Draft:
Pack 1:
Peppersmoke, Lys Alana Huntmaster, Consuming Bonfire, Wispmare, Stonybrook Angler, Thieving Sprite, Flamekin Brawler, Facevaulter,
Warren-Scourge Elf, Blades of Velis Vel, Cenn’s Heir, Fodder Launch, Merrow Reejerey, Lys Alana Scarblade, Rings of Brighthearth
Pick: Merrow Reejerey
Pack 2:
Hillcomber Giant, Streambed Aquitects, Stinkdrinker Daredevil, Battlewand Oak, Hurly-Burly, Plover Knights, Rootgrapple, Triclopean Sight, Nightshade Stinger, Faultgrinder, Benthicore, Pollen Lullaby, Giant Harbinger, Nettlevine Blight
Pick: Streambed Aquitects
Pack 3:
Lignify, Weed Strangle, Kithkin Healer, Deeptread Merrow, Kithkin Daggerdare, Herbal Poultice, Amoeboid Changeling, Spring Cleaning, Exiled Boggart, Shields of Velis Vel, Glen Elendra Pranksters, Crib Swap, Imperious Perfect
Pick: Imperious Perfect
Pack 4:
Oakgnarl Warrior, Hornet Harasser, Deeptread Merrow, Goldmeadow Harrier, Fistful of Force, Bog Hoodlums, Judge of Currents, Inkfathom Divers, Needle Drop, Soaring Hope, Turtleshell Changeling, Benthicore
Pick: Turtleshell Changeling
Pack 5:
Quill-Slinger Boggart, Bog-Strider Ash, Aethersnipe, Herbal Poultice, Springjack Knight, Ponder, Bog Hoodlums, Protective Bubble, Battle Mastery, Hoarder’s Greed, Glarewielder
Pick: Aethersnipe
Pack 6:
Nath’s Elite, Boggart Sprite-Chaser, Oaken Brawler, Smokebraider, Caterwauling Boggart, Tideshaper Mystic, Elvish Handservant, Broken Ambitions, Cenn’s Heir, Goldmeadow Stalwart
Pick: Broken Ambitions
Pack 7:
Mudbutton Torchrunner, Springleaf Drum, Oakgnarl Warrior, Glimmerdust Nap, Lace with Moonglove, Blind-Spot Giant, Exiled Boggart, Ponder, Nectar Faerie
Pick: Ponder
Pack 8:
Inner-Flame Acolyte, Boggart Sprite-Chaser, Thieving Sprite, Goldmeadow Dodger, Nightshade Stinger, Makeshift Mannequin, Hearthcage Giant, Thousand-Year Elixir
Pick: Makeshift Mannequin
Pack 9:
Wispmare, Flamekin Brawler, Facevaulter, Warren-Scourge Elf, Blades of Velis Vel, Cenn’s Heir, Rings of Brighthearth
Pick: Rings of Brighthearth
Pack 10:
Hurly-Burly, Rootgrapple, Triclopean Sight, Nightshade Stinger, Faultgrinder, Pollen Lullaby
Pick: Hurly-Burly
Pack 11:
Kithkin Healer, Herbal Poultice, Spring Cleaning, Exiled Boggart, Shields of Velis Vel
Pick: Kithkin Healer
Pack 12:
Bog Hoodlums, Judge of Currents, Needle Drop, Soaring Hope
Pick: Judge of Currents
Pack 13:
Herbal Poultice, Bog Hoodlums, Battle Mastery
Pick: Battle Mastery
Pack 14:
Boggart Sprite-Chaser, Cenn’s Heir
Pick: Cenn’s Heir
Pack 15:
Pick: Exiled Boggart
Pack 16:
Eyeblight’s Ending, Soulbright Flamekin, Glimmerdust Nap, Cloudcrown Oak, Oblivion Ring, Wanderer’s Twig, Hornet Harasser, Elvish Branchbender,
Wellgabber Apothecary, Aquitect’s Will, Mournwhelk, Boggart Shenanigans, Ego Erasure, Fodder Launch, Sunrise Sovereign
Pick: Oblivion Ring
Pack 17:
Gilt-Leaf Ambush, Hillcomber Giant, Streambed Aquitects, Stinkdrinker Daredevil, Battlewand Oak, Hurly-Burly, Ringskipper, Black Poplar Shaman, Shimmering Grotto, Elvish Eulogist, Ghostly Changeling, Seedguide Ash, Merrow Harbinger, Hamletback Goliath
Pick: Merrow Harbinger
Pack 18:
Paperfin Rascal, Runed Stalactite, Nath’s Elite, Sentinels of Glen Elendra, Faerie Trickery, Warren-Scourge Elf, Lairwatch Giant, Spiderwig Boggart, Boggart Forager, Jagged-Scar Archers, Inner-Flame Igniter, Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender, Wanderwine Hub
Pick: Paperfin Rascal
Pack 19:
Fertile Ground, Moonglove Winnower, Plover Knights, Whirlpool Whelm, Leaf Gilder, Adder-Staff Boggart, Facevaulter, Hunt Down, Giant’s Ire, Ghostly Changeling, Harpoon Sniper, Flamekin Harbinger
Pick: Harpoon Sniper
Pack 20:
Soulbright Flamekin, Kithkin Daggerdare, Surge of Thoughtweft, Weed Strangle, Mudbutton Torchrunner, Heal the Scars, Skeletal Changeling, Shields of Velis Vel, Fire-Belly Changeling, Captivating Glance, Battle Mastery
Pick: Surge of Thoughtweft
Pack 21:
Springleaf Drum, Kithkin Healer, Footbottom Feast, Axegrinder Giant, Lignify, Aquitect’s Will, Kinsbaile Skirmisher, Blind-Spot Giant, Captivating Glance, Forest
Pick: Springleaf Drum
Pack 22:
Fistful of Force, Aethersnipe, Mournwhelk, Needle Drop, Springjack Knight, Heal the Scars, Inkfathom Divers, Faerie Tauntings, Kithkin Mourncaller
Pick: Aethersnipe
Pack 23:
Boggart Loggers, Fertile Ground,
Blades of Velis Vel, Elvish Handservant, Dawnfluke, Broken Ambitions, Nath’s Buffoon, Forced Fruition
Pick: Broken Ambitions
Pack 24:
Soulbright Flamekin, Hornet Harasser, Elvish Branchbender, Wellgabber Apothecary, Aquitect’s Will, Boggart Shenanigans, Ego Erasure
Pick: Wellgabber Apothecary
Pack 25:
Gilt-Leaf Ambush, Ringskipper, Black Poplar Shaman, Shimmering Grotto, Elvish Eulogist, Hamletback Goliath
Pick: Hamletback Goliath
Pack 26:
Runed Stalactite, Warren-Scourge Elf, Lairwatch Giant, Spiderwig Boggart, Boggart Forager
Pick: Runed Stalactite
Pack 27:
Adder-Staff Boggart, Facevaulter, Hunt Down, Giant’s Ire
Pick: Adder-Staff Boggart
Pack 28:
Heal the Scars, Shields of Velis Vel, Captivating Glance
Pick: Captivating Glance
Pack 29:
Pick: Axegrinder Giant
Pack 30:
Pick: Heal the Scars
Pack 31:
Surge of Thoughtweft, Cloudcrown Oak, Tarfire, Wanderer’s Twig, Silvergill Douser, Avian Changeling, Bog-Strider Ash, Boggart Birth Rite, Ingot Chewer,
Soaring Hope, Shimmering Grotto, Ego Erasure, Crib Swap, Jagged-Scar Archers, Ajani Goldmane
Pick: Ajani Goldmane
Pack 32:
Wispmare, Consuming Bonfire, Boggart Loggers, Lys Alana Huntmaster, Runed Stalactite, Dawnfluke, Spellstutter Sprite, Black Poplar Shaman, Elvish Eulogist, Wings of Velis Vel, Goatnapper, Guardian of Cloverdell, Vivid Crag, Gaddock Teeg
Pick: Wings of Velis Vel
Pack 33:
Quill-Slinger Boggart, Bog-Strider Ash, Aethersnipe, Tarfire, Herbal Poultice, Kithkin Greatheart, Wellgabber Apothecary, Gilt-Leaf Seer, Boggart Birth Rite, Zephyr Net, Vivid Grove, Faerie Tauntings, Marsh Flitter
Pick: Aethersnipe
Pack 34:
Consuming Bonfire, Wispmare, Thieving Sprite, Gilt-Leaf Ambush, Lairwatch Giant, Spellstutter Sprite, Spiderwig Boggart, Flamekin Brawler, Tideshaper Mystic, Final Revels, Elvish Harbinger, Mosswort Bridge
Pick: Final Revels
Pack 35:
Sentinels of Glen Elendra, Battlewand Oak, Oaken Brawler, Pestermite, Hurly-Burly, Faultgrinder, Rootgrapple, Goldmeadow Dodger, Wings of Velis Vel, Rebellion of the Flamekin, Arbiter of Knollridge
Pick: Pestermite
Pack 36:
Smokebraider, Kinsbaile Balloonist, Peppersmoke, Paperfin Rascal, Ringskipper, Hunt Down, Triclopean Sight, Nath’s Buffoon, Vivid Crag, Heat Shimmer
Pick: Paperfin Rascal
Pack 37:
Axegrinder Giant, Footbottom Feast, Zephyr Net, Scarred Vinebreeder, Gilt-Leaf Seer, Protective Bubble, Ingot Chewer, Lammastide Weave, Benthicore
Pick: Benthicore
Pack 38:
Springleaf Drum,
Kithkin Healer, Footbottom Feast, Axegrinder Giant, Lace with Moonglove, Scarred Vinebreeder, Woodland Guidance, Pollen Lullaby
Pick: Pollen Lullaby
Pack 39:
Surge of Thoughtweft, Bog-Strider Ash, Boggart Birth Rite, Ingot Chewer, Soaring Hope, Shimmering Grotto, Ego Erasure
Pick: Surge of Thoughtweft
Pack 40:
Wispmare, Boggart Loggers, Dawnfluke, Black Poplar Shaman, Elvish Eulogist, Guardian of Cloverdell
Pick: Wispmare
Pack 41:
Herbal Poultice, Wellgabber Apothecary, Gilt-Leaf Seer, Boggart Birth Rite, Faerie Tauntings
Pick: Wellgabber Apothecary
Pack 42:
Wispmare, Lairwatch Giant, Spiderwig Boggart, Flamekin Brawler
Pick: Wispmare
Pack 43:
Oaken Brawler, Goldmeadow Dodger, Rebellion of the Flamekin
Pick: Oaken Brawler
Pack 44:
Pick: Ringskipper
Pack 45:
Pick: Protective Bubble
Final Decklist:
Maindeck:
1 Ajani Goldmane
1 Harpoon Sniper
1 Judge of Currents
1 Kithkin Healer
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Wellgabber Apothecary
1 Benthicore
2 Broken Ambitions
1 Merrow Harbinger
1 Merrow Reejerey
2 Paperfin Rascal
1
Pestermite
1 Ponder
1 Streambed Aquitects
1 Turtleshell Changeling
1 Wings of Velis Vel
3 Aethersnipe
10 Island
8 Plains
Sideboard:
1 Adder-Staff Boggart
1 Axegrinder Giant
1 Battle Mastery
1 Captivating Glance
1 Cenn’s Heir
1 Exiled Boggart
1 Final Revels
1 Hamletback Goliath
1 Heal the Scars
1 Hurly-Burly
1 Imperious Perfect
1 Makeshift Mannequin
1 Oaken Brawler
1 Pollen Lullaby
1 Protective Bubble
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Ringskipper
1 Runed Stalactite
1 Springleaf Drum
2 Surge of Thoughtweft
2 Wispmare
Pick 1: I don’t like Green that much, but Lys Alana Huntmaster has been serving
me really well on Online drafts. This time it’s a one-on-one between Huntmaster
and Merfolk Reejerey. I consider both of them to be “lords” of their
tribes, but I’m going for the Merfolk, to see if I can actually draft Blue once
online. My view so far is that Reejerey is more powerful if you end up with
plenty of Merfolk, while Huntmaster is less powerful but easier to set up.
Pick 3: Crib Swap or Imperious Perfect? I would be happy to follow the two
Merfolk I have with Crib Swap, but a 3rd pick Imperious Perfect can’t be
ignored. It’s too good, and there’s a chance Green is coming.
Pick 6: I followed the Imperious Perfect with two Blue cards. Pick 5 Aethersnipe has
to mean something, and that gives me a total of four Blue cards and Imperious
Perfect. I don’t want to be Blue/Green half merfolk half elves, so I’m
probably ditching the Green and stick to Blue. Broken Ambitions over Nath’s
Elite.
Pick 18: Sentinels of Glen Elendra versus Paperfin Rascal versus Wanderwine Hub.
Sentinels is the best card, but the trick to finishing up with ridiculous theme
decks with 18 elves or 15 merfolk is to pick them all over slightly
superior cards, I took the Rascal, but I probably should have taken the land.
I lose so many games by not having one of my colors, or because I can’t
play a card with double-color on its cost. I love lands, and colored mana is
priceless. When it’s a dual land in your two main colors, or especially one
of your main colors and the splash, it’s not rare drafting – they’re high
picks.
Pick 21: Springleaf Drum is quite okay in Merfolk when you have
Fallowsage, Veteran of the Depths, Judge of Currents, or Wellgabber
Apothecary.
Pick 31: A Silvergill Douser is one of the cards this deck wants, but I still
think Ajani Goldmane is too powerful to pass on, and it’s obviously good in
this Merfolk deck too.
Despite ending with some power – Ajani, triple Aethersnipe – I wasn’t too
excited with this deck, as it was lacking Merfolk both in power and in
numbers… and also because this was my fourth draft of the day, and DraftCap
did not save the previous three, which were all very powerful. Good news
is that I re-installed both MTGO and DraftCap and everything’s working again
normally, so far.
Round 1 I played against a Blue/Green good stuff deck, with no real theme,
though it did have two Silvergill Douser so the games took quite a long time. He lost
one of the Dousers in the early game in a desperate attack to kill my Ajani,
and eventually I dealt with the other. I started attacking with a 3/4
Merfolk Harbinger and a 5/5 Paperfin Rascal, with Wellgaber Apothecary
protection. I had Merfolk Reejerey in play, and the Rascal had two counters,
one from clash, one from Ajani. Even though I had an Harpoon Sniper, he was
clearly losing his life, so he attacked with all his team, more than 6
creatures, total power close to 20. I was holding Pestermite and Wings of
Velis-Vel, so I used the Sniper, untapped it, untapped more stuff, and he
conceded during the attack.
Game 2 he wasn’t playing much, so he took some early points from Judge of
Currents and Steambed Aquitects, while I was gaining life. Later, the
Aquitects was providing Islandwalk to Turtleshell Changeling, a much faster
clock, and a pair of Aethersnipes guaranteed the board was always under
control.
Round 2 I played against a Green/White deck. Game 1 I had a good opening –
turn 2 Broken Ambitions his creature, because I was going to tap out in the
next turns. On the third I played Aquitects, on the fourth I played Merfolk
Harbinger, and on the fifth Merfolk Reejerey. However, he did not have
Islands… instead he had big creatures, so it didn’t effectively deal much
damage, and when the creatures became even bigger with Incremental Growth I
scooped shortly after, as I had only those mentioned merfolks plus a
Paperfin Rascal.
I could’ve won Game 2 and force a decider, but I screwed up. The game was
a pure race when he played Incremental Growth, targeting my lone
Turtleshell Changeling for 1 (2/5), his Elf token for 2 (3/3) and his
Kinsbaile Skirmisher for 3 (5/5). I got rid of the 5/5 with an Oblivion Ring
I was holding, and started racing. He was at 15, from one attack of the Turtle
for one, and another for four, so I managed to attack twice when he did not
have blockers or didn’t block, taking him down to five. On my next turn, when I’m at five
too, and he has Kinsbaile Balloonist (tapped), plus Lys Alana Huntmaster and
the 3/3 token untapped. I was holding Wings of Velis and failed to notice
that if I cast it on the Turtle 2/5, it would become a 4/4 with a +1+1
counter, therefore a flying 5/5 for his exact life total.
The worst feeling is that I knew how this worked… with paper cards I never
failed to notice the interaction between cards that set a creature’s
power/toughness and the +1+1 counters. It’s happened so many times with
Lignify on creatures with counters, or when people would play Ovinize on my
Kavu Primarch with Kicker and still block it. I guess I wasn’t looking at
the counter on the Turtle.
See you tomorrow!
Tiago
Draft recording done by Blargware‘s MTGO DraftCap. Support Blargware!