My Pick:
I could take Far//Away and do that dance again, but this is my opportunity to take a power common, cut a Gatecrash guild, and see if I can make that work. I choose Tithe Drinker over Beetleform Mage because duh. This draft may have gone better with the Far//Away, but I don't care.
Pack 1 pick 2:
My Pick:
Tithe Drinker #2 passing no other great Orzhov cards? Yes please.
Pack 1 pick 3:
My Pick:
The choice here is Snare Squad or Fatal Fumes, but I just don't like Fumes. It's a combat trick not removal and it is too expensive for that.
Pack 1 pick 4:
My Pick:
Ooohh! A late Firstblade, but if I'm going aggro Orzhov (and I hope I am) that Boros mana on turn 3 will be tough. Safer to take the one-color bear.
Pack 1 pick 5:
My Pick:
Fumes, Roc, or Profit//Loss? Aggro Orzhov seems like it would be the best for the fuse card, so that it is.
Pack 1 pick 6:
My Pick:
Easy Roc. Late Mossdog, but that isn't for me.
Pack 1 pick 7:
My Pick:
Really late Firstblade. I could take a second Roc, but I haven't seen much Orzhov and my white cards will all go in Boros splash black, so I hedge here and take it as a strong signal.
Pack 1 pick 8:
My Pick:
Second Snare Squad? Don't mind if I do.
Pack 1 pick 9:
My Pick:
There is not much here this late. Either Morgue Burst (underwhelming with all my 2-power dudes) or maybe I get lucky on gates and play the gatekeeper. Probably not.
Pack 1 pick 10:
My Pick:
I'll play Toil alone if need be.
Pack 1 pick 11:
My Pick:
Black & White & Red Aggro? Sounds terrible. This may have been better as Maze Rusher.
Pack 1 pick 12:
My Pick:
Could help a red or black splash with my white.
Pack 1 pick 13:
My Pick:
Who knows?
Pack 1 pick 14:
My Pick:
Maybe...
Pack 1 pick 15:
My Pick:
First pack results |
Pack 2 pick 1:
My Pick:
Oof. No Orzhov cards and a certified Boros bomb.
Pack 2 pick 2:
My Pick:
Again, nothing worth taking in Orzhov. Now we have two Tithe Drinkers, a Toil, and the start of a Boros deck.
Pack 2 pick 3:
My Pick:
Decision time. Or not. I could have cemented Boros with the Warmind, but I go for the first gate I've seen in my three possible colors. This may have been grasping at straws.
Pack 2 pick 4:
My Pick:
The first pack with an Orzhov card (Screecher). I could take prism and try three-color. I have another chance to go straight Boros with the Halberdiers, but I take the safe route with white Denizen. I figure I'm definitely in white and I already have a bunch of white creatures. This is a scared pick in an effort to stay open and take what's coming. If I'm going three-color, I should take prism. If I's ditching black, I should take the two-drop.
Pack 2 pick 5:
My Pick:
Here I finally decide Boros is more open.
Pack 2 pick 6:
My Pick:
I like Bomber Corps worse than others and I like Court Street better than others.
Pack 2 pick 7:
My Pick:
Court Street #3 gives me 5 tappers that only work on offense. This may have been better as Infantry, but each white creature makes the other Denizens better, right?
Pack 2 pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 9:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 10:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 15:
My Pick:
Going into pack 3, I need two-drops, because four of my current twos have black in their cost and the plan is to minimize black if possible.
Pack 3 pick 1:
My Pick:
Nice. Supreme Verdict is only like 1.2 tix.
Pack 3 pick 2:
My Pick:
Smiter is only 1 tix also.
Pack 3 pick 3:
My Pick:
This pack is going well so far.
Pack 3 pick 4:
My Pick:
Very well.
Pack 3 pick 5:
My Pick:
I don't think I want Shred-Freak. Rogues Passage maybe?
Pack 3 pick 6:
My Pick:
Arrester? or big burn? Arrester may have been better.
Pack 3 pick 7:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 8:
My Pick:
I've given up on black.
Pack 3 pick 9:
My Pick:
The trick is better with the cheap guys. Cobble brute is better with the tappers and Rogue's Passage.
Pack 3 pick 10:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 11:
My Pick:
Nice.
Pack 3 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 15:
My Pick:
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I lay out the pool and I don't really like the Boros build or the black splash.
Which would you rather?
Triple two-drop on the splash seems bad |
Let's go with straight Boros |
I said consistency. Mull. |
At least I can cast some spells. Better than five. Keep, I guess. |
Game two, I side into the black version because I feel like the white didn't have enough punch. I win with a bunch of tappers and don't draw a swamp or a black spell.
Game three, I almost pull it off, but don't. All three games against my aggro deck he plays the 0/5 on turn two. An inauspicious start, but I didn't draw Firemane Avenger, Firstblade, Skynight, Annihilating Fire, Splatter Thug, or Explosive Impact in any of the three games. I think I can do better.
Round 2 seems to be the mirror.
This may have gone better with a different land/spell balance, but his isn't great either. I lose this one on turn 17. |
Not a keep |
Game three the 3-color monstrosity works like a charm with turn 2 Tithe Drinker followed up by control elements.
Sideboarded to perfection. Note he has no hand and I have two removal spells. |
His name has not been changed to protect the guilty. |
Nasty. He's about to take 9 and lose his three-drop. |
Game two ends in spectacular fashion as I steal his Incursion Specialist with 3 +1/+1 counters, and Swift Justice it for my second spell of the turn to make it unblockable, then get in for the win.
So I go 2-1, winning the losers' bracket.
Takeaway Lesson:
Commit to either all three colors or one guild earlier. I think the three-color plan was better than the streamlined, weaker main deck, even though all the black cards were two-drops. And it could have been even stronger if I commit a little earlier.
"You're deck seems so bad"
ReplyDeletebrilliant, does he know John Burke?
This is an AWESOME post; I loved seeing each pack and you breaking down your logic for each pick. Plus there are pictures that help jog my memory so I don't get stumped as to what the Roc is.
ReplyDeleteReading several times now.