This week, I decided to take a break from talking about Two-Headed Giant even though it is the most relevant Limited format in terms of upcoming tournaments. I haven’t done a regular draft walkthrough in a while – and with the recent release of Planar Chaos on Magic Online, I thought it’d be a good change of pace.
I apologize in advance if I fail to mention subtle reasoning behind some of my picks as I’ve had a really bad case of the flu all week and have been somewhat spacey at times.
This draft is from an 8-4 queue online.
Time Spiral
Pack One
Pack 1
Chromatic Star, Looter il-Kor, Gorgon Recluse, Herd Gnarr, Fortify, Coal Stoker, Mystical Teachings, Two-Headed Sliver, Prismatic Lens, Clockspinning, Evil Eye of Urborg, Yavimaya Dryad, Calciform Pools, Magus of the Mirror, Safe Haven
The first pick of the draft happens to be a rather simple one. If you take a look at the pack, the only cards that really stand out are Looter, Coal Stoker, and perhaps Yavimaya Dryad. Looter is of much higher quality than either of the other two cards, which makes it the clear pick from this booster.
My Pick: Looter il-Kor
Pack 2
Coral Trickster, Ivory Giant, Deathspore Thallid, Errant Ephemeron, Flowstone Channeler, Plunder, Skulking Knight, Brass Gnat, Dream Stalker, Watcher Sliver, Fool’s Demise, Gustcloak Cavalier, Cavalry Master, Funeral Charm
Ephemeron is a great follow up to the first-pick Looter and there really isn’t too much to compete with it in this pack. Even if there were options on par with the Ephemeron in other colors, it’s likely I’d still take the 4/4 flier here and keep my options open for a second color.
My Pick: Errant Ephemeron
Pack 3
Herd Gnarr, Trespasser il-Vec, Amrou Scout, Grapeshot, Scarwood Treefolk, Slipstream Serpent, Blazing Blade Askari, Glass Asp, Traitor’s Clutch, Plunder, Saltcrusted Steppe, Dementia Sliver, Arena
Here’s the first real decision to be made in the draft in my eyes. This booster contains no quality Blue picks, so I’m forced to choose between Trespasser, Scout, or Grapeshot as a potential second color. My gut instinct here was to take the Grapeshot, as I have a strong preference for U/R. I did think about the pick for a bit longer than usual, though, and strongly considered taking the Amrou Scout even though I ended up not doing so.
I really can’t advocate taking Trespasser here, as I think the other two options are much stronger, but I can definitely see some people taking the Scout here as it has gotten a lot better with the inclusion of Planar Chaos.
My Pick: Grapeshot
Pack 4
Feebleness, Chromatic Star, Tolarian Sentinel, Trespasser il-Vec, Viashino Bladescout, Mystical Teachings, Thrill of the Hunt, Shadow Sliver, Aspect of Mongoose, Fungal Reaches, Magus of the Jar, Valor
Another Trespasser here, but at least there are also some decent options in Blue. While I like Tolarian Sentinel far more than most, I still would rather have Magus of the Jar so that’s what I took here. If you did take the Trespasser from the last pack, I still think Magus is the pick here as he’s also good with Madness in U/B.
My Pick: Magus of the Jar
Pack 5
Amrou Scout, Mana Skimmer, Clockspinning, Bogardan Rager, Sangrophage, D’Avenant Healer, Wormwood Dryad, Truth or Tale, Pull from Eternity, Faceless Devourer, Kher Keep
Well, that pick from earlier doesn’t look to be panning out just yet as I haven’t seen a single good Red card after the Grapeshot. This pack makes we wish I would’ve taken the Scout earlier since I could pick up another copy here. The other options are Mana Skimmer or perhaps Bogardan Rager. I went back and forth on this one and decided to go with the Scout to possibly get into White since I really had no commitments yet.
It’s worth mentioning that I really don’t like Black so much in this format and I try to avoid drafting it. I’m not necessarily saying it’s bad in the abstract; it’s just a personal dislike and something that influences my decisions during a draft.
My Pick: Amrou Scout
Pack 6
Gemhide Sliver, Mindstab, Gaze of Justice, Shadow Sliver, Ophidian Eye, Thrill of the Hunt, Krosan Grip, Tectonic Fiend, Dodecapod, Bewilder
Wonderful.
This pack really adds nothing to the pile of cards I’ve accumulated so far. I went with the Dodecapod because it was something I could play no matter what colors I ended up in.
My Pick: Dodecapod
Pack 7
Orcish Cannonade, Sidewinder Sliver, Viscid Lemures, Mwonvuli Acid-Moss, Two-Headed Sliver, Blazing Blade Askari, Stormcloud Djinn, Gustcloak Cavalier, Swamp Mosquito
The choice here is between the Cannonade and the Stormcloud Djinn. While both of these cards are only okay, I still wasn’t sure if I was going to have Red as a second color or not and I also think the Djinn may be slightly stronger overall. I went with the 3/3 flier here.
My Pick: Stormcloud Djinn
Pack 8
Gaze of Justice, Eternity Snare, Molder, Children of Korlis, Sangrophage, Spirit Loop, Urza’s Factory, Darkness
There are basically no playables or viable hate draft options in this pack so I might as well go with the only thing that ever has a chance of making my deck. I really don’t like Eternity Snare, as there are too many easy ways to disrupt it and it’s far too slow for what it does.
My Pick: Urza’s Factory
On the lap I get two Mystical Teachings, Funeral Charm, and a late Slipstream Serpent.
At this point I’m still completely open in terms of a second color.
Pack Two
Pack 1
Mogg War Marshall, Terramorphic Expanse, Drudge Reavers, Temporal Isolation, Jhoira’s Timebug, Chameleon Blur, Subterranean Shambler, Cyclopean Giant, Screeching Sliver, Viscerid Deepwalker, Scryb Ranger, Sulfurous Blast, Pendelhaven Elder, Demonic Collusion, Sindbad
Hopefully I won’t have to switch colors again after this pack, as I’d really like to Mystical Teachings for Sulfurous Blast on my opponent’s end step. The nice thing too is that there isn’t some competing option in Blue in this pack that could possibly persuade me to keep my options open even longer.
My Pick: Sulfurous Blast
Pack 2
Think Twice, Ashcoat Bear, Urborg Syphon-Mage, Cloudchaser Kestrel, Thallid Germinator, Sprout, Aetherflame Wall, Pit Keeper, Sage of Epityr, Opaline Sliver, Voidmage Husher, Durkwood Tracker, Nether Traitor, Conspiracy
Hmm..
I guess I should’ve been in Black? The only real pick here is the Syphon-Mage, but I can’t possibly take that. I guess I have to be satisfied with a second-pick Think Twice, which is somewhat hard to swallow.
My Pick: Think Twice
Pack 3
Crookclaw Transmuter, Errant Doomsayers, Corpulent Corpse, Viscerid Deepwalker, Psychotic Episode, Jedit’s Dragoons, Foriysian Interceptor, Wipe Away, Undying Rage, Dread Return, Greater Gargadon, Spined Sliver
I wish either the Transmuter or the Deepwalker could’ve been in the last pack so that I could’ve actually gotten a real second pick from it. See, you can tell I have the flu because I just did this draft ten minutes ago and I’m still complaining about the lack of picks in some of these packs.
Anyway, this pack has a bomb for me in Greater Gargadon, so I guess I can’t be too upset after all.
My Pick: Greater Gargadon
Pack 4
Errant Doomsayers, Aether Web, Assassinate, Amrou Seekers, Momentary Blink, Greenseeker, Pit Keeper, Divine Congregation, Careful Consideration, Smallpox, Scion of the Ur-Dragon, Pandemonium
I’m basically locked into U/R now and the only real option here is Consideration.
My Pick: Careful Consideration
Pack 5
Pentarch Ward, Dark Withering, Divine Congregation, Mindlash Sliver, Thallid Shell-Dweller, Jhoira’s Timebug, Jedit’s Dragoons, Thick-Skinned Goblin, Ghostflame Sliver, Locket of Yesterdays, Dandan
Withering would be quite nice with Trespasser, Looter, and Magus. At least I get a pick from this pack in the Goblin, but I’m not excited about it with no Flamecore Elementals to speak of yet.
My Pick: Thick-Skinned Goblin
Pack 6
Ashcoat Bear, Savage Thallid, Ancient Grudge, Flickering Spirit, Call to the Netherworld, Opaline Sliver, Wipe Away, Barbed Shocker, Unyaro Bees, Withered Wretch
Not much to say here, and I’m just happy to get another playable. It’s better than usual, too, since I don’t already have Snapback or Temporal Eddy and I like to have some form of bounce in all of my Blue decks.
My Pick: Wipe Away
Pack 7
Icatian Crier, Drifter il-Dal, Havenwood Wurm, Basal Sliver, Sage of Epityr, Fungal Reaches, Sarpadian Empires Vol. VII, Jolrael, Empress of Beasts, Hypergenesis
At this point in the draft I was beginning to wonder if I had screwed up somewhere and just been in the wrong colors or if it was just that the packs were weak overall. My deck is very mediocre and this pack offers literally nothing for it.
The sad thing is that I don’t see how I could’ve ever reasonably gotten into Green, and yet there are tons of good cards going late in the color. I doubt the “book” will even make my deck, but it’s really the only thing I can take here short of hate drafting Jolrael.
My Pick: Sarpadian Empires Vol. VII
Pack 8
Ironclaw Buzzardiers, Icatian Crier, Aetherflame Wall, Detainment Spell, Thallid Shell-Dweller, Bewilder, Call to the Netherworld, Truth or Tale
I believe I’ve expressed it before, but if I haven’t, I have a strong dislike for the Buzzardiers and really only consider them playable in decks without other evasion. The only deck I’d ever really want the card in is B/R with tons of removal where I didn’t need to block…. And even then, there will be times when you play the Ironclaw on turn 3 and wish you could trade with your opponent’s creature and can’t. I do, however, like Aetherflame Wall, and my deck is looking control-oriented, so I’m happy to take that.
My Pick: Aetherflame Wall
On the lap I grab a Timebug, another Aetherflame Wall, Pandemonium, and nothing else in my colors.
Planar Chaos
Pack Three
Pack 1
Dreamscape Artist, Ridged Kusite, Dawn Charm, Blightspeaker, Evolution Charm, Shade of Trokair, Fury Charm, Vitaspore Thallid, Gossamer Phantasm, Prodigal Pyromancer, Seal of Primordium, Cautery Sliver, Lavacore Elemental, Shrouded Lore, Fungal Behemoth
This pack is just like the first pack of Time Spiral that I opened in this draft that had very little in terms of quality picks. This pick is easily the pinger and nothing even gives notion to a second thought.
My Pick: Prodigal Pyromancer
Pack 2
Saltfield Recluse, Needlepeak Spider, Poultice Sliver, Giant Dustwasp, Dead / Gone, Deadly Grub, Dust Corona, Reality Acid, Seal of Primordium, Sunlance, Vampiric Link, Deadwood Treefolk, Mantle of Leadership, Mirri the Cursed
While I’m happy to pick Dead / Gone here, I really wish I could take Mirri. As I said, I really don’t like Black – but I also don’t like being in the wrong colors in a draft and I feel like my deck probably would’ve been stronger if I went into Black.
I briefly considered splashing Deadwood Treefolk because it is a ridiculous bomb, but I figured I’d probably already be splashing the Flashback on Mystical Teachings so I should just take the card that helps with that plan.
My Pick: Dead/Gone
Pack 3
Midnight Charm, Battering Sliver, Mire Boa, Vitaspore Thallid, Brain Gorgers, Fury Charm, Prodigal Pyromancer, Fa’adiyah Seer, Revered Dead, Riftmarked Knight, Pongify, Mesa Enchantress, Dichotomancy
Another pinger is always good news. I guess my plan is to sit behind Aetherflame Wall and kill everything my opponent plays. Doesn’t sound like the greatest plan, but at least the wall survives Sulfurous Blast.
My Pick: Prodigal Pyromancer
Pack 4
Utopia Vow, Veiling Oddity, Ridged Kusite, Wistful Thinking, Citanul Woodreaders, Firefright Mage, Pallid Mycoderm, Uktabi Drake, Brute Force, Melancholy, Waning Wurm, Dunerider Outlaw
I debated on this pick for a little while because my initial feeling was that this was not the deck that wanted Veiling Oddity in it. The problem was that it also wasn’t a deck that wanted Brute Force, and so I had dilemma of sorts. I ended up going with the Oddity because I thought it’d be good to have one copy to combo with the Greater Gargadon for a route to victory. I also couldn’t see Brute Force helping much in this deck, as I was low on creatures anyway and I wasn’t going to be attacking with my Pyromancers.
My Pick: Veiling Oddity
Pack 5
Veiling Oddity, Firefright Mage, Wistful Thinking, Keldon Marauders, Dash Hopes, Shade of Trokair, Sinew Sliver, Vampiric Link, Brute Force, Shivan Meteor, Sophic Centaur
If I only had a Stuffy Doll. I actually managed to live the dream a couple of weeks ago, and Volcano Hellioned my own Stuffy Doll for seventeen damage – which was precisely my opponent’s life total. Anyway, Meteor is the clear pick from this pack.
My Pick: Shivan Meteor
Pack 6
Cradle to Grave, Synchronous Sliver, Deadly Grub, Aquamorph Entity, Firefright Mage, Mana Tithe, Brute Force, Dismal Failure, Tidewalker, Molten Firebird
I like Aquamorph Entity more than most and will happily run multiple copies in some of my U/R decks. I’ve tried out Molten Firebird and really don’t like it, and since I was low on creatures it should be easy to understand why I took the Entity over the Brute Force in this pack.
My Pick: Aquamorph Entity
Pack 7
Dawn Charm, Spitting Sliver, Blightspeaker, Ghost Tactician, Fury Charm, Reality Acid, Seal of Primordium, Sinew Sliver, Phantasmagorian
Tolarian Sentinel? Nope.
Dream Stalker? Nope.
I guess Reality Acid isn’t playable.
Since I didn’t pick up any Plunders or Ancient Grudges, I might as well grab the Fury Charm here as Weatherseed Totem is nearly impossible for U/R to deal with under normal circumstances. It’s for this reason I always want some kind of artifact kill in my board, because I’ve lost to the Totem far too many times in these colors. It helps that Charm is sometimes maindeck-playable and there aren’t any better options here either.
My Pick: Fury Charm
Pack 8
Erratic Mutation, Cradle to Grave, Deadly Grub, Brain Gorgers, Melancholy, Gossamer Phantasm, Fa’adiyah Seer, Frenetic Sliver
This pick was an unexpected gift as Mutation usually goes very high in 8-4s or other drafts with solid players. I’m happy to get it and probably need it to have enough playables.
My Pick: Erratic Mutation
To round out the draft I got a Gossamer Phantasm and literally nothing else back on the lap.
The Deck
Looter il-Kor
Thick-Skinned Goblin
Aetherflame Wall
Gossamer Phantasm
2 Prodigal Pyromancer
Slipstream Serpent
Dodecapod
Veiling Oddity
Aquamorph Entity
Magus of the Jar
Stormcloud Djinn
Errant Ephemeron
Greater Gargadon
Dead/Gone
Grapeshot
Think Twice
Wipe Away
Erratic Mutation
Mystical Teachings
Sulfurous Blast
Careful Consideration
Shivan Meteor
Relevant Sideboard:
Aetherflame Wall, Jhoira’s Timebug, Fury Charm, Mystical Teachings
I considered playing both Walls and both Teachings, but I really didn’t think I had enough diversity in targets to warrant doing so. It would’ve been nice to get a Prismatic Lens or Dreadship Reef to help with the Flashback, but the only land I saw was Fungal Reaches and that wouldn’t do any good. I did end up boarding into the double Wall/double Teachings configuration in one match as it was very good against my opponent’s deck, but I think this maindeck is much more flexible.
Overall I wasn’t very happy with my deck and wasn’t even sure if it was good enough to make it to the finals or not. In the actual matches, I drew very well in round one and had control at all points in both games and easily won. In round two, my opponent kept a terrible hand in game three and got stuck on two land and lost. I say he kept a terrible hand because he did eventually draw a third and then fourth land and still didn’t cast a single spell! I have no idea what his hand was, as he left before I could ask him, but I felt very lucky to make it to the finals in this draft and split with my opponent.
What I’m curious to know is where other people would’ve taken a different route in terms of my second color. I have a feeling most of you will say that you would’ve been U/B (and I believe that could be the right direction to take with this draft), but it usually takes a Black bomb to get me into the color due to my bias against it.
I hope you enjoyed this change of pace and I look forward to responses in the forums.
Nick Eisel
[email protected]
Soooooo on MODO