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By: toolazy2stand, Josue Ledesma
Oct 26 2011 10:04am
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Limited Sense #12- ISD Draft #2

Be Quicker than them

Hello and welcome to another Limited Sense!  I must say, Innistrad seems to be my format.  I haven't lost too many times and I've been brave enough to play the 8-4 queues and still come out winning at least 4 packs (meaning I get to do it all again!).  I still think the best plan in draft is to have little synergies that work together so well, your card quality just becomes way better (in a broader sense) than your opponents singular cards.  Again, U/W seemed to be my draft combination.

Draft

I was very impressed with the quality of my deck.  I had two ofs of very good cards, such as Fiend Hunter, Smite the Monstrous, Bonds of Faith and Cloistered Youth- which I took a chance on.  My deck's skeleton seemed pretty solid- low drops, aggressiveness, backed up by removal spells.  However, it was (is) out of my comfort zone, I'm always a little wary of playing aggressive decks because I know how quickly they can get stalled and lose to slower, yet stronger spells.

Here's how the rounds went

Round 1

Game 1

Opening Hand:  It seemed pretty good.  Cloistered Youth into Invisible Stalker made a pretty aggressive start but I was on the draw which was unfortunate.  However, I also had a Smite the Monstrous in case my opponent wanted to get big.

What worked:  Bonds of Faith on an Invisible Stalker made for a very scary clock.  A lot of removal (including Silent Departure) makes for both aggressive and defensive plays as I beat for three freely.  Slayer of the Wicked always took the wind out of my opponent's sails.

What didn't work:  An early Typhoid Rats completely halted the offense I wanted to mount early with my Cloistered Youth.  Ranger's Guile was also pretty devastating, at one mana, it's barely predicted.  As usual, Falkenrath Noble is pretty nuts but wasn't good enough to stop my unblockable 3/3.

Game 2

Opening Hand: I was taking a risk here- if I drew a plains, I'd have a great hand with double Cloistered Youth into Invisible Stalker- if I didn't Stalker would be my only play and I didn't have much after that.  Luckily- I drew a plains. 

What worked:  Double Fiend Hunter applying both pressure and a body on the board, even though he was only a 1/3, every little bit of damage helped since I always felt I was pressed for time..  Cloistered Youth was always impressive, and was pretty great early on.  Trading a Youth for a Markov Patrician.  Elder Cathar being a pretty big threat with an Invisible Stalker on the board.

What didn't work:  Having a Shimmering Grotto in your opening hand made for an awkward mana situation.  Almost being forced to Bonds of Faith a Markov Patrician would've left me open to better, more combat-efficient creatures.  I was very happy he was fine trading, even if it meant giving him 3 life. 

Round 2

Game 1

Opening Hand:  I would need more lands but I did have a Cloistered Youth on the play, along with a Stitcher's Apprentice in case things did go wrong

What worked: Being on the play and having an awesome curve of Cloistered Youth into Chapel Geist into Moon Heron.  Even if my large 3/3 was dealt with he didn't have any way to deal with my fliers.  Stitcher's Apprentice plus Mausoleum Guard made for an awesome combination.

What didn't work:  Hollowhenge Scavenger giving him both life and a pretty large body.  He's pretty much the epitome of what I'm scared of when it comes to playing these aggressive decks. 

 

Opening Hand:  Rebuke, Smite the Monstrous, Dissipate, Invisible Stalker and lands.  It would be a very different game, and I had to keep that in mind.

What worked:  Taking the control route (completely the opposite of game 1) and playing very carefully with a Curse of Stalked Prey in play on my opponent's board- Fiend Hunter is especially good against +1/+1 counters.  Dissipate mana, and having a back up plan in Brink (but not needing it), just in case.

What didn’t work- Not playing with his many Ambush Vipers in mind.  Trying to be too safe with my Invisible Stalker.  Being a little greedy while not recognizing my role quicker.

In general, this deck is pretty exemplary of what kind of role your deck needs to take even if it's not tailored to it.  Last game, I had a ridiculous curve that made for a very quick game, I was the aggressor.  In this game, because of my hand and the speed he came out with, I had to play the control route and know the long game would be mine- meaning I had to play in order to lengthen the game.  My life total mattered much more than his (the opposite was true last game)

Round 3

Game 1

Opening Hand:  Invisible Stalker, Voiceless Spirit and Dissipate plus lands made me feel pretty good about gaining an early advantage and keeping it.

What worked:  An excellent curve of men from mana costs 1-4 (however puny they were).  From there disruption such as Fiend Hunter and Silent Departure gave me the win.  Also, his willingness to throw guys away for less than optimal bonuses (Village Cannibals to transform his Tharaben Sentry).  Dissipate was always great to have once I had a pretty commanding board presence.

What didn’t work:  Invisible Stalker is nice to have, but when dropping men and trying to put as much pressure as possible, turns 1 and 2 1/1s aren’t great.  Cloistered Youth is a much better drop (by a long shot) on turn two.  Invisible Stalker is great when pressure is already on the board and you've already done some damage to your opponent, so a 1/1 unblockable gets scary. 

Opening Hand: A Silent Departure was nice to have, but with only Invisible Stalker and Slayer of the Wicked, I didn't see it doing much and I definitely needed to draw well to make the most of it.

What worked:  Cloistered Youth, even on turn 3, puts on so much pressure.  From there, cards like Slayer of the Wicked and Fiend Hunter made it so my opponent was barely in the game.  His curve started at 4 and 5, meaning my Slayer and a timely Silent Departure gave him a very small window of opportunity to stabilize.

What didn’t work:  Nothing.  My deck played out like clockwork, I had an answer to everything he had and I started out quick enough that those answers, however temporary, gave me enough damage to punch through for the win. 

So a nice 6-0 felt pretty good, though the cards came to me really nicely.  Blue/white is pretty good with its Silent Departures, Grasp of Phantoms, Fiend Hunters and Slayers of the Wicked, but I think my deck was just really, really good to 6-0.  With most of the games, I usually used all the cards in my hand, if any of them were a different, or worse spell, the games would've gone much differently.  Sometimes though, efficient creatures plus removal (even if temporary) is enough to put down an opponent. 

Til next time!

 

3 Comments

I think passing the Moorland by ricklongo at Wed, 10/26/2011 - 14:45
ricklongo's picture

I think passing the Moorland Haunt is wrong. It's just too insane of a card, even if it kinda steps in the toes of your Back from the Brink. I think the UW deck wants to be more about swarming than having a late game card advantage engine.

That said, good draft. U/W is currently replacing U/B as my favorite archetype in the format. Congrats for the win. :)

I think you're right by toolazy2stand at Wed, 10/26/2011 - 15:02
toolazy2stand's picture

Yea, whenever I think back to the pick, I always regret it. Especially after I saw LSV playing his sealed deck with both Moorland Haunt and Back From the Brink in his deck, the Haunt just worked out so well- I guess I was just having pipe dreams of reusing utility creatures like Fiend Hunter and Slayer of the Wicked without really realizing aggro/swarm was a pretty big Plan A of my deck.

Thanks for the congrats :)

Thanks by silverwyvern4 at Sat, 11/05/2011 - 02:31
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5

Thanks