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Drafting With Olivier - Shards/Conflux/Reborn #11

Olivier Ruel

By Olivier Ruel
06/22/2009

About Olivier Ruel: Pro Tour mainstay Olivier Ruel's outstanding career includes five Pro Tour Top 8s, numerous Grand Prix Top 8s (including the recent victory at Grand Prix: Brighton), and induction in the Magic Hall of Fame class of 2008.

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  Pack 1 pick 1:

  My Pick:

Drumhunter and Crumbling Necropolis are good cards, but they are one level below.


  Pack 1 pick 2:

  My Pick:

Skeletonize is slightly better in a Black deck, but a lot worse in a non-Black deck. Most Red decks play Black as well, but Thunder seems like a safest pick.


  Pack 1 pick 3:

  My Pick:

It may commit me into an archetype, which Bloodpyre Elemental wouldn’t, but the card is just a lot better than the 4/1.


  Pack 1 pick 4:

  My Pick:

It’s unlikely I'll play it, but it’s hard to pass a card of such high level when it has one color in common with my deck.


  Pack 1 pick 5:

  My Pick:

I’m not a huge fan of Dregscape Zombie since Reborn’s release. I rather like picking the flyer which is pretty good in Jund.
  Pack 1 pick 6:

  My Pick:


  Pack 1 pick 7:

  My Pick:

Bone Splinters is okay, but I rather like giving my deck some stability by picking the fixer.


  Pack 1 pick 8:

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  Pack 1 pick 9:

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  Pack 1 pick 10:

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  Pack 1 pick 11:

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  Pack 1 pick 12:

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  Pack 1 pick 13:

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  Pack 1 pick 14:

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  Pack 1 pick 15:

  My Pick:

The deck was fine after 8 picks, but it was the 3 picks that followed that actually made it really good.


  Pack 2 pick 1:

  My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 2:

  My Pick:

The Leotau is a much better card, but it would make the deck rather unstable.


  Pack 2 pick 3:

  My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 4:

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  Pack 2 pick 5:

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  Pack 2 pick 6:

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  Pack 2 pick 7:

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  Pack 2 pick 8:

  My Pick:

A card I actually like in RB decks. However, Molten Frame was probably the right pick as I should have enough playables.


  Pack 2 pick 9:

  My Pick:

Green is my least played color and I don’t see myself splashing for Might of Alara.


  Pack 2 pick 10:

  My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 11:

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  Pack 2 pick 14:

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  Pack 2 pick 15:

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  Pack 3 pick 1:

  My Pick:

I’m an happy man with happy neighbors.


  Pack 3 pick 2:

  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 3:

  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 4:

  My Pick:

Sure!


  Pack 3 pick 5:

  My Pick:

Close pick with the Blade, which is probably a little better, but I’ve the feeling I can definitely go 3/0, and in order to do so, there are good chance I have to defeat the Behemoth Sledge I’ve passed.


  Pack 3 pick 6:

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  Pack 3 pick 11:

  My Pick:

A greedy pick, as my deck is great and only misses a few fixers, but it’s hard to say no to a 4 mana 4/4 in pick 11.


  Pack 3 pick 12:

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  Pack 3 pick 13:

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  Pack 3 pick 14:

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  Pack 3 pick 15:

  My Pick:


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6 Swamp
6 Mountain
5 Forest
1 Crumbling Necropolis
1 Goblin Outlander
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Putrid Leech
2 Shambling Remains
1 Sprouting Thrinax
1 Vithian Renegades
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Rhox Brute
2 Madrush Cyclops
1 Canyon Minotaur
1 Carrion Thrash
1 Skeletal Kathari
1 Igneous Pouncer
1 Magma Spray
1 Necrogenesis
1 Terminate
1 Blightning
1 Resounding Thunder
1 Fiery Fall
1 Absorb Vis

Sideboard
1 Sanity Gnawers
1 Outrider of Jhess
1 Demonic Dread
1 Bull Cerodon
1 Mighty Emergence
1 Swamp
1 Kathari Remnant
1 Mage Slayer
1 Bone Saw
1 Lapse of Certainty
1 Swerve
1 Forest
1 Vectis Agents
1 Forest
1 Quenchable Fire
1 Infectious Horror
1 Infectious Horror
1 Sanctum Plowbeast
1 Fusion Elemental
1 Island
1 Demonspine Whip
1 Beacon Behemoth
1 Jungle Weaver

ROUND 1: Bant

In the first game, his draw is pretty good but mine is quite good as well. I already have a small advantage when I play Bloodbraid Elf into Terminate, making my win unavoidable. This play was a pretty good summary of why I hate the Cascade mechanic. A Magic card is supposed to bring you tempo or card advantage. The cards that do both are either very good (Cryptic Command), or unbalanced (Jitte in Limited, Bitterblossom). Basically, all the worst cards that have been printed fit that description. And now, not only is it not a card but an ability that gives you both card advantage and tempo, but it is also not even counterable…

In the second game he has pretty good draws once again, but mine are no match this time and we go pretty quickly to game 3... in which we both draw quite a huge number of lands (about 12 out of 20). The difference is made by Necrogenesis, which wins the game on its own.

ROUND 2: UWRB aggro

There's not much I feel like saying about this match. My opponent didn't play so well, with a pretty bad deck. I mean, who plays Darklit Gargoyle and Monstrous Carbid in the same deck with no fixers, if we discount the one Sanctum Plowbeast I saw in three games (out of a total of 49 cards). I lost game 1 to double mulligan and no spells played. I almost lost game 2 to Cascade, but eventually won it to Cascade (did I mention how much I love that ability?). I won game 3 thanks to Necrogenesis, even though he played Nicol Bolas on his final turn.

Considering the match could have gone 0/3 if he had played better, I’m not unhappy to make it to the final.

ROUND 3: Grixis

It's the same old story once again. I had a slight advantage in both games, and I played Necrogenesis and won. By the way, the Cyclops/Necrogenesis combo is pretty nice, you should definitely give it a try.

Until Wednesday...

Olivier


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