Constructed Criticism - Drafting With Todd

Todd Anderson

5/18

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Hello everyone and welcome back to "Drafting with Todd." Today we're going to do something a little different than usual which I haven't done in quite a while: a draft walkthrough. With so much Constructed upheaval over the last few days I didn't want to write more about The Super Friends or Jund and figured this would be a nice change of pace. For the first time in a long time I think I have a really solid grasp on this Limited format. From listening to Ben Stark talk about limited for the better part of an hour at the StarCityGames.com Atlanta Open and doing a team draft with him I decided that my favorite color was going to be Green. With Green you got to play a multitude of color combinations since you had so much manafixing. In addition to that you could play a ton of defensive creatures and build up to an ultimate threat like a large Eldrazi or one of the Invokers. Even Gigantomancer will do since he is just absurd if he lives past the first turn.

Over the last few drafts I've done I've drafted UW Levelers GUr control and GUw control. I was happy with all three decks and went 3-0 in all of the 8-4's that I played. I feel like these two strategies of UW Levelers and Gx control are by far the strongest combinations you can play. Levelers can be very fast when combined with Time of Heroes and some Venerated teachers pushing the envelope before most people even put a creature into play. One problem the Green decks have is that they have very little to do before turn 3 that is relevant other than Overgrown Battlement (which I’ve really grown to respect). There are plenty of cards that "do" things but they usually aren't what Green is trying to do. With 1/5 spiders 2/4 accelerators and cards like Pelakkia Wurm why would you ever try to be a small aggro deck? You don't have the tools and the format just can't justify it (usually). Sure you can draft a few Prey's Vengeance or Might of the Masses and get in there with some fancy combat tricks but your opponent could easily just blow you out of the water with a Vendetta while he sits behind his walls.

These are just some of my early thoughts on the format but that isn't what this column is about. Limited has never really been my favorite topic to write about but that is usually because I think that Limited should be a combination of your initial thoughts combined with the thoughts of others in order to form a conglomerated opinion about it. In the beginning of Zendikar Limited not everyone and their brother thought RB Aggro was by far the best strategy. Sure it was powerful but people weren't quite used to the fact that Sphinx of Jwar Isle was worse than Vampire Nighthawk because of its cost and color. Eventually people figured out just what made Zendikar tick and hopefully I'll be able to figure out just what makes Rise of the Eldrazi tick before Pro Tour: San Juan. With all of that said let’s begin!

Pack 1 pick 1:

My Pick:

Now remember earlier when I said that Green was my favorite color? Well here we have a few options for picks but there is only one Green card and it is quite good. Blue is just flooded in the pack so taking Domestication or Narcolepsy would just be incorrect. Sure both of those cards are better in a vacuum than Ondu Giant but I think that cutting off Green early will ensure that we get plenty of Green goodies in the second pack. Forked Bolt is also a possiblity but I'm not the hugest fan of removal in this format that can't kill an X/3. While all removal is potentially valuable I think that cutting off Green will be more beneficial to us in the long run.

Pack 1 pick 2:

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My Pick:

This pack was full of dudders and I really like Growth Spasm so I took it without even thinking. There is no card here that makes me want to indulge in a second color yet.

Pack 1 pick 3:

My Pick:

I'm pretty sure I just picked incorrectly here. Evolving Wilds helps with the theme of drafting "safely" as well as the G/x strategy but Puncturing Light is a great card and I probably should have picked it up here. I haven't passed too much White so shipping that card gives my friend to the left a signal that White is open when I'm not exactly sure where I'm at. I take the land which could be better in theory but is probably wrong in practice.

Pack 1 pick 4:

My Pick:

After passing the previous Puncturing Light I take another Wilds over it because I'm still not sure what my second color is going to be. Nothing has really been standing out but I should have hopped on White already having two Puncturing Lights instead of a total of 4 manafixers. Honestly I'm not sure what the "correct" pick here is but I continued with my strategy of not taking a second color until I was absolutely sure what it would be.

Pack 1 pick 5:

My Pick:

This pack was full of bland so I took the card most likely to make my sideboard. Wrap in Flames is good against a variety of decks and can help you punch through that last bit of damage but I would never maindeck it in a G/x strategy where you are not trying to punch through damage early on. Dealing one damage to three different creatures can be key since lots of Black strategies play tons of X/1's letting you effectively 2-or-3-for-1 your opponent. Bloodthrone Vampire could also have been a candidate but I don't think he fits in the Green theme unless you are planning on making a ton of Eldrazi Spawn. But if you are doing that you should probably be using those spawn to cast large monsters.

Pack 1 pick 6:

My Pick:

An Ondu Giant this late makes me very happy and should just not happen. The guy is just a house and lets you play pretty much whatever you want. Seeing Totem-Guide Hartebeest and Frostwind Invoker make me wish I was in a second color already but there are plenty of playables still in this pack so I'm content sticking to the original plan.

Pack 1 pick 7:

My Pick:

Here was a pretty huge signal. I am a pretty big fan of this card since it kills small creatures and gives you a free card in the process. It is also a reason to jump into a second color since the only other playable for me is the Daggerback Basilisk. Might of the Masses doesn't really fit this style of deck and I think I have passed too much White at this point to take Guard Duty as solid as it might be in the deck.

Pack 1 pick 8:

My Pick:

At this point getting this quality of Green this late in the pack is just absurd. None of the other cards are even close and the only thing I can imagine is that very few players at the table are in Green or are using Green to fix their mana (which is probably incorrect).

Pack 1 pick 9:

My Pick:

Not really sure what to take here but Guard Duty would have been a better option. I could still potentially be Green/Black so I took the imp as a bit of card advantage for Ondu Giants and the like. Prophetic Prism and Guard duty are both fine options though.

Pack 1 pick 10:

I quite like Ogre Sentry against the right deck since he can trade early when your deck normally has very few cards that can. Of course you can side him out (or in) against a variety of decks since he fits a very certain niche.

I think this guy is severely underrated and can easily fit into a G/W ramp deck. His 6 toughness at the first level is just huge and blocks tons of problematic cards for you like Beastbreaker of Bala Ged or even just Wildheart Invoker.

Here I decide that I'm either G/X/w or just moving in on White. Dawnglare Invoker is like a mythic rare at the common slot as he has won me far more games in this format than any other card. If he ever survives you are likely going to win the game. I considered It That Betrays since I have so many ramp effects but twelve mana is just ludicrously hard to achieve for a creature that dies to Narcolepsy with no upside. There are plenty of good picks here but none are as powerful as the Invoker.

This pack was quite weak but Ulamog's Crusher is just what the doctor ordered for this deck. I really needed a few solid finishers and Crusher is the cheapest Eldrazi of the bunch. I could have taken Vendetta but I've seen very little Black this entire draft and don't really think that's the right call.

Oust is amazing in this format knocking Levelers down to size and blowing large monsters out of your way for a few turns. Additionally it gets around Umbras which is pretty phenomenal in this format. My deck doesn't have much in the way of dealing with suited-up creatures yet so this is a great start. I have enough ramp so that I need to start taking better cards than Kozilek's Predator though I rate him very highly.

This pack is just awful and I think I can splash either White or Red since I have so much mana fixing already.

Another Dawnglare Invoker here is just music to my ears. The rest of the pack is actually garbage which makes me wonder if White is actually wide open even after shipping a few good cards in the previous pack.

Tuktuk the Explorer is a weird card but a solid one. He is basically either a 1/1 Moat or a 1/1 Unblockable depending on the game state. Sure there are times where he will die and become a 5/5 but those times are few and far between. If your opponent has a creature larger than a 5/5 then his abilities become almost irrelevant. However on turn 3 he can really gum up a ground war which is what green decks are trying to do. I have enough manafixing that playing him shouldn't be a problem regardless of how my deck ends up.

I'm a pretty big fan of this card since it feels a lot like Vulshok Morningstar which was one of my favorite equipments in Limited for a very long time. Additionally it makes your walls attack which is very relevant in a format containing so many. Green has its fair share including Overgrown Battlement. Plus the Soulbound Guardians might lap giving me an absolute monster to attach it to.

Wow. That's pretty much all I can say here. With Oust at 8th pick White is clearly open and especially so considering that the Totem-Guide Hartebeest is still there too. Aura Gnarlid crossed my mind for about two seconds but then I checked how many Umbras I had and it was exactly zero.

Probably playing it but not super happy with this much mana in a deck with very few finishers.

Took the card I'm most likely to have a problem with since my deck has very little "hard" removal.

I might actually play this card but it seems much better in an aggressive strategy than a defensive one. Wrap in Flames might have been better but I'm sold on White being my second color and am not sure if it would be correct to sideboard a mediocre card in a third color.

Everyone's favorite Mogg Fanatic!

And now our deck is pretty much built. I'm positive that we can get to 10 mana pretty efficiently so drawing Kozilek should pretty much seal the deal against most opponents. Even if he dies you're drawing four cards so that should be putting you over the top. This is definitely the card we've been waiting for.

Not a difficult pick. There wasn't much going on and I didn't have any Auras for Totem-Guide Hartebeest yet.

This guy is the real deal shutting down early offenses while providing you with solid acceleration. Having other Defenders is just icing on the cake. I never knew how much I would enjoy playing with Vine Trellis in a format but he is quite insane in this one.

I think it is safe to say that if mana acceleration is great then this guy is just broken. If he survives into the third turn you are looking at being two turns ahead of your opponent for the rest of the game. A nice but underrated bonus is his ability to get four toughness if you level him up all the way making him effective in all parts of the game. Creatures that are effective in both the early and late game is what this format is all about and one reason why I like drafting it so much.

This pack is pretty weak and I quite dislike Soul's Attendant so the mediocre 3/5 gets the pick. He does the dirty work few other creatures in Green can do at common so he is not completely awful by any means. Costing one less than the Enatu Golem is also desired since you might not have enough time to cast the Golem.

A-Ding. Just what the doctor ordered and combos nicely with the Overgrown Battlement. Smite might also have been a consideration since it is "hard" removal for Eldrazi and other fatties but I just love me some Wall of Omens and he fits the deck quite well.

Meh pack but probably should have hate-drafted the Spider Umbra. I'm not a fan of Umbras in a slow deck full of walls but it would potentially be troublesome against me whereas the Lizard just isn't making the cut.

An on-color Invoker this late is pretty ridiculous but I'll take it.

A happy pick this late. I'm starting to wonder if people actually know what Explosive Revelation does. I think people are frightened of the randomness effect but that should be counteracted due to the fact that it draws you a spell.

Probably playing it since it works well in the theme of stalling and combos nicely with my Equipment.

After it was all said and done I decided to play GW/r splashing just for Forked Bolt and Vent Sentinel. I had a few walls so Sentinel acted as a nice "win condition" on top of being a solid body. I would have no trouble playing it with the Evolving Wilds and Growth Spasms so that wasn't an issue. Here is the final list:

2 Ondu Giant
1 Ikiral Outrider
1 Kozilek Butcher of Truth
1 Wall of Omens
1 Guard Duty
2 Oust
3 Growth Spasm
1 Vent Sentinel
1 Soulbound Guardians
1 Nema Siltlurker
1 Ulamog's Crusher
2 Dawnglare Invoker
1 Overgrown Battlement
1 Warmonger's Chariot
1 Forked Bolt
1 Nest Invader
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Wildheart Invoker

3 Evolving Wilds
8 Forest
5 Plains
1 Mountain

Round 1 against carelessone

I win the roll and keep an opener with Ondu Giant Forests and White cards. Hopefully I'll make it to turn 4 and stabilize which shouldn't be that difficult on the play. He ends up being UB with a few Gloomhunters but I play a Warmonger's Chariot and suit up a Dawnglare Invoker on turn 5 to stall his entire team. A turn later I play a second Ondu Giant and Oust one of his levelers. He has no answer to my Dawnglare Invoker and I run him over very quickly after that.

Game 2 my draw isn't as explosive but contains all my colors Oust Growth Spasm Ikiral Outrider and Ulamog's Crusher. He plays a Skywatcher Adept and Warmonger's Chariot and starts getting to work. However he can't race a turn 5 Crusher when combined with the Battlement and starts sacrificing things a little too quickly. He tries to play a Frostwind Invoker to race and my Dawnglare Invoker is forced to chump block but Wildheart Invoker just rolls him over on the swingback when combined with an 8/8 with Annihilator 2.

Round 2 against cautionslowchildren

My opponent is mono Green which isn't that bad for me except he has double Pelakka Wurm. He leads with Prophetic Prism (awk) while I play Wall of Omens and Dawnglare Invoker. He starts to get spicy on turn 4 with a Kozilek's Predator followed by Pelakka Wurm. I play a few dudes to block and eventually sick Ulamog's Crusher to halt his ground forces. Unfortunately he has Tajuru Preserver to keep from having to sacrifice permanents but when I reach 8 mana he has absolutely no answer for Dawnglare Invoker. He even plays Artisan of Kozilek to reanimate the Pelakka Wurm but it doesn't matter.

Game 2 I open with Nest Invader followed by a turn 3 Wildheart Invoker. He plays a Mul Daya Channelers which lets him play out some really fast big creatures. However Oust really messes with him having a land on top of his deck and shuts him off his Pelakka Wurm for a turn while I set up a solid ground force. I ramp with Ondu Giant suit up Ikiral Outrider with a Warmonger's Chariot and get to work when he's fully operational. I draw an Ulamog's Crusher and play it with 8 lands in play as well as the Eldrazi Spawn. Having Kozilek in hand I know the game will be over shortly if he doesn't play anything relevant. Luckily I just draw Dawnglare Invoker instead of a land and he can't do anything about it.

Round 3 - Split

We decide that it is more beneficial to split since it will let us get onto the next draft and since it is an 8-4 the difference in prize is a bit high. For reference most people split 8-4's and I am not Olivier Ruel so I don't always opt to battle it out.

After this draft realizing how powerful Dawnglare Invoker is should not be difficult. Sure there are plenty of removal spells that can kill it but when left unmolested it will often win you the game. Additionally a lot of the removal in the format doesn't actually get rid of her. Oust and Guard Duty are pretty terrible against her and Narcolepsy is mediocre against her at best. White is a powerful combination with Green for this reason alone but there are plenty of cool things you can do when you combine the two. I just got lucky and picked up a few mythic rares at the common slot which won me almost all of my games.

One thing I love about this format is a reversion to "bombs win you the game." In Zendikar that was not always the case since the format was incredibly fast and full of really efficient beaters as well as absurd removal. Now instead of Hideous End we have Vendetta. You have to pay a lot of life to kill the biggest of baddies whereas in Zendikar you got to do it with benefit. I'm not exactly sure how to put it in words but I'm loving how slow this format can be. The person dictating the tempo is usually the one who wins but rarely has that ever been due to slowing the games down. Luckily we have Overgrown Battlement to thank for that. Let me know what you think in the forums and if you would like me to continue these over the next few weeks while I prepare for upcoming tournaments.

Thanks for reading.

Todd
strong sad on MTGO