My Professors' Sealed Deck Entry

Below is my sealed deck entry to The Professors YouTube Magic2011 sealed deck contest. Before you read the deck I decided to submit, you should first read about the pool and how I decided on the deck list below: The Professors M11 Sealed Pool.

Green or Black
Opening two Phylactery Lichs in the 6 M11 packs in the sealed pool made me want to play black so bad. However, I went over this deck many times and found that the Lichs can be a beating until any number of cards shuts them down. Losing my Lichs to a naturalize or solemn offering ends the my advantage really fast. The odds of having tech in your colors to deal with the artifacts made the Lich build seems far too fragile (manic vandal in red, solemn offering in white, naturalize in green). Since most sealed decks play 2-3 colors, and will on average opened 2-3 artifact destruction cards. It is likely the Lich's will not survive, not to mention that they become the only target in that build, and become easy fodder for not destruction removal. Therefore, I decided to switch to the pile of big green creatures we opened and build a green/blue/black deck.

Here's my submitted deck:

one drops
1 diminish
1 unsummon
1 wall of vines
1 llanowar elves

two drops
1 augury owl
1 ice cage
1 naturalize
1 doom blade

three drops
1 scroll thief
1 gargoyle sentinal
1 crystal ball
1 sacred wolf
1 warlord's axe

four drops
1 foresee
1 cudgel troll
2 giant spider

five drops
1 rise from the grave
2 spined worm
1 acidic slime
1 garruk's packleader

six drops
1 yavimaya worm

land
1 terramorphic expanse
6 forest
5 islands
1 swamp

17 land
14 creatures
9 spells

Sideboard strategy:

Against other big beater decks the 2 armored cancrix can help hold down the fort, I would probably remove 1 spined worms and 1 naturalize. Against aggro fliers I can sideboard another Wall of Vines. Autumns Veil for blue/ black decks can be sided in for diminish and spined worm. Negate can replace Naturalize if they have bombs like Planeswalkers, Earthquake, Day of Judgment or playing Mass Polymorph. Anytime my big guys are being blown out by removal or bigger creatures like titans, I will sideboard in traumatize and hope to mill their big threats, and remove 1 spined worm. I was tempted to main deck Traumatize, but wanted to have as many big creatures game 1 and then have the option to surprise my opponent with it game 2. I assume I will sideboard in traumatize versus 75% of the decks I would face. Although I would much rather have a body in the other 25%.

Gameplay strategy:

Get big guys out, get card quality advantage with Augury Owl, Foresee, Crystal Ball and then race. I have enough disruption blue removal to slow down big creatures and should be able to pound away. I have 1 wall of vines, augury owl and 2 giant spiders to deal with fliers and a lot of my guys have big enough butts to avoid being too effected by cheap removal spells like lightning bolt. In the end I am pretty happy with my build.