Draft #2

  Pack 1 pick 1:




Cards I'm considering: Charmbreaker Devils, Slayer of the Wicked, Geistflame, Makeshift Mauler






I'm not sure if Slayer is better than Devils or not. It feels better, because it's efficient and you get an immediate advantage out of it (hopefully), but devils I guess has more potential to be an unstoppable engine. I end up going with devils, because it's not that much worse signal-wise than slayer (leaving a geistflame vs. leaving a chapel geist).

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  Pack 1 pick 2:







Cards I'm considering: Travel Preparations, Hanweir Watchkeep

Kind of a dookie pack. I don't think the watchkeep is that good, so I decide not to stay on color and take travel prep. Besides, if I end up R/G, travel prep isn't even bad with devils.


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  Pack 1 pick 3:






Cards I'm considering: Stitched Drake, Ashmoth Hound, Rage Thrower

I'm only considering stitched drake because it's more powerful than the cards in my colors, but I feel like taking it would be too outrageous, so I go with rage thrower. I'm unhappy about it, but it's more powerful than a dumb hound, and I can fill in my 2 later.



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  Pack 1 pick 4:






Cards I'm considering: Ambush Viper, Traitorous Blood, Darkthicket Wolf, Screeching Bat

I'm still not firmly in a second color yet, so I think about taking the bat. The wolf is also really good, and would kind of push me towards R/G. I decide to be safe though and take the red card, since it could be decent in a devils deck.


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  Pack 1 pick 5:






Cards I'm considering: Ambush Viper

There isn't much happening in this pack, so I take the viper since it's the only thing that resembles a card in a color I'd play.



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  Pack 1 pick 6:






Cards I'm considering: Riot Devils, Somberwald Spider

I'm not happy about having so many huge drops so early (especially since they're unimpressive), but I think the spider is more powerful and less available overall than riot devils and none of these other cards are any good.


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  Pack 1 pick 7:






Cards I'm considering: Deranged Assistant, Walking Corpse

I didn't consider gnaw or boneyard wurm here, although maybe I should have thought about gnaw. I'm not exactly married to R/G yet (although I most likely will be), so I look at the best 2 cards in colors that I could potentially move to if need be. I took assistant because I didn't want someone to get an assistant that late, and because if I end up U/R it could be nice with charmbreaker devils (you know to mill spells).


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  Pack 1 pick 8:







Cards I'm considering: Walking Corpse, Ashmoth Hound, Stitcher's Apprentice

I'll definitely play the hound, whereas I'll only play the apprentice if I have to move into blue (which probably won't happen).


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  Pack 1 pick 9:






Cards I'm considering: Travel Preparations, Scourge of Geier Reach, Moon Heron

I still don't know how good scourge is, but I know it's good enough to take now. I'm less thrilled with travel prep because I don't have much early action and can't flash it back, and I think the ship has sailed on blue.



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  Pack 2 pick 1:





 Cards I'm considering: Grizzled Outcasts, Traitorous Blood, Geistcatcher's Rig, Orchard Spirit, Mulch

I'm not thrilled with this pack. The only good cards for me are either not strong enough or too expensive. I end up choosing the rig because it provides an effect that might be hard for my deck to get, even if it is my 3rd 6 drop. I pass on the other guys since I think they're easy to get later, and I pass on the spells because they aren't hard removal.


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  Pack 2 pick 2:







Cards I'm considering: Avacyn's Pilgrim, Hollowhenge Scavenger, Lumberknot

More expensive goofy guys and an accelerant. I'm really happy taking the accelerant.


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  Pack 2 pick 3:






Cards I'm considering: Prey Upon, Pitchburn Devils

I like Devils a lot, but this is my first real removal spell, plus, Devils.


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  Pack 2 pick 4:






Cards I'm considering: Prey Upon, Avacyn's Pilgrim

I'd love another mana guy, but it's removal.

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  Pack 2 pick 5:






Cards I'm considering: Harvest Pyre, Somberwald Spider, Feral Ridgewolf

The R/G creatures in this draft are so doofy. I don't really want a ridgewolf yet, and I don't want another 5+ drop, so I take the crappy removal card.


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  Pack 2 pick 6:







Cards I'm considering: Skirsdag Cultist

I'm really happy to see this card. The boar is nice but this is an effect I need, especially if I want to get a thing with traitorous blood going.


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  Pack 2 pick 7:






Cards I'm considering: Rakish Heir

Not an impressive guy, but he's cheap, and I need to fill out my early curve.


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  Pack 2 pick 8:





Cards I'm considering: Spectral Flight, Village Bell-Ringer

I have to chop here, so I take bell ringer because it's a more obnoxious thing to have to play around, and also in the absolute worst case scenario I could play him myself off avacyn's pilgrim and plains, which would also let me flash back my travel prep.


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  Pack 2 pick 9:







Cards I'm considering: Mulch, Traitorous Blood

I don't really like mulch unless I have a heavy graveyard strat, which I don't really in this deck. The cultist influenced this pick kind of.


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  Pack 2 pick 10:





Cards I'm considering: Night Revelers, Hollowhenge Scavenger, Thraben Sentry

I considered thraben because of the bell ringer earlier, and I think it's kind of late for that guy since I think he's good. Still, the scavenger is a big meaty guy, and I'll probably play him, so I took him.



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  Pack 2 pick 11:






Cards I'm considering: Bramblecrush, Wooden Stake

I took bramblecrush because it could be a useful sideboard card against cheeseball invisible stalker strats. I don't know what to make of wooden stake. It feels like a "sorry you didn't have 23 playables" consolation prize, so I don't usually take it unless there's absolutely nothing else. I don't know if that's right or wrong.


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  Pack 3 pick 1:






Cards I'm considering: Kessig Cagebreakers, Instigator Gang

Nice! A couple of good rares to choose from. I took gang because that card is really strong, and because I needed more help in the 4 slot. I'm not sure what I'd pick if this were first overall. I'm guessing gang still, since even though cagebreakers is good, he's not good in a vacuum (because in a vacuum your graveyard is empty, but gang can still be an 8/5 monster).

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  Pack 3 pick 2:





Cards I'm considering: Traitorous Blood, Bloodcrazed Neonate, Lumberknot

Aaaand back to dookie. I consider lumberknot to fill in that 4 slot, but I decide I like the early game in this format too much so I take the neonate.


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  Pack 3 pick 3:





Cards I'm considering: Villagers of Estwald, Ashmoth Hound

I'm super happy to see villagers because I think it's strong and I need help in my early drop slots.



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  Pack 3 pick 4:






Cards I'm considering: Villagers of Estwald, Splinterfright

I don't know how good splinterfright is. It doesn't seem spectacular, unless you have a mulch deck or something (which I passed on). I'll definitely play villagers, so I decided to be safe.

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  Pack 3 pick 5:







Cards I'm considering: Darkthicket Wolf, Pitchburn Devils, Orchard Spirit

Devils would have been a nice removal-ish effect, but I still felt like my early game needed help so I took the wolf.


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  Pack 3 pick 6:





Cards I'm considering: Bloodcrazed Neonate, Midnight Haunting, Voiceless Spirit

I don't really want another neonate, so I look at the other colors. I don't want to play vs. voiceless spirit since I don't have much removal or flying defense, and he stops all of my loser neonates (another reason why I didn't want to take the neonate), but I chose midnight haunting because of the bell-ringer worst case scenario, and besides he could be OK with charmbreakers.



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  Pack 3 pick 7:





Cards I'm considering: Gutter Grime, Gnaw to the Bone

When the set first came out, I thought gutter grime was really really good. It could still be pretty good I guess, but it's no bomb or anything. I took it knowing I probably wouldn't play it, so maybe I should have taken gnaw for my SB instead.



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  Pack 3 pick 8:






Cards I'm considering: Boneyard Wurm, Disciple of Griselbrand, Sensory Deprivation

Boneyard wurm and those other red cards suck, so I look to cut. Disciple blanks my traitorous bloods, so maybe I should have cut that instead. Maybe I shouldn't be cutting at all and should have just taken grudge for my SB, in case I play against another stupid invisible stalker deck.



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  Pack 3 pick 9:






Cards I'm considering: Wooden Stake, Caravan Vigil, Ranger's Guile

I took caravan vigil because I was still thinking about maybe adding a plains. Guile is a better trick, but I wasn't sure I needed a mediocre trick in my deck. Again, don't know how to evaluate wooden stake, but I considered it.


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  Pack 3 pick 10:






Cards I'm considering: Traitorous Blood, Hollowhenge Scavenger

I took the traitorous blood because I didn't want another goofy 5 drop, but maybe I should have just taken the 5 drop. I wouldn't have played either, I don't think.


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  Pack 3 pick 11:






Cards I'm considering: Ashmoth Hound, Woodland Sleuth

I'll probably play the hound and I think sleuth sucks.

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I think this deck is below average. I never felt any strong pull into either of my colors, so I didn't get a lot of good bread-and-butter type guys.


Game 1: I dont' have a lot of early action, so I use a Prey Upon on an early Champion of the Parish that I don't want to get out of hand. I'm regretting it a few turns later after he has a Splinterfright that has grown to be uncontrollable, and I can't stop it once it has Cobbled Wings.

Game 2: I mulligan to 6 on the play with a hand that needs to draw 1 more land to do anything. I miss, and my opponent has T1 Champion and T2 Priest to capitalize (off plains mountain forest no less). I draw a land to stabilize, and use a prey upon to take out the champion with my new villagers. He has an ambush viper to keep the pressure on, while I draw another land and instigator gang. He's passing with just lands and no plays, with a board of priest & cobbled wings & ambush viper, so I decide that I should cast a bloodcrazed neonate and use my second prey upon to take out the viper, so I can get in for 8 with the gang and start to turn things around. However, the reason for his flood & crappy keep soon shows itself, as he plays a 7th land and then the 6/6 dragon guy that deals damage to me & all my creatures (forgot its name). I have a spider that I draw a 5th land for to try and block, but he still had the tapper, so I lost my squad and the game the turn after that.

As much as I talk about drafting bad decks but making good technical plays, I sure didn't show it in that game, because I blew all of my prey upons way earlier than I should have. In my defense, I didn't realize an unbeatable dragon was coming, and this isn't exactly scars block (IE maintaining tempo and my life total is a little more important, I feel, than having to dance around a hundred potential bombs) so I obviously didn't feel like I made a bad decision at the time. Still, in retrospect there was no real reason for me to be afraid of a 2/2 flying champion of the parish, I just kind of panicked because I missed a land drop and got down to 13 really quickly via his fast curve-out before I could set up. If I could do those last few turns again, I'd have not played the neonate and just traded my villagers for his ambush viper, and crack him from 16 to 8, which would force him to either sandbag his dragon for a turn to tap my gang, or play his dragon and trade for my gang, both of which I would be OK with. If I could go back to the beginning, I'd have saved both my preys and just kept taking damage from the champion, since I didn't realize that instigator gang makes huge swingy comebacks possible, and 13 life is a lot to work with when your attackers get +3/+0.

Still, it's frustrating to lose both of my first 2 drafts (of this blog) in the first round to some dumb unbeatable card.