn my entire deck any earlier than turn 7, but there exists the rare possibility to see every card in your deck even sooner.

I’d imagine that most players overlook Taskmaster, Mnemonic Assassin the first time they see the card. I know I sure did. I find that most Sealed Pack decks tend to be curve decks, and I also find that most games end on turn 7. Taskmaster will never be smaller than his printed size but can square off with your opponent’s largest forces. I think it is worthwhile to play Taskmaster even when your card pool offers ample on-team 6-drops.

I have mentioned Wolverine, Skrunucklehead a few times in previous articles. Recently, Wolverine and I were able to unleash the power cosmic upon one of my opponents. I was playing a Heralds-based deck, and Wolverine came into play sharing the Heralds team affiliation. I had the even initiatives and made the most of it by sending Wolvie up the curve big time. Combined with cards that can add cosmic counters (like The Power Cosmic Unleashed and Extended Family, Team-Up), this Skrunucklehead pays his dividends.

The Pumps

No combat-modifying plot twist goes as far as Armageddon. Savage Beatdown can still ride shotgun, but Armageddon gets to drive for now. Sure, it has a threshold of 6, limiting its playability to some of the last turns of the game, but +6 ATK just goes the distance. I imagine that if you don’t have a full playset of four copies of Armageddon, you will be extra happy to receive a copy in your Sealed Pack pool.

Sworn Enemies gives the maximum +4 ATK often enough that I consider it one of the top plot twists of the set. It is, at a minimum, an always-playable +2 ATK pump. Even when your opponent is playing different teams than you, there are still ways to maximize this card.

The Team-Ups

Act of Defiance, Team-Up is one of those ways. It took playing with this card as a backup generic team-up a number of times before I noticed what makes Act of Defiance truly special—you can choose one of your teams along with one of your opponent’s teams. So, looking back to Sworn Enemies, we have now found one of those little hidden combos that are easy to overlook.

Rounding out the Top 10, Intergalactic Summit is another team-up that I like to play. Yes, I know this card’s effect doesn’t last long, but here are the reasons why I often play it. First of all, I have received a number of Sealed Pack card pools that don’t include one of the ongoing Team-Up cards. As you may already know, I try to make a habit of playing one or two Team-Ups in every multi-team Sealed Pack deck. Secondly, Intergalactic Summit draws a card. I have a hard time turning down any card that replaces itself after generating its effect. Finally, in a pinch, Intergalactic Summit can be played from your hand. The most likely of the reasons that I would include this card in my Sealed Pack deck is the first.

That does it for my series on the ten most noteworthy cards of each team. I hope you have enjoyed reading. As mentioned in some of the earlier articles of the series, I plan to revisit my initial evaluations of the cards as the Heralds of Galactus Sealed Pack season draws to an end. I hope that after playing with the set for months on end, I will still agree with my initial impressions.

Doug Tice’s accomplishments: Sealed Pack $10K NY 2005 – Winner, Constructed $10K Charlotte 2005 – Finalist, Sealed Pack $10K LA 2006 – Winner, Constructed $10K Austin 2006 – Winner, Pro Circuit San Francisco 2006 – Quarterfinalist, Sealed Pack $10K NY 2006 – Semifinalist