The shambling is one of the most agressive creatures of the format and also one of the best at it.My deck is not agressive.The thrinax fits the role of a 3 or 4 drop growing with the little chumpblocks of visionarys ,dredgscapes or beetle.If I where playing a more agreesive deck the shambling would have been my pick.
Off domain the knight is not stellar. A decent creature in any red deck.But I knew I wouldnet be running him. The 3 drop was a little crowded and Im with a more controlling than agressive build.He can stall the ground a little but besides it its not optimal. Without fixing as I was maybe I should have picked and run it instead of the thrinax but still it did go well.Im not advocating the pick of the Molten Frame since it was probably a mistake since It might have been needed to run the Knight.
I was rather creature light and the thrinax seemed a good choice. I prefer to run vs a kathari than vs the enchantment. The Kathari I can afford to wait a couple of turns for removal while a creature with the enchantment no. The 2/2 first striker is solid but I rather have the thrinax since I can save him from hellion or trick with iguanar. The behemoth seems bad.
In Pack 3, Pick 1 I would have also taken the Goblin Razerunners.
The creature is very red intensive but provides free ping and can get larger late game. Razerunners is better in a Jund style deck with cards that place +1/+1 counters on it. However, it is still a decent sized creature that can grow when needed.
great article whiffy . i agree with bazaar in that you should devote a column to new lists and cards thoghts/playtest stats and such. and are there any inhabitants on said island?
im all about the crusade for misspellings and not capitalizing
Pack 3 pick 3: Why the Thrinax it is not even close to a bomb i mean with the cards you have i don't understand how it is better with Dark.
Pack 3 pick 6: Yeah the Knight is decent or what about the Behemoth
Pack 3 pick 7: What is wrong with the Katheri? I mean he has to be removed just to get around him and he is not that bad while the charge kills your guys :( i mean heck on P3p12 why take a card you are not going to run
Molten Frame doesn't help against Obelisks, though.
I do like Naturalize/Filigree Fracture above mediocre cards, though.
Do you consider Dragonsoul Knight to be a mediocre card? I consider it to be more generally useful than my second Molten Frame.
Of course, it'd be tough to be certain that so many Frames would have wheeled in this draft. (though looking back at pack 3-5, it's not terribly surprising that one did come back 3-13)
I think i'm disagreeing with some of your evaluations just to disagree and spark some discussion.
Underrated:
Having had Mark of Asylum played against me several times, i think it's a 3rd-5th pick by your scale. It turns off most of the premier removal in the format (Vithian Stinger/Blood Cultist/Branching Bolt/Resounding Thunder/Magma Spray-- everything but Drag Down, Executioner's Capsule, and bounce, basically). If you get even a one-for-one out of this card, you are doing okay... and over the course of a longer game, it will be a 2-for-1, in terms of turning cards into blanks. Red doesn't pack enchantment removal, and most draft decks i've been playing haven't maindecked it, either. It goes higher in the Bant-style decks for exactly the reasons you mentioned in your comments on Celestial Purge.
Wall of Reverence is an absolute bomb. At 4 mana, i would even splash for it in Green-Red fatties, Esper fliers, and Jund control/discard. I've never won through a Wall of Reverence that i didn't kill the very next turn.
Aven Squire is terrific. I think you're not going to get many 5th-7th pick.
Overrated:
Nacatl Hunt-Pride has always been a tad expensive for my tastes. I suppose he's about as good as Rockcaster Platoon. The Vigilance is nice, but i find the Cycling fatty cycle is more generally useful, so i've been picking him about there (5th-7th). This means i'm generally not getting to play with him. =P
Lapse of Certainty
I don't think there's any deck that wants more than one of these. An aggro deck wants to be playing threats turns 2-4 (ideally, 1-4). If this
Other comments/questions:
Have you gotten a chance to play with Mirror-Sigil Sergeant? My main concern is that Blue's creatures are so fragile, and you'll end up loading your deck with bad creatures who won't get you to turn 6 in order to activate this guy. Besides Brackwater Elemental and Steelclad Leviathan, Blue's other common creatures top out at 3 toughness. (Filigree Sages. Ick.) Deft Duelist, Waveskimmer Aven, Valeron Outlander, and Rhox Bodyguard also turn this guy on... so that's not bad. If there were a Rhox Meditant or Qasali Ambusher-type blocker like the 1/3 or 1/4's that we've seen in Blue in past sets, i'd be more excited about Mirror-Sigil Sergeant.
I have no idea how to evaluate Rhox Meditant. I just know that every time i've played him, he's been great.
I also wanted to say, thanks for the kind words! EE recursion is indeed underrated, and if I can slow Mer down, is my best way to finish them off, but I have to live long enough to do it.
Grats! I joined the tourney 24th to get it to fire even though the goblin deck is pretty subpar :) Mogg War Marshall was a complete pile unless I started with turn 1 prospecter... :) and guttural response just plain stunk as the only card I really hated was counterbalance :)
But I'm pretty convinced that I want to start playing classic once I get the rest of the cards :)
after i saw that third blightning... normally you make picks i consider questionable. but this was just a sick deck. i haven't even looked at anything past the third blightning, so let's see if you won lol
about Rafiq, your reasonning is pretty logical, as i said you, i understand your choice. Every time i could take him, i am attracted (maybe too much) by Rafiq...
About drak temper, my analyzis on your draft is different, and i still disagree : on P3P3 you choosed Thrinax instead of dark temper althought you choosed temper instead of shambling in previous pick... (so reson you evoked are true in these 2 choices).
so it is like you choosed Thrinax instead of shambling, and imho, shambling is much better in many case (even if Thrinax is a nice creature too) : better CMC (1 color less), better power and unearth are arguments enough strong to choose Shambling instead of Thrinax .
Your absolutely right. Blister beetle and Dragon fodder could have been fixing and it would have been a better choice.Regarding the other pics Blightning is better than an Off color panorama while the other 2 seemed like better cards. Esper and Domain have been a growing force in the drafts. Also grixis plays more artifacts now like the Parasitic Strix and Vectis Agents. The Artifact hate cards are a really nice sideboard,I always takethem above mediocre cards and that was the reasoning behind those pics. Its likely that you will face either Esper,Grixis or a Domain player relying on obelisks or artifact bombs.
I'm th1ckasabr1ck for anyone who doesn't know... I also wrote a quick tournament report for this one in my next article, which is submitted and will hopefully be posted soon.
In games 2 and 3 you had Engineered Explosives recursion going, which is an absolute death sentence for Merfolk - that was much more problematic for me than CounterTop to be honest. In game 3 my only route to victory was trying to stall and kill you with your own Dark Confidant =) In games two and three I did manage to put you in situations where you needed Force or I'd win, but your deck is built very well to have Force when it needs it. In game two it was to Force my Force of your Engineered Explosives, and in game three it was to Force my Stifle of Vedalkan Shackles on Mutavault. It felt SO close, but in reality it was pretty far away =) After those surges I really had nothing, your deck is WAY better in the long game than mine is.
I really felt bad about your inability to sideboard. I really hate when games are decided by something technical...
Definates:
Pick Three, Pack One, Jungle Shrine (took Dragon Fodder)
Pick Three, Pack Two, Crumbling Necropolis (took Blister Beetle)
Both the Dragon Fodder and Blister Beetle seem like they are easily replaceable.
Mabyes:
Pick Five, Pack One, Bant Panorama (took Blightning)
Pick 5, Pack Two, Naya Panorama (took Elvish Visionary)
Pick 5, Pack 3, Rupture Spire (took Dark Temper)
I probably take the cards you took but it'd be close.
Also, would like some discussion on Pick 6 and 8, Pack Three. I think the picks are because your deck has enough playables already but itd be nice to hear some discussion on the thoughts behind taking SB anti-artifact cards. Stuff like how many playables, quality of the cards versus the cards you have already, weaknesses of the deck youve drafted which makes you want to draft SB cards, etc.
Finally, I totally disagree with LOurs taking Rafiq in pack two. You have Blightning x3, Corpse Conniseau, and Dredgescape Zombie. You have few mana fixers to play Rafiq and no Blue or White cards so theres no reason to break the deck for him. Now, if you had taken different cards like the Levithan pick two then mabye...But as is the Thunder is correct IMO.
I agree with the fixing comment, you should have gotten on the crumbling necropolis or druid of animas. Certainly over the blister beatle.
You're the Boss!! ;-)
Nice Article ;-)
The shambling is one of the most agressive creatures of the format and also one of the best at it.My deck is not agressive.The thrinax fits the role of a 3 or 4 drop growing with the little chumpblocks of visionarys ,dredgscapes or beetle.If I where playing a more agreesive deck the shambling would have been my pick.
Off domain the knight is not stellar. A decent creature in any red deck.But I knew I wouldnet be running him. The 3 drop was a little crowded and Im with a more controlling than agressive build.He can stall the ground a little but besides it its not optimal. Without fixing as I was maybe I should have picked and run it instead of the thrinax but still it did go well.Im not advocating the pick of the Molten Frame since it was probably a mistake since It might have been needed to run the Knight.
I was rather creature light and the thrinax seemed a good choice. I prefer to run vs a kathari than vs the enchantment. The Kathari I can afford to wait a couple of turns for removal while a creature with the enchantment no. The 2/2 first striker is solid but I rather have the thrinax since I can save him from hellion or trick with iguanar. The behemoth seems bad.
In Pack 3, Pick 1 I would have also taken the Goblin Razerunners.
The creature is very red intensive but provides free ping and can get larger late game. Razerunners is better in a Jund style deck with cards that place +1/+1 counters on it. However, it is still a decent sized creature that can grow when needed.
thank you for replying to that anonymous person calling me a "dork"
Keep it up man! - Go easy on the replay fastforward, though ;)
Good job keeping the flavor of the game alive.
great article whiffy . i agree with bazaar in that you should devote a column to new lists and cards thoghts/playtest stats and such. and are there any inhabitants on said island?
im all about the crusade for misspellings and not capitalizing
Pack 3 pick 3: Why the Thrinax it is not even close to a bomb i mean with the cards you have i don't understand how it is better with Dark.
Pack 3 pick 6: Yeah the Knight is decent or what about the Behemoth
Pack 3 pick 7: What is wrong with the Katheri? I mean he has to be removed just to get around him and he is not that bad while the charge kills your guys :( i mean heck on P3p12 why take a card you are not going to run
Molten Frame doesn't help against Obelisks, though.
I do like Naturalize/Filigree Fracture above mediocre cards, though.
Do you consider Dragonsoul Knight to be a mediocre card? I consider it to be more generally useful than my second Molten Frame.
Of course, it'd be tough to be certain that so many Frames would have wheeled in this draft. (though looking back at pack 3-5, it's not terribly surprising that one did come back 3-13)
I think i'm disagreeing with some of your evaluations just to disagree and spark some discussion.
Underrated:
Having had Mark of Asylum played against me several times, i think it's a 3rd-5th pick by your scale. It turns off most of the premier removal in the format (Vithian Stinger/Blood Cultist/Branching Bolt/Resounding Thunder/Magma Spray-- everything but Drag Down, Executioner's Capsule, and bounce, basically). If you get even a one-for-one out of this card, you are doing okay... and over the course of a longer game, it will be a 2-for-1, in terms of turning cards into blanks. Red doesn't pack enchantment removal, and most draft decks i've been playing haven't maindecked it, either. It goes higher in the Bant-style decks for exactly the reasons you mentioned in your comments on Celestial Purge.
Wall of Reverence is an absolute bomb. At 4 mana, i would even splash for it in Green-Red fatties, Esper fliers, and Jund control/discard. I've never won through a Wall of Reverence that i didn't kill the very next turn.
Aven Squire is terrific. I think you're not going to get many 5th-7th pick.
Overrated:
Nacatl Hunt-Pride has always been a tad expensive for my tastes. I suppose he's about as good as Rockcaster Platoon. The Vigilance is nice, but i find the Cycling fatty cycle is more generally useful, so i've been picking him about there (5th-7th). This means i'm generally not getting to play with him. =P
Lapse of Certainty
I don't think there's any deck that wants more than one of these. An aggro deck wants to be playing threats turns 2-4 (ideally, 1-4). If this
Other comments/questions:
Have you gotten a chance to play with Mirror-Sigil Sergeant? My main concern is that Blue's creatures are so fragile, and you'll end up loading your deck with bad creatures who won't get you to turn 6 in order to activate this guy. Besides Brackwater Elemental and Steelclad Leviathan, Blue's other common creatures top out at 3 toughness. (Filigree Sages. Ick.) Deft Duelist, Waveskimmer Aven, Valeron Outlander, and Rhox Bodyguard also turn this guy on... so that's not bad. If there were a Rhox Meditant or Qasali Ambusher-type blocker like the 1/3 or 1/4's that we've seen in Blue in past sets, i'd be more excited about Mirror-Sigil Sergeant.
I have no idea how to evaluate Rhox Meditant. I just know that every time i've played him, he's been great.
Interesting article, as usual. Good work.
Interesting how the people who vehemently dislike the article are either anonymous or unverified. Cowardly!
Nice job t8'ing. Hopefully we can get some games in here soon!
CH
Glad to see Walker back on the home page. Good report, short of exact replays.
I also wanted to say, thanks for the kind words! EE recursion is indeed underrated, and if I can slow Mer down, is my best way to finish them off, but I have to live long enough to do it.
Not sure how I went... I remember for SURE leading with ruins... might have been into Bob then CB, but I don't remember for certain.
Grats! I joined the tourney 24th to get it to fire even though the goblin deck is pretty subpar :) Mogg War Marshall was a complete pile unless I started with turn 1 prospecter... :) and guttural response just plain stunk as the only card I really hated was counterbalance :)
But I'm pretty convinced that I want to start playing classic once I get the rest of the cards :)
after i saw that third blightning... normally you make picks i consider questionable. but this was just a sick deck. i haven't even looked at anything past the third blightning, so let's see if you won lol
Great draft. Thank you for share your picks.
about Rafiq, your reasonning is pretty logical, as i said you, i understand your choice. Every time i could take him, i am attracted (maybe too much) by Rafiq...
About drak temper, my analyzis on your draft is different, and i still disagree : on P3P3 you choosed Thrinax instead of dark temper althought you choosed temper instead of shambling in previous pick... (so reson you evoked are true in these 2 choices).
so it is like you choosed Thrinax instead of shambling, and imho, shambling is much better in many case (even if Thrinax is a nice creature too) : better CMC (1 color less), better power and unearth are arguments enough strong to choose Shambling instead of Thrinax .
Your absolutely right. Blister beetle and Dragon fodder could have been fixing and it would have been a better choice.Regarding the other pics Blightning is better than an Off color panorama while the other 2 seemed like better cards. Esper and Domain have been a growing force in the drafts. Also grixis plays more artifacts now like the Parasitic Strix and Vectis Agents. The Artifact hate cards are a really nice sideboard,I always takethem above mediocre cards and that was the reasoning behind those pics. Its likely that you will face either Esper,Grixis or a Domain player relying on obelisks or artifact bombs.
I'm th1ckasabr1ck for anyone who doesn't know... I also wrote a quick tournament report for this one in my next article, which is submitted and will hopefully be posted soon.
In games 2 and 3 you had Engineered Explosives recursion going, which is an absolute death sentence for Merfolk - that was much more problematic for me than CounterTop to be honest. In game 3 my only route to victory was trying to stall and kill you with your own Dark Confidant =) In games two and three I did manage to put you in situations where you needed Force or I'd win, but your deck is built very well to have Force when it needs it. In game two it was to Force my Force of your Engineered Explosives, and in game three it was to Force my Stifle of Vedalkan Shackles on Mutavault. It felt SO close, but in reality it was pretty far away =) After those surges I really had nothing, your deck is WAY better in the long game than mine is.
I really felt bad about your inability to sideboard. I really hate when games are decided by something technical...
Well, if you want specifics on mana fixers...
Definates:
Pick Three, Pack One, Jungle Shrine (took Dragon Fodder)
Pick Three, Pack Two, Crumbling Necropolis (took Blister Beetle)
Both the Dragon Fodder and Blister Beetle seem like they are easily replaceable.
Mabyes:
Pick Five, Pack One, Bant Panorama (took Blightning)
Pick 5, Pack Two, Naya Panorama (took Elvish Visionary)
Pick 5, Pack 3, Rupture Spire (took Dark Temper)
I probably take the cards you took but it'd be close.
Also, would like some discussion on Pick 6 and 8, Pack Three. I think the picks are because your deck has enough playables already but itd be nice to hear some discussion on the thoughts behind taking SB anti-artifact cards. Stuff like how many playables, quality of the cards versus the cards you have already, weaknesses of the deck youve drafted which makes you want to draft SB cards, etc.
Finally, I totally disagree with LOurs taking Rafiq in pack two. You have Blightning x3, Corpse Conniseau, and Dredgescape Zombie. You have few mana fixers to play Rafiq and no Blue or White cards so theres no reason to break the deck for him. Now, if you had taken different cards like the Levithan pick two then mabye...But as is the Thunder is correct IMO.
-M