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Somehow while losing my mind during finals, I found the time to record another Draft. This is probably going to be the last DII Draft I post on the site since by the time you’ll be reading this, many of you will have played the Avacyn Restored prerelease. When that comes out online, I’ll be sure to resume my Drafting with Big Nass series. I’m also done with school until next September, so I’ll have more time to write actual articles, and I’ll be posting more bonus content on my YouTube channel, so stay tuned.
As always, text recap follows the videos. Enjoy!
Draft
Match 1, Game 1
Match 1, Game 2
Match 1, Game 3
Match 2, Game 1
Match 2, Game 2
Match 3, Game 1
Match 3, Game 2
Match 3, Game 3
Pack 1, Pick 1:
My Pick:
I just can’t resist the allure of the Vampire clan. TEAM EDWARD 4LYFE.
Burden of Guilt is also a fine pick if you don’t want to commit that early.
Pack 1, Pick 2:
My Pick:
Not what I want to be second-picking, but Highborn Ghoul is a fine man in any aggressive black deck.
Pack 1, Pick 3:
My Pick:
Vengeful Vampire is a little slow, and it’s looking like black isn’t very open. I’d definitely play the 6-drop, but I don’t want to take it over real cards. It sucks that we’re probably goofing our first two picks, but that’s the risk you take when you commit early.
Pack 1, Pick 4:
My Pick:
That’s a pretty late Drogskol Captain, and W/U is among the better color combinations. There’s nothing else in the pack that’s very exciting, so this is an easy choice.
Pack 1, Pick 5:
My Pick:
I still don’t know for sure what colors I’m going to end up in, but I do know that I’ll want to play Wolfhunter's Quiver in almost any deck I draft.
Pack 1, Pick 6:
My Pick:
Alpha Brawl is too expensive to consider, so it comes down to which Captain I think I’m going to end up playing. I’m more leaning toward W/U at this point.
Pack 1, Pick 7:
My Pick:
It’s looking like white is reasonably open if I’m picking up a Gather the Townsfolk this late. This card can be mediocre, but in most aggressive white decks, it’s quite good.
Pack 1, Pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 1, Pick 9:
My Pick:
Hmmm . . . now it’s looking like both white and green are open. I want to stay on-color here, and Midnight Guard is insane with Wolfhunter's Quiver, but I’ll keep green’s openness in mind.
Pack 1, Pick 10:
My Pick:
I guess people don’t realize this card is good. It stops undying, people!
Pack 1, Pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 1, Pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 1, Pick 13:
My Pick:
I don’t really like either card, but Mattock is pretty good with Gather the Townsfolk.
Pack 1, Pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 1, Pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 2, Pick 1:
My Pick:
All right; G/W it is. Moon Heron is decent, but we didn’t see much in blue other than the Drogskol Captain, and G/W is a good color combination to be in for packs two and three. We’ll see how the rest of the Draft plays out, but I’m willing to take my chances with green considering all I’m giving up is a Moon Heron.
Pack 2, Pick 2:
My Pick:
Jeez, I would have had a couple really good picks had B/R been open last pack. I could take either Brimstone Volley or Sever the Bloodline to splash, but I need to start picking up creatures here. Also, as I’ve said many times before, I hate splashing.
Pack 2, Pick 3:
My Pick:
I’ve also said many times before that the games in which you play a turn-one Avacyn's Pilgrim are usually comically easy to win.
Pack 2, Pick 4:
My Pick:
There sure are a lot of good black and red cards going around. I’m not a huge fan of Rebuke, and Selfless Cathar should be decent.
Pack 2, Pick 5:
My Pick:
This pick is pretty close, but when in doubt, I go with the cheaper card.
Pack 2, Pick 6:
My Pick:
Pack 2, Pick 7:
My Pick:
Black is crazy-good in this pack. Whoever was cutting it on my right is going to be pretty happy. I’ll have to settle for Doomed Traveler.
Pack 2, Pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 2, Pick 9:
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Pack 2, Pick 10:
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Pack 2, Pick 11:
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Pack 2, Pick 12:
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Pack 2, Pick 13:
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Pack 2, Pick 14:
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Pack 2, Pick 15:
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Pack 3, Pick 1:
My Pick:
Grumble grumble . . . Coulda had two Victim of Night.
Pack 3, Pick 2:
My Pick:
Pack 3, Pick 3:
My Pick:
Well, there’s some justice after all. I hope to be passed some more goodies.
Pack 3, Pick 4:
My Pick:
Pack 3, Pick 5:
My Pick:
Blazing Torch is fine, but I’d much rather have good 2-drops.
Pack 3, Pick 6:
My Pick:
Pack 3, Pick 7:
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Pack 3, Pick 8:
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Pack 3, Pick 9:
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Pack 3, Pick 10:
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Pack 3, Pick 11:
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Pack 3, Pick 12:
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Pack 3, Pick 13:
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Pack 3, Pick 14:
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Pack 3, Pick 15:
My Pick:
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This is what I submitted:
"Coulda Had Two Victim of Night G/W"
- Creatures (18)
- 1 Avacynian Priest
- 1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
- 1 Chapel Geist
- 1 Doomed Traveler
- 1 Elder Cathar
- 1 Elder of Laurels
- 1 Gatstaf Shepherd
- 1 Midnight Guard
- 1 Selfless Cathar
- 1 Silverchase Fox
- 1 Slayer of the Wicked
- 1 Spectral Rider
- 1 Thraben Heretic
- 1 Village Bell-Ringer
- 2 Darkthicket Wolf
- 2 Villagers of Estwald
- Spells (5)
- 1 Spidery Grasp
- 1 Gather the Townsfolk
- 1 Burden of Guilt
- 1 Heavy Mattock
- 1 Wolfhunter's Quiver
Overall, I wasn’t all that happy with the deck. I didn’t see any Travel Preparations or Prey Upon, so I was forced to play almost all creatures. Almost all of them are Humans, so Heavy Mattock is playable. It was that or an Abbey Griffin.
The deck performed better than I expected, taking me all the way to the finals. In the first round, Silverchase Fox was the MVP, preventing the lethal point of damage from a Curse of the Pierced Heart. Yes, you read that right. Most of my games were over in five minutes or less—I would just play a stream of creatures my opponents were unable to deal with. I lost in the finals to a W/U deck that had at least two Feeling of Dread and that was able to race me quite effectively.
Until next time, good luck in your release tournaments, and may you always draw your miracles when you need them.
Nassim Ketita
articninja on Magic Online
