Commander 2016 Rotisserie Draft: The Draftening, Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of Commander 2016 Rotisserie Draft: The Draftening! You can find Part 1 with the first twenty rounds of picks here.

Round 21

Player	Pick
Sheldon	Nylea, God of the Hunt
Tom	Merciless Eviction
Anthony	Tragic Arrogance
Shea	Thief of Blood
Keith	Sire of Stagnation
Keith	Sphinx’s Revelation
Shea	Fathom Mage
Anthony	Uyo, Silent Prophet
Tom	Eternal Witness
Sheldon	Oblivion Sower

It’s good news for Shea that he got Thief of Blood so that no one can wreck him with it. It makes me wonder if I should take Spike Cannibal as 99th pick.

Keith’s Sire of Stagnation pick is another I wish I had considered earlier. It would have been sweet to grab that and Oblivion Sower in the same round. As it is, Oblivion Sower will almost always target Anthony, since his land count will be highest and I’ll likely get the biggest hits off of him.

Round 22

Player	Pick
Tom	Windswept Heath
Anthony	Crush of Tentacles
Shea	Corpsejack Menace
Keith	Ertai, the Corrupted
Sheldon	Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
Sheldon	Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Keith	Venser, the Sojourner
Shea	Kalonian Hydra
Anthony	Coastal Breach
Tom	Cultivator’s Caravan

When you’re going to wheel, double Eldrazi are always saucy. With some of the picks in the draft (and some at this point which haven’t yet come but I suspect are going to, especially regarding graveyard hate), I want these Eldrazi as some kind of protection, to either pitch to Survival of the Fittest (in the seconds it tends to stick around) or sacrifice to one of my outlets.

Round 23

Player	Pick
Anthony	Alchemist’s Refuge
Shea	Enduring Scalelord
Keith	Hex Parasite
Sheldon	Explosive Vegetation
Tom	Hellrider
Tom	Brutal Hordechief
Sheldon	Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
Keith	Dromar, the Banisher
Shea	Baleful Strix
Anthony	Hunting Wilds

I think people have forgotten ramp by this point, so it’s time to cherry-pick stuff like Explosive Vegetation. Rashmi, Eternities Crafter goes with the pseudo-cascade part of the deck; it turns out getting spells for free is nice. Tom will clearly kill some people with Hellrider. In theory I like Keith’s Hex Parasite, but don’t think it’s going to be able to keep up with Shea’s proliferation.

Round 24

Player	Pick
Shea	Juniper Order Ranger
Keith	Akroma, Angel of Wrath
Sheldon	Gigantoplasm
Tom	Champion of Lambholt
Anthony	Sylvan Reclamation
Anthony	Return to Dust
Tom	Swords to Plowshares
Sheldon	Expropriate
Keith	Sphinx of the Steel Wind
Shea	Forgotten Ancient

Anthony’s exile wheel is strong. Sphinx of the Steel Wind causes me to consider that Keith is the only one who is really paying attention to things involving color, although my Swords are a slight nod in that direction. After the draft is over, I have some regret that I didn’t consider it more.

Round 25

Player	Pick
Keith	Academy Ruins
Sheldon	Selvala’s Stampede
Tom	Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Anthony	Into the Core
Shea	Propaganda
Shea	Ghostly Prison
Anthony	Calming Verse
Tom	Duplicant
Sheldon	Phyrexian Ingester
Keith	Capital Punishment

You can see that we’ve all developed the idea that our wheels must be thematic. When you’re on the wheel is obviously the best time to snag a two-card combo so that no one can undercut you. Otherwise, I love the flavor of taking two cards which are somehow themed together.

Round 26

Player	Pick
Sheldon	Melira, Sylvok Outcast
Tom	Raging Ravine
Anthony	Life from the Loam
Shea	Vorel of the Hull Clade
Keith	Enigma Sphinx
Keith	Sphinx Sovereign
Shea	Norn’s Annex
Anthony	Splendid Reclamation
Tom	Ogre Battledriver
Sheldon	Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

Oh, that Splendid Reclamation will indeed be splendid every now and again. I picked up Melira, Sylvok Outcast because I have a few creatures with persist, and I have Cauldron of Souls on my list. I also wanted to provide some setup for a few of the Amonkhet cards I’ll look to draft.

Round 27

Player	Pick
Tom	Harmonize
Anthony	Urban Evolution
Shea	Inspiring Call
Keith	Reliquary Tower
Sheldon	Exotic Orchard
Sheldon	Consecrated Sphinx
Keith	Reflecting Pool
Shea	Storm Seeker
Anthony	Words of Wind
Tom	Reclamation Sage

Consecrated Sphinx went in Round 3 last time. Someone mentioned that it was still available, and when no one else picked it up, it seemed silly not to.

Shea’s response of drafting Storm Seeker is amazing, amusing, and will certainly get me wrecked at some point. In pre-season games, he’s already done fifteen-plus damage to me with it on more than one occasion.

Round 28

Player	Pick
Anthony	Animist’s Awakening
Shea	Cauldron of Souls
Keith	Reflect Damage
Sheldon	Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
Tom	Smuggler’s Copter
Tom	Blind Obedience
Sheldon	Yavimaya Elder
Keith	Deflecting Palm
Shea	Duelist’s Heritage
Anthony	Iroas, God of Victory

Daggers from Shea on stealing away Cauldron of Souls, but I had my chances, so the blame’s on me. Once I’ve drafted the high-power creatures, Selvala, Heart of the Wilds should be able to fuel some real insanity. Yayimaya Elder also being around at this point was a pleasant surprise I couldn’t pass up. Tom getting Blind Obedience this late had made me hope that everyone (including me) had thought that Shea was going to draft it early and everyone (except me) had forgotten. Obviously, Tom didn’t. When Keith drafted Deflecting Palm, I acknowledged that it will be completely fair if he kills me with my own Boom Tube.

Round 29

Player	Pick
Shea	Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury
Keith	Thada Adel, Acquisitor
Sheldon	Disciple of Bolas
Tom	Dragonlord Dromoka
Anthony	Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
Anthony	Jolrael, Empress of Beasts
Tom	Inferno Titan
Sheldon	Pawn of Ulamog
Keith	It That Betrays
Shea	Hindervines

My sacrifice outlets aren’t that great at this point, so Disciple of Bolas makes sense. I’d still rather one or two more which are mana-free so that I can do things when the battlefield wipes happen.

Pawn of Ulamog helps rebuild right away, although it’ll be tough to choose whether I want to play that for its recovery opportunity or Blood Artist for its punishment of the battlefield wiper. Thada Adel, Acquisitor is an outstanding pick for Keith—although the person with Sol Ring doesn’t have Islands.

Round 30

Player	Pick
Keith	Sen Triplets
Sheldon	Disciple of Griselbrand
Tom	Zealous Conscripts
Anthony	Countryside Crusher
Shea	Putrefy
Shea	Mortify
Anthony	Terravore
Tom	Skullclamp
Sheldon	Living Death
Keith	Twincast

Keith’s Sen Triplets is really techy. In addition to be able to cast cards from someone’s hand, he can shut down other players’ (mostly Shea’s, I think) ability to do things which might stop him from doing cool stuff. I think Tom said out loud something like “Holy crap, no one’s taken Zealous Conscripts.”

Round 31

Player	Pick
Sheldon	Rise of the Dark Realms
Tom	Conqueror’s Flail
Anthony	Detritivore
Shea	Krosan Grip
Keith	Hangarback Walker
Keith	Walking Ballista
Shea	Wrath of God
Anthony	Loaming Shaman
Tom	Sandsteppe Citadel
Sheldon	Geth, Lord of the Vault

Biggest groan of the draft came from Keith when I drafted Geth—since that’s who he thought he was drafting when he picked up Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet back in Round 8. After the draft, I offered to trade him straight up, and he declined. I thought it was a pretty fair deal, since it’s a good trade for both of us, but I couldn’t convince him that I didn’t have any ulterior motives (which is the truth—I really just wanted him to have a card that he wants). This group thinks (somewhat reasonably, based on the past) that I’m always one step ahead of them—which is generally good for me—but it’s not nearly the truth as often as they think it is. Anyway, I get Geth and Keith has declined the trade twice. You all should convince him to take it.

Round 32

Player	Pick
Tom	Savage Lands
Anthony	Knight of the Reliquary
Shea	Narset Transcendent
Keith	Calciform Pools
Sheldon	Surrak Dragonclaw
Sheldon	Sun Quan, Lord of Wu
Keith	Mage-Ring Network
Shea	Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Anthony	Retreat to Coralhelm
Tom	Gavony Township

Surrak is probably unnecessary since there aren’t that many counterspells running around, but I really love the trample angle—and it’s a 6/6 for 5. No one else has horsemanship cards, which makes my team effectively unblockable (although there are some Clones which might upset that).

Round 33

Player	Pick
Anthony	Rubblehulk
Shea	Tezzeret’s Gambit
Keith	Dreadship Reef
Sheldon	Kessig Wolf Run
Tom	Anafenza, the Foremost
Tom	Molten Primordial
Sheldon	Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Keith	Split Decision
Shea	Opal Palace
Anthony	Ulvenwald Hydra

My picks around the wheel were going to be Rubblehulk and Kessig Wolf Run, because sometimes, you want to kill someone with commander damage. Anthony got one of them ahead of me, which made me a little sad, but I’ll deal.

Round 34

Player	Pick
Shea	Deadly Tempest
Keith	Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Sheldon	Malignus
Tom	Martial Coup
Anthony	Pulse of Llanowar
Anthony	Constant Mists
Tom	Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
Sheldon	Tidespout Tyrant
Keith	Allay
Shea	Tangle

Malignus is an important pick, not just because it’s huge, but because its damage can’t be prevented. In light of a few of the Fogs and You Did This to Yourself cards running around, it becomes significant.

Even one of Tom’s creatures with protection from red via Sword of Fire and Ice would fall in the face of the mighty Malignus.

Round 35

Player	Pick
Keith	Shattering Pulse
Sheldon	Sangromancer
Tom	Dragonlair Spider
Anthony	Rowen
Shea	Bane of Progress
Shea	Darkness
Anthony	Lotus Cobra
Tom	Ohran Viper
Sheldon	Woodfall Primus
Keith	Bloodgift Demon

At this point in the draft, we’re once again thrumming along pretty quickly, as we’re picking up lots of utility cards. I want to double-check, but I think that Shea’s Darkness is the earliest-printed nonland card drafted.

Round 36

Player	Pick
Sheldon	Yasova Dragonclaw
Tom	Surrak, the Hunt Caller
Anthony	Burn Away
Shea	Woodland Cemetery
Keith	Agonizing Demise
Keith	Dismantling Blow
Shea	Sunpetal Grove
Anthony	Centaur Vinecrasher
Tom	Temple of Malady
Sheldon	Noxious Gearhulk

Agonizing Demise is pretty scary—but less so for me, since the largest of my creatures save for Malignus are black. After the fact, Keith says that Backlash might have been a cooler pick. I start the cascade of Gearhulks which will continue in Round 37. I still think I got the best one, and I’m not above destroying my own Lord of Extinction in order to gain lots of life.

Round 37

Player	Pick
Tom	Temple of Silence
Anthony	Baral’s Expertise
Shea	Temple of Mystery
Keith	Combustible Gearhulk
Sheldon	Overwhelming Stampede
Sheldon	Triumph of the Hordes
Keith	Cataclysmic Gearhulk
Shea	Verdurous Gearhulk
Anthony	Natural Balance
Tom	Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

I take Triumph of the Horde for two reasons. First is to make a fun wheel with Overwhelming Stampede. Second is that Keith had just sworn that he’d draft Leeches in response to the first infect card picked. I doubt I put it into the deck unless I find out that I’m so underpowered that it’s an equalizer (subsequent preseason games have not confirmed that it is). Keith’s Cataclysmic Gearhulk might render those big graveyard recursions moot, but we’ll see. It’s a strong card and will force me to think quite differently.

Round 38

Player	Pick
Anthony	Gaea’s Balance
Shea	Temple of Deceit
Keith	Surveyor’s Scope
Sheldon	Tooth and Nail
Tom	Fauna Shaman
Tom	Angel of Finality
Sheldon	Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Keith	Dakkon Blackblade
Shea	Opulent Palace
Anthony	Craterhoof Behemoth

Tooth and Nail is still available, so I take it. I know I have Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, so there’s no way I’m drafting Triskelion. If I’m going to resolve a Tooth and Nail to win a game, I want it to because of the battlefield state, not just the two cards I get.

I drafted Momir Vig to go along with both Lurking Predators and Rashmi, Eternities Crafter, but it seems like the more control-ish version just isn’t the way I’m going to want to play.

Round 39

Player	Pick
Shea	Seaside Citadel
Keith	Master Trinketeer
Sheldon	Bloodbraid Elf
Tom	Bituminous Blast
Anthony	Keranos, God of Storms
Anthony	Kruphix, God of Horizons
Tom	Greenwarden of Murasa
Sheldon	Llawan, Cephalid Empress
Keith	Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Shea	Comeuppance

Llawan is a nod to having some color control, since lots of good blue creatures have gotten drafted. I was initially worried about it getting Cloned, but then realized the Clones are all blue. When Keith drafts Gray Merchant of Asphodel, the rest of us wonder why we hadn’t. Shea drafting Comeuppance does more than him just having the card available. It makes us know that he has the card available, which might keep us from battling him. I actually think my strategy against his Fogs is to attack into him early. Even if he wrecks me a little bit with them, they’ll be out of his hand for later.

Round 40

Player	Pick
Keith	Crusading Knight
Sheldon	Hermit Druid
Tom	Conquering Manticore
Anthony	Retreat to Valakut
Shea	The Mimeoplasm
Shea	Black Market
Anthony	Retreat to Kazandu
Tom	Brimaz, King of Oreskos
Sheldon	Sheoldred, Whispering One
Keith	Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Keith asks “What’s the one that gets +1/+1 for each Swamp?” and then drafts it and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in the same round. This is the way we do things. Hermit Druid does in this deck kind of what he does in my Karador, Ghost Chieftain deck—thins basic lands out of my deck and slowly puts creatures into the graveyard. The big Living Death / Rise of the Dark Realms plans are going by the wayside based on what other folks have drafted/will draft, so I’m going to have to think a little more conservatively.

Round 41

Player	Pick
Sheldon	Wilderness Elemental
Tom	Akroma’s Memorial
Anthony	Skyward Eye Prophets
Shea	Aquastrand Spider
Keith	Havengul Lich
Keith	Contraband Kingpin
Shea	Rogue’s Passage
Anthony	Realm Seekers
Tom	Marshal’s Anthem
Sheldon	Momentous Fall

Havengul Lich is a great pick for Keith, whose draft has gone significantly better than the first time. The card is going to pay marvelous dividends for him; I can see why he’d want both that and Geth. Tom upped the ante on aggression with Akroma’s Memorial, which is a card I wanted but didn’t want to spend a draft pick on. Maybe I’ll pick up Copy Artifact on the waiver wire.

Round 42

Player	Pick
Tom	Rakdos Charm
Anthony	Ignition Team
Shea	Terminus
Keith	Padeem, Consul of Innovation
Sheldon	Big Game Hunter
Sheldon	Squee, Goblin Nabob
Keith	Guardian Beast
Shea	Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
Anthony	Zendikar’s Roil
Tom	Genesis Hydra

Another strong round for Keith with Padeem and Guardian Beast. I asked if he had one and he said that’s the only reason he drafted it. I picked up both Big Game Hunter and Squee to go with Survival of the Fittest. BGH also plays nicely with Greater Good.

Round 43

Player	Pick
Anthony	Retreat to Emeria
Shea	Homeward Path
Keith	Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
Sheldon	Elixir of Immortality
Tom	Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
Tom	Fellwar Stone
Sheldon	Gravepurge
Keith	Agent of Erebos
Shea	Plaxcaster Frogling
Anthony	Planar Birth

Coming into the home stretch, we got into filling out the last pieces that we wanted. Agent of Erebos renders some graveyard strategies inert, but the best card taken in this round is clearly Plaxcaster Frogling.

Round 44

Player	Pick
Shea	Abzan Battle Priest
Keith	Brago, King Eternal
Sheldon	Spore Cloud
Tom	Painful Truths
Anthony	Embodiment of Fury
Anthony	Embodiment of Insight
Tom	Abzan Charm
Sheldon	Bear Umbra
Keith	Galepowder Mage
Shea	Abzan Falconer

I hadn’t gotten any Fogs yet, so Spore Cloud it is—especially for its ability to get involved in someone else’s combat. Bear Umbra is some nice Wrath of God protection.

Its first ability is great since it triggers on attacking, not on the creature dealing damage—although that will just tend to go into casting things post-combat instead of keeping up tricks for other players’ turns.

Round 45

Player	Pick
Keith	Clockspinning
Sheldon	Mana Drain
Tom	Sunscorch Regent
Anthony	Wild Ricochet
Shea	Ainok Bond-Kin
Shea	Mer-Ek Nightblade
Anthony	Pore Over the Pages
Tom	Grand Abolisher
Sheldon	Pathbreaker Ibex
Keith	Glassdust Hulk

Sure, Mana Drain is a good counterspell, but I’m going to occasionally count on it to just accelerate me in the early-game. We’ll have to see how the deck plays out. And when you can draft the Battle Goat, you draft the Battle Goat. I don’t see any arbitrarily large combos for Keith with Glassdust Hulk, but he can make it rather large and potentially lethal.

Round 46

Player	Pick
Sheldon	Plasm Capture
Tom	Daghatar the Adamant
Anthony	Curse of the Swine
Shea	Tuskguard Captain
Keith	Kor Cartographer
Keith	Knight of the White Orchid
Shea	Herald of Anafenza
Anthony	Borderland Explorer
Tom	Collective Blessing
Sheldon	Insurrection

I wonder how much moving counters from Shea’s creatures to Tom’s own will happen with Daghatar the Adamant. It’ll be fun to watch the combat tricks happening. I picked up Insurrection as a Plan B for the big Rise of the Dark Realms / Living Death. If I occasionally play Insurrection instead of the graveyard stuff, it might cause folks to slow down on the graveyard hate. Might.

Round 47

Player	Pick
Tom	Spawnwrithe
Anthony	Obsidian Fireheart
Shea	Bred for the Hunt
Keith	Thawing Glaciers
Sheldon	Terramorphic Expanse
Sheldon	Evolving Wilds
Keith	Mystic Remora
Shea	Afiya Grove
Anthony	Zuran Orb
Tom	Queen Marchesa

Obviously, Tom misses an opportunity when he doesn’t draft Spawnwrithe and Giant Adephage in the same round, but I’m not going to fault him for Queen Marchesa.

Anthony getting Zuran Orb will certainly make him harder to kill and replaces Darkness for oldest card. Really like Keith’s Mystic Remora; it’s no Rhystic Study, but easily good enough.

Round 48

Player	Pick
Anthony	Selvala, Explorer Returned
Shea	Scavenging Ghoul
Keith	Syndicate Trafficker
Sheldon	Exsanguinate
Tom	Scytheclaw
Tom	Stonehewer Giant
Sheldon	Creakwood Liege
Keith	Treasury Thrull
Shea	Temple of Enlightenment
Anthony	Volcanic Vision

I went off-script drafting Exsanguinate, thinking I could use some lifegain. I then realize it’s a terrible card to cascade into. It might eat up a spot on my bench the rest of the League, since I don’t really want to put it back into the pool. Creakwood Liege was still available and sets up the possible movement to the swarm deck.

Round 49

Player	Pick
Shea	Fog
Keith	Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Sheldon	Jalira, Master Polymorphist
Tom	Vicious Shadows
Anthony	Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
Anthony	Aggressive Mining
Tom	Mindclaw Shaman
Sheldon	Vesuvan Shapeshifter
Keith	Sludge Strider
Shea	Dawn Charm

Tom’s not fooling around with Vicious Shadows; my hand is frequently going to be large enough to get wrecked with just one or two triggers. I doubt it makes his 99 unless he starts feeling like the other decks are outshining his, which I don’t see happening.

It looks like we can all do lots of cool stuff. Anthony’s Vorinclex is the opposite of cool and might paint an even larger target on him than Storm Cauldron. I drafted Jalira to turn small, utility creatures into larger ones. Later, when putting together the deck, I discover that most of the creatures I would want are legendary. She’ll probably be dropped during the Amonkhet entry draft.

Round 50

Player	Pick
Keith	Myr Battlesphere
Sheldon	Herald of Leshrac
Tom	Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Anthony	Possibility Storm
Shea	Ichor Rats
Shea	Decimator Web
Anthony	Aggravated Assault
Tom	Mind’s Eye
Sheldon	Hellkite Tyrant
Keith	Leeches

I take Hellkite Tyrant for some laughs because of Keith’s deck. I think about not playing it because he generally can sacrifice them and won’t have all that many at once.

Much later, I realized how many other good artifacts are floating around that I would have liked to draft. Keith finally makes good on his promise to draft Leeches after Shea takes an infect card (two, actually) that doesn’t just kill everyone.

We finished the draft just over three hours after we started (with a few 10-15 minute breaks in the middle). Everyone seemed pretty happy with what and how they drafted. I’m sure we’ll have all picks that didn’t turn out how we wanted them to, but that’s what the waiver wire is for.

The decks look reasonably balanced without any one of them being the obvious threat. Anthony’s is the obvious outlier, so we’ll see how his plays with the others. It can definitely kill people, but I wonder to what extent he doesn’t just get orc-piled because he’s comparatively defenseless. It will be fun to see how they all play and the decks develop. You’ll definitely be hearing more about our adventures.

Our normal Deck Without Comment and Idiotic Combo features will return next week.

Check out our comprehensive Deck List Database for lists of all my decks:

SIGNATURE DECKS

Purple Hippos and Maro Sorcerers; Kresh Into the Red Zone; Halloween with Karador; Dreaming of Intet; You Did This to Yourself;

THE CHROMATIC PROJECT

Mono-Color

Heliod, God of Enchantments; Thassa, God of Merfolk; Erebos and the Halls Of The Dead; Forge of Purphoros; Nylea of the Woodland Realm; Karn Evil No. 9

Guilds

Lavinia Blinks; Obzedat, Ghost Killer; Aurelia Goes to War; Trostani and Her Angels; Lazav, Shapeshifting Mastermind; Zegana and a Dice Bag; Rakdos Reimagined; Glissa, Glissa; Ruric Thar and His Beastly Fight Club; Gisa and Geralf Together Forever;

Shards and Wedges

Adun’s Toolbox; Animar’s Swarm; Karrthus, Who Rains Fire From The Sky; Demons of Kaalia; Merieke’s Esper Dragons; Nath of the Value Leaf; Rith’s Tokens; The Mill-Meoplasm; The Altar of Thraximundar; The Threat of Yasova; You Take the Crown, I’ll Take Leovold; Zombies of Tresserhorn

Four Color

Yidris: Money for Nothing, Cards for Free; Saskia Unyielding; Breya Reshaped.

Five-Color

Children of a Greater God

Partners

Tana and Kydele

THE DO-OVER PROJECT

Animar Do-Over; Glissa Do-Over; Karador Do-Over; Karador Version 3; Karrthus Do-Over; Steam-Powered Merieke Do-Over; Mimeoplasm Do-Over; Phelddagrif Do-Over; Rith Do-Over; Ruhan Do-Over

If you’d like to follow the adventures of my Monday Night RPG group (in a campaign that’s been alive since 1987) which is just beginning the saga The Lost Cities of Nevinor, ask for an invitation to the Facebook group “Sheldon Menery’s Monday Night Gamers.”