Please hold while we load your cart...
[SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE ARTICLE!]
Become a StarCityGames.com Premium Member and receive exclusive access to top-level strategies, new decklists and entertaining reports from many of the best players and writers that the game has to offer! This includes "The Innovator" & Worlds finalist Patrick Chapin, 2010 Player of the Year Brad Nelson, Classic Theorist Mike Flores, Hall of Famer Brian Kibler, GP and SCG Invitational Champion Gerry Thompson, StarCityGames.com Director of Sales Ben Bleiweiss ...and many, many more!
PLUS! StarCityGames.com Premium members now have an EXCLUSIVE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER sent just to them with the latest tech, exclusive content and exclusive deals along with unprecedented access into America's largest Magic: the Gathering sales database, and can view lists of StarCityGames.com's top-selling items - broken down by category, format legality, and rarity - in real time! When it comes to trading, increased knowledge equals increased profits - and increased knowledge is just one click away for our Premium members!
A StarCityGames.com Premium Membership gives you exclusive access to the best Magic: the Gathering content available and is an amazing bargain for just pennies a day! When you're ready to start getting more out of this game, click here to join StarCityGames.com Premium today!
If you are a valid StarCityGames.com Premium member and still cannot view the article, please consult this FAQ.
Pack 1 pick 1:
My Pick:
This pack comes down to if we want to pick a red card (Lightning Bolt, since it's just better than Pyroclasm) or Brittle Effigy. Bolt is a bit more powerful than the Effigy, while the rest of the cards in the pack are, at best, on par with Effigy (Reassembling Skeleton, Sylvan Ranger, etc.). If red were a really good color in M11, I'd most likely pick the Bolt here, but since it isn't, I'd rather keep my options open and pick the Effigy.
Pack 1 pick 2:
My Pick:
A pretty easy pick, the only other card that comes close to Pacifism in power is Water Servant, and while I like blue, I'd much rather have a great removal spell.
Pack 1 pick 3:
My Pick:
Llanowar Elves, Mind Rot, Sign in Blood, and Cloud Crusader are all reasonable picks here, but only one of them is in a color that I've already drafted (and it's probably the strongest card, too), making the Crusader an easy pick. I've heard opinions that Merfolk Sovereign is a really good card, but I'm not convinced. In general, I don't like to pick cards like it before having several Merfolk to go with it.
Pack 1 pick 4:
My Pick:
More reasonable cards in different colors (Assassinate, Sylvan Ranger, Redirect), but nothing is really that much better than the Wild Griffin that is on-color.
Pack 1 pick 5:
My Pick:
Excommunicate is just a really good card in white (better than Inspired Charge almost always), and good enough that we do not need to consider the green cards in the pack.
Pack 1 pick 6:
My Pick:
And as always, green is wide open. It's easy to see how everyone in front of me just passed along all the green in this pack hoping everyone else would go green, but that usually means that the next person will do the same thing. And since there's a perfectly reasonable pick for me here in the Pridemate, I'll do the same. My hope here is that whoever is on my left picked Llanowar Elves, Sylvan Ranger, and Spined Wurm before this pack - and maybe even the guy after him picked some green, meaning my setup for pack 2 would be great.
Pack 1 pick 7:
My Pick:
I've talked before about Celestial Purge, and while I don't dislike this cycle of cards (Deathmark, Flashfreeze, etc.) I think that the Purge is definitely among the weaker ones and not something I'd usually want to maindeck. Inspired Charge is also looking like it could be an excellent card in our deck.
Pack 1 pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 9:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 10:
My Pick:
Nothing playable in white, and Lava Axe is the sort of card I might end up splashing in a deck like this one.
Pack 1 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 12:
My Pick:
Although I might end up splashing blue (over red), I don't like Negate that much in a deck like this one. Negate is, in my opinion, better suited at protecting key cards in a defensive deck than in a deck focused on attacking and getting through. Also, the minimal blue splash in a white deck (which is the most likely scenario if I do end up blue) is usually awkward, since the card you want the most is Aether Adept which is double blue. Red however has several splashable cards that fit well into the theme of white, and Volcanic Strength is actually excellent in this kind of deck against any opponent playing Mountains.
Pack 1 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 1:
My Pick:
Fireball is the strongest card in the pack, and although the pack contains a lot of good cards, none of them are white, making this decision pretty easy. Right now it seems very likely that we'll end up with a white deck splashing a few red cards.
Pack 2 pick 2:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 3:
My Pick:
Very strange that none of these packs have had white cards in them. If there were a reasonable white card here (even something like a Silvercoat Lion), I'd probably pick it over the Outrage, since double red is a bit of a stretch for the deck I'm intending to draft.
Pack 2 pick 4:
My Pick:
Ahh, here come the white cards. If I pick the White Knight here, and white dries up, I'll probably regret it, since War Priest is just so much easier to cast. In the end, I decide to risk it because it feels like those first three picks in pack 2 were an anomaly - not a sign of things to come. Also, I got many good white cards in pack 1, meaning it should be open from the right. Of course if I lose to a bunch of Pacifisms or Mind Controls, I might regret it, too, but I think that against an average opponent, the Knight will serve me better.
Pack 2 pick 5:
My Pick:
I already have several 2/2s for two at this point, and having a way to force them through is more important than getting another one.
Pack 2 pick 6:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 7:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 9:
My Pick:
Almost 100% sure that I won't be playing Siege Mastodon in this deck, so I just pick the card that interrupts my strategy the most (the Companion can block my bears even if I have Infantry Veteran in play, or it may even just race me).
Pack 2 pick 10:
My Pick:
Same reasoning as in the previous pack; I won't be playing Tireless Missionaries.
Pack 2 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 1:
My Pick:
The choices here are Silvercoat Lion, Whispersilk Cloak, and Terramorphic Expanse. While I like Cloak, it just feels like another Lion will give my deck redundancy and more of a "Constructed" feeling. The Expanse is also a fine pick, I guess, but I value it less in a deck that has a multitide of one-drops and two-drops.
Pack 3 pick 2:
My Pick:
I don't think the power of Mind Control is worth the cost of giving up the Fireball and Lightning Bolt I already have in my pile. It's actually close to the point where I should just hate draft it, though. In the end I figure there's a decent chance I'll play two Inspired Charges, and that my deck may not necessarily get crushed by Mind Control.
Pack 3 pick 3:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 4:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 5:
My Pick:
Nothing for my deck, so I just pick the card that hurts me the most.
Pack 3 pick 6:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 7:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 9:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 10:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 15:
My Pick:
This draft converter created by Benjamin Peebles-Mundy.
Visit the draft converter today!
1 Ajani's Pridemate
1 Berserkers of Blood Ridge
1 Cloud Crusader
1 Elite Vanguard
3 Infantry Veteran
1 Pacifism
3 Silvercoat Lion
1 Stormfront Pegasus
1 White Knight
1 Wild Griffin
1 Brittle Effigy
1 Chandra's Outrage
1 Condemn
2 Excommunicate
1 Fireball
1 Inspired Charge
1 Lava Axe
1 Lightning Bolt
10 Plains
6 Mountain
1 Terramorphic Expanse
Sideboard
1 Aether Adept
1 Earth Servant
1 Volcanic Strength
1 Garruk's Companion
2 Solemn Offering
1 Angel's Feather
1 Forest
1 Incite
1 Inspired Charge
1 Merfolk Spy
1 Thunder Strike
1 Maritime Guard
1 Bloodcrazed Goblin
1 Bloodthrone Vampire
1 Holy Strength
1 Goblin Tunneler
1 Whispersilk Cloak
As a whole, I was pretty excited by this deck. It had a great early curve with three Veterans and a bunch of two-drops as well as several ways to keep getting through. I did, however, have a lot of trouble deciding the last few cards in the deck, and I think I made a mistake including Condemn in the maindeck.
Condemn is an excellent card but only against other really aggressive decks would it help me much, since if I’m casting Condemn against a slow deck, I’m probably losing anyway. The Condemn should’ve been another Inspired Charge or Whispersilk Cloak.
Quarters:
Game one:
I lose the roll and keep two Plains, Ajani Pridemate, Silvercoat Lion, Wild Griffin, Excommunicate, and Lava Axe on the draw.
I draw and play Brittle Effigy on turn 1 while my opponent plays turn 1 Viscera Seer, turn 2 Nantuko Shade, turn 3 Liliana's Specter. Viscera Seer lets him sacrifice the Shade when I try to remove it with Effigy, and Disentomb brings it back. He stalls on three lands for a few turns, but he’s still ahead in the race, and I keep drawing pPlains and red spells. He draws land finally, and Whispersilk Cloak on the Shade ends the game, while I'm holding Chandra's Outrage and Berserkers of Blood Ridge with no Mountains in play.
I sideboard nothing. This is the kind of matchup where Condemn seems like it would actually be good for me.
Game two:
I choose to play (obviously) and keep two Plains, Terramorphic Expanse, Elite Vanguard, Condemn, Lightning Bolt, and Fireball. My opponent mulligans to six and plays an Island on turn 2 to go with his Swamp. In game 1, he only showed black mana, and I’d figured he was mono-black — guess he only needed half his deck to beat me.
This game, however, his first play is a turn 3 Sign in Blood and a turn 4 Water Servant. At this point he’s already at twelve life facing down the Vanguard and a Wild Griffin with me still holding Lightning Bolt and Fireball. He tries to make a comeback with Unsummon, Cancel, and Liliana's Specter, while I decline to use my Condemn on his Water Servant, since I don't want him to gain life. In the end, I Fireball him for four to take the game.
Game three:
I keep three Plains, Terramorphic Expanse, Infantry Veteran, Cloud Crusader, and Chandra's Outrage on the draw. Not the greatest of hands but better than a six-card hand, I think. Also, against a black deck, I’m more likely to keep seven, since even bad cards can be discarded to Mind Rot or Liliana's Specter.
I draw another Infantry Veteran and a timely Pacifism for my opponent’s turn 3 Scroll Thief. My two Veterans mean he can't block profitably (even with Azure Drake), so he tries to race with his two creatures and a Sleep. He even has Cancel for my Inspired Charge and Mana Leak for Excommunicate, but I have still only drawn four lands, and my opponent is neither ahead on life nor on cards, and when I cast my other Excommunicate, he concedes.
Semis:
Game one:
I win the roll and keep Plains, 2 Mountains, Terramorphic Expanse, two Infantry Veterans, and Cloud Crusader. My turn 1 Veteran gets matched by Serra Ascendant; they trade on my next attack. This theme continues over the next turns, with creatures trading for removal spells, and both of us drawing a large amount of lands.
I seem to have the upper hand though, getting some damage in before creatures trade off, and he makes a weird chump block with Viscera Seer against my Elite Vanguard/Veteran combo. Then he draws a Corrupt that clears the board and brings him back up to fifteen life.
At this point, my hand is Inspired Charge, Condemn, and two lands that I’m holding for any Mind Rots or Specters that may be coming. He only has one card in hand, and I draw and play White Knight. On his turn, he draws and plays Stone Golem and passes it back.
This is where I made a mistake. For some reason, I just attack with my Knight thinking he probably doesn’t have anything and will block, letting me use Inspired Charge to kill his Golem. This is just reckless though, since he has twelve lands in play; at this point, it’s actually very likely that he’s holding a trick of some sort. Instead I should just pass the turn back and (assuming he attacks with Golem) block and force the trade there. If he has a trick then I can just use Condemn.
But I stupidly attack, and of course he has an Inspired Charge of his own. I’m then forced to Condemn the Golem on his turn anyway, and although I draw Fireball, I can't put any pressure on the board. I soon am forced to Fireball three of his creatures, which isn't that awesome when he just draws more creatures, and I draw more lands. Looking back at the game, it seems like I could’ve brought him down low enough with White Knight to make Fireball lethal, if I hadn't made that mistake. Of course this assumes that he attacks on his turn with the Golem, but I think that he probably would.
I board out Condemn for Whispersilk Cloak, since it feels more likely that he’ll be behind and trying to stabilize than there actually being a race.
Game two:
I keep Plains, two Mountains, Silvercoat Lion, Stormfront Pegasus, Whispersilk Cloak, and Inspired Charge on the play. My opponent has a turn 1 Effigy and a turn 2 Black Knight that gains him some tempo. I stall on three lands, forcing me to use Fireball on the Knight. He also stalls on three lands but has Duress and Doom Blade to still keep some momentum up.
I do have Whispersilk Cloak in play though, and when we both draw a couple of lands it feels like I am best able to capitalize. And one turn, he doesn't even attack with his Stormfront Pegasus (when my only creature is Silvercoat Lion, and I can equip Whispersilk Cloak to it with no cards in hand) which actually puts me ahead in the race. He immediately draws another flier though (Wild Griffin), and over the next four draw steps, I only manage to draw one spell, which could’ve been enough if it weren't a measly Infantry Veteran. I die to his two fliers with him at two life facing down a cloaked Lion.
Once again, I lose to a B/W deck. I think it’s actually the archetype that I have the highest losing percentage against. I guess my decks just don't match up well against a mixed bag of fliers and black removal. Then again, I guess that you don't really end up B/W unless you have a really good reason to. Also, it obviously doesn’t help when you make mistakes like the one I made in game 1.
That's it for this time, as always, questions and comments are welcome.
