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Drafting With LSV – Shards of Alara #1

Monday, December 22nd – Canadian maestro Rich Hoaen has downed tools for good, as work and real life intrudes apace. As a replacement, we have Luis Scott-Vargas, who shares each pick from a Magic Online 8-4 queue. He talks us through the difficult decisions in the forums… do you agree with his choices?

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1 Obelisk of Grixis
1 Courier’s Capsule
1 Hissing Iguanar
1 Esper Battlemage
1 Tidehollow Strix
1 Fatestitcher
1 Grixis Battlemage
1 Fire-Field Ogre
1 Caldera Hellion
1 Fleshbag Marauder
2 Kederekt Creeper
2 Agony Warp
1 Scourge Devil
1 Cloudheath Drake
1 Vithian Stinger
1 Sedraxis Specter
1 Dregscape Zombie
1 Resounding Thunder
1 Blister Beetle
1 Volcanic Submersion
1 Spell Snip
6 Mountain
1 Arcane Sanctum
4 Swamp
4 Island
1 Crumbling Necropolis
1 Esper Panorama

Sideboard
1 Plains
1 Viashino Skeleton
1 Seaside Citadel
1 Guardians of Akrasa
1 Swamp
1 Sphinx’s Herald
1 Yoked Plowbeast
1 Swerve
1 Forest
1 Forest
1 Thorn-Thrash Viashino
1 Lightning Talons
1 Bant Battlemage
1 Shore Snapper
1 Coma Veil
1 Incurable Ogre
1 Tortoise Formation
1 Obelisk of Jund
1 Banewasp Affliction

This draft was fairly straightforward. I opened Caldera Hellion then had to decide between Crumbling Necropolis and Drumhunter. I really like Drumhunter but the Hellion is better in a Jund or Grixis deck than the Naya deck where Drumhunter is truly awesome. After the Necropolis I got a 3rd pick Agony Warp and from then on I was set. One pick that took a little time was Pack 1 Pick 6 when I had to decide between Where Ancients Tread and Seaside Citadel. I really like Treading but again since I wasn’t in Naya I felt the Citadel was a safe enough pick since it being pack 1 meant I could still splash another color or go in a different direction.

Round 1
My opponent had a fairly normal looking Naya deck with Rakeclaws and whatnot. Game 1 he discarded twice while stuck on lands but I had drawn so many that I actually barely won since he eventually drew out of it. Luckily he had Rakeclaw Gargantuans instead of Cavern Thoctars and Caldera Hellion was still good enough. Game 2 I three-for-oned him with Hellion then raced his lone Rakeclaw with double Kederekt Creeper and Esper Battlemage.

Round 2
I manage to turn 3 Specter turn 4 Creeper Game 1 neither of which he can deal with easily. His deck appears to be Jund but mostly RG spells. I lose Game 2 to Vithian Stinger almost singlehandedly drawing mostly just 1 toughness guys but Game 3 I was able to overpower him with triple colored spells against his army of Court Archers and Hissing Iguanars.

Round 3
I quickly get smashed by a very fast Bant deck complete with Squires Sighted-Caste Sorcerers and a Rhox War Monk. I stumbled a little in one of the games and he had the Sigil Blessing to wreck my Agony Warp so that was that.

Until tomorrow…

LSV