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When you write a regular limited walkthrough column, it’s tempting to show only your finest hours. Great drafts into crushing games where you waltz to an easy win, look how awesome I am, etc. I try to present a spectrum of results in this column, but frequently, the quick exits simply aren’t a good read. My first online Zendikar draft was an 84 where I ended up with a solid-if-unspectacular UG Landfall deck, and went 0-2 in round one, once to screw. I don’t try to hide the fact that I have those drafts, but I don’t think you really want me to dedicate article space to them, either.

Well, this week I’m kicking off Zendikar walkthroughs with an 84 draft that is hardly a glorious, ego-inflating, Villain-crushing monster draft. I didn't make any errors that I instantly regretted, but it is a draft that left me feeling that I’d made some questionable decisions in both my picks and my plays, and that makes me want to review it. I don’t even know what I’m looking for at this point. Besides verifying that the replays are functional, I have not reviewed this draft or the games at all before sitting down to write this. I just know that I wasn’t happy with the results, finishing with the nagging feeling that I should have done some things differently, and when that happens—even if you won the draft outright—it’s probably worth reviewing the game tape to check your decisions.

Let’s dive in…

The Draft

Pack 1 pick 1:

  My Pick:

If you really want to force allies, I’m fine with the Oran-Rief Survivalist, but since aggro red variants are among the better archetypes in the format, I start with my favorite common limited two-drop since Wild Mongrel. I didn’t even rare draft in case I decided to write this draft up.

  Pack 1 pick 2:

  My Pick:

A common is missing and there are no red cards in the pack. This gives me pause, but I decide to stay flexible and take the equipment likely to make any deck over the less-than-spectacular creatures available. P1P2 with no red cards isn’t really a signal of anything but this pack having, at most, one red card in it. I don’t know anything about common print runs in Zendikar at this point, but this would be one of those picks where it would be nice to know them. If I had decided to take a creature, I like the Giant Scorpion here.

  Pack 1 pick 3:

  My Pick:

OK, this is becoming more signal-like. Sky Ruin Drake, Khalni Gem, Grazing Gladehart, and Paralyzing Grasp are my considerations, and it is quite telling that there are absolutely no playable red or black cards in this pack, and that green and blue both have two worth considering. I go with the most aggressive card of the bunch. Boa’s regeneration is interestingly balanced in this set. It has three common answers in Disfigure, Journey to Nowhere, and Paralyzing Grasp. If they don’t have any of those, though, it’s a real hassle to deal with (especially blue, obviously), and it’s a fine target for my Adventuring Gear.

  Pack 1 pick 4:

  My Pick:

This is an all-around lame pack. Grappling Hook is still here because it is slow and clunky, but I take it to test-drive the rare, and because double strike is quite potent. If I continue in green, Vines of Vastwood goes up in value with a hook in my pile.

  Pack 1 pick 5:

  My Pick:

Well, the pack-three signal suggests that blue-green is potentially open, so I follow where that leads. In Zendikar, the increased value of lands means that looting doesn’t have the same impact on overall card quality that it did M10, but I think that has led to Reckless Scholar being a bit underrated right now. Looting is still good! I’m not impressed with Celestial Mantle, and without evasion beyond islandwalk in my picks, it’s certainly not a reason to veer from my current course into heavy white. More solid allies going around, too.

  Pack 1 pick 6:

  My Pick:

This pack is the Grim Discovery, here. Seriously? It’s worth noting that the only red cards I’ve seen at all since the first-pick Plated Geopede have been a Slaughter Cry and a Molten Ravager, and that black has been cut almost as hard. I take the spell that counts as removal, as it feels too late to be taking a card that is only playable in heavy allies like the Seascape Aerialist. Soaring Seacliff is OK in this spot too, but they go much later.

  Pack 1 pick 7:

  My Pick:

I am so bummed at this point. The forestwalker may be more likely to make my deck at any point, but both are quite depressing. Mark of Mutiny wouldn’t be an outrageous pick either, if I want the chance to get all of my red in pack two. That’s the thing about cutting a color, by the way. One or two players upstream are clearly cutting red hard, and I get that. However, this means that there is likely to be a flood of good red passing through during pack two. There is no way red is going to be my main color here, as I can’t expect to see any during pack three after the first couple of picks, but if a bunch of splashable red goes by in pack two, I don’t have to dismiss it outright because it is obviously being cut, I just have to recognize that pack two and early pack three are likely my only chances for it.

  Pack 1 pick 8:

  My Pick:

This is a pretty late Blazing Torch, given that it is removal that goes in any deck.

  Pack 1 pick 9:

  My Pick:

The pack-one Magma Rift wheels when red appears to be cut hard? I find this interesting and surprising. Look, I know you have to sacrifice a land and it’s sorcery-speed, but it does five damage for ! That is really good, and it deals with some very troublesome creatures that other red burn can’t. If your primary use for lands number 6 and higher is to trigger landfall, it’s not much of a sacrifice for five points of damage.

  Pack 1 pick 10:

  My Pick:
 
This is hardly a great limited card—there’s a reason it tabled despite being a rare. I take it because I’m pretty scattered at this point, and it will be playable if unspectacular in a green build. It’s generally going to cost more than whatever it finds, but at instant-speed, it has nice surprise value (like any good trap). The Cliff Threader is a solid man, and given my utter lack of a color commitment at this point (for better or for worse), I think it was the better pick.

  Pack 1 pick 11:

  My Pick:
 
I’m just taking the best card left, noting that someone else valued the full-frame land more highly. I usually delete the basic lands from drafts entirely, but because they go as early as 10th in Zendikar, as one did here, I’m leaving them in for Zendikar drafts.

Other Relevant Pack-One Picks:

 

So, this is quite the disaster so far, no? Here are my current picks in this draft, sorted by color:

Wow. What happened? This doesn’t look like the first fifteen picks of a draft, this looks like I cracked a booster and kept it. Only black has no playables, and only red—the color that was obviously being cut—has more than one card I would be happy about playing. Again, this is the first time I’ve reviewed this draft since I played in it, and remembering the disaster I had after pack one, I expected to see some missed opportunity in these early picks. On a do-over I think I’d just try for the ally deck, but I don’t see any glaring pick mistakes here, mostly some debatable picks from marginal packs.

The saving grace is in the three artifacts that fit in anything, although the Adventuring Gear obviously prefers aggression. In spots like this, you have to find the bright side. In this case, it’s that I can still go wherever the picks take me—even red, so long as I don’t expect it to be there in pack three, and conceivably even black, although that was also cut and I have no playables for it. If I open a black bomb P2P1, though, I’ll consider it.

  Pack 2 pick 1:

  My Pick:

Immediately my theory on red is put to the test. Burst Lightning is the best draftable card in the pack given that I am avoiding black, but Umara Raptor is the safe pick for me if I want to duck red given the signals from pack one. If I had more blue that I was happy about, I would heed the signals, pass on black and red, and make the best of it with blue-green or perhaps blue-white. I only have one playable blue spell, though, and I shipped some playable blue in otherwise lousy packs, so it may not flow anyway. Since two of the better playables in my pile are red, and I expect to see a lot of good red in pack two, I defy the orders from the right and take the red card that is at least splashable.

  Pack 2 pick 2:

  My Pick:

This is a turning-point pick. Punishing Fire is a fine red removal spell, and Harrow could help enable a splash that will make better use of my schizophrenic pack one. However, the rare and three uncommons are still in this pack, and I’ve been passed Journey to Nowhere, arguably the best common removal in the set. This tells me, at the very least, the player to my left is not in white, and I really like Journey to Nowhere so I go with it. In hindsight, I like simply taking the Punishing Fire.

  Pack 2 pick 3:

  My Pick:

If I’d taken the Punishing Fire last pick, I’d take the Torch Slinger here (side Zendikar limited goal: equip Torch Slinger with a Blazing Torch and sling it at something), but I feel like I’ve made the jump into white with the Journey to Nowhere pick, and I really need some creatures. Also, if you are having a troubled draft, going farther aggro is a solid plan to mitigate a train wreck. You can steal some wins with an inferior deck just by being faster and capitalizing on stumbles.

  Pack 2 pick 4:

  My Pick:

Honestly, Arrow Volley Trap is so expensive and conditional, I should have just taken the Pillarfield Ox here, or even the (sob!) Noble Vestige, which at least has evasion and can wear Adventuring Gear, or the (weep!) Hedron Scrabbler, which can…you know…attack and block. Is this what rock bottom feels like?

  Pack 2 pick 5:

  My Pick:

Another late torch, but my creature needs are now paramount. A 2/2 flyer for 2 gives me some hope for my “don’t be good, be aggressive” bailout plan.

  Pack 2 pick 6:

  My Pick:

And now the best creature is blue? This is such a weird draft. I take the Windborne Charge to stay on the aggro plan, but it’s unlikely to see play, and I couldn’t bring myself to take the Hedron Scrabbler.

  Pack 2 pick 7:

  My Pick:

Sure, more aggro please!

  Pack 2 pick 8:

  My Pick:

The Kor Cartographer is fine in a deck with two lynxes and a geopede, but Kor Outfitter actually has several targets in my deck and is more early beats.

  Pack 2 pick 9:

  My Pick:

Another chance at an ox that I pass up for Explorer's Scope. I just have it in my head that the ox is terrible, when it actually suits my deck’s need for a creatures more than the scope does right now.

  Pack 2 pick 10:

  My Pick:

The lynx from the Journey to Nowhere pack tables, which makes me feel a little better about having swerved into white. Pick-ten Adventuring Gear is a bit surprising, as it really hums in aggro red/black and flyer decks.

  Pack 2 pick 11:

  My Pick:
 
I raredraft the Lolmage Mentor, because I like virtual dimes.

  Pack 2 pick 12:

  My Pick:

Sadly, this could make the cut. We’ll see.

Nothing else relevant in pack two. Pack three can always save a draft, amiright? I’m solidly in white now, and still lightly in red despite no good red in pack two either past P2P3. It’s a color generally worth fighting for, but this is ridiculous.

  Pack 3 pick 1:

  My Pick:

And fight for it I will. I don’t need or expect a lot of red, I’m now hoping it ends up being somewhere between a secondary color and a splash behind heavy white.

  Pack 3 pick 2:

  My Pick:
 
A perfect card for red as somewhere between a secondary color and a splash behind heavy white, right? OK, I’m almost certainly not playing this, and the Molten Ravager could grudgingly see play if I’m out of playables, so it was the better pick. Really, I was just sick to my stomach that there was nothing for me in P3P2. Maybe I should have just jumped into black at this point, that marauder is good…

  Pack 3 pick 3:

  My Pick:

Not exactly light red, but since I see it as a late-game sorcery more than an early creature, even seven Mountains would be enough to support it.

  Pack 3 pick 4:

  My Pick:

Pick four Disfigure and Surrakar Marauder suddenly make my quip about hopping into black seem whatever the opposite of sarcastic is. It’s too late for that, though, and the Kor Cartographer will definitely find a home on my landfall-heavy team.

  Pack 3 pick 5:

  My Pick:

With four playable equipment cards and me looking for aggro, I thought this was a good spot for the Kor Duelist, but in hindsight I’d rather just have the more-consistent Cliff Threader. I got caught up in my equipment count, but only one of them, Adventuring Gear, has the potential to increase power. That means most of my equipment just makes this a 1/1 double strike, and for an extra mana, I’m much better off with a 2/1 that is unblockable against the other six or seven red drafters at the table.

  Pack 3 pick 6:

  My Pick:

I don’t have room for much besides creatures at this point, so I cut the shiny copy of the solid blue spell.

  Pack 3 pick 7:

  My Pick:

Not exactly light red, but I can’t complain about a Shatterskull Giant at this point. “Will stretch mana base for creatures.”

  Pack 3 pick 8:

  My Pick:

Hopefully I don’t have to play this, but I am now a beggar, not a chooser. “Any creatures will help, God Bless.”

  Pack 3 pick 9:

  My Pick:

I take the Zektar Shrine Expedition over the ox, as again, the shrine fits more into the “desperation aggro” thing I have going on in this draft.

  Pack 3 pick 10:

  My Pick:

More blue cutting. Seems like blue was the color I should have hopped into, but my reasoning on pack-two red was sound, it just didn’t pan out.

  Pack 3 pick 11:

  My Pick:
 
A pick-eleven ox, w00t! You know you are having a rough draft when a P3P11 Pillarfield Ox feels like a P1P1 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen. This guy is so making the cut, though. In this case, it’s also my last playable, so I pick some meaningless chaff and brace myself for the deckbuilding.

(This draft converter created by Benjamin Peebles-Mundy. Visit the draft converter today!)

Here’s what I ended up with:

I’ve been getting a lot of requests for more on mana bases, so it’s a topic we discussed on Limited Resources #6, which ought to be up in the L.R. section of mtgcast.com sometime on Thursday. In this specific case, though, with early landfall creatures, Adventuring Gear, Explorer's Scope and Magma Rift, I probably should have played 18 land so I hit landfall consistently, and play one less piece of garbage from my terrible low end.

I need to reliably have two Plains on turn two to cast Kor Outfitter and Kor Aeronaut. To have two Plains in 8 random cards, I need at least 2 in 8 (25%) of my cards to be Plains. That’s 10 in 40. I chose not to play the lifegain land, I just didn’t want to risk failing to curve out with this deck because of the enters-the-battlefield-tapped clause. I also have the pesky Shatterskull Giant, which needs 2 Mountains by turn four to come out reliably. Assuming I’m on the play, I will have seen 10 cards by turn four, and 2 need to be Mountains. That’s 2 in 10, which scales up to 8 in 40. That’s further support for a mana base of 10 Plains and 8 Mountains, which sets me up to, on average, be able to cast my creatures on turn two and my giant on turn four.

The problem is, my terrible low end is mostly creatures, and I can’t really afford to cut one even if I go to 18 land here. I’d say my worst non-creature spell (counting the shrine as a creature) is either the clunky Arrow Volley Trap or the Explorer's Scope, so if I do swap out for an 8th Mountain, it should be for one of those. It’s a little more gambly to run 17, but I also think this deck needs to gamble a little to win, so I’m OK with the 17-land approach. I also think I should have maindecked the Noble Vestige, which can attack with evasion and wear equipment, over the Makindi Shieldmate, and then bring in the shieldmate when ground-clogging is paramount.

In the final analysis, chasing after the shiny removal card and jumping into white didn’t turn out that well, but I compounded the problem with some of my picks after making that switch. Was moving into white a bad decision, or just a bad result? Sound decisions with poor results can be dangerous, because you can convince yourself that you shouldn’t make that sound decision in the future because of one bad result. It’s akin to getting it all in with pocket aces preflop in poker, losing the hand, and then doubting whether or not you should get it all in preflop with pocket aces in the future. No “undo” command for the draft, though. Let’s see if I can make some lemonade out of my lemons.

R1G1

I lose the roll and prepare for the draw with these seven:

This is a solid opener, and an easy keep. Forcing your opponent to deal with a turn-two Plated Geopede can’t really end badly. Either it makes it through for 6-12 damage, you draw out removal, or, on the good days, both.

I draw a Kor Outfitter, Villain plays a turn-two Lotus Cobra, and I pull a Makindi Shieldmate as I hit my turn-two main phase. What’s your play?

R1G1 #1

The Lotus Cobra is a great open for value, and a solid open for playability, but it isn’t necessarily cause for great alarm. The thing that makes Lotus Cobra so dangerous in constructed are the fetch lands like Misty Rainforest, and in some decks, Knight of the Reliquary. In limited, the Lotus Cobra is decent, but operates more like a Steward of Valeron that can produce any color of mana than the multicolored Dark Ritual it can be in in constructed.

Given that, I’d rather just stay aggressive and apply geopede pressure now, and save Journey to Nowhere for a big threat instead of the ramp to the big threat. I attack with the Kor Duelist, play the geopede, and pass. Villain accelerates into a turn-three Windrider Eel, which will be the target for my Journey to Nowhere unless I rip one of my Burst Lightnings. Unfortunately, I rip the currently-unplayable Kor Aeronaut. Sometimes, 10 Plains is still not enough. I drop the Mountain, send the eel on a Journey to Nowhere, swing for 4, and pass the turn.

A full-price Whiplash Trap bounces both my men back to my hand and the cobra hits for a couple, but I’m happy to have only had three mana undone, and no further development of the enemy ranks. My deck continues to deny me land, as I rip a Shatterskull Giant before tapping out to replay the Kor Duelist and the Plated Geopede.

The always-annoying Oran-Rief Recluse comes down on D, but if I can find a land, it still won’t be able to block the geopede and live to tell about it. I finally rip a glorious Plains, and commence drowning in the options. What’s your plan for this mana bonanza?

R1G1 #2

With the Goblin Bushwhacker, two Mountains, a Plains and the double-white two-drops, I’m planning on going two-drop/kicked bushwhacker in a few turns, hopefully to alpha strike. In the meantime, I just want to build my board and continue the pressure, which is best served in this case with the Shatterskull Giant after the geopede hits for another 3, dropping Villain to 12.

A Turntimber Basilisk materializes across the table, powered out cobra-style with a needless land drop. Unless there’s a legendary octopus in that deck, there’s no real reason to play a land on that turn to then cast a landfall creature, leaving lots of mana left over. Perhaps this means Villain’s hand contains more land? The turn passes back to me, and I draw a Magma Rift. What’s your play?

R1G1 #3

Initially, I thought I would play a kicked Kor Aeronaut to launch the giant, but then I remembered the kicker is , and I didn’t have the white for it. Facing the basilisk, I don’t have much of a play this turn besides bluffing in for one with the geopede. I want the first-striking insect back on defense for the basilisk anyway, so I play the Kor Outfitter and pass. Villain has a draw-go turn without a land drop, and I pull Burst Lightning off the top. My options are expanding again, what’s the play?

R1G1 #4

I could now swing in with the geopede and actually finish off the Oran-Rief Recluse with the lightning, but I’m a little worried about Vines of Vastwood here since I passed a ton of them in the draft, so I play the Makindi Shieldmate and pass with Burst Lightning mana up. That leaves me able to respond to a vines, and also gives Villain a chance to make a mistake with the basilisk. A common mistake people make with targeted Lure effects is to act as though one creature must block, and the other creatures can’t block. Given what I see as a misplay to have played out that extra land before casting the basilisk, I think there is a solid chance that Villain will activate the basilisk and send it in luring the giant, forgetting that the first-striking geopede can intercede.

A surprise Into the Roil during my end step sends my Journey to Nowhere back to my hand, letting the Windrider Eel back into play. This is fine with me. I’m at 18 life and would now rather have the recluse on a journey to nowhere than the eel, which I can kill with the Burst Lightning if need be. Villain has the land to trigger three landfall effects, and the basilisk stacks and resolves targeting the Shatterskull Giant. It looks like the basilisk may in fact be attacking in to me. Should I take out the eel before it gets +2/+2?

R1G1 #5

Not with the Burst Lightning as my Vines of Vastwood insurance policy, no. I’m not at all threatened by taking 4 this turn, and a vines could perfectly explain the apparent willingness to send in the basilisk into a first-striking defender. That chance is minimized, however, when the cobra produces blue mana in order to enable the triple-blue Roil Elemental precombat. Looks like I have a new target for the Burst Lightning.

As hoped, the Turntimber Basilisk crashes in with the Windrider Eel, and there’s a telltale pause after I block with the geopede, followed by an “oops” in the chat window. I drop to 14, the basilisk hits the graveyard, and I attempt to burn out the Roil Elemental before untapping. That draws out the Vines of Vastwood, which I’m happy to pull out while it can’t grant the +4/+4.

I draw a Plains, and seek the optimal path to victory. What’s yours?

R1G1 #6

 

 

Most defensible plays are going to set up some inevitability, but with Magma Rift and Journey to Nowhere ready to come in and mop up after, I think it’s time for the bum rush. I cast the Kor Aeronaut and a kicked Goblin Bushwhacker, then swing with everything and let Villain sort it out. When the dust settles, the life totals are at 14-2, and I earn the concession shortly after.

I don’t usually end part one of a two-parter after R1G1, but I it looks like I had a lot to say about the draft and game one this week, as I’m hitting my “are you nuts?” word count, so I’m going to leave you hanging here for a week. Let’s take a look at the game-two mulligan decision, though:

R1G2

Not much sideboarding is even possible for this deck, since I hate several of the cards I’ve had to maindeck. I submit it unchanged and head in for game two on the draw. Villain keeps, and I have these seven:

Keep or ship? We’ll pick it up here next week…

An Oliver Update

I was talking Magic with Ollie the other day—this is something we do now, mind you—and a quizzical look crossed his face. “Dad, what happens if the game lasts so long that you run out of cards? Do you just shuffle your graveyard and use that?”

I intentionally left the decking win condition out of Oliver’s Magic training, primarily because it’s not essential to the early Magic experience, and with a game as dense as Magic, it’s good practice to leave out the non-essentials when teaching someone how to play. I was curious if/when the thought of an empty library would occur to him, so I was pleasantly surprised when he brought it up so soon. I explained the decking rules, and he thought that was pretty interesting. I figure it’s only a matter of time before we build our first mill deck together.

Oliver started Chess Club at school this week, and he’s now super-psyched about chess as well. It’s not exactly my favorite game (I like a solid dose of randomness and hidden information in my gaming), but I’m happy to support him in any mind-sharpening gaming endeavors. He may already be a better chess player than me—I expect we’ll be finding out soon enough…

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