Locations
Welcome to another episode of Drafting with Big Nass. I don’t have much in the way of a preamble or announcements this week, but this Draft is a good example of how to recover when a Draft starts going poorly. It’s kind of all over the place at first, but I think I ended up with a strong deck.
As always, text recap follows the video links.
Draft
Match 1, Game 1
Match 1, Game 2
Match 1, Game 3
Pack 1, Pick 1:
My Pick:
This seems like a reasonable first pick to me. Even as a 4-mana, 4-power flyer, it’s ahead of the curve. In a deck with a lot of Mountains, the option to rebuy it seems insane, but the fact that you don’t have to have a red-heavy deck to play it makes it quite attractive.
Pack 1, Pick 2:
My Pick:
I know I give green a lot of crap, but R/G is a much better combination than R/W. Roaring Primadox is also a build-around-me card, so it’s good to take it early.
Pack 1, Pick 3:
My Pick:
This is a pretty awful third pick. Unsummon is the best card, but I’m not ready to jump into a third color just yet.
Pack 1, Pick 4:
My Pick:
Jeez, another terrible pack. Battleflight Eagle does combine well with Roaring Primadox in case I have to abandon red.
Pack 1, Pick 5:
My Pick:
Okay, something funky is going on. I should not be seeing Arctic Aven this late. I like W/U a lot, and if I end up U/R with one Plains for the Aven, that wouldn’t be the worst.
Pack 1, Pick 6:
My Pick:
I’m really not sure what to make of these signals. When in doubt, I’ll take a removal spell I guess. It also helps that my best card is the same color. I just wish I was more confident about what colors to be in.
Pack 1, Pick 7:
My Pick:
I probably should have taken Centaur Courser and gone with my original plan of R/G, but the allure of the Islands is strong in me.
Pack 1, Pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 1, Pick 9:
My Pick:
Pack 1, Pick 10:
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Pack 1, Pick 11:
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Pack 1, Pick 12:
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Pack 1, Pick 13:
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Pack 1, Pick 14:
My Pick:
Really? Someone took a basic land over a Goblin Battle Jester?
Pack 1, Pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 2, Pick 1:
My Pick:
That last pack was pretty bad, and I’m willing to goof almost all of it for Xathrid Gorgon. It’s fairly hard to lose when you untap with it. I like B/R a lot, and I did manage to pick up enough red playables last pack, so switching colors here should be fine.
Pack 2, Pick 2:
My Pick:
Oh, good God, now I look like a genius.
Pack 2, Pick 3:
My Pick:
I don’t think Slumbering Dragon will be all that great in this deck, whereas I should have more than enough Goblins to make Arms Dealer good.
Pack 2, Pick 4:
My Pick:
Pack 2, Pick 5:
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Pack 2, Pick 6:
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Pack 2, Pick 7:
My Pick:
I realize the strong synergy between Krenko's Command and Arms Dealer, but Rummaging Goblin is too awesome to pass up.
Pack 2, Pick 8:
My Pick:
I’m not a huge fan of Reckless Brute, but it does allow Mogg Flunkies to attack on turn three.
Pack 2, Pick 9:
My Pick:
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:
I’m so glad I switched into black.
Pack 3, Pick 2:
My Pick:
Pack 3, Pick 3:
My Pick:
Pack 3, Pick 4:
My Pick:
I was briefly tempted by the prospect of going deep with Dark Favor on Vampire Nighthawk, but I hate playing Auras in general.
Pack 3, Pick 5:
My Pick:
I really wanted to take Dragonskull Summit to help my nearly mono-red deck be able to cast Vampire Nighthawk reliably. I think I have too many 1-drops to justify having a land that doesn’t tap for mana turn one.
Pack 3, Pick 6:
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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 14:
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Pack 3, Pick 15:
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Here’s what I ended up submitting:
"B/R M13 Draft"
- Creatures (18)
- 1 Arms Dealer
- 1 Duty-Bound Dead
- 1 Firewing Phoenix
- 1 Knight of Infamy
- 1 Reckless Brute
- 1 Rummaging Goblin
- 1 Tormented Soul
- 1 Vampire Nighthawk
- 1 Walking Corpse
- 1 Xathrid Gorgon
- 2 Goblin Battle Jester
- 2 Mogg Flunkies
- 3 Goblin Arsonist
- 1 Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis
- Spells (5)
- 1 Essence Drain
- 1 Krenko's Command
- 2 Turn to Slag
- 1 Ring of Valkas
I felt that the deck was pretty good despite a rough start to the Draft. I lost first round to my opponent going all-in on a Watercourser with Mark of the Vampire and Tricks of the Trade. I couldn’t find a Turn to Slag in time, and unsurprisingly, I lost the race. It’s unfortunate, but it happens.
Hope you guys enjoyed the Draft recap, and I’ll see you next time. Until then, may you always draw the removal spell when you need it.
Nassim Ketita
arcticninja on Magic Online
www.youtube.com/nketita
