Drafting With Nick - Shards of Alara #7
[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:
Pack 1 pick 2:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 3:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 4:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 5:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 6:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 7:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 9:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 10:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 1:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 2:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 3:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 4:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 5:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 6:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 7:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 9:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 10:
My Pick:
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:
Pack 3 pick 2:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 3:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 4:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 5:
My Pick:
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!
P1P1 - I know a lot of people probably like Jund Charm here but I felt Archdemon had better potential and also more flexibility. Am I right or wrong here?
P1P2 - I almost took Drumhunter, but Archdemon is a BR card and I've been loving the Beetle more and more lately.
P2P1 - Awkward. I seem to be opening well in this format so far. I considered the Stinger here also but Assault is just so good and there are so many ways to abuse it.
P2P3 - At least I know for sure I'm in the right colors in this draft.
P2P4 - Wow, this was a tough pick. I decided to take Iguanar, since Infest kills a lot of my own guys and Iguanar has awesome synergy with the rest of my deck. Passing Splinters wasn't fun either.
P2P6 - I swear this is 8-4. Event #97248 if you don't believe me.
P2P7 - Consistency is the word here, though I almost took the 2/1 Unearth.
P3P1 - This is definitely the hardest draft I've done to date. I really had no clue what to do here, and decided I had to take big Preds even though my mana was pretty shaky. This pack is strong enough that I should table something out of it, and I spent a good 30 seconds wanting to take Crumbling Necropolis. And yes, I have Big Preds every draft because I'm a luckbox.
P3P3 - I swear, Event #97248. Also, LOL.
All I have to say about this draft is that I got the total hookup and there were still a ton of picks. I'd love to get some feedback on the tougher picks, though I was very happy with how I handled this draft with the one exception of wanting to take Crumbling Necropolis over Predator Dragon. I really don't think I can do that and maintain my sanity, so I went the greedy route. I really hate ending up in straight three-color decks in this format, but the cards came in such a way that I don't really think I could avoid it this time around. I wish I had more fixing, but again I picked some Panoramas high in pack 3 and didn't have many chances at other options. I cut Tidehollow Strix and Courier's Capsule from the final build, since Predator Dragon and Hell's Thunder basically dictated that I focus more on Red if possible. The mana was still pretty shaky, but I couldn't come up with a better way to build it.
1 Hissing Iguanar
2 Grixis Charm
1 Goblin Assault
1 Grixis Battlemage
1 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Dragon Fodder
1 Viscera Dragger
1 Puppet Conjurer
1 Fleshbag Marauder
3 Agony Warp
1 Hell's Thunder
1 Kederekt Creeper
1 Archdemon of Unx
1 Skeletal Kathari
1 Kathari Screecher
1 Dregscape Zombie
1 Obelisk of Esper
1 Predator Dragon
1 Blister Beetle
1 Goblin Deathraiders
6 Mountain
5 Swamp
1 Arcane Sanctum
3 Island
1 Esper Panorama
1 Jund Panorama
Sideboard
1 Filigree Sages
1 Soul's Might
1 Resounding Wave
1 Plains
1 Courier's Capsule
1 Welkin Guide
1 Demon's Herald
1 Sphinx's Herald
1 Outrider of Jhess
1 Esper Charm
1 Tidehollow Strix
2 Windwright Mage
1 Lush Growth
1 Cathartic Adept
1 Island
1 Coma Veil
1 Thoughtcutter Agent
1 Behemoth's Herald
1 Volcanic Submersion
I'm sure most of you know where this is headed, right?
I really wish I could say this draft has a happy ending, but it doesn't. In round 1 I was paired against GWUb packing 3 Sanctum Gargoyles. If you look back at my decklist you'll come to the quick realization that I have no real way of dealing with a Gargoyle. My opponent managed to draw two Gargoyles as well as Algae Gharial in game 1, and that was more than enough to beat my slightly manaflooded draw. In game two I boarded in the Thoughtcutter Agent as another way to win if he had me Gargoyle locked and checked out his grip to see that he'd drawn all 3 copies this game. I cast a Cruel Ultimatum to little or no effect and eventually died to a swarm of guys that I couldn't handle effectively. Moral of the story here was that this was probably the worst matchup I could expect to face. I really should've taken that Relic of Progenitus instead of whatever I took over it. Lesson learned.
See you tomorrow.
Nick






Wednesday, November 5th - Here's your chance to guess the theme correctly for the second week running. Here's a clue. There was a Pro Tour this past weekend, in...
Wednesday, November 5th - It had literally been years since I had competed in a Grand Prix (or a Pro Tour, for that matter). With the weekend being relatively...
Wednesday, November 5th -
Wednesday, November 5th - That's right, folks... it's back! While Canadian draft maestro Rich Hoaen battles it out at Pro Tour: Berlin, we have Nick Eisel bringing us a Shards of Alara 8-4 draft walkthrough each day, from pick 1... 
Thursday, November 6th - Out in my workshop, I have a wall of bookshelves. About half the bookshelves are full of old role-playing games, and most of those are...
Monday, November 3rd - Dear Adam:
Monday, November 3rd - Reuben brings us another fun video that looks at the ups and downs of the past Magic
Monday, November 3rd - Pro Tour: Berlin has come and gone, and the breakout story of the tournament is undoubtedly Combo Elves. With six copies making the Top 8,...
Monday, November 3rd - As a strategic exercise, and as a response to an enquiring reader, Stephen Menendian has turned his eye to a theoretical Vintage format in...
Tuesday, November 4th - As the Monty Python boys taught us, three is the number of minutes thou shalt have to shuffle before each game, no more, possibly less. At the three minute mark you must present your deck. If you delay in...
Tuesday, November 4th - States is nearly upon us, and it’s time to show off anything and everything resembling sick tech. Today, I’ll be covering the deck...
Tuesday, November 4th - States is right around the corner, but Standard decks are springing up all over the place. Dave takes a look at some competitors from...
Tuesday, November 4th - Constructed Master Gerry T didn’t quite rock the format at Pro Tour: Berlin, but his deck of choice did manage some strong finishes in the hands of others. Today’s One Step Ahead sees Gerry share his... 










