Breakdown Analysis
Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
Summary
AFR is an extremely unbalanced format which received mixed reception from the community, but is very flavorful with gameplay that can be fun and rewarding. Unfortunately, Blue as a color is woefully underpowered while Black-Red dominates much of the format. Venture as a mechanic is somewhat underpowered, which is awkward for the marquee mechanic of the format. Despite a mixed reception, some players (like me!) still thoroughly enjoyed the format.
Balance
Power balance between colors and decks.
Balance
Balance
Very Unbalanced
Lands/Colors
How many lands and colors generally see play.
Land Total
17 Lands
Color Total
2 Colors
Most decks are 2 colors as a base, with 17 lands to support a normal curve.
Although deck building is mostly standard, the prevalence of Treasure makes it quite easy to splash for an off-color bomb.
Mana Fixing
Ability to fix for more than two colors.
Mana Fixing
Mana Fixing
Somewhat easy
Treasure can easily be created in all color pairs simply by venturing into the Lost Mine of Phandelver twice, making fixing for an off-color bomb somewhat easy and attainable. With treasure as a theme supported even at common, a splash is definitely on the table for most decks.
One reason that Black-Red is so oppressive is that Treasure was a primary theme in those colors, with heavy support at common. This means it can even be possible to easily splash for a double-pip off-color bomb.