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Given my goal of stretching by budget for limited Magic as far as it can go, my preference is for Swiss queues. Last week I made the case for Swiss as the format offering the highest return for solid drafters, and I stand by that assessment. If Swiss isn't firing any time soon and the 84 is on the verge, though, I'll take my shots at the big-boy table.

This was the case when I hit the queues in for my third ACR draft. The Swiss is near-empty (unfortunately, a typical state for this queue), and the 84 sat at seven players, as did the 4322. I take the higher risk for the higher payout, and launch the 84 draft upon entering.

My expected return on packs will be lower as I'll be drafting against better players, but it will be nice to kick off my walkthroughs with one of each queue, and I do like the challenge.

The Draft

As it often happens, the draft capture didn't snag my first pick. Perhaps it happens when you are the 8th in, and it starts immediately? I'm not sure of the cause, I'll have to keep an eye on this, and, in the meantime, I'll start taking screen shots of my first pick. I don't remember the details of this pack, other than it being underpowered and presenting me with a solid spot for a first-pick triland in a shard of preference.

My Pick:

Pack 1 pick 2:

My Pick:

Infest gets a bum rap in a format where some of the best decks have a tough time with a weenie sweeper. Part of the problem, it goes, is that many of the archetypes that roll over to Infest are the ones that can cast it. This is true, but it's still mass removal, and when you are the one deciding when to pull the trigger, it can still win you games even if it doesn't play nicely with a portion of your creature base.

Pack 1 pick 3:

My Pick:

I may be overvaluing trilands a bit right now, but there are worse leaks I could have. I would have taken the Hissing Iguanar over on any triland without black, but I'm happy to have multiple base-black mana fixers after an early Infest.

Pack 1 pick 4:

My Pick:

This was an important crossroads for my draft. Fatestitcher, Sprouting Thrinax and Hell's Thunder are the considerations. Fatestitcher may be the best card of the three, but it's the worst with Infest. Hell's Thunder puts me on a very black/red path and works well with Infest, but the thrinax survives the sweeper as well and it's a comfortable pick for me, so I take it.

Pack 1 pick 5:

My Pick:

Sure! Two Infests by pick five is hopefully something I can build around.

Pack 1 pick 6:

My Pick:

My thinking in the moment was that the Arcane Sanctum made the chance to splash white by the end of the draft worth the loss of a Cavern Thoctar to take the superior Rakeclaw Gargantuan. It’s not terrible reasoning, but since my main color is black with double Infest, running the black-free rakeclaw would be stretching a splash awfully far for a non-bomb. the Cavern Thoctar is on plan, on shard, and was the safer pick here.

Pack 1 pick 7:

My Pick:

I don't have a Rakeclaw Gargantuan clouding my judgement on this pick.

Pack 1 pick 8:

My Pick:

This is a perfect example of a guy that black decks want that doesn't like Infest, but really, his job is to hit for 3 or 6 before trading with a creature or single-use removal (ideal) or becoming useless or dead in the face of first strike, 1/1 tokens, or pingers. If Infest clears him away after he's done his job, it's no big tragedy, and sometimes he can come in on turn five or six after an Infest to set up for more damage.

Pack 1 pick 9:

My Pick:

No contest. This was the pack I opened.

Pack 1 pick 10:

My Pick:

Despite being a fan of Jund, I am not a fan of devour, because I am also a fan of winning. However, it's a mechanic that has some synergy with Infest when the pieces come together. Dropping Thunder-Thrash Elder on turn six, devouring my one- and two-toughness men and then Infesting a vulnerable opponent is a solid play, putting them in a bad spot if they don't come up with removal.

Unfortunately, that's it for Shards playables; I didn't even counterdraft anything worth mentioning.

Pack 2 pick 1:

My Pick:

The easy money pick, and actually playable-but-not-great as a Llanowar Elves with exalted in my deck. Without ticket considerations I would take the Drag Down since I was trying to be more black-red than black-green, and Noble Hierarch likes a turn-one Forest.

Pack 2 pick 2:

My Pick:

Once I add Reborn goodies to the pile, this should be a Terminate more often than not. I expect the Suicidal Charge to table, and I will run one of them more happily than I would in most decks because of the potential for boosting Infest to take out three-toughness creatures.

Pack 2 pick 3:

My Pick:

This was a borderline rare-draft case for me. That three-to-four-ticket range is right on the edge when there's a great spell for my deck available. Drag Down is again the pick without money considerations, but I have just about paid for the draft now, and will live with the results.

Pack 2 pick 4:

My Pick:

Pretty straightforward to snag the flexible removal/fixer when red is a core color.

Pack 2 pick 5:

My Pick:

Suicidal Charge works very well with Infest as noted, but I felt certain the pack-two Suicidal Charge would table. I know I have the Fiery Fall and the Esper triland to help support a possible white splash, which contributed to the decision. This just isn’t a very good pack for me.

Pack 2 pick 6:

My Pick:

Um, goes well with Infest? Not really. Gluttonous Slime feels clearly superior in hindsight. I dismissed Kederekt Parasite for being basically non-interactive after turn two and for being dead after Infest. I'd take Gluttonous Slime on a do-over.

Pack 2 pick 7:

My Pick:

A pretty lousy card, but I'm developing a minor devour theme [/me throws up a little in his mouth], so I pass another Suicidal Charge for it.

Pack 2 pick 8:

My Pick:

A counterdraft with no playables in the pack.

Pack 2 pick 9:

My Pick:

While annoying to see a Sludge Strider 9th when you aren't in Esper, I should have taken the weak-but-playable Nacatl Outlander that at least has some chance of making my deck.

Pack 2 pick 10:

My Pick:

Yep, there it is. Voices from the Void was killer secret tech in triple Conflux drafting, but not here.

Pack 2 pick 11:

My Pick:

Not great because of the threat-of-activation mana it demands, but Pestilent Kathari is surprisingly annoying for decks with big guys and no pingers. If you have time to set it up, it can actually draw out top-shelf removal, which isn't bad for 11th pick when you are low on playables.

Pack 2 pick 12:

My Pick:

It does make its wearer immune to Infest, but that doesn't make it good.

Pack 2 pick 13:

My Pick:

If I play two of these, something has gone horribly wrong. Heck, if I play one, it can't possibly be a draft to brag about.

Pack 3 pick 1:

My Pick:

This deck doesn't pass a Terminate for much, but the incredible, game-swinging Bituminous Blast is certainly one of them.

Pack 3 pick 2:

My Pick:

Mage Slayer is slow and risky, and belongs in fattie-drenched Naya for the rewards to be worth that risk. Demonspine Whip is playable but not exciting, so I basically commit to a white splash over taking the Monstrous Carabid. I'm clearly sacrificing consistency for power with this pick, but given my playable count, I will likely be forced to play Rakeclaw Gargantuan and Paragon of the Amesha as it is, so I might as well take a white card actually worth splashing for.

Pack 3 pick 3:

My Pick:

The Infest-friendly Rhox Brute is the clear pick over the one-toughness flyer.

Pack 3 pick 4:

My Pick:

I'm hoping to see multiple Putrid Leeches in this pack, as it's a close-to-ideal two drop for me.

Pack 3 pick 5:

My Pick:

I didn't have the guts to try Necromancer's Covenant, especially when it involved pushing a white splash even farther. I'm generally resistent to taking a chance on untested rares that aren't obvious bombs, especially ones that four other players passed. Would I like this card if, for the same cost, it said, "Put three black 2/2 zombie tokens with lifelink into play?" I probably would.

Pack 3 pick 6:

My Pick:

On color, cycles, survives Infest, and can be a two-for-one.

Pack 3 pick 7:

My Pick:

The obvious pick, and I'm relieved to add more fixing.

Pack 3 pick 8:

 

My Pick:

The late Ethersworn Shieldmage combined with those late Esper cards in Conflux suggest there's at most one Esper drafter at the table. Is the middle of pack three too late to switch shards? It probably wouldn't hurt my deck quality all that much at this point.

Pack 3 pick 9:

My Pick:

Since it appears I will be playing at least one or two devour creatures, I'm happy to pick up a Kathari Bomber.

Pack 3 pick 10:

My Pick:

I rare draft in wonderment at the Esper deck I could have had.

Pack 3 pick 11:

My Pick:

Seriously? This is 84! I've counterdrafted so much Esper at this point, I might have a legitimate Esper build in here somewhere.

Pack 3 pick 12:

My Pick:

This draft’s Vedalken Heretic makes it back to me. I close it out with Etherwrought Page and Esper Sojourners. Not that those are great Esper cards, but the run of blatantly unpicked Epser playables make me want to take a look at the first pack again. Was there a crossroads where I could have ended up with a bonkers Esper deck if I’d read the signs?

Looking back, P1P4 Sprouting Thrinax over Fatestitcher is really where I turned hard into Jund. I don't think it was an incorrect pick at the time given the Infest, and if I take the Fatestitcher there, my next few picks would have actually been more Grixis than Esper anyway, so who knows. By the time strong Esper picks were showing up late in Conflux, it felt way too late to jump in.

Well, this is a bit of a train wreck, with some clear pick mistakes compounded by a lack of flow in my colors. The top half of my deck looks great, but the bottom half is a real pile. I sift through the wreckage and submit the following deck:

In Editor

The manabase was tricky on this one. I’m obviously spread thin, with black demanding a heavy commitment for the Infests, the weakest Noble Hierarch you’ve ever seen still wanting to hit the board early, a sentiment echoed by Putrid Leech and Goblin Deathraiders. Meanwhile there are more red symbols in my casting costs than any other, and, lest we forget, I’m also splashing white. Not ideal.

I do have some solid fixing, though, and my submitted build provides seven sources of red, seven sources of black, seven sources of green, and two sources of white. The Fiery Fall gives an additional green, black, and white source if I have the red for the cycle, and the Exotic Orchard is going to help with at least a couple of my colors. The even demand on my Jund colors is a definite liability, but this is a solid base given that circumstance.

I’m going in to the games with tempered expectations. I have a lot of weak cards and a stretched mana base, but my top end is solid and the mana isn’t a total disaster—I’ll make the best of it. If I can draw more of my top end than my bottom end and I can avoid major mistkes, this deck can still win games.

R1G1

I lose the flip and check my seven for the draw:

This is an awkward opener. My hope for the deck is to hit my mana and avoid my worst cards—this hand nails the former and fails the latter. It contains three of the bottom-rung cards in my deck, one of which I can’t even cast yet, but it tempts me with the turn-three Jundatron, a creature, and removal. I don’t like it, but I can't bring myself to ship it, either.

It drives home the quality of the draft, though: I'm splashing a Paragon of the Amesha. This thing definitely went off the rails somewhere.

From You Might Have a Train Wreck If... (in your best Jeff Foxworthy). "If your white splash includes a Paragon of the Amesha that you can't realistically activate...you might have a train wreck."

First action is on my T3 when he counters my Pestilent Kathari with Lapse of Certainty, then untaps for a T4 Messenger Falcons.

I replay the Pestilent Kathari on my turn over Dark Temper. I've drawn land, a borderpost, and what may be the worst card left in my deck, Hellkite Hatchling. He gets in an extra point with a main-phase Leonin Armorguard to buff his falcons, and I'm in a tight spot straight away.

I pull a Rhox Brute on T5 which gives me some hope, but now I face a choice: play out the Rhox Brute or leave Pestilent Kathari activation mana up?

I passed the turn. The critical piece that led to this choice was the Dark Temper. With instant-speed removal as a response, a couple of good things can happen: ideally, the threat of the kathari holds off his attack, he casts a great creature, and I Dark Temper it. Alternately, he could opt to use removal on the Pestilent Kathari, which I can respond to with Dark Temper.

A Pestilent Kathari drawing out removal is a good result in general, but it's a fantastic result when you have something else to do with the activation mana. You’ve traded your late pick for their early pick and you've wasted no mana. If I don't have the Dark Temper here, I swing for one and play the Rhox Brute to ensure good tempo.

He untaps, plays a land, and Resounding Thunders my Pestilent Kathari. Pestilent Kathari ties up too much mana to be a great, but at its best, your opponent has to spend quality removal on it in order to accomplish anything. Frequently, you have no way to utilize the mana you were saving for his ability, and that's when Pestilent Kathari justifies its 11th-pick status.

We are going to respond with Dark Temper, but on which creature? The evasive 2-power, or the non-evasive 3-power?

I chose the Leonin Armorguard, but this seems incorrect in retrospect unless I’m fairly certain he has removal for the Rhox Brute. My thinking was that I'd eventually cast the Hellkite Hatchling with devour to deal with the Messenger Falcons so I should take out the bigger creature, but I have the Rhox Brute to deal with the Leonin Armorguard right now. If he doesn't have an answer for the brute, the Messenger Falcons will do far more damage than the Leonin Armorguard. As it stands, the Rhox Brute will be staring up at the flacons hitting me for 2 each turn.

Part of what affected my decision was the psychological impact of using good removal on cantrip creatures. It feels like burning money, no matter what the set. Ever Tarfire a Mulldrifter? Physically painful. The board is the board, though; it doesn't matter what else the permanent that's killing you has done, deal with it!

He casts Cylian Sunsinger post combat, which is pretty grim for me. I need to draw help or set up a desperation double block. Instead of help, I draw a Thunder-Thrash Elder to showcase how badly this deck whiffs when I mostly draw the bottom end of it.

He untaps and attacks. I can’t chump yet; I let it through, and he pumps the Cylian Sunsinger twice to hit me for 10. I'm at 5 life, draw a Forest, and pass my turn rather than play my Hellkite Hatchling and give him vital extra information. About what a total donk I am. He Soul's Fires me before combat for the win.

R1G2

I swap in the Spore Burst for the Maniacal Rage and am greeted with these on the play:

I hate to mulligan with this deck, especially on the play, but I can't keep this. The Paragon of the Amesha continues to be an albatross around my neck. Paragon of the Virtual Six is more like it. Perhaps I should be cutting the knight for Spore Burst instead of the Maniacal Rage.

Much better. With Villain in Naya, we can even cast the walking mulligan with this hand, and if there's a better T2 on the play in Alara draft than Putrid Leech, please make your case in the comments.

I draw into Sprouting Thrinax, and drop the leech on T2. He has a Forest and a Plains but no play, which means he is going to fall way behind without a Path to Exile. I draw Igneous Pouncer, swing for 4, and drop the Sprouting Thrinax.

Villain hits Nayatron and passes the turn without a play. I pull a Mountain and hastily play it, regretting it instantly. The Exotic Orchard enables my only play in the Paragon of the Amesha, so I feel like I've given my opponent a Timewalk. I need to play out the rest of the turn correctly at least. What's your plan with this board? Attack with both, yes, but pump the leech for maximum damage?

The no-play from Villain is extremely suspicious. We've seen Resounding Thunder, and that feels like the setup here. The play is to attack without pumping the leech. If he doesn't have removal and we've played around nothing, fine; he's at 11 having not played a spell yet. If he does have removal and I pump the leech, he is immediately back in this game when he takes it out in response.

It may be just as well I that I biffed the land play. If I play the Paragon of the Amesha, he has a good target for his burn. In the same way I hated using removal on his Messenger Falcons, he probably can't bring himself to thunder the Sprouting Thrinax, whether it would be correct or not.

He untaps and drops a Rhox Brute, and I hope to pull something good while he's tapped out. I rip Spore Burst and, ironically, I wish it were a Maniacal Rage. With Villain this far back on my heels, the Spore Burst doesn't stink, though.

What's your plan for the turn given the board below?

The Spore Burst is actually pretty good for us if he has Resounding Thunder. The play is to swing with both and cast the Spore Burst regardless of his block. Either he trades with the leech, takes 7, or takes 4 and makes three 1/1s. Those are all great results, and then we add three more threats to the table.

I make another mistake and hold the Sprouting Thrinax back, instinctively wanting to keep my thrinax alive. In actuality, I want the Rhox Brute to break him into pieces; there's no good reason to hold him back unless he has Volcanic Fallout and a second red source by his next main phase.

I'm still in a strong position, but I make another error and drop the Paragon of the Amesha instead of casting the Spore Burst. Part of this was thinking about how I should have had the paragon out last turn, and trying to fix it here. With the correct plays this turn, I would have a Putrid Leech and six 1/1s with an opponent at 7 life—almost insurmountable.

He plays a Mountain and passes with six cards in hand. I draw a Hellkite Hatchling, swing with the team, and he blocks the Paragon of the Amesha. Pump Putrid Leech for the win?

If I pump the leech he'll be looking at lethal damage, but I can’t believe the leeches would live to see 4/4 given five mana and six cards. I'm content to hit him for 5 if he doesn't want to pull the trigger on his removal.

He makes no play, so either I'm playing around nothing, or he just can't see a way to win if he takes out my thrinax. I make tokens, he untaps and taps out for a couple of chumps, but it's not enough to stop my swarm.

I made some misplays in this game, but the hand was strong enough for it not to matter. I’d be curious to see his hand. What was I playing around? If it was truly nothing, it didn’t matter, I was going to win handily if he had nothing. If it was a Resounding Thunder or some other instant-speed removal, playing around it caused him to have no great options and contributed to the win. Either way, playing around removal produced the desired result.

R1G3

I find another strong seven:

Go go T2 leech!

He summons a T1 Wild Nacatl, I drop Savage Lands, he plays Cylian Sunsinger off a Plains and hits me for 2. The leech will be vital to combating his hot start, especially if he hits T3 Nayatron.

I drop the leech, and he does have the Mountain for theWild Nacatl buff and Cylian Sunsinger activation threat. He doesn't swing with the Wild Nacatl, which suggests he has no burn or pump. If he's holding Magma Spray or Resounding Thunder, he has a free attack with the 3/3.

Post combat he brings out a borderpost and a Stun Sniper, and the leech I was so excited about initially suddenly looks meek. This would be a great spot for an Infest to bring us closer to even again.

I don't pull the Infest, but I do find a Dark Temper. What's the play on this board?

That Stun Sniper is a huge pain, but if I take it out, I just end up taking five a turn from the Cylian Sunsinger. The other option is to bait a sunsinger pump and then take it out in response, dealing with the creature the leech can't and using up his turn in the process.

The problem with that play is that it leaves me unable to cast Goblin Deathraiders until I can deal with the Stun Sniper. If I can find an answer for the sniper or another body, I should be in decent shape, though, and I think that's what to play for in this spot.

It goes as planned; he taps my leech, swings and pumps, and I take out the sunsinger as he drops me to 13 with the Wild Nacatl.

I rip Infest off the top, and looking at it now, the play here seems clear:

Go to 11 to pump the leech, and take out the Stun Sniper with Infest. I have solid options for the next couple turns, and should play to them.

Instead I get cute, stubborn, and greedy and pass the turn, deciding to take 3 damage for a shot at a 2:1 with the Infest instead of trading it straight up for the Stun Sniper. Mistake? I think so. The risk would be more justified if I had a Swamp or a Mountain instead of the Plains, then I could at least count on Infest into Goblin Deathraiders next turn. The greedy play could work out, but I'll feel awfully stupid if he hits me for three and then plays something that doesn't die to Infest.

In an interesting play on his part, he doesn't tap my leech; he swings in with the Wild Nacatl and offers the trade. Accept?

I feel I should trade my leech for his trap, so I block, pump, and wait for it. He has Gleam of Resistance, and I begin plotting for life without my leech. The plot should have started with cycling the Ridge Rannet to double my chances at a black or red source to enable the Infest/Goblin Deathraiders play, but I decide that the 6/4 for 7 side of the rannet is somehow my golden ticket. I need to cycle for answers here, not save up for 7-drops.

In lieu of playing well, I decide to be lucky instead, ripping Bituminous Blast.

I manage not to get cute, and I cast the blast targeting the Wild Nacatl while he's tapped out. Sadly, it flips a Pestilent Kathari, which will at least distract the Stun Sniper for a turn. You know...that same Stun Sniper that would be dead right now if I play the Infest correctly two turns ago.

Instead, on his sixth turn he casts Beacon Behemoth and takes out the kathari. I draw a Mountain, and can either Infest and then play the Goblin Deathraiders to trade with the behemoth, or drop the Cavern Thoctar.

I decide to maximize mana and play the Thoctar, despite knowing he can tap it down and swing for 5. My theory is that I can stabilize right after that at 6 life, but this again feels like the wrong play in the rear-view mirror, putting too much emphasis on maximizing mana. My immediate goal is to kill the sniper and trade with the behemoth, something perfectly set up with an Infest/Deathraiders play.

Instead, he draws into Demonspine Whip, plays a land, taps my 5/5, equips, pumps, and hits me for 8, leaving me at 3 life. I appear determined to find a way to lose this match.

Unfortunately for Villain, my deck won't let me, feeding me a Crystallization to deal with the Beacon Behemoth and finally, at long last, three turns later than I should have, I Infest away the Stun Sniper. After I attack, of course. I manage not to screw that up.

He makes no play on his turn, while I pull another land to reach Ridge Rannet mana. I knock him down to 10 and drop the 6/4, giving him a one-turn clock.

He finds Vagrant Plowbeasts and I'm thinking I'm in trouble again, but he taps out to do it and has to trade with the Cavern Thoctar next turn.

After I knock him to 4 and play out the Deathraiders, he chats "Let's see how I topdeck. Stupid Crystallization." He untaps, whiffs, and shows me what he was talking about by casting Soul's Fire, but the behemoth is exiled (see what I did there?) in response.

I win despite all my best efforts to throw game three. Better lucky than good? Sheesh. Here's the sick part: based on my memory of the match, I really thought my review would show how my solid play overcame a train-wreck draft. Instead, the review shows my train-wreck play failing to fail because I'm a lucksack. Humbling.

Self delusion was easier when replays were busted and I wasn't writing walkthroughs.

R2G1

I win the toss and pull seven on the play:

Even the presence of the Hellkite Hatchling can't wreck my love of this grip. Villain mulls to six, and we're off.

T2 I rip an Infest and drop the Putrid Leech. He answers with a Vedalken Outlander, which is annoying, but it should die to Infest at some point.

I hit for 4 and summon the Sprouting Thrinax as planned, having drawn Suicidal Charge. He matches my Jundatron with Espertron on T3 and makes a Frontline Sage with it. I draw Dark Temper, swing for another 4 with the leech and pass.

He loots away a Jhessian Zombies, plays a second Island and passes with Esper mana up. He mulliganed, so it's possible he simply has no play, but my radar is up for Ethersworn Shieldmage or Soul Manipulation.

I rip the second Swamp and drop it into play. What's your plan for the turn with the board below?

The play is to swing with the leech and see what happens. If he does nothing, I can pump then Infest without fear of Soul Manipulation. If he has Ethersworn Shieldmage, I will lose the leech, but will still get a 3:2 when combined with a post-combat Infest.

In actuality, I swing in, he declines to block, I pump the leech and...pass the turn? This is pure Infest greed. I have a 2:1. Soul Manipulation can't stop it. His board would be empty, while my board would have Putrid Leech and Sprouting Thrinax with Goblin Deathraiders and Dark Temper in the queue. Why is that not good enough for me, here? Because I might get a 3:1, and that would be awesome!

The lesson here: don't let sweeper greed keep you from doing the right thing at the right time because you want to gamble on something even more advantageous. If "good" is highly likely to win you the game, don't hold out for "awesome," pull the trigger on "good."

He cycles Valley Rannet for a Forest at EOT, drops a fifth land and Oblivion Rings my leech and taps out for an Armillary Sphere, dashing my greedy hopes that he would play out something for an even bigger Infest blowout. I should be attacking into his empty board, dropping him to 5, and adding a Goblin Deathraiders to the team, ready to Dark Temper away any blockers for the win next turn. Instead, sweeper greed has left me with work to do:

With him at 8, the play is to Infest, swing for 1, and drop the deathraiders. Naturally, because I am trying to prove to the world that rating means nothing, I don't do this. I swing in, immediately ask myself what the hell I'm doing, get blocked, and then can't play the Infest unless I want to break the Thrinax.

All things considered, Infest is probably still the right play, but I cast Suicidal Charge instead, partially because of mistake shame. Anyone else guilty of mistake shame? Screwing up a play precombat, then screwing it up more postcombat because it disguises your first misplay? There ought to be a clinical term for that.

He cracks his sphere in his first main, so I sac the Suicidal Charge in response. I don't want him to loot with extra land in hand, and I want that Vedalken Outlander attacking and out of the way. He declines to loot in response, which is either a mistake or an indication of a blue spell in hand.

He has full domain with all but green up, and passes. I draw a pain-free City of Brass in Exotic Orchard, swing for 3, then finally Infest. He uses Resounding Wave to save his pro-red bear—which is likely the play he had when I didn't Infest two turns ago—and I play out the Goblin Deathraiders.

He replays Vedalken Outlander and adds Esper Cormorants to its side. I draw a Mountain and consider my options:

I can either take out the Esper Cormorants pre-combat with Dark Temper, or wait until he blocks. Because of the trample, I think he'll put the cormorants on the deathraiders in an effort to prevent the most damage.

I attack in, and he does exactly that, allowing me to Dark Temper the Esper Cormorants and trample for the full three, leaving me with both creatures and him at 2 life.

To really rub in my mistakes, he finds a Bull Cerodon on top, swings me to 8, and laughs at my paltry guys. If I don't draw something, I may be forced to...play my Hellkite Hatchling. How embarrassing.

Thankfully, I mise Igneous Pouncer and kill him with a far less humiliating creature.

So, to show off, I give him a few extra turns, then beat him anyway. That's so pro.

I'd really be making a great case for Infest in Alara-block drafting if I could find it within myself to play it correctly in this draft.

R2G2

Villain chooses to draw, looking for an extra card for more-reliable mana. I get these seven:

No red sources, but a T1 Noble Hierarch into T2 Pestilent Kathari is enough action for me to take my chances with a keep.

Villain keeps as well and shows Island. I mise a Mountain and for a second think I have T2 Sprouting Thrinax, but no, that Noble Hierarch is not, in fact, a Birds of Paradise. I settle for the Pestilent Kathari and pass.

He plays a Forest and passes, which is great to see. Nothing warms my heart like an opponent with no T2 play in Alara. I pull a Savage Lands but play the Mountain to get down the thrinax while hitting for 2 with an exalted kathari.

He plays a Mountain for the turn-three...uh...Randatron, and passes. Smells like Resounding Wave based on last game, which would be fine with me. I draw Putrid Leech and send in the boys, and he does Resounding Wave my thrinax.

I replay it and pass, and he drops a second Island and passes. I'm happy to see him missing white.

I draw Thunder-Thrash Elder and swing into his untapped mana again. No response, he drops to 13. Playing the leech is obvious, but what about the TTE? Play him? If so, sacrificing what?

I think standing pat is correct. I have 8 damage coming at him next turn, and if I pull a land, I can Fiery Fall any blocker he makes.

Granted, if I Thunder-Thrash Elder and sac the Noble Hierarch and Sprouting Thrinax, I'll have lethal damage on my next attack. I think that play is too aggressive, though, and needlessly overextends when I have a big advantage right now. For once, I agree with the play I made in the game after the fact. Is anyone else going for the turn-six win, here?

He double-cycles at the end of my turn, and if he's digging that furiously, I don't think my choice is going to matter. He untaps, chats, "Bleh, no white" and concedes.

Off to the finals in an 8-4 train wreck played badly. There's simply no justice in Magic.

R3G1

I lose the roll and assess my seven for the draw:

Looks good, easy keep with full Jund mana and a Sprouting Thrinax by turn three. He plays a Swamp and passes, I draw Noble Hierarch and play Savage Lands, he plays a Mountain and a T2 Grixis Grimblade.

I pull a Forest and have to decide whether or not to play the Noble Hierarch given the Infest in hand.

I don't have a compelling four-drop to accelerate to, but I also don't have the second black for the Infest yet. You can make a case for either play, but I get aggressive with the Noble Hierarch and play him out on T2. Hierarch will eventually die to my Infest, but the value of an accelerator now is greater than the value of a single exalted after an Infest.

He cycles Architects of Will, hits me for two, plays an Island for Grixatron, and passes. I draw Thunder-Thrash Elder, play Forest, swing with the noble for 1 and cast Sprouting Thrinax.

He plays Kederekt Creeper, which is a bummer at three toughness. I take three from the Grixis Grimblade, he misses his land drop and passes. I draw my favorite bloodsucker and plot how to beat this guy with this board and hand:

No matter what, we make the obvious attack with Sprouting Thrinax. Eventually we want to make a big Thunder-Thrash Elder and then Infest. That play is no good if he still has the Kederekt Creeper, though, so we we'll take any reasonable trade for it. He declines to block.

Putrid Leech or Kathari Bomber?

I maximize my mana and swampcycle before casting the bomber. A a 1/1 token will be a big help trading for eventually trading with the creeper and making a big Thunder-Thrash Elder.

He hits with the Kederekt Creeper and plays Parasitic Strix for the four-point swing, but fails to produce his fourth land. I get a forest and have Thunder-Thrash Elder/Infest mana, but still need to kill the creeper, so I make two tokens with an exalted Kathari Bomber to set up the trade, and play the leech.

He cracks with the Parasitic Strix and the Kederekt Creeper, and I block with Sprouting Thrinax and a goblin token, leaving me with four 1/1s and a Kederekt Creeper-free board. He adds another Parasitic Strix for me to annihilate next turn. Attack before Infest? With which guys?

His Grixis Grimblade is mortal again and he's got a big life lead and flyers. I think if I swing with everything but the Noble Hierarch, he'll only block a token. I'm wrong.

Makes sense, he knows I have to activate the leech to save it, and he's happy to have me at 5 with his flyers, so much so that he doesn't even put the strix in harm's way to take out a token. My leech hits the graveyard and I make a 16/16 Thunder-Thrash Elder before Infesting away his team.

Another 16/16, two in two drafts!

He finally draws his fourth land and makes a Grixis Sojourners, but Bituminous Blast clears the way for the win.

R3G2

I have these seven on the draw:

No green, but I have Infest and the mana for it, which is good enough to keep against this opponent. My first two draws are Thunder-Thrash Elder and Kathari Bomber, so I can roll the dice on another big elder even if I don't draw green, now.

He plays a Kathari Screecher off two Islands and a Swamp, and I draw a Forest to lay the turn-three Sprouting Thrinax. He swings with the screecher and finds a Mountain, but doesn't make a play. He obviously has an instant, but I'm happy to have him kill the Sprouting Thrinax or counter/kill the Kathari Bomber, so he can do his worst.

His worst is an end-of-turn Drag Down on the bomber, which is fine with me. He adds a Parasitic Strix leaving UB up, and I mentally tally another victim of my future Infest. In the meantime, I untap and can play the Rakeclaw Gargantuan or unearth the Kathari Bomber. What’s the play?

The only relevant spell he could have is Agony Warp. If he has it and I unearth, he could split it and kill both my guys, but that would leave me with three 1/1s and the Thunder-Thrash Elder/Infest play off any land, which is pretty good for a worst-case scenario. I unearth the kathari and swing in.

He takes it, goes to 12 and I make two 1/1s. I'm in good shape—great shape if he can't muster anything with more than two toughness. He can't, untapping and summoning a Sewn-Eye Drake. He gets in for 7, but a blowout is around the corner if I can draw any land.

I mise the Plains, swing for 5, make a 7/7 Thunder-Thrash Elder and crush his dreams.

He concedes after drawing, and I consider myself extremely lucky to take down eight packs after a rough draft and some misplays, particularly with Infest, the card I sought out to prove. Sweepers can make you greedy, tempting you ro risk valuable tempo in an effort to turn a beautiful two-for-one into a blowout three-for-one. Sometimes those risks are warranted, but it's a fine line that should be examined closely when you are fortunate enough to hold a sweeper and waiting is an option.

These are the drafts I try to remember when I draft a monster and end up screwing, flooding, or mulliganing my way out in the first round. Even your worst drafts have some great cards, and if you can draw and play well enough, even your sub-par draft decks can take one down.

Finally, I didn't notice any scenarios in which M10 combat rules would have affected player choices or outcome. Let me know if you think I missed one.