Waiting for Godot: ACR #6 Conclusions, M10 Beginnings

(Note: rough, unfinished draft, posting so I can view from work at lunch)

Oh Magic Online, you are a harsh mistress. I counted on functional replays as I planned my path into M10 coverage—Godot plans, MODO laughs. The world of Magic Online has M10 on the brain, and I wanted to present material accordingly this week, but the lack of replays last week has left me with an incomplete ACR article. With replays back, I feel I’m honor-bound to finish what I’d started, even though M10 is teh new hotness and all.

When we left off, I had drafted a creature-light Grixis deck around (Cruel Ultimatum), and was about to put it to the test…

Guess what? The game replays for this draft that I discovered to be half-functioning two weeks ago (It makes the “game start” sound, creates a tab for it, but doesn’t actually trigger the replay) are still non-functioning today. Apparently there are two sides to replays, the replay code in the client, and the game data it looks to read. Replays may be back, but that game data is permanently lost.

The bad news is, my wrap-up to ACR#6 part one is simply this: I won the first round, and lost in the second. A couple of the games were epic, and totally worth dedicating a column to. In my second round-two loss, I actually resolved (Cruel Ultimatum), but lost anyway. I was way back on my heels and it simply delayed my death a turn or two.

The good news is, I can turn to M10 drafting with a clear conscience and give the people what they want. There’s an 84 filling up when I hit the draft room, but by the time I secure my packs, the 84 is empty and a Swiss is at six. I take the hint and start out my M10 drafting career in the Swiss queue.

The Draft

  Pack 1 pick 1:

  My Pick:

(Haunting Echoes) is unplayable in limited, but the pack is weak so I make the ticket grab. With a junk rare in place of the (Haunting Echoes), I would have taken the strong, cheap, instant in (Essence Scatter) over the expensive, hyper-green sorcery with the potential to end games in (Howl of the Night Pack).

  Pack 1 pick 2:

  My Pick:

I take the expensive, hyper-green sorcery with the potential to end games in (Overrun) over the strong, cheap, instant in (Lightning Bolt). I have professed my love for (Colossal Might) multiple times, and Overrun is like casting a (Colossal Might) on each of your creatures. Frequently, an (Overrun) off the top either does lethal right then and there, or forces your opponent to lose most of his creatures to prevent it. The rare is missing and the pack is insane, so my neighbor’s pick was extremely powerful, extremely valuable, or both. What a pack! I should at least get the (Naturalize) on the way back if not something better.

  Pack 1 pick 3:

  My Pick:

I wouldn’t mind an (Emerald Oryx) for the board, but I’m looking for good (Overrun) cards now, and the cheap flyer qualifies. (mana=G)(mana=B) is a reasonable direction to head from here, although green with (Overrun) and black in general are both very color hungry. If I end up (mana=G)(mana=B), I’ll prioritize (Rampant Growth)s and (Borderland Ranger)s to help with that.

  Pack 1 pick 4:

  My Pick:

This is such an important card for green against the Air Forces of blue and white. I’ve passed back-to-back (Seismic Strike)s after passing a (Lightning Bolt), so I have probably put my neighbor solidly into red.

  Pack 1 pick 5:

  My Pick:

I do love looter, and with only the one black card away from the green plan, I take (Merfolk Looter) just in case. I also dismissed (Weakness) without looking too closely, but it’s not a bad pick with the deck I have going. (Windstorm) is great against flyers, obviously, but being only five picks in I still wanted to be taking potential maindeck cards.

  Pack 1 pick 6:
 
  My Pick:

I’m still in evaluation mode on (Deadly Recluse). Deathtouch plus reach can be a real pain for some decks to aggro their way through, but he’s very defensive, and I generally like my green creatures to be offensive. I love (Giant Spider) despite that preference, but a 2/4 reach guy can provide ongoing problems for an opposing flyers deck, whereas the recluse trades once and is gone. If I’m sure I’m in GB I take the (Dread Warlock) here, but I’d rather take the card I know will make the cut.

  Pack 1 pick 7:

  My Pick:

  Pack 1 pick 8:

  My Pick:

A fine sideboard card.

  Pack 1 pick 9:
 
  My Pick:

I really hate this guy. Yes, I like my green creatures offensive, but not to by making them (Wall of Wood) on defense.

  Pack 1 pick 10:

  My Pick:

The (Deathmark) tables from the sick (Overrun) pack.

  My Final Pack One Picks:
   

  Pack 2 pick 1:

  My Pick:

Cast on turn seven (Hypnotic Specter) is barely better than the (Kelinore Bat), but on turn three, it can randomly (literally) win games.

  Pack 2 pick 2:

  My Pick:

The (Hypnotic Specter) has ratcheted up my black, but I’m not ready to take a (Consume Spirit) over another (Giant Spider) in this spot. With (Overrun), my mana will be a 9/8 split at most, making a (Consume Spirit) at six-mana do about 2 points of damage on average. I would take a (Tendrils of Corruption) here, but not the (Consume Spirit).

  Pack 2 pick 3:

  My Pick:

(Entangling Vines) is not the kind of removal I’m looking for in a (mana=g)(mana=b), and (Borderland Ranger) is exactly the kind of fixing I am looking for in color-hungry (mana=g)(mana=b). (Rampant Growth) helps find the mana for (Overrun), but (Borderland Ranger) provides a 5/5 trampler for when it goes off.

  Pack 2 pick 4:

  My Pick:

I wouldn’t mind picking up a (Dread Warlock) before this draft is over, but not over strong removal. (Tendrils of Corruption) is fine for 2 or 3 damage.

  Pack 2 pick 5:

  My Pick:

Likely a (Hill Giant) for many matchups, but nothing wrong with a (Hill Giant) or two padding your creature base in a core-set limited deck.

  Pack 2 pick 6:

  My Pick:

(Diabolic Tutor) can function as a nine-mana (Overrun) paid for on the installment plan and (Gravedigger) is solid card advantage in a format where that is a precious commodity, but I am really light on removal for halfway through a draft where I’m in black. (Tendrils of Corruption) is better for my deck, here.

  Pack 2 pick 7:
 
  My Pick:

I’ll be annoyed if I’m running the first (Bramble Creeper), and I’ll run an 18th land before I run a second. I cut the (Undead Slayer) which might have a number of targets in my deck before this draft is over.

  Pack 2 pick 8:

  My Pick:

I passed the (Mist Leopard) on the theory that (Oakenform) on a black creature actually makes a fairly hard-to-kill target against red, black, and green opponents. I never liked (Pincer Beetle) all that much in tenth, and (Mist Leopard) is hardly an improvement with just a point of toughness tacked on for the additional mana, as most playable creatures still trade with it.

  Pack 2 pick 9:

  My Pick:

(Mind Rot) takes just the right circumstances to be awesome, but it’s usually acceptable maindeck filler if needed, although when I do run it main, it’s almost never in after sideboarding. It does a solid job of being reasonable against any opponent in game one before making way for pinpoint awesomesauce like (Deathmark) or (Naturalize) in games two and three.

  Pack 2 pick 10:

  My Pick:

A little mid-game refueling with (Sign in Blood) over another (Deadly Recluse). 2cc is a very nice cost for drawing a couple cards—you can usually cast it and have enough mana left over to play something you drew on the same turn.

  The Rest:
 

  Pack 3 pick 1:

  My Pick:

An uncomfortable mana cost to be sure, and the (Child of Night) or (Diabolic Tutor) may be more what this deck is looking for, but it was still running about four tickets at the time of the draft and was playable, so I went with it. Maybe (Child of Night) tables, but I’m not counting on it.

  Pack 3 pick 2:

  My Pick:

What a score! (Master of the Wild Hunt) is a bomb on his own, but bombs that create tokens sure go well with (Overrun).

  Pack 3 pick 3:

  My Pick:

I take the straightforward beef over the jackknife (Acidic Slime). I’m glad they built (Lure) into a creature instead of leaving it as an aura, but I still don’t trust (Prized Unicorn). It’s only good as an alpha-strike enabler, and (Lure) effects have a way of making you look silly against instant-speed removal.

  Pack 3 pick 4:

  My Pick:

Without the (Vampire Nocturnus) I might go with another (Kelinore Bat), but (Vampire Aristocrat)’s creature type pushes him into the front. I also like (Stampeding Rhino), but cheaper drops are better for building up to devastating (Overrun)s. I really want a (Rampant Growth) as well, but not here.

  Pack 3 pick 5:

  My Pick:

Here is perfect, though. Shipping a (Wall of Front) sixth is troubling, though.

  Pack 3 pick 6:

  My Pick:

I decided on the trick over the man, here, based on deck needs. I have six playable three-drop creatures and no tricks; I need to mix some in, here. Shipping a (Wall of Front) seventh is troubling, though.

  Pack 3 pick 7:
 
  My Pick:

More fixing over the narrow removal spell, (Weakness); I only wish it were another (Borderland Ranger).

  Pack 3 pick 8:

  My Pick:

Mana elves and (Overrun) go together like chocolate and peanut butter, except, you know, after everyone already knew those two things went great together. Not so much because mana elves accelerate you into the (Overrun), but because they help you dump creatures on the table faster, making for a lethal (Overrun) earlier.

  Pack 3 pick 9:
 
  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 10:

  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 11:
 
  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 12:

  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 13:
 
  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 14:

  My Pick:


  Pack 3 pick 15:

  My Pick:


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Hey look, an opportunity to bang the Swiss drum!

See, this is one of the 43/Swiss scenarios that’s “the same,” right? The 43 1-0-X vs. the Swiss 1-0-1. It’s not the same, though. That extra match means something to me. I realize that for some, winning two packs in two matches as opposed to three is a benefit, because you are drafting again sooner for the same prize result. If that’s something of value to you, there’s no argument. Consider, however, that if you accept Magic drafting to be a Unless you are giving 43 the edge in packs-per-hour.

I think it’s advantageous to one’s growth as a player to experience that six-game minimum with draft decks. I think you learn more about successful drafting in two Swiss matches I think you gain a deeper understanding of the in your growth and improvement Three matches is a full experience for me. I find it impossibly frustrating to lose in round one