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Drafting With LSV – Shards of Alara #4

Thursday, December 25th – 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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I took the most powerful card pack 1 since oddly enough I like drafting Naya aggro from time to time. Bone Splinters is debatable but Thoctar on turn 3 (or even 4) is just about the most unfair play one can make in this format. A few picks later and I wanted to mulligan the draft when I was taking Rip-Clan Crashers over Kiss of the Amesha and Arcane Sanctum. I ended up with one of the most aggressive decks I have drafted yet taking full use of Lightning Talons. Pack 3 I got daggered somewhat also with a string of basically empty packs despite me looking for cards most people wouldn’t want.

2 Lightning Talons
2 Druid of the Anima
1 Woolly Thoctar
1 Rhox Charger
1 Magma Spray
1 Skeletonize
2 Bloodpyre Elemental
1 Cylian Elf
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Savage Hunger
1 Cavern Thoctar
1 Ridge Rannet
1 Wild Nacatl
1 Hissing Iguanar
1 Drumhunter
1 Resounding Thunder
2 Rip-Clan Crasher
2 Vithian Stinger
1 Incurable Ogre
8 Forest
7 Mountain
1 Plains

Sideboard
1 Lush Growth
1 Executioner’s Capsule
1 Outrider of Jhess
1 Plains
1 Dispeller’s Capsule
1 Naturalize
1 Volcanic Submersion
1 Filigree Sages
1 Grixis Panorama
1 Ooze Garden
1 Godtoucher
1 Bloodthorn Taunter
1 Memory Erosion
1 Soul’s Grace
1 Swerve
1 Soul’s Might
1 Marble Chalice
1 Forest
1 Forest
1 Vicious Shadows
1 Savage Hunger

Round 1
G1 I mulligan a one Mountain plus Rip-Clan/Nacatl into another one Mountain plus Rip-Clan/Nacatl which I keep then don’t draw a land.
G2 I Naturalize his Executioner’s Capsule then drop a Woolly Thoctar. He promptly O-Rings it but my follow up of Cavern Thoctar and Rip-Clan with Talons gets it done.
G3 We actually have a bit of a board stall as Steelclad Serpent holds me off but Drumhunter is active so I soon draw enough gas to finish him.

Round 2
This was a nice match. I basically could never beat his deck as will soon be evident.
G1 I play two Druids and plan on dropping a Cavern Thoctar on turn 4. Infest makes that not happen then he Jund Charms away my Talon’ed Nacatl. Soon a Sigil of Distinction for 7 equipped to a Hellkite Overlord finishes it.
G2 Again Infest plus Resounding Thunder plus Branching Bolt sets up a big Sigil and I die. The combination of two Pyroclasms and multiple removal AND huge finishers/bombs pretty much is gonna beat the deck I drafted every time.

Happy holidays!

LSV