It occurred to me it might be fun to draftcap and write up my first ever Rise of the Eldrazi draft. After all, getting all our picks right later in the season doesn't leave anything to discuss. Same with deckbuilding.
This draft on the other hand... I promise you'll find things wrong!
(Be as critical as you like, I don't offend easily!)
Pack 1 pick 1:
Wildheart Invoker
Gloomhunter
Ogre's Cleaver
Kor Spiritdancer
Soulbound Guardians
Flame Slash
--> Enclave Cryptologist
Perish the Thought
Glory Seeker
Essence Feed
Halimar Wavewatch
Knight of Cliffhaven
Fissure Vent
Merfolk Observer
Island
Ogre's Cleaver is tempting for the colourlessness, but I like the idea of being Blue and Cryptologist looks pretty nuts to me.
Pack 1 pick 2:
Naturalize
Evolving Wilds
Nighthaze
Training Grounds
Bloodrite Invoker
Haze Frog
--> Snake Umbra (FOIL)
Regress
Soulbound Guardians
Kiln Fiend
Gravity Well
Halimar Wavewatch
Lagac Lizard
Island
I'm pretty sure Regress is good in this format and immediately preselect it, but the potential card advantage of Snake Umbra lures me away with a few seconds on the clock. Probably unwise.
Here's where I get a bit stuck. I'm pretty sure Chariot is playable, or I could pick up a Gnarlid to go with my Snake Umbra, but this pack makes me sad because I wanted more Blue support. Hopeful of drafting more spells later, I grab the Wall since it's also a card I liked a lot from the spoiler.
Pack 1 pick 5:
--> Rage Nimbus (FOIL)
Vent Sentinel
Last Kiss
Battle Rampart
Guard Gomazoa
Hand of Emrakul
Warmonger's Chariot
Merfolk Observer
Affa Guard Hound
Bloodthrone Vampire
Mountain
I find it hard to take my eyes of the Rare as I am tempted by visions of wrecking someone's carefully built defensive position.
Seems like Rebound and Mnemonic Wall play pretty nicely together.
Pack 1 pick 7:
Demonic Appetite
Lightmine Field
Jwari Scuttler
--> Lust for War
Sporecap Spider
Contaminated Ground
Nema Siltlurker
Harmless Assault
Island
Pick seven? OK, so I don't know what I'm doing, but I thought it looked way better than that.
Pack 1 pick 8:
Valakut Fireboar
Unified Will
--> Frostwind Invoker
Living Destiny
Battle Rampart
Glory Seeker
Bloodthrone Vampire
Forest
Phew. Much needed evasive goodness. Shame the Fireboar is in the same pack.
Pack 1 pick 9:
Perish the Thought
Glory Seeker
Essence Feed
--> Halimar Wavewatch
Fissure Vent
Merfolk Observer
Island
A vital early drop.
Pack 1 pick 10:
Nighthaze
Bloodrite Invoker
--> Kiln Fiend
Gravity Well
Halimar Wavewatch
Island
I suppose I might run this if I get lots of evasion aids.
Pack 1 pick 11:
Death Cultist
--> Reinforced Bulwark
Repel the Darkness
Demystify
Plains
It has Defender, so maybe relevant to Vent Sentinel?
Pack 2 pick 1:
Inquisition of Kozilek
Kabira Vindicator
Ancient Stirrings
Dread Drone
Caravan Escort
Staggershock
See Beyond
Snake Umbra
Smite
Heat Ray
Pawn of Ulamog
Vendetta
--> Lord of Shatterskull Pass
Ikiral Outrider
Swamp
I think this might well be a bomb. Is this a bomb?
Match 1 Game 1: I mulligan a 1-lander into a slow-looking hand with an Enclave Cryptologist, four lands covering my colours and a Vent Sentinel. My opponent has a turn three Gloomhunter then turn four Beastbreaker of Bala-Ged. I draw two Mnemonic Walls, which is awkward against the 4/4 Beastbreaker. I never draw anything relevant and get crushed. Game 2: I keep a hand with two Vent Sentinels, Lord of Shatterskull Pass and Frostwind Invoker. He opens on Pawn of Ulamog and I have Halimar Wavewatch and Cryptologist for turn three. He Induce Despair's the Cryptologist revealing Zof Shade. I draw Regress and cast Vent Sentinel first since he's applying no pressure. He plays and levels Beastbreaker on turn five. I topdeck and play Prophetic Prism, leaving Regress mana up. My opponent doesn't seem to care and levels it up twice more, so I bounce it. I topdeck and play Skywatcher Adept alongside Lord of Shatterskull pass. My opponent replays Beastbreaker and Zof Shade, so I level up my Lord and play my freshly drawn Lust for War on the Beastbreaker. He Vendetta's my Lord, but cannot overcome the tempo loss from Lust for War and loses. Game 3: He Induce Despair's my turn three Rage Nimbus, but misses his fourth land drop. He has Beastbreaker again for turn four, but with Lust for War, Frostwind Invoker, Skywatcher Adept and Regress in hand I basically can't lose against his tempo setback despite the fact he has triple (!) Induce Despair. He shows me his hand at the end with two Eldrazi stranded in it.
Match 2 Game 1: My opponent is three-colour levellers with lots of flyers. He casts a Merfolk Skyscout, which hurts me a bit before I get a Frostwind Invoker down to stop it. Unfortunately this sets up what he wanted to do... he Corpsehatches it, then proceeds to fully level his Caravan Escort and beat down. I fail to draw an answer and die horribly. Game 2: He has an insane flyers draw and I Just Lose (TM). It's not even worth typing out.
Match 3 Game 1: I keep an initial hand with Staggershock, Gigantomancer and Frostwind Invoker, but my opponent's first two plays are a pair of Makindi Griffins and as it turns out I don't do anything until turn five. He casts a Daggerback Basilisk, which is nice because it lets me 2-for-1 him with Staggershock. I'v also drawn both Mnemonic Walls and a Vent Sentinel, but none of this is going to help against his Pelakka Wurm. Fortunately I topdeck an 8th land and so Gigantomancer comes down in time to save me. He gets Awakening Zone and it becomes clear he's a spawn deck. This leads to a tricky call as to whether to try to race him since I still don't have any non-Wall action. I attack with Gigantomancer, which probably isn't right. Obviously he trades it for the Pelakka Wurm. And then next turn I topdeck Rage Nimbus - doh! Still, this lets me gradually slaughter his board. We both have stupid numbers of lands by now so he manages to end the slaughter by fully levelling a Hedron Field Purist. I draw and fully level a Halimar Wavewatch to kill it. Finally I draw a Frostwind Invoker and have a proper threat. This is followed by Lord of Shatterskull pass, which will wreck him if fully levelled. But on the last possible turn he casts Artisan of Kosilek, bringing back the Wurm. For a moment I think it's going to get messy... but then I realise I have the mana to activate both my Invoker and Vent Sentinel on the same turn, which deals Enough. Game 2: I have a rather nice initial hand of one of each land, Cryptologist, Sea Gate Oracle, Lust for War and Frostwind Invoker. Annoyingly he then opens with Wall of Omens, Awakening Zone and Daggerback Basilisk in that order. No good early Lust targets! He has basically infinite mana available thanks to Spawn, but this time draws no Eldrazi. His Wurm turns up again, making for a long game, but his removal is two copies of Guard Duty and as such he is powerless against Cryptologist. I don't do anything clever, just crush him really slowly under an absurd tide of card advantage, ending by flying over with Gigantomancer-boosted dudes c/o Frostwind Invoker.
So, a 2-1 result. Not too bad considering!
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<Limited Clan>
p1p1 I would have taken Knight, because Cryptologist seems really fragile. But I could be wrong about that.
The real turning point of this draft is p2p4: Artisan over distortion strike. In my opinion, Artisan is only playable with a significant amount of ramp support, which is hard to come by in RU. Ditstortion Strike, on the other hand, would put you neatly into Kiln Fiend.dec.
I'm not a big fan of wall synergy because this format is defined by evasion and big guys. Aside from Guard Gomozoa they don't really protect you the way you want them to.
i think i really want to try spiritdancer because it could net you alot of cards, beatdown, and goes well with w/b/g things. turning all of your totem armor things into cantrips looks good on paper. if you manage spiritdancer with aura gnarlid and a g/w umbra deck i think you could aggro out really well. throw in that 5 drop that tutors for an aura, seems like he goes pretty late too, just for good measure. how do you feel rage nimbus preformed for you? i just played with it in my sealed and was underwhelmed.
P1P1 Cryptologist is definitely the right call. That card is the stone cold nuts.
P1P2 I think Regress is the better pick. Snake Umbra is not bad at all, but Regress is on colour and about the same power level, so I would have stuck with Regress.
P2P5: WHAT! Keening Stone is one of the more bombier card in this set, and @ P2P5, that's a gift from above (or the players on your left). It plays really well with a bunch of defenders too. Vent Sentinel isn't even that great, and that was your first one. Maybe if it was your third one, I'd make that pick. But I don't think Vent Sentinel #1 is anywhere close to a Keening Stone.
P2P9: What's more silly is that Vendetta still being in the pack. But a late Heat Ray can never be a bad thing.
P3P4: I would not have picked up the Teacher. Teacher is better in UB or UW, where you can get at least 6+ levelers. Whereas the Skyscout will always be good in your deck, and allows you to play offense and defense. You can even ping them twice with the Vent Sentinels if you want to.
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I value Keening Stone pretty highly. In 3 drafts I've played it twice. It's usually a 3 turn win condition, and any time I've won from it, it was a game I had no other chance of winning. I'd recommend trying it... I pick it every time I see it (obviously) unless I was drafting a deck that was able to make a quicker clock than that.
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no hugging, no learning
I still play Vs System: www.vssystem.org
In my opinion, Artisan is only playable with a significant amount of ramp support, which is hard to come by in RU.
Fair enough. I wasn't sure how long games were going to go and liked the idea of it as a finisher.
Aside from Guard Gomozoa they don't really protect you the way you want them to.
You're probably right about the archetype, but your Guard Gomazoa comments are ironic, since that's the one thing it doesn't do! In particular, if I'm going to play a Defender that doesn't do anything else except defend then it really needs more power.
i think i really want to try spiritdancer because it could net you alot of cards
Yeah, I possibly should have tried it just for the learning experience.
how do you feel rage nimbus preformed for you? i just played with it in my sealed and was underwhelmed.
It was good, but I still don't know how to rate it. I won one game pretty much entirely by abusing the ability, but the rest of the time it was still a 5/3 flying blocker for 3, which felt strong.
P1P2 I think Regress is the better pick. Snake Umbra is not bad at all, but Regress is on colour and about the same power level, so I would have stuck with Regress.
Useful to know. Obviously as things worked out I didn't play with the Umbra.
P2P5: WHAT! Keening Stone is one of the more bombier card in this set
Hehe - fair enough. I remember the forum discussion on the subject and it seemed quite controversial.
I don't think Vent Sentinel #1 is anywhere close to a Keening Stone.
I agree with this partly because Vent Sentinel disappointed me a lot. Although the format is slow it really didn't feel like it actually stalled much and as such the activation cost on the Sentinel was really inconvenient. And it was bad in a race because it meant I couldn't chump block with my Defenders.
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<Limited Clan>
I am not a skilled drafter, but P1P2 would be Training grounds for me.
My thoughts exactly, and I was surprised you didn't grab it given your P1 Cryptologist. The level-up deck can be bad, but here you have two of the best cards for the archtype by pick two.
I noticed several points in the draft where Black seemed really open. Vendetta tabled (!) in pack 2, and you had several opportunities to grab Last Kiss and a Corpsehatch, and several of the black levelers plus a p3p4 Venerated Teacher to complement your Wavewatchers, Skywatchers and p3p3 Nirkana Cuttroat over the Gigantomancer, though I think you were correct in assessing the splashable bomb. I counted 3 chances to grab Gloomhunter to help with the evasive beats too.
It looks like White was being drafted pretty heavily, with Green close behind.
Training Grounds is simply a card I didn't realise was good. I find it very hard to evaluate.
On the subject of which: is it good?
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<Limited Clan>
I would not pick it so early as P1P2 though! If you really want to force a Level Up build, the pick there is Wavewatch. At least it's still a playable Blue creature if your forcing plan doesn't work out.
Even better idea -- don't force cards that are only good in one particular color pair and one particular archetype.
I would not pick it so early as P1P2 though! If you really want to force a Level Up build, the pick there is Wavewatch. At least it's still a playable Blue creature if your forcing plan doesn't work out.
Even better idea -- don't force cards that are only good in one particular color pair and one particular archetype.
I would tend to agree with you, but look at the contents of the pack:
Naturalize
Evolving Wilds
Nighthaze
Training Grounds
Bloodrite Invoker
Haze Frog
Snake Umbra (FOIL)
Regress
Soulbound Guardians
Kiln Fiend
Gravity Well
Halimar Wavewatch
Lagac Lizard
Island
The only cards that are also in serious consideration are the Regress and Halimar Wavewatch in Blue, with some alternatives in other colors. Are you really missing out if you skip the Wavewatch at this point to grab the Training Grounds? It's not like you're passing up something like Domestication, the likelihood of seeing another Halimar Wavewatch or Regress is pretty good. On the argument of taking a card that is good 'on its own', the Soulbound Guardians I think are by far the most powerful card here in a vacuum, and works well in a UW deck.
Will it make the cut? No idea at this point, but then again we don't even know if Blue will stay open or if we'll have to switch. It's this stage of the draft I'd be more inclined to grab a high risk/high return card that fits into a good archtype, not with the intention of forcing, but on the understanding that at least one of the colors we want to play (blue) really desires its levelers, and this is the best enabler for that in the set.
If there were better options in the pack, sure, take the more reliable card, but we're passing Training Grounds for a card that is initially worse than Kraken Hatchling and will only affect the board after a huge investment.
Training Grounds also combos nicely with Zof Shade, if you happen to be in black. I got to enjoy some of that in my last FNM deck.
The draft looks pretty solid.
p1p2 is probably Regress. I like Snake Umbra, and I have seen it go much later than it should, but maybe not quite a 2nd pick.
p1p6 is kind of a lame pack. I might have taken the Evolving Wilds. I have yet to maindeck a Distortion Strike. I don't know if that is always correct, but blue usually has enough ways to evade already.
p1p7 Lust for War is probably the pick here, but I'm not sure I would have included it maindeck over Eel Umbra. Seems like it worked fine for you though.
p1p10 I would have been very happy with a second Halimar Wavewatch. His cheap level up cost makes him very worth it.
p2p1 I think Lord is the right pick here. He is a bomb.
p2p3 Staggershock is great. 3rd pick often seems late for it.
p2p4 For me the Artisan of Kozilek is the best Eldrazi. You can get to nine mana in most decks, and having a built in Zombify ability that works even if he is countered seems worth it to me. I have no problem sticking him in a deck even with minimal ramp. Plus there isn't much else here. And since you had two Hatchers, he seems fine in your final build.
p2p5 Keening Stone is good, but it only seems to work for my opponents so far. I had it in one deck, and it always seemed like I needed to do something else with my mana.
p2p7 Mnemonic vs Wavewatch is a really tough call here (not a ton of recursion possibilities yet). I like both cards a lot. Not sure which is right.
p2p9 This simply baffles me. There is no way that Inquisition of Kozilek should go before Vendetta (let alone Dread Drone). And is no one else in red? Heat Ray can be splashed too! This is baffling and clearly very nice for the deck.
p2p10 I probably would have maindecked this over Lay Bare. Reality Spasm can be bad at times, but being able to tap out your opponent for an alpha strike is worth it to me.
p3p4 As much as I like the Teacher, this late, it's going to be hard to get enough levelers to make him really worth it. Merfolk Skyscout is very good, and combos nicely with the Enclave Cryptologist.
p3p5 Spawning Breath is actually often useful, but this is a weak pack.
Deck: Why did you feel the need to play 3 forests and Prism to support one splash card? Seems like that could lead to some unnecessary mana issues. With the Prism, I might try to play a single Forest, or maybe 2.
So those are my initial thoughts. Of course it is early, and we both could be wrong. Overall, this looks like a very good first draft.
This draft on the other hand... I promise you'll find things wrong!
(Be as critical as you like, I don't offend easily!)
Event #: 1212135
Time: 5/12/2010 7:42:32 PM
Players:
--> bateleur
ckjybrb
boomtsk
Greatbeard
BWW870
dseger2
manaflood
Morathi
------ ROE ------
Pack 1 pick 1:
Wildheart Invoker
Gloomhunter
Ogre's Cleaver
Kor Spiritdancer
Soulbound Guardians
Flame Slash
--> Enclave Cryptologist
Perish the Thought
Glory Seeker
Essence Feed
Halimar Wavewatch
Knight of Cliffhaven
Fissure Vent
Merfolk Observer
Island
Ogre's Cleaver is tempting for the colourlessness, but I like the idea of being Blue and Cryptologist looks pretty nuts to me.
Pack 1 pick 2:
Naturalize
Evolving Wilds
Nighthaze
Training Grounds
Bloodrite Invoker
Haze Frog
--> Snake Umbra (FOIL)
Regress
Soulbound Guardians
Kiln Fiend
Gravity Well
Halimar Wavewatch
Lagac Lizard
Island
I'm pretty sure Regress is good in this format and immediately preselect it, but the potential card advantage of Snake Umbra lures me away with a few seconds on the clock. Probably unwise.
Pack 1 pick 3:
Death Cultist
Explosive Revelation
--> Emrakul's Hatcher
Kor Spiritdancer
Brood Birthing
Null Champion
Reinforced Bulwark
Ulamog's Crusher
Repel the Darkness
Affa Guard Hound
Demystify
Plains
Leaf Arrow
If I knew whether the first Spiritdancer had any chance of tabling I might be tempted. Instead I opt for Hatcher, which I like the look of a lot.
Pack 1 pick 4:
Champion's Drake
Guard Duty
Aura Gnarlid
--> Mnemonic Wall
Zof Shade
Caravan Escort
Sphinx-Bone Wand
Zulaport Enforcer
Warmonger's Chariot
Daggerback Basilisk
Prophetic Prism
Mountain
Here's where I get a bit stuck. I'm pretty sure Chariot is playable, or I could pick up a Gnarlid to go with my Snake Umbra, but this pack makes me sad because I wanted more Blue support. Hopeful of drafting more spells later, I grab the Wall since it's also a card I liked a lot from the spoiler.
Pack 1 pick 5:
--> Rage Nimbus (FOIL)
Vent Sentinel
Last Kiss
Battle Rampart
Guard Gomazoa
Hand of Emrakul
Warmonger's Chariot
Merfolk Observer
Affa Guard Hound
Bloodthrone Vampire
Mountain
I find it hard to take my eyes of the Rare as I am tempted by visions of wrecking someone's carefully built defensive position.
Pack 1 pick 6:
Goblin Tunneler
Curse of Wizardry
Evolving Wilds
Stalwart Shield-Bearers
Ogre Sentry
Enatu Golem
Spider Umbra
--> Distortion Strike
Fleeting Distraction
Plains
Seems like Rebound and Mnemonic Wall play pretty nicely together.
Pack 1 pick 7:
Demonic Appetite
Lightmine Field
Jwari Scuttler
--> Lust for War
Sporecap Spider
Contaminated Ground
Nema Siltlurker
Harmless Assault
Island
Pick seven? OK, so I don't know what I'm doing, but I thought it looked way better than that.
Pack 1 pick 8:
Valakut Fireboar
Unified Will
--> Frostwind Invoker
Living Destiny
Battle Rampart
Glory Seeker
Bloodthrone Vampire
Forest
Phew. Much needed evasive goodness. Shame the Fireboar is in the same pack.
Pack 1 pick 9:
Perish the Thought
Glory Seeker
Essence Feed
--> Halimar Wavewatch
Fissure Vent
Merfolk Observer
Island
A vital early drop.
Pack 1 pick 10:
Nighthaze
Bloodrite Invoker
--> Kiln Fiend
Gravity Well
Halimar Wavewatch
Island
I suppose I might run this if I get lots of evasion aids.
Pack 1 pick 11:
Death Cultist
--> Reinforced Bulwark
Repel the Darkness
Demystify
Plains
It has Defender, so maybe relevant to Vent Sentinel?
Pack 1 pick 12:
Aura Gnarlid
Sphinx-Bone Wand
--> Prophetic Prism
Mountain
Ooh, isn't that a bit late?
Pack 1 pick 13:
--> Battle Rampart
Bloodthrone Vampire
Mountain
Defender.
Pack 1 pick 14:
--> Fleeting Distraction
Plains
Wait... surely that's really late too?
Pack 1 pick 15:
--> Island
------ ROE ------
Pack 2 pick 1:
Inquisition of Kozilek
Kabira Vindicator
Ancient Stirrings
Dread Drone
Caravan Escort
Staggershock
See Beyond
Snake Umbra
Smite
Heat Ray
Pawn of Ulamog
Vendetta
--> Lord of Shatterskull Pass
Ikiral Outrider
Swamp
I think this might well be a bomb. Is this a bomb?
Pack 2 pick 2:
Wildheart Invoker
Ancient Stirrings
Champion's Drake (FOIL)
Makindi Griffin
Wall of Omens
Kor Line-Slinger
--> Regress
Brood Birthing
Reality Spasm
Essence Feed
Halimar Wavewatch
Emerge Unscathed
Fissure Vent
Swamp
Several cards I like, but I definitely want a Regress. If I have to pick it high then so be it.
Pack 2 pick 3:
Eel Umbra
Makindi Griffin
Battle-Rattle Shaman
Last Kiss
--> Staggershock
Corpsehatch
Reinforced Bulwark
Warmonger's Chariot (FOIL)
Sea Gate Oracle
Runed Servitor
Totem-Guide Hartebeest
Surrakar Spellblade
Swamp
Doesn't seem close. Spellblade is weak, right?
Pack 2 pick 4:
--> Artisan of Kozilek
Goblin Tunneler
Curse of Wizardry
Lay Bare
Grotag Siege-Runner
Surreal Memoir
Ogre Sentry
Shared Discovery
Harmless Assault
Distortion Strike
Plains
Leaf Arrow
I don't know if my deck wants an Eldrazi, but this might be my favourite one so I'm drafting it just in case.
Pack 2 pick 5:
Demonic Appetite
Keening Stone
--> Vent Sentinel
Crab Umbra
Dread Drone
Last Kiss
Glory Seeker
Fissure Vent
Hyena Umbra
Kozilek's Predator
Forest
I'm almost tempted by Keening Stone, but sanity prevails.
Pack 2 pick 6:
Naturalize
--> Vent Sentinel
Soul's Attendant
Stomper Cub
See Beyond
Repay in Kind
Bala Ged Scorpion
Lagac Lizard
Escaped Null
Mountain
That's better.
Pack 2 pick 7:
Ancient Stirrings
--> Mnemonic Wall
Lavafume Invoker
Kiln Fiend
Repel the Darkness
Recurring Insight
Halimar Wavewatch
Phantasmal Abomination
Island
I'd be happier if I had more stuff to recur, but I still like this too much to pass. In retrospect the second Wavewatch might have been better.
Pack 2 pick 8:
Gloomhunter
--> Frostwind Invoker
Luminous Wake
Haze Frog
See Beyond
Totem-Guide Hartebeest
Prophetic Prism
Mountain
Woohoo!
Pack 2 pick 9:
Ancient Stirrings
Dread Drone
See Beyond
--> Heat Ray
Vendetta
Ikiral Outrider
Swamp
I'm pretty sure that's just silly. That's silly, right?
Pack 2 pick 10:
Ancient Stirrings
Makindi Griffin
--> Reality Spasm
Emerge Unscathed
Fissure Vent
Swamp
Thought something might table.
Pack 2 pick 11:
Eel Umbra
--> Sea Gate Oracle
Totem-Guide Hartebeest
Surrakar Spellblade
Swamp
Ooh, bonus. I'm pretty sure that makes the cut.
Pack 2 pick 12:
Curse of Wizardry
--> Lay Bare
Shared Discovery
Plains
I want a counterspell if only to find out how good they are.
Pack 2 pick 13:
--> Demonic Appetite
Glory Seeker
Forest
Pack 2 pick 14:
--> Repay in Kind
Mountain
Pack 2 pick 15:
--> Island
------ ROE ------
Pack 3 pick 1:
Wildheart Invoker
Emrakul's Hatcher
Soul's Attendant
Crab Umbra
Akoum Boulderfoot
Khalni Hydra
--> Skywatcher Adept
Smite
Aura Finesse
Skittering Invasion
Null Champion
Reinforced Bulwark
Perish the Thought
Eland Umbra
Island
Perfect, something cheap and evasive!
Pack 3 pick 2:
Death Cultist
Evolving Wilds
--> Emrakul's Hatcher
Eel Umbra
Arrogant Bloodlord
Stalwart Shield-Bearers
Shrivel
Bloodrite Invoker
Puncturing Light
Haze Frog
Pathrazer of Ulamog
Ulamog's Crusher
Virulent Swipe
Plains
I like this because a second copy gives me more confidence running expensive things.
Pack 3 pick 3:
Lone Missionary
Gloomhunter
Jwari Scuttler
Grotag Siege-Runner
Wrap in Flames
Haze Frog
Contaminated Ground
Nirkana Cutthroat
Knight of Cliffhaven
Distortion Strike
--> Gigantomancer
Virulent Swipe
Forest
Pick three bomb get!
Pack 3 pick 4:
Death Cultist
Demonic Appetite
--> Venerated Teacher
Irresistible Prey
Merfolk Skyscout
Raid Bombardment
Nema Siltlurker
Goblin Arsonist
Glory Seeker
Spider Umbra
Demystify
Plains
I don't think I have enough levellers to make this good, but the pack looks mediocre anyway.
Pack 3 pick 5:
Spawning Breath
Ancient Stirrings
Makindi Griffin
--> Surreal Memoir
Zof Shade
Zulaport Enforcer
Brood Birthing
Daggerback Basilisk
Traitorous Instinct
Not of This World
Swamp
Again, I'm guessing this won't make the cut, but there's nothing else I really want.
Pack 3 pick 6:
Inquisition of Kozilek
Nighthaze
Mnemonic Wall
Cadaver Imp
Soulsurge Elemental
Aura Finesse
Hand of Emrakul
Lavafume Invoker
--> Sea Gate Oracle
Mountain
I've decided I like these. A third Wall seems bad for my curve.
Pack 3 pick 7:
Akoum Boulderfoot
Battle-Rattle Shaman
Sporecap Spider
--> Renegade Doppelganger
Aura Finesse
Lavafume Invoker
Daggerback Basilisk
Bloodthrone Vampire
Forest
No idea if this is playable. I take it so I can think about it during deckbuilding.
Pack 3 pick 8:
Zof Shade
--> Battle Rampart
Caravan Escort
Suffer the Past
Daggerback Basilisk
Merfolk Observer
Bloodthrone Vampire
Island
Meh.
Pack 3 pick 9:
Soul's Attendant
--> Akoum Boulderfoot
Aura Finesse
Reinforced Bulwark
Perish the Thought
Eland Umbra
Island
Pack 3 pick 10:
Death Cultist
--> Eel Umbra
Stalwart Shield-Bearers
Bloodrite Invoker
Haze Frog
Plains
Wait... isn't this good? It looks good.
Pack 3 pick 11:
Gloomhunter
--> Jwari Scuttler
Haze Frog
Contaminated Ground
Forest
Unplayable?
Pack 3 pick 12:
Death Cultist
Demonic Appetite
--> Goblin Arsonist
Plains
Pack 3 pick 13:
--> Ancient Stirrings
Zof Shade
Swamp
Pack 3 pick 14:
--> Nighthaze
Mountain
Pack 3 pick 15:
--> Forest
7 Island
7 Mountain
3 Forest
Creatures (17)
1 Enclave Cryptologist
1 Skywatcher Adept
1 Halimar Wavewatch
1 Rage Nimbus
2 Sea Gate Oracle
2 Vent Sentinel
1 Lord of Shatterskull Pass
2 Emrakul's Hatcher
2 Mnemonic Wall
2 Frostwind Invoker
1 Gigantomancer
1 Artisan of Kozilek
1 Prophetic Prism
1 Staggershock
1 Lust for War
1 Regress
1 Lay Bare
1 Heat Ray
1 Eel Umbra
1 Snake Umbra
1 Renegade Doppelganger
1 Venerated Teacher
1 Distortion Strike
1 Kiln Fiend
1 Surreal Memoir
1 Jwari Scuttler
2 Battle Rampart
1 Fleeting Distraction
1 Akoum Boulderfoot
1 Reinforced Bulwark
1 Reality Spasm
Match 1
Game 1: I mulligan a 1-lander into a slow-looking hand with an Enclave Cryptologist, four lands covering my colours and a Vent Sentinel. My opponent has a turn three Gloomhunter then turn four Beastbreaker of Bala-Ged. I draw two Mnemonic Walls, which is awkward against the 4/4 Beastbreaker. I never draw anything relevant and get crushed.
Game 2: I keep a hand with two Vent Sentinels, Lord of Shatterskull Pass and Frostwind Invoker. He opens on Pawn of Ulamog and I have Halimar Wavewatch and Cryptologist for turn three. He Induce Despair's the Cryptologist revealing Zof Shade. I draw Regress and cast Vent Sentinel first since he's applying no pressure. He plays and levels Beastbreaker on turn five. I topdeck and play Prophetic Prism, leaving Regress mana up. My opponent doesn't seem to care and levels it up twice more, so I bounce it. I topdeck and play Skywatcher Adept alongside Lord of Shatterskull pass. My opponent replays Beastbreaker and Zof Shade, so I level up my Lord and play my freshly drawn Lust for War on the Beastbreaker. He Vendetta's my Lord, but cannot overcome the tempo loss from Lust for War and loses.
Game 3: He Induce Despair's my turn three Rage Nimbus, but misses his fourth land drop. He has Beastbreaker again for turn four, but with Lust for War, Frostwind Invoker, Skywatcher Adept and Regress in hand I basically can't lose against his tempo setback despite the fact he has triple (!) Induce Despair. He shows me his hand at the end with two Eldrazi stranded in it.
Match 2
Game 1: My opponent is three-colour levellers with lots of flyers. He casts a Merfolk Skyscout, which hurts me a bit before I get a Frostwind Invoker down to stop it. Unfortunately this sets up what he wanted to do... he Corpsehatches it, then proceeds to fully level his Caravan Escort and beat down. I fail to draw an answer and die horribly.
Game 2: He has an insane flyers draw and I Just Lose (TM). It's not even worth typing out.
Match 3
Game 1: I keep an initial hand with Staggershock, Gigantomancer and Frostwind Invoker, but my opponent's first two plays are a pair of Makindi Griffins and as it turns out I don't do anything until turn five. He casts a Daggerback Basilisk, which is nice because it lets me 2-for-1 him with Staggershock. I'v also drawn both Mnemonic Walls and a Vent Sentinel, but none of this is going to help against his Pelakka Wurm. Fortunately I topdeck an 8th land and so Gigantomancer comes down in time to save me. He gets Awakening Zone and it becomes clear he's a spawn deck. This leads to a tricky call as to whether to try to race him since I still don't have any non-Wall action. I attack with Gigantomancer, which probably isn't right. Obviously he trades it for the Pelakka Wurm. And then next turn I topdeck Rage Nimbus - doh! Still, this lets me gradually slaughter his board. We both have stupid numbers of lands by now so he manages to end the slaughter by fully levelling a Hedron Field Purist. I draw and fully level a Halimar Wavewatch to kill it. Finally I draw a Frostwind Invoker and have a proper threat. This is followed by Lord of Shatterskull pass, which will wreck him if fully levelled. But on the last possible turn he casts Artisan of Kosilek, bringing back the Wurm. For a moment I think it's going to get messy... but then I realise I have the mana to activate both my Invoker and Vent Sentinel on the same turn, which deals Enough.
Game 2: I have a rather nice initial hand of one of each land, Cryptologist, Sea Gate Oracle, Lust for War and Frostwind Invoker. Annoyingly he then opens with Wall of Omens, Awakening Zone and Daggerback Basilisk in that order. No good early Lust targets! He has basically infinite mana available thanks to Spawn, but this time draws no Eldrazi. His Wurm turns up again, making for a long game, but his removal is two copies of Guard Duty and as such he is powerless against Cryptologist. I don't do anything clever, just crush him really slowly under an absurd tide of card advantage, ending by flying over with Gigantomancer-boosted dudes c/o Frostwind Invoker.
So, a 2-1 result. Not too bad considering!
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Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
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<Limited Clan>
The real turning point of this draft is p2p4: Artisan over distortion strike. In my opinion, Artisan is only playable with a significant amount of ramp support, which is hard to come by in RU. Ditstortion Strike, on the other hand, would put you neatly into Kiln Fiend.dec.
I'm not a big fan of wall synergy because this format is defined by evasion and big guys. Aside from Guard Gomozoa they don't really protect you the way you want them to.
Also p3p4 clearly should have been merfolk skyscout.
P1P2 I think Regress is the better pick. Snake Umbra is not bad at all, but Regress is on colour and about the same power level, so I would have stuck with Regress.
P2P5: WHAT! Keening Stone is one of the more bombier card in this set, and @ P2P5, that's a gift from above (or the players on your left). It plays really well with a bunch of defenders too. Vent Sentinel isn't even that great, and that was your first one. Maybe if it was your third one, I'd make that pick. But I don't think Vent Sentinel #1 is anywhere close to a Keening Stone.
P2P9: What's more silly is that Vendetta still being in the pack. But a late Heat Ray can never be a bad thing.
P3P4: I would not have picked up the Teacher. Teacher is better in UB or UW, where you can get at least 6+ levelers. Whereas the Skyscout will always be good in your deck, and allows you to play offense and defense. You can even ping them twice with the Vent Sentinels if you want to.
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Fair enough. I wasn't sure how long games were going to go and liked the idea of it as a finisher.
You're probably right about the archetype, but your Guard Gomazoa comments are ironic, since that's the one thing it doesn't do! In particular, if I'm going to play a Defender that doesn't do anything else except defend then it really needs more power.
Yes, I agree in retrospect. Didn't realise how good 3-toughness flyers were!
Yeah, I possibly should have tried it just for the learning experience.
It was good, but I still don't know how to rate it. I won one game pretty much entirely by abusing the ability, but the rest of the time it was still a 5/3 flying blocker for 3, which felt strong.
Useful to know. Obviously as things worked out I didn't play with the Umbra.
Hehe - fair enough. I remember the forum discussion on the subject and it seemed quite controversial.
I agree with this partly because Vent Sentinel disappointed me a lot. Although the format is slow it really didn't feel like it actually stalled much and as such the activation cost on the Sentinel was really inconvenient. And it was bad in a race because it meant I couldn't chump block with my Defenders.
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
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<Limited Clan>
My thoughts exactly, and I was surprised you didn't grab it given your P1 Cryptologist. The level-up deck can be bad, but here you have two of the best cards for the archtype by pick two.
I noticed several points in the draft where Black seemed really open. Vendetta tabled (!) in pack 2, and you had several opportunities to grab Last Kiss and a Corpsehatch, and several of the black levelers plus a p3p4 Venerated Teacher to complement your Wavewatchers, Skywatchers and p3p3 Nirkana Cuttroat over the Gigantomancer, though I think you were correct in assessing the splashable bomb. I counted 3 chances to grab Gloomhunter to help with the evasive beats too.
It looks like White was being drafted pretty heavily, with Green close behind.
On the subject of which: is it good?
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
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MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
I would not pick it so early as P1P2 though! If you really want to force a Level Up build, the pick there is Wavewatch. At least it's still a playable Blue creature if your forcing plan doesn't work out.
Even better idea -- don't force cards that are only good in one particular color pair and one particular archetype.
I would tend to agree with you, but look at the contents of the pack:
Naturalize
Evolving Wilds
Nighthaze
Training Grounds
Bloodrite Invoker
Haze Frog
Snake Umbra (FOIL)
Regress
Soulbound Guardians
Kiln Fiend
Gravity Well
Halimar Wavewatch
Lagac Lizard
Island
The only cards that are also in serious consideration are the Regress and Halimar Wavewatch in Blue, with some alternatives in other colors. Are you really missing out if you skip the Wavewatch at this point to grab the Training Grounds? It's not like you're passing up something like Domestication, the likelihood of seeing another Halimar Wavewatch or Regress is pretty good. On the argument of taking a card that is good 'on its own', the Soulbound Guardians I think are by far the most powerful card here in a vacuum, and works well in a UW deck.
Will it make the cut? No idea at this point, but then again we don't even know if Blue will stay open or if we'll have to switch. It's this stage of the draft I'd be more inclined to grab a high risk/high return card that fits into a good archtype, not with the intention of forcing, but on the understanding that at least one of the colors we want to play (blue) really desires its levelers, and this is the best enabler for that in the set.
If there were better options in the pack, sure, take the more reliable card, but we're passing Training Grounds for a card that is initially worse than Kraken Hatchling and will only affect the board after a huge investment.
The draft looks pretty solid.
p1p2 is probably Regress. I like Snake Umbra, and I have seen it go much later than it should, but maybe not quite a 2nd pick.
p1p6 is kind of a lame pack. I might have taken the Evolving Wilds. I have yet to maindeck a Distortion Strike. I don't know if that is always correct, but blue usually has enough ways to evade already.
p1p7 Lust for War is probably the pick here, but I'm not sure I would have included it maindeck over Eel Umbra. Seems like it worked fine for you though.
p1p10 I would have been very happy with a second Halimar Wavewatch. His cheap level up cost makes him very worth it.
p2p1 I think Lord is the right pick here. He is a bomb.
p2p3 Staggershock is great. 3rd pick often seems late for it.
p2p4 For me the Artisan of Kozilek is the best Eldrazi. You can get to nine mana in most decks, and having a built in Zombify ability that works even if he is countered seems worth it to me. I have no problem sticking him in a deck even with minimal ramp. Plus there isn't much else here. And since you had two Hatchers, he seems fine in your final build.
p2p5 Keening Stone is good, but it only seems to work for my opponents so far. I had it in one deck, and it always seemed like I needed to do something else with my mana.
p2p7 Mnemonic vs Wavewatch is a really tough call here (not a ton of recursion possibilities yet). I like both cards a lot. Not sure which is right.
p2p9 This simply baffles me. There is no way that Inquisition of Kozilek should go before Vendetta (let alone Dread Drone). And is no one else in red? Heat Ray can be splashed too! This is baffling and clearly very nice for the deck.
p2p10 I probably would have maindecked this over Lay Bare. Reality Spasm can be bad at times, but being able to tap out your opponent for an alpha strike is worth it to me.
p3p4 As much as I like the Teacher, this late, it's going to be hard to get enough levelers to make him really worth it. Merfolk Skyscout is very good, and combos nicely with the Enclave Cryptologist.
p3p5 Spawning Breath is actually often useful, but this is a weak pack.
p3p7 Battle-Rattle Shaman is really good.
Deck: Why did you feel the need to play 3 forests and Prism to support one splash card? Seems like that could lead to some unnecessary mana issues. With the Prism, I might try to play a single Forest, or maybe 2.
So those are my initial thoughts. Of course it is early, and we both could be wrong. Overall, this looks like a very good first draft.