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Pojo's MTG
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Patrick Hendry on Magic
This is the first of many hypothetical drafts that I will be performing in this article. The purpose of these hypothetical drafts is to help you, the reader, to improve your draft skills. I will review proper picks, signals, and deck construction in these hypothetical drafts. The first draft will be a Ravnica Block draft, simply because I like Ravnica more than Coldsnap for these lessons. Coldsnap is a great set, but it is very unforgiving for beginners. A person who is not already highly experienced when they draft Coldsnap will be decimated. At Dragon*Con this past weekend, I taught someone, who had learned to play earlier that day, about the Ravnica block color combinations. She beat me 2-1. Ravnica is a very good set for beginners, because it leaves so much leeway for successful decks. Without any further ado, let me set the stage. The draft table looks a bit like this:
John Mike Elsie Michelle|
Lara Bill You Lauren You will be passing your packs left, right, and then left. When you open your Ravnica pack, you find the following:
Three Dreams Grifter’s Blade Lore Broker Clutch of the Undercity Sewerdreg Transluminant Ordruun Commando Boros Recruit Quickchange Golgari Rotwurm Dimir Infiltrator Convolute Scatter the Seeds Sadistic Augermage Torpid Moloch
My pick: Clutch of the Undercity. Removal is good in limited, and this is some excellent removal. My favorite targets for this are the karoo lands like Boros Garrison. In Ravnica block, bouncing or destroying a karoo land is a sure way to slow down an opponent. An added bonus is dealing three damage to an opponent. Finally, you can transmute for a more effective spell in the late game. The next pack that is passed to me looks something like this: Dimir Machinations Perilous Forays Frenzied Goblin Caregiver Tidewater Minion Induce Paranoia Compulsive Research Torpid Moloch Galvanic Arc Coalhauler Swine Stone-Seeder Hierophant Shed Memory Last Gasp Infectious Host
My pick: Last Gasp. Well, we know one thing about this pack. Lauren must have picked an amazing rare. There are about three cards left in this pack that I would consider picking first. I chose last gasp because it is too early in the draft to be picking card draw, such as Compulsive, and it is too early to be picking red as a third color in Galvanic arc.
Next pick: Clinging Darkness. There was nothing else in this pack in my colors except a Vedalken Dismisser. This sends me a signal that the person to my right may be playing my colors. Now may be the time to bring in a third color. Lauren has been passing a lot of good red cards, and if I splash red, then I can go into Izzet and Rakdos.
Next pick: Brainspoil. Well this is ridiculous. All the creatures being passed are green and white. I am picking removal, which is good, but I also need some creatures. Next pick: Galvanic Arc. This confirms my suspicion that red is being underdrafted. A fifth pick arc is amazing. Next pick: Lurking Informant. This isn’t the best creature in the set, but it is a creature, as well as disruption for my opponent. Choosing what my opponent draws is always helpful, and this card fits the bill nicely. Next pick: Surveiling Sprite. This is a good flying creature that can put in a couple of points of early damage and then draw you a card when it has outlived its usefulness. Next pick: Snapping Drake. An eighth pick Snapping Drake means that mono blue is not being heavily drafted. This is good news for me, since I am into blue. Next pick: Torpid Moloch. This was the only playable card that came back around to me. Three dreams was also still there, which was no surprise. Next pick: Infectious Host. The host is a below-average creature that has a decent ability. That is the only reason it is playable. Your opponent will be hesitant to attack if he is going to lose life for it. Next pick: Vedalken Dismisser. This is not the best costed creature, but it still a solid late pick. Next pick: Coalhauler Swine. Ick. Next pick: Nightguard Patrol. Ick. Next pick: Dizzy Spell. Ick Next pick: Dogpile. Ick. The fact that my last four picks were horrible isn’t all that surprising. I got several highly playable cards and a ton of removal in the first pack, so I am happy. Now I open the next pack, Guildpact, as I see the following:
Stomping Ground Agent of Masks Goblin Flectomancer Martyred Rusalka Withstand Train of Thought Crystal Seer Tin-Street Hooligan Pyromantics Bloodscale Prowler Wee Dragonauts Silhana Ledgewalker Orzhov Euthanist Necromancer’s Magemark Cry of Contrition
My pick: Goblin Flectomancer. Had this been a real draft, I would have taken the dual land simply because I’m greedy. Since this, on the other hand, is only imaginary, I will take the better card for my deck. Goblin Flectomancer is a 2/2 for three, which is never a bad deal, and he also can retarget an opponent’s nasty Lightning Helix. Next pick: Hypervolt Grasp. Ahh, reusable removal. It’s a beast. This card is even better because it can be bounced back to my hand. I took this over an Izzet Signet, Ogre Savant and Pyromantics. I would say that it is a fairly safe bet to assume that Bill is not running Izzet. Next pick: Izzet Boilerworks. Well, now I KNOW Bill isn’t playing Izzet. Leap of Flame and Wee Dragonauts were also still in the pack. Next pick: Gigadrowse. This is very blue intensive, but it can also completely immobilize an opponent’s ability to attack or block. This is a very good fourth pick. Next pick: Vedalken Plotter. Nothing is more fun than taking an opponent with mana problems and compounding those troubles. If an opponent has only one land of a color, take it. If he has a karoo, take it. This card is just fun. Next pick: Torch Drake. Evasion wins games. Furthermore, my belief that few people are running Izzet is further enforced. Next pick: Djinn Illuminatus. This was a kind of impulse pick. I have a lot of removal, some of it cheap, ie last gasp. This bad boy can be used to copy my spells ad nauseum. Next pick: Runeboggle. This card is very situational. It is very good in the early game when an opponent is struggling to make land drops, but it is useless in the late game. Next pick: Wee Dragonauts. I hadn’t expected this to make it back around to me. This is a solid Izzet card, weather or not you drop instants or sorceries at it. Next pick: Cry of Contrition. This is not a bad card to be picked tenth. I am in black, and discard is a large part of Rakdos, which I will most certainly be running. Next pick: Cry of Contrition. Well, OK. Next pick: Cry of Contrition. Well, OK. Next pick: Mizzium Transreliquat. This could be used to fix mana by copying a signet. Next pick: Benediction of Moons. Ick Next pick: Lionheart Maverick. Blah.
Finally, I open my Dissension and find the following:
Anthem of Rakdos Ignorant Bliss Gnat Alley Creeper Transguild Courier Guardian of the Guildpact Beacon Hawk Silkwing Scout Taste for Mayhem Seal of Fire Psychotic Fury Street Savvy Slaughterhouse Bouncer Enemy of the Guildpact Demon’s Jester Delerium Skeins
Well, my pick should be fairly obvious. Anthem of Rakdos is pretty much beastly. It kills creatures and players. If you’re not careful, it could kill you too, so you need to be careful and only play it when you have board control. Next pick: Rakdos Carnarium. I love mana fixers. Also, it would appear that I lucked out. Lauren is not playing Rakdos, or so her signals are telling me. Next pick: Squealing Devil. This little guy is a load of fun. He comes in swinging and has fear to boot. Next pick: Utvara Scalper. This is not a bad pick, but I could have hoped for more out of my fourth pick. Next pick: Seal of Fire. Now I know that Lauren is not playing red. I do know, however, that she is playing black, because she drafted Dimir. Next pick: Taste for Mayhem. +4/0 is not a bad deal for one mana. Next pick: Demon’s Jester. This is a pretty shabby play: 2/2 flier for 4 is not a good deal. When you get rid of your hand, however, he becomes quite a killer. Next pick: Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace. I don’t know if I will run this, but it is very good against control-oriented decks. Next pick: Ignorant Bliss. This helps get me hellbent, but not much else. Next pick: Psychotic Fury. This card is pretty bad, but I could sideboard it in if it would help me. Next pick: Taste for Mayhem. Next pick: Utvara Scalper. Next pick: Taste for Mayhem. Next pick: Ignorant Bliss. Next pick: Macabre Waltz. This card is pretty bad, but it is recursion. Mabye it will see sideboard play.
That is my draft pool. Join me next week when I put this together into a deck.
Until then, draft well. Fortiter in re, suaviter in modo.
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