Monday, March 28, 2011

First Picks (follow up)

In the previous post I proposed the readers make their first five picks. What I would have taken is described and justified below.


Pick 1


A very weak pack. It has 5 non-basic lands, which we don't want before we have an idea of what our colors will be, and no red and no blue at all. With 2 green, 2 white and 4 black cards, the choice is between Wickerbough Elder, Condemn, Kami of Ancient Law, Royal Assassin, Necromancy and Duress. The latter is what I'd take, if the pack was not that heavy in black. The way it is, it is likely that the guys to my right will go into black, so I'll discard those options. Between the Elder, Condemn and the Kami, the Elder is what I value more highly, with the added bonus that sending a lone Needle Storm is a strong signal saying "people, don't play green".

My choice:



Pick 2

The powerful options are: Puncture Blast, Call of the Herd, Inquisition of Kozilek, Swans of Bryn Argoll, Mind Stone, Silhana Ledgewalker and Crater Hellion. I felt tempted to take the Mind Stone because my first pick Wickerbough Elder points us at a midrange direction, although it could really function in any build. I could go into red with Puncture Blast (Crater Hellion pretty much forces you to play control) or into black with the Inquisition, but Call of the Herd is a very strong pick that doesn't require me to commit to any other color, so I'll take it.

My choice:



Pick 3

Our compass point at aggro-midrange, with two green creatures in our pool. What fits better this strategy here are Defense of the Heart and Explore. It's a very close pick to me, but I'll take Explore because I'm not sure Defense of the Heart would work well for aggro-midrange. It might not bring enough pressure to the board than other 4-drops. Explore, on the other hand, lets me cast 4-drops in my third turn, which is a huge plus - and without card disadvantage.

My choice:



Pick 4

The good green card here is Kavu Predator. Recumbent Bliss and Firebolt offer a way into a second color in a premium removal spell, which I think will be important. Also, I think I've made my point to my neighbors that I'm green and they shouldn't, so it's time to fight for ground in a second color. Since green's biggest problem is the lack of creature removal, I decide to take Firebolt, which gives me a bit of range, fitting into aggro-midrange. Now we are Gr aggro-midrange.

My choice:



Pick 5

Treetop Village was the first card in the pack, and I didn't even want to look at the rest of the pack, but I did anyway. It's worrying that red is not in this pack, maybe the people to my left are drafting it. Living Death is great, but again I don't think I want to risk going into black now. Journey to Nowhere and Chord of Calling are decent, but what will definitely see play - and not even take a spell slot - is the Village.

My choice:

Sunday, March 27, 2011

First Picks

Kamila and I simulated the first five picks in a draft with my cube. I'll post what packs I saw, and then tomorrow I'll add what my choices were and the rationale behind them. It's unlikely it was the best path, since there are so many possibilities - I hope to hear from you what you chose and why.



Pick 1












Pick 2











Pick 3










Pick 4










Pick 5