I feel it’s time to write another Dilemma article in response to the last segment by my partner in crime, Ken Krouner. I think KK mistitled his article, as it should have been”The Swat Dilemma,” instead of the”The Screeching Buzzard Dilemma” – and once again, I’m on the opposing side of this dilemma.
I received a number of drafts that needed analyzing. Unfortunately, I can only do one at a time if I wanna do ’em right, so we might as well start with one of the more interesting ones I received… A draft where someone got lured away by powerful cards that left him relying on luck to salvage his mana base.
There are a number of cards in Onslaught Limited that I do not believe are getting the proper appreciation – so I’ve created a list of them, and I’ll also delve into the reasons why I think they’re going unappreciated. These are cards that are going really late in the draft, or just not seeing the amount of play that they should be – but in one way or another, I feel they are definitely underrated.
Onslaught Limited is not a piece of cake format, and there are a lot of things you need to have done if you want to have any hopes of doing well at Pro Tour: Chicago. And there is one card in particular that has sparked many an argument as of late among the pros regarding its worth – and, in fact, the entire approach that you should take to Onslaught drafting. That card is Elvish Warrior, and it’s been the constant subject of many debates and arguments in recent chats and drafts both in real life, and online.
Watch as Nick goes through a draft, showing you the cards and his draft picks. Once again, Nick opened some ridiculous bombs – but the choices between bombs presented him with some truly astounding strategical decisions. All that, and Nick asks for your feedback!
I wouldn’t advise playing Weird Harvest in every deck… But when you luck out and get the strongest sealed you’ve ever seen with Rorix, Butcher Orgg, Starstorm, AND Slice And Dice, you know your critters will be better than theirs. And let me tell you how the Top 8 Draft would have been entirely different IF one of the players had known how to play Magic…
This week, I thought it would be cool to do a sort of”looking over my shoulder” perspective during one of my drafts. I wrote down the relevant cards in each pack, and discuss my thought process as I create a solid draft deck.
Pick orders are a thing of fluctuation – they are not a Bible of absolute truth that you live by, but rather a page in your mind’s notebook that you can refer back to during a draft. The more pages full of knowledge in your notebook, the better you’re gonna do on the test – or in this case, the draft. That said, these are the top 5 commons for each color in overall value… And if there is no specific need to accommodate some aspect of your deck that is lacking, this is the order that you should pick them in.
Nick Eisel, the #1 ranked Magic Online Limited player and recent 5th-place finisher at Grand Prix – Philadelphia, encountered three separate Turn 4 Exalted Angels in his Sealed deck matches at Philly, and beat two of them – despite the fact that he couldn’t remove them from the board. So how do YOU beat the bombs when you have nothing? Nick’s willing to share his secrets on breaking Onslaught Limited….
