Pack 1 pick 1:
My Pick:
Pretty easy pick here, other options would be the Brazen Wovles and Prey Upon but the Stag is more powerful.
Pack 1 pick 2:
My Pick:
The green cards in this pack aren't 2nd pick material so I'll grab the strongest card in the pack and see what's in store for me.
Pack 1 pick 3:
My Pick:
To be honest, Shrill Howler or Advanced Sitchwing are the picks here but I'm greedy and take the Selfless Spirit (which I sell over a week later for 3.75 tix and almost pays for the draft as I only paid for 1 booster pack and entry fee - about 4 tix).
Pack 1 pick 4:
My Pick:
Well now that I'm in white...
Pack 1 pick 5:
My Pick:
Oh what a fluke this draft is turning out to be.
Pack 1 pick 6:
My Pick:
I guess the Selfless Spirit wasn't too bad of a pick now. Still, if I was going to move into white, Choking Restraints should have been the pick.
Pack 1 pick 7:
My Pick:
Now it's looking like I'm base white but my secondary colour is still wide open as I only have 1 green and 1 blue card in the pile.
Pack 1 pick 8:
My Pick:
This is not an incentive to play green.
Pack 1 pick 9:
My Pick:
See above, but for blue.
Pack 1 pick 10:
My Pick:
Nice pick up at 10th.
Pack 1 pick 11:
My Pick:
Hopefully I'll get a Restraints in the next pack.
Pack 1 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 14:
My Pick:
This is a gift here. White is definitely open. I'm leaning more towards green as the second colour as the Stag is stronger than the Herald.
Pack 1 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 1:
My Pick:
Some much needed removal and solidifies my commitment to green.
Pack 2 pick 2:
My Pick:
An evasive creature that helps fill out my curve.
Pack 2 pick 3:
My Pick:
Great pick here as I'm light on removal spells. As a side note, I hate passing Smoldering Werewolf and it pains me every time.
Pack 2 pick 4:
My Pick:
I think the Constrictor will be better than having a second Priest.
Pack 2 pick 5:
My Pick:
5th pick?! Sure, I'll guess I'll take it...
Pack 2 pick 6:
My Pick:
Solid 1 drop.
Pack 2 pick 7:
My Pick:
I always pick this card thinking it's going to pop up and eat a creature but it rarely happens for me. Maybe I'm playing it wrong.
Pack 2 pick 8:
My Pick:
I think I'm okay on 2 drops so I'll take the Crop Sigil. I probably won't end up playing it though.
Pack 2 pick 9:
My Pick:
Tough pick here. I think I ended up picking the Captain over the Werewolf because I wanted the deck to be more aggressive and I felt like I had enough humans to get extra value from it.
Pack 2 pick 10:
My Pick:
Maybe I should have picked the Consecrator.
Pack 2 pick 11:
My Pick:
I'm happy with the Survivalists as I don't have any auras for the Slayer. That's a very late Thermo-Alchemist by the way.
Pack 2 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 13:
My Pick:
Nice pick at 13th.
Pack 2 pick 14:
My Pick:
Foil!
Pack 2 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 1:
My Pick:
There isn't a lot here for me but the Patrol will probably make the deck.
Pack 3 pick 2:
My Pick:
Now I can run the Slayer.
Pack 3 pick 3:
My Pick:
There's nothing for my deck so I just raredrafted.
Pack 3 pick 4:
My Pick:
Speaking of raredrafting... I end up selling this on the same day as the Selfless Spirit for 3 tix. I'm coming out ahead in terms of tix even if I scrub out! Great, now there's less pressure.
Pack 3 pick 5:
My Pick:
Once I have enough mana, the Cathar makes combat math a nightmare for the opponent.
Pack 3 pick 6:
My Pick:
A nice cheap combat trick. Works even better if the Briaribridge Patrol put in some work already.
Pack 3 pick 7:
My Pick:
Probably won't have space for the Inspector.
Pack 3 pick 8:
My Pick:
Maybe I should have taken Strength of Arms because I'm probably not playing this.
Pack 3 pick 9:
My Pick:
Maybe should have taken the Drifter but I'm clogged at 2 as it is. Expose Evil might come in from the sideboard.
Pack 3 pick 10:
My Pick:
Nice sideboard card.
Pack 3 pick 11:
My Pick:
I'm not playing anything here so i take the uncommon.
Pack 3 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 13:
My Pick:
Got one anyway.
Pack 3 pick 14:
My Pick:
Might need this to fill out the curve.
Pack 3 pick 15:
My Pick:
I ended up running the Missionaries and a Cultist's Staff but if it doesn't work out I can always adjust the deck for the next match. Another perk with playing in a league.
Main:
2 Somberwald Stag
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Sigardian Priest
1 Heron's Grace Champion
1 Clear Shot
2 Faithbearer Paladin
1 Dawn Gryff
1 Steadfast Cathar
1 Ironclad Slayer
1 Borrowed Grace
1 Noose Constrictor
1 Gnarlwood Dryad
9 Plains
1 Prey Upon
1 Hamlet Captain
1 Expose Evil
1 Briarbridge Patrol
1 Bound by Moonsilver
1 Veteran Cathar
1 Confront the Unknown
8 Forest
1 Avacynian Missionaries
1 Cultist's Staff
Sideboard:
1 Arlinn Kord
1 Scourge Wolf
1 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Crawling Sensation
1 Clip Wings
1 Cathar's Companion
1 Autumnal Gloom
1 Guardian of Pilgrims
1 Nebelgast Herald
1 Exultant Cultist
1 Long Road Home
1 Drogskol Shieldmate
1 Thraben Inspector
1 Backwoods Survivalists
1 Springsage Ritual
1 Crop Sigil
1 Woodland Patrol
1 Strength of Arms
1 Steadfast Cathar
My opponent for Match 1 is playing UB and starts off with an Heir to Falkkenrath and Skirksdag Supplicant. I put Bound by Moonsilver on the vampire and play the Missionaries to hold off the Supplicant. Markov Crusader comes down and I trade the Missionaries for it. I replace the Missionaries with Faithbearer Paladin while my opponent sacrifices his Heir to a Wretched Gryff and Dead Weights the Paladin. I play a second Paladin while the Gryff drops me to 13 life. I try to attack and gain some life back but Murder on the fresh Paladin denies me the life gain. I play Slayer to grab the Bound by Silvermoon and immediately stick it on the Gryff. He has a second Gryff though and finds another way to use the creature that's bound by casting Reckless Disposal. That leaves the board with his Gryff and my Steadfast Cathar and a 2 turn clock. He seems to be missing on his draws but I'm the one who needs to find an answer. I die with two lands in hand.
Game 2 I start off with a Dawn Gryff while my opponent plays a Liliana's Elite and Gavony Unhallowed. I cycle Confront the Unknown because I don't want to miss land drops and fall behind. I still miss my 5th land drop so I play Briarbridge Patrol instead of the Stag or Paladin in my hand. Twins of Maurer Estate further clogs up the board. I play Expose Evil to get through damage, leaving my opponent at 10 life. I pop the clue and finally find my 5th land. The back swing drops me to 13 and Certain Death kills the Patrol. All of a sudden my board position doesn't look too great. I play Bound by Moonsilver on the Twins and a Noose Constrictor. The Twins get sacrificed to Abundant Maw and the Gavony Unhallowed grows. I kick myself for not playing the Stag on the Unhallowed first. My opponent isn't done yet as he plays From Under the Floorboards making 3 more zombies. I play a Slayer to get the Moonsilver back for the Maw. He sacrifices the Maw to a Wretched Gryff and I'm at 6 life after attacks. The Gavony Unhallowed is now a 7/9 and a Dead Weight takes out my Dawn Gryff leaving me with just my Stag. I can't come back and drop the first match.
It's a bummer losing the first match because you already know you're not making it to the winner's table but there's still 2 boosters on the line so it's time to refocus and win Match 2. My opponent is play RB and we both start with 1 drops. I have a Gnarlwood Dryad and he plays an Insolent Neonate. A Goldnight Castigator starts to do some damage as I fall to 13 life with the Dryad, a Steadfast Cathar and Cultist's Staff in play. I bluffed an attack earlier with the Steadfast Cathar which bounces off his Supplicant. I make the same attack, throwing the Dryad in as well. Again he makes the same block but this time Heron's Grace Champion allows my Cathar to win the fight. Boon of Emrakul kills the Champion and the Castigator takes another chunk of my life. I'm down to 12 after I gained life from that Cathar attack. I stick the Staff on the Cathar and he puts his Neonate in front of it. I wanted to do some double damage to him but decide to Prey Upon my Dryad for his Castigator instead. Weirded Vampire comes down for his side but the Cathar attacks right past it thanks to the Staff. I play a Paladin post combat to deter a counter attack. He swings in anyway and I let it through, fearing a trick. I'm glad I did as a Tooth Collector comes down harmlessly and it's joined by Olivia's Dragoon. I play a Stag to kill the Dragoon and attack for 7. He let's it through and I'm back up to 12 life. He draws and scoops them up. I guess he had other obligations as my opponent conceded the match while we were sideboarding.
For the final match I mulligan to 6 but keep a one lander. I don't know why but I did. I really shouldn't have. Anyway I rip a second land and play a Priest. It looks like a mirror match and my opponent plays a Gossipmonger. I Expose Evil, desperately looking for a land. Luckily my opponent has a slow start and his next play is an Intrepid Provisioner on turn 4. I find some land and play the Missionaries on turn 5. They trade with the Provisioners and Sage of Ancient Lore on his side of the table means I have my work cut out for me. I play my Stag to kill the Gossipmonger and my opponent gets a little overenthusiastic as he plays Prey Upon to kill my Stag and then a Spectral Reserves. This decreases his hand size enough that the Sage dies. Lucky break for me. I play Bound by Silvermoon on one of his tokens and tap down the other with the Priest. He plays Extricator of Sin but gets rid of a land instead of the bound spirit token. Now he's 1 card type away from Delirium. I stick a Staff on the Priest and move the Moonsilver onto the Extricator so it can't transform. For some reason this crashes the replay but I end up losing this game as I can't seem to find any creatures.
Game 2 I start off strong with a Veteran Cathar and Dawn Gryff to his Hamlet Captain. My team gets ambushed by a Drogskol Shieldmate though and I give my Cathar Double Strike to trade with the Shieldmate. This pushes back my board development but we would either be 2 vs 2 or 1 vs 1 for creatures on the board. Soul Swallower comes down with only 1 card type in my opponent's graveyard. My Stag kills his Captain and he even let's me trade the Stag for the Swallower. He replaces it with a Dauntless Cathar and Selfless Spirit. I respond with a Briarbridge Patrol but his next attack drops me to 9 life thanks to a Provisioner. My counterattack ties it up and I play a Priest and Missionaries to stop the ground attacks. I guess my opponent didn't get the memo and he alpha strikes again. I trade the Missionaries for the Provisioner and survive the attack with 4 life. Spectral Reserves post combat makes this an uphill battle. I try to Prey Upon the Selfless Spirit with my fresh Paladin but he sacrifices it in response, denying me some important life gain. It was painful but I had to do it to get the flier off the board. The Dauntless Cathar trades for the Patrol and I get a Hamlet Captain on the table. Bruna comes out of nowhere and brings the Provisioner back. I play the Stag on a spirit token to try and reduce his air force and the Priest is locking down Bruna. I attack with the Stag and Paladin which gets double blocked by the Provisioner and a Bloodbriar. He drops to 4 life while I go up to 7 and I replace the Paladin with a second one. Lone Rider comes down for his side but it's not enough as I take the game with Bruna still on board. The Priest was MVP this game.
For the final game for the draft I mulligan to 6 and manage to play a Constrictor, Dawn Gryff, and Steadfast Cathar + Hamlet Captain on 3 consecutive turns to my opponent's Captain and Fiend Bender. Spectral Reserves give him some more blockers but I have a Confront the Unknown and Clear Shot. I fearlessly attack with the team assuming there was going to be some blood bur surprisingly he lets it through, dropping to 11. It all starts to makes sense as he plays Selfless Spirit and then Hope Against Hope on a spirit token. I play Clear Shot in response but of course he sacrifices the Selfless Spirit. He only hits with the 1/1 token though, holding back his team in anticipation for another attack. I give it to him and this time he's blocking. A lot of creatures hit the bin and after the dust settles I have a Cathar, Captain and clue form Confront the Unknown to his two spirit tokens. Extricator of Sins helps him rebuild his board and grow his token to a 5/5 monster. He sends the tokens in and I'm at 13 life. I attack with my pair of humans one more time and a Borrowed Grace with Escalate allows my Captain to eat the horror token and drop my opponent to 3 life. Faith Unbroken on his Extricator removes the Captain. I attack again with the Cathar which he puts the Extricator in front of. I play Heron's Grace Champion to gain some life and Prey Upon the Extricator post combat to get the Captain back. I alpha strike again and think about how many times some of these creature hit the red zone turn after turn. My opponent is finally out of gas and chump blocks down to 1 life. He can't get out of this and scoops them up.
That final game was very exciting. A lot of ups and downs and I'm happy to be the one to come out on top. Let's try to get back to the winner's table for the next draft though.
- thePaperboy
No comments:
Post a Comment