I think the videos from last week went well, so I’ll be doing more of them in the future. I wish the games were more interesting, but there’s not much I can do about that. For those of you who can’t watch the videos, I’ve included a write-up of the draft, but it’d be a little too time-consuming to write up the matches and do the videos. As always, let me know if you have any feedback.

Here are the videos. Scroll past them for the image-and-text version.

Draft, Part 1

Draft, Part 2

Match 1, Game 1

Match 1, Game 2

Pack 1, Pick 1:

My Pick:

Not a difficult pick. Mentor of the Meek is pretty crazy when it gets going.

Pack 1, Pick 2:

My Pick:

I like Mirror-Mad Phantasm a lot—probably more than most people. I doubt that I’ll end up playing both it and the Mentor, but I’m just taking the best card in the pack and moving on.

Pack 1, Pick 3:

My Pick:

I think The pick here is between Makeshift Mauler and Voiceless Spirit. The Mauler isn’t that great in W/U, and there’s a strong incentive for me to be in White. Morkrut Banshee is another consideration, but it’s one of those cards that’s not as good as it looks.

Pack 1, Pick 4:

My Pick:

I like Voiceless Spirit a little more than Rebuke. My White decks tend to be on the offensive, reducing Rebuke’s effectiveness. It’s really important in these decks to have a critical mass of solid, cheap creatures. If this were the third pack, and I already had a bunch of creatures, I would take the Rebuke.

Pack 1, Pick 5:

My Pick:

Harvest Pyre is the best card, but I don’t think it’s good enough to jump into Red for.

Pack 1, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Admittedly, I’m gambling that Green becomes open later on. I’m not really missing much out of this pack anyway.

Pack 1, Pick 7:

My Pick:

It’s somewhat surprising to see this many solid Red cards this late. Of these, I think Rage Thrower is the best. All of the non-Red cards are borderline unplayable.

Pack 1, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 9:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 10:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Shameless rare-draft.

Pack 1, Pick 12:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 15:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 1:

My Pick:

Kessig Wolf Run is pretty insane if you’re R/G, which I’m not, but it’s powerful enough to be worth splashing. At this point, we’re looking to be either R/W or G/W, splashing for the Wolf Run.

Pack 2, Pick 2:

My Pick:

I think it’s pretty close between Slayer and Bonds of Faith, but I tend to lean toward the former.

Pack 2, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 4:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 5:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 9:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 10:

My Pick:

I like having this as a sideboard option. Pitchfork is the other option, but the card rarely makes the cut in my decks.

Pack 2, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 12:

My Pick:

And I got a second Purify the Grave anyway. I kind of wish that I took that Pitchfork, but I don’t think it’s going to matter.

Pack 2, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 15:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 1:

My Pick:

Essence of the Wild really isn’t all that exciting. It’s a little better than Kindercatch, which is a card that I’m never happy to play. Well okay, it’s much better than Kindercatch, but that’s still not saying much.

Pack 3, Pick 2:

My Pick:

I was really tempted to take Sturmgeist, but I really got the feeling that Blue wasn’t going to be open.

Pack 3, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 4:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 5:

My Pick:

Missed pretty hard on this pack. I think it’s more likely that I’ll play Pitchfork than any of the Red cards in this pack.

Pack 3, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 8:

My Pick:

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:

This draft converter created by Benjamin Peebles-Mundy.

Visit the draft converter today!

I ended up losing in the first round to a combination of my opponent having a fast deck and some bad draws for me. It’s disappointing that I never got to play my Mentor of the Meek, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. The funny thing is that I’ve had a bunch of Drafts recently that I haven’t recorded that were much better than this one. I guess at least no one can accuse me of cherry-picking my good drafts.

If you enjoyed the videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you can see them early. When my exams are done, I might put some bonus drafts on there. I also plan to return to writing actual articles soon; I’ve just been extremely busy with school. This is my last article of the year, so have happy holidays, everyone, and I’ll see you again in the new year.

Until next time, may you only draw your splash land when you need it.

Nassim Ketita