I don’t know about you, but I am pretty excited to draft this weekend. Let’s just jump right into it!
Pack 1, Pick 1
The Pack:
The Pick:
This pack is quite medium overall, but we do have a nice rare!
Consulate Crackdown may look unassuming, but given the number of artifacts in the set, this card seems like it will often remove at least one artifact. Some decks that attempt to utilize the Improvise mechanic may not even be able to beat Consulate Crackdown. Sure, you may find a deck that doesn’t have a high artifact count, but looking at the set, it seems like the majority of decks you play against will have a good amount of artifacts. So even though the floor of Consulate Crackdown is low, the average case is likely much better than the alternatives in this pack.
The other three cards are just the next-best cards in the pack, with decent removal and a decent value creature in Trophy Mage. Pacification Array does have the potential to be obnoxiously good in this format and is a card we should all be looking out for. Tappers are quite good in Limited, and being an artifact is quite an upside in the world of Kaladesh. Depending on how the format evolves, it’s possible this could be the pick. But as I mentioned in my last article, I lean towards taking the rares early on in a format.
Pack 1, Pick 6
The Picks So Far:
This has been an interesting start. I have three removal spells and two top-end threats. In the history of Magic: The Gathering, W/R tends to be aggressive. At this point I am looking for good efficient cards, since I already have more towards the expensive part of my curve. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the next pack.
The Pack:
The Pick:
All three of the options in the poll are decent for a W/R aggressive deck. Alley Evasion is a good, flexible combat trick. And both Countless Gears Renegade and Aether Chaser are good two-drops, which are always a premium. Given that I have no two-drops yet, I am inclined to ignore the combat trick. So which creature is better?
After comparing Aether Chaser and Countless Gears Renegade, it is quite clear that Aether Chaser is superior in more scenarios. Yes, there are some Infest abilities and other ways to punish one toughness, but first strike is powerful in Limited and the Servo token is easier to make. I would take Aether Chaser here and begin to sculpt a W/R aggressive deck.