Give up yet?

So this is the one where I wade into an honest-to-goodness draft queue and force that five-color thing I so relentlessly promoted. Does the deck live up to the hype, or will I lose the scant remainder of my already depleted reserves of credibility? Read on!

Pack 1, Pick 1
Autochthon Wurm; Grifter's Blade; Sunhome Enforcer; Spectral Searchlight; Selesnya Evangel; Elves of Deep Shadow; Surge of Zeal; Lurking Informant; Zephyr Spirit; Sabertooth Alley Cat; Stinkweed Imp; Elves of Deep Shadow (FOIL); Courier Hawk; Dimir Aqueduct; Coalhauler Swine

Ah, an appropriately difficult pack. Appropriate because I'm pretty sure this is a difficult archetype to draft. I seriously considered no fewer than seven different cards for this first pick, and the red thingies were angrily clicking at me before I made my final decision. Let's examine each potential choice in some detail.

The Wurm was the first to go. I know you know I love my rares, but I'm fairly certain this one's trash. (Anyone have draft experiences to the contrary?)

Grifter's Blade came next, as it's simply far too weak to merit a first pick. I do think it's quite playable, though my estimation of it has gone down in the last few weeks. Nuff said.

That leaves Dimir Aqueduct, Elves of Deep Shadow (FOIL), Stinkweed Imp, Selesnya Evangel, Spectral Searchlight and Sunhome Enforcer (granted, that was eight cards, but I never really considered the Wurm). Conventional wisdom would probably lean towards the Enforcer, but my wisdom is neither conventional nor does it exist. I don't like taking cards with two "off-color" mana very often. Yes, I know I claimed the deck is 5CX, but it's far harder to make it anything but 5CG.

Stinky McStinkerton is a fine card for the deck, and I dare say it's even a tad underrated (still!), but I couldn't get myself to pick it first.

Taking the Aqueduct would've been folly. While supposedly a "core" card for the deck, part of the theory is that the bouncelands come late, so first-picking them is rather self-defeating.

Elves, Evangel, Searchlight. All excellent cards. I forgot to talk about Spectral Searchlight on Tuesday. Let me say now that I want to have its babies. I honestly think either of the three cards is a fine first pick for the deck, but I don't regret my decision at all.

My pick: Spectral Searchlight

Pack 1, Pick 2
Brightflame; Mausoleum Turnkey; Mark of Eviction; Selesnya Sagittars; Siege Wurm; Lurking Informant; Gate Hound; Golgari Brownscale; Bramble Elemental; Clinging Darkness; Surveilling Sprite; Barbarian Riftcutter; Strands of Undeath; Tattered Drake

Who passes Brightflame? Especially in pack 1? Especially for a common?

You're probably thinking I should. (Pass it.) If I was afraid to take the Enforcer because of the mana, how can I possibly justify Brightflame's cost? It's a disgusting bomb, that's how! The deck takes disgusting bombs and plays them. That's how it works.

My pick: Brightflame

(In theory.)

Pack 1, Pick 3
Necroplasm; Flow of Ideas; Sell-Sword Brute; Brainspoil; Dizzy Spell; Caregiver; Sundering Vitae; Vedalken Entrancer; Screeching Griffin; War-Torch Goblin; Convolute; Courier Hawk; Dimir Aqueduct

Completely disregarding color (and theme), the strongest cards in the pack are the Entrancer, Brainspoil, Griffin, and Necroplasm. (I suppose an argument could be made for Courier Hawk, which keeps getting better every time I see it in action.) The cards worth considering for my deck (as far as I'm concerned) are Necroplasm, Brainspoil, and Dimir Aqueduct. I mean, I suppose I should consider Entrancer just because it's a defensive creature, but I wouldn't be too thrilled putting it in the deck even if I got it twelfth pick.

Gotta rule out Aqueduct too. Still too early. Brainspoil or Necroplasm. Neither's mana cost is particularly appealing. However, I think Plazzy is an underrated near-bomb, and I've been a fan of it ever since the prerelease. It rarely has to come out on turn 3 to be effective.

My pick: Necroplasm

I want you to take a moment and savor those first three picks. Really breathe them in. Some of you are probably feeling liberated. The rest want to vomit. Wipe your mouth and keep reading.

Pack 1, Pick 4

Goliath Spider; Dowsing Shaman; Wojek Embermage; Compulsive Research; Caregiver; Dryad's Caress; Perplex; Centaur Safeguard; Fists of Ironwood; Dimir Aqueduct; Convolute; Wojek Siren

If you read my league article and the five-color theory article, you might have gotten the impression I'm overly fond of Dowsing Shaman. You'd be right, but after this draft I think my opinion of him has gone down quite a bit.

My pick: Dowsing Shaman

I don't think I gave the Embermage nearly enough credit. Honestly, though, with my perfect hindsight I'd say if I could do this pack again I'd take the Aqueduct.

Pack 1, Pick 5
Boros Swiftblade; Nightmare Void; Carrion Howler; Rain of Embers; Grayscaled Gharial; Muddle the Mixture; Screeching Griffin; Centaur Safeguard; Barbarian Riftcutter; Consult the Necrosages; Terraformer

Move along; nothing to see here. None of these cards thrill me. I might have wanted to consider Rain of Embers, since it's a fairly important sideboard card.

My pick: Centaur Safeguard (even though I'm really not a fan)

Pack 1, Pick 6
Wizened Snitches; Suppression Field; Boros Signet; Golgari Signet; Infectious Host; Boros Recruit; War-Torch Goblin; Greater Mossdog; Goblin Spelunkers; Gaze of the Gorgon

It'd be nice if one of those Signets was a bounceland, but you can't win 'em all. You know, it's funny how even just a few hours of perspective can make you wonder just what the hell you were thinking. I mean, Mossdog is decent, and even though Signets don't mesh with the one-mana and three-mana-heavy paradigm, the deck still likes to have them. This one should've been a no-brainer (advantage: Signet). Turns out I'm the no-brainer.

My pick: Greater Mossdog

Pack 1, Pick 7
Festival of the Guildpact; Golgari Signet; Elvish Skysweeper; Rally the Righteous; Infectious Host; Screeching Griffin; Centaur Safeguard; Induce Paranoia; Boros Garrison

Ahh, perfect. This is exactly when I like to take bouncelands, and this is exactly the kind of card quality I like them competing with. I hope none of you thought I should take Rally the Righteous. [I was mostly thinking the guy downstream is going to have a helluva Boros deck... - Knut, paying attention]

My pick: Boros Garrison

Pack 1, Pick 8
Duskmantle, House of Shadow; Chant of Vitu-Ghazi; Golgari Signet; Necromantic Thirst; Dimir Infiltrator; Conclave's Blessing; Mortipede; Induce Paranoia

Interesting. Bunch of solid Dimir mill cards still in here. Is nobody drafting that deck? I almost wish I could. Still, this late Signet's a pretty nice gift.

My pick: Golgari Signet

Pack 1, Pick 9
Autochthon Wurm; Elves of Deep Shadow; Surge of Zeal; Zephyr Spirit; Sabertooth Alley Cat; Dimir Aqueduct; Coalhauler Swine

If you looked back at p1p1, you'd recall that this was a very solid pack with a lot of good midrange picks. Not too surprising that these are the remaining cards. Normally I think I'd take the Aqueduct here, but I figured I had a very good shot of getting one of the other two I passed in packs three and four.

My pick: Elves of Deep Shadow

Pack 1, Pick 10
Mausoleum Turnkey; Mark of Eviction; Lurking Informant; Gate Hound, Surveilling Sprite; Strands of Undeath

Wow. With the exception of Gate Hound, these are all good cards. I honestly don't think any choice is worse than any of the others (ok, Mark of Eviction falls short only because it's severely underrated and often comes even later than this). [So severely underrated that it's generally a first pick and should have been taken last time around. - Knut, again] This pack's largely personal preference, and I believe I stated how much I like comes-into-play Auras. Yet for some reason I picked the Mark of Eviction, which I think doesn't get enough respect, but I'm not really sure it's better than the Strands. The weird thing is, for the rest of the draft, I thought I had taken the Strands instead. Maybe I misclicked or something. I had to triple-check just now to ensure that I did in fact take the Mark.

By the way, isn't anybody drafting Dimir?

My pick: Mark of Eviction

(If I were to use my X-Ray hindsight again, I'd probably go with Lurking Informant.)

Pack 1, Pick 11
Flow of Ideas; Dizzy Spell; Sundering Vitae; War-Torch Goblin; Convolute

Damn! No Aqueduct.

My pick: Sundering Vitae

Pack 1, Pick 12
Caregiver; Dryad's Caress; Perplex; Wojek Siren

No Aqueduct here either.

My pick: Perplex

Pack 1, Pick 13
Grayscaled Gharial; Muddle the Mixture; Barbarian Riftcutter

My pick: Barbarian Riftcutter

Pack 1, Pick 14
Suppression Field, Infectious Host

My pick: Suppression Field

Pack 1, Pick 15
Infectious Host

Not a bad first set of packs, though I really wish I'd have gotten two bouncelands. Not that I have to play six every time - I just don't like the increasing pressure to take them earlier as the packs wear on.

Pack 2, Pick 1
Breath of Fury; Keening Banshee; Flow of Ideas; Selesnya Guildmage; Faith's Fetters; Selesnya Evangel; Necromantic Thirst; Grayscaled Gharial; Dromad Purebred; Sparkmage Apprentice; Stinkweed Imp; Muddle the Mixture; Civic Wayfinder; Coalhauler Swine; Gaze of the Gorgon

Another fascinating pack. Stinkweed, Wayfinder, Banshee, Guildmage, Fetters and even Evangel are all fine choices. They'd all easily make the deck, though Keening Banshee's mana cost is rather prohibitive.

I made the mistake of underrating Fetters earlier in my Ravnica career, however, and despite the power of the other cards, I don't regret taking the enchantment here.

My pick: Faith's Fetters

(I can't say enough good things about the guildmages, and Selesnya might well be the best of the lot, so I wouldn't argue with you too much if that was your pick.)

Pack 2, Pick 2
Grave-Shell Scarab; Dark Heart of the Wood; Greater Forgeling; Dimir Signet; Veteran Armorer; Selesnya Signet; Surge of Zeal; Lurking Informant; Zephyr Spirit; Fists of Ironwood; Dimir House Guard; Coalhauler Swine; Strands of Undeath; Drift of Phantasms

I'm fairly certain that the only strategically useful examination of this pack is what the second-best card is, in hopes that it will come back around. I'd probably be happiest seeing the Drift, myself, though the Signets and even the Armorer would be welcome.

My pick: Grave-$hell $carab

(and not just because it's worth a few tix. I hear it wins games occasionally.)

Pack 2, Pick 3
Spawnbroker; Duskmantle, House of Shadow; Chant of Vitu-Ghazi; Svogthos, the Restless Tomb; Sell-Sword Brute; Dimir Signet; Surge of Zeal; Shred Memory; Drake Familiar; Benevolent Ancestor; Consult the Necrosages; Golgari Rot Farm; Viashino Slasher

Though many of my previous picks are quite debatable, I think this pack is my first serious hiccup. I had no previous experience with Spawnbroker, though I figured it couldn't be all that great. Still, I wanted to try it out, and I gave up an excellent opportunity to take some more precious gating goodness.

My pick: Spawnbroker

(Actually, Spawnbroker didn't turn out all that bad, but I still don't think it's a third-pick caliber card. Fortunately it's rare, so I hope I don't have to deal with it very much.)

Pack 2, Pick 4
Overwhelm; Junktroller; Instill Furor; Dimir Signet; Zephyr Spirit; Leave No Trace; Sundering Vitae; Boros Fury-Shield; War-Torch Goblin; Torpid Moloch; Roofstalker Wight; Induce Paranoia

I think my biggest gripe with this deck is the typically low creature count I wind up with. I can never seem to squeeze in more creatures, and it winds up making an entire keyword much weaker than it should be.

I'm pretty sure Overwhelm is the strongest card here, but it just doesn't work in the deck.

I might have wanted to give Junktroller better consideration, as it does double defensive duty against two vastly different kinds of decks. I've seen Boros Fury-Shield wreck me more than a few times as well, but I can never shake the feeling it's a 23rd card (26th card in this archetype, natch).

I guess Wight's not terrible either.

My pick: Dimir Signet

Pack 2, Pick 5
Nightmare Void; Carrion Howler; Conclave Equenaut; Elvish Skysweeper; Strands of Undeath (FOIL); Thoughtpicker Witch; Fists of Ironwood; Dimir House Guard; Vedalken Dismisser; Terraformer; Votary of the Conclave

Okay. This is the part of the article where I had to go back and double-check a few picks to make sure everything is right, but it is. I took the Strands here, which is strange because I thought I grabbed one earlier and no deck ever wants two of them - and even though I hadn't taken it before, I'm still not sure it's the right pick! I mean, it might be. Equenaut is doubtless the strongest card in the pack, but it's got tricky mana. House Guard is decent, but with a lack of creatures it's not as good in this deck as it could be. Ditto Skysweeper. Dismisser is playable, but I hate taking it this early. You might think Terraformer is good in a five color deck, but my experience has shown it to be terrible.

So maybe Strands is correct after all, although I have to wonder at how I thought my deck had two of them. If I had taken a Strands earlier, then I think the pick is either Dismisser or Equenaut.

My pick: Strands of Undeath

Pack 2, Pick 6
Lore Broker; Flight of Fancy; Gate Hound; Perplex; Goblin Fire Fiend; Golgari Rotwurm; Ordruun Commando; Strands of Undeath; Drift of Phantasms; Woodwraith Strangler

This pack makes me look bad. Doesn't anybody like Strands of Undeath besides me?

Anyhow, I really like Flight of Fancy, and Drift of Phantasms is practically a must-have for the deck, but Rotwurm has no right to be coming 'round this late. Mise.

My pick: Golgari Rotwurm

Pack 2, Pick 7
Leashling; Dizzy Spell; Dromad Purebred; Dryad's Caress; Incite Hysteria; Vedalken Dismisser; Viashino Slasher; Guardian of Vitu-Ghazi; Stasis Cell

Not much to think about here. I suppose the Guardian is a possibility, but I like having a Dismisser in my pile even if I don't always play it.

My pick: Vedalken Dismisser

(By the way, my gut tells me Stasis Cell is very bad. It is, right?)

Pack 2, Pick 8
Peregrine Mask; Shambling Shell; Elvish Skysweeper; Infectious Host; Tidewater Minion; Farseek; Viashino Slasher; Guardian of Vitu-Ghazi

The trend in these packs is that solid cards wind up coming very late. Maybe it's my unique perspective on the draft that causes me to see so many seemingly good choices; after all, my deck can theoretically play any card. It's also possible I'm playing with seven (other?) bad drafters.

My pick: Farseek

I do believe I was overly paranoid about my colors at this point, since the bouncelands just weren't coming. Were I more levelheaded, I'd go with Shambling Shell.

Pack 2, Pick 9
Flow of Ideas; Necromantic Thirst; Grayscaled Gharial; Dromad Purebred; Sparkmage Apprentice; Muddle the Mixture; Coalhauler Swine

Weird how one pack can have five or six playables, and the next has one. Or two, depending on how you value Swine. I consider it just on the cusp of playability, but not in the five-color deck.

My pick: Sparkmage Apprentice

Pack 2, Pick 10
Dimir Signet; Surge of Zeal; Zephyr Spirit; Coalhauler Swine; Strands of Undeath; Drift of Phantasms

Hey! It did table! Awesome.

My pick: Drift of Phantasms

Pack 2, Pick 11
Duskmantle, House of Shadow; Chant of Vitu-Ghazi; Surge of Zeal; Drake Familiar; Golgari Rot Farm

Thank Christ.

My pick: Golgari Rot Farm

Pack 2, Pick 12
Zephyr Spirit; Leave No Trace; Torpid Moloch; Induce Paranoia

My pick: Induce Paranoia

(Though Leave No Trace is likely the better option, as it actually has a chance to be useful.)

Pack 2, Pick 13
Thoughtpicker Witch; Terraformer; Votary of the Conclave

My pick: Terraformer

Pack 2, Pick 14
Gate Hound; Goblin Fire Fiend

My pick: Goblin Fire Fiend

Pack 2, Pick 15
Dizzy Spell

Pack 3, Pick 1
Sins of the Past; Dimir Machinations; Cyclopean Snare; Seed Spark; Selesnya Signet; Transluminant; Goblin Fire Fiend; Thoughtpicker Witch; Drake Familiar; Scatter the Seeds; Sadistic Augermage; Tidewater Minion; Woodwraith Strangler; Farseek; Conclave Equenaut (foil?)

After the other two insane first picks, this one's tame in comparison. Seed Spark, Signet, Equenaut and Transluminant are all decent cards, but Scatter the Seeds and Farseek rise above the rest.

Once again, I think I may have been a bit paranoid about my mana. It definitely took a lot of internal debating, but I finally settled on the mana fixer.

My pick: Farseek

(Unlike some of the other times I questioned myself, ultimately I do believe I made the best choice this pack.)

Pack 3, Pick 2
Three Dreams; Mausoleum Turnkey; Mark of Eviction; Selesnya Sagittars; Boros Signet; Gate Hound; Perplex; Goblin Fire Fiend; Mountain? (Foil I Guess); Boros Fury-Shield; Gather Courage; Woodwraith Strangler; Terrarion; Torpid Moloch

At least nobody passed me a broken rare this pack. The only card that really grabs me is Terrarion, so I guess I might as well -

Hm. Three Dreams, eh? Never got to try it out. Doesn't seem all that broken, but I do already have a couple of targets for it. No, no, it'd be silly to take it. Terrarion is reasonable. Hell, even Gather Courage has to be better. Or Boros Signet!

My pick: Three Dreams

(I've since come to realize that Three Dreams is... awesome!)

Pack 3, Pick 3
Wizened Snitches; Suppression Field; Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree; Selesnya Evangel; Elves of Deep Shadow; Dizzy Spell; Dromad Purebred; Dryad's Caress; Thundersong Trumpeter; Sadistic Augermage; Stasis Cell; Courier Hawk; Greater Mossdog

Apparently the really weird parts of the draft are over, and all that's left is to plug whatever holes remain in the deck. Naturally the biggest gaping hole is the lack of bouncelands, but they're just not coming!

Another crying shame about this archetype is that utility lands become far less playable. I love Svogthos, for example, but it's rare that it can be squeezed in without sacrificing a bunch of smoothness. Evangel's probably better than it anyway, and honestly I think that's the right pick here.

My pick: Elves of Deep Shadow

Eh, close enough.

Pack 3, Pick 4
Helldozer; Dark Heart of the Wood; Seeds of Strength; Peel from Reality; Rally the Righteous; Smash; Sewerdreg; Nightguard Patrol; Ordruun Commando; Drift of Phantasms; Votary of the Conclave; Terrarion

Helldozer? I had forgotten that card exists. I do believe that's one of the few cards this deck would not be able to run reliably.

Anyway, I think this pack comes down to Drift of Phantasms or Terrarion. Were there not already a Drift in my pile, the decision would be tougher.

My pick: Terrarion

(It would've been kind of fun to take the Helldozer just to see the looks on your faces. You know, if it were possible.)

Pack 3, Pick 5
Mnemonic Nexus; Ivy Dancer; Fiery Conclusion; Peel from Reality; Dizzy Spell; Caregiver; Sundering Vitae; Boros Fury-Shield; Gather Courage; Dogpile; Convolute

Perhaps if I write a sentence or two that have little to do with the pack at hand, you won't even notice that I have nothing to say about it. Or a fragment.

My pick: Gather Courage

Pack 3, Pick 6
Golgari Germination; Wojek Apothecary; Recollect; Compulsive Research; Rain of Embers; Shred Memory; Grayscale Gharial; Torpid Moloch (FOIL); Greater Mossdog; Barbarian Riftcutter

This is definitely the boring part of the draft. The only thing I can think of saying is why is Wojek Apothecary a 1/1 for two mana while Wojek Embermage is a 1/2 for three mana? Were they that desperate for a skilltester?

My pick: Greater Mossdog

Pack 3, Pick 7
Peregrine Mask; Leave No Trace; Stone-Seeder Heirophant; Rain of Embers; Incite Hysteria; Vedalken Entrancer; Roofstalker Wight; Stasis Cell; Selesnya Sanctuary

Hot dog! We have a weiner!

It is so depressing to see an Entrancer come this late, though. What is wrong with you people! You know, it's funny. I'm bitching about seeing the card seventh, but someone else is going to see it eighth.

Fine. It's not "ha ha" funny.

My pick: Selesnya Sanctuary

Pack 3, Pick 8
Golgari Thug; Necromantic Thirst; Dimir Infiltrator; Conclave's Blessing; Sadistic Augermage; Muddle the Mixture; Torpid Moloch; Mortipede

Interesting how few good cards there've been in pack three. I wonder if there was a last-minute scramble to assemble decent decks all around. I also wonder if my hideously mixed signals had anything to do with it.

My pick: Mortipede

Golgari Thug is a possibility here, but one negative experience with it (to say the least) has soured me on the card. Yeah, I wasn't aware the ability wasn't optional at first, and it's definitely not the best card to put out when you're in topdeck mode and you need a chumpblocker.

Pack 3, Pick 9
Dimir Machinations; Cyclopean Snare; Goblin Fire Fiend; Thoughtpicker Witch; Drake Familiar; Sadistic Augermage; Woodwraith Strangler

I defended Cyclopean Snare on Tuesday, claiming that it's a bit better than garbage, which it is. It doesn't mean I love playing it, though, and this Aura-heavy deck actually has the potential to abuse the Drake.

My pick: Drake Familiar

Worst porn name ever.

Pack 3, Pick 10
Mark of Eviction; Gate Hound; Perplex; Goblin Fire Fiend; Boros Fury-Shield; Woodwraith Strangler

I take it back. Mark of Eviction has got to be a worse porn name.

My pick: Mark of Eviction

Pack 3, Pick 11
Wizened Snitches; Dizzy Spell; Dromad Purebred; Dryad's Caress; Sadistic Augurmage

My pick: Sadistic Augurmage

Pack 3, Pick 12
Rally the Righteous; Sewerdreg; Ordruun Commando; Votary of the Conclave

My pick: Sewerdreg

Pack 3, Pick 13
Peel from Reality; Caregiver; Convolute

My pick: Peel from Reality

Pack 3, Pick 14
Rain of Embers; Grayscaled Gharial

A decent sideboard card 14th! Neat.

My pick: Rain of Embers

Pack 3, Pick 15
Stone-Seeder Heirophant

The Deck
1cc
2 Elves of Deep Shadow
Terrarion
2 Mark of Eviction
Gather Courage

2cc
Sparkmage Apprentice
Drake Familiar
Golgari Signet
Dimir Signet
2 Farseek

3cc
Spawnbroker
Necroplasm
Drift of Phantasms
Spectral Searchlight

4cc
Greater Mossdog
Strands of Undeath
Faith's Fetters

5cc
Sewerdreg
Grave-Shell Scarab
Golgari Rotwurm
Dowsing Shaman
Three Dreams

6cc
Vedalken Dismisser

Xcc
Brightflame

Land
4 Forest
2 Island
2 Mountain
2 Swamp
Plains
Golgari Rot Farm
Selesnya Sanctuary
Boros Garrison

Noteworthy Sideboard Cards
Rain of Embers
Sundering Vitae
Mortipede
Greater Mossdog

As usual, I think I kind of screwed up in the deckbuilding. If anything, there are some interesting potential choices to be made - I don't think the deck needs both Marks of Eviction, and even Three Dreams is optional.

The actual mistakes I feel I made were putting Sewerdreg maindeck (over Mortipede or the second Mossdog) and possibly the mana. Not the part where I only ran fourteen lands, though - with that many Farseeks, Signets and Elves, I'm perfectly comfortable with fourteen.

I think I screwed up by playing two Swamps, Mountains and Plains but not two Islands. I did so because of the prohibitive costs of Brightflame, Necroplasm and Sewerdreg (which, again, didn't really belong in there anyway), but I should've noticed that the deck actually needs more Blue to function. I think five Forests, three Islands, one each of the other basics, and the bouncelands would've been fine. Or maybe two Islands and two Swamps.

The Games
I get the impression that you all prefer to read about the games rather than go through the hassle of watching the replays. I can understand that. Still, I'm going to give you the option to watch them. Download the replays here and refresh your memories on how to use them here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[blank space in case anybody watching the replays doesn't want to find out how the games went]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the games themselves were very interesting, but they were also very, very long. The entire draft took just over three hours. I was very drained by the end, and I started making a ton of little, subtle mistakes. Fortunately, my deck was strong enough to get me past them.

In round 1, I faced a rather plodding Black/Green/White concoction, and my opponent even admitted his deck wasn't too noteworthy. Despite having a few mana hiccups, taking a substantial amount of damage, and making a couple of errors, I felt like I was completely in control during both long games, though I kept wishing my deck had more methods of breaking stalemates.

In round 2 I faced a more aggressive Black/Green/blue deck piloted by a very capable opponent. I have to give this guy a ton of credit. In the second game, I got the Vedalken Dismisser/Mark of Eviction lock on him, but he refused to give up. He let me bounce his men and refused to put them back out. I didn't have a lot of pressure out on the board, so he had the luxury of doing so. After about five turns of this, he drew his Plague Boiler, and after he blew it I still had a Drift of Phantasms in play and seven cards in hand to his two. He still didn't give up, and he actually almost came back.

I've got to hand it to that guy. If he wasn't mana flooded both games I do believe he would've got me, especially since I kept making dumb mistakes. Good games, sir.

My third round saw the slowest Boros deck I've ever had the privilege of playing against. It wasn't bad, really, but it simply couldn't put enough pressure on me to make me scared. I would've beat him in two games, but I quite literally made about twenty mistakes that second game, and I was forced to concede with seven minutes on my clock and six cards left in the deck. (I could've avoided getting decked by locking myself down with Dismisser/Mark of Eviction, but I don't think I could've decked him with the seven minutes I had left, and since he had gotten severely flooded in the midgame he was drawing nothing but gas).

He also put out Privileged Position that game, and my deck had only one maindeck way to deal with it (Drake Familiar, which I could endlessly recur), but I managed to screw that up. My sided-in Sundering Vitae made short work of it in game 3, and I pulled off the win with less than a minute left on my clock.

Huh? I won?

I won!

I mean yeah, I won, but I don't feel like I was drafting and especially not playing at my best. Also, I really would've liked more bouncelands. Getting passed a number of bomb rares helped out, too. The archetype definitely deserves another look, so expect that tomorrow. I have to wonder if the reason I saw so few bouncelands this draft was because Tuesday's article made people value them higher. Good thing I'm not that pompous.

Pugg Fuggly
pugg_fuggly@hotmail.com