Since the prerelease, I have been fervently drafting the full block as much as possible in preparation for the Pro Tour. Spare time on the weekdays has turned into frantic phone calls looking to cobble together eight people for a draft; weekends have become a blur of shredded booster wrappings and stacks of tips and Tricks cards. While I’m not a weak drafter by any means, I’ve got a lot of drafting to do if I want to stand up to Magic’s finest in Honolulu.
With Alara Reborn not yet on Magic Online’s virtual shelves, and the ability to draft the full block on the beta sporadic at best, I set aside a draft featuring eight of Seattle’s most prominent players to manually record (yes, as in, pen and paper) and talk about.
The pod was such:
Gavin Verhey
Alex West
Daniel Hanson
Eric Schaller
Ricky Boyes
Bill Stark
Kellen Abel
Joe Timidaiski
Alex was on my right, and Joe was on my left. We took our seats and quickly opened our packs, eager to get the drafting underway.
Pack one, Pick one:
Viscera Dragger, Druid of the Anima, Thorn-Thrash Viashino, Rip-Clan Crasher, Elvish Visionary, Cavern Thoctar, Spell Snip, Dispeller’s Capsule, Volcanic Submersion, Relic of Progenitus, Dragon’s Herald, Corpse Connoisseur, Woolly Thoctar, Goblin Assault
The two cards in this pack which immediately jump out to me as first pickable are Viscera Dragger and Woolly Thoctar. Druid, Rip-Clan, Visionary, Cavern Thoctar are all decent picks for a few picks down the road, but none of them are what I’m going to first pick out of this pack. In my experience, Goblin Assault requires a specific deck to make it work, and the Connoisseur even more so. Assault is outclassed by all of the two toughness creatures around, and with one less pack of Rockshard Elementals and Algae Gharials, its synergy is lessened. I would rather have a Dragger than a Connoisseur, eliminating the five mana zombie by process of elimination.
I’m a big fan of staying flexible in this format and not committing until I have to. Dragger puts me into one color, whereas Thoctar puts me in three. Furthermore, I feel like Thoctar’s value is a little lower with the Conflux protection bears running around. However, the power differential between the two cards is considerable. If I’m base GW or GR, which I find is fairly common, splashing the Thoctar is usually a possibility. Dragger has a larger likelihood of making my deck, but for the cost of one pick the gain of possibly having a Thoctar bares too low of an opportunity cost for me to resist.
My pick: Woolly Thoctar
Pack one, pick two:
Glaze Fiend, Grixis Panorama, Dragon Fodder, Shore Snapper, Guardians of Akrasa, Waveskimmer Aven, Bone Splinters, Ridge Rannet, Courier’s Capsule, Akrasan Squire, Crumbling Necropolis, Rockcaster Platoon, Cradle of Vitality
Bone Splinters is an easy second pick, and Akrasan Squire fits my strategy nicely, but tri-lands are seldom obtained in the full block format. The problem, of course, is that it is a UBR tri-land which doesn’t go so well with our RGW first pick. Taking it seems a little counterintuitive, but there is no guarantee we are going to stay on the Naya route. Even if we do, we can still play it as a Mountain and splash any awesome Black or Blue card that comes around later on with a minimal amount of damage to our manabase.
Lastly, I will almost always take lands early in the draft because you only need 23 spells at the end of the draft, as I outlined in The Plot Twist Principle and the 23 Spell Rule.
My Pick: Crumbling Necropolis
Pack one, pick three:
Hissing Iguanar, Blightning, Magma Spray, Bloodthorn Taunter, Obelisk of Grixis, Naturalize, Resounding Scream, Steelclad Serpent, Savage Hunger, Exhuberant Firestoker, Topan Ascetic, Rafiq of the Many
Wow, what a booster. Considering the rare is still in the pack and only one uncommon is missing, I’m willing to guess somebody took something like Tower Gargoyle and then the next player took a Red or Black removal spell. This pack has a lot of high quality options for us: Iguanar, Magma Spray, Topan Ascetic, and Rafiq. Since Iguanar is usually better than Magma Spray in my book, it comes down to Ascetic versus Iguanar versus Rafiq. Rafiq still existing in the pack is too much of a gift for me to pass up since two players passed up on it and will likely be sending similarly-colored cards my way, although I am fully aware it is a little greedy. Bant is a weak shard and I have definitely passed Rafiq first pick before in AAC, but GW received a large boost in Alara Reborn and I am willing to take the opportunity cost on the mythic rare.
My pick: Rafiq of the Many
Pack one, pick four:
Onyx Goblet, Savage Hunger, Gustrider Exhuberant, Behemoth’s Herald, Soul’s Grace, Skeletal Kathari, Resounding Wave, Obelisk of Esper, Deft Duelist, Naya Battlemage, Godtoucher
The two standouts in this pack are Naya Battlemage and Deft Duelist. The Duelist has become considerably stronger in a format full of protection bears in the second pack and two toughness Blades in the last pack, and if I really want to try and cut both Blue-Green and Blue-White it’s a solid pick to take. However, Naya Battlemage is a tapper that fits both with Woolly Thoctar and Rafiq, whereas Deft Duelist is not only weaker, but only fits if I end up base GWU. As a bonus, Naya Battlemage can also kick up my smaller guys for value if I end up Red. This pick is easily Naya Battlemage for me.
My pick: Naya Battlemage
Pack one, pick five:
Yoked Plowbeast, Coma Veil, Gustrider Exhuberant, Call to Heel, Resounding Scream, Relic of Progenitus, Resounding Wave, Soul’s Might, Jhessian Infilitrator, Clarion Ultimatum
Jhessian Infilitrator is very good in an Exalted deck and has a high chance of making my deck if I end up able to consistently have access to those colors. Plowbeast, Call, and Wave are weaker, and while the Plowbeast fits both the Thoctar and Rafiq plan, I’m satisfied with moving a little more toward Rafiq with the Jhessian Infilitrator.
My pick: Jhessian Infilitrator
Pack one, pick six:
Vectis Silencers, Waveskimmer Aven, Resounding Wave, Obelisk of Bant, Mosstodon, Cylian Elf, Sigiled Paladin, Filigree Sages, Mighty Emergence
While Waveskimmer Aven is definitely playable, it’s out of its league here. I feel like it’s Cylian Elf versus Sigiled Paladin versus Mosstodon. The first question is which of the two drops is superior? Paladin is much stronger, but it’s more difficult to cast. With the way this deck is shaping up, ease to cast is very important. If we’re going to be so split on colors, the Elf’s lone G is something to keep in mind. However, in this format where X/2’s substantially more powerful, albeit not ones as easy to cast, can be picked up later on, I feel like taking the risk on the Paladin is worthwhile over the Elf. However, I think Mosstodon is superior to both, especially with Rafiq possibly in my deck. It’s easy to cast, and gives my creatures some extra reach to deal the last points of damage.
So what happened? I took the Sigiled Paladin at the time for whatever reason, likely because I was substantially slowing down the draft by writing the pack down and was taking shorter periods of time on my decisions, but I feel like Mosstodon is the better pick at this point in retrospect.
My pick: Sigiled Paladin (but Mosstodon is probably better.)
Pack one, pick seven:
Dragon Fodder, Viashino Skeleton, Exhuberant Firestoker, Shore Snapper, Jhessian Outrider, Court Archers, Sigil Blessing, Hindering Light
Court Archers is likely to make my deck and a strong card in general, but Sigil Blessing is a fantastic trick and I would rather pick up a trick now at the cost of a Court Archers than have to try and find a Might of Alara later on.
My pick: Sigil Blessing
Pack one, pick eight:
Mosstodon, Obelisk of Jund, Soul’s Grace, Cancel, Etherium Sculptor, Thorn-Thrash Viashino, Demon’s Herald
Although Cancel is one of my favorite cards to pick up late and play, I’m happy to get a Mosstodon here.
My pick: Mosstodon
Pack one, pick nine:
Dispeller’s Capsule, Volcanic Submersion, Spell Snip, Relic of Progenitus, Thorn-thrash Viashino, Dragon’s Herald
Unexpectedly, nothing that great wheeled. Since I don’t want to have to play Thorn-Thrash Viashino, it’s either Dispeller’s Capsule of Volcanic Submersion for the sideboard. I took the Capsule because it also hits enchantments and I’m likely in White at this point, whereas Red is looking less and less likely.
My pick: Dispeller’s Capsule
Pack one, pick ten:
Waveskimmer Aven, Glaze Field, Shore Snapper, Rockcaster Platoon, Cradle of Vitality
Waveskimmer Aven made it back around, and he’s an alright card to play. Rockcaster Platoon is a possibility if my game plan is to get that far, but I’d much rather have the Aven.
My pick: Waveskimmer Aven
To speed up the draft, I skipped over the last few picks. Nothing I would typically like to play came around late.
Pack two, pick one:
Unsummon, Rhox Meditant, Valeron Outlander, Absorb Vis, Molten Frame, Rhox Bodyguard, Wandering Goblins, Esper Cormorants, Infectious Horror, Might of Alara, Jhessian Balmgiver, Grixis Slavedriver, Spore Burst, Inkwell Leviathan
This is a pretty mediocre pack for this deck, full of cards I’d be happy to pick middle of the road. The Grixis Slavedriver is going to find a home in someone’s Black deck, but I happy snatch up the 3/3 flier for my deck.
My pick: Esper Cormorants
Pack two, pick two:
Esper Cormorants, Parasitic Strix, Kaleidostone, Wretched Banquet, Aven Trailblazer, Ember Weaver, Rotting Rats, Asha’s Favor, Goblin Outlander, Grixis Illusionist, Aether-Sworn Lich, Path to Exile, Filigree Fracture
This pack has several cards I’d like to take, like Cormorants, Strix, Ember Weaver (even if we don’t play Red, it’s still fine on its own and easy to pump up via hybrid) and Trailblazer. However, when you’re in this color combination you need all the removal you can find, so it’s easily Path to Exile.
My pick: Path to Exile
Pack two, pick three:
Valeron Outlander, Nacatl Savage, Sedraxis Alchemist, Brackwater Elemental, Wandering Goblins, Maniacal Rage, Wild Leotau, Suicidal Charge, Dreadwing, Esperzoa, Fusion Elemental, Bloodhall Ooze
I love two-drops, but they’re so plentiful in this format, and especially this color combination, that I’m willing to pass them for larger cards and fill in the two-drop slot later on. I’m perfectly satisfied taking the Wild Leotau here.
My pick: Wild Leotau
Pack two, pick four:
Rhox Meditant, Valeron Outlander, Rhox Bodyguard, Savage Slasher, Shard Convergence, Wandering Goblins, Unsummon, Might of Alara, Canyon Minotaur, Valiant Guard, Spore Burst
Although I’m happy to pick up a two-drop, with a GW base I feel like you want a lot of pump spells so you can use them as poor removal. I think I can find two-drops later on, so I took the Might of Alara…
Or at least I should have. Somehow, I ended up with Rhox Meditant. I think my logic at the time was that I wanted Horned Turtles to clog up the ground while my fliers and fatties crashed in, but I don’t think it’s superior to Might of Alara.
My pick: Rhox Meditant (Should have been Might of Alara.)
Pack two, pick five:
Worldly Council, Kaleidostone, Court Homunculus, Zombie Outlander, Unstable Frontier, Rhox Meditant, Frontline Sage, Jhessian Balmgiver, Vectis Agents, Telemin Performance
Unstable Frontier doesn’t feel like the kind of card this deck wants because of its mana requirements, so I pick up the Rhox Meditant here for the same reasons as I thought about taking it above. I would rather have it than Worldly Council or Kaleidostone.
My pick: Rhox Meditant
Pack two, pick six:
Kaleidostone, Grixis Illusionists, Valiant Guard, Toxic Iguanar, Aven Trailblazer, Corrupted Roots, Vectis Agents, Jhessian Balmgiver, Scarland Thrinax, Corrupted Roots
That’s a late Scarland Thrinax for a Jund player, but I’m glad to pick up a 2/x flier here.
My pick: Aven Trailblazer
Pack two, pick seven:
Zombie Outlander, Infectious Horror, Asha’s Favor, Canyon Minotaur, Rhox Meditant, Ignite Disorder, Quenchable Fire, Gluttonous Slime
It’s a good thing I didn’t take those Rhox Meditants earlier, since they always come around late, so now I have my opportunity to pick one up.
…Oh wait!
I don’t know if I’m going to maindeck two Meditants yet, but I’m certainly not going to maindeck three. I’m actually a much bigger fan of the Slime than most since it’s not hard for him to be a 3/3, and he can jump in mid-combat to make things tricky for your opponent. Considering my situation, it’s the best card for me here.
My pick: Gluttonous Slime
Pack two, pick eight:
Salvage Slasher, Mana Cylix, Court Homunculus, Frontline Sage, Might of Alara, Ancient Ziggurat, Scarland Thrinax
That’s another late Thrinax, and I would really like that Might of Alara. However, I could use the mana fixing at this point to get Woolly Thoctar and Rafiq in my deck and, as I said earlier, I will take lands that fix my mana highly because of the 23 spell rule. I don’t have many spells the Ziggurat is going to hinder me from casting, so it’s the pick for me.
My pick: Ancient Ziggurat
Pack two, pick nine:
Unsummon, Rhox Bodyguard, Wandering Goblins, Infectious Horror, Jhessian Balmgiver, Spore Burst
The Inkwell Leviathan is gone. Interesting. I guess that means there’s a five-color deck somewhere near me because I doubt anybody within a few picks of my right would take the Leviathan that early.
In any case, Unsummon is a reasonable trick and gets a problematic guy out of the way for a turn. Neither Bodyguard, Balmgiver, or Spore Burst are better in this deck.
My pick: Unsummon
I rounded out the Conflux pack with nothing of note. To help you keep track of what I had going into Alara Reborn, here are the potential maindeck playables:
Ancient Ziggurat
Crumbling Necropolis
Jhessian Infilitrator
Sigiled Paladin
Naya Battlemage
Gluttonous Slime
Aven Trailblazer
Rafiq of the many
Esper Cormorants
Rhox Meditant
Rhox Meditant
Wild Leotau
Mosstodon
Waveskimmer Aven
Woolly Thoctar (might make the cut, but it’s definitely not a three drop in this deck.)
Sigil Blessing
Path to Exile
Unsummon
With that in mind, here was what my Alara Reborn booster challenged me with:
Pack three, pick one:
Glassdust Hulk, Jund Hackblade, Putrid Leech, Arsenal Thresher, Offering to Asha, Godtracker of Jund, Igneous Pouncer, Esper Stormblade, Winged Coatl, Qasali Pridemage, Vengeful Rebirth, Messenger Falcons, Wall of Denial, Retaliator Griffin
This pack is pretty strong, and I hope I get something back out of it. The contenders for my pick in this pack are Esper Stormblade, Qasali Pridemage, and Vengeful Rebirth. This is the pack where I want to pick up my two-drops, and both of the available options are very good. Venegful Rebirth, on the other hand, is a fantastic removal/reach spell which rebuys one of my strongest cards, but would push toward a Red splash. (One which can’t be cast off Ancient Ziggurat, no less.) Messenger Falcons is strong, but I don’t feel like it’s in the same league because I already have a lot of four drops and need to lower my curve. While I need removal, Coatl is not only questionable as a first pick but is not a better pick than Vengeful Rebirth even though it doesn’t require a splash.
I took the Vengeful Rebirth because of its raw power and ability to finish the game by removing big creatures—or opponents—from the way. While there is a high chance I will see more two-drops (yes, I know I keep saying that, but it’s still true until a few picks into the third pack), this will likely be my only chance at a Vengeful Rebirth. I’m still not certain this pick was correct. Had I chosen between the two-drops, I would have probably chosen the Pridemage.
My pick: Vengeful Rebirth
Pack three, pick two:
Ethercaste Knight, Breath of Malfegor, Godtracker of Jund, Grixis Sojourners, Pale Recluse, Singe-Mind Ogre, Deadshot Minotaur, Naya Sojourners, Esper Sojourners, Skyclaw Thrash, Thopter Foundry, Double Negative, Meddling Mage
Deadshot Minotaur is very, very good, but in a deck full of fliers his ability is a gigantic liability. In this deck, the Minotaur kind of pales in comparison to the already highly pale Pale Recluse. Pale Recluse gives me some mana fixing and a huge body for later in the game, both of which I could really use.
My pick: Pale Recluse
Pack three, pick three:
Sewn-Eye Drake, Jund Sojourners, Grizzled Leotau, Fieldmist Borderpost, Sigiled Behemoth, Violent Outburst, Grixis Sojourners, Deny Reality, Mind Funeral, Giant Ambush Beetle, Lorescale Coatl, foil Mind Funeral
Although the Behemoth is fine, a random huge guy is not really what I’m looking for. (Compared to random huge guys with landcycling.) While I know I don’t have a Cavern Thoctar or similar fattie at my top end, I’m okay with that. Lorescale Coatl is a card I’m not certain how high to pick, yet. Like fine wine or Leona Lewis, it’s a card that gets better with time. So far I’ve been rating it as a 3/3 for 3, but I feel like it’s probably a lot better than I’m giving it credit for. Still, I’m not comfortable taking it here.
Giant Ambush Beetle is very good, but the question is how much to splash. My manabase is looking tricky, but the Beetle is five mana which means there’s a good chance I can hit my Red source by the time I want to play it. On the other end of the spectrum is Fieldmist Borderpost. The Borderposts are very good mana fixing, especially if you plan to have two-drops with mana costs all over the place, and as pseudo-lands they follow the 23 spell rule accordingly. I took the Borderpost here because I like to cast my spells, although I’m still not certain the great mana fixing was better than the powerful, if difficult to cast, Beetle.
(On a irrelevant side note, has anybody else noticed Giant Ambush Beetle is just a Yu-Gi-Oh parody? The name is reminiscent of the ridiculous card names in Yu-Gi-Oh, the card has haste, like monsters in Yu-Gi-Oh, and it can make a creature block it, kind of attacking a creature in Yu-Gi-Oh. Just sayin’.)
My pick: Fieldmist Borderpost
Pack three, pick four:
Winged Coatl, Esper Stormblade, Trace of Abundance, Violent Outburst, Putrid Leech, Qasali Pridemage, Vedalken Ghoul, Jund Hackblade, Kathari Bomber, Mage Slayer, Lorescale Coatl
Now this is a strong pack with a lot of options. I want a two-drop, which rules out the poor removal spell of the Coatl, and as good as Trace is, I want an aggressive two-drop at this point. Even with the addition of the Borderpost to my deck, I still feel like the Pridemage is the stronger card for me overall versus Esper Stormblade.
My pick: Qasali Pridemage
Pack three, pick five:
Leonin Armorguard, Sanctum Plowbeast, Glassdust Hulk, Demonic Dread, Mistvein Borderpost, Magefire Wings, Sigil of the Nayan Gods, Cerodon Yearling, Anathemancer, Cloven Casting
Somebody is going to love that late Borderpost, but it is sadly not us. Leonin Armorguard is really the only card in the pack for us, and as a Hill Giant that gets your team in for a little extra he seems like a solid addition to this deck.
My pick: Leonin Armorguard
Pack three, pick six:
Bant Sureblade, Grixis Sojourners, Wildfield Borderpost, Sanctum Plowbeast, Glassdust Hulk, Drastic Revelation, Skyclaw Thrash, Brainbite, Vedalken Heretic
When I saw the Vedalken Heretic I had visions of Ohran Vipers and Ophidians running around in my head, and my Blue-playing card draw-loving instinct had me take it. Only later was it pointed out to me that it was just a hard to cast Elvish Visionary which may either draw you between zero and two cards. Sure, it’s insane if left unchecked, but what isn’t?
If I could go back, the pick is clearly between the Borderpost and the Sureblade. I’m leaning toward the Borderpost on this one to help me play Sigiled Paladin, but I definitely could have used the Sureblade.
My pick: Vedalken Heretic (Should have been Wildfield Borderpost)
Pack three, pick seven:
Bant Sojourners, Offering to Asha, Pale Recluse, Stormcaller’s Boon, Firewild Borderpost, Sigil of the Nayan Gods, Ethersworn Page, Drastic Revelation
Am I just rating Borderposts higher than everybody else? It looks like I am at this table, at least. I’m surprised there’s one here this late.
Equally surprising is that there is still a Pale Recluse in the pack. I would rather have a Pale Recluse than a Borderpost in most circumstances. This case causes more of an argument because the borderpost is partially Red. I’m splashing Red, and right now my sources are a Crumbling Necropolis and an Ancient Ziggurat. If I take the Borderpost, I won’t have to play a Mountain maindeck and can support my two Red cards off of those three sources. (Ziggurat can’t cast Vengeful Rebirth, and you need at least two Red sources for it.) Furthermore, I have a much higher chance of playing Thoctar on turn 3 or 4 with the Borderpost.
You can argue that taking the Recluse fixes your mana in a similar way because the Recluse gives you extra W and G sources if you have to play a mountain, but Pale Recluse takes up your second turn instead of your first turn and requires using a spell slot to fix your mana. This is another pick I’m uncertain about, but I wanted to streamline my mana base. Thinking about it now, Recluse was probably the better call — but I feel it’s incredibly close.
My pick: Wildfire Borderpost
Pack three, pick eight:
Captured Sunlight, Magefire Wings, Colossal Might, Jhessian Zombies, Naya Sojourners, Lorescale Coatl, Finest Hour
That is a ridiculously late Colossal Might, and I tried to figure out if I could play it but didn’t think I could. I considered hating it out of the draft, but Lorescale Coatl would probably be played in my deck and, after passing up two earlier copies of the uncommon, I was curious to see how good the snake is. (Ironically, I never cast the card once.)
My pick: Lorescale Coatl
Pack three, pick nine:
Glassdust Hulk, Winged Coatl, Godtracker of Jund, Offering to Asha, Esper Stormblade, Retaliator Griffin
This pack feels way too strong for a ninth pick. I’m extremely happy to scoop up the Stormblade here.
My pick: Esper Stormblade
Pack three, pick ten:
Breath of Malfegor, Godtracker of Jund, Thopter Foundry, Double Negative, Meddling Mage
Meddling Mage is a bear that can get them after boarding. Nothing else is close for my deck (Fun fact: I brought it in against Bill Stark after he played multiple Nacatl Outlanders against me).
I rounded off the rest of the draft with picking up a Winged Coatl that came far, far later than it should have and a bunch of cards which wouldn’t make my deck. These were my maindeck playables:
Ancient Ziggurat
Crumbling Necropolis
Fieldmist Borderpost
Wildfire Borderpost
Jhessian Infilitrator
Vedalken Heretic
Sigiled Paladin
Qasali Pridemage
Esper Stormblade
Naya Battlemage
Winged Coatl
Lorescale Coatl
Gluttonous Slime
Aven Trailblazer
Rafiq of the Many
Esper Cormorants
Rhox Meditant
Rhox Meditant
Leonin Armorguard
Wild Leotau
Sigil Blessing
Path to Exile
Unsummon
Vengeful Rebirth
Since I adhered so nicely to the 23 spell rule, I only had to cut one card. Since I was in love with Vedalken Heretic at the time, I felt it either needed to be one of my four-drops in that six spell glut or the Gluttonous Slime. I ended up cutting the Slime and being a little overloaded on four-drops, but I eventually just started boarding out the Heretic for the Slime. It’s certainly not my favorite deck and a few picks could have gone better, but overall I felt it was a 2-1 worthy deck.
The actual games were fairly uneventful. Against Ricky in round 1 I snuck in a ten point Rafiq swing in game 1 then finished him off with fliers. In game 2, he was mana screwed and I had a turn 3 Woolly Thoctar, then curved out perfectly from there.
Against Bill in round 2, we had three close games and he took me down in a very close third game where a topdecked Hissing Iguanar turned a good blocking situation into one that would put me on dead after his next turn.
It was getting late and everybody wanted to get going, so I just had enough time for one game against Alex West in the third round in which I was promptly destroyed by turn 1 Bloodhall Ooze, turn two Jund Hackblade, turn 3 Scarland Thrinax — ka-pow!
Bill Stark ended up defeating Kellen Abel’s base GWU five-color deck in the finals. You can find Bill’s winning decklist by clicking here.
Hopefully this article will help satiate your craving for full block draft walkthroughs. There is still a lot of evaluation left to do for the new set, so feel free to chime in with your thoughts on the format or on my picks in the forums. I’m definitely interested in your input. Drafting strategy is shaped by the thoughts of players just like you, and it’s always a helpful topic to discuss. If you don’t have an account on the forums and/or would like to e-mail me, my e-mail address is gavintriesagain at gmail dot com. See you in the forums!
Gavin Verhey
Team Unknown Stars
Rabon on Magic Online, Lesurgo everywhere else