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As good as Arcane Sanctum in Esper, but I don't even feel like drafting artifacts this time. After discussing with Manu, I felt like trying the UB archetype he had talked about in our article yesterday.

Beetle and Dragger are pretty close picks, I think they are both okay choices, but I pick the 3/3 as four drops should be pretty hard to find in this archetype.

I don't like Blighting that much anymore, and, if I were to play Grixis, I would have seen a removal spell before.

I should have picked the Creeper here, there is just no chance I play the Sages.

I'm aiming at a very tempo-centric deck based on Alchemist and Deny Reality, so there is no non-rare card I want more than the 2/2. Not even the excellent Slavedriver.

Could help me splashing for Necrogenesis.

Blue permanents are good for the Alchemists, and I don't have enough removal spells to make Yoke very good.

Pretty much the best two cards in the pack wheeled; one hell of a good surprise.

Remnant is better in any control deck, Deny Reality in any aggro.

Not ideal with double Deny Reality, but great with Frontine Sage and the Trigger creatures. Also, I'll probably get one or two cyclers before the end of the draft.

A card I could use if I receive Ignite Pouncer.

I almost picked the Leech so I'd splash for it and Necrogenesis, but I don't want to splash for an early drop, no matter how great it is, and I don't have enough fixers for that anyway. Also, the Abomination is a card I should play.

9 Swamp
8 Island
1 Tidehollow Strix
1 Blister Beetle
1 Grixis Grimblade
1 Jhessian Lookout
1 Frontline Sage
2 Sedraxis Alchemist
1 Brackwater Elemental
1 Infectious Horror
1 Viscera Dragger
1 Skeletal Kathari
1 Etherim Abomination
1 Grixis Slavedriver
1 Extractor Demon
1 Jhessian Zombie
1 Executioner's Capsule
2 Wretched Banquet
1 Call to Heel
1 Soul Manipulation
1 Brainbite
2 Deny Reality

The deck is fine, but it definitely lacks two-drops. Actually, Jessian Lookout is kind of an MVP in the deck.

Round 1: 5C Cathartic Adept

When I started the match, I thought my report would end in "I won in ten minutes, no need to talk about a match versus a deck that plays Plains, Forest, Island, Swamp, Mountain and Cathartic Adept." Well, it's half right; his plays indeed matched his deck, which was pretty bad, but I still had an incredibly hard time taking the match. As a matter of fact, I won 2-1 and had only a minute left of the clock after Cathartic Adept had milled me to death game 2.

I still won, but if he played a little better I would have lost 2-0, which doesn't make me extremely confident for the rounds to come.

Round 2: Naya

Game 1 is an easy win as he can't find a third land and concedes when he's about to discard for the second time.

In the next one he opens with Naya Hushblade and Cerodon Yearling, while I don't play anything relevant until a turn 5 Deny Reality. I die on the next turn from a Resounding Thunder.

I make the difference in the final game thanks to my removal. After shooting his first two guys with Executioner's Capsule and Wretched Banquet, I take control of the game with Viscera Dragger in defense and Skeletal Kathari in atttack. When life totals are 18-10 in my favor, he tries and stop me playing Asha's Favor on Rhox Meditant. I play Banquet on the 2/4 and, a two turns later, the Kathari takes the game, helped by Infectious Horror.

Finals: Jund

I happened to be in the same draft as my brother Antoine who, unfortunately, lost in the other semis. My revenge plan doesn't start so well as I keep a tempting one-lander (Banquet, Capsule, Blade, 2 Alchemist) on the draw. Missing the land drop on turn 2 made the difference.

In the second game, as if to thank me for keeping my hand on game 1, he plays only Forest and Swamps and concedes before he can play a spell.

The third one is pretty interesting. He kills all of my guys, often making card advantage (Beetle, Sojourners), and even catches 2 Alchemist, an Island, and a Banquet with two Blightnings. After playing his second discard spell, the situation seems pretty bad (12-16, nothing versus Beetle, no card in hand versus 3), but I will turn the tables in a few turns. As he is unable to play any bigger threat than the 1/1, I have a few turns to topdeck. I won't need many. After 4 turns I draw Slavedriver, but he has Fiery Fall, then Demon, which he Terminates. But in the meantime he hasn't played a guy, while I have now not only my last two cadavers, but also Abomination and Brackwater Elemental in my graveyard. Two turns later, I reanimated the undead and took the match.

Until Friday...

Oli I definitely got lucky to win that draft. My opponent's didn't draw good at all, and their decks were far from fantastic. However, this archetype seems interesting and I'll probably try it again in the future.