Drafting with Big Nass, ISD #7

Posted on January 23, 2012

This week, we’re kicking it old school with a text draft. I didn’t exactly plan it that way, but it seems that I’m trapped between Scylla and Charybdis. On one hand, I have an interesting video with no audio, and on the other hand, a total disaster of a Draft. I don’t have time to do a third Draft before my deadline, and I’m not going to put up a terrible Draft for the sake of having a video, hence I’ll be going back to a text recap.

I’ve wanted to return to actual articles; I just haven’t had much to say of late. I’ll be playing in the Modern PTQ season whenever I can, so I hope I can do well enough to have some worthwhile tournament reports. I’ve also been brewing up a more theoretical article about the misconceptions surrounding expected value, so stay tuned for those.

For those of you who are fans of my Draft videos, worry not—I’ll still be doing those in the future. As much as I love ISD draft, I expect there to be a spike in my time logged on Magic Online when Dark Ascension releases, so I’ll definitely have some videos during release week.

Now that we have the announcements out of the way, on to the Draft!

Pack 1, Pick 1:

My Pick:

Gavony Township is the “nut-nut,” as the kids say. I’ve never played with it, but I’ve sure as heck played against it, and it’s quite the beating. I don’t usually like to force decks, but Gavony Township is so strong that I’m going to try very hard to be in G/W.

Pack 1, Pick 2:

My Pick:

An excellent start to be sure. I like that I haven’t passed many quality green or white cards so far.

Pack 1, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Grasp is leagues better than the rest of the cards in this pack. If there had been a decent green or white card in the pack, I’d probably take it over the Grasp, but I can’t bring myself to take an Unruly Mob. The Grasp is a great hedge in case G/W doesn’t work out, and I can always splash it if necessary.

Pack 1, Pick 4:

My Pick:

In the immortal words of Sir Winston Churchill, “Safari so goodi.”

Pack 1, Pick 5:

My Pick:

I generally don’t like overloading on pump spells in G/W. I’ll always play any and all Travel Preparations, but after that, I usually only play one or two instant combat tricks. I think the pick is pretty close between Spidery Grasp and Moment of Heroism, but I think the latter is slightly better because it’s cheaper, and lifelink is usually better than an Inspirit with reach. If I already had a Moment of Heroism, I’d take the Spidery Grasp since there’s a lot of value in diversifying your tricks.

Pack 1, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 8:

My Pick:

I must admit: This was an emotional pick. I hate losing to Gnaw to the Bone, and I will always cut it when it doesn’t cost me anything. It’s pretty rare when I play Kindercatch, but that’s not really a justification for not taking it.

Pack 1, Pick 9:

My Pick:

Hauberk is decent in this kind of deck, but I’d rather have a solid creature over an Equipment I may or may not play.

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:

Darkthicket Wolf is definitely better than Spectral Rider, but it’s pretty close between it and the Chapel Geist. I don’t have any 2-drops at this point, so that swayed my decision toward the Wolf.

Pack 2, Pick 2:

My Pick:

Yeah, I rare-drafted; don’t judge me. Card values notwithstanding, the actual pick here is obviously the Mayor.

Pack 2, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Prey Upon is among the three green commons that make this deck work—the other two being Avacyn's Pilgrim and Travel Preparations.

Pack 2, Pick 4:

My Pick:

I think this is the first time I’ve drafted the Baconator. I guess I don’t value it as high as others. I probably would have taken almost literally any other 2- or 3-drop over it.

Pack 2, Pick 5:

My Pick:

Yeah, we’re in the right colors.

Pack 2, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Definitely in the right colors.

Pack 2, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 9:

My Pick:

Just in case I decide to splash the Grasp or I open something crazy like a Devil's Play. There’s nothing playable for me anyway.

Pack 2, Pick 10:

My Pick:

Foil rare!

Pack 2, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Might as well finish the playset.

Pack 2, Pick 12:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 15:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 1:

My Pick:

Even if I didn’t already have Gavony Township, this would still be the pick.

Pack 3, Pick 2:

My Pick:

I would normally take Prey Upon, but I’m a little short on creatures.

Pack 3, Pick 3:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 4:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 5:

My Pick:

I’m not so short on creatures that I’m going to take Grizzly Bears over Pacifism.

Pack 3, Pick 6:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 8:

My Pick:

COLLECT ALL THE PARALLEL LIVES.

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!

Here’s what I submitted:

”G/W with Grasp”

Lands (17)
1 Island
6 Plains
9 Forest
1 Gavony Township

Admittedly, I’m short on playables, but that’s what I get for rare-drafting. I just have to hope I draw Gavony Township every game. Since I actually have the games recorded and don’t have to rely on Magic Online for replays, I can actually recap every game for the first time ever. Here we go!

Match 1, Game 1

My opponent won the die roll and started off with a turn-one Stromkirk Noble. Geeeeeeez. True story: I once did that to one of my friends in a team draft, and he conceded on turn one. My opponent isn’t so lucky—the hand I kept was Forest, Island, Gavony Township, Ranger's Guile, Somberwald Spider, Midnight Haunting, and Avacyn's Pilgrim.

I hoped to be able to deal with the Noble before it got out of hand. He played a turn-two Village Ironsmith, so I awkwardly had to main-phase my Midnight Haunting in order to prevent it from transforming. Silent Departure on one of my tokens allowed him to continue the beats, so my new plan was to stall the board with Somberwald Spider. I attacked with my lone Spirit token, and my opponent tried to Harvest Pyre my Avacyn's Pilgrim (removing Silent Departure even), but I stopped him from removing my only white source with a Ranger's Guile.

I was going to need to chump his Noble next turn to keep it as a 4/4. I was intending to play the Spider and pump it with Gavony Township the following turn, which would stop his entire squad from attacking. I tried chump-attacking with a Selfless Cathar in order to make my Spider huge right away, but my opponent saw through my ruse and took 1. I chumped his Noble with my Spirit token and was all set to activate my rare land, but I drew a Moment of Heroism. He attacked with his whole squad, and I was able to negate almost all of his damage with my pump spell. I counter-attacked with a pair of 2/2s, leaving back a 3/5 Spider to play defense. I turned all his men sideways anyway, putting me to 5 life.

I hit him for another 4 and played a Festerhide Boar to stop him cold in his tracks. A Pitchburn Devils threatened to make a dent in my life total, but I had a Bonds of Faith to take it out of the picture. Travel Preparations plus another Township activation was too much for him to handle.

Match 1, Game 2

I kept two Forests, Gavony Township, Avacyn's Pilgrim, Bonds of Faith, Ranger's Guile, and Doomed Traveler on the draw. No turn-one Stromkirk Noble this time, but he did have a Bloodcrazed Neonate.

That wasn’t going to work out too well—I untapped an played a Doomed Traveler. He had a Crossway Vampire to prevent it from blocking, but I felt it was worth it to use my Ranger's Guile to ensure that Neonate was never going to be a problem. He followed up with a Village Ironsmith and a Ludevic's Test Subject on his turn four. I drew a Midnight Haunting, which was going to be pretty sick with my Gavony Township, but I first played out a Somberwald Spider to hold the ground.

I can make an army of increasingly large fliers next turn. The only way I was going to lose the game was if the Test Subject ever managed to transform, so I made sure to hold on to my Bonds of Faith until there was a danger of that actually happening. My opponent bounced my Spider with a Silent Departure in order to get in for 6 damage, but I had an Ambush Viper to trade with his Crossway Vampire. The spells didn’t end there—Avacyn's Pilgrim ate a Harvest Pyre.

I casually made two more Spirit tokens on his end step and attacked for 6, threatening lethal in two more turns. He missed his third land-drop, so his Silent Departure was trapped in his graveyard for the time being. The egg was now in danger of hatching, so I didn’t waste any time in putting a Bonds of Faith on it. Thraben Sentry joined the party, though one of my Spirits ate a Brimstone Volley in response. A fifth land for my opponent enabled him to Silent Departure another token, but all it did was buy him another turn.

Match 2, Game 1

I kept two Forests, Plains, Doomed Traveler, Traveler's Amulet, Thraben Sentry, and Ambush Viper on the draw. My opponent went turn-one Stromkirk Noble. REAAAAAALY?

I might have been in trouble if I didn’t have the Ambush Viper, but seriously: What are the odds that two of my opponents lead with the same rare 1-drop? The first couple turns went as expected: Our respective 1-drops got in for 1 damage each, and I successfully traded my Viper for his Noble. He didn’t have a follow-up, whereas I had plenty of gas, playing a Darkthicket Wolf on turn three.

He missed his fourth land-drop and still had nothing. I would have missed my land-drop were it not for the Traveler's Amulet, but I was unable to play one of my two Thraben Sentrys and instead attacked for 5 with my Doomed Traveler and Darkthicket Wolf. He didn’t draw a fourth land in time and conceded.

Match 2, Game 2

I kept Forest, Plains, Bonds of Faith, Somberwald Spider, Kindercatch, Festerhide Boar, and Voiceless Spirit on the draw. This hand is a borderline mulligan, and I would probably do so on the play. Replace the Bonds of Faith with a 4-drop and I would snap-mulligan.

My opponent drew Stromkirk Noble on his second turn and played it, but the one-turn delay meant that Voiceless Spirit was going to be an effective blocker, assuming it lived. My next draw was Slayer of the Wicked, so I was going to have an answer in case the Spirit didn’t work out. He indeed had a way to remove it—Geistflame—so I didn’t hesitate to slay his meddlesome Vampire. By then, a Moon Heron had joined his side of the board, so I was still taking some damage. He followed up with a Pitchburn Devils and declined to take me up on the trade when I attacked with my Slayer of the Wicked.

Somberwald Spider was going to hold back his flyer at least, and the following turn, I put a Bonds of Faith on his Devil and played a War Mammoth. It turned out that wasn’t his only Devil . . . as Pitchburn Devils’ bigger, badder brother Charmbreaker Devils showed up. He only had a Geistflame to return, so it wasn’t that big a deal. That is, until he untapped and cast Into the Maw of Hell every turn until I died.

Match 2, Game 3

I mulliganed into Plains, Gavony Township, Thraben Sentry, Ambush Viper, Bonds of Faith, and Midnight Haunting on the play. I drew Selfless Cathar right on time and figured that my best chance to win was to be aggressive. I certainly couldn’t beat recurring Terminate plus Stone Rain, so I suited up my 1/1 with a Bonds of Faith and started the beatdown.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

The fact that I didn’t draw another land certainly made that decision easier, as I definitely would have preferred to play a Midnight Haunting on turn three even on the super-aggro plan. Pitchburn Devils were back to stop my offense, but by then, I had drawn a third land to take to the skies. Stitched Drake on the next turn put a stop to that. I attempted to remove it with a Prey Upon and an Ambush Viper, but my opponent had a Harvest Pyre to save his flyer. Cackling Counterpart forced me to start chump-blocking, and I was unable to push through the last few points of damage.

I hope you guys enjoyed the Draft report, and if all goes well, I should have a PTQ report up next week. Until next time, may you always defeat your opponent’s turn-one Stromkirk Noble.

Nassim Ketita

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