Waiting for Godot: ACR #4 – Swiss - Draft

I’m undefeated after some narrow wins in my first three ACR drafts, looking to keep it going. The Swiss queue has the edge on the 84 queue, so I jump in and wait it out.

It doesn’t take too long for the snowball effect to kick in, and the queue fills up.

 

 

The Draft

Pack 1 pick 1:

My Pick:
 
A pretty straightforward first pick. (Jund Battlemage) is good, but (Magma Spray) beats it in a fight anyway. One-mana, instant-speed removal has the potential for tempo blowouts that more expensive or sorcery-speed removal spells just don’t have. (Magma Spray) and (Path to Exile) are the only such spells in the format.

Pack 1 pick 2:

My Pick:
 
Not looking to be in Grixis after two picks, I eliminate (Tidehollow Strix) and narrow it down quickly to (Hissing Iguanar) and (Qasali Ambusher), but the clear choice is the on-color lizard. Keeps me in red only, and is similar in power to the ambusher anyway.

(Qasali Ambusher) is one of those cards that is good to remember you’ve passed for potentially playing around later.

Pack 1 pick 3:

My Pick:
 
I’ve never drafted an early (Where Ancients Tread) before, but I’ve wanted to try out this rare. I’m not giving up too much in the pack to take it, and I can bail on it if the support cards aren’t flowing. It has me looking to be in Naya despite still being monored in picks at this point.

Pack 1 pick 4:

My Pick:
 
I consider the (Ridge Rannet) based on the Ancients pick, but there should be plenty of spots for 5-powered men before the draft is over, and I take the walking removal.

Pack 1 pick 5:

My Pick:

The Grixis triland goes later than most. I pass on the Cylian Elf and the (Yoked Plowbeast)—both mediocre at best—to secure the option to splash a blue or black bomb later.

Pack 1 pick 6:

My Pick:
 
Now that’s a five-powered man I’ll take over (Bloodpyre Elemental) at this point.

Pack 1 pick 7:

My Pick:
 
Interesting! I saw the (Incurable Ogre) first and thought I would take him, but (Drumhunter) pick seven is obviously fantastic. The last pick and this pick put me all in on a 5-power-based Naya deck.

Pack 1 pick 8:

My Pick:
 
Thank you sir, may I have another? As long as you can avoid just losing to flyers, (Rakeclaw Gargantuan) is excellent in Naya, shattering your opponent’s dreams of trading with your fatties. It is so hard to block equitably facing large first strikers.

Pack 1 pick 9:

My Pick:
 
A late (Viscera Dragger), but (Naturalize) is maindeckable now, and is flat-out removal against a good chunk of your opponents.

Pack 1 pick 10:

My Pick:


Pack 1 pick 11:

My Pick:
 
Hopefully won’t be main, but is a solid sideboard option against fast decks when I’m on the draw. It accelerates into my five drops and recovers some life afterwards so I can live long enough to stabilize against aggressive opponents.

Pack 1 pick 12:

My Pick:

Here’s hoping I don’t have to play this one, unlike last draft.

Pack 2 pick 1:

My Pick:
 
(Sacellum Archers) are such a great way to deal with Esper’s fleyrs, but there are only a few spells worth taking over a castable (Path to Exile), and the archers are not one of them.

Pack 2 pick 2:

My Pick:
 
(Beacon Behemoth) and (Kranioceros) are not the fatties I’m looking for—at least, not on pick two. (Armillary Sphere) is a bit slow, but it is mission critical for a Naya deck to hit five land on turn five with all three colors, and this card solves both quantity and color problems, albeit at the expense of board-affecting plays early. Ideally, my turn five is impressive enough to make up for that.

I should also keep in mind splash opportunities in conjunction with the (Crumbling Necropolis).

Pack 2 pick 3:

My Pick:
 
I’ll take the (Knight of the Skyward Eye) variant over the (Matca Rioters) or (Might of Alara). It doesn’t trigger (Where Ancients Tread), but it does right by the (Drumhunter) and has a fantastic threat-of-activation impact that makes it quasi-unblockable.

Pack 2 pick 4:

My Pick:
 
(Fiery Fall) > (Matca Rioters), but it hurts to pass another one.

Pack 2 pick 5:

My Pick:
 
A late (Drag Down) and a tempting (Vagrant Plowbeasts), but I opt to further shore up my mana by doubling up on (Armillary Sphere). Alara Reborn is just so dense with power that I don’t want to feel torn between fixing and a quality spell.

This is, by my count, the fourth five-power creature pick I’ve passed up after taking (Where Ancients Tread), but I don’t regret any of those picks yet. Ask me again after Alara Reborn.

Pack 2 pick 6:

My Pick:
 
I think I took longer on this pick than any other in the draft. I have two (Armillary Sphere)s now, and could take the (Drag Down) and play a single Swamp, and initially I ctrl-clicked the (Drag Down). In the end I couldn’t bear to pass another (Matca Rioters). It’s a solid three drop for my deck even if I don’t splash, and gets better if I do. Crucially, unlike (Drag Down), I can expect to play (Matca Rioters) reliably on turn three, which helps me make it to my fatties.

With two spheres and a (Fiery Fall), though, splashing (Drag Down) would have been a reasonable pick here also. That’s a late (Rupture Spire) too, but it’s not what I need here with two spheres.

Pack 2 pick 7:

My Pick:
 
Check out the (Darklit Gargoyle) and (Sludge Strider), is Esper being underdrafted again? Well, I add another five-power body. Playable if I’m low on them in the end, but benchable if I’m loaded.

Pack 2 pick 8:

My Pick:
 
Wow, the Esper hits keep coming, adding a (Parasitic Strix) to the options from last pack. I took the (Wretched Banquet) on the theory that if I did splash black, I might play it, but that’s madness. (Wretched Banquet) is at its best in the early turns, and is barely played in base-black decks, much less as a splash. I should have counterdrafted one of the three great Esper cards.

Pack 2 pick 9:

My Pick:
 
I really don’t see myself playing this. I have a solid playable count, and I should get another 8-10 from Alara Reborn. Not a big deal, but cutting (Absorb Vis) or (Unsummon), which could be a pain for me to face with my expensive men, would have been more correct.

Final Conflux Picks:
 

Pack 3 pick 1:

My Pick:
 
(Glory of Warfare) makes my big guys bigger and causes (Hissing Iguanar), (Bloodpyre Elemental), (Matca Rioters), and any other three-power creatures I pick up to trigger (Where Ancients Tread), but (Enlisted Wurm) was near the top of my list of cards I hoped to open, and I’m taking it. Hopefully the (Valley Rannet) will wheel.

Pack 3 pick 2:

My Pick:
 
Another edge-case rare draft. The pack is not that strong for my deck, but the rare was in the three-ticket range at the time of the draft—hardly big money. If there were a top-shelf Naya card in the pack, I would let the triplets go, but I expect the (Naya Sojourners) to table or to show up later in another pack. The (Firewild Borderpost) would be nice, but with multiple (Matca Rioters), (Where Ancients Tread), and now (Enlisted Wurm), (Valley Rannet) is actually a more-appealing red-green fixer.

Finally, the fact that I’m actually working on a casual (Sen Triplets) deck tips me into the rare draft.

Pack 3 pick 3:

My Pick:
 
I could use some early drops to hold the fort before my beef arrives, but there are three playable blades that could fall to me in future packs, and only one (Colossal Might).

Might in an aggressive or fattie deck can just win games. Villain will have to block eventually, and when they do, (Colossal Might) becomes like a (Terminate) plus a (Breath of Malfegor) for two mana. When cast on a (Marisi’s Twinclaws) or (Gloryscale Viashino) it feels like cheating. You have to be mindful of walking into “in response” blowouts, but used wisely, it’s an absolute house—the best pump spell since (Wildsize).

Pack 3 pick 4:

My Pick:
 
Sure, I like cheating. In a triple-Reborn draft once, I had T3 (Mage Slayer), T4 (Marisi’s Twinclaws), T5 equip, (Colossal Might), swing for 18.

Pack 3 pick 5:

My Pick:
 
A turn-three (Vithian Renegades) on the play targeting Villain’s borderpost is one of the cruelest plays in Alara limited, and renegades are Esper’s worst nightmare. I love having generally-useful cards that are brutal against Esper, it’s how Naya can win that matchup.

Pack 3 pick 6:

My Pick:
 
Without (Where Ancients Tread), I take the (Jund Hackblade), but I need to increase my five-power count while I still can.

Pack 3 pick 7:

My Pick:
 
I’ve been unimpressed by (Mage Slayer), but this could be the deck for it, and I decide to find out. In hindsight I think I would rather play to (Where Ancients Tread) and take the (Naya Sojourners), or shore some weakness against flying with the (Messenger Falcons).

Pack 3 pick 8:
 

My Pick:
 
I’m not sure I’ll play two, but I was hoping for (Sigiled Behemoth)s, (Naya Sojourners), and (Valley Rannet)s mid-to-late to fill out my five-power suite and give me some options at deckbuilding.

Pack 3 pick 9:

My Pick:
 
Perfect wheel!

Pack 3 pick 10:

My Pick:
 
The (Naya Sojourners) wheel as well, justifying my rare draft. I’ve been passing a lot of (Singe-Mind Ogre)s that could be quite effective against me.

Pack 3 pick 11:

My Pick:
 
Great! Unexpected, though—I would have thought the (Naya Hushblade) would table over the (Jund Hackblade), but this is fine with me.

Final Alara Reborn Picks:

   

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Here’s the deck I end up submitting:

Don't Tread on Me

ACR Swiss Draft

Creatures 2 Rakeclaw Gargantuan 1 Valley Rannet 1 Hissing Iguanar 1 Drumhunter 1 Enlisted Wurm 1 Vithian Renegades 1 Bloodpyre Elemental 1 Jund Hackblade 1 Naya Sojourners 2 Sigiled Behemoth 1 Marisi's Twinclaws 1 Matca Rioters 1 Cylian Sunsinger 15 cards Other Spells 1 Path to Exile 1 Magma Spray 2 Armillary Sphere 1 Colossal Might 1 Fiery Fall 1 Where Ancients Tread 1 Mage Slayer 8 cards

Lands 4 Plains 6 Mountain 7 Forest 17 cards Sideboard 1 Kranioceros 1 Canyon Minotaur 1 Thunder-Thrash Elder 1 Sunseed Nurturer 1 Spore Burst 1 Naturalize 1 Bant Sojourners 7 cards

In Editor

I’m concerned that I’ll roll over to an aggressive deck with a low curve—particularly an Esper deck with good flyers—but if I can hit turn five with a double-digit life total, Nayatron, and five land, I like my chances.