Waiting for Godot: Distorted Results (ROE #02)

Fair warning: you are reading a walkthrough of a Swiss draft. In the past, I’ve had readers comment that they stopped reading the moment they realized I had chosen a Swiss draft, so I figured I’d lead with that info so as not to waste the time of those already convinced that this article has nothing to offer them. If you fall into that camp, at least allow me to summarize my past responses on the issue before you move on.

I choose what drafts to write up based on their density of interesting decisions or their relevance to a topic I want to cover, not what queue they come from. There are Swiss drafts with tons of fascinating decision points and discussion fodder, and there are 84s that would be a waste of time to write up. If you’ve read my work in the past and have any respect for it, I would ask that you give me the benefit of the doubt and assume that whatever draft I write up, I have a good reason for it.

As for the general anti-Swiss bias in the “serious” Limited community, I have spoken and written on the subject numerous times, but here is an executive summary of the common arguments against Swiss and my responses:

• “All you have to do is win the first round to get two packs in 4322.” 84s and Swiss pay out 12 total packs, 4322s pay out 11. To play in 4322s is to let WotC keep a pack, and I urge people to avoid 4322s when there are Swiss and 84s also available because of this. Send WotC a message that you will not accept an 11-pack payout when they could easily make it 5322 and bring it up to Swiss and 84 levels.
• “I can’t ever come out ahead in Swiss, but I can in 4322.” This attitude is delusional, not to mention bad math, and it tilts me more than any other anti-Swiss argument. In the long run, you are not coming out ahead in any format unless you are one of a handful of elite drafters, so go with the one that pays out the best average (Swiss or 84), not the one that occasionally pays out a net positive but has a worse average payout.
• “Swiss takes too long because there are always four matches per round.” This is a misunderstood, overblown fact. Only in round two, and only when a loser’s-bracket match you aren’t in is the last one to finish, will there be extra “dead time” for you that wouldn’t have been there in an elimination queue. Besides, you can spend that dead time doing things you would have done later anyway, like reading Waiting for Godot.
• “Swiss always goes three rounds, so it clearly takes longer on average than elimination queues.” Once Swiss critics cite the fact that the actual playing takes longer, the argument becomes absurd. “Matches of Limited Magic” is ultimately what we are paying for, so the assurance of three rounds is a benefit, not a drawback. If broken down into “cost per match,” Swiss blows away the elimination queues in terms of value for your Magic dollar, which is a huge factor for me.
• “Swiss is for bad players.” This is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it also represents terrible table-selection philosophy. If your goal is to draft as much as you can for as little money as possible and not to practice for a pro tour, then you should be happy to play against opponents you are more likely to beat. That being said, you run into plenty of solid players in the Swiss queues despite them definitely having more novice players than the 84s. I can’t speak to player quality in 4322s.
• Another benefit of Swiss is the lower variance. You are not ever going to “come out ahead,” but you are walking away with at least a pack 7/8ths of the time, all players being equal. Because of this, budgets for Limited play are easier to manage under Swiss, and you are more free to experiment, since the consequences of an experiment gone bad are much smaller. You will still likely be able to walk away with a pack (maybe two!) with an experiment gone wrong, while you won’t win anything from a failed 84 experiment.
• Finally, drafting an amazing deck in an elimination queue only and lose to the other amazing deck in the first round—or fall to mana issues and mulligans—can be soul-crushing. Swiss is great insurance against first-round heartbreak.

OK, with my Defense of Swiss out of the way, let’s get to the draft and find out why I decided this one was worth a walkthrough!

The Draft

Deckbuilding

Last walkthrough, I gave a list of the no-brainer inclusions and challenged readers to decide what final cards they would use to fill out the deck. In this case, no such exercise is needed. I’m running every blue spell I drafted, and every red spell I drafted besides (Fissure Vent). The only question was whether or not to run the (Pennon Blade) or an 18th land, and I opted for the land. Here’s the deck, with the white cards available for the transformational sideboard, if desired.

I’m not proud of the (Ogre Sentry), but I can’t really complain about suboptimal cards in a deck where six of the seven cards in one color were all taken in the last half of the third pack. This is a pretty reasonable build of the Kiln Fiend deck given the circumstances, but it would have been fantastic had I been red-blue all the way. I said Swiss queues are a great place to experiment, and here is a case in point. Let’s see how it goes.

R1G1

Villain wins the roll and chooses to play last. I happily check my seven for the play:

Clearly fragile, but clearly what the deck is trying to do, so…clearly a keep.

Villain plays a Plains and I draw (Goblin Tunneler) before casting the (Kiln Fiend). An (Overgrown Battlement) comes down, but it won’t be blocking my fiend for the next couple of turns. I draw (Valakut Fireboar) and cast (Distortion Strike), hitting for 5 (20 – 15). I add the (Goblin Tunneler) after combat and pass.

Villain’s wall accelerates into (Ondu Giant), fetching a Forest. I untap, rebound the (Distortion Strike) to make the fiend a 5/2 unbloackable again, pull (Rage Nimbus) and cast it after swinging Villain down to 10 (20 – 10). Villain plays a fifth land (note that Villain has built up to six mana and I’ve cut his life total in half by turn four in this “slow” format), but only has a (Daggerback Basilisk) despite the nice acceleration. I pull a Mountain and work out how to spend the turn. What’s the play?

R1G1 #1

I’m a little concerned about Villain’s three unspent mana, but not enough to change my plans. I like making the (Kiln Fiend) unblockable, attempting to draw out a (Puncturing Light). If I draw that out, (Valakut Fireboar) should make it through next turn for 7. If I don’t draw it out, I can assume it’s not there, and (Valakut Fireboar) should make it through next turn for 7. You can see the pattern, here. Plan: make it through for 7 next turn. The fiend hits for 1 with no (Puncturing Light), and I drop the fireboar as planned (20 – 9).

A (Soulbound Guardian) joins enemy ranks, but Villain’s defenders and deathtouchers can’t do anything about the goblin sneaking fireboars behind enemy lines through his vast tunnel network. Villain does a pump-fake with a Plains, tapping it then untapping it, before passing the turn back to me. I draw another (Distortion Strike).

R1G1 #2

The worst-case scenario would be the same (Puncturing Light) I was concerned about earlier, but even that wouldn’t be very bad. I would lose the fireboar, but still have an unblockable 5/2 Kiln Fiend for the next two turns. I give the fireboar unblockability with the tunneler, and cast the (Distortion Strike) on the fiend, which earns a quick concession.

R1G2

Villain opts to play last, which seems like a mistake against distortionfiend.dec, but I take the gift and check my seven on the play:

Solid, let’s run with it. Maybe I’ll find the superstar play and find a way to turn (Fleeting Distraction) into a two-for-one! I lead with the (Skywatcher Adept) and draw a second (Distortion Strike) on turn two. I hit for 1 and pass (20 – 19), and Villain drops an imposing (Beastbreaker of Bala Ged), so I abandon any hope of (Fleeting Distraction) shenanigans and cycle it at the end of the turn, drawing (Ogre Sentry) followed by (Eel Umbra) on my regular draw. Three mana and lots of options. What’s the play?

R1G2 #1

I’m going to have a lot of trouble racing a beastbreaker with this hand, so I’d like to trade my (Rage Nimbus) for it if possible. However, I’ll trade my (Eel Umbra) for it right now if Villain would like, so I start with an attack, and Villain wisely declines to block (20 – 18). I cast the nimbus after combat and pass.

After more pump fakes with the mana, Villain settles on (Growth Spasm) fetching a Plains, apparently over leveling the beastbreaker. I take back the turn and topdeck a much-needed Island. How are you piloting this turn?

R1G2 #2

I like the idea of setting up to force Villain to attack with the beastbreaker or the spawn token. If the beastbreaker is a 4/4, I have the option of trading the (Eel Umbra) for the beastbreaker instead of losing my (Rage Nimbus). If I would make that play, then attacking with the (Skywatcher Adept) is correct here, since I would either hit for 1 or trade the umbra for the beastbreaker without even having to activate the nimbus. In the game I choose not to attack, and pass the turn.

Villain has an excellent response in (Jaddi Lifestrider), which can tap down the beastbreaker and the token, putting them out of reach of my nimbus and blanking my mana for the turn. Fortunately for me, Villain makes an online-only mistake. I can see the the highlighting appear around the beastbreaker and the token, suggesting the intention to tap them for the lifegain effect, but then they deselect and the lifestrider itself becomes highlighted, and then the ability finishes resolving, leaving a 2/2 beastbreaker up for luring.

There was no outward expression of frustration in the chat, but Villain had to be a bit tilted watching his leveler suicide charge into the (Rage Nimbus). I know I would have been, but making and taking advantage of those online-only punts are all part of the online game. I take the turn back and draw (Valakut Fireboar).

R1G2 #3

Not a great draw right now, but I’m a land away from distorting it all the way to victory. In the meantime, leveling up the adept and swinging for 2 in the air is the best use of my mana (20 – 18). Here is what I was talking about with the (Rage Nimbus), by the way. The ability just blanks a bunch of cards in Villain’s deck without even having to keep the mana up. I love threat-of-activation cards!

Villain has a (Snake Umbra) for the (Jaddi Lifestrider), which gets in for 3 damage and a card (17 – 18). A postcombat (Overgrown Battlement) is a creature that won’t be taunted by the nimbus. I cross my fingers for a land, but I pull a (Lavafume Invoker) instead. I swing with the adept again (17 – 16), and plan for this lifestrider problem while I wait for my fifth land.

R1G2 #4

I really feel like I’m just waiting for a fifth land to win, here, and it feels like (Guard Duty) is about the only thing standing in the way. If it’s not already in hand, I want to lower the odds of it getting there, which means I can’t let this card-drawing lifestrider thing continue uncontested. I cast the (Ogre Sentry) with (Eel Umbra) mana left up, setting up some options for Villain’s next attack phase.

After a second (Overgrown Battlement), Villain passes without an attack. I’ve telegraphed the (Eel Umbra) already, so it’s no surprise that it gets the play-around treatment. As long as that (Snake Umbra) isn’t drawing any cards, I’m happy. I still don’t pull a land, but I do draw a (Kiln Fiend), which will get the job done as well. The (Skywatcher Adept) cracks again for 2, and the fiend comes down to try and finish things (17 – 14).

Perhaps fearing the fiend, Villain plays a land and sends in the lifestrider. I block with the (Ogre Sentry) and the (Rage Nimbus), and release the eel. The net result is a trade of the sentry for the (Snake Umbra), which seems good to me. (Oust) sends the nimbus second from the top after combat, and I gain 3 (20 – 14). I take the turn back with Villain on one card in hand and pull (Flame Slash). It’s clearly time to at least cast one (Distortion Strike), but two? What about the (Flame Slash)?

R1G2 #5

If I unload with both (Distortion Strike)s and the (Flame Slash), I can deal 14 damage this turn and end it right now unless Villain has something unexpected like (Haze Frog) or a removal spell for the (Skywatcher Adept). I think it’s a very high chance that if I play for the win right now, it will work, but there’s also a similarly high chance that I’ll win this game if I play around the unexpected and look to win next turn. The question is, given all possibilities, is there a higher chance of this game slipping away from me if I move all in right now, or if I play it safe, but give Villain an extra draw in the process?

The chances of me losing in either scenario are fairly remote. It comes down to weighing the chances of Villain holding something to stop the alpha strike ((Repel the Darkness), (Harmless Assault), or (Haze Frog)) vs. the chance of topdecked (Guard Duty) followed by perfect draws to prevent me from simply winning through the adept or an eventual (Valakut Fireboar)/(Distortion Strike) combo. There is also the chance that Villain can prevent some of the damage this turn (via (Puncturing Light) for example), then draws a solution for the attack next turn: also highly unlikely.

Because losing in either scenario is quite remote, I opt to play it conservative and make the play that, if answered, leaves me with lots of options afterwards: casting a single (Distortion Strike). This may be on the nitty side, but it’s certainly far from certain that an opponent wouldn’t bring in a (Haze Frog) or (Harmless Assault) against a deck looking to deal large amounts of damage in a couple of devastating, all-in attacks.

I cast a single (Distortion Strike) and hit for 7 before adding (Lavafume Invoker) to the team (20 – 7). Villain untaps, pauses, and concedes.

Round-Two Scouting

Scouting reveals 14 cards in my second-round opponent’s deck:

The two Eldrazi seem a bit greedy for blue-black, but double (Enclave Cryptologist) is great, and (Consume the Meek) fairly well crushes me. It will be tough to play my game while playing around (Consume the Meek), I’m going to have to charge ahead with The Plan and hope either the (Consume the Meek) doesn’t show up, or that I have enough post-consumption action to finish things.

R2G1

I win the roll and have another solid opener for the deck.

An easy keep, with both the fiend-into-strike opener, and (Eel Umbra) protection to boot if I get to untap with the fiend in play. Villain has a normally-brutal opener of the turn-one (Enclave Cryptologist), but in this case I am only concerned about the survival of my impending (Kiln Fiend). My concerns are allayed somewhat when I pull a second (Kiln Fiend) off the top before casting the first one.

Villain has a Swamp for turn two, and spends it leveling the cryptologist, which is great news for me. I pull another Island and start the fiend beats off a (Distortion Strike) before playing fiend #2 (20 – 15). Villain loots away an Island and takes the turn back. An Island and a (Champion’s Drake) come down, and Villain loots again, this time discarding a (Frostwind Invoker). I untap and rebound the (Distortion Strike), drawing a Mountain right after.

I attack in, the drake steps in front of the fiend that it can, and I thwart Villain’s (Virulent Swipe) plan with the (Eel Umbra).

R2G1 #1

The unblockable fiend connects for 5, and the swipe trades for the umbra (20 – 10). I play out the (Goblin Tunneler) and pass. Villain has an (Escaped Null) to try and staunch the bleeding, but I rip (Staggershock) like a pro. One fiend becomes unblockable before I shock the null, forcing Villain to block the still-blockable fiend with the cryptologist or die to the rebound. A post-block loot cycles away an Island before the cyrptologtist follows it into the graveyard (20 – 6).

Villain has a (Sea Gate Oracle), but concedes when I make a (Kiln Fiend) unblockable with (Staggershock) and the fiend triggers on the stack.

So yeah, that went as planned! Let’s see if I can repeat.

R2G2

I’m on the draw with these seven.

After a first game that went perfectly, we get a reminder of how fragile a strategy like this can be, since it is effectively a creature-based combo deck in Limited. If I had this same land:spell distribution on the draw with something like (mana=u)(mana=w) levelers, it would almost certainly be a keep. In this spot, I don’t like the hand. I have three fiend/boar enablers, a removal spell, and a card to protect fiends/boars. I’m in a position where I have to draw one of my combo creatures very soon, or the hand isn’t good at all. I can get rid of one early threat, then I’m counting on my draws to be able to do anything of significance. I’d rather try a random six.

Obviously a bit slow, but I can’t go down to five over this. If I can surive until I find an Island and one other land, I could be in good shape.

I draw (Eel Umbra), and Villain has the first spell with (Champion's Drake). I get lucky with a (Kiln Fiend) off the top, and play it out. Need an Island now. Villain has a turn-three (Venerated Teacher), which, as all (Venerated Teacher)s on a board without levelers do, smacks of desperation. That is certainly a power of this deck. If you drop a turn-two (Kiln Fiend) and your opponent doesn’t have removal, it can cause desperation plays as early as turn three. I take 1 from the drake before getting the turn back (19 – 20).

I pull an Island, and I’m off to the fiend races, distorting my way to five unblockable before sending back the turn (19 – 15). Villain adds a second drake, hits me for 3, and passes it back with a Swamp and an Island up (16 – 15). I rebound the (Distortion Strike), pull (Lavafume Invoker), and crash in for another 5 (16 – 10). Should I protect the fiend with (Eel Umbra) mana up, or play out the invoker?

R2G2 #1

If Villain had removal the fiend would already be dead, and without more instants or sorceries, the invoker is the better creature anyway. I play it out and pass. The two drakes crash in for another 2 (14 – 10), and an (Escaped Null) joins the teacher on defense. I pull an Island, getting me to (Valakut Fireboar) mana, so I cast one of them and pass.

After sending the drakes over again, Villain casts and levels a (Halimar Wavewatch), which could definitely be a problem for me if I don’t find something to bust through in short order. Answering my request, my deck hands me a (Realist Spasm) off the top for the win:

R2G2 #2

Tap down three blockers and swing! I’ll say this about kilnfiend.dec, it’s going to allow me to cram a three-round draft into one article! Normally by the end of the draft writeup and round one, I’m at 5K+ words and have to two-part it, but I’m under 5K heading into round three, so let’s do this thing! Finals, baby!

Round-Three Scouting

Replay watching showed this partial decklist for my finals opponent:

Seems like a super-solid deck. I have to outrace the (Eldrazi Conscription), and my tools for dealing with an umbra’d up (Aura Gnarlid) are non-existent.

R3G1

Good ol’ Magic Online failed to record R3G1. Why? How does this feature work so consistently intermittently? So frustrating. It’s too bad because the game was an absolute clinic on how the (Kiln Fiend) deck can fail spectacularly in the face of actual answers to its early threats. I had a sick-looking draw with at least one fiend and one strike plus good mana, but when my fiend met with (Narcolepsy) and I didn’t luck into additional threats, the deck fell apart. The fiend enablers stuck in my hand just looked like dead draws, and I didn’t draw enough live ones to contain Villain’s offense or mount one of my own.

R3G2

I win the roll and check my seven:

This hand improves dramatically with a Mountain, but is keepable as is. I have the turn-one (Skywatcher Adept), and pass. Villain has an Island, and I rip the Mountain off the top for a turn-two (Kiln Fiend) and a point of damage off the adept (20 – 19). Villain has (Runed Servitor), and passes it back. I pull a second Mountain and play an Island.

R3G2 #1

I (Distortion Strike) the fiend, hit for 5, and cast the tunneler after combat (20 – 14). Villain has a land and (Sea Gate Oracle) before swinging for 2 with the servitor (18 – 14). I untap, rebound the strike, and pull another strike off the top. Interesting…should I cast the second strike now, or wait until next turn when the unblockability would be more useful?

R3G2 #2

I like piling on maximum pressure while he’s tapped out. I can cast the second (Distortion Strike) and level up the adept to crash in for 11, basically making Villain have to have double (Narcolepsy) or just lose, and double Narcolepsy seems quite unlikely. I drop Villain to 3 on turn four in this slow format, and pass (18 –3). After untapping and drawing, Villain scoops. This just in: Kiln Fiend/Distortion Strike decks can be explosive!

R3G3

On the draw, I check my seven, looking for a hand that will win me this draft.

Yuck, this hand is not getting it done. Six?

Better. Still needs some help, but could get there. Villain has a turn-two (Hada Spy Patrol) after I pull an Island, then I draw a (Distortion Strike) and can smell another potential rout coming on. I play the fiend and pass. Villain pushes back on my plans for a rout by enchanting my fiend with (Luminous Wake). Great sideboarding by Villain, as the wake is a card that is not usually maindeck material, but is often forgotten in the boards of white mages who snagged one late. It’s a fine quasi-removal spell against my deck.

I draw and cast (Lavafume Invoker), and pass it back. Villain levels up the spy patrol leaving a Plains up, and hits for 2 before passing the turn (18 – 20). I draw another land and cast the (Ogre Sentry) before hitting back for 2 (18 –18). That spy patrol could go all the way, and is a big concern if Villain sinks six more mana into it.

I pass the turn and the patrol hits for another 2 before a postcombat (Totem-Guide Hartebeest) searches up (Narcolepsy), which is a real nail in my coffin (and an example of why the hartebeest has risen in my rankings lately: fetching Narcolepsy is nice, and if you are winning through evasion, a 2/5 chunk of ground beef is a fine addition to the defense). I pull another land, and am suddenly feeling totally helpless, when just two turns ago I smelled a rout. I pass without a play, hoping the abundance of open mana will bluff Villain off of leveling the patrol.

It works to some extent, as Villain casts (Snake Umbra) on the hartebeest instead of what would have been a devastating umbra on the spy patrol. It’s still pretty bad for me on the hartebeest, which crashes in with the patrol shortly after. What’s the defense plan?

R3G3 #1

I think the play here is to use the (Reality Spasm) to pump the (Kiln Fiend), then double block with the sentry and the fiend. I can’t sit here and let Villain draw cards all day. In the game, though, I had mentally given the Kiln Fiend “pacified” status, and wasn’t really considering him in block decisions. Also, honestly, I was kind of in “waiting to die” mode, knowing that I would need a series of pretty perfect draws to overcome this board and the known (Narcolepsy). Instead, I take it all (11 – 18).

Another land off the top is no help, and although I get in for 2 with the invoker and see the (Reality Spasm) play the second time around to double block the hartebeest, it’s way too late. Villain adds a (Frostwind Invoker) to the team, and I succumb to his evasive creatures shortly after.

Wow, it’s almost like if Villain can handle the early (Kiln Fiend), the deck falls apart! Who would have thunk it. It was a fun deck to play and good for a couple of packs. What takeways do I have from this draft?

Conclusions

I think this walkthrough contained the lowest density of interesting game decisions that I’ve ever decided to write up, but it was too fun not to. I also know a lot of people who have not drafted the Kiln Fiend deck have been wondering about it, and the results here shed a reasonable light on both the strengths and the weaknesses of the archetype.

The deck is a blast to play when it works. It is undeniably gratifying to explode for turn-four concessions in Limited, particularly in a format that is supposed to be a breather from this kind of aggro. That being said, the whole deck is one big (Skulking Ghost). Left alone, the mana-to-damage ratio is way above the curve, but it crumbles when interfered with to any significant degree.

Rogue Limited strategies are best when they are resilient to the best common picks of traditional draft decks. Back in Kamigawa block, a deck emerged around (Dampen Thought) that was popularized after Quentin Martin drafted it at GP Paris, and an article appeared on the mothership about it. The beauty of the (Dampen Thought) deck was that it ran no creatures and won by milling. By running zero creatures, it blanked all the removal spells in decks it faced. In game one, an opposing deck might end up with four or more dead cards in hand.

The problem with the Kiln Fiend deck is that it drafts and plays a lot like a combo deck, but it doesn’t blank opposing cards like the (Dampen Thought) deck did. In fact, just the opposite: Kiln Fiend decks are vulnerable to the top common picks in four of the five colors. If you face monogreen, you are in great shape to run your strategy unopposed, but for the most part you should expect (Flame Slash), (Staggershock), (Heat Ray), (Vendetta), (Last Kiss), (Induce Despair), (Guard Duty), (Regress), and (Narcolepsy) to make life difficult for you if you try out this archetype.

If you do, note that Kiln Fiend is next to Distortion Strike in the common print run. Certainly this is intentional, as it makes it harder to draft a truly sick deck playing off of those synergies. I generally take the fiends first, as the (Distortion Strike)s tend to wheel more often than the fiends, and things like (Wrap in Flames) can substitute for Distortion Strike in a pinch. If you are looking at a pack with Distortion Strike and no Kiln Fiend, consider print runs and keep in mind that someone upstream might already be drafting the deck.

To help with the fragility of the deck, having a late-game backup plan is ideal. I had the (Hellion Eruption), for example, which would have been an excellent draw in the finals after having several creatures pacified. You won’t always come up with a great backup plan when you are in this archetype, but keep your eye out.

Here are some thoughts on some of the cards available for this deck, given both my experiences in this draft and other drafts since then.

(Goblin Tunneler): Not my favorite enabler for the deck. He combos nicely with the (Valakut Fireboar), but not with the (Kiln Fiend) unless you have a non-falter instant or sorcery. That’s the thing, though: you really want your instants and sorceries to either be falter effects or removal, both of which help get the fiend through without the help of the tunneler.

(Wrap in Flames): I had no Wrap in Flames, and in most instances during this match, I would have been better off if every tunneler I drew had been a Wrap in Flames instead.

(Battle-Rattle Shaman): This guy solid in most versions of the deck, and if you are running multiple Goblin Tunnelers like I was, the value rises. Note that it is not synergistic with (Valakut Fireboar), which merely becomes a 7/3 attacker instead of a 7/1 attacker under the effects of the shaman.

(See Beyond): Another card I didn’t have that I would have loved. The nut draw for the deck involved a turn-two (Kiln Fiend) and a turn-three (Distortion Strike), so a question that came up a lot was, “What am I doing with the other two mana on turn three?” (See Beyond) is a great answer to that question. For one, it creates an 8/2 unblockable instead of a 5/2, but more importantly, it digs two cards deeper into your library for your next play. The deck is basically an aggressive combo deck, and like any combo deck, you will end up in situations where you have dupes of one combo piece while missing another piece entirely. See Beyond helps solve that problem while pumping your fiends and filling an important spot in the curve.

(Traitorous Instinct): Sure wish I’d taken this card P1P2 in hindsight. A great enabler for the strategy, pumping the fiend and clearing the way. It can simply mop up on turn four or five after the fiend/strike combo has gone to work early.

(Mnemonic Wall): I missed a couple of chances to draft the wall in this draft, and that hurt. If you’ve run out of gas but have a fiend in play, the wall can fetch back an enabler while keeping you alive long enough to make use of it if you can’t cast it on the same turn. It would have been fantastic to have one of these defenders instead of the one I ended up running.

Finally, drafts like this are some of the best arguments for Swiss. Not only did I feel more comfortable experimenting with the draft because of the flatter payout, I was assured three matches to test drive it. That’s particularly valuable with a deck that is strikeout/homerun in nature. You don’t want to get unlucky and strike out in the first two games of an elimination draft when exploring a risky archetype to see what makes it tick.

Thanks for reading, and until next time, happy drafting!

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