Pack 1 pick 1:
My Pick:
Not a very hard pick at all. Not sure if there’s any card I take over Steel Hellkite first pick first pack. Certainly not any of these cards.
Pack 1 pick 2:
My Pick:
I guess Mox Opal is the pick here for anyone that likes tickets. I figured since I get paid to write these walkthroughs I can skip taking it here. Someone else should be happy to get it third. The best card in the pack is clearly Shatter with Tangle Angler and Silver Myr as definite options if we want to stay away from red or force infect. With Hellkite first pick I’m less inclined to go for infect since infect decks don’t want mana Myr as much making six-drops worse. Also attacking on two fronts obviously makes Hellkite worse even if you should be winning when it connects anyway.
Pack 1 pick 3:
My Pick:
The choice here is between Arrest and Palladium Myr. Palladium Myr is just better than all the other cards and doesn’t require a color commitment. If white wasn’t a color I liked I’d pick the Myr here but I seem to end up in white a lot and I really like it so Arrest makes more sense.
Pack 1 pick 4:
My Pick:
This pack is just really bad. Blade-Tribe Berserkers might sometimes be better than Clone Shell and Gaveleer could end up being good but picking Clone Shell just seems much safer. We also already have one really good card to hit with the Shell and we could get more.
Pack 1 pick 5:
My Pick:
I guess I value slower cards a bit higher than most do in this format. I do think that there’s a tendency to overreact and just never touch a slow card or think that the game will be over by turn 5 every time. Sure Prototype Portal is obviously not the kind of card you first-pick slam followed by a victory lap but it really puts your opponent on the spot. If he doesn’t have an answer quick he loses. Any card that can pose that kind of question is pretty good in my book. The options in this pack are Glint Hawk and Leaden Myr both of which I could see picking over Portal in some cases. If I had a more aggressive deck brewing then Glint Hawk makes a lot of sense and later in a draft if I really need a Myr I’d pick that too. But right now my plan seems to be Clone Shell and Hellkite and some removal and Portal just fits really well there.
Pack 1 pick 6:
My Pick:
In some weird parallel universe my picks could’ve been Hellkite Lifestaff Arrest Gaveleer Glint Hawk. In that case I guess the pick here is Infiltration Lens but right now I have to choose between Copper Myr and Perilous Myr. I think this is really close – mana Myr are obviously more of a necessity than the Perilous – but Perilous is just so strong often. It also makes for a much better imprint on the Portal. Still I went with the mana Myr but in hindsight I’m not crazy about this pick. It feels a little bit too “safe.”
Pack 1 pick 7:
My Pick:
Barbed Battlegear isn’t exactly exciting but neither are the other options. We have cards in both the colors that make Battlegear good (white for Shikari and red for Bloodshot Trainee) and it works pretty well with Clone Shell too.
Pack 1 pick 8:
My Pick:
Painsmith eighth pick is a bit late and I only really have one red card and one white. Accorder’s Shield might be the kind of card that I’ll want in the end but for now it’s not looking like it. If I’d gone the more aggressive route earlier in the draft (which I don’t think is correct) then the Shield would obviously be the pick here.
Pack 1 pick 9:
My Pick:
So Snapsail Glider Lifesmith Saberclaw Golem and Stoic Rebuttal were all picked over Sunspear Shikari. This is probably not correctly drafted by everyone but also why I like white so much right now.
Pack 1 pick 10:
My Pick:
Another Clone Shell doesn’t do wonders for our curve (if we end up playing them) but with two you can sculpt your deck around them more. Also Auriok Replica isn’t exactly an exciting option. Could go black here for the Vampires but I don’t think they’re that great even if you do end up with many artifacts.
Pack 1 pick 11:
My Pick:
Daredevil could get played to sacrifice those Shells.
Pack 1 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 1:
My Pick:
Once again we have an easy first-pick. Strata Scythe just makes any creature huge and while Palladium Myr is a nice card it’s not nearly as good in this deck.
Pack 2 pick 2:
My Pick:
Not sure if Bloodshot Trainee with two equipments that turn it on is better than Glimmerpoint Stag here. It’s just really hard to evaluate cards like the Trainee since it’s either really bad or it wins you the game (unless they kill it). I had this idea that maybe I’m not red after all and figured picking the Stag leaves more options open which was the deciding factor.
Pack 2 pick 3:
My Pick:
This pack has nothing that’s close to good enough to make me pass on the Gold Myr.
Pack 2 pick 4:
My Pick:
We do have Glimmerpoint Stag to reset the Tumble Magnet but the deck is still looking more like a control deck and Perilous Myr makes more sense there.
Pack 2 pick 5:
My Pick:
A pretty terrible pack. Forgemaster never really gets activated and Certarch didn’t really seem good enough to branch out into blue for. Gaveleer can wield a Scythe I guess but I’m not exactly drafting the Gaveleer deck. Still it’s more likely to make the deck than Necrogen Censer or Trigon of Mending.
Pack 2 pick 6:
My Pick:
The Arbalest isn’t exactly the most explosive of cards but often it gets the job done. Ideally you obviously want some sort of combo with it either Soliton or Glint Hawk Idol or creatures with infect but I’ve won several games just by moving it around. The other options are Darksteel Myr Golem Foundry or maybe another Daredevil. None of these are really exciting though. I could see picking the Foundry here and moving in on just taking every artifact I see but it still isn’t a great card without proliferate to back it up.
Pack 2 pick 7:
My Pick:
Another bad pack and Auriok Replica is a clear pick for us.
Pack 2 pick 8:
My Pick:
I won’t play anything in this pack so might as well hate-draft the card I’m most afraid of.
Pack 2 pick 9:
My Pick:
Maybe I should pick Golem Foundry here but it felt like that ship had already sailed and I’ve seen the 1/5 be a good sideboard card and it could even be respectable main.
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:
Pack 3 pick 1:
My Pick:
This is just a really tough pick. Skinrender is clearly the best card but also in the color I least want to play. Galvanic Blast and Myrsmith are more of a toss-up at this point; Blast is maybe a bit better but white is getting played for sure while I’m still not sure about red. Still have no idea if this was the right pick.
Pack 3 pick 2:
My Pick:
This choice is much easier. No reason to go crazy for a double-green card and Revoke beats out all the rest.
Pack 3 pick 3:
My Pick:
Someone sure is getting a lot of nice green cards. Both Sylvok Lifestaff and Glint Hawk Idol are much needed in my deck but in this case I think the Lifestaff is more important. At this point I’m still hoping to see more Shikaris or maybe if I get more equipments like the Staff more Gaveleers.
Pack 3 pick 4:
My Pick:
And then this pack has nothing that isn’t a black card. Ichorclaw as the only creature with infect is just awful. I picked Painsmith here since it’s easier on the mana than Grasp of Darkness. A little bit awkward that it’s middle of pack three and I still don’t know what colors I’ll play.
Pack 3 pick 5:
My Pick:
Another truly terrible pack for me. The choice is between Bleak Coven Vampires and Panic Spellbomb. Our artifact count seems low for the Vampires even if we end up black while Panic Spellbomb would definitely get played if we end up red which is why I picked the Spellbomb.
Pack 3 pick 6:
My Pick:
And I get another Spellbomb in another bad pack. Memnite and Necrogen Censer isn’t what I want to do with this deck and we don’t have nearly enough combos to make Liquimetal Coating worthwhile.
Pack 3 pick 7:
My Pick:
The terrible-ness continues and I pick the one card that I could maybe end up playing.
Pack 3 pick 8:
My Pick:
We only have two Panic Spellbombs a Daredevil and I guess the Scout from last pick to activate Furnace Celebration which I don’t think is nearly enough. Ferrovore doesn’t really do anything in my deck and I can’t see playing two 1/5s so I just picked the Foundry which I still might run or at least I could be taking it away from some crazy Foundry deck.
Pack 3 pick 9:
My Pick:
Not sure what the best hate-draft is here but it also doesn’t matter much.
Pack 3 pick 10:
My Pick:
Heartstoker could get played and the rest of the cards are terrible.
Pack 3 pick 11:
My Pick:
Maybe I should hate-draft here but figured Hellion could come in handy. Not really sure how eleventh pick Cystbearer happens; although I guess this pack was pretty loaded to begin with.
Pack 3 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 15:
My Pick:
This draft converter created by Benjamin Peebles-Mundy.
Visit the draft converter today!
1 Auriok Replica
2 Clone Shell
1 Copper Myr
1 Ghalma’s Warden
1 Glimmerpoint Stag
1 Goblin Gaveleer
1 Gold Myr
1 Myrsmith
1 Oxidda Daredevil
1 Perilous Myr
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Sunspear Shikari
1 Vulshok Heartstoker
1 Arrest
1 Barbed Battlegear
1 Heavy Arbalest
1 Prototype Portal
1 Revoke Existence
1 Shatter
1 Strata Scythe
1 Sylvok Lifestaff
2 Panic Spellbomb
Sideboard
1 Bonds of Quicksilver
1 Vault Skyward
1 Tel-Jilad Defiance
1 Razorfield Thresher
1 Flameborn Hellion
2 Painsmith
1 Salvage Scout
1 Blunt the Assault
1 Tel-Jilad Fallen
1 Loxodon Wayfarer
1 Golden Urn
1 Golem Foundry
1 Moriok Reaver
1 Dross Hopper
1 Assault Strobe
2 Copperhorn Scout
Really not very happy at all with how this deck turned out. The deck lacks focus with some slow control-ish elements and then a Gaveleer and
equipments. Also the overall card quality isn’t great but I do have a few bombs. This was one of those drafts where it felt like I was doing something
wrong but I can’t really say when those mistakes were made. Also the signals I got always kept pushing me in the other direction from the one I was
going in.
Quarters:
Game one:
I win the roll and choose to play first. I mulligan three Plains two Mountains Gold Myr and Oxidda Daredevil. I usually keep five-land hands when
the two spells are ones that usually have a big impact on a game. Like a hand with three Plains two Mountains Arrest and Glimmerpoint Stag. In this
case however those two spells are more like another land and maybe one spell. I keep two Plains two Mountains Perilous Myr and Clone Shell.
I play my Myr on turn 2 and he plays a Gold Myr with his two Swamps. I attack with Perilous and he declines the trade and next turn plays a Silver
Myr but no land. On my fourth turn I’ve only drawn more land and Prototype Portal so I just have to play the Portal imprinting Clone Shell and hope
that he doesn’t have an answer.
He just plays a Riddlesmith using the Silver Myr and a Bladed Pinion looting into an Island and discarding Neurok Invisimancer. I draw Auriok Replica
and just attack again with Perilous before passing the turn back ready to make Clone Shells. He plays Neurok Replica and loots away a Sylvok Replica
for another Island. I make a Clone Shell and put Sunspear Shikari under it putting Copper Myr and two lands on the bottom. I draw Barbed Battlegear
play a sixth land and once again pass the turn back. On his turn he taps out for Volition Reins on Prototype Portal. I respond by activating the
Portal again and luckily find Glimmerpoint Stag to put under the Shell.
On my turn I draw another land letting me play and equip Perilous Myr with the Battlegear killing it and using the trigger to kill the Clone Shell.
Glimmerpoint Stag comes into play removing Prototype Portal. I then equip the Battlegear to the other Clone Shell and attack for six bringing him to
ten. When the Portal comes back into play I imprint Auriok Replica on it emptying my hand. I had to make this play immediately since once he has
mana for his Neurok Replica I can’t get the Glimmerpoint Stag in play and also I don’t want to give him free Clone Shells.
He plays Skinrender killing my Stag. Over the next few turns he keeps casting spells Sky-Eel School and Moriok Replica while I just draw lands and
make Auriok Replicas. His Bladed Pinions makes attacking impossible for me and he gets some damage through. The Replica’s ability means I won’t die
any time soon though.
Then I draw Steel Hellkite which really turns the game around. For some reason he doesn’t put Pinions on the Skinrender to double-block the Hellkite
with that and Sky-Eel School instead choosing to just chump-block with Myr. It doesn’t matter though; next turn I draw Revoke Existence remove his
Pinion and attack with Hellkite and all my Replicas prompting a concession.
I sideboard nothing.
Game two:
He chooses to go first and keeps. I keep three Mountains Plains Perilous Myr Shatter Steel Hellkite.
He has a turn 2 Riddlesmith and on turn 3 plays Horizon Spellbomb and Gold Myr discarding an Island and Shape Anew(!). I follow up my turn 2 Perilous
Myr with a mighty Gaveleer and he adds Neurok Replica to the board.
On my fourth turn I play a Myrsmith still holding Shatter Hellkite and a couple of lands to cast the Dragon and he fetches a third Island using the
Spellbomb. On turn 5 he plays Forest meaning he has two Islands two Swamps and Forest as mana. Most likely he’s only playing one Forest for that
Sylvok Replica with the Horizon Spellbomb. Still this sequence of plays from him could signal that he’s holding Volition Reins (getting the third
Island etc.) but if he already had the Forest in hand then maybe not.
He plays a Contagious Nim and passes the turn back. I play my fifth land and the Ghalma’s Warden I drew and when he attacks with Contagious Nim and
Neurok Replica on his turn I block the Nim with Perilous Myr and the Neurok Replica with Ghalma’s Warden. Both these blocks are actually not very
good. I should’ve put both Perilous Myr and Goblin Gaveleer in front of the Nim since I’m obviously happy to trade Gaveleer for either Riddlesmith or
Contagious Nim. The other block I just shouldn’t make; he most certainly has Skinrender when he attacks with a 1/4. Not that it’s a big disaster
getting Skinrender out makes my Dragon more likely to survive. Anyway Perilous Myr kills his Nim and he indeed has Skinrender to kill my Warden.
I untap draw another land and tap out for Hellkite. The way the board looks right now I can’t really just sit on my Dragon for fear of him having
the Volition Reins. He also only has one card in hand and I do have a Shatter that can deal with my own Hellkite; although I don’t think I win if I
have to do that.
He luckily doesn’t have the Reins but plays Argentum Armor with two mana up for the Neurok Replica ability. When I attack with Hellkite he bounces it
back to my hand and since I only have seven mana I can’t replay it. I pass the turn back planning on Shattering the Armor when he equips it. He just
attacks with Skinrender instead and plays Sky-Eel School. I still Shatter the Armor to clear the way for the Dragon. I untap and draw Glimmerpoint
Stag and drop Hellkite.
Now he draws the Volition Reins to steal Hellkite but I already have the Stag to take it back. At this point maybe he just didn’t have answers for
the Dragon or maybe he was just upset with how lucky I’d been but he just concedes.
Semis:
Game one:
I lose the roll and keep two Mountains Plains Shatter Vulshok Heartstoker Prototype Portal and Clone Shell on the draw.
I play both Goblin Gaveleer and Oxidda Daredevil off the top while he only has Forest Swamp and Bladed Pinions. On turn 3 he has Cystbearer and I
Heartstoker to get through for another four with Daredevil getting him down to fifteen. He plays another land and another Cystbearer definitely
shutting down my attack. I haven’t drawn any land and can only manage a Panic Spellbomb before passing the turn back. He has a fifth land and plays
both a Copper Myr and Strata Scythe removing a Forest (with three in play).
I find a land using the Spellbomb but have to spend the next turn Shattering his Scythe. He equips both Scythe and Pinions to one Cystbearer and gets
through for two poison after my Shatter. A topdecked Glimmerpoint Stag lets me remove his Cystbearer blocker and get through for five more but I still
don’t have enough land to play Hellkite and a Strider Harness lets him attack me to five poison.
I miss on land again and figure I might as well play the Portal and put Hellkite under it. One Hellkite won’t do anything against Cystbearer/Pinions
but one per turn might turn it around. He attacks me again to eight poison and I don’t draw either the land or an answer for the Pinions and that’s
the game.
Once again I sideboard nothing. Don’t really have much that’s better against him than what’s in the maindeck. Loxodon Wayfarer doesn’t seem great
against the creatures he showed.
Game two:
I mulligan Plains Myrsmith Gold Myr Copper Myr Vulshok Heartstoker Heavy Arbalest and Clone Shell into Plains Mountain Sunspear Shikari Gold
Myr Ghalma’s Warden and Clone Shell which I keep. He keeps his seven and has a turn 1 Fume Spitter.
Spitter kills my Myr and Cystbearer matches my Sunspear Shikari and also my turn 4 Ghalma’s Warden. On turn 4 he plays a Tangle Angler and I can only
manage cycling a Spellbomb. My hand at this point is Shatter Prototype Portal (drawn from the Spellbomb) and Clone Shell. He plays Blackcleave
Goblin forces my Warden to block the Angler and attacks with everything. I trade Shikari for the Goblin and take two poison. I draw Oxidda Daredevil
and tap out for Prototype Portal imprinting Clone Shell. He once again forces me to block the Angler gets in for two more poison and casts two Plague
Stingers. I untap draw Barbed Battlegear and decide to shorten my suffering by conceding since no draws in my deck can possibly save me.
Like I said when discussing the decklist I’m definitely not happy with this draft. I don’t really have any big problems with the reasoning I used
during the draft but the end result was just a pretty bad deck. I might be overvaluing Prototype Portal but it almost singlehandedly won me one game.
It also doesn’t feel like going the Gaveleer route early in the draft is going to work out often enough to make it worth it but maybe I’m wrong. Of
course sometimes you’re just destined to get a bad deck and maybe this was one of those times.
As for the games I don’t think I’m a favorite to win the first match but luck was on my side in the war of the haymakers. The second match I just ran
into a really good infect deck. If I didn’t stumble on mana I could maybe have made a match out of it but realistically my chances of winning two out
of three are pretty slim.
That’s it for this time; if you think you know what I did wrong or if you just have questions please post in the forums.