I admit, I enjoy success. This is why I tend to write walkthroughs that are about drafts in which I succeed, and keep those unlucky drafts tucked away in my ‘replays’ directory. Today’s draft is of the second type.
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 (as you might see, I asked most of the questions so far).
So, if you can spare 10 minutes, please go in and ask or answer a few questions. You won’t be able to vote right away, because of the built-in reputation system (to keep the bad bots away). Don’t worry though, the reputation required to vote is a measly 15, and I’m sure you’ll get there in no time.
Well, on with the draft then!
Pack 1
Pick 1
Spoiler:
Wow, what a pack! I would be happy with the rare or any of the uncommons here. I pick Inferno Trap because it's not commiting and Rite is only a bomb if you get to 9 mana. Let's see what I'll be passed next pick...
My pick:
Pick 2
Spoiler:
Since I passed good green, I avoid the Basilisk. I wonder if I spend too much thought on signaling and less on card quality. I pick Burst Lightning which is a fine card, but I'm not sure it's 2nd-pick grade.
My pick:
Pick 3
Spoiler:
A huge mistake here, I take Lavaball Trap, which is problematic and situational. I think Paralyzing Grasp would have been a better choice here.
My pick:
Pick 4
Spoiler:
I'm rather happy with Torch Slinger in this pack. Hmm, shall I go mono-red?
My pick:
Pick 5
Spoiler:
I believe this is a mispick too. The giant is less fragile, and I'm not drafting an aggro deck but rather a control deck.
My pick:
Pick 6
Spoiler:
I can't resist Valakut, as it fits my mono-red control deck. Yes, more often than not it will just be a mountain that comes into play tapped. Still, if it's playable, then it's in a deck like I'm drafting right now.
My pick:
Pick 7
Spoiler:
Nothing I like here, Quest might be playable, but most likely not.
My pick:
Pick 8
Spoiler:
Another mistake, I think both Molten Ravager and the Baloth are better. The reason I did pick the fetchland is to allow me to maintain an almost pure monodeck, with one planes, for a quality white splash.
My pick:
Pick 9
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My pick:
Pick 10
Spoiler:
No, that's not the "quality splash" I'm waiting for.
My pick:
Pick 11
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My pick:
Pick 12
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My pick:
Pick 13
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My pick:
Pick 14
Pack 2
Pick 1
Spoiler:
Much less quality in this pack, though the Geopede's first strike might work nicely with instant burn.
My pick:
Pick 2
Spoiler:
I'm desparately in need of good creatures, and Geyser Glider is as good as they get in red.
My pick:
Pick 3
Spoiler:
Burn, burn, and more burn.
My pick:
Pick 4
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 5
Spoiler:
The two players in front of me are not playing red, as I didn't pass them any.
My pick:
Pick 6
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 7
Spoiler:
The bushwhacker is a total misfit in my deck, but I'm desparate for creatures at this stage. The equipment would sit on the ground useless in my deck.
My pick:
Pick 8
Spoiler:
Nothing even remotely possible in my colors.
My pick:
Pick 9
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 10
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My pick:
Pick 11
Spoiler:
Enter any comments here
My pick:
Pick 12
Spoiler:
I knew I'd get a ravager eventually (but two would have worked out better than one).
My pick:
Pick 13
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 14
Pack 3
Pick 1
Spoiler:
It's great even in a two color deck, but it shines in mono-red.
My pick:
Pick 2
Spoiler:
Meat is good.
My pick:
Pick 3
Spoiler:
Have to have some way to attack, after my burn clears the board.
My pick:
Pick 4
Spoiler:
Another Arid Mesa! No, another Spire Barrage.
My pick:
Pick 5
Spoiler:
Ah-ha! This is the splash I was waiting for. There are some creatures red just can't take care of, and the trap is perfect for those.
My pick:
Pick 6
Spoiler:
Another of these burn-card-advantage package.
My pick:
Pick 7
Spoiler:
I'm thinking about using Zektar defensively here. Nothing wrong with keeping it, and spewing out a 7/1 elemental to block at instant speed.
My pick:
Pick 8
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 9
Spoiler:
I don't want my opponents to have it, and it could be useful in the mirror - pretty good odds that my opponent (across from me) is playing red.
My pick:
A total of 12 playable removals (counting pitfall trap and the goblins, but not Lavaball Trap because … well … I never got to 8 mana and played the damn thing). This is not including all mountains past the 5th that come into play when Valakut is around. I was quite happy with the deck … until it saw the light of battle, that is.
I went 0-3 against my opponent. A couple of games were really bad mana, but my opponent’s Sea Gate Loremaster, Sorin Markov, Blood Tributes, Baloths and Halo Hunter sealed the deal. He also had a Scuta mob which came into play with plenty of lands to pump him next turn, only to be shot down by a random burn spell on my turn.
What would you have done differently? A different first pick here could lead to an entirely different deck. What is your first pick here?
Drafting a 5-color deck is weird to me (I haven’t been around in Invasion block), so I decided to try and aim for a Domain deck too see how if feels.
This means I picked the best spells from all colors, with emphasis on playability/splashability, starting from Shards (and of course aimed for Domain spells in Conflux).
Pack 1
Pick 1
Spoiler:
The best card in the pack and highly light on mana requirements.
My pick:
Pick 2
Spoiler:
I prefer to stay closer to red so I don't take Resounding Silence.
My pick:
Pick 3
Spoiler:
Not sure if Charm > Dragger, but Dragger is highly more splashable and its cycling is blessed.
My pick:
Pick 4
Spoiler:
Yes, this is starting to look like a domain deck. Good splashable spells.
Really, I'm mostly valuing splashability and raw power over building a consistent deck here. This means I have to keep my eyes open for mana fixers.
My pick:
Pick 5
Spoiler:
Usually the gargoyle is way better, but I won't have that many artifacts and fixers are a must.
My pick:
Pick 6
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 7
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 8
Spoiler:
I still prefer the fixer over a playable card in this deck.
My pick:
Pick 9
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 10
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My pick:
Pick 11
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My pick:
Pick 12
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My pick:
Pick 13
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My pick:
Pick 14
Pack 2
Pick 1
Spoiler:
Not much chance of picking Akrasan Squires in this draft.
My pick:
Pick 2
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 3
Spoiler:
Not splashable, but I can't ignore its bomb-ness.
My pick:
Pick 4
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 5
Spoiler:
:)
My pick:
Pick 6
Spoiler:
This could be useful, as I don't mind discarding the cards I won't be able to cast because I won't have the mana, if it forces my opponent to discard playable cards.
My pick:
This walkthrough contained too little text for my taste, one of the reasons is technical difficulties displaying the image for Scornful Æther-Lich. It’s been about two weeks between the draft and now, and I’m lazying off about writing more about it (plus I don’t remember it by now). Will try to make it up in my next walkthrough.
Man, I never get to play Grixis. Until today, that is.
Pack 1
Pick 1
Spoiler:
4 strong red cards in this 4 pack - Skeletonize, Naya Charm, Bull Cerodon, and the less powerful Vithian Stinger. This gave me a strong initial feeling to stay the hell away from red, to avoid fighting over it with my neighbours. However, these was nothing in the other colors even remotely 1st pick material.
And then it hit me - if I send the guys to my left Naya Charm & Bull Cerodon, at least one of them will play Naya. Naya is 2 blocks away from Grixis, even though they share a color (it's virtually impossible not to share a color with anyone in Alara).
I take the highly effective Skeletonize and plan on a Grixis deck.
My pick:
Pick 2
Spoiler:
Drafting is always about balancing the signals you send with the signals you receive. In this pack, There were signals to Bant and Jund, but no Grixis. Nevertheless, I gambled and insisted on drafting Dregescape Zombie instead of taking the Thunder-Thrash Elder or switching to another tribe.
My pick:
Pick 3
Spoiler:
Success! It looks like someone to my right wants me to play Grixis after all. I take the Ogre and keep the strong Naya signals going to my left.
My pick:
Pick 4
Spoiler:
Another drege. I feel more comfortable picking this one 4th than my 2nd pick.
My pick:
Pick 5
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 6
Spoiler:
Another general for the Unearth army.
My pick:
Pick 7
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 8
Spoiler:
I usualy play the Dragger even when not in Grixis, this is my first chance at actually building a Grixis deck - of course its in it!
(Note the Memory Erosion, we'll come back to it later)
My pick:
Pick 9
Spoiler:
On the other hand, I never play the leouto, it always seems out of place. But it might play better in Grixis (and there's nothing else worth considering besides Coma Veil).
My pick:
Pick 10
Spoiler:
I choose the Silencers instead of hate drafting, because I'm only playing the guy 4 seats away from me. Fat chance Windwright Mage will make it all the way there.
My pick:
Pick 11
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 12
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 13
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My pick:
Pick 14
Pack 2
Pick 1
Spoiler:
3 options here in varying degrees of viability. Maga Spray and Blister Beetle are good cards, but I prefer the long term control of Blood Cultist.
My pick:
Pick 2
Spoiler:
Woot, I can build the army of darkness! A quick count shows 5 zombies and skeletons already (counting the one generated by Skeletonize, of course).
My pick:
Pick 3
Spoiler:
Not sure this way the right decision, I picked the Iguanar here even though I had 0 mana fixers so far.
My pick:
Pick 4
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 5
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 6
Spoiler:
Finally after all the beetles I pass, I get to keep one.
My pick:
Pick 7
Spoiler:
The value of both the skeleton and the zombie in this pack is slightly increased because I have the Death Baron. I could go either way here, perhaps it was better to take the Kathari as I have only 1 flier so far!
My pick:
Pick 8
Spoiler:
This is exactly the number one reason Leotau and other Unearth creeps play so much better in Grixis.
My pick:
Pick 9
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 10
Spoiler:
I find myself often drafting Swerve but never playing it! Probablly this means something.
The usually great Dawnray Archer is just a 2/2 exalted in this deck, and I already have 2 Leotaus.
My pick:
Pick 11
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 12
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My pick:
Pick 13
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My pick:
Pick 14
Pack 3
Pick 1
Spoiler:
No comments.
My pick:
Pick 2
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 3
Spoiler:
Another Connoisseur is tempting but I prefer the growing flier at the moment.
My pick:
Pick 4
Spoiler:
Lucky, being fed well from my right!
My pick:
Pick 5
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 6
Spoiler:
His black ability is the most relevant one anyway.
My pick:
Pick 7
Spoiler:
A second Agny Warp is exactly what this deck needed!
My pick:
Pick 8
Spoiler:
A chance for another flier that can be 4/3 if The Master is in play.
My pick:
Pick 9
Spoiler:
My pick:
Pick 10
Spoiler:
Volcanic Submerssion would have been better than hate drafting here. Or not.
My pick:
Pick 11
Spoiler:
I can't chance this getting to my opponent, it kills my deck.
My pick:
I’m rather pleased with this draft. I haven’t played Aggro in a while, and this is a chance to practice. The funny thing is I played against a rather bad deck. Game one ended in about 5 turns, with a full assult by an army of undeads lead by the Baron. In game two, surprise surprise, my opponent played Memory Erosion! Against an Unearth deck!
Most spells I played gave me additional Unearth creatures, and although it took a bit more time (I got to 10 cards in my library), he couldn’t resist the never ending parade from the grave.
I haven’t found any walkthrough yet for Shards of Alara, so I wanted to write one, even though I only drafted the set a couple of times and only on Net Draft. I also noticed that many draft walkthrough I see are not visual, so a person who doesn’t know the new set yet has to find the cards to understand what’s going on. A little bit of programming, and I created the Magic Draft Walkthrough Creator – anyone can just upload a saved replay from Net Draft and get a full visual walkthrough template. So without further delays, here is my humble first walkthrough for a Shards draft.
Pack 1
Pick 1
Spoiler:
My pick: Jund is a very strong clan, and I've seen some Devour 2 creatures get to 10/10. Grixis Charm is sweet but not a first pick here.
Pick 2
Spoiler:
My pick: Nothing in this pack beats the efficiency of Executioner's Capsule. While less powerful with all the multicolored spells, Dark Banishing it still very good (even if it's not a pure instant) .
Pick 3
Spoiler:
My pick: Probablly not strictly the best card in the pack, the Devour 2 on Thorn-Thrash Viashino looks promising. A couple of turns worth of the battlemage, and this baby will be huge.
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