Drafting with Big Nass, ISD #9

Posted on February 13, 2012

Welcome back, everyone, for another Innistrad Draft. This time, I had my friend-and-temporary-roommate Dane join me for additional commentary. I thought it’d be neat to have someone else with me to discuss Draft picks and plays. Let me know in the comments what you thought, and if there’s a positive response, I can certainly arrange for special guests in the future.

This was a bit of an odd Draft in that I tried to force a deck, so there’re going to be some very strange picks. I have a feeling a lot of people will disagree with my choices, but I encourage you to stick around to watch the matches for entertainment value at least.

As always, the text recap follows the video links.

Draft	Draft
Match 1	Game 1	Game 2
Match 2	Game 1	Game 2
Match 3	Game 1	Game 2

Pack 1, Pick 1:

My Pick:

We can start things off with my most controversial pick of the Draft. Balefire Dragon is very good, but it costs 7 mana. The format is highly aggressive, and I generally don’t like having expensive cards that just stay trapped in my hand. The Dragon is powerful enough that it’s still a high pick despite these considerations, and I probably would have taken it were it not for the Invisible Stalker.

Stalker is simply among the most unfair and frustrating cards in the format. I really wanted to be the one with the Stalker deck for once, so I decided that I was going to try to force the archetype.

There are pros and cons to both cards, and when they’re good, they’re insane. What makes Stalker so frustrating is that there are so few cards that deal with it, whereas with the Dragon, there are multiple common cards that can kill it or stop it from attacking.

Pack 1, Pick 2:

My Pick:

W/U is a good color combination for Invisible Stalker, so I’m happy to pick up the Midnight Haunting. Splinterfright is another build-around-me card, but it doesn’t work that well with what I’m trying to accomplish.

Pack 1, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Sigh. Kind of wish I had a DeLorean for this Draft. Honestly, it really isn’t too late to switch into Red, but I’ve just mentally committed myself to the Invisible Stalker plan—for better or worse.

Pack 1, Pick 4:

My Pick:

Feeling of Dread is very important for the style of deck I’m trying to draft. Selhoff Occultist doesn’t do a whole lot for me, and Rebuke is just unexciting.

Pack 1, Pick 5:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Could have had a seventh-pick Geistflame for the sick rub-ins.

Pack 1, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Have I mentioned how much I regret not taking the red cards?

Pack 1, Pick 9:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 10:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 11:

My Pick:

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:

Yeah, it figures that I would open another red rare. I’m still trying to make Invisible Stalker happen, so the pick for that deck is Silent Departure. I might lose my sanity by the end of this Draft.

Pack 2, Pick 2:

My Pick:

Civilized Scholar makes everything better, right? Right?

Pack 2, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 4:

My Pick:

As much as I want a second Feeling of Dread, I can’t take it over a Chapel Geist. I also really need that Spectral Flight to table.

Pack 2, Pick 5:

My Pick:

Gallows Warden rarely makes the cut in my deck, but I do think it’s better than either of the white instants in this pack.

Pack 2, Pick 6:

My Pick:

All right, so the person to my left has an insane red deck, and the person to my right has an insane G/W deck. I have an Invisible Stalker with nothing to put on it so far.

Pack 2, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pardon me while I curl up into a ball and cry in the corner.

Pack 2, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Someone is going to be pretty happy with a ninth-pick or later Prey Upon.

Pack 2, Pick 9:

My Pick:

The line must be drawn here! This far, no farther!

Pack 2, Pick 10:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 12:

My Pick:

Spectral Flight didn’t come back. Ruh-roh.

Pack 2, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 15:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 1:

My Pick:

It seems right that I would open a fourth bomb rare that isn’t in my colors. Guess I’ll have to be happy with a mediocre removal spell.

Pack 3, Pick 2:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 3:

My Pick:

I don’t know if I should be happy that I finally found a decent card for my deck or sad that I could have had yet another amazing red rare.

Pack 3, Pick 4:

My Pick:

I need to win the game somehow, and the blue mythic does a pretty good job of ending games quickly when it’s unopposed. I have a couple ways of pushing it through, so it should be pretty good in this deck.

Pack 3, Pick 5:

My Pick:

Sensory Deprivation is great in durdling decks that want to make it to the long game and not die to opponents’ aggressive starts. It’s not so great when you’re trying to be the aggressor and all it does is give your opponent a Wall.

Pack 3, Pick 6:

My Pick:

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this in previous Drafts, but I absolutely hate losing to this card. I will hate-draft it whenever it doesn’t cost me a playable.

Pack 3, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 8:

My Pick:

I really hate Cloistered Youth—there are many cards that severely punish you for playing it. Not many things are worse than dying to your own Unholy Fiend that can’t attack for whatever reason. That said, I don’t think I need more Spare from Evils.

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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I think I would still make the same choice P1P1—it’s just unfortunate that the packs ended up making that decision absolutely horrible. I think it would have been far more likely for me to find two Invisible Stalkers and a bunch of cards that work really well with them rather than two Balefire Dragons and every red rare I could ask for, but that’s variance for you.

I still think I ended up with a decent deck; it just sucks knowing I could have had an insane deck if I wasn’t so hell-bent on forcing the Stalker deck. I didn’t pick up a single card that combos with my first pick, and thus, it sat in the sideboard.

Here’s what I submitted:

"Non-Red, No-Stalker Draft"

Lands (17)
10 Plains
7 Island

I ended up losing in the finals to the deck with all the red rares I passed, so I guess that’s what I deserve. I tried to get cute and, I was punished for it. Lesson learned.

Hope you guys enjoyed watching me suffer at least, and as always, I appreciate any feedback you might have. I might not necessarily respond to everything, but I always read the comments.

Until next time, may there be a donkey sitting next to you in your Draft passing you a Constructed deck.

Nassim Ketita

arcticninja on Magic Online

TAGS articles, draft, video, limited, drafting, innistrad, nassim ketita, recap