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By: ThatDude, Joshua Summers
Mar 05 2012 2:06pm
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Drafting with ThatDude

Grave TitanSnapcaster Mage  

Last week I showed everyone an early DII draft with a W/B Human token theme. I actually won my first two 8-4's running B/W. The second one I won with featured a first pick Lingering Souls. Lots of humans and ways to produce tokens just make the deck so difficult to deal with. Sadly, I haven't been able to draft the deck again since those first two drafts.

But this week I have an interesting R/W good stuff deck I piloted during the release weekend. I don't normally go for R/W because from what I've seen and heard the colors just don't have much synergy. But sometimes all you need is a stack of rares.

Here's the draft:

Pack 1 pick 1:
 

  
  My Pick:
 The cards to consider in the pack are Hellrider, Death's Caress, and maybe Nibilis of the Urn. For me it's really between Death's Caress and the Hellrider. I like Caress a lot because it kills anything, which is rare for removal in this block. But in the end I decided on taking the Hellrider. If you're playing red usually you have a really aggressive deck and this guys ability will just end the game out of nowhere. Assuming you have a couple of dudes out of course.

  Pack 1 pick 2:

  My Pick:
Nothing too exciting here. I could take the Highborn Ghoul and go the more traditional R/B beatdown path. But, with my first pick in mind I really like Gather the Townsfolk. It allows me to do a lot of damage with the Hellrider and I just love this card. A lot of X/1's this spell shuts down. Of course Burden of Guilt is removal, but I just haven't been very impressed with it in action so I go with the tokens. Nothing too great here but I'd be happy if Faithless Looting or more likely Faith's Shield made it back to me.

  Pack 1 pick 3:
 
Here I could go black with Death's Caress or stick with white and grab a potential bomb in Sudden Disappearance. Sudden Disappearance just seems crazy and I haven't had any experience with it so I wanted to give it a try here and stick with white.  

My Pick:
 

  Pack 1 pick 4:
 

I haven't seen a lot of red so I can either stick with it here with a Forge Devil or grab a Tragic Slip and take a chance on black. I can even splash a swamp for a Tragic Slip and even though I love Forge Devils I could still see some later in the pack.
  My Pick:
 I mean it kills anything in the set for 1 mana, I'll gladly take it.

  Pack 1 pick 5:
 

And now there's no black but a couple of nice red cards and a Stormbound Geist. I like both of these red spells a lot so deciding between them was tough.
  My Pick:
In the end I opted for the Devil because he can deal with so many of the early utility creatures that have to be dealt with. I think my last draft is what really swayed me though. I had x2 Wrack with Madness and I played U/G/b deck that ran no creatures that it could kill. Seriously, everything was 2/3, 4/5 or some other odd combination.


  Pack 1 pick 6:
 
This one comes down to Midnight Guard and Nearheath Stalker. Guard is a human which is a big plus. Of course, I really like running the Stalker because the undying makes him so hard to deal for certain colors.  

My Pick:
In the end I choose the guard, fits the curve better and the fact that he's human makes him a lot better than the Stalker.

  Pack 1 pick 7:
 

Nice cards here and I'm glad I'm in red and white because those are by far the best colors left in the pack. Warlord, Burden of Guilt, and Elguad Inquisitor. I already have a 6 drop so I'm a little reluctant to take the Warlord which leaves removal or a solid 4 drop.
  My Pick:
 I love this guy but I'm not sure if I should have taken him over the removal or not. But he does work well with the Hellrider and is just a solid card.

  Pack 1 pick 8:
 

Burden of Guilt, Quiver, and Looting are the picks here. But seeing all these red and white cards makes me pretty happy.
  My Pick:
This pick actually surprised me because I thought Burden or Quiver would be the obvious picks. I do like Faithless Looting a lot but I need removal for this deck and not taking it here really surprises me. Still this card is amazing and having it in an opening hand is sweet.

  Pack 1 pick 9:

  My Pick:
 
Same choice as a couple of packs ago and I think I should have switched it up and grabbed the Wrack with Madness here. That said I don't mind running two of these guys at all.


  Pack 1 pick 10:

  My Pick:
Nothing here for me and nothing to worry about. Although, Chant or Mists would be better cards to hate. 

  Pack 1 pick 11:

  My Pick:
Oh man, this guy 11th pick! Wow, this guy is a solid Werewolf and while his human side is pretty weak flipping him is insane and gives you a maindeck answer to any troublesome artifacts. 

  Pack 1 pick 12:

  My Pick:
Another decent werewolf here. I like this guy a lot, and his flipped ability is decent and can catch some people off guard. Although, by this point I highly doubt anyone drafting DII doesn't know what his flip side does.

  Pack 1 pick 13:

  My Pick:
Neither one of these is getting played by me or anybody else.

  Pack 1 pick 14:

  My Pick:


  Pack 1 pick 15:

  My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 1:
 

Well, going black early in pack 1 could have paid off big time here. But really nothing much to say here as I take Liliana and pay for my draft. I've done maybe 12-15 Innistrad drafts and maybe 5-7 DII drafts and this is honestly the first card worth more than 1-2 tix I've pulled in all those packs. I've pulled multiple Reapers from the Abyss, Armies of the Damned even Mikaeus the Unhallowed but this is my first true money card. I really wanted to shoehorn her into the deck after this pick but luckily nothing else came around or this draft could have gotten pretty ugly.
  My Pick:
nuff said.

  Pack 2 pick 2:
 
 

Really the only options are Slayer and Rebuke and Slayer is just so much better than rebuke it's an easy pick here. Civilized Scholar is fantastic as well but with x2 Forge Devils I'm not worried about passing him here. Man I love those little Devils.

  My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 3:
 
That Amulet is mighty tempting with Liliana and Tragic Slip in my pile but the Devils are the smart pick here.  

My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 4:
 
Nothing for me here, I don't have enough spells to justify a pike and I don't even think it's playable in most limited decks. Could cut the Skaab but I don't want to screw up signals. So it comes down to the Werewolf or the Griffin. I don't like the Griffin and I'm still hoping to pick up some human equipment so I chose the Pariah.  

My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 5:
 
Two nice choices in another Devil or a Doomed Traveler. I think the Pitchburn Devils are great for an aggressive deck like this so I grab them up here.  

My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 6:
 

Another easy pick, this guy just makes combat so difficult for the opponent.
  My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 7:
 

Doomed Traveler or Rally the Peasants, I chose Traveler because it's such a good card and helps out my curve with an early drop I can actually play turn 1, something I doubt I'll be doing too often with the Devils. But Rally could be pretty sweet. I think Sudden Disappearance will be my Overrun this draft so I don't think I need the Rally.
  My Pick:
Such an annoying card. I always hate seeing this guy turn 1 because he gets in for a few damage then the token can start attacking you after he chumps.

  Pack 2 pick 8:
 

Mask of Avacyn is a great sideboard option if you have some important creatures you want to protect against a lot of removal and I like having it as an option. That said I'm not really sure why I grabbed the Neonate over it. I guess I'm envisioning some sort of highly aggressive deck that could benefit from a Neonate. But she does work okay with the Forge Devils. I guess they can finish off any X/3's she swings into...Still I would have rather had the Mask over a Neonate I'm not likely to run unless I have to.
  My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 9:

  My Pick:
 I always want a couple of these in my sideboard for Cleavers and some of the other human equipment.

  Pack 2 pick 10:

  My Pick:
Not sure if I'll need another Grudge and if I can get some sac outlets pack 3 this could make the maindeck.

  Pack 2 pick 11:

  My Pick:
I'm not sure the second one will make the deck but I already have an Ancient Grudge and an Afflicted Deserter so I doubt I run either of these. So I may as well take the body. Of course I don't have enchantment hate so I think Paraselene is the correct pick here. But I guess I didn't see it over there or I forgot about all the nasty enchantments running around.

  Pack 2 pick 12:

  My Pick:


  Pack 2 pick 13:

  My Pick:
I don't like having to prey my opponent doesn't have this when I play something turn 5, so I'll gladly cut it here.

  Pack 2 pick 14:

  My Pick:
Surprising to see him this late.

  Pack 2 pick 15:

  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 1:
 

Great card for me here in the Geist Honored Monk. She is a bomb by herself but she also works great with my Hellrider. Things can get pretty nasty with those 2 out.
  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 2:
 
This one comes down to another bomb in the Marauders or a Midnight Haunting. In the draft I snap picked the Marauders but I actually think the Haunting would have been the better pick for my deck. Plus it trades with a freshly cast Marauders. Still this guy is just insane and I don't mind grabbing it.

My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 3:
 
I like Elder Cathar but this equipment goes a long way to making all my Werewolves and humans a lot stronger.  

My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 4:
 
Another odd Neonate pick here, not sure what the deal is but taking the Mask here would have been better for me because I may run one Neonate. But there is no way I should have to run 2.  

My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 5:
 
The sac outlet could be useful but I don't want to take it over a decent removal spell here. Plus I need some answers.  

My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 6:
 

Wow, this deck is starting to get crazy because Geistflame is way too good for a 6th pick.
  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 7:
 

I'm a little removal light so I like the Harvest Pyre here. It also works well with Faithless Looting.
  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 8:
 

Nothing here and while I have a lot of humans I also have a lot of bombs so cutting the Night Terrors may have been a better hate card here because I suspect my opponents will want to side it in against me.
  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 9:

  My Pick:
I'm actually surprised I didn't take another random Neonate here.

  Pack 3 pick 10:

  My Pick:
If I had a few more token makers the Virtue could be in the deck and even though I'm a few short of playing it I think grabbing it here is the smart thing to do just to keep someone else from having the option.

  Pack 3 pick 11:

  My Pick:
  Best card left.

  Pack 3 pick 12:

  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 13:

  My Pick:
Decent but I should have better options.

  Pack 3 pick 14:

  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 15:

  My Pick:
 

Well, some interesting picks here but I think the deck could be pretty strong based off all the rares alone. But had I gone black earlier in pack one I could have a nice aggressive R/B deck with Liliana and Tragic Slip. Still this seems solid and I think I was in the right colors for this draft.

Anyway here is the list I decided to run:
 

W/R Good Stuff
 
Creatures
1 Doomed Traveler
1 Bloodcrazed Neonate
1 Riot Devils
1 Slayer of the Wicked
2 Pitchburn Devils
1 Geist-Honored Monk
1 Falkenrath Marauders
1 Rage Thrower
9 cards

Other Spells
2 Forge Devil
1 Gather the Townsfolk
1 Hinterland Hermit
1 Midnight Guard
1 Elguad Inquisitor
1 Hellrider
1 Afflicted Deserter
1 Silver-Inlaid Dagger
1 Faithless Looting
1 Geistflame
1 Harvest Pyre
1 Rebuke
1 Sudden Disappearance
4 cards
 
Lands
9 Plains
8 Mountain
17 cards

 
Geist-Honored Monk

 

I really like the looks of this deck, nice curve, maybe a few too many 5+ drops but when they're this powerful I think it's okay. Also, I decided not to splash for the Tragic Slip because I already had a lot of double reds and whites. So it seemed like I would be pushing my colors a little too far. Oh and the sideboard was mostly Bloodcrazed Neonates, Tormented Pariah's and the only useful spell being Ancient Grudge.

The games went well Round 1 was against a G/W deck. I curved out on him both games and while he managed to slow me down with Burden of Guilt it just wasn't enough and Rage Thrower finished him off 2-0.

Rage Thrower

Round 2 was against a U/B deck and we went to game 3 where I made a bad decision on the draw to keep a one lander after mulling to 6. Naturally I didn't draw land and died without doing much of anything. I'm always reluctant to mulligan online, in real life I would have went to 5 in a heart beat but I just don't trust that shuffler. Still, I should have taken the chance on 5 because the deck had some powerful cards and could have pulled itself out of the hole.

And sadly I didn't get to cast Sudden Disappearance, it could have ended a couple of games a lot sooner so I think it's pretty solid but I still don't have any firsthand experience to speak of.

But hopefully I can turn things around next time.
 

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