Pack 1 pick 1:
My Pick:
Wretched Gryff may have been the pick here but Galvanic Bombardment is cheap removal and can be splashed if red doesn't flow for me.
Pack 1 pick 2:
My Pick:
I could have taken the whelp and had the beginnings of a very aggressive deck but a 4/4 first striker is very hard to deal with if your opponent doesn't have any removal. Who knows, maybe I can grab a legendary creature and make the lancer even better.
Pack 1 pick 3:
My Pick:
Furyblade Vampire is actually very good with madness cards but if I don't end up with any then it's not that impressive. I'll go with the conduit which is solid in any red deck.
Pack 1 pick 4:
My Pick:
There isn't a lot here, maybe I could have taken the foulbloods but not a lot of quality black cards have been coming my way. The Markov Crusader is solid in RB vampires as well. For now I'll stick to my guns and stay white. Especially since I missed out on it the last two drafts.
Pack 1 pick 5:
My Pick:
Dawn Gryff is a good playable card. It's not fancy but it gets the job done. While I like outburst, it can often be picked up later in the draft. The slayer is great if I have any auras that I put on my own creatures. If I have a Choking Restraint on a creature, most of the time it'll stay on the creature and not hit the graveyard making the slayer useless. I would pick it if I had something like a Faith Unbroken, Lunarch Mantle or Spiteful Motives in my pile already.
Pack 1 pick 6:
My Pick:
Maybe I should have picked up the mantle here? I've never played Borrowed Hostility before as I've always cut it out and that will probably be the case here.
Pack 1 pick 7:
My Pick:
I would rather have Spectral Reserves over The Stensia Innkeeper as I'm hoping to get a Borrowed Grace by the end of this draft. The more bodies I have on the board, the stronger the grace would be.
Pack 1 pick 8:
My Pick:
I guess the mantle would have been the better pick.
Pack 1 pick 9:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 10:
My Pick:
Told you I can get it later in the draft.
Pack 1 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 1:
My Pick:
Selfless Spirit is a good two drop and a pretty easy pick here out of all the cards in my colours. The fact that it's worth more than 1 tix helps me make my decision a little easier as well.
Pack 2 pick 2:
My Pick:
Now I have a pair of these and nothing to get back. I hope that mantle wheels.
Pack 2 pick 3:
My Pick:
Tough choice here as Brazen Wolves is a very good common. A lot of people don't like Blood Mist as I've seen it go very late. I feel that it's a good card as I allowed me to win races I had no right being in and helps me break stalemates on the board.
Pack 2 pick 4:
My Pick:
Pseudo-removal. The only issues is having to keep 1 mana open all the time which can slow down board development. It can take out 2 blockers if necessary as well, tapping one at the end of your opponent's turn and the other on your turn.
Pack 2 pick 5:
My Pick:
Perfect time to take this. It can pull wins out of thin air if the opponent doesn't always have this in the back of his mind. Seems like I'm not meant to get a mantle this game.
Pack 2 pick 6:
My Pick:
Pretty nice pick up here. Collective Effort is flexible and because it can hit enchantments I don't even need to debate about siding in the Ironwright's Cleansing majority of the time.
Pack 2 pick 7:
My Pick:
I always want at least one of these at the top of the curve.
Pack 2 pick 8:
My Pick:
Great pick at #8. Really helping the removal department as red hasn't been delivering in this pack. I keep passing up on playable two drops though so I have to start looking into that.
Pack 2 pick 9:
My Pick:
I might run this as it helps when you inevitably get mana flooded. I don't think I have any madness cards yet but maybe I can pick up a few.
Pack 2 pick 10:
My Pick:
I really should have taken the mantle here. I've never actually played a Ride Down before. I've had it in decks but never cast it. Maybe I can play it this draft and see if I like it or not.
Pack 2 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 13:
My Pick:
I don't need a pair of these, maybe I should have taken the Waxing Moon and make a sweet werewolf deck for PDC.
Pack 2 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 1:
My Pick:
A disappointing first pick but Dance with Devils is pseudo-removal as well. Jumping out in front of unsuspecting attackers. The extra bodies also make the Borrowed Grace better.
Pack 3 pick 2:
My Pick:
My pair of slayers suddenly got better. Again, unless they counter it or maybe sacrifice the creature to an emerge creature, it's going to be difficult to get this into the bin but if it does you can bet my slayers are going to get it back.
Pack 3 pick 3:
My Pick:
A nice removal spell, and not much else in the pack for me. I feel that Slayer's Plate is a too expensive.
Pack 3 pick 4:
My Pick:
I'm probably not going to run this since I don't have any madness cards. I may need it for PDC though. Besides, there was nothing else in my colour.
Pack 3 pick 5:
My Pick:
This is the type of aura I'm looking to get. It can be used as a combat trick because of the flash and it leaves you with a solid attacker for the rest of the game. Opponents will want to deal with a creature with Spiteful Motives as soon as possible. With the slayers I can pick this right back up and make another creature a threat as well.
Pack 3 pick 6:
My Pick:
I don't have much at the top of the curve and playing this post-combat usually yields a spirit token.
Pack 3 pick 7:
My Pick:
For me this was between the Unruly Mob and the Convicted Killer. I was light on the two slot and I felt like a lot of creatures were going to die in these fights so the mob can get out of hand quickly. I also have two cards that generate tokens and every time a token dies the mob triggers as well.
Pack 3 pick 8:
My Pick:
I guess I could have taken the mob here instead. The Explosive Apparatus should have been the pick but my deck was pretty much finished so I took the land instead. It's worth 0.5 tix.
Pack 3 pick 9:
My Pick:
Helps get in extra damage if I have other creatures on the board and leaves a solid body.
Pack 3 pick 10:
My Pick:
Probably won't be playing this since I don't have many spirits in the deck. Might side it in if there are fliers I can't deal with.
Pack 3 pick 11:
My Pick:
I already have a Borrowed Grace so I won't be playing this.
Pack 3 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 15:
My Pick:
This is what I ended up running:
Main:
11 Plains
1 Thalia's Lancers
1 Conduit of Storms
1 Desperate Sentry
1 Dawn Gryff
1 Inspiring Captain
1 Spiteful Motives
2 Ironclad Slayer
1 Fiend Binder
1 Galvanic Bombardment
1 Dance with Devils
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Sigardian Priest
1 Geistblast
1 Bound by Moonsilver
1 Faithbearer Paladin
1 Emissary of the Sleepless
1 Blessed Alliance
6 Mountain
1 Blood Mist
1 Collective Effort
1 Borrowed Grace
1 Spectral Reserves
1 Unruly Mob
Sideboard:
1 Deny Existence
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Foreboding Ruins
2 Ethereal Guidance
1 Merciless Resolve
1 Cathar's Companion
1 Apothecary Geist
1 Plains
1 Wailing Ghoul
1 Repel the Abominable
1 Ironwright's Cleansing
2 Thraben Standard Bearer
1 Turn Aside
1 Ride Down
1 Borrowed Hostility
1 Stensia Innkeeper
1 Slayer's Cleaver
1 Nephalia Academy
1 Otherworldly Outburst
No space for the Ride Down this time! Maybe I should be running it though.
Match 1 mulligan to 6 and it looks like I'm squaring off against the mirror. I Geistblast his Sigardian Priest and Bound by Moonsilver his Desperate Sentry just so my Unruly Mob can get in for 2 measly damage. To be honest I had no other plays in hand so I thought it would be better use of my mana. He drops a Selfless Spirit and not to be outdone in the spirit department, I play Spectral Reserves. He plays a Voldaren Duelist and gets in for 3. Collective Effort has me swinging in for 6 damage but he trades his flier for my mob. Guardian of Pilgrims allows his Duelist to attack for 4 and he's still in this race. I hit for 4 in the air bringing him to 9 and drop a Ironclad Slayer that I plan to trade with the creature that's not indestructible since he played Nahiri's Machinations last turn. I change my mind and let him his team through for 5 as he's down to 1 card and I thought I can win the race. He then plays Choking Restraints on the slayer. I draw a Blessed Alliance off the top and confidently swing in with my spirits resulting in a 10-5 life total for me. I gain 4 life and he sacrifices his Guardian. I swing again for 4 and hoping to end the game I cast Borrowed Grace. It resolves and we go to game 2.
Game 2 I ship back a no lander. Twice. Then I keep 4 lands and a Emissary of the Sleepless. This is gonna be a tough one. Luckily he has a slow start, his first play is Courageous Outrider on turn 4 and then... I don't know. The replay stops for some reason and I can't remember the rest of the game. Don't worry though, there's a game 3 so I didn't miraculously pull that one off. Game 3 I have a Selfless Spirit and Priest before he plays his Guardian of Pilgrims. I drop a Slayer with no target to keep up the pressure. He plays his own Selfless Spirit and attacks with the Guardian. I let it through and tap down his spirit. He plays Expose Evil to stay in the race. I swing in with just the Priest and Tap out for Emissary of the Sleepless. I have a Borrowed Grace in Hand so I'm trying to get all my creatures out on the board. The Emissary gets Choking Restraints and he comes in for 4. I play a Desperate Sentry and hit back for 5, keeping my Priest at home. He attacks with only his flier bringing me to 12 and he plays Dauntless Cathar. I tap down his Guardian at the end of turn. I send in the team with an escalated Borrowed Grace to hit him exactly for 10 damage to take the match.
Match 2 I'm up against WG. He has a quick start flipping a a Town Gossipmonger off a Geist of the Lonely Vigil and curving out to a Bloodbriar while my team at turn 4 is just a Priest and Unruly Mob. He then sticks a True-Faith Censer on the Incited Rabble and proceeds to bash my face in as the Priest can only hold back the Bloodbriar. I get to use Blessed Alliance to get rid of the Rabble (gaining life in the process) but he replaces it with a Steadfast Cathar. This play also grows his Bloodbriar. I play a Emissary of the Sleepless to match his Inquisitor's Ox. Blood Mist on my side finally lets me get in for some damage with my flier. Bringing him to 16 while I'm at 14 life. A Galvanic Blast also fixes my Cathar problem. I start tapping down the Ox, which picked up the equipment but the Bloodbriar is still getting in. He plays Grapple with the Past and all of a sudden his spirit and Ox got a lot scarier. I can't stay in the race, even with the Blood Mist and the Priest slowing him down, I survive a few more turns but with the 1/1 mob staying at home and his equipped creature having vigilance I can't really mount an attack and scoop them up. Game 2 I'm stuck on all plains but my starting hand is all white. I play Dawn Gryff and have Spectral Reserves to curve out with a Borrowed Grace in hand. My opponent plays Grapple and... the replay crashed again! Unfortunately I don't remember what happened in the game. Maybe I tried to erase it from my memory because I ended up losing this game and getting swept for Match 2. I do remember him throwing around his Bound By Moonsilver on a critical turn though. I had just enough damage on a counter attack with a Borrowed Grace to win the game but he locked down a spirit block post combat. He knew what he was doing - he didn't even see a Borrowed Grace the first game!
I'm paired against BR and keep a hand with 2 Mountains, 4 red cards and Emissary of the Sleepless. My first draw is a Plains and I feel like a genius. He plays Pale Rider of Trostad into a Skirskdag Supplicant and a Rotten Ghoul. While I manage to put down a Desperate Sentry on turn 3 as a speed bump. I fall to 15 life and play a Conduit of Storms with mana up for a Galvanic Bombardment but all of this creatures are too big. I trade my horror for his spirit and he replaces it with a Markove Dreadknight. I have to throw the Bombardment and a Geistblast at it before it gets out of hand. He knocks me down to 9 and plays another Supplicant. Emissary on my side finally starts to hold off his team. Inspiring Captain comes down on my side for an additional blocker as he starts to pitch cards to his supplicants, leave the total at 9-5 in his favour. I play Blood Mist and send in the Captain. He throws his Ghoul in front of it and I pitch my Ironclad Slayer. He discards his only card in his hand and leaves me at 3 life. He attacks with a Supplicant and I double block with the Emissary and Conduit And plays Rise from the Grave on his Supplicant... I guess he wanted to bluff? I'm dead if my opponent pitches his card and does it again with the fresh card he gets off the top of his library. I play Collective Effort and grow my team and swing in with my Captain threatening to leave him at 1 life. He's not comfortable with that and throws one of his supplicants in the way. He doesn't follow through with the Supplicant plan, playing every creature he draws and eventually loses. I felt like I stole that game. Feels good.
Game 2 I keep all white cards with 2 Plains and he keeps his starting 7 as well. My opponent had a Indulgent Aristocrat, Thraben Foulbloods and Insolent Neonate to my Eldrazi Horror courtesy of a Desperate Sentry I threw in front of the zombie and an Unruly Mob that grew because of death of the Sentry. My horror trades for his Supplicant and I bind the Foulboods in Moonsilver. He sacrifices the zombie and grow his vampires and brings me down to 17 playing a replacement Supplicant. I hit for 3 with the mob and pick up my aura with a Slayer. My opponent's following turn he attacks with the Supplicant and I trade it for my Slayer, but before damage resolves, he sacrifices his Supplicant to the Aristocrat. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not but my Slayer lives to fight another day while I'm facing down a pair of 3/3 vampires. Selfless Spirit comes down on my side and I lock down his Aristocrat with the Moonsilver. He starts to use Geier Reach Sanitarium which helps me cycle through my deck. Another Foublood and a Heir of Falkenrath joins his side of the table while I muster up a Spectral Reserves. I think he forgets that he can still activate his Aristocrat and when I play Collective Effort to grow my team he scoops them up. A little premature as it was 10-7 in my favour but still a lot of game to play in my opinion.
Another draft and another pack gone. At least this time the Selfless Spirit and Foreboding Ruins can help recoup some of the loss. I felt like this deck was pretty good but then again I always feel that my decks are good so that doesn't mean much. Eventually I'll win the whole draft right? I guess we'll find out.
- ThePaperboy
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