I've been thinking of the recent discussion between Luis Scott-Vargas and Mashi Scanlan about the possibility of common and uncommon Planeswalkers. I am firmly in the Mashi camp here, with the strong belief that Planeswalkers need not sit forever in the Mythic Rare slot.

So I set myself a small design challenge - come up with some uncommon slot planeswalkers.

Here's what I came up with, with some discussion for each.

Grace of the Llanowar



Grace is a Llanowar Druid starting on the Planeswalking journey. I feel represents exactly what Green is all about; mana ramping to summon big critters. Dropping her on Turn 2 also allows for dropping either a blocker or another Llanowar Elvers as well, allowing for a six mana boost on Turn 3. Maybe this is a little overpowered for an uncommmon card. But it certainly is very green.

Lelenia, Soul Warden



Lelenia [so called because it's the name from the artwork I stole of the net] would be an interesting two drop for White. Much like her Soul Warden bretheren, the first thing she's good at is giving life. But she also has great powers of protection, able to pump and grant vigilance for her own wards. Finally, her ability to produce a bunch of tokens also works nicely with both the White them in M10 and in syncronicity with other Soul Wardens.

Fleece, Saprazzan Rogue



Again, Fleece's first ability is very representative of your traditional merfolk looter. It takes him a while to warm up, but his ability to either card ramp, or tutor up what you need, can be very powerful. Being so weak, however, will he stick around long enough for you to do so?

Karnath the Lethemancer



Karnath, you horrible Lethemancer. Like every other Lethemancer, his first ability hits all players, includign yourself. However, you could leap straight to his second ability an unearth a creature, in which case Karnath is almost a Doomed Necromancer. His final ability is also pretty good, getting a creature straight out an into play.

Gideon, Pyromancer



Gideon does exactly what any Pyrmoancer does - burns face! That's all he really cares about. I made the +1 ability hit creatures only, so make him a little less useful than Chandra early on. I though that you should also be able to simply sac him straight out for some quick removal or hit. At RR that's not too much to ask. And his final ability is a Lava-Axe to the face.


Creating these Planeswalkers was a great little thought experiment. I wonder, if your opponent dropped one of these on Turn 2, would you try to remove it, or not worry about it? Would having one or two of these in a Limited pool be overpowered? Would you drop it early, or wait until it had protection, like your other Planeswalkers generally have?

Hit me up on Twitter or at wrongwaygoback@yahoo.com if you have any comments.

I was tired tonight, so I joined the ACR Swiss to go easy on myself. Through my stats tracking, I’ve learnt that this generally does not produce the best pack-win-ratio however. My current winnings is on average 2 packs in the 4322 and 1.8 packs in the Swiss. So off I go.

  Pack 1 pick 1:



  My Pick:

It’s not a fantastic pack – hell, it’s mainly jank – but there is one standout card. I don’t mind playing Jund in general, so I’m happy to take the Dragon. He’s a little slow in ACR, but does the job if you can get him down.



  Pack 1 pick 2:



  My Pick:

Fleshbag marauder is poor removal, but I’m not thrilled about picking anything else. Blightning would have been my go-to card of choice, but there are so many good 2-3 drops in pack 3 I’d rather improve my board position.



  Pack 1 pick 3:



  My Pick:

This pack is terrible, so I take the mana fixer.



  Pack 1 pick 4:



  My Pick:

This pack, however, is great. Stinger, Nacatl, Necropolis, Sigil Blessing. All worthwhile picks, but only one is easy to cast and suits my shard just fine.



  Pack 1 pick 5:



  My Pick:

A great pick for my deck.



  Pack 1 pick 6:



  My Pick:

It’s a tough choice between the Mosstodon, and Rip Clan Crasher, and the Dragon Fodder, but I feel I’m going to end up with a pretty aggressive deck, so the Crasher is an okay pick here.



  Pack 1 pick 7:



  My Pick:

Nothing great, so I grab the Zombie.



  Pack 1 pick 8:



  My Pick:

I figure I’ll play a few rounds and see if I want to power out the two Dragons quicker, or if my small dudes are good enough to hold the ground.



  Pack 1 pick 9:



  My Pick:

An excellent pick for my deck.



  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:

What a dull deck. Someone is going to be drafting a fantastic Esper deck, but it won’t be me. The Ember Weaver and Ignite Disorder are the best two picks. With very little removal in hand, I grab the Disorder.



  Pack 2 pick 2:



  My Pick:

Another Dragon is great, especially one that can recur.



  Pack 2 pick 3:



  My Pick:

Removal + Mana Fixing = Perfect.



  Pack 2 pick 4:



  My Pick:

I want my deck to be aggressive, so I chose the Shambling Remains over the Matca Rioters.



  Pack 2 pick 5:



  My Pick:

Although I won’t end up using it, the Worldheart Pheonix is a fine sideboard card if I end up against someone with a ton of fliers.



  Pack 2 pick 6:



  My Pick:

Again, there’s not a lot here. I grabbed the Shard Convergence to side in with the Worldheart Pheonix.



  Pack 2 pick 7:



  My Pick:

Perfect, aggressive, on-shard pick.



  Pack 2 pick 8:



  My Pick:

Best of a bad bunch.



  Pack 2 pick 9:



  My Pick:



  Pack 2 pick 10:



  My Pick:

Sweet.



  Pack 2 pick 11:



  My Pick:



  Pack 2 pick 12:



  My Pick:

I’m really going to be able to trounce Esper tonight.



  Pack 2 pick 13:



  My Pick:



  Pack 2 pick 14:



  My Pick:



  Pack 2 pick 15:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 1:



  My Pick:

Another boring first pick.



  Pack 3 pick 2:



  My Pick:

My cheap, aggressive deck is coming together. Interesting to note the Qasali Pridemage.



  Pack 3 pick 3:



  My Pick:

Wow, Enlisted Wurm. Tempting to hate-draft, but I decide to stay on-colour.



  Pack 3 pick 4:



  My Pick:

A very interesting pack. Stormblade, Leech, Pridemage, Hackblade. But there’s only one real choice for me.



  Pack 3 pick 5:



  My Pick:

Wow, there are a bunch of great Esper cards floating around. So sad not to be in those colours.



  Pack 3 pick 6:



  My Pick:

The one quick drop that will totally screw up my Grixis Grimblades and Hackblades. I hate draft the mofo and don’t feel bad about it.



  Pack 3 pick 7:



  My Pick:

I’ve never use it, so I’m curious.



  Pack 3 pick 8:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 9:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 10:



  My Pick:

Ok, there’s not much here. But I like the idea of blanking an opponents blocker in the deck I’m building.



  Pack 3 pick 11:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 12:



  My Pick:

I actually really like Violent Outburst, especially in a deck as aggressive as mine. It will always find a 2/2 creature, usually with some sort of benefit, at instant speed. There’s a lot worse cards around than that.



  Pack 3 pick 13:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 14:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 15:



  My Pick:



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My deck looks like this:

1 Broodmate Dragon
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Vithian Stinger
1 Sprouting Thrinax
1 Rip-Clan Crasher
1 Cavern Thoctar
1 Ignite Disorder
1 Extractor Demon
1 Fiery Fall
1 Shambling Remains
1 Vashino Slaughtermaster
1 Pestilent Kathari
1 Slyvan Bounty
1 Rhox Brute
2 Grixis Grimblade
1 Jund Hackblade
1 Putrid Leech
1 Jund Sojourners
1 Predatory Advantage
1 Monstrous Carabid
1 Demonic Dread
1 Breath of Malfegor
1 Violent Outburst

The deck is ok, but extremely light on removal, and one of my removal spells is a land cycler as well, so cycling it puts me down by a lot. Hopefully all the Deathtouch and Unearth can get me across the line. I just need a fast start, followed up by either the Demon or the Dragon. Here’s hoping.

Match 1, Game 1: My opponent is playing Esper Exalted. I keep a hand of 3 swamps, a Fleshbag Marauder, a Grixis Grimblade, a Putrid Leach and a Jund Sojourners, thinking if I see a single other source of mana I’ll be fine. Guess what? I don’t. He gets down a Darklit Gargoyle that beat the tar out of me, followed by a Deft Duelist. The only spell I get to play is the Fleshbag Marauder after seeing 5 swamps total. I concede on the 6th turn.

Match 1, Game 2: I side in the two Nacatal Savages for the Breath of Malefegor and the Jund Sojourners. I get down an early Vithian Stinger while my opponent sits on a single Plains. His folly of keeping a one-land hand shows as I put down a Rhox Brute followed by the Predatory Advantage. Having picked up another land, all he can do is lay down Aven Squires as Stinger Fodder to stave off the 2/2 Lizard tokens. I take the match in the 6th Round.

Match 1, Game 3: Having seen the Aven Squires, I side in the Scattershot Archer as well, thinking that between the Stinger and the Archer I have the skies covered. I see a two-land hand with a land cycler and keep it. He gets out an early Tidehollow Strix, but I follow up with the Sprouting Thrinax. Although he’s setting out Swamps and Islands, he has no Turn 4 play, so I figure he’s stuck with a White clutch. I take the risk and play a Fleshbag Marauder forcing him to sac the Strix. I follow up with the Rhox Brute, then an Extractor Demon. By this time he has no outs and I crush him.

Okay, so I lost due to mana screw in the first, then won due to my opponent’s mana screw in the next two. I still have no idea whether this deck can perform or not.

On to Match 2.

--

Match 2, Game 1: He’s playing five colour control. However, I get an early head start and manage to bust through before he gets his mana in order.

Match 2, Game 2: He finds early beaters and I get mana screwed out of any counter attack.

Match 2, Game 3: An epic, epic battle, basically coming down to his Behemoth Sledge. I manage to fight my way through a good dozen rounds. Unfortunately, I make a critical mistake. I have total board position – a Broodmate and his Flatmate against an empty board. I have an Ignite Disorder in hand, and my opponent plays a Leonin Armorguard. Stupidly I let the +1/+1 come into play ability resolve, meaning I have no chance to kill the Armorguard. It costs me a game I would otherwise as won. Lesson Learnt.

As this is the Swiss, on to Match 3.

--

Match 3, Game 1: He’s playing Jund as well. He gets an amazing board position with Scarland Thrinax, Algae Gharial and a bunch of Sporeburst tokens. Despite laying down a series of blockers, it becomes clear I’ll never break through his army, and I concede to move the match on.

Match 3, Game 2: I get a super fast start from which he never recovers. Putrid Leach, Hackblade, Grimblade, etc. Done and dusted.

Match 3, Game 3: I have a similar starting hand to Game 2, so I keep. I get an early Hackblade and Shambling Remains down to his Jund Sojourners and three sporeburst tokens. I get him to trade the Jund Sojourners for my Hackblade, then lay down a Kathari Screecher and a Grixis Grimblade. He sets down a Scarland Thrinax and I start to sweat it. Luckily I lead into a Putrid Leach, followed by an Extractor Demon. With my Deathtouchers covering the ground my Extractor Demon starts going to town – only to be met by a Terminate, followed up with a Sylvan Bounty. But I’ve got gas – a Cavern Thoctar, followed the Vithian Stinger. He yokes the Stinger and plays a Wild Leotau. I swing in with the Thoctar and the Grixis Grimblade. He blocks the Grimblade with the Leotau, so I pump the Thoctar, ping with the Stinger and watch him gobble the Wild Leotau to grow his Thrinax. He does nothing next round, so I simply send in the Thoctar. The Thoctar and Thrinax trade, leaving him with no board position, and me with ten damage of unearth creatures in the graveyard and a full board. He concedes on the next draw.

--

So I guess I made it out 2-1, which isn’t terrible, and the only reason I didn’t go 3-0 is a clearly identifiable mistake which I won’t make again. That’s how you learn, I guess.

This weeks’ drafting has been okay. I started with 3 packs and 8 ticks, and ended up with 2 packs and 2 ticks after three drafts. I need some way of breaking through my 2-1 performances. Three 2-1s in a row is just so close to 3-0. Practice, obviously, will help, but I also need to identify where I can improve. Is it the picks? The gameplay? The hands I choose to keep? So much to think about.

Ah well, here’s to next week.

I’ve hopped into the ARC 4322 draft this time, now that I feel I have a good enough chance of getting through the first round.

  Pack 1 pick 1:



  My Pick:

My personal play style wants to grab the Strix or the Thunder. The Thunder is the easier to cast, so I grab it.



  Pack 1 pick 2:



  My Pick:

In retrospect, the Arcane Sanctum would have been a much better pick. However, I didn’t choose it, I grabbed the Deathraiders.



  Pack 1 pick 3:



  My Pick:

The Dragon Fodder is tempting, but I haven’t really used Minion Reflector before, and if you’ve read Patrick Chapin’s “Next Level Magic”, he advocates taking the rare just to “try it out”. So I do.



  Pack 1 pick 4:



  My Pick:

I thought I might be heading Jund, but it seems Grixis is calling, with the Fatestitcher having a much higher power level than the other cards in the pack.



  Pack 1 pick 5:



  My Pick:

Not a lot here for me, so I grab the flyer.



  Pack 1 pick 6:



  My Pick:

Sixth pack Agony Warp bodes very well for blue/black in the third pack. Glad to be in Grixis now.



  Pack 1 pick 7:



  My Pick:



  Pack 1 pick 8:



  My Pick:

The Screecher is tempting, but I need me some fixing.



  Pack 1 pick 9:



  My Pick:

For the second draft in a row I grab a Covenant of Minds. We’ll see how it goes this time.



  Pack 1 pick 10:



  My Pick:



  Pack 1 pick 11:



  My Pick:



  Pack 1 pick 12:



  My Pick:

Pretty late Screecher, but happily taken as I’m low on dudes.



  Pack 1 pick 13:



  My Pick:



  Pack 1 pick 14:



  My Pick:



  Pack 1 pick 15:



  My Pick:



  Pack 2 pick 1:



  My Pick:

No bomb, but some interesting options. Sedraxis Alchemist, Zombie Outlander and Hellspark are all interesting. But I think I’ll take the sweeper and see how it goes.



  Pack 2 pick 2:



  My Pick:

Dark Temper is perfect in the deck I’m drafting. But that’s a second Alchemist I’ve let go.



  Pack 2 pick 3:



  My Pick:

The right pick here was probably the Goblin Razerunners, but I went for the second fallout. I’ve never had a two-fallout deck before, and was interested how it would work.



  Pack 2 pick 4:



  My Pick:

Tonight I’m a removal whore.



  Pack 2 pick 5:



  My Pick:

‘Removal’ on a body. Sweet.



  Pack 2 pick 6:



  My Pick:

With the two fallouts I’m running, having creatures that can survive is pretty important, even if they are vanilla.



  Pack 2 pick 7:



  My Pick:

Nothing here excited me.



  Pack 2 pick 8:



  My Pick:

At least one land fetcher – phew!



  Pack 2 pick 9:



  My Pick:

A second Alchemist, cool.



  Pack 2 pick 10:



  My Pick:

A third alchemist, awesome. Now I just need me some blue permanents. Last time I thought I’d get some, none appeared. Hopefully the signals from the first pack hold true and I’ll be passed blue.



  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:

As I said, a whore for removal.



  Pack 3 pick 2:



  My Pick:

Removal on a stick-insect.



  Pack 3 pick 3:



  My Pick:

Flies, sets of the Alchemist, perfect for this deck.



  Pack 3 pick 4:



  My Pick:

The Mistvein Borderpost was probably the correct pick, as it can really boost the Stormblade from the word go, but I was short of bodies at this point so went for the Drake, which is still a good pick.



  Pack 3 pick 5:



  My Pick:

The Lich Lord doesn’t really fit this deck archtype, but what the hell. I do happen to have a hell of a lot of zombies in my deck.



  Pack 3 pick 6:



  My Pick:

Don’t know whether I’ll use him yet or not.



  Pack 3 pick 7:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 8:



  My Pick:

Eighth pick Stormblade? Sure.



  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:



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My Deck ends up looking like this:

1 Agony Warp
2 Volcanic Fallout
1 Kathari Screecher
2 Architects of Will
1 Giant Ambush Beetle
1 Terminate
1 Fiery Fall
1 Covenant of Minds
1 Fatestitcher
1 Lich Lord of Unx
1 Dark Temper
1 Resounding Thunder
1 Minion Reflector
3 Sedraxis Alchemist
1 Sewn-Eye Drake
2 Canyon Minotaur
2 Esper Stormblade

1 Grixis Panorama
6 Swamp
5 Island
5 Mountain

Match 1, Game 1: I have an good hand of an Esper Stormblade, a Sewn-Eye Drake, an Agony Warp and all the colours of mana. But my opponent plays a Scattershot Archer, which really slows down my hand of 1-toughness flyers. Luckily, I find the Lich Lord and start getting my slow-game on. Eventually I find my way to an Ambush Beetle, and between that and an Agony Warp start clearing the way. I get to play a Covenant of Minds and get given five cards, and at that point it’s all over. Between ongoing removal and a growing army of Zombies, and his own mana screw, my opponent can’t keep up and soon dies.

Match 1, Game 2: I start on a rough hand of a bunch of land, an Agony Warp and a Volcanic Fallout, thinking that if he gets his quick dudes into play I’ll wipe the board and start setting down my own guys. After some basic lands he Bloodbraid Elf’s into Nulltread Gargantuan on an empty board, which bounces it right back to the top of his library. I Dark Temper it – though I really should of Agony Warped it, as the Dark Temper is the only solution I have to the Nulltread Gargantuan. He lays down a Mage Slayer and I get down my Lich Lord. He then plays a Scattershot Archer, quickly followed by the Nulltread. Having equipped the Nulltread it rolls in. I send a Zombie token into block, but still take 5 from the Mage Slayer. I’m going to be dead soon if I don’t find an answer.
I have an Agony Warp and a Volcanic Fallout in hand, and enough mana to use them both. My plan is to use the Agony Warp and Volcanic Fallout and block with the Lich Lord. A terrible 3-for-1 trade, but at least it will keep me alive. He send in the Nulltread, I Agony Warp it – and he Resounding Waves the Nulltread to his hand. Oh crap. Then he plays the Scattershot Archers.
At this point I figure he probably needs the Archers around in order to play the Nulltread, so I clear the board with the Fallout and start again.
My mana is overflowing, so I get down a Kathari Screecher and an Esper Stormblade. My opponent, on five mana, plays a surprise Cliffrunner Behemoth that has haste due to the Mage Slayer. Luckily he doesn’t have enough mana to equip it, so I let it through.
I draw a Terminate, play the Minion Reflector, and wait to see what he does. He goes to equip and I kill the Cliffrunner.
Next I draw a very, very handy Sedraxis Alchemist. I plop it down and pay the Reflector cost, bouncing both the Mage Slayer and his only source of red mana in a Wildfire Borderpost back to his hand, then get in for a stack of damage. His only play next turn is a Sacellum Archers with a single green mana open. I send in a duplicated Giant Ambush Beetle, with only a single “must block” trigger on the stack and do the final damage needed to finish him off.

At this point I’m pretty sure maindecking two Volcanic Fallout was a terrible mistake, but I guess we’ll see in the next match.

The next guy took the full hour to complete his first game, so I’m unsure how this next match is going to go.

---

Match 2, Games 1 & 2: He’s playing Exalted.dec. You know what that deck can’t beat? A Lich Lord of Unx. That puppy sat and produced endless tokens while my Esper Stormblades swung in from the air. I reserved removal for the Aven Waveskimmers he was dropping, and just used the endless streams of 1/1s to stop his army

However, whenever I would get close to the magical 3 life burn range, he’d drop a Bodyguard, or Captured Sunlight, or Knight Captain of Eos. No wonder his last match had taken almost an hour! I was almost out of time myself, but in both games he ran out of outs. And in both games I ended up using the Lich Lord’s second ability – remember, he actually has one – to do a final 3 damage and take out the match.

And so on to the last round.

---

Match 3, Game 1: Bant and Naya really seems to kick my ass. He drops the Goblin Razerunners I passed and eats my brain in very, very short order. I will certainly change the way I view that card in Limited from now on.

Match 3, Game 2: Again an opening Qasali Pridemage, this time backed by a Rhox Brute. This is followed up sequentially by two Nacatl Hunt-Prides. I stay alive through assiduous use of my Lich Lord, but eventually he is O-Ringed and my opponent drops a Scepter of Dominance. I then proceed to rip a Dark Temper, Terminate and Agony Warp to survive a couple more rounds and wear my opponent down to 1 life, but he finally drops enough big critters to get through me. All I needed was a single Alchemist or the Resounding Thunder and I would of got there. Alas, it was not to be.

  Pack 1 pick 1:



  My Pick:

Here’s hoping that Salvage Titan wheels. It sometimes does, so it’s not that big a leap of faith.



  Pack 1 pick 2:



  My Pick:

Okay, Covenant is a little slow in ARC, but the card advantage is overwhelming.



  Pack 1 pick 3:



  My Pick:

I love me some Necrogenesis. Ranger of Eos may be okay if I can pick up some Court Homonculus, but the Necrogenesis is just straight-out a better Limited card.



  Pack 1 pick 4:



  My Pick:



  Pack 1 pick 5:



  My Pick:

What a great Esper pack. Knight of the White Orchard, Executioner’s Capsule, and Sanctum Gargoyle. I take the Gargoyle.



  Pack 1 pick 6:



  My Pick:

It’s a hard choice – Sanctum Gargoyle or Fatestitcher – but Gargoyle will be the strictly better card in this deck.



  Pack 1 pick 7:



  My Pick:



  Pack 1 pick 8:



  My Pick:

I have a couple of red splashes available to me so far, so this is a nice find for pick 8.



  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:

I no longer think this was the right pick. Probably Vedalken Outlander or Rupture Spire would have been better, or even Absorb Vis. However, it’s what I took.



  Pack 2 pick 2:



  My Pick:

The Drag Down is very, very tempting, especially as I have almost no removal so far. However I grab the Strix.



  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:

The three picks here are Court Homonculus, Sedraxis Alchemist or Traumatic Visions. I have a lot of success with Visions and Alchemist, but my mana curve suggests playing the Homunculus. I pick the Homunculus. Still don’t know if that was the right choice.



  Pack 2 pick 8:



  My Pick:



  Pack 2 pick 9:



  My Pick:

Unsummon fits my deck so well. It’s a pity Unsummon will be so hideously nerfed once M10 is released.



  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:

At this point Jenara is a great pick. I can now either splash Red for Grixis Charm and Sedraxis Alchemist or green for Necrogenesis and Jenara. Hopefully the Shieldmage will find it’s way back to me.



  Pack 3 pick 2:



  My Pick:

Sen Triplets is a fine control card, although Wall of Denial and Sewn-Eye Drake are both good cards as well.



  Pack 3 pick 3:



  My Pick:

Now I’m just rare drafting.



  Pack 3 pick 4:



  My Pick:

The Wall is good, but I’m so low on removal.



  Pack 3 pick 5:



  My Pick:

Very, very happy to see Thopter Foundry.



  Pack 3 pick 6:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 7:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 8:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 9:



  My Pick:

Sweet, he wheeled.



  Pack 3 pick 10:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 11:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 12:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 13:



  My Pick:

Go thirteenth pick rare!



  Pack 3 pick 14:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 15:



  My Pick:



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My Deck:

1 x Court Homunculus
1 x Unsummon (works well with Sanctum, Parasitic and Shieldmage)

1 x Zealous Persecution
1 x Thopter Foundry
1 x Ethercaste Knight

2 x Parasitic Strix
1 x Sedraxis Specter
1 x Grixis Charm
1 x Spell Snip
1 x Resounding Wave
1 x Ethersworn Shieldmage

1 x Tower Gargoyle
2 x Sanctum Gargoyle
1 x Esper Cormorants
1 x Faerie Mechanist

1 x Covenant of Minds
1 x Sen Triplets
1 x Deny Reality
1 x Etherium Abomination

2 x Sanctum Plowbeasts
1 x Absorb Vis

1 x Veinfire Borderpost
1 x Unstable Frontier
1 x Grixis Panorama

I like the deck. It’s a little slow, but once online should be able to control the game just fine. Excellent recursion and card advantage through Covenant, Sen Triplets, and two Sanctum Gargoyles.

Match 1, Game 1 – He’s playing Jund, but has a slow start with a couple of Toxic Iguanars. I play a classic game of Esper control, with a lovely play that sees Deny Reality cascade into Tower Gargoyle. I even get to play a Sen Triplets, although my opponent blasts it out of the sky with Branching Bolt. Regardless, an Ethersworn Shieldmage/Sanctum Gargoyle recurrence machine quickly outpaces him and he concedes.

Match 1, Game 2 – He mulls to 5 on the play, I mull to 6. This game it’s clear my opponent is new to the game, especially when he swings in with a Beacon Behemoth into open Shieldmage mana – even though he knows I have the card. I think I suffer a whole 3 points of damage that game as my Sanctum Gargoyle/Sheildmage combo keeps me indefinitely alive.

Match 2, Game 1 – Opponent mulls to 6 and starts slow playing Grixis – I keep a good and, eventually flashing in a Shieldmage to an empty board. I follow that up with Sen Triplets. It survives the round and I steal his Lightning Reaver. With no way of killing the Triplets, and me clearly going to wipe out his hand, my opponent concedes.

Match 2, Game 2 – My opponent starts off with Courier’s Capsule, while I lay down a Court Homonculus and a Veinfire Borderpost. I start getting down flyers fast, starting with a Parasitic Strix, while he goes the hand-killing route of playing a Rotting Rats, likely figuring he has card advantage well in hand. He follows up with a Bloodpyre Elemental on the Strix, but I flash in an Ethersworn Shieldmage, totally blowing that play out of the water. I swing in then play Covenant of Minds. Although it only reveals a Deny Reality and two lands, he ships it and I get 5 cards – all fantastic – instead. Next round I swing in the air. He terminate one of my dudes, but I buff with a Grixis Charm and kill him regardless.

Match 3, Game 1 – He’s playing Bant. He starts slowly, but radically speeds up with a Ardent Plea into a Qasali Pridemage. Possibly the worst thing for me to deal with. I’m struggling, whereas he follows up with a Leonin Armorguard and then Finest Hour. I die shortly afterwards.

Match 3, Game 2 – On tilt because I lost against Bant – BANT! – I get an early Meddling Mage (sideboarded in) naming Qasali Pridemage. Really, what I should have named was Finest Hour, because it comes down and he starts hammering me. I can’t keep up and lose the final match.

Here’s a tale of two drafts, one which goes horribly wrong, the other that goes just right. Again, due to my learning curve, the drafts were in the Swiss queue.

ARC - 8th July - Swiss

  Pack 1 pick 1:



  My Pick:

It’s two early to pick Drumhunter, the land is unexciting, and if I were to compare the Thrinax and the Sphinx Sovereign, it’s not really much of a contest. I guess the downside of the Sovereign is that ARC is a fast format, so will I ever get a chance to cast it? (Magic 8-Ball says ‘Future Looks Doubtful’).



  Pack 1 pick 2:



  My Pick:

After Sphinx, it’s a choice between Courier’s Capsule, Grixis Charm and Agony Warp. I pick the two-for-one.



  Pack 1 pick 3:



  My Pick:

Not much in the way of Esper here, so I go the Grixis splash and take the removal.



  Pack 1 pick 4:



  My Pick:

So here’s where I start to come off the rails. Clearly Esper has dried up. I’m in four colours already. My brain starts suggesting I go the fifth colour and just pick the best card in each pack. Sure thing, brain, you are, after all, so smart!



  Pack 1 pick 5:



  My Pick:

An awkward to cast mana fixer? Taken!



  Pack 1 pick 6:



  My Pick:

I start to rate fixing highly now.



  Pack 1 pick 7:



  My Pick:



  Pack 1 pick 8:



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  Pack 1 pick 9:



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  Pack 1 pick 10:



  My Pick:

That’s a hugely late Battlemage. I couldn’t see it at the time, but clearly GW is open for the picking. If I had been smarter, I would of moved into it.



  Pack 1 pick 11:



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  Pack 1 pick 14:



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  Pack 1 pick 15:



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  Pack 2 pick 1:



  My Pick:

The one redeeming feature of this draft, scoring a Noble Hierarch.



  Pack 2 pick 2:



  My Pick:

Options include the Spire, the Aven Squire, or the Rioters. I go for what should be a 3 mana 5/5.



  Pack 2 pick 3:



  My Pick:

Recurring removal is good times.



  Pack 2 pick 4:



  My Pick:

Okay, this is a little cheeky. But if I can keep correcting my mana, I should be okay.



  Pack 2 pick 5:



  My Pick:

Should of picked the Dragonsoul Knight.



  Pack 2 pick 6:



  My Pick:

That’s the third Faerie Mechanist in a row. Someone out there is drafting a fine old dandy deck.



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  Pack 3 pick 1:



  My Pick:

Leach is a good control card. But I’m sure by this point my brain had pretty much turned off.



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  My Pick:

The Borderpost may have been a better pick.



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So I build a slow, janky, control deck that needs all five colour to work, can never actually find the colours it needs, and dies a quick death over a couple of matched, after which I drop. Included a wonderful game where I had a Terminate and the win in hand if I could just draw a Red mana source, and never did.

By this time it’s almost midnight, I’m sick – hell, the whole family is sick – and I try to sleep. But between the coughing and the snorting I can’t rest, so I get up again and join another queue, if only to kill time. Here’s what I draft:


ARC - 9th July - Swiss

  Pack 1 pick 1:



  My Pick:

The Savage Lands are tempting, mainly due to the mana issues I had last game, as is the Pupper Conjurer, but it’s too early to know whether he’ll be usefull. But I’ve never drafted a Sedraxis Specter before, so go with the flyer.




  Pack 1 pick 2:



  My Pick:

What an excellent pack. Courier’s Capsule, Jund Charm, Esper Charm, Jund Battlemage, Resounding Thunder. I grab the easy-to-cast removal.



  Pack 1 pick 3:



  My Pick:

Another Courier’s Capsule, Esper Charm, and the Dragger. Determined to stay on-colour and on-theme, I grab the Dragger.



  Pack 1 pick 4:



  My Pick:

My thought process, upon seeing the Gargoyle, takes a switch. Clearly Esper is open. Gargoyle doesn’t get to fourth pick when Esper is open. With my current picks I could easily be Esper splashing Grixis. I grab the Gargoyle.



  Pack 1 pick 5:



  My Pick:

If I do go Esper splashing red, the panorama will be a great fixer.



  Pack 1 pick 6:



  My Pick:

So much fantastic stuff for sixth pick. Stinger, Executioner’s Capsule, Creeper, and yet another Courier’s Capsule. Thinking about where I’m currently headed, and remember the Draft prioritisations the Ruel brothers have been talking about on Starcitygames, I grab the Stinger.



  Pack 1 pick 7:



  My Pick:



An excellent sideboard card against the Esper deck I’m clearly not drafting.

  Pack 1 pick 8:



  My Pick:



  Pack 1 pick 9:



  My Pick:

The Conjurer wheeled. But the Deathraiders is still there. I get the impression that Red is far more open than white, so I make the decision to strictly keep to the Grixis plan and go the aggressive 3/1.



  Pack 1 pick 10:



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  Pack 1 pick 11:



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  Pack 1 pick 13:



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  Pack 1 pick 15:



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  Pack 2 pick 1:



  My Pick:

Dark Temper is clearly an excellent card in the deck. Worldheart Phoenix is also a great recurring threat. But the siren song of the foil Obelisk is too hard to ignore.



  Pack 2 pick 2:



  My Pick:

I rate the Goblin Outlanders very, very highly. Against Esper and Naya these guys can just win games by themselves.



  Pack 2 pick 3:



  My Pick:

My unearth theme continues well with this aggressive beater.



  Pack 2 pick 4:



  My Pick:

Not quite as good as the Goblin Outlander, the Zombie Outlander certainly can find a home somewhere.



  Pack 2 pick 5:



  My Pick:

Sweet.



  Pack 2 pick 6:



  My Pick:

The Wretched Banquet is tempting, but the flyer that comes with a 4-point life swing is better.



  Pack 2 pick 7:



  My Pick:

Wow, Esper is clearly wide open. Should I be kicking myself about now?



  Pack 2 pick 8:



  My Pick:



  Pack 2 pick 9:



  My Pick:

I don’t mind Brackwater. He can hold back and act as a wall that recurs for 4 damage later, or can take the aggressive route.



  Pack 2 pick 10:



  My Pick:

Fixer or Outlander? I go the Traumatic Visions.



  Pack 2 pick 11:



  My Pick:



  Pack 2 pick 12:

I won’t be playing it, but it can be quite a useful card against Naya or Jund.



  My Pick:



  Pack 2 pick 13:



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  Pack 3 pick 1:



  My Pick:

Again, I remember Oli Ruel on SCG getting his ass whooped by Unscythe, so I grab it.



  Pack 3 pick 2:



  My Pick:

Deny Reality is great, and the Wildfire Borderpost is excellent fixing. But the Stormblade is simply the best card for my deck.



  Pack 3 pick 3:



  My Pick:

Okay, I rare drafted, so shoot me.



  Pack 3 pick 4:



  My Pick:

Wow, Thopter Foundry coming across from my right. Unfortunately, not an option for me. I can grab the Grixis Grimblade or the Jund Hackblade. I take the one with the name of my shard in it.



  Pack 3 pick 5:



  My Pick:

The more I play with Sewn Eye Drake, the more I like it. Lich Lord of Unx is nice and all, but I can’t recall ever actually killing anyone with it. I do remember my Sewn Eye Drake kills though.

Also, what’s with the Glassdusk Hulk still around?



  Pack 3 pick 6:



  My Pick:

I grab the fixer and worry that some guys Esper deck is going to be stupid-good.



  Pack 3 pick 7:



  My Pick:

I’m not a big fan of the Carabid, despite the cycling. And Hemorrhage is a very pro-active card if you’re on the play. I take the rare.



  Pack 3 pick 8:



  My Pick:

Not a big fan of Vedalken Ghoul.



  Pack 3 pick 9:



  My Pick:

I like Breath as a sideboard card in Limited against those who bring in various Walls and other Defender types.



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My deck ends up looking like this:

1 Goblin Deathraiders
1 Grixis Grimblade
1 Yoke of the Damned
2 Goblin Outlander
1 Zombie Outlander
1 Esper Stormblade
1 Vithian Stinger

1 Parasitic Strix
2 Brackwater Elemental
1 Sedraxis Specter
1 Jhessian Zombies
1 Sedraxis Alchemist
1 Resounding Thunder
1 Shambling Remains

1 Sewn-Eye Drake
1 Viscera Dragger
1 Unscythe, Killer of Kings
1 Brainbite

2 Traumatic Visions

1 Obelisk of Alara

1 Veinfire Borderpost

6 Island
5 Mountain
5 Swamp

By this time it's 3am. Knowing how sick and tired I am, I resolve to double check every play to make sure I'm not doing anything stupid.

Mach 1: I’m facing Naya/Bant.
In Game 1 my Goblin Outlanders basically take the game home for me. I do get a nice play in one match where I yoke one of his creatures and use Vithian Stinger on his unbuffed Bant Sureblade. I also Traumatic Visions his Battlegrace Angel and swing next turn for the win.
In Game 2 I’m not sure what happened, other than he conceded against my Protection Bears just when I thought I'd never be able to burst through due to counter attack. After the concession I checked out what I would draw into - 6 straight lands. This is why you never concede, people.

Match 2: I’m facing mirror splashing for Charnelhoard Wurm.
In Game 1 he slows me down long enough to cast Charnelhoard Wurm. I then, unsurprisingly, die.
In Game 2 I beat him down quickly while he ramps up the mana. Just as he’s getting to seven mana I draw Thought Hemorrage in, which I sideboarded in to take out the Wurm before it becomes a problem. I cast it against him, naming Wurm, and – amazingly – he has it in hand. He drops to 1, discards the Wurm, and I win the next game.
In Game 3 I draw Unscythe and Protection Bears. He dies to my progressive sequence of 5/5 first-striking token generators.

Match 3: The guy I’ve been worried about, Mr Esper, shows up.
Game 1 he finds Thopter Foundry and it’s a total blowout. I just die to his ever present army of flyers.
Game 2 I go very aggressive and keep a hand of Goblin Outlanders, a Vithian Stinger, and a Breath of Maelfegor. The Pro-white dudes just tear him apart. By turn 6 he’s on 8 life. I swing in with my Protection Bear, swing for 1, and with damage on the stack nuke him with Breath. Easy as pie.
Game 3 is exactly like Game 2, with a single Protection Bear doing well over 10 damage over the course of the game, and my unearth guys backing him up and wearing my opponent down. I have the game in hand, the win in sight, when he casts…. Martial Coup for 5. My dudes die, he has an army and a Courier’s Capsule.
The score is [2/14]
Thinking long and hard, I play Esper Stormblade and Vithian Stinger, keeping a Sedraxis Spectre and Shambling Remains in hand, mainly to present the Stinger as the main threat and not giving away the Stormblade will be able to fly any minute.
He swings in with his dudes, takes out the Stinger with the Capsule, then plays Thopter Foundry. GAH. [2/9]
Thinking carefully, I play Sedraxis Spectre, then unearth the Stinger. Now my Stormblade flies. I declare combat and swing with the Stormblade. His only trick is to sac the Foundry to itself, producing a token to block the Stormblade and going to 3, but I sting it out of the sky and my Stormblade hits for exact damage. Phew!


So what have I learnt out of this?

1. Clearly, I need to improve my skills spotting signals. In the first draft G/W was signaling open, but I refused to acknowledge it appropriately. In the second draft I could have had a sweet, sweet Esper deck, but didn’t realize until too late. Something to improve.

2. Colour consistency is more important for me than splashy, unplayable bombs. In ARC, no point in my having an eight mana bomb if I’m never going to be around to cast it. Better to stay to either two or three colours, getting a fast, aggressive start, and get the kill that way.

3. So far my most successful drafts have been Grixis, Esper and Jund. I seem to rarely play Bant or Naya well. Something to consider when trying to force a shard.

4. Tight play really matters. My best games (such as Match 3, Game 2) came when I was calculating life loss three turns ahead and figuring exactly who was gonna hit and how for the win. The Thought Hemorrhage play worked because my opponent cracked his Jund Panorama for the Forest and I just knew he had the Wurm in hand. His sloppy play cost him dearly. On MtGO, where there is no penalty for slow-play, it never hurts to back-check what your play is going to be before you make it, just to ensure you’re not being a fool.

So there you go. Feedback, as always, welcome.

I can't go to Nationals this year. If I had the chance to go to Nationals, this is the deck I think I'd sleeve up.

New-Retro Elves

Creatures [26]

4 Nettle Sentinel
2 Bramblewood Paragon
4 Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 Boggart Ram-Gang
4 Imperious Perfect
4 Elvish Harbinger
4 Bloodbraid Elf

Instants [8]

4 Violent Outburst
4 Eyeblight's Ending

Sorceries [2]

2 Maelstrom Pulse

Planeswalkers [1]

1 Sarkhan Vol

Lands [23]

4 Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 Reflecting Pool
4 Fire-Lit Thicket
4 Twilight Mire
4 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Mosswort Bridge

It's pretty much a cludge between Cascade, Jund and B/G Elves. Some features:

* Nettle Sentinel. This guy is setting your clock just a little bit faster than the oppositions. Plus he essentially has vigilance, which is great against Jund, so you can trade and really be ahead.

* Elvish Harbinger = Consistent Turn 4 Bloodbraid Elf. Even if you don't hit that forth land, your opponent has to waste a removal spell on your harbinger to stop you casting the Cascading Monster. You can also situationally pick up any other Elf spell, including Eyeblight's Ending, that you man need.

* Bloodbraid Elf -> Elvish Harbringer -> Bloodbraid Elf. You can easily set up multiple Bloodbraids this way.

* Imperious Perfect. He's hot to Cascade into, and his token making ability make other Cascade decks just go away.

* Bramblewood Paragon. His ability to give trample can help you overwhelming those annoying creatures that love to block, plus grow your dudes over your opponents.

* Violent Outburst. I realise it hasn't caught on, but it will. Being able to flash in a guy at the end of your opponent's turn when they haven't accounted for it in blocks can really turn a match. Note that all removal is 3 mana, so you'll ALWAYS flash in a dude with the outburst and give it +1/+0. It's also not the worst thing to hit with Bloodbraid Elf, as it really changes the clock a fair bit.

* Sarkhan Vol. He's perfect in this deck, either powering up your dudes or stealing a blocker for the final throwdown.

The deck is far more degenerate than it seems. Give it a try.

I've taken a look at the Core Set Spoiler and put together a Draft summary.

I'll talk about Mono-COloured Drafting today, and Dual coloured drafting a little later.
Under each colour I talk about:

* BEST BOMBS
* REMOVAL
* CORE DUDES
* COMBAT TRICKS

I haven't discussed every card, just the ones I expect to see the most play. I've given each of the cards a rating of either one, two or three +'s.

MONO-WHITE

Probably the strongest of the mono-colours for draft, mono-white is agressive, has excellent tricks, and even a sweeper. The key theme of white is Soldiers, with a lot of the cards synergistic with the Soldier type. These are backed by Knights and Angels, with various tricks that either pump them all, or prevent damage.

As someone with super-human abilities I can forsee the future, and it tells me this: The biggest problem with mono-white is that EVERYONE will try to force it. Your best bet may simply to counter-draft against it as everyone else ends up with mediocre two-colour decks.

That said, here are the key cards to look for when drafting mono-white:

BEST BOMBS

White has some stupidly insane bombs.

+++ Captain of the Watch: Nine power for six mana across four dudes? The Cap'n is the type of bomb that wins games. Plus he pumps all the other Soldiers you've drafted. If he drops, you should win.

+++ Baneslayer Angel: Wow? If it's real, it will just crush the opposition.

+++ Honor of the Pure: I consider this a bomb, due to the effect it will have on the board. If you see it, draft it.

++ Ajani Goldmane: Fantastic backup for your little white men, he should make your guys too aggressive to handle.

+ Lightwielder Paladin: A 4/4 first striker for 5 is nothing to sneeze at, but the ability to exile red/black permanents is icing on the cake. Does seem, though, that the situational activiated ability won't come off to often.

REMOVAL

White lacks great pinpoint removal, but has the only real sweeper in the game.

++ Planar Cleansing: Nowhere near as great as Martial Coup, it may sometimes get you out of a tight spot in time to play a bomb afterwards. The question is whether white can recover so far from behind.

++ Pacifism: Not quite as good as Crystalisation, will be a clear choice of slow removal for almost any opposing creature.

+ Celestial Purge: A situational removal card at best. Great sideboard material.

+ Divine Verdict: Neck Snap 2.0. Will ultimately see play, but when does mono-white really want to hold the mana open for it?

DUDES

+++ Elite Vanguard: Whitemane Lion 2.0. The core of the drafting strategy for the deck. You'll want two or three at these at the very least.

+++ White Knight: Excellent 2 drop immune to Doom Blade. Why would you play Silvercoat Lion if you can draft this guy instead?

+++ Veteran Swordsmith: Pumps the aggressiveness of your small white dudes. High pick.

++ Stormfront Pegasus: A 2/1 Flyer for 2. If you need early evasion, this is your dude to do the job. Again, why draft a Silvercoat Lion when you can draft this guy instead?

++ Serra Angel: Now at uncommon, you can expect to pick up a couple.

++ Veteran Armorsmith: Will be interesting to see how highly this guy is picked, now that ordering combat damage is part of the new rules.

+ Rhox Pikemaster: As a turn 4 drop this guy could be - could be - brutal. Smells like a "win more" card though.

+ Blinding Mage: Can help push through damage, and a cheap tapper is always nice.

COMBAT TRICKS

+++ Harm's Way: The much-hyped blow-out card of the set. A super-high pick.

+++ Silence: Of course, you'll be drafting this for the $$. But it's also perfectly costed to time-walk your opponent and getting in with your cheap, aggressive creatures.

++ Glorious Charge: An easy combat trick that should wreck your opponent if played correctly.

++ Righteousness: With the next combat rules, this card will be heavily drafted. The only question is why, if you're playing white, are you blocking at all?

+ Safe Passage: A potential blow-out card, I'm not sure it does the trick. Only testing will prove its worth.


MONO-BLUE

Okay, here's the thing. You shouldn't be drafting mono-blue. There are barely enough merfolk to get the merfolk sub-theme working. The countering is slow and terrible. The fliers are overcosted in comparison to the other colours. Hell, there's a creature [Alluring Siren] that forces your opponent to attack you - just the counter-intuitive control shite you don't need.

BEST BOMBS

Blue has some slow bombs that barely seem worth the effort.

++ Merfolk Sovereign: Not as good as Lord of Atlantis, more expensive, and without the team to support him. Um. Yeah.

++ Djinn of Wishes: A strictly better Air Elemental, he'll die before you can use his effect to grab a Coral Merfolk at the accidental price of 4 mana.

++ Time Warp. Delays your death by a round.

++ Clone: He's fun, sure. Draft him for the new text that says "Battlefield".

+ Sphinx Ambassador: Sure, if you survive long enough against your opponent, the effect seems kinda worth it. IF.

REMOVAL

+++ Mind Control: Beating your opponent with their best guy is good times. Probably your best bet at removal in Limited.

+ Unsummon: Another card that delays your impending doom by a round. Good luck with that unsummon.

+ Ice Cage: It's great until they play a Righteousness on their caged dude at the end of your declare attackers step. THEN you die.

CORE DUDES:

The only good thing about Blue's core dudes is that they generally have an evasive ability [unblockable, flying]. The question is, what to do about your opponent's creatures?

+++ Wall of Frost: I would draft these pretty highly, if only so that you can get your useful control cards and unblockable creatures online. By that time, of course, you'll be pretty beat up.

++ Phantom Warrior: I wouldn't underestimate this guy, especially with Walls online.

++ Air Elemental: He's big and fat and flying. Why they printed both this guy and Djinn of Wishes in the SAME SET I'll never know.

++ Zephyr Sprite: Flying man! Just noting its existence.

+ Snapping Drake: A reasonably costed sky beater.

COMBAT TRICKS

+++ Sleep: KA-POW. Gets in there! Actually, a stupid aggressive card [note that it's sorcery speed, so you can't really get two turns out of it] for a control deck. Still, probably very good at what it does.

YUP, that's basically ALL your combat tricks. GOOD FUCKING LUCK MONO-BLUE.


MONO-BLACK

I feel that Mono-black got an upgrade this set. Some very, very sweet cards for winning the attrition race. Good removal, solid recursion, fun interactions. I think Mono-black will be heavily drafted by Blue control players with no home to go to.

Mono-black's strategy will be around lifegain + recursion, so any cards that fit into that category will be best for the interactions ahead. Black will almost always win the long game.

BEST BOMBS

+++ Vampire Nocturnus: If you can get two of these bombs into play, you've basically won the game. CONGRATS!

+++ Liliana Vess: One of the best Limited Planeswalkers. Kill of your opponents hand, find the removal or bomb you need, and a great 'ultimate ability'. A high draft pick.

+++ Nightmare: I may be an old softie, but I love me some Nightmare.

++ Cemetery Reaper: The new Zombie Lord, he's got a great ability, is easy to cast and has just enough Zombie backup to make him worth while. Probably only as good as your removal, but at least makes ALL your creatures a 2 for 1 trade when they die.

++ Royal Assassin: I consider him a bomb simply because of the way he changes the game state so dramatically.

+ Underworld Dreams: At least it puts your opponent on a clock.

+ Xathrid Demon: A testy, testy bomb. Will work great with Cemetery Reaper.

REMOVAL

+++ Doom Blade: An upgrade of Terror at the same cost. Will go quickly in draft.

+++ Tendrils of Corruption: A great removal spell that only gets better as the game goes on. Can swing a game completely.

++ Consume Spirit: Not quite as good as Tendrils, Consume can also hit the opponent. There's probably a Tendrils + Consume drafting strategy to be explored.

++ Assassinate: It's what Royal Assasins do.

+ Deathmark: Situational, but effective.

CORE DUDES

+++ Black Knight: Admit it, you're just waiting to draft this guy.

+++ Child of Night: I really like the life gain subtheme of Black. I would pick this guy very early on.

++ Looming Shade: A situational beater. Some people don't like to play the pump effects. Your milage may vary.

++ Gravedigger: Recursion will be a big factor with winning with Black.

++ Dread Warlock: Unblockable 2/2. Sweet.

+ Relentless Rats: swingy, depending on how many rats you draft.

COMBAT TRICKS

Oka,y Black doesn't have any real combat tricks outside straight removal. But it does have a few cards worth of note:

+++ Rise from the Grave: An excellent card. Note it can also target your opponent's creatures.

+++ Sign in Blood: It can draw you two cards or shock your opponent at the end game. A sweet little card.

+ Disentomb: Again, the recursion.


MONO-RED

Mono-red has definitely had a power upgrade. Suicide Burn is a real possibility, if you find the right cards. Can it beat mono-white? I don't know.

BEST BOMBS

+++ Bogardan Hellkite: Flash on this guy is the icing on the cake. No reason why you can't win if your still alive to cast it.

+++ Ball Lightning: Okay, not really a bomb, but should be thought about as one

+++ Siege-Gang Commander: If he's good enough for Extended, he's good enough for Limited.

++ Chandra Nalaar: An underestimated planeswalker. Great for the burn deck you'll be drafting.

++ Shivan Dragon: ROAR!

++ Goblin Chieftain: There aren't a great deal of goblins in the set - and one of them has haste anyway. But the interaction with Siege-Gang Commander is fanastic.

+ Capricious Efreet: Could be as good for you as against you. Testing will prove whether it's playable or not.

+ Magma Phoenix: As above. The recursion effect is pretty damn costly though.

REMOVAL

+++ Fireball: An excellent, versatile card that is capable of blowing White Weenie out of the water.

+++ Lightning Bolt: Will be picked very, very highly due to it's stupid power/cost ratio and versatility.

+++ Seismic Strike: BASH YOUR DUDE. By the time you can cast it, it's already doing 3 damage to something at instant speed. Predict it will be under drafted.

++ Earthquake: The fact it hits players will make this card a high pick.

++ Pyroclasm: Much worse than before the rules changes. Still, a sweeper is a sweeper.

+ Ignite Disorder: The nail in Blue's coffin.

CORE DUDES

+++ Lightning Elemental: Surprise! Ball Lightnings younger, more stable brother.

+++ Jackal Familiar: A 2/2 for 1, when your other dudes have haste, is fantastic.

++ Fiery Hellhound: An excellent card, exactly red's style in this set.

++ Prodigal Pyromancer: Tim's ugly brother, he gets the job done. Very intesting with the new blocking rules in charge.

++ Canyon Minotaur: A later pick that gets the job done.

+ Dragon Whelp: Another Fire Breather.

+ Goblin Piker: Small, but will see play, especially if you draft Goblin Chieftain

+ Sparkmage Apprentice: He's cute and effective.

+ Goblin Artillery: Suicide Red's favourite artillery. You'll probably have better picks to use though.

COMBAT TRICKS

++ Trumpet Blast: The three mana seems a lot, but if you've got more than two creatures in play the damage will certainly add up.

++ Kindled Fury: Effectively a removal spell. Good for getting rid of Knights.

+ Panic Attack: A removal spell without the removal. Could see play in an aggressive enough deck, especially against Blue decks.

+ Burst of Speed: Note it's ALL your creatures. I can see playing 2 x Jackal Familiar followed by a Burst of Speed for a surprise win.

+ Lava Axe: Still, 5 damage is 5 damage.


MONO-GREEN

Green has suffered so, so much in Limited. However, M10 certainly promises to change all that, with some very aggressively costed cards. There's a clear Elf sub-theme, but the best thing about Green seems to be the ability to consistently two-for-one your opponent, someting the other colours seem to lack. Green also has the token making ability that appears to be no-where else.

Green is more green than ever. Small creatures that keep you alive, but aren't terribly aggressive, until you can put your huge creatures into play instead. Green's sub-theme of shroud and regeneration helps keep it alive, as does it's tiny, self-replacing creatures.

BEST BOMBS

+++ Garruk Wildspeaker: The perfect embodiment of green in Planeswalker form.

+++ Elvish Archdruid: The Elvish theme just sets this guy off. BOOM! I KILL YOU NOW! And to put the boot in, I then play my biggest dude. This guy will just crush people.

+++ Howl of the Night Pack: The perfect card for a mono-green player. With no mana ramping, will generally produce seven wolves. Combined with Master of the Wild Hunt it basically means your opponent can't have a creature on the board.

+++ Kalonian Behemoth: The only problem is keeping him alive until you get there. Plays nicely with Elvish Piper.

+++ Master of the Wild Hunt: A token generating, Arena making bomb. Pick it first.

++ Ant Queen: Necrogenesis is good. Ant Queen doesn't even have to worry about having fodder to use when churning out tokens. If you believe the theory that the player who can sink the most mana into spells abilities wins Limite matches, then this is the creature for you.

++ Elvish Piper: A situational card, The fact he can get something into play at instant speed for 1 mana is just great in limited. If he drops and survives, you should win.

++ Lurking Predators: The card advantage green needs. How can you not win with this in play?

++ Protean Hydra: I love this Hydra. You cut a head off, it grows back two. Great flavour, a huge bomb.

+ Great Sable Stag: In limited, a situational bomb. Carves up mono-blue and mono-black though.

REMOVAL

Okay, Green doesn't have a lot of removal. I guess it's form of removal is turning creatures sideways and seeing what blocks and dies. Just something to think about while playing Mono Green.

+ Windstorm: The removal you need against the flying creatures of mono-white and mono-blue.

+ Entangling Vines: The worst kind of removal - a slow, heavily costed enchantment.

CORE DUDES

Green's core dudes are a little high on the mana scale, but it also has the best access to that mana.

+++ Deadly Recluse: Deadly Recluses are what will keep you alive until your fatties come on line.

+++ Acidic Slime: A excellent card that can auto two-for-one your opponent.

++ Mold Adder: A wonderful card against mono-black and mono-blue. Jeez, mono-blue really can't catch a break, can it?

++ Mist Leopard: A shrouded time-buyer that can tangle with most creatures.

++ Cudgel Troll: A well costed creature with regeneration.

++ Birds of Paradise: Not as big a bomb in limited, still worth grabbing ASAP.

++ Llanowar Elves: Plays nicely with the Elvish Archdruid to ramp quickly into the fatties.

++ Borderland Ranger: A great mana ramping bear card.

+ Elvish Visionary: The card draw/blocker you need to keep you alive until you have enough mana to crush your opponent.

+ Runeclaw Bears: Rawr?

COMBAT TRICKS

+++ Overrun: Overrun just wins games, like that. Take it when you see it.

+++ Fog: A potential blow-out card against Mono-White.

++ Might of Oaks: With the new blocking rules around, will see a lot of useage.

++ Nature's Spiral: Just remember you can only return Permanent cards. This is not going to get back your Overrun.

+ Giant Growth: Draft just to stop your key guys getting Lightning Bolted.



IN SUMMARY

I expect people to draft Mono White, Mono Green and Mono Black pretty heavily. I can see how Red could easily be a splash colour, but could also be a strong Mono colour as well. I just don't know what to think of Blue. Blue, you old dog, has your time finally come?

I'm in the Swiss Queue again, practicing my drafting. Here's tonight's draft.

  Pack 1 pick 1:



  My Pick:

There's a lot to like in this pack; Jund Battlemage, Corpse Connesiuer, Sanctum Gargoyl, Magma Spray, Rhos War Monk. I decided Sanctum Gargoyle would send a clear signal that red/green was wide open and take the Gargoyle and go Esper.



  Pack 1 pick 2:



  My Pick:

Well... that worked out, didn't it? Not a single Esper card. This pack was about Seaside Citadel, Topan Ascetic and Kresh. I decided to go with the bomb and took Kresh.



  Pack 1 pick 3:



  My Pick:

This deck says one thing to me: Esper is taken. Look elsewhere. The Bant Battlemage, Bloodpyre Elemental and Elvish Visionary are all fine picks. But the one that works best with Kresh is the Algae Gharial. I take it.




  Pack 1 pick 4:



  My Pick:

I see even less that I like here. The Thrash is mediocre at best. The Scourge Devil is okay, as is Bone Splinters, but I don't necessarily like it without Necrogenesis. I decide to take some early mana fixing, just in case I end up splashing blue.



  Pack 1 pick 5:



  My Pick:

The Kiss is okay, but slow in ACR. The Drake would work well with Kresh, but at this point I like the Bloodpyre, which is FANTASTIC with Kresh.



  Pack 1 pick 6:



  My Pick:



  Pack 1 pick 7:



  My Pick:

I saw on SCG that the Ruel brothers valued Blister Beetle very highly in ARC, so I grab it.



  Pack 1 pick 8:



  My Pick:

And then another.



  Pack 1 pick 9:



  My Pick:

Well, I didn't expect to see it, but I'll take it.



  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:

Kederkt Parasite was tempting, but Ember Weaver is an absolute champion.



  Pack 2 pick 2:



  My Pick:

Rule 1: Grab The Sphere.



  Pack 2 pick 3:



  My Pick:

Knowing I can splash blue, and that hopefully I be grabbing a bunch of Grixis Grimblades, the Sedraxis Alchemist is a nice choice.



  Pack 2 pick 4:



  My Pick:



  Pack 2 pick 5:



  My Pick:

Oooh, two. This should be good.



  Pack 2 pick 6:



  My Pick:



  Pack 2 pick 7:



  My Pick:

Three! Now I'll need to make sure I grab some blue permanents.



  Pack 2 pick 8:



  My Pick:

Wow, how late is this Dark Temper? TAKEN!



  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:

You... you take the stormcaller's boon, right?



  Pack 3 pick 2:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 3:



  My Pick:

Putrid Leech really shouldn't get this far, so I'm so glad the people to my right are all drafting Esper at this point.



  Pack 3 pick 4:



  My Pick:

I was very tempted to take the Lorescale Coatl and have some blue permanents to trigger the Alcehmists with, but I also really like the sheer aggressiveness of the Sewn-Eye Drake, especially with Putrid Leech clogging up the ground.



  Pack 3 pick 5:



  My Pick:

Oh how I love reborn.



  Pack 3 pick 6:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 7:



  My Pick:

Ok, Morbid Bloom is probably the technically correct draft here, but I've used Thopter Foundry. I know what it's like. It can just win games. So I take it. I'm surprised the Epser people already haven't.



  Pack 3 pick 8:



  My Pick:

Fanastic.



  Pack 3 pick 9:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 10:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 11:



  My Pick:

11th pick Sewn-Eye Drake? Sure.



  Pack 3 pick 12:



  My Pick:

I think Breath is an excellent sideboard card, especially against decks that take a while to stabilise.



  Pack 3 pick 13:



  My Pick:



  Pack 3 pick 14:



  My Pick:

Oh jeez, I love maindecking this thing. Gladly, gladly taken in pick 14.



  Pack 3 pick 15:



  My Pick:



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The deck looked like this:

2 x Putrid Leech
2 x Sewn-Eye Drake
2 x Blister Beetle
1 x Terminate
1 x Dark Temper
1 x Kresh the Bloodbraided
1 x Maelstrom Pulse
1 x Demonspine Whip
1 x Marrow Chomper
1 x Jund Sojourners
1 x Grixis Grimblade
1 x Gorger Wurm
1 x Suicidal Charge
1 x Yoke of the Damned
1 x Goblin Outlander
1 x Macta Rioters
1 x Armilliary Sphere
1 x Ember Weaver
1 x Bloodpyer Elemental
1 x Algae Gharial

1 x Ancient Ziggurat
1 x Crumbling Necropolis
5 x Swamp
5 x Mountain
5 x Forest

Okay, so I'm not feeling great about the deck. It's ok, some decent removal, some up-front gas, but no long-term card drawing or game-winning bombs, so if it goes long I'll be in top-decking mode with little ability to get ahead. In other words, I'm the aggro. Not my strongest mode of play.

Match 1, Game 1: I choose to draw and keep a great hand; two Leeches, Ancient Ziggurat and a Drake.
T1: Opponent plays Plains; I play Forest.
T2: Opponent plays Rupture spire; I play Ancient Ziggurat and Putrid Leech.
T3: Opponent plays Forest, Naya Hushblade; I play a Mountain, a Blister Beetle on the Hushblade, and swing for 4 (16:18)
T4: Opponent plays Forest, Aven Trailblazer; I swing with the Leech, he declines to block, I pump and hit. I then play another Putrid Leech (12:16)
T5: Opponent plays a Plains, Obelisk of Naya, Akrasan Squire; I swing with both Leeches, he blocks both, I pump one Leech to save it (12:14)
T6: Opponent plays Naya Sojourners, I Dark Temper it at end of his turn; I play Kresh, swing with both Leeches, pump them both, and he concedes.

Match 1, Game 2: I keep a hand with only black and red mana, but lots of things to play. My only true dead card is the Putrid Leech.
I make a great aggressive start, getting down an outlander and a Grixis Grimblade. He trades a Rhox Brute with the Grimblade, only to play a Mosstodon. I Dark Temper his Mosstodon once he plays a Drumhunter, but the Mosstodon is quickly followed by an Apocolypse Hydra. Between the card advantage and Hydra it's all down hill from there.

Match 1, Game 3: I choose to draw again.
T1: His land, my land.
T2: He cycles for mana. I play - Putrid Leech
T3: He Oblixes. I swing for 4, play Putrid Leech (16/18)
T4: He Tukatongue Thalids and Naya Hushblades. I play Sewn-Eye Drake, swing with everything. He blocks the two Leeches, I pump one to save it, his guys die. (13/16)
T5: He plays Wandering Goblins. I play a second Sewn-Eye Drake and my opponent concedes against an attack force of 6 in the air and 8 on the ground.

Well, that went okay. Worrying that it took three games. Let's see how the next match goes.

--

Match 2, Game 1: I keep a hand that's almost entirely re-active. I have to basically wait for him to play a creature before I can do much with my Blister Beetles.

T1: Opponent plays Island; I play a Swamp.
T2: Opponent plays Plains; I play Forest.
T3: Opponent plays Island; I play Mountain. FASCINATING.
T4: Opponent plays Plains; I play Mountain, Sewn-Eye Drake - which he immediately counters with Offering to Asha (24/20)
T5: Opponent does nothing; I play a Swamp, then with not much else play a Bloodpyre Elemental. (24/20)
T6: Opponent does nothing; I hit with the Bloodpyre Elemental, play Forest, Gorger Wurm. He Flashes in an Etherium Astrolabe (20/20)
T7: Opponent plays Island, Scourglass; No point for me but to swing then lose my guys. They hit, he hurts, I lay down an Ancient Ziggurat (11/20)
T8: Opponents skips through his upkeep... and realises what he's done. I swing in again, he hurts. (2/20)
T9: Opponent triggers the Scourglass, I lose my guys, he plays an Esper Panorama;l I play a Grixis Grimblade and a Matca Rioters, which he immeidately unsummons and craks the Panorama for his missing Swamp. (2/20)
T10: With black mana on the board it's a difference game. He uses Deny Reality on the Grixis Grimblade hitting a 4/4 Arsenal Thesher with Cascade; I play Algae Gharial and Matca Rioters in response.
T11: Opponent plays Island, Darklit Gargoyle, Zombie Outlander. I look at my hand and clearly see the play. I yoke the Arsenal Thresher, then play two Blister Beetles, targetting the Zombie Outlander. The Zombie Outlander dies, the Thresher dies, the Algae Gharial grows to a 3/3, and my two 3/3s swing in for the final points of damage.

Match 2, Game 2: I didn't manage to capture the game play on this one, so this is a little sketchy. Basically, I drop a Demonspine Whip, followed by an Ember Weaver. It's an awesome synergy. I start swinging in, until he drops some Protection Bears. Eventually he drops a Tower Gargoyle and I stall. However, he swings in with it, forgetting my Ember Weaver has first strike, reach and fire breathing. It dies. Then, shortly after, so does he.

--

Match 3, Game 1: A stressful game, and I'm not sure if I played it right. He's playing 5cc, and chooses to play first. I'm happy with that. I keep a okay, but not thrilling, opening hand of a couple of a Blister Beetle, Terminate, Macta Rioters, and black and red mana.

T1: Opponent plays Plains; I play a Swamp.
T2: Opponent plays Island; Armillary Sphere; I play a Mountain.
T3: Opponent plays Island; I play a Swamp, opponent triggers the Sphere,
T4: Opponent plays Forest, Steward of Valeron; I draw a forest, play it and get down a Putrid Leech, keeping open Terminate mana.
T5: Opponent plays Swamp, O-Rings the Putrid Leech, attacks with Steward. Gets down a Fieldmist Borderpost and then Druid of the Anima; I play a Mountain, cast Macta Rioters, then Blister Beetle the Druid of the Anima to keep him off red mana. (20/18)
T6: Opponent plays Island, Fatestitcher; I play Forest, Demonspine Whip, attach it to the Blister Beetle, and attack with it. He chooses not to block, but I don't pump. I then drop a Jund Sojourners. (19/18)
T7: Opponent plays Island, Bant Battlemage, Wildfield Borderpost; I go to combat, he taps the Blister Beetle, I swing with both the Macta Rioters and Jund Sojourners. He chooses to block the Sojourners, which pings him on the way out the door. I play a Grixis Grimblade. (15/18)
T8: Opponent plays Sanctum Plowbeast, I feel bad about it, but I need to keep pushing through damage, so I spend a Terminate on it; At combat he taps the Macto Rioters, I swing with all my guys and he blocks the Grimblade with the Battlemage. I pump the Beetle so that it does 5, leaving Terminate mana open even though I don't have Terminate (10/18).
T9: Opponent plays a Swamp; I play a Mountain, he taps the Blister Beetle, I swing in with the Macta Rioters, drop a Bloodpyre Elemental (7/18)
T10: Oppoent plays a Sludge Strider; I pop the Bloodpyre Elemental to kill the Sludge Strider, he taps the Blister Beetle, Macta Rioters gets in there (4/18)
T11: He plays Firewild Borderpost, Island; He again taps the Blister Beetle, I hit with the Macta Rioters, then drop a Marrow Chomper with no devour (1/18)
T12: With a million mana in hand, he plays a Courier's Capsule, pops it, finds a Deny Reality, hits the Marrow Chomper with it and Cascades into a Parasitic Strix, but he has no black permanent in play; he taps my Macta Rioter, I swing with the Blister Beetle, he blocks with the Strix, I pump, they trade, I drop the Marrow Chomper again keeping imaginary-terminate mana up.
T13: He draws into a bomb - Behemoth Sledge - and drops both it and a Vedalken Outlander and equips it to the Outlander; I play a Swamp, then a Blister Beetle to shrink the Outlander, equip the Whip to the Marrow Chomper. He taps the Macta Rioters, blocks the Marrow Chomper, and it and the Vedalken Outlander trade. (4/18).
T14: He Equips the Behemoth Sledge to the Fatestitcher; I finally draw removal, flinging a Dark Temper at his Fatestitcher. He taps the Macta Rioters, so I equip the Demonspine Whip to the Blister Beetle and swing in for the win.

Match 3, Game 2: My opponent does nothing except play lands and borderposts, Armillary Sphere and Courier's Capsule. By the time he does anything - playing a Nacatyl Hunt-Pride - he's on 9 life, tapped out, while I have a Putrid Leech and Gorger Wurm in play, with a Maelstrom Pulse and Breath of Maelfegor (sideboarded in) in hand. He dies Turn 6.

Best things I've read/learnt about Magic this past month:

"The shocking revelation is that I chose to draw rather than play first." Although this is largely standard constructed advice, I've been going on-the-draw in Draft to much success. Although you loose the tempo boost to the fast jund/naya decks, in a war of attrition it makes winning a certainty. The decks I draft tend to be the war-of-attrition type decks, so it's working for me.

Magic 2010 Spoiler Completed. It just happens faster and faster with every set.

Considering draft queues: Waiting for Godot, Yawgmoth's Whimsy. I've dropped back from the 43 queues to the Swiss, mainly to help ramp my rating and more easily pay for more practice. I'd be interested in any analysis that did the same for queues vs. expected ratings gains.

"The Fundamental Turn of Pauper is Turn Four." This makes a lot of sense to me, and I'm going to have to go back through my pauper decks and see how the compare to this analysis.

Paraphrased #1: "I seem to win when I draft Necrogenesis and lose when I don't". I think I saw this as a Twitter post, but I can't track down the source. As a result I've started to take Necrogenesis whenever I see it. In ever game I've had it hit the battlefield, I've won the game [though one of these was a stupid insane deck with Kresh the Bloodbraided that abused Necrogenesis like a coke addict's nose]. Something to consider. [NOTE: It was @TopGames on Twitter who said it. Thanks @Kevinan for the heads up.]

Paraphrased #2: "My opponents always seem to draft a deck that does more 'things' each turn". I can't find the article it was posted in anymore, but the idea really resonated with me. Maximising mana usage each turn and finding ways to leverage interaction, even in Draft, seems so important. The deck I drafted last night included a Thopter Foundry, Necrogenesis and Etherium Astrolabe. This allowed me to get triple the usage out of any artifact creature that died [Sac to Thopter factory, gain a life and a token, necrogenesis and gain another token, sac the first token and draw a card - and that doesn't even include any blocking/trading]. I'm slowly learning how to evaluate interactions within my draft, not just around it. [Note: Here's the article I'm referencing - Rogue Report - An Origins Story. Thanks @magicgameplan.

As an aside: I'm now Drafting as close as I can to Block Constructed decks. Now, I realise this isn't always possible, but the card choices I'm making [notable exception: 5cc] are far more aligned than with Block decks than ever before. Last night I even maindecked Glaze Fiend, knowing I had multiple Borderposts and a Thopter Foundry to pump him with. Little dude won me both games where I drew him.