After spending a week on the beach, I was eager to draft when I got home this weekend. I did a bunch of drafts last night but ended up using a draft I did over a week ago for this walkthrough. This walkthrough comes from an 8-4 draft online. I’m feeling a bit short-winded this week, so I’m just gonna skip the crap and get to the actual strategy. As usual, comments in the forums are appreciated.
Time Spiral
Pack 1
Urborg Syphon-Mage, Snapback, Aether Web, Lightning Axe, Cloudchaser Kestrel, Drudge Reavers, Divine Congregation, Mindlash Sliver, Thallid Shell-Dweller, Jhoira’s Timebug, Undying Rage, Phantom Wurm, Pull from Eternity, Swamp Mosquito
This was a pretty easy pick to start out the draft. I doubt anyone could justify taking anything but the Lightning Axe out of this pack, even though there are plenty of other playables. The Axe is just far and away the best card and the best splash option. You can’t even make an argument for Syphon-Mage by saying it helps Madness, because Axe is an even better outlet.
My Pick: Lightning Axe
Pack 2
Feebleness, Looter il-Kor, Spinneret Sliver, Keldon Halberdier, Ivory Giant, Venser’s Sliver, Children of Korlis, Sangrophage, Viashino Bladescout, Assembly Worker, Plated Pegasus, Thick-Skinned Goblin, Swarmyard, Pandemonium
This pack is pretty interesting.
The reasonable picks I could make here are Looter, Halberdier, and Thick-Skinned Goblin. Both of the Red cards come with the benefit that I’m not choosing a second color just yet. Thick-Skinned Goblin has certainly gotten better since the days of TTT, and I’m honestly not sure if the potential gain of drafting a bunch of Echo creatures later is worth the risk. I say this because I believe Halberdier is by far the better card on its own, but the Goblin has a good chance of becoming awesome with lots of Echo men in the second and third sets. So the choice between the two Red cards is very close in my opinion, and there’s also the Looter in the pack as a strong option.
Overall the Looter is the best card, but I believe you could justify taking any of the three from this pack. It may surprise you that I went with the Halberdier here, but my reasons for doing so were to keep my second color open and because I wasn’t sure if the Goblin had a high enough risk/reward ratio. The times you end up with no Echo men the Goblin may not even make the cut, and there is no deck with Mountains in it that I wouldn’t play Keldon Halberdier.
I think my thought process on this pick is sound, but I could be making a mistake by passing up on the Goblin. I can understand someone taking the Looter as well, but I prefer to stay on-color in this case most of the time.
My Pick: Keldon Halberdier
Pack 3
Thallid Germinator, Ironclaw Buzzardiers, Temporal Eddy, Tendrils of Corruption, Drifter il-Dal, Havenwood Wurm, Basal Sliver, Sage of Epityr, Weatherseed Totem, Truth or Tale, Fungus Sliver, Funeral Charm, Quilled Sliver
This is exactly why I don’t like taking the Looter from the last booster.
The standouts here are Germinator, Weatherseed Totem, and Tendrils, and none of them are Red. As I’ve said in past articles, I have a general dislike for B/R in this format, as it always looks great when it’s laid out but I can never seem to get it to mesh well enough in the actual games to win consistently. It was mainly because of this that I wrote off the Tendrils pretty early in my decision making and focused on the Green cards. This is certainly a pick that was made largely on color preference rather than just taking the best card, as I prefer G/R to B/R by a large margin.
As far as the Green cards go, I’ve always had great experiences with Totem. Due to the printing of Sprout Swarm however, Germinator’s stock has skyrocketed, and I’m almost certain it’s the better Green card in most situations.
This is another pick where you could justify taking any of the three cards, but I feel like the real decision is between Germinator and Tendrils at this point in the draft.
My Pick: Thallid Germinator
Pack 4
Goblin Skycutter, Cancel, Pentarch Ward, Assassinate, Jedit’s Dragoons, Savage Thallid, Flickering Spirit, Call to the Netherworld, Calciform Pools, Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician, Dodecapod, foil Island
If you can’t tell already tell, I picked this draft for the article because I believe there are a ton of close picks and I wasn’t even sure I was picking optimally. This pick is clearly between the Skycutter and Ib Halfheart, and nothing else is in the ballpark. Since the usual G/R strategy is to swarm with small men and push through with tricks and removal, I decided I wanted Ib Halfheart here. I can see taking Skycutter as well, but as it’s common I have a decent shot at getting another and there aren’t many redundant effects to replace Ib. G/R shouldn’t have too much trouble with fliers, with burn and things like Giant Dustwasp around. Anyway, I’m not sure if it was right or not but I took the Legend.
My Pick: Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician
Pack 5
Chromatic Star, Tolarian Sentinel, Flowstone Channeler, Trespasser il-Vec, Spinneret Sliver, Fortify, Brass Gnat, Dream Stalker, Blazing Blade Askari, Harmonic Sliver, Withered Wretch
Clearly I’m not going to take Trespasser from this pack, having passed on Tendrils already. The other options are Fortify, Sentinel, Spinneret, and Channeler. I don’t feel like Fortify or Sentinel are worth branching out for at this point, especially when there are on-color options available. So the question then is Channeler or Spinneret, and I think it’s a pretty easy one. Not only do I have Ib Halfheart and two other Red cards, but I’m also unsure whether I’ll be Green or not at this point and I feel like Channeler is better overall anyway.
I probably should go back and rewrite that entire paragraph because it felt like I was rambling when the pick wasn’t really that difficult. Instead, I’m gonna just leave it as is, Tim Aten style, and move on to the next pick.
My Pick: Flowstone Channeler
Pack 6
Dark Withering, Zealot il-Vec, Goblin Skycutter, Psychotic Episode, Sprout, Aetherflame Wall, Pit Keeper, Sage of Epityr, Academy Ruins, Safe Haven
Remember earlier when I made the comment about having a chance to get another Skycutter because it’s common? The funny thing about that was that I was just trying to come up with more justification for taking Ib, and since this draft happened over a week ago I actually forgot that I did in fact get passed another Skycutter.
At any rate, this pick isn’t hard, but it sure sucks to pass Dark Withering this late. Perhaps if I didn’t start out in Red this draft I could’ve taken Tendrils and moved in. Or maybe I should just stop losing with BR so that I can start drafting it again. I’m sure most a good number of you would’ve taken Tendrils earlier and would now be rewarded with this pick, but as I said, it just came down to archetype preference with the Germinator pick.
My Pick: Goblin Skycutter
Pack 7
Mindstab, Slipstream Serpent, Mystical Teachings, Shadow Sliver, Bogardan Rager, Traitor’s Clutch, Smallpox, Saltcrusted Steppe, Sindbad
I briefly considered the Mystical Teachings in this pack before settling on the obvious choice of Bogardan Rager. For what it’s worth, I’d take the Mindstab over Rager if I were in B/R, even though you really want finishers in that type of deck.
My Pick: Bogardan Rager
Pack 8
Mana Skimmer, Coral Trickster, Glass Asp, Traitor’s Clutch, Plunder, Eternity Snare, Aspect of the Mongoose, Skittering Monstrosity
I see no reason to take Mana Skimmer after everything I’ve passed. It’s possible I could slide into U/R though, so the Trickster is the only real option here. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I love the off-color Morph, so that’s always another option.
My Pick: Coral Trickster
I didn’t get a lot of help on the way back, and only picked up Viashino Bladescout, Ironclaw Buzzardiers, and a very late Dream Stalker as notables. So far the deck looks fine but unspectacular, with the best part being that I don’t have a second color yet and have the freedom to roam in the coming packs.
Planar Chaos
Pack 1
Spitting Sliver, Mire Boa, Battering Sliver, Dash Hopes, Aquamorph Entity, Uktabi Drake, Shade of Trokair, Ghost Tactician, Melancholy, Merfolk Thaumaturgist, Gossamer Phantasm, Darkheart Sliver, Pongify, Kor Dirge, Body Double
I can hear the critics already saying that I should’ve been Black in this draft, and would then easily take Kor Dirge from this booster. As it stands though, there isn’t anything that great in G/R, with Mire Boa being the only possible pick there. As I was saying at the end of pack 1, I’m wide open on a second color. Body Double is a bomb, and also splashable if I end up staying in G/R. I also got the Dream Stalker and Trickster in pack 1 so U/R is still a very viable option.
My Pick: Body Double
Pack 2
Veiling Oddity, Midnight Charm, Ghost Tactician, Fury Charm, Evolution Charm, Reality Acid, Deadly Grub, Piracy Charm, Skirk Shaman, Revered Dead, Enslave, Blood Knight, Auramancer’s Guise, Magus of the Arena
I don’t even have words for this pack.
As much as I wish I was B/R and could take Enslave, there is also on-color bomb, Magus of the Arena. The guy who opened this took a common so I guess it was either a Green card or Shaper Parasite, and I have no idea how he isn’t in Black with the late Tendrils, Withering, and Trespasser I passed to him.
My Pick: Magus of the Arena
Pack 3
Poultice Sliver, Dead/Gone, Dreamscape Artist, Ridged Kusite, Pallid Mycoderm, Keldon Marauders, Dust Corona, Simian Spirit Guide, Fa’adiyah Seer, Stonecloaker, Timebender, Malach of the Dawn, Heroes Remembered
More goodies here for everyone. I almost want to say that the guy next to me is goof grabbing with all of the stuff he’s passing, but I think the real case is that he’s just in Green and taking Dustwasps or something. I’ll happily pick Dead/Gones all day, and I’m not sure what else to say about this pick.
My Pick: Dead/Gone
Pack 4
Giant Dustwasp, Stingscourger, Synchronous Sliver, Utopia Vow, Dawn Charm, Brain Gorgers, Dust Corona, Vitaspore Thallid, Essence Warden, Simian Spirit Guide, Volcano Hellion
Well, there goes my Giant Dustwasp theory. These packs are unreal, and I apologize since the last four picks have been extremely easy. I do think that the tough picks in pack 1 outweigh the no-brainer picks in the last four packs, in terms of evaluating a draft and hoping to improve. Oh, and yeah, Volcano Hellion is awesome and far better than Stingscourger here. If only I had a Thick-Skinned Goblin, I’d be set. Hellion has pretty good synergy with Body Double as well
My Pick: Volcano Hellion
Pack 5
Battering Sliver, Whitemane Lion, Utopia Vow, Veiling Oddity, Citanul Woodreaders, Brain Gorgers, Keldon Marauders, Seal of Primordium, Bog Serpent, Circle of Affliction, Magus of the Library
Finally, an interesting Planar Chaos pick.
If you go back and look at the big picture of where the deck is going, you’ll see that it’s still very open since I’ve mainly picked Red cards in this pack, with the exception of the splashable Body Double.
I decided right away that I wasn’t taking Battering Sliver, as I already have a lot of high end. The choice then is between Utopia Vow and Veiling Oddity, as I don’t think Magus is that impressive, and it’s double Green to cast. I ended up taking the Oddity, since I haven’t seen much Green this pack, and I’d like to play Dream Stalker and Coral Trickster and not splash Body Double if possible.
My Pick: Veiling Oddity
Pack 6
Ridged Kusite, Needlepeak Spider, Wistful Thinking, Dash Hopes, Reality Acid, Healing Leaves, Mana Tithe, Melancholy, Necrotic Sliver, Frozen Aether
This pack doesn’t offer much as far as decisions go, but it does offer a very playable Needlepeak Spider and I don’t have many four drops. The only real comfort I have that I’m not in Black is that most of my picks were excellent and in Red anyway in these boosters.
My Pick: Needlepeak Spider
Pack 7
Dawn Charm, Cradle to Grave, Uktabi Drake, Aquamorph Entity, Revered Dead, Melancholy, Vampiric Link, Circle of Affliction, Lavacore Elemental
I could take the Uktabi Drake here, but I decided to stick to my guns and just stay in U/R. I think if you want to take the Drake here then you should take the Utopia Vow from a couple of picks back.
My Pick: Aquamorph Entity
Pack 8
Cradle to Grave, Skirk Shaman, Reflex Sliver, Firefright Mage, Wistful Thinking, Keldon Marauders, Aether Membrane, Riptide Pilferer
Wow, still lots of potential in this pack, more than most of the previous ones.
In general, I think Skirk Shaman is better than Aether Membrane, but it’s also largely deck dependent. This deck is kind of in the middle but leaning towards aggression and, as I said, I like the Shaman a little better anyway.
My Pick: Skirk Shaman
On the lap I got another Aquamorph Entity, Skirk Shaman, and not much else. The Skirk Shaman was definitely a welcome addition, and I like the looks of the deck so far, thanks in part to some lucky boosters.
Future Sight
Pack 1
Nessian Courser, Lucent Liminid, Unblinking Bleb, Oblivion Crown, Mesmeric Sliver, Mass of Ghouls, Bogardan Lancer, Henchfiend of Ukor, Homing Sliver, Grave Scrabbler, Aven Augur, Mistmeadow Skulk, Dryad Arbor, Lost Hours, Force of Savagery
My Pick: Aven Augur
Pack 2
Emberwilde Augur, Putrid Cyclops, Augur il-Vec, Ichor Slick, Petrified Plating, Bogardan Lancer, Grinning Ignus, Deepcavern Imp, Fomori Nomad, Zoetic Cavern, Spin into Myth, Witch’s Mist, Maelstrom Djinn, Lost Hours
I took quite a bit of time on this pick because I really like Spin into Myth and I don’t have a lot of experience with the Djinn. The deciding factor for me was that Djinn is awesome with Body Double and I can get something like Venser’s Diffusion later. If I didn’t have Body Double I’m not sure what I’d take here, but I think I’d lean towards Spin into Myth since it’s an answer for essentially every problem creature that U/R can’t burn out.
My Pick: Maelstrom Djinn
Pack 3
Cutthroat il-Dal, Gathan Raiders, Llanowar Augur, Augur of Skulls, Samite Censer-Bearer, Fomori Nomad, Patrician’s Scorn, Logic Knot, Nessian Courser, Grave Scrabbler, Narcomoeba, Fleshwrither, Skizzik Surger
This pack offers the choice between Skizzik Surger, Fomori Nomad, and Gathan Raiders. Logic Knot is nowhere near any of these cards in power level or what we’re looking for in this deck.
All three of the creatures are excellent, and I believe in this draft it’s simply a matter of mana curve issues. Looking back on the draft now I think I made this pick too quickly and should’ve went with the Fomori Nomad. Gathan Raiders does help disguise the Maelstrom Djinn though, along with my other morphs, and makes it hard for my opponent if he sees Raiders and then has to play a around my morph in another game. I ended up going with Raiders but I think the five-drop Nomad was probably correct in this spot. The problem with the Skizzik is that I have a lot of late game drops and can’t really afford to sacrifice the lands. Maelstrom Djinn also counts there because of the option to hardcast it.
My Pick: Gathan Raiders
Pack 4
Cutthroat il-Dal, Gift of Granite, Quiet Disrepair, Rift Elemental, Augur il-Vec, Flowstone Embrace, Frenzy Sliver, Mesmeric Sliver, Ramosian Revivalist, Second Wind, Street Wraith, Magus of the Vineyard
Second Wind may deal with more things than Flowstone Embrace but the Embrace is more efficient and also doesn’t stick around waiting for Dream Stalker to wreck its day. You can also use the Embrace as a pump spell in a pinch whereas Second Wind can only give a guy Vigilance if used on offense. I think these reasons make the Embrace the clear pick.
My Pick: Flowstone Embrace
Pack 5
Saltskitter, Unblinking Bleb, Riddle of Lightning, Llanowar Augur, Venser’s Diffusion, Lymph Sliver, Blind Phantasm, Virulent Sliver, Mass of Ghouls, Aven Mindcensor, Arcanum Wings
In general I like Riddle of Lightning in decks like U/R that have trouble killing a 4/4 like Sporoloth Ancient. In this draft I can also enter Searing Flesh mode with Maelstrom Djinn or one of the six drops. Riddle solves a lot of problems and also fixes my draw. The only other reasonable choice here is the Diffusion, and I think Riddle outclasses it by a lot.
My Pick: Riddle of Lightning
Pack 6
Oblivion Crown, Emberwilde Augur, Aven Augur, Vedalken Aethermage, Blade of the Sixth Pride, Grinning Ignus, Mass of Ghouls, Snake Cult Initiation, Emblem of the Warmind, Pyromancer’s Swath
A second Augur is obviously a welcome addition to this deck, and also gives me time to set up one of my bombs. If necessary I can recur Volcano Hellion as well, or reset Body Double, but those both seem like remote possibilities. This also helps to fill out the four-drop slot and is far better than Emberwilde Augur.
My Pick: Aven Augur
Pack 7
Grave Peril, Foresee, Patrician’s Scorn, Sarcomite Myr, Henchfiend of Ukor, Blind Phantasm, Storm Entity, Spellwild Ouphe, Aven Mindcensor
If there were a common I could hope to get in the remaining boosters it would definitely be Foresee. The only thing I might possibly want more is Infiltrator il-Kor, and that seems very unlikely this late. Foresee is almost the same, but luckily there is one here and nothing else to even consider.
My Pick: Foresee
Pack 8
Venser’s Diffusion, Oblivion Crown, Saltskitter, Vedalken Aethermage, Virulent Sliver, Frenzy Sliver, Phosphorescent Feast
And a Diffusion to round out the deck. I don’t think I’d ever play Aethermage with just two Aven Augurs to search for, and I’d need a bomb to make it worthwhile.
My Pick: Venser’s Diffusion
I got an Emberwilde Augur on the way back, and nothing else playable.
The Deck
Lightning Axe
Dead/Gone
Flowstone Embrace
Goblin Skycutter
Dream Stalker
Emberwilde Augur
Venser’s Diffusion
Flowstone Channeler
2 Skirk Shaman
Volcano Hellion
Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician
2 Aven Augur
Aquamorph Entity
Foresee
Keldon Halberdier
Gathan Raiders
Body Double
Riddle of Lightning
Magus of the Arena
Bogardan Rager
Maelstrom Djinn
10 Mountain
7 Island
Relevant Sideboard
Aquamorph Entity
Needlepeak Spider
Coral Trickster
Viashino Bladescout
The cuts were pretty easy since everything in the maindeck is better than the playables that didn’t make it.
Overall, I was happy with this deck.
The one problem with using this draft for a walkthrough is that it happened a week ago and then I went away to the beach. I figured I would end up using a draft from the past two days since I got back, but none of them were interesting enough. Because it’s been a while I really don’t remember too many details from the games, except that there were a couple very close ones and one game that I definitely lost to a misplay. In the finals my opponent offered the split and I declined, since I liked my deck and because of the chance to use this for a walkthrough. I guess I should’ve written summaries of the matches right away, but I can’t exactly go back in time and do that now.
I hope this walkthrough was helpful and I look forward to hearing comments about some of the Time Spiral picks in particular in the forums.
Nick Eisel
[email protected]
Soooooo & ThatsGameBoys on MTGO