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By: Felorin, Dr. Cat
Nov 05 2013 7:21am
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No big intro this time, let's get straight to the picks!

  Pack 1 pick 1:

  My Pick:

Allright! I've been wanting to draft red/black since M14 came out, and here's a pack that's deep enough we should wheel a second solid pick for the deck! We will get some competitors for the colors to our left, but packs 1 and 3 that won't matter too much. Volcanic Fallout and Sengir Vampire are the strongest black and red cards here. For the sacrifice archetype, which I do want, Act of Treason and Blood Bairn are high priority cards, though not as powerful as the Fallout or the Vampire. Xathrid Necromancer adds a little extra synergy to the deck, plus if I get two or more Corpse Haulers there's the potential for an infinite loop. I probably should have taken one of the better cards here, but it's a chance to play with an interesting rare. I think this guy might be better in black/white than in black/red though.

  Pack 1 pick 2:

  My Pick:

Tough call here! The sacrifice deck likes getting a bunch of extra free token creatures to sacrifice. But if I get sacrifice outlets, Act of Treason is removal with a free punch you in the face thrown in (and possibly some benefit from the sacrifice outlet, like a ping or lifegain). I think removal is a higher priority here than the quite decent Pyromancer. I'd rather be sacrificing their best dude than some elemental tokens.

  Pack 1 pick 3:

  My Pick:

Not the best pack for my archetype. But Shiv's Embrace unanswered can steal games, so I'm fine with it.

  Pack 1 pick 4:

  My Pick:

Wow, this is a treasonous card pool. Child of Night is weak, Newt is ok but not super exciting. Act of Treason is awesome, let's load up on sacrifice outlets and go to town!

  Pack 1 pick 5:

  My Pick:

I like Accursed Spirit quite a bit. I like high quality removal more. Burn baby burn!

  Pack 1 pick 6:

  My Pick:

Here is our first sacrifice outlet, may it not be the last. It doesn't allow repeated use, but makes up for it by tacking on the biggest bonus, card advantage. Treason and Reap is a three for two, right? Sweet.


  Pack 1 pick 7:

  My Pick:

Son of a gun. We could have had four Act of Treason already! We got three of them, anyway, sacrifice outlets are a super high priority now.

  Pack 1 pick 8:

  My Pick:

Another Shiv's Embrace style game stealer, I like this one better overall. If they're racing you back with their own attackers, the lifegain can be more relevant than the firebreathing. And it doesn't require future mana investments to maximize its potential, not even double-color casting cost to get started.

  Pack 1 pick 9:

  My Pick:

We got a sweet wheel out of our opening black/red heavy pack. One of the best sacrifice outlets, this guy would sure love to see that Young Pyromancer wheel too.

  Pack 1 pick 10:

  My Pick:

Of course the Pyromancer is too good to wheel. But this guy blocks and trades with anything just like an Acid Web Spider, but hits back better and is a fine creature to throw the Mark of the Vampire on.

  Pack 1 pick 11:

  My Pick:

We want cheap creatures more than we want a six drop. And this guy trades with almost anything or swings powerfully on an open board - maybe after they left back just one blocker and got surprised by Act of Treason!

  Pack 1 pick 12:

  My Pick:

I could run this to help me dig towards pieces I need, possibly.

  Pack 1 pick 13:

  My Pick:

Don't know if I'll run this, but again if I'm missing half of a combo or synergy, this helps me get there. Or can grab removal in an emergency.

  Pack 1 pick 14:

  My Pick:

Emergency flyer defense squad go! Or sometimes an actual threat. It's nice that he's a two drop, we can try to have a lower curve than the average deck.

  Pack 1 pick 15:

  My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 1:

  My Pick:

Corpse Hauler, ding! I like the Cockatrice ok, and Fireshrieker is solid but this isn't a great Fireshrieker deck, tending more towards weenie creatures that get less value from it. This guy gets extra value with Xathrid Necromancer in the deck, and can also recycle any key creatures like Blood Bairn that somehow get killed. Great fit for this deck, hope we can find at least one more for the potential loop!

  Pack 2 pick 2:

  My Pick:

Wow, the universe wants us to be able to have a Fireshrieker too. It's ok, but possibly I should have taken the basilisk here.

  Pack 2 pick 3:

  My Pick:

Nothing amazing here, so I take the Shade which is a nice lategame card if we go that long. If sacrifice plays out as a grind control deck, games can go long.

  Pack 2 pick 4:

  My Pick:

Sweet, let's get some free pings! This could synergize nicely with Barrage of Expendables, or burn spells, or I don't know, more slivers?

  Pack 2 pick 5:

  My Pick:

This is a tough pick. Pitchburn Devils is great in this deck, a card that's often a 2 for 1 which I can cash in any time for a 1 for 1 lightning bolt any time that's needed. But Geyser can kill any size creature, at instant speed, or be a late game finisher to the face. I think it's better, but I want Devils in this deck too. More likely I could pick one up later, it being a common compared to the Geyser's uncommonness (and better cardness). Awaken the Ancient can be good, but it's not as strong a fit for this deck as either of the removals.

  Pack 2 pick 6:

  My Pick:

Sacrifice outlet that doubles as removal? Yoink! Maulhorn might be the second pick here. Sac outlet count is up to three!

  Pack 2 pick 7:

  My Pick:

Sac outlet count four! Another nice bit of upside, and if I'm in a position sometimes to pick WHICH form of upside I want more, so much the better!

  Pack 2 pick 8:

  My Pick:

With all these good sacrifice outlets, if only I had a source of other good stuff to throw besides enemy creatures. Oh wait, now I do. Glad to see another shot at this card in pack two, it's got nice synergy with this deck's plan!

  Pack 2 pick 9:

  My Pick:

Could go for the vanilla 3/3 minotaur here. But ways to improve consistency in a deck are always welcome.

  Pack 2 pick 10:

  My Pick:

I do NOT need 3 Wild Guess! This is actually a great sideboard card against people who have shenanigans like Tenacious Dead, Corpse Hauler, Trading Post, etc.

  Pack 2 pick 11:

  My Pick:

Hey look, it's very bad removal! We probably won't run this guy, but he's actually not as bad as people make him out to be, given the slowness of the format.

  Pack 2 pick 12:

  My Pick:

Speaking of guys we probably won't run... At least he comes out a turn quicker than Fleshpulper. The Fleshpulper is definitely a better card though, this thing's kinda weak.

  Pack 2 pick 13:

  My Pick:

Something I can't Barrage? Hatedraft it quick!

  Pack 2 pick 14:

  My Pick:

Now my generic minotaur option is covered if I need one.

  Pack 2 pick 15:

  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 1:

  My Pick:

Stacked pack! Three removal for me, plus a Claustrophobia for the people fighting over blue. Also a Trading Post that could feed goats to my 4 sacrifice outlets for value, and a 5/3 sliver. Flames of the Firebrand is just so good, with so much potential for 2-for-1s or even a rare 3-for-1, that I rarely pass it up.

  Pack 3 pick 2:

  My Pick:

Wow, a Pitchburn Devils or a Bubbling Cauldron. I want them both, but the uncommon will be harder to find another copy of. It also provides a unique new effect, letting the deck stall with lifegain to give us time to grind people out, whereas 3 damage to a creature is something I just got last pack already. I could see either choice here though, Devils is often a 2 for 1 and almost always good value.

  Pack 3 pick 3:

  My Pick:

The gods smile on me and give me another chance at a Pitchburn Devils. Hey, it is a common after all. And yet, here's Molten Birth. With 5 sacrifice outlets now, getting two pieces of "fuel" for one card is already good value. Any time I win the first flip this card is just going to be crazy good for me. Likely I'll have games where I have two or more sacrifice effects on the board, and can choose each turn which one I need most at the moment.

  Pack 3 pick 4:

  My Pick:

The "bad merfolk looter" is still better than a lot of cards that aren't merfolk looters.In this attrition and pinging deck, the 1 evasive damage isn't irrelevant either. I like this guy, he's underappreciated by some. Turns your extra lands into fresh draws, that's good value.

  Pack 3 pick 5:

  My Pick:

Well, he's a random two drop. Forcing a little extra damage in might be quite relevant for this deck actually.

  Pack 3 pick 6:

  My Pick:

Wow, a second cauldron? I might even play two with three Act of Treason in the deck. It'll be hard for people to ever outrace me!

  Pack 3 pick 7:

  My Pick:

This shouldn't be here this late, but I guess I cut the black/red sacrifice deck so much nobody else has a lot of synergy cards to go with him. This is the most perfect addition to this deck, and it's super lucky to get it pick 8. All my sacrifice outlets now can get tons of re-use with this guy!

  Pack 3 pick 8:

  My Pick:

Wouldn't say no to a second Raider. With so much combo potential in this deck, ensuring I draw into the pieces that go together is good value.

  Pack 3 pick 9:

  My Pick:

The only red card. Nuff said.

  Pack 3 pick 10:

  My Pick:

Ok, I don't deserve this but I'll take it. Maybe I cut red hard enough early on, or people just gravitated to other colors?

  Pack 3 pick 11:

  My Pick:

This devil didn't wheel, anyway. I'll take a random hasty grey ogre.

  Pack 3 pick 12:

  My Pick:

This can be a good card in the format if used right.

  Pack 3 pick 13:

  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 14:

  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 15:

  My Pick:


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So, with 7 sacrifice outlets (!) Tenacious Dead and Young Pyromancer were always awesome, and each Act of Treason was always a "remove your biggest creature with a side order of punch you in the face" (and some random small benefit thrown in).

I'm afraid the replays for this one got lost. But the deck went 2-1, with a mistake on my part in the lost match that might have left me the opportunity for a win there. The deck was a blast to play, in some games I had 3 different sacrifice outlets out & got to choose "which sacrifice benefit do I want next" on a number of turns. Against one opponent with a lot of smaller creatures I was able to easily keep him from keeping anything on the board at all.

The deck is one of the most fun archetypes to play in M14, and can be quite strong if you get enough of the key cards. I'd recommend trying it if you see it open, you'll have a blast! See y'all next time.