Drafting With Nick - Shadowmoor / Eventide Head to Head #2
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1 Scar
1 Ashling, the Extinguisher
1 Gloomlance
1 Sootwalkers
1 Gift of the Deity
1 Devoted Druid
1 Soul Reap
1 Wingrattle Scarecrow
1 Faerie Macabre
1 Incremental Blight
1 Smoldering Butcher
1 Scuzzback Marauders
1 Rendclaw Trow
1 Wasp Lancer
1 Aerie Ouphes
1 Torture
1 Cultbrand Cinder
1 Farhaven Elf
2 Woodlurker Mimic
1 Cankerous Thirst
1 Unmake
1 Canker Abomination
12 Swamp
5 Forest
Sideboard
1 Antler Skulkin
1 Safehold Elite
1 Puncture Bolt
1 Disturbing Plot
1 Juvenile Gloomwidow
1 Cinderhaze Wretch
1 Blowfly Infestation
1 Rite of Consumption
1 Safehold Duo
1 Raven's Crime
1 Merrow Wavebreakers
1 Inescapable Brute
1 Gleeful Sabotage
1 Smash to Smithereens
1 Loch Korrigan
1 Tilling Treefolk
1 Gloomwidow's Feast
1 Ashenmoor Cohort
2 Torpor Dust
1 Drain the Well
1 Cinderbones
p1p3 This pick was pretty tough, and I really wanted to take Tatterkite but decided to gamble.
p1p4 Tower Above. I know, right? Seriously, I love Druid.
p1p5 This was the plan... now where is the Flourishing Defenses?
p1p10 I've never played double Torture in my life, but this could be wrong. I also like picking up Sabotage in case I don't get an Elder in pack 3.
p2p1 I really had no clue what to take here, and figured I wasn't totally committed to Green yet. I can't ever see casting the Cavaliers, and Sootwalkers is not exciting.
p2p3 Another annoying pick, but with only three Green cards I decided to gamble on Lancer.
p3p2 I already have a bunch of removal, and I'd rather have the large man than Snakeform.
p3p14 I meant to take Talara's Bane for the board, but I timed out because I got a text message.
I got a huge hookup in pack 3, which was nice, but this was another of those drafts where you can't decide whether or not to stay two colors or go all in on mono colored. I made a somewhat weird choice in deckbuilding which was to cut Safehold Elite and run Wingrattle Scarecrow so that I could play a radical manabase of 12 Swamp, 5 Forest. I really wanted to cut the Green altogether, but the acceleration of Farhaven Elf and Druid is awesome in this deck. Aerie Ouphes offers some needed defense against fliers, and Scuzzback is great with Gift of the Deity. I also cut the Blowfly because it didn't seem to fit in the final build as well as I would've liked. Still a good sideboard option against decks with lots of X/1s.
Round 1 was against UW. Game 1 was a rollercoaster that only lasted about two minutes. It started downhill when I instantly mulliganed two no-landers and was down to five cards on the play. Thankfully my hand was good, and I played turn 2 Devoted Druid, turn 3 Canker Abomination, and then Scarred his Mistmeadow Skulk when I ripped Swamp. He started passing with four mana up and six cards in hand, and I was content to let the game go on. When he finally made a move I killed the Hearthfire Hobgoblin he played, attacked, played Sootwalkers, and he conceded. I boarded in Gloomwidow's Feast, Gleeful Sabotage, and Forest for Scuzzback Marauders, Gift of the Deity, and Swamp for game 2. Game 2 he started off getting stuck on three lands and played cards like Trip Noose and Mistmeadow Witch that didn't do anything. I would've just ended it early but I couldn't draw a way to kill Mistmeadow Skulk and push Ashling and the rest of my guys through. He eventually stabilized with Skulk, Prison Term, and Trip Noose, while we both got super flooded but he had absolutely no board presence. Eventually I drew Torture and killed him. We both ended up drawing all but one of our lands this game, which made it last forever.
Round 2 was a total blowout. Game 1 he was GR, and all he did was Flame Jab a guy and then shrink my 6/6 Canker Abomination with Puncture Blast before losing to it and Ashling. Game 2 he apparently boarded into RU or something, and I had a god draw and crushed him easily with Ashling, a few other guys, and a ton of removal.
Round 3 I played against Rich, who was UW. Game 1 was a blowout when he went for Armored Ascension on turn 4 and I Soul Reaped. Then I played 4/2 Wither and Scuzzback Marauders, and he conceded when he tried to block and I played Unmake. Game 2 he had some quick guys and then tried to turn the tide with Consign to Dream and Banishing Knack on Safehold Sentry, bouncing my side. I was able to replay everything at a stable 10 life, and he got a bit flooded and lost to Sootwalkers and some other random Persist guys.
These SSE drafts have been fun! See you when Shards appears on MTGO. Next week, I'll bring you some Shards of Alara Limited strategy.
Until then...
Nick





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