The announcement for Thursday Night Magic was met with positive reaction from the community for good reason.  With the low cost of entry, decent prizes, qualifier points for going 3-0, as well as bonus cards, this is a great incentive for almost any player to take part in. A relatively short 3 round tournament is also quick enough to allow you to sneak away for a few hours without the wife and kiddo noticing too much.  Try playing a six or more round premier event on a Saturday afternoon with the cooperation of your wife.  It's not going to happen when there are shopping carts to fill with groceries and malls to visit.  Having the inaugural Thursday Night Magic as a Standard Event was a bit of a misstep with M11 releasing only a few days prior.  Although I believe attendance was fairly high for that first event, they could've boosted participation (and their profits) if they had offered the 4 or 6 pack M11 sealed for that event.  The second Thursday Night Magic event held on 8/12 was 4 pack M11 sealed. I believe they added an extra time slot to this event, after some of the community complaining about a noticeable gap in event times. 

I had originally planned on playing the 11:00 PM event but a miserable rainy day with an uncharacteristically cooperative and calm 5 year old led me to play in the 1:00 PM event.  As on cue, as soon as 1:00 arrived my son's temperament moved into his normal state and the wild, energetic demon spawn emerged.  I wagered on his cooperation and lost. Such are the risks I take to play this game during daylight hours. During deckbuilding he chased around our bull terrier puppy, which if you know the breed is a wild, stubborn dog.  My wife and I often question (jokingly) why we got a dog that acts just like our son.  During round 1, my son he fired off question after question about the Liberty Bell, as I tried to explain that the event took place long before any of his grandparent's were alive. During round 2, the inquisitive nature of my five year old had me answering endless questions about two suns occurring in the desert, a phenomenon he believes to be real.  I believe this is a mistake about Tatooine but it could also be from confusion about the sun and moon being viewable at the same time or something he saw on a cartoon.  No matter how many times I told him and with as much scientific proof as the internet would provide to back up my logic, he didn't believe me!  Learn to read kid before you discredit me and the entirety of the internet!  Luckily round 3 was a never ending barrage about our dog who was scheduled for a vet appointment later that day and was much easier to discuss.
 

When they first announced 4 pack 30 card sealed, I wasn't too excited about it.  I didn't think the card pool from 4 packs would be deep enough.  I've gotten some stinkers of packs in sealed.  My last sealed event contained 3 dual lands in the rare slots and made me bitter as I played against two opponents with Titans in games that were close until the Titans came to rain on my parade.  I have never had success in the sealed formats.  I like to blame the packs for being lousy bunches of cardboard substitutes  but I am just bitter middle aged man who makes poor deckbuilding choices.

One of the fringe deck types that is possible (but not recommended) in M11 draft is a mill deck.  I usually play swift drafts because they are better value for the playtime and even though the prizes are diminished a bit, I don't like to feel cheated after drafting a strong deck and getting screwed or flooded.  One of the last drafts I played I took a 1st pack 3rd pick Traumatize because of the relative weakness of the rest of the pack.  I planned right then and there to try to draft the mill deck but only encountered a Jace's Erasure quite late into the 3rd pack.  I don't mind playing weird or unusual decks in swiss.  It's kind of refreshing to do it every so often. However, playing with 30 card decks, it's quite possible to build a mill deck in this format if you get the right cards, which are coincidentally commons.  A Tome Scour will effectively mill 20% or more of an opponents library. Pair that with a Jace's Erasure or two and some card draw and defense like Wall of Frost and you can win with mill.  Even though M11 doesn't feel as bomb oriented as M10, games can stall waiting for answers and with only 30 card decks, it's not uncommon for a library to get quite thin.  One of the games played had both my opponent and I at 6 cards or less in our library, aided in part to Jace Beleren and Temple Bell.

The first thing I do when making a sealed deck is split the cards by rarity, hoping to see the coveted Mythic column and a money rare. Cmon, Big Greenie!!  No, not you (Gae's Revenge). No one loves you, you Boomkin looking freak!  I close my eyes and pray to the Hasbro Gods, hoping that I pull some money.  Although I don't hit on the Titan (haven't hit on one yet in a bunch of drafts and a few sealed), I do hit two mythics out of four packs which is quite good statistically. Jace Beleren is always playable and Demon of Death's Gate isn't with his high casting cost.  It would be really interesting if the Demon had shroud included on him.  Although shroud is not a black ability, maybe then we would actually see people trying to cheat him into play.   My other two rares are Triskelion and Temple Bell, Triskelion is playable in nearly every deck and Temple Bell can be considered.  I never much liked Howling Mine and don't plan on playing the Bell.   I separate the colors into piles and look at the playables. Here's the pile.

White:

White is one of the strongest colours in the set and has the most flyers available of any colour.  White Weenie can be a strong draft strategy.  Looking at my white pool, there isn't anything very exciting here.  There are a few decent fliers here in Cloud Crusader and Wild Griffin.  The rest are all smaller guys like Elite Vanguard, Silvercoat Lion, and War Priest of Thune.  Infantry Veteran would make this pool more playable and with Inspired Charge and Safe Passage there is the potential to flood the board early and save creatures with a few combat tricks.  I value Safe Passage quite high, saving me from Overwhelming Stampede on more than one occasion.  Always be aware when an opponent has three mana open while playing against white. 

Blue

I have had the tendency to draft blue quite often. It is the strongest color in the format. There are only three playable creatures here, with Maritime Guard being not powerful but an effective early blocker.  Jace Beleren was a prime consideration here, with the extra draw he would provide.  I value Sleep highly and it impacts every game in which it's played.  There is also a good deal of Counter Magic here, which I like to play maindeck in this format.  Diminish can be a decent combat trick in certain situations, Preordain is a  valuable card almost whenever you draw it and Ice Cage being effective against certain decks and less so against others. Call to Mind can be quite strong in a deck with multiple instants and sorceries, especially if you have a decent defense on the board. I do have plenty of instants but my defense won't be so great. 

Green

I like the curve and quality of the green creatures.  Two (Sylvan Rangers) is nothing to ignore with their fixing.  I could run a red splash to include the (Lightning Bolts). Cudgel Troll  is one of the best green creatures in the set.  Greater Basilisk is decent at stopping all ground threats, with Yavimaya Wurm as a good finisher.  Plummet is a great sideboard option as well. 

Black

Black is quite shallow here, with playable creatures in Gravedigger and Barony Vampire.  Corrupt serves as the only removal, with Duress and Sign in Blood the only other decent playable cards. I passed this over pretty quickly.  If there were perhaps some weenies in black maybe I could try to cheat the Demon into play but not with this pool. I still want to cheat him into play just once.

Red

I feel the creatures in red are pretty good and I like the synergy they provide.  Chandra's Spitfire works incredible with a Pyromancer but will work fine in this deck with Ember Hauler and Triskelion, along with the 2 Lightning Bolt.  Fire Servant has a decent body if I can clear the way for him, although the 3 toughness is brittle with firebolts and plenty of 3 toughness men. The real draw is hitting for 6 damage to the face with a Lightning Bolt which could definitely end games. A hellhound can do a lot of damage with it's pumping ability if left unblocked.

So do I go with:

Or:

I make the wrong choice, going with U/R.  While the red card pool did have some good removal, the creatures just weren't as good as the ones found in green and the win condition, while exciting, is just too cutesy and not consistent enough. I have poor ground defense and blockers. I could've perhaps went into a UGr with Sylvan Ranger to help fix the mana for the bolts. Or do you think I built this completely wrong altogether and should've run something completely different?  Is Crystal Ball worth running here? Anyway, matches from the tournament. 

Round 1 Game 1



I Mull to six while opponent wins coin toss and chooses to go first

He plays Swamp. I Draw Lightning Bolt, Play Mountain.  He plays Swamp, Casts Duress targeting Lightning Bolt.  I Draw Aether Adept, play Mountain.  He Plays Swamp, Liliana's Specter, I discard Sleep.  I Draw Berserkers of Blood Ridge and pass.  My opponent attacks with the Specter and casts another one, forcing me to discard Aether Adept.  I bolt one at his end step.  I draw a Island and play Crystal Ball.  He plays Nether Horror.  I scry and see an Island and Azure Drake and put Island on top.  Or so I thought.  I mistakenly put the Drake on top.  He attacks with his forces, bringing me to 10.  I play the Drake which gets killed by Doom Blade.  Off to game two. 

Round 1 Game 2



I start off the draw, so I can play an early counterspell if he gets out his Specters.  He starts with Leyline of the Void on the battleground, not particularly strong against blue but it would take out my (Call of Mind) if I decided to play it. I play Island, Preordain and see Cancel and Arc Runner which I put on the bottom of my library.  I draw a Triskelion.  He plays Terramorphic Expanse into a Plains. I draw Fire Servant and play Island.  He plays Swamp and Reassembling Skeleton.  I draw Island and play it.  He attacks with the Skeleton. I draw Jace and draw Mana Leak.  He plays Howling Banshee and attacks with Skeleton, bringing me down to 15.  I draw Fiery Hellhound, make each of us draw one with Jace and draw Mountain and play Ice Cage on Banshee.  He (Might Leap)s on Banshee and has both guys attacking into Jace. I Mana Leak a Steel Overseer after combat.  I draw Mountain, play Fire Servant.  He plays Pacifism on the Fire Servant and attacks bringing me down to 12 and plays Assault Griffin.  I draw Ember Hauler and play Sleep to try to draw some removal.  He doesn't play anything and I draw Mountain and play Ember Hauler and Chandra's Spitfire.  I sacrifice Hauler right away in case he's holding a Safe Passage.  I draw Island, play Triskelion.  He plays Solemn Offering targeting Trisk and I use the counters to kill his Banshee.  He plays Liliana's Specter and I discard Fiery Hellhound. He attacks with both his guys and I know he has a trick and I figure Inspired Charge so I block the Specter with my Spitfire.  It's a Mighty Leap.  I draw Island, play Berserkers. A few turns pass with us drawing lands,  He then plays Gravedigger targeting Howling Banshee. I draw Crystal Ball, play it next turn and see nothing on top and am attacked for lethal next turn. 


Match 2 Game 1

The game didn't save this replay.  The game is relatively slow, with me getting in flying damage with Azure Drake and he deals himself damage with Sign in Blood.  The board hits a stall point midway through the game, with me clogging the air with Azure Drake and he clogs the ground with a few guys.  I get him down to 11 and draw my second bolt with a Fire Servant in play.  He taps out and I successfully kill him with two bolts to the face, worth 6 each!

Match 2 Game 2



He plays first.  He plays two Islands, misses third land drop. I draw Bolt, Mountain, and Ember Hauler, play Arc Runner on third turn. He plays Island and Temple Bell.  I draw Berserkers.  I draw Island off Temple Bell then Mountain.  He plays (Child of the Night) and I play Ber

serkers.  He bounces the Berserker with an Adept next turn and attacks with (Child of the Night).  I draw Island and Azure Drake off Temple Bell and replay Berserkers.  I pitch Island during my cleanup.  He plays Rotting Legion.  I attack with Berserkers and play the Drake.  He bounces the Drake with another Adept.  He attacks with his team, bringing me to 10 and himself to 15.  I counter an Assassinate on Berserkers at the end of his turn.  I play Sleep and then Ember Hauler and draw Preordain off the Bell. He plays Assassinate on my Berserkers and plays Wall of Frost.  I play Fire Servant and pass.  He casts Corrupt on my Servant which I counter.  I Preordain drawing a Lightning Bolt and throw a bolt at him and bring him down to 7.  I throw another Bolt which he casts Temple Bell and topdecks Doom Blade! killing my Servant, only bringing him down to four.  I cast an Adept and bounce his Legion.  He plays Juggernaut next turn and the Legion the following turn and his army overwhelms me.

Match 2 Game 2



I hit him with Arc Runner on Turn three while he plays two Islands and a Forest, which I didn't see in game 1.  He plays Wall of Frost and I play Ember Hauler while drawing Mana Leak.  He plays Juggernaut which I leak.  I play Fire Servant. He plays Adept, bouncing my Servant.  I Preordain, drawing a Mountain and putting Jace on top of my library while playing Fire Servant again.  He Doom Blades Fire Servant at my EOT.  He attack with Adept, playing Giant Spider.  I play Jace and we each draw a card, myself drawing Island. He attacks both into Jace.  I use Jace's +2 again, draw an Ice Cage and put it on the Spider.  He attacks Jace with the Adept and plays Gravedigger bringing back Juggernaut. I cast Sleep on his guys and draw Aether Adept with Jace.  I bounce Juggernaut with the Adept and draw a land off Jace, playing Berserkers.  He topdecks Garruk's Packleader and plays Juggernaut. I draw and play Chandra's Spitfire and draw Cancel off of Jace.  He attacks with his team and I chump Juggernaut with Aether Adept bringing me to 10.  He tries to bounce my Spitfire with another Adept which I Cancel.  I then Negate a Plummet.  I draw a Bolt, Sac my Hauler and attack with Spitfire, casting a Bolt and dealing him Lethal. 

Match 3 Game 1



I play Island, Preordain and put Chandra's Spitfire on top and Island on bottom.  He plays Plains and Infantry Veteran.  I draw Island, play Mountain.  He attacks with the Veteran, lays down a Forest.  I draw a Lightning Bolt and attack with Arc Runner, hitting him for 5.  He attacks with the Veteran and lays down a forest. I draw Fiery Hellhound and play Spitfire.  I attack with Spitfire and play Ember Hauler.  He plays a Forest and plays Acidic Slime, killing my Mountain.  This was an unfortunate play for me, as I had the Hellhound and Servant in hand.  I wonder if he watched my replays and saw the Fire Servant?  With no other information available, I would've killed the blue source to combat Jace's Ingenuity or Jace Beleren.  I draw Ice Cage and attack with the Spitfire.  He attacks with the Slime, pumping him with the Veteran.  He plays Spined Wurm which I Cancel.  I draw Island, play it and attack with my two guys, bringing him down to 10 and me to 15.  I was debating on whether or not to cast the Ice Cage on the Slime.  I would still have both Ember Hauler and Bolt mana up.  I decide not to.  At this point I am looking to win the game next turn by sacrificing the Hauler and casting a bolt to deal him lethal.  On his turn he plays a Giant Growth on the Slime.  I debate sacrificing the Hauler to the Slime before it resolves but don't think the situation through and I have the win on my mind.  This carelessness loses me the game.  He casts Overwhelming Stampede and I must sacrifice the Hauler and blow the bolt in response, as he would deal me lethal damage. I consider killing the Veteran with the Hauler but don't want to be left at 5.  He casts a Brindle Boar next turn and I draw an Aether Adept on my turn. He casts a Gargoyle Sentinel which I bounce with my Adept while drawing Mana Leak.  He then casts a Nature's Spiral and brings back his Wurm next turn.  I draw Sleep and cast it, getting in for three damage.  He's down to 4 and recasts the Gargoyle.  I chump his Wurm with my Adept and draw a Triskelion.  I Ice Cage the Sentinel while drawing an Azure Drake but the pressure is too great.

Game 3

Unfortunately, the client loses the game.  Is it me or does this happen quite often.  While playing back your games is a great feature, the client loses them quite often.  I remember him throwing down a turn 1 (Llanowar Elf) into a turn 3 Juggernaut and I lost under the weight of his creatures while failing to draw into any Lightning Bolt or Ice Cage.  

Conclusion:

Although I didn't build an optimum deck and had a five year old blaring at me during the event, I did have fun and must say the promo art for Krosan Grip looks pretty neat.  The TNM event for 8/19 is Zen Block Constructed and 8/26 features 6 pack M11 sealed event. I will most likely be taking part in the Zen Block Constructed with a U/W build I 've played in some events.  However, I do not know if I want to invest six packs for the other event.  Maybe if I opened a pack like this in a sealed event instead of a draft. This was from my second M11 draft.