My second online Theros draft starts with a busty bomb, then goes in a couple directions at once, then returns back to finish off strong. Let's jump in.
Pack 1 pick 1:
A+C is a B-O-M, bomb. Vig + first strike + the potential for blowouts? Sign me up. Too bad it's approximately 0 tix.
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Pack 1 pick 2:
It looks like our direct neighbor is probably not in red, although they took a rare, so it is no sure thing. Cyclops, Dryad, Vaporkin, and Griptide, are all very good.
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Pack 1 pick 3:
Acolyte is probably the best card here, Jonathan has had some success with the minotaur tribal archetype, the scorpion is criminally strong, and there is no white worth mentioning. Cheap trick it is.
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Pack 1 pick 4:
Potential turning point: there is no good white or red. Disciple and big green is better than it looks, but I <3 emmisaries.
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Pack 1 pick 5:
Good red heroic enabler means I will stick with that for now.
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Pack 1 pick 6:
Black Eidolon is sweet, but again a quality red card will keep me on track.
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Pack 1 pick 7:
Outside of green-white, there is not much here.I could pick up a cheap Amulet to enable a splash of A+C perhaps? The 3/2 is serviceable but not synergistic, so he (she?) will likely be our 23rd/24th card.
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Pack 1 pick 8:
That is a real late Acolyte, so now I'm thinking about bailing for green. I give up one of the two combat tricks, which is a fair trade considering I already have a Titan's Strength in the pile.
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Pack 1 pick 9:
Gods Willing. Ding!
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Pack 1 pick 10:
The cantrip enchantment cycle is wayyyy better than it looks.
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Pack 1 pick 11:
That being said, we could use some early dudes, even if they are underwhelming.
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Pack 1 pick 12:
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Pack 1 pick 13:
Ask and ye shall receive, eh?
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Pack 1 pick 14:
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Pack 1 pick 15:
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After pack one, our color situation looks like this:
The red is stronger than the white, but if we open the right bombs, I'm not married to any of it. Keep in mind we could splash A+C if we need.
Pack 2 pick 1:
The proverbial "I would take this whole pack" pack. In order, I would take Spear, Rider, Onslaught, Emissary. The enchantment part of the spear fits my goals nicely. The artifact part is pretty unbeatable if you play it right.
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Pack 2 pick 2:
Leader is a pretty easy pick here.
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Pack 2 pick 3:
A gift!
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Pack 2 pick 4:
The new FoF is worth zilch, so I pick up this set's Knightly Valor.
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Pack 2 pick 5:
I don't think we have enough humans to make the Pegaus sing, so a second 4/3 it is.
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Pack 2 pick 6:
Late blue bestow (the best one), but I'll take the red one.
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Pack 2 pick 7:
I like Fanatic as a surprise closer of games.
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Pack 2 pick 8:
We will have some awkward mana requirements, but so many cards combo well with double strike.
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Pack 2 pick 9:
And now some diversification, I guess. Not sure why I didn't go with a second hound. We won;t be suicide red, but more like Voltron Red, where the double strike will shine.
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Pack 2 pick 10:
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Pack 2 pick 11:
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Pack 2 pick 12:
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Pack 2 pick 13:
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Pack 2 pick 14:
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Pack 2 pick 15:
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After pack two, we look like this:
Pack 3 pick 1:
It's too late to move into blue or green, but our deck could certainly use some top end.
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Pack 3 pick 2:
I hurts to pass Shellie, but she is not for us today.
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Pack 3 pick 3:
Divine Verdict is surprisingly good in this format.
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Pack 3 pick 4:
This pick was very close for me, between the white Eidolon and the Emissary. Both are more often cast for four mana and I think I would prefer the bigger creature at that point.
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Pack 3 pick 5:
We actually have a few humans we might play, but this is probably one of those situations where if I put the awkward human package in, I will have 25 cards and if I take it out I will have 21.
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Pack 3 pick 6:
Just what the doctor ordered. Rage is actually not very good, so I might not even take it over the hasty minotaur still in this pack.
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Pack 3 pick 7:
Ugh. Nothing here for us.
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Pack 3 pick 8:
If this guy were human, maybe he'd fit in the awkward human package, but he's not and he doesn't.
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Pack 3 pick 9:
Sideboard against Scorpions and Vaporkin.
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Pack 3 pick 10:
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Pack 3 pick 11:
Siddeboard against godly weaponry. I don't need another human bear.
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Pack 3 pick 12:
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Pack 3 pick 13:
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Pack 3 pick 14:
This is NOT last pick material. If you aren't green, it is still OK.
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Pack 3 pick 15:
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I ended up cutting two four-drop minotaurs for the humans package, but that got swapped in and out at sideboard time against fliers and decks with bigger ground guys (most non-heroic decks). Our curve stops at 5 (with two six-mana bestow guys and an 8-mana monster), so 17 land seems fine, although that three slot is full of tough mana costs.
Round 1, I played a blue-black deck with Ashiok, Abhorrent Overlord, Prognostic Sphinx, 2x Griptide and 2x Shipwreck singer. Obviously I won 2-1, losing only the game I mulled to 4.
Round 2 was a blue-white deck where I played into Stymied Hopes, Triton Tactics, and Battlewise Valor. It seemed like our Villain just had it every time.I lose game one, then win game two when Villain mana screws for a couple turns on three land. Game three, I play A+C for the first time of the draft and grind away with two auras on it (them).
There was one fun situation that came up in game three but just didn't quite work out right. First strike damage has already been applied.
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| Do you see it? |
I could Divine Verdict my own bomb (since first stike is over and it already dealt its six), granting another +1/+1 to each of my creatures, saving my minotaur but killing Villain's giant, killing the wall, and trampling over for one more. I'd also get my 2/2 vigilant guy in play. With Villain tapped out, that would have been a sweet finishing move, but in reality he would still be at 1, so I decide to carry on with a dominating monster in play and a removal spell still in hand. I trade giants, keep the game going and grind out the win a few turns of chumping later.
Match three is against a green-red deck. In game one, my double- and first strikers beat past his deathtouch scorpion then I Voltron up a 5/5 vigilant first-striker and a 7/6 first striker.
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| Must be nice. |
Game two, I keep a sketchy hand that could get real good, real quickly.
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| Four of my best cards and just a mountain away from casting all of them. |
On turn two, I draw a mountain and I'm in business. I have three great heroic creatures, but none of my ways to target them. I'm sure I punted here. Because I was mana light, I wanted to get creatures on the board before I started saving mana for Spear activations. In the end, I never activated Spear and lost with Divine Verdict in hand and an army in play when Villain dropped an island and Nimbus Niad out of nowhere for the win while I was holding Spear mana open.
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| Definitely should have won this game. |
Game three of the finals doesn't go well. We both mull to five cards, and I keep four land and a three-drop first striking Gray Ogre on the play. I draw well, picking up a four-drop minotaur, but Villain makes a turn two Vaporkin, then turn three red ordeal and I find no answer by turn 6, when the 5/4 flier left behind kills me.
Was that a splashed Vaporkin or did Villain have three colors all along, only showing me one island and one blue card in the first two games? In the last game, Villain finished with one mountain, one forest, and two islands in play. Certainly that was a weird one, but if I take care of business in game two, it wouldn't have mattered.
