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Limited Lessons — A Green/Red TPF Draft Walkthrough

Read Nick Eisel every Tuesday... at StarCityGames.com!
Last week, Nick Eisel broke down the picks and tricks required in order for us to draft the popular Green/Red archetype in Time Spiral Limited. Today, he takes us through a sample Green/Red draft pick-by-pick, and examines a fair few difficult choices in some detail. He rounds out with the deck itself, and a rundown of the games played. If you’re looking for a new way to beat down with a forty-card deck, maybe Nick has the answers for you…

Last week I covered my favorite draft archetype in TPF, the mighty Green/Red. I thought it would make sense then to choose a draft walkthrough for this week where I went G/R and had a number of close decisions between on-color cards. There’s also the very real possibility that I should’ve just been in other colors entirely. I’ll leave that up to you guys though, and I’m interested to see feedback in the forums.

This draft is from an 8-4 queue on Magic online as per usual. I’ve been on quite a poor run of form lately, and have been losing in round 2 of most of the 8-4s I play in. It’s for this reason I feel shaky in some of my decision-making, even if I am playing pretty well overall.

Time Spiral
Pack 1
Pack 1

Spinneret Sliver, Spiketail Drakeling, Flamecore Elemental, Mana Skimmer, Two-Headed Sliver, Prismatic Lens, Clockspinning, Sidewinder Sliver, Venser’s Sliver, Viscid Lemures, Spirit Loop, Brine Elemental, Sulfurous Blast, Stronghold Overseer, Evil Eye of Orms-By-Gore

As good a pack as this is overall, I don’t think it’s a very difficult pick.

Black as a whole isn’t great in TPF, and committing for Stronghold Overseer at this point seems like a huge gamble as I could easily be moved off the color. There’s also the fact that a Red Wrath effect is present in the booster. If this pick were Slice and Dice versus Visara the Dreadful, I’d be going with the large Black monster, but in TPF, the Sulfurous Blast should always be the pick here unless you know the guy feeding you and know 100% that he will be Red and not Black (good luck getting this information). For what it’s worth, I didn’t even consider the Brine Elemental at all for this pick, as it is a whole step down the ladder in power level compared to the Overseer and Blast.

My Pick: Sulfurous Blast

Pack 2
Herd Gnarr, Trespasser il-Vec, Amrou Scout, Grapeshot, Scarwood Treefolk, Slipstream Serpent, Molder, Children of Korlis, Viscid Lemures, Ground Rift, Molten Slagheap, Krosan Grip, Weatherseed Totem, Giant Oyster

I probably wavered a little more than I should have on this pick, largely due to the fact that I love Green in this format and especially love G/R. You already knew that.

The two cards I was considering were Grapeshot and Totem, and I’m not really sure why I didn’t just take Grapeshot right away now that I’m looking back at this walkthrough. Taking Totem here (or any other card) just doesn’t make sense, as Grapeshot is excellent and a very good compliment to my first pick.

My Pick: Grapeshot

Pack 3
Crookclaw Transmuter, Strength in Numbers, Zealot il-Vec, Urborg Syphon-Mage, Snapback, Call to the Netherworld, Drifter il-Dal, Havenwood Wurm, Basal Sliver, Sage of Epityr, Thunder Totem, Evil Eye of Urborg, Fire Whip

When a pack pops up on the screen I can usually spot the correct pick very quickly, or I at least have a gut feeling about one card over the rest. When this pack came up, I was literally drawing a blank as to which direction was the best to go in. Let’s take a look at the options one by one.

First there is Fire Whip, which allows me to stay just in Red and still take a playable. What you have to realize though is that Fire Whip is much worse in this format than any kind of Psionic Gift effect has been in the past, because there is a ton of bounce and good removal. Back in TTT I thought Fire Whip was top notch until I played with it a few times, and I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I’d be. Now that the block is complete there are even more reasons why Auras are not very attractive. I also prefer aggressive Red decks to controlling ones, and Fire Whip is certainly better in something like U/R or W/R control, where you can stick it on a guy with a big butt and do double duty. The card is still playable in any deck with Mountains, but it goes against the grain sometimes if you’re trying to be aggressive, and you usually won’t have a good target to stick it on.

Next, Snapback and Crookclaw Transmuter in Blue. I believe Crookclaw is far better than Snapback in general, but even more so considering the first two cards I’ve picked in this draft. If I’m taking a Blue card here, I want the evasion creature even though Snapback does have good synergy with Grapeshot.

Finally, Strength in Numbers offers the chance to get into Green again. A bonus here is that Sulfurous Blast is at its best in G/R, and Strength is also one of my favorite cards in that archetype.

Even after typing that analysis, I’m still not sure I made the correct pick.

During the actual draft I narrowed it down to Strength and Fire Whip pretty quickly, since I couldn’t find a good reason to jump into U/R at this point. So the decision is between staying in just Red or potentially branching out into G/R. I eventually decided that I like Strength in Numbers far more than I like Fire Whip, and if I was going to take a “trick” from this pack, I might as well gamble a little on the better card even if it meant going into a second color. This is a pick I’d really like some opinions on in the forums, because it’s possible I’m biased by my love of Green and should’ve just taken the Whip here. I should mention also that I didn’t consider any of the Black cards due to shipping the Overseer and just wanting to avoid the color. There are better options in other colors anyway, so that shouldn’t be an issue.

My Pick: Strength in Numbers

Pack 4
Gaze of Justice, Gemhide Sliver, Dream Stalker, Wormwood Dryad, Venser’s Sliver, Clockspinning, Bogardan Rager, Smallpox, Return to Dust, Griffin Guide, Eron the Relentless

Decisions, decisions.

At first I was mad at myself for not staying Mono-Red with the last pick, but the more I think about it, how good would it be to take Griffin Guide here after taking Fire Whip with the last pick? I guess I’d have to do it, but then I’d be entering R/W, where Sulfurous Blast kills most of my guys, and I haven’t drafted a single creature yet. Oh, and I’d be taking another Aura, even if it is a bomb. Since I’m rambling here, why the hell is Griffin Guide even still in the pack!?

Anyway, I decided I couldn’t take the Guide here as that would be very wishy-washy, and I didn’t want to take it for a splash or to potentially switch when there were good cards in Green and Red.

Once I decided to stick to my guns, the pick came down to Eron the Relentless and Gemhide Sliver. While Eron is a good man, he’s no two-drop accelerator that allows for splashing, so I went with the Sliver.

A random question that I just thought of is that if I took Fire Whip third, is there any way it’d be right to just take Eron and aim for near Mono-Red? I guess if that was my strategy I should just splash Guide anyway, so maybe that was a stupid question.

This felt like an awkward pick after I made it, but the more I think about it, the more I’m confident that it was the right pick after taking Strength third.

My Pick: Gemhide Sliver

Pack 5
Crookclaw Transmuter, Strength in Numbers, Errant Doomsayers, Sage of Epityr, Divine Congregation, Mindlash Sliver, Jhoira’s Timebug, Undying Rage, Calciform Pools, Mangara of Corondor, Forest

Wow, these packs are good.

I can’t remember the last time I had a chance to choose between Mangara, Crookclaw, Strength in Numbers, and Undying Rage fifth. It’s also possible that the players in this draft are just picking sub-optimally, but there’s no way to know that for sure at this point as most of their ratings are reasonable.

This pick wasn’t too tough, as Strength in Numbers is far better than Undying Rage, and I’d decided to stick to G/R unless something bizarre happened that made me get off of the two Red cards.

My Pick: Strength in Numbers

Pack 6
Amrou Seekers, Temporal Eddy, Drudge Reavers, Psychotic Episode, Sprout, Aetherflame Wall, Pit Keeper, Nightshade Assassin, Fury Sliver, Auratog

As I’m sure you can gather by looking at the contents of this booster, I wasn’t happy about it. I can’t see taking Amrou Seekers or Nightshade Assassin here, as neither makes any sense. I guess the only option is to take Fury Sliver, which at least interacts well with double Strength in Numbers. Aetherflame Wall is not something I’m looking for in my G/R decks.

My Pick: Fury Sliver

Pack 7
Feebleness, Chromatic Star, Flowstone Channeler, Sangrophage, D’Avenant Healer, Wormwood Dryad, Mystical Teachings, Primal Forcemage, Volcanic Awakening

As I’ve said before, and I said in my G/R drafting guide last week, there are some picks that are hinged on what you already have in your pile. This is one of those picks, as I consider the Channeler to be the better overall card, but took the Forcemage from this booster.

Why would I do this with no Haste or Suspend creatures to speak of at this point? Two copies of Strength in Numbers, that’s why. There are two whole packs to get Suspend guys, Uktabi Drakes, and anything else that combos with Forcemage, and I think he is more than worth the gamble to kill someone out of nowhere with Strength.

My Pick: Primal Forcemage

Pack 8
Ironclaw Buzzardiers, Icatian Crier, Goblin Skycutter, Savage Thallid, Ancient Grudge, Celestial Crusader, Chronatog Totem, Grinning Totem

I was happy to get a late pick Skycutter here, as my creatures were somewhat non-existent at this point in the draft. The Savage Thallid and Buzzardiers aren’t really close in value, and I doubt I have to explain why so I went with the Goblin.

My Pick: Goblin Skycutter

On the lap I got Flamecore Elemental, Scarwood Treefolk, Aetherflame Wall, and a very late Bogardan Rager that I was happy about. Despite a number of tough picks, I was happy with how my deck looked after the first booster, as I had a lot of the best tricks and removal available.

Planar Chaos
Pack 2
Pack 1

Shaper Parasite, Battering Sliver, Whitemane Lion, Mire Boa, Utopia Vow, Blightspeaker, Ghost Tactician, Fury Charm, Fa’adiyah Seer, Primal Plasma, Revered Dead, Lavacore Elemental, Dismal Failure, Shrouded Lore, Braids, Conjurer Adept

This pack isn’t really exciting for anyone, but at least there’s a card for me in Mire Boa.

I don’t think it’s worth taking Shaper Parasite for the splash, even though it’s a better card and I do have Gemhide, as Mire Boa is no slacker.

My Pick: Mire Boa

Pack 2
Stingscourger, Saltfield Recluse, Veiling Oddity, Midnight Charm, Vitaspore Thallid, Deadly Grub, Aquamorph Entity, Firefright Mage, Mana Tithe, Melancholy, Prodigal Pyromancer, Mantle of Leadership, Cautery Sliver, Boom/Bust

I talked about this pick a bit in my drafting guide last week.

Usually, in this archetype I prefer the Stingscourger to the Pyromancer, since it’s a good compliment to the overall G/R game plan. This time around, nothing has changed except that the pick is even more skewed in favor of Stingscourger, since he helps force through the win with Strength in Numbers by removing a blocker with a big butt.

This pack also offers Boom/Bust as a choice, but I don’t really see this deck wanting to Armageddon, and particularly not when I have to take it over some of the best commons in Red.

My Pick: Stingscourger

Pack 3
Veiling Oddity, Ridged Kusite, Needlepeak Spider, Evolution Charm, Reality Acid, Citanul Woodreaders, Melancholy, Vampiric Link, Essence Warden, Tidewalker, Phantasmagorian, Magus of the Coffers, Reality Acid

In the forums of my article last week, someone said that Evolution Charm was unplayable in G/R. I posted a response, but it was probably too late in the week for anyone to really take notice, but this statement is certainly false. Evolution Charm is basically always something you’ll put in your deck. It is true that it’s weaker in G/R unless you’re splashing, but it still gets back Stingscourger for another go, at it or gives a guy flying to do the final points. This deck doesn’t really have any need to give flying due to having good tricks already, and the mana looks pretty solid as well.

Oh, I suppose I should mention that there’s a better card in the pack in the Woodreaders.

My Pick: Citanul Woodreaders

Pack 4
Battering Sliver, Aven Riftwatcher, Uktabi Drake, Blightspeaker, Aquamorph Entity, Evolution Charm, Merfolk Thaumaturgist, Skirk Shaman, Sinew Sliver, Pouncing Wurm, Dormant Sliver, Dunerider Outlaw

This pick was as frustrating as the Strength/Fire Whip/Crookclaw pick from pack 1, and again I’m not sure I made the right decision.

I eliminated the Evolution Charm right away, since there are three creatures that are all better options for me at this point. Next I decided I wasn’t taking the Skirk Shaman, as I have Primal Forcemage, and it is also double Red.

Even after narrowing it down to only Drake and Pouncing Wurm, I still think it’s a close pick. Both creatures have the potential to combo with the Forcemage, but I can’t see having enough mana to kick up Pouncing Wurm and cast Strength on it in the same turn, while I can easily do that with Uktabi Drake. It’s true I can wait until next turn, but a lot of bad things can happen in a turn, and I’d like to ambush someone when they were tapped out. Drake also combos with Grapeshot. Finally, I have Scarwood Treefolk, Flamecore Elemental, and Stingscourger in the four slot already. For these reasons I decided to go with the Drake, and am interested to see if you would’ve done the same. I think the deciding factor is that I can Drake plus Strength with Forcemage out, and Drake also has evasion.

My Pick: Uktabi Drake

Pack 5
Dawn Charm, Cradle to Grave, Wistful Thinking, Dash Hopes, Reality Acid, Citanul Woodreaders, Gossamer Phantasm, Skirk Shaman, Frenetic Sliver, Auramancer’s Guise, Reckless Wurm

This was another pick that possibly could’ve been different.

I booted the Shaman from contention right away, as both the Wurm and Woodreaders are better than it in general and in this draft. Looking over what I already have, I don’t have too many heavy hitters if you don’t count Flamecore Elemental or Fury Sliver, neither of which is certain to make the maindeck if I get enough other good cards. I also already have a Woodreaders, and I do have to kill my opponent eventually. I decided that casting Reckless Wurm and then Sulfurous Blast was simply too good to pass up on.

My Pick: Reckless Wurm

Pack 6
Stingscourger, Synchronous Sliver, Spitting Sliver, Keldon Marauders, Brute Force, Uktabi Drake, Fa’adiyah Seer, Bog Serpent, Waning Wurm, Timecrafting

Normally I would just take the Scourger here, but I debated a bit as I already have two echo guys and I thought maybe I’d want the Brute Force to again combo with my double Strength in Numbers. In the end I went with the Man-o’-War variant, but maybe I should’ve just taken the Brute Force because it also combos well with Sulfurous Blast.

The more I think about it, the more I think the counterintuitive pick was right in this instance.

My Pick: Stingscourger

Pack 7
Needlepeak Spider, Utopia Vow, Spitting Sliver, Aven Riftwatcher, Evolution Charm, Fury Charm, Bog Serpent, Healing Leaves, Sulfur Elemental

As I said at the beginning of this article, most of the packs offered choices between cards in my colors… this is what made me pick this draft for a walkthrough. This pick is no exception, as there are still four reasonable options for my seventh pick, which is rare.

I discounted the Needlepeak Spider because I have a lot of four drops already, with another Stingscourger in the mix now too. I also discounted Evolution Charm for reasons I mentioned earlier. I could see someone making a point for taking Utopia Vow here, but I really just wanted more early creatures so that my Stingscourgers and Strengths would be more potent. Utopia Vow is a late game card anyway, and what this deck wants at this point in the draft is cheap men to help create momentum.

My Pick: Sulfur Elemental

Pack 8
Poultice Sliver, Ridged Kusite, Brain Gorgers, Ghost Tactician, Simian Spirit Guide, Melancholy, Hunting Wilds, Benalish Commander

Not much to say on this one, except that I feel that Wilds is hugely underrated in general. Not only is it mana acceleration to power out Woodreaders or big men, but it is also a game breaker when cast with kicker in the late game. Unfortunately it doesn’t combo with Primal Forcemage, but I’m not complaining.

My Pick: Hunting Wilds

On the lap I picked up two Fury Charms, a Needlepeak Spider, and nothing else relevant. Again, I felt that my deck was solid at the end of this booster, though it could also use some early creatures to make some of the cards better.

Future Sight
Pack Three
Pack 1

Foresee, Rift Elemental, Augur il-Vec, Llanowar Empath, Grave Peril, Marshalling Cry, Mass of Ghouls, Lucent Liminid, Thornweald Archer, Flowstone Embrace, Mesmeric Sliver, Goldmeadow Lookout, Narcomoeba, Yixlid Jailer, Steamflogger Boss

I guess I’m doomed to mediocre non-Time Spiral packs.

This booster fits the theme of the draft in that I could see taking any of the three possible options present. Thornweald Archer is an early guy to help apply pressure, and it also trades with something bigger or that has evasion. Empath is probably not a great choice from this pack, as the four-slot is already clogged. Taking it can never be that bad though, as it is such a strong guy for any Green deck. Flowstone Embrace is cheap removal, of which I don’t have much.

I couldn’t decide between the Archer and the Blade because both fill holes in my deck. I ended up going with the Blade as it is slightly better overall, but looking back on the draft I would’ve been happier with the Archer. That doesn’t make the Blade the wrong pick, but I definitely think it’s something you can debate over, and either card is a fine choice.

My Pick: Flowstone Embrace

Pack 2
Putrid Cyclops, Rift Elemental, Llanowar Empath, Marshalling Cry, Unblinking Bleb, Lost Hours, Grave Scrabbler, Lumithread Field, Mesmeric Sliver, Deepcavern Imp, Mystic Speculation, Minion’s Murmurs, Tolaria West, Graven Cairns

Okay, so I got an Empath anyway, right?

If this were at a GP or a Pro Tour then yes, I’d certainly take Empath here. Since it’s on Magic Online and I already have 20 playables with some other potentials and almost an entire pack to go, I decided to rare draft the Graven Cairns, which was going for four tix at the time. As I said, my four-slot was already clogged, and this is guaranteed to net some of the cost of the draft back (which is nice, since I’ve been getting crushed lately).

My Pick: Graven Cairns

Pack 3
Augur of Skulls, Samite Censer-Bearer, Aven Augur, Ichor Slick, Bogardan Lancer, Frenzy Sliver, Ghostfire, Fomori Nomad, Patrician’s Scorn, Logic Knot, Festering March, Soultether Golem, Darksteel Garrison

At this point I’m beginning to think that the players in this draft just aren’t picking optimally, as I’m pretty sure Ghostfire and Ichor Slick should never be in this pack unless there was also a bomb uncommon and a Sprout Swarm (since the rare is still here). At any rate, I’m ecstatic to pick up Ghostfire after just rare drafting with my second pick.

My Pick: Ghostfire

Pack 4
Fatal Attraction, Cutthroat il-Dal, Gift of Granite, Quiet Disrepair, Mass of Ghouls, Vedalken Aethermage, Blade of the Sixth Pride, Grinning Ignus, Witch’s Mist, Emblem of the Warmind, Llanowar Mentor, Scout’s Warning

This pick wasn’t too difficult, as I took the removal spell over the Ignus and the Llanowar Mentor. Has anyone had success with Llanowar Mentor in G/R? I considered him briefly with this pick due to double Strength in Numbers, but then decided that I was being ridiculous and had to take the removal here. I definitely like him in G/U and G/B though, as he has a lot of synergy there.

My Pick: Fatal Attraction

Pack 5
Ichor Slick, Petrified Plating, Bogardan Lancer, Venser’s Diffusion, Oblivion Crown, Death Rattle, Blind Phantasm, Lumithread Field, Grinning Ignus, Dryad Arbor, Snake Cult Initiation

Yeah, this should basically never happen.

I guess it’s time to put that Graven Cairns to use and splash this Ichor Slick that should never be here fifth pick. I think this is a better option than just taking the Grinning Ignus, as the splash essentially costs me nothing with Cairns, Gemhide Sliver, and the ability to just cycle away the Slick if I don’t have the Black mana.

My Pick: Ichor Slick

Pack 6
Saltskitter, Cutthroat il-Dal, Fomori Nomad, Logic Knot, Lucent Liminid, Vedalken Aethermage, Virulent Sliver, Skizzik Surger, Chronomantic Escape, Quagnoth

A few picks later, and the theme of close picks has returned.

I’ve never played with Quagnoth in Limited, but it seems like he should be pretty good as he’s untargettable. Unfortunately that’s a downside for him in this deck, because I can’t cast a pump spell on him. I’ve had to make the pick between Fomori Nomad and Skizzik before, and I think the Nomad is better overall, but the pick is still deck-dependent. I wasn’t sure at this point if the Fury Sliver was making the cut or not, but I didn’t think I’d want to be sacrificing two lands when the Nomad was also a solid choice here. The only thing that made this pick closer is that Skizzik is bigger, and therefore better, with Strength or Fury Charm, and he also combos with Forcemage.

I decided to go for consistency here, and take the Fomori Nomad. If I wasn’t relying so heavily on the pump spells, I think I’d take the Quagnoth with this pick.

My Pick: Fomori Nomad

Pack 7
Emberwilde Augur, Putrid Cyclops, Augur il-Vec, Frenzy Sliver, Mesmeric Sliver, Patrician’s Scorn, Henchfiend of Ukor, Boldwyr Intimidator, Spellweaver Volute

I really like the Intimidator, and am also glad I took the Nomad now so that I don’t have to pay the Skizzik’s echo cost. Looking back at this draft I feel like maybe I should’ve given a little more weight to the Emberwilde Augur with this pick, as I am lacking in early guys. I still think Intimidator is probably best, and it fits my overall plan better, but I definitely didn’t give enough thought to taking the Augur at the time. I also have Hunting Wilds to power out this bad boy, and plenty of ways to give trample if I can’t make enough Cowards.

My Pick: Boldwyr Intimidator

Pack 8
Knight of Sursi, Grave Peril, Wrap in Vigor, Samite Censer-Bearer, Henchfiend of Ukor, Lymph Sliver, Homing Sliver, Spirit en-Dal

Since there is literally nothing I want here for my deck, I decided to hate draft the Knight of Sursi. I really don’t like Wrap in Vigor and I have plenty of other tricks already. As it stands, I doubt Fury Charm is making the cut anyway, and it’s a million times better than Wrap in my opinion.

My Pick: Knight of Sursi

To round out the draft I got absolutely nothing. I was forced to hate draft a Lucent Liminid, and there were literally no other cards in my color, which was frustrating. Future Sight definitely could’ve gone a lot better for me, but at least I escaped with enough playables.

The Deck

Graven Cairns
8 Forest
8 Mountain
Bogardan Rager
Boldwyr Intimidator
Citanul Woodreaders
Fatal Attraction
Fomori Nomad
Gemhide Sliver
Ghostfire
Goblin Skycutter
Grapeshot
Hunting Wilds
Ichor Slick
Mire Boa
Needlepeak Spider
Reckless Wurm
Scarwood Treefolk
2 Stingscourger
2 Strength in Numbers
Sulfurous Blast
Sulfur Elemental
Uktabi Drake
Flowstone Embrace

Relevant Sideboard:
2 Fury Charm
Aetherflame Wall
Flamecore Elemental
Primal Forcemage
Fury Sliver

Primal Forcemage was the last cut from the deck, as I really didn’t get anything to go with it. The one Uktabi Drake is simply not enough, and I felt splashing Ichor Slick “for free” was better than the Forcemage. This deck is on the slower side anyway, and adding a Grey Ogre wasn’t going to help much. As I said earlier, the Fury Charms couldn’t make the cut either, and I definitely wish I had Thornweald Archer over Flowstone Embrace.

Round 1 I won a very weird game 1 where I did nothing before playing out Scarwood Treefolk on turn 4. I had to maneuver into a position to wreck him with Sulfurous Blast by taking a lot of damage from Infiltrator il-Kor and waiting until his Castle Raptor became tapped. There was a turn where I cast both Uktabi Drake and Stingscourger and then failed to pay echo for either on the following turn. I was trying to get him to block the Drake with Castle Raptors, but for whatever reason he didn’t, and I had to take another three damage while waiting a turn. I used the Scourger to bounce the Infiltrator (since he didn’t block with Raptors), and eventually won after using a cycled Ichor Slick to kill Thunder Totem at four life. I boarded in Aetherflame Wall for Scarwood Treefolk to give myself another answer to Infiltrator il-Kor.

Game 2 I lost largely due to Teferi’s Moat on Red and my opponent having lots of evasion creatures yet again. I will say that he did a good job playing around Sulfurous Blast this game, and possibly even went too far by bringing in Samite Censer-Bearer. I didn’t have the Blast, but there was never a turn where it would’ve turned the tide if I did, since I had two 4/4 Red men that couldn’t attack and a grip full of cards that didn’t help stop his evasion guys. Thunder Totem had finished me off, and I decided it was a problem serious enough to warrant bringing in Fury Charm.

Game 3 I kept the following hand on the play:

Forest
Mountain
Stingscourger
Sulfur Elemental
Sulfurous Blast
Hunting Wilds
Ghostfire

I considered mulling this, but it has enough game if I draw one land, and also the potential to come back with Sulfurous Blast if I fall too far behind. I ended up missing two land drops, but I drew Gemhide so that I was actually in the game. We traded creatures and removal for a little while, and when I finally hit the third land I powered up with Hunting Wilds. I eventually cast Sulfurous Blast when I had Reckless Wurm and Gemhide against a Morph, Aven Riftwatcher, and Samite Censer-Bearer. I also had Grapeshot to finish off anything that lived. While this wasn’t going to be the most profitable Sulfurous Blast ever cast, I had three guys in my hand that I was ready to play and all of them would die to Blast anyway. I also wanted my Wurm to be able to start attacking. Unfortunately for me, this ended up being turning point of the game in my opponent’s favor, as he had a Shaper Parasite I hadn’t seen in either of the previous games, and used it to finish off my Wurm. At that point the board was completely empty with both of us at fifteen. My opponent cast Foresee on his own turn, which yielded a second Shaper Parasite I hadn’t seen (but found out about when I Stingscourgered it to get through). He also drew a second Foresee off of the first, and used it to get Castle Raptors. From that point, he killed my Needlepeak Spider and I had no way to stop the Totem or Raptors and no way to race thanks to the two Shapers.

See you in the forums!

Nick Eisel
[email protected]
Soooooo on MTGO