Ok people Zendikar is upon us, let the drafts begin! I rather like this set, but I tend to like most new blocks after a year of playing with the same cards. I wonder if I’ll get to draft an aggro deck, this block certainly have interesting aggro possibilities with red and black. I usually get pulled to draft control decks, just like in this case.
Before you continue on to the draft itself, I’d like to ask you to take a look at an experiment I’m launching – it’s a Q&A site about Magic called Draw3Cards. It’s built around the technology behind the successfully Q&A site for programmers, StackOverflow. I believe this site would benefit the Magic community, but I need help starting it up. On with the draft!
Spoiler:
Rite of Replication is not that relevant without kicker. Mind sludge is only useful if you commit to black, and not in every deck. The only card that stands out is Geyser Glider – 4/4 for 5 is a nice deal, and it should punch through some defenses when it flies, which should be often enough.
My pick:
Pick 2
Spoiler:
Spire Barrage is an easy pick here, not too bad removal (even if it’s sorcery).
My pick:
Pick 3
Spoiler:
The mythic rare doesn’t look all that useful to me, requiring a sacrifice every turn. Quests for gemblades did very nice things for me at the prerelase, but I prefer to take the efficient removal. Burst lightning is at worst a shock, and at best can take out many of Zendikar’s inhabitants. While Magma rift is playable, I don’t like saccing lands.
My pick:
Pick 4
Spoiler:
The red removal keeps flowing
My pick:
Pick 5
Spoiler:
Red finally ran out. Grunts could be playable if you have several other allies, but I prefer to start branching out into other colors, and Into the Roil is not a bad bounce spell.
My pick:
Pick 6
Spoiler:
I suspect I’ll be able to find other copies of Demolish going late, so I keep at my attempts at finding a second color. Skyfisher is a good package, and can bounce your own lands so you can enjoy the landfall recursion.
My pick:
Pick 7
Spoiler:
Not great but acceptable, Shudder is a removal you can cast on turn 2. Ther other noteworthy candidates are Mold Shambler and the wurm. In retrospective I suspect either would have been a better choice, but I didn’t want to scatter my efforts at picking my second color.
My pick:
Pick 8
Spoiler:
Soaring Seacliff is useful as a splash because it actually doesn’t require any mana for its bang. You can fly a large critter over the opponent’s head with the easiest splash ever.
My pick:
Pick 9
Spoiler:
Red’s giant growth
My pick:
Pick 10
Spoiler:
Yeap, here’s my sideboard tech.
My pick:
Pick 11
Spoiler:
I suspect we won’t be seeing Quest for the Gemblades going this late when people figure out its power. Seriously guys, in the prerelease I played two of these in a GU deck, and got 6/6 fliers often. I still decide to hold out this time and wait for a better signal for my alt color, though I should have taken this as a signal that green is availble.
My pick:
Pick 12
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 13
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 14
Pack 2
Pick 1
Spoiler:
Nothing red, so I finally take a second color. Harrow smells good in every way, and I don’t see anything else I like as a first pick.
My pick:
Pick 2
Spoiler:
Eternity Vessel ftw – this card can be simply amazing for you and frustrating for you opponent. With the proper acceleration you’ll gain 6-10 life for every land you play.
My pick:
Pick 3
Spoiler:
Out of luck – after seeing Harrow I really wanted to go green as my second color, yet nothing green nor red in this pack. If I were blue then Aether Figment is really god, even if I’m only splashing for it. Oh well.
My pick:
Pick 4
Spoiler:
I really like this card, for the simple fact it’s an instant. I’m used to so many sorcery burn spells in the last sets (if I recall correctly, that is).
My pick:
Pick 5
Spoiler:
I believe this is a mispick – Gorger would have been more appropriate. I wonder how late Murasa Pyromancer has to go before I pick it.
My pick:
Pick 6
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 7
Spoiler:
Having enough burn, I take the green accelerator. It combos with Eternity Vessel and with Spire Barrage as well.
My pick:
Pick 8
Spoiler:
Not elite, but definitely playable.
My pick:
Pick 9
Spoiler:
Molten Ravager could actually turn out rather nice in this deck. It’s similar to Wall of Fire only less color intensive and without defender.
My pick:
Pick 10
Spoiler:
Absolutely nothing here so I “hate draft” the Owl, as much as anyone can hate draft it
My pick:
Pick 11
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 12
Spoiler:
Beast Hunt is 100% unplayable in this deck
My pick:
Pick 13
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 14
Pack 3
Pick 1
Spoiler:
Several cards are worthy here: Shatterskull Giant is a decent bang-for-buck, Shudder is always at least playable, the quest for the 7/1 elemental is worth considering at least. I prefer Vines here because +4/+4 for GG with shround for G sounds too good to pass. In the games the follow it does manage to save one of my dude without the kicker.
My pick:
Pick 2
Spoiler:
Turntimber should trade for a removal spell most of the time, otherwise it would just gain obscene amounts of life.
My pick:
Pick 3
Spoiler:
Torch slinger is not the most efficient of removals, but it gets the job done.
My pick:
Pick 4
Spoiler:
Woot, fourth pick Terra Stomper! Yes please.
My pick:
Pick 5
Spoiler:
Not sure if I’ll play both, but what the hell.
My pick:
Pick 6
Spoiler:
Another dud pack.
My pick:
Pick 7
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 8
Spoiler:
This would do nicely. Hmm, do I have too much mana fixing? Perhaps, but this is card advantage as well, and the thinning this can do to my deck comes at a low price.
My pick:
Pick 9
Spoiler:
Meat. I’ll take it.
My pick:
Pick 10
Spoiler:
I prefer not to face this if I can help it.
My pick:
Pick 11
Spoiler:
A late shambler, it takes on the many artifacts, enchantments, lands and might kill an occaisonal planeswalker. And it’s a 3/3 for 4 mana!
I went 1-1 against my opponent before Magic Workstation crashed on me. Didn’t draw any of my bombs, but the games were fun. Looking forward for the next draft.
Looks decent, although I would’ve made some other choices. Some of the equipment you left lying there (like Adventuring Gear or Grappling Hook) is really good, and green was strong from the start (in fact, green seems to be pretty strong in Zendikar in general).
I’m surprised by how unbalanced the cycles are. Look at the expeditions – Khalni Heart and Zektar Shrine are both really useful, while Ior Ruin is nothing to write home about. Same goes for the rare spell-lands — Oran-Rief is awesome, while Magosi, the Waterveil is so tailor-specific I can’t even think of a good deck to use it with. Then again, I might be short-sighted.
I don’t believe adventuring gear wins over either Geyser Slider or Eternity Vessel. Not really sure how I missed Grappling Hook, but yes, it might be the better card here (it’s reusable removal).
Ior Ruin is playable. I don’t like Khalni Heart that much compared to similar fetch spells from previous sets. It only fix your mana once you’ve drawn 5 lands (2 to cast it + 3 more)! Yes, it can get you to 8 mana … enabling the various expensive spells we see in this block (kicker and big bombs) … but it won’t accelerate you to your 3rd or 4th land.
Damn, Oran-Rief is amazing indeed, probably the best of these lands, while Magosi is the archetypal shit-rare (I know, I opened one in the pre-release and cried my misfortune).
9 guys in a draft deck? Ouch. And of those, you have 1 2-drop (which can’t fight) and effectively 2 3-drops (you want to keep Torchslinger back till turn 5). As most of your removal costs 4 or more, you’re in serious danger of being overrun before you get started. It’s no good playing out an Eternity Vessel on turn 5/6 if your life total is 1.
Picks I would have made differently:
P1P1 Rite over Glider (Glider is fine, but Rite cancels out their best guy/copies your best guy, or, with lots of acceleration – which you ended up getting! – flat out wins). P1P7 2nd Roil over Seismic Shudder. Shudder is sideboard at best, and this keeps cutting blue. P1P9 Hatchling over Slaughter Cry. You need guys! And he can block all day till removal/big guys come along. Plus this keeps cutting blue. (And as you’ll see from later picks, blue stays pretty open for a while anyway.) P1P10 Unstable Footing over Demolish – there aren’t many lands or artifacts you need to kill, and this is maindeckable.
P2P1 – Trusty Machete!!! There’s almost nothing you take over this. It even makes Hatchling good. P2P2 – Welkin Tern. Blue. Cheap. Guy. Flies. And wearing a Machete… P2P3 you picked a Figment anyway… your creature base would actually start to look pretty good now. (And this is another great Machete target.) P2P4 Inferno trap is fine, although if you were in blue there would be a serious case for Raptor. P2P5 Ravager or Grunts. Ravager’s great in heavy red and the Grunts would help out your Raptor.
Not much point in analysing further since other people’ picks will have been affected, but even *without* cutting blue you were passed Living Tsunami, Gomazoa and Summoner’s Bane – goodness knows what goodies you’d have picked up if you’d cut it aggressively. Could have been a really strong UR controllish deck.
Anyway, fun to read, keep up the good work!
PS your card count comes to only 20, plus 18 land. I hope the other two cards were guys!
Ouch. I’m sorry to say but this did not go as well as it could have. You take a ton of cards that are OK but just waaaay too slow for this format, as you may have found out by now (not sure when this draft was done).
You’re alright on the first few picks, although I would have gone with Blademaster over Spire Barrage as Barrage will often wheel and requires a huge red commitment to be effective. I take the Grunts P1P5 to go with it, and start heading towards RW. Outfitter over Shudder, as Shudders are not hard to grab. Kor Duelist over Vestige in P1P12.
Pack 2 is where the wheels come off. Machete HAS to be your first pick. Gear over the extremely slow Eternity Vessel. Aeronaut over Figment to keep going R/W.
Even without cutting white in pack 2 you are seeing incredible white come through in pack 3 – 2x JtN, Shepherd of the Lost, 7th pick Lynx(!!)
My main reason for posting was the Machete though. The thing is ridiculous – that pick isn’t even close. Take the Machete and be thankful you did.
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Avish:
Looks decent, although I would’ve made some other choices. Some of the equipment you left lying there (like Adventuring Gear or Grappling Hook) is really good, and green was strong from the start (in fact, green seems to be pretty strong in Zendikar in general).
I’m surprised by how unbalanced the cycles are. Look at the expeditions – Khalni Heart and Zektar Shrine are both really useful, while Ior Ruin is nothing to write home about. Same goes for the rare spell-lands — Oran-Rief is awesome, while Magosi, the Waterveil is so tailor-specific I can’t even think of a good deck to use it with. Then again, I might be short-sighted.
30/9/09, 2:08ripper234:
I don’t believe adventuring gear wins over either Geyser Slider or Eternity Vessel. Not really sure how I missed Grappling Hook, but yes, it might be the better card here (it’s reusable removal).
Ior Ruin is playable. I don’t like Khalni Heart that much compared to similar fetch spells from previous sets. It only fix your mana once you’ve drawn 5 lands (2 to cast it + 3 more)! Yes, it can get you to 8 mana … enabling the various expensive spells we see in this block (kicker and big bombs) … but it won’t accelerate you to your 3rd or 4th land.
Damn, Oran-Rief is amazing indeed, probably the best of these lands, while Magosi is the archetypal shit-rare (I know, I opened one in the pre-release and cried my misfortune).
30/9/09, 3:04Avish:
I’ve made a personal habit of referring to it as Oran-Zarief. It’s just *that* powerful.
30/9/09, 16:39Moogymatch:
9 guys in a draft deck? Ouch. And of those, you have 1 2-drop (which can’t fight) and effectively 2 3-drops (you want to keep Torchslinger back till turn 5). As most of your removal costs 4 or more, you’re in serious danger of being overrun before you get started. It’s no good playing out an Eternity Vessel on turn 5/6 if your life total is 1.
Picks I would have made differently:
P1P1 Rite over Glider (Glider is fine, but Rite cancels out their best guy/copies your best guy, or, with lots of acceleration – which you ended up getting! – flat out wins).
P1P7 2nd Roil over Seismic Shudder. Shudder is sideboard at best, and this keeps cutting blue.
P1P9 Hatchling over Slaughter Cry. You need guys! And he can block all day till removal/big guys come along. Plus this keeps cutting blue. (And as you’ll see from later picks, blue stays pretty open for a while anyway.)
P1P10 Unstable Footing over Demolish – there aren’t many lands or artifacts you need to kill, and this is maindeckable.
P2P1 – Trusty Machete!!! There’s almost nothing you take over this. It even makes Hatchling good.
P2P2 – Welkin Tern. Blue. Cheap. Guy. Flies. And wearing a Machete…
P2P3 you picked a Figment anyway… your creature base would actually start to look pretty good now. (And this is another great Machete target.)
P2P4 Inferno trap is fine, although if you were in blue there would be a serious case for Raptor.
P2P5 Ravager or Grunts. Ravager’s great in heavy red and the Grunts would help out your Raptor.
Not much point in analysing further since other people’ picks will have been affected, but even *without* cutting blue you were passed Living Tsunami, Gomazoa and Summoner’s Bane – goodness knows what goodies you’d have picked up if you’d cut it aggressively. Could have been a really strong UR controllish deck.
Anyway, fun to read, keep up the good work!
PS your card count comes to only 20, plus 18 land. I hope the other two cards were guys!
18/12/09, 15:54MexiKen:
Ouch. I’m sorry to say but this did not go as well as it could have. You take a ton of cards that are OK but just waaaay too slow for this format, as you may have found out by now (not sure when this draft was done).
You’re alright on the first few picks, although I would have gone with Blademaster over Spire Barrage as Barrage will often wheel and requires a huge red commitment to be effective. I take the Grunts P1P5 to go with it, and start heading towards RW. Outfitter over Shudder, as Shudders are not hard to grab. Kor Duelist over Vestige in P1P12.
Pack 2 is where the wheels come off. Machete HAS to be your first pick. Gear over the extremely slow Eternity Vessel. Aeronaut over Figment to keep going R/W.
Even without cutting white in pack 2 you are seeing incredible white come through in pack 3 – 2x JtN, Shepherd of the Lost, 7th pick Lynx(!!)
My main reason for posting was the Machete though. The thing is ridiculous – that pick isn’t even close. Take the Machete and be thankful you did.
17/1/10, 1:46