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:
I understand your WTF with my first pick Jão =D
ReplyDeleteDuress would be my first pick if black wasn't so strong in the pack. Wickerbough is the second to me though, as it's been great when I used it in my cube. Usually, the opponent has some problematic artifact or enchantment I deal with, and get a 4/4 for 5 mana, kind of like an Indrik Stomphowler that comes only a turn earlier. When I can't Naturalize anything, he's a 3/3 for 4, which is mediocre, but that's not such a bad case. In an environment where several games are decided by a Genju, an Aurification, a Boar Umbra, a Bonesplitter, a Loxodon Warhammer, I believe he's underrated. But who knows, I might be overrating the Elder.
I'm all for artifact/enchantment hate, but I rate the Assassin higher than the Duress and the Elder. I might be exaggerating a little, because the cube's environment is lighter on creatures than I always have in mind, you know.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also rate the Erratic Power way higher than the Elder, but that might be because I've never played with either.
I guess you are probably right, as you played the cube way more than myself.
PS: It doesn't help that we have different philosophies on drafting =P
I've played the Portal twice. It's hard to say how good it was because most of its work, which is preventing the opponent from playing creatures if he doesn't have spare mana, is invisible to you. Once I noticed he was great, and the other time it looked useless from my side, so I can't say much for or against it either.
ReplyDeleteThe Assassin is awesome if it sticks, true, but fragile T creatures often die before they do anything. Despite that, it would be my third option because it dominates attackers so well. Hell, it kills anything attacking except for Serra Angel.
What you clearly need is another one of these, but with a cooler first pack.
ReplyDeleteBy Murphy's law, I'll get a worse pack next time. I intend to write it next week.
ReplyDeleteI think you would do better getting Recollect and aim to get Defense of the Heart when it comes back to you. It's just a much more fun card that will sit until last pick since you are the only one drafting green.
ReplyDelete