BTT #4

  Pack 1 pick 1:




Nice! I've heard this is the best rare in the set by a lot, now I get to try it out. 


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  Pack 1 pick 2:


OK, doing good so far, best rare best common.

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  Pack 1 pick 3:


Huge drop in quality and no super clear pick. I'm thinking about Stratus Walk, Fearsome Temper and Searing Blood. I don't think the mythic thing is very good.

Searing Blood might be too stressful on my colors (especially if I want to go low land R/W aggro), Stratus Walk isn't all that useful so far and I feel like I could get Fearsome Temper later if I really wanted it. Not thrilled with any of these picks.

I went with Searing Blood because in the end it's removal.

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  Pack 1 pick 4:


I'm not seeing white cards and I'm considering abandoning it. I do, however, see a lot of good black cards so I figure it might be time to get on the trolley. Kragma Butcher is probably a better, more responsible pick but I just like the black decks too much and I love trying to table cards.

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  Pack 1 pick 5:


Modo always has a way of making you feel dumb for picking the card you just picked.

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  Pack 1 pick 6:


Damn, that Chimera is nice but I can't really consider blue at all right now. It's down to Archetype vs. Nyxborn. The Archetype is flashy looking and all, but ultimately it's just a 3/2 and trample isn't even really that good in a R/W deck anyway. It's better in green/red beefcakes. Plus, any claim I can stake on white might help me get more quality picks in pack 2, and Nyxborn Shieldmate is awesome anyway.

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  Pack 1 pick 9:


I think that cyclops is really, really bad. So much of the format revolves around good early drops and he trades with so many of those for the appalling price of 2RR.

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  Pack 1 pick 10:


I'd rather prevent shenanigans (and scoop 0.00008 tix) than have another crappy 2/1 in my board.

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  Pack 1 pick 11:


Maybe the trick is better, but I've definitely been on the losing end of this guy + Dragon Mantle before.

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  Pack 2 pick 1:


This is probably my favorite part about drafting. That feeling you get when your first pack doesn't go very well, and you're thinking "it'll be OK, I'll just open up a super nice uncommon and get like 5 awesome picks in pack 2" and then you open this pack.

I'm not happy about taking Last Breath so high, but whatever. At least it kills some problematic creatures.

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  Pack 2 pick 2:


This is more like it. The card I wanted to see.

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  Pack 2 pick 3:


I usually hate Cyclops in R/W since I usually feel like I've lost if I draw 6 lands, but I'm just concerned about the quality of my creatures. A trap that I often fall into with heroic decks is to overvalue tricks and end up with decks that are like 11 creatures and 13 tricks, and then having to mulligan no-creature hands.

I wanted the Chosen by Heliod, but I just took the creature.

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  Pack 2 pick 4:


Well, there's a line. Cyclops and Chosen are both kinda whatever, but Gods Willing is one of the best tricks there is and Traveling Philosopher is just a dinky doofus.

Also, damn there are some fine brothas left in this pack.

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  Pack 2 pick 5:


I know I just mentioned the all-trick trap and this is the reason why. Quite often I'll be faced with picks like these and I just won't have the discipline to take the bleh creature over the insaner trick. Too many picks like these will result in those 11/13 decks I mentioned before if you aren't careful.

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  Pack 2 pick 6:


Phew, no trick to lure me away. It's down to Philosopher vs. the puppy. I went with the 2/2 because I don't have a lot of great enhancements for pupster yet, and I'd rather not risk a card that is hard to cast on 3 and not really that strong without them.

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  Pack 2 pick 7:


See: pack 1 pick 5

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  Pack 2 pick 8:


I might have wanted Band Elder here instead, but with no enchantments I felt like I could do better creature wise. Plus, stealing games with portent might be the only way my deck could actually win.

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  Pack 2 pick 11:


omg

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  Pack 3 pick 1:


Not much of a decision. If not Lightning Strike then I probably want Observant Alseid and Cavalry Pegasus, in that order.

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  Pack 3 pick 2:


Damn, this is a much harder decision. It's tough taking Hoplite with no Ordeals, but I already have an Assault and a Mantle, and I'm still nervous about my creature count.

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  Pack 3 pick 3:


It's not outrageous to pick Hopeful Eidolon here I guess, but I still think Strike is better by quite a bit.

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  Pack 3 pick 5:


puke

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  Pack 3 pick 7:


I think I have enough cards for a deck at this point, so I'd rather just cut the card I don't want to play against than take a card I probably won't play. I suppose I might like to have Priest for my sideboard since I'm light on those kinds of effects, so this pick was probably not very good.

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  Pack 3 pick 10:


Some sick tables.

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  Pack 3 pick 11:


Never playing priest.

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I like this deck quite a bit. I wish it had more creatures, but even if I did take creatures over some of the tricks they would have just been crap like more Philosophers or 2H Cerberus.

I played against a U/B deck in round 1 and destroyed it very rapidly after drawing Eidolon of Countless Battles both games. That card is the real deal.

In round 2, I played against a U/G deck splashing red (for Lightning Strike). My opponent had Prognostic Sphinx, which was weird because my R1 opponent also had one. I lost a super close first game, but won a super close second game, and then won an even closer game 3 when I had a crucial last turn where I had to leave a Lightning Strike on top with scry and then hopefully alpha strike him down to 2. He didn't have anything except a Strike of his own that he couldn't cast.

Round 3 gave rise to this reasonably interesting situation:


The action in this game thus far is:

T1 opponent: Temple of Abandon
T1 you: Plains
T2 opponent: Plains
T2 you: Mountain
T3 opponent: Plains, Phalanx Leader
T3 you: Mountain, Nyxborn Shieldmate, Dragon Mantle


Let's assume that thus far the plays have been fine.

On turn 4, your opponent plays a Forest and attacks you with Phalanx Leader.

Your hand is this:

	Should you block? I blocked without thinking about it much. I thought about it some afterwards and I still don't know what's right. I think it's close. He definitely has one trick. I think the risk of losing an awesome card like Phalanx Leader is way too much just to get one damage in. The opponent has to be aware that I could have Titan's Strength, the worst possible card for him in this spot, if he attacks, and he's attacking anyway. That means his trick is either super awesome (i.e. propels him through Strength) or he has two tricks. I might want to block anyway, even knowing he'll have two tricks. Considering the Dragon Mantle paid for itself card-wise, I'm only losing a crappy 1/2 and a mediocre-to-good trick myself, and I'm getting his two best tricks on his Phalanx Leader without any other creatures to boost. What's more, Phalanx Leader is now a 3/3 and I have two Lightning Strikes. (Unless one of the tricks is Reap What Is Sown, then I might be screwed.) However, maybe this is bad thinking. My hand isn't really that good. My next play is probably Ill-Tempered Cyclops, unless I draw a Plains, in which case I can bestow the Eidolon on my creature and have it slowly become unstoppable (assuming I don't block). Maybe I should play to try and win the game, and not just make average-at-best trades. So what happened? First he cast Mortal's Ardor, which demanded a trick from me. I used Titan's Strength, which prompted him to cast Dauntless Onslaught. He did in fact have two tricks, which I traded my 1/2 and Titan's Strength for. Not too bad, I thought. I drew and played the Cyclops, which died almost immediately to Fall of the Hammer. After that, I played out my hand but could never really keep up with his growing force and died in about 3 turns. I lost game 2 after mulliganing to 6 and drawing mostly lands vs. his Fleecemane Lion and Hero of Iroas. I don't know, I think that block is close. If I have a Plains in my hand, I would definitely not block, since the creature I would end up assembling would be very strong, and having two tricks to defend it would almost certainly put me way ahead.
	Still, I'm happy to have made the finals. I'm a little disappointed that the best decks are still fast tempo decks, but at least it gives me a better idea of how to make picks.