Although I've played Magic in a foreign country before, Canada didn't really feel all that different from the United States. Ireland though...
The Draft and the Deck
My first pick was easy: Nissa, Vastwood Seer. My second pick was Topan Freeblade, and the rest of the draft neither encouraged me nor discouraged me in my choice. I picked up reasonable creatures and a few reasonable spells on the way to a reasonable - but not flashy - deck. Still, Nissa was lucky, right?
Round 1
Yes, Nissa was lucky, but my first round Irish opponent was even luckier. In the first game he played Managorger Hydra on turn 3, and that was pretty much it for me.
In the second game, he... played Managorger Hydra on turn 3 once more. This time I was able to delay his attacks, and when he eventually attacked with it and a Skysnare Spider, I was able to kill the spider with a Titanic Growth and followed it up with a post-combat damage Celestial Flare.
Then I had to deal with 2 Rhox Maulers. With those out of the way, my opponent played a Graveblade Marauder. Ugh. Still I was able to fly over his board with a Charging Griffin, until his Woodland Bellower fetched the additional creatures he needed to finish me off.
Result: L (0-2)
Round 2
Fortunately my second round opponent did not have nearly as much power as my first round opponent. His most troubling cards were a Blightcaster and an Akroan Jailer, and those were simple enough for my deck to deal with.
Result: W (2-0)
Round 3
My third round opponent lost the first game in quick fashion after he mulliganed to six and got (I suspect) mana flooded. I had no idea what his deck was about until the second game, when he played a turn 3 Chief of the Foundry followed by a turn 4 Pia and Kiran Nalaar. Oh.
I got crushed that game. But in game 3 my deck played out threat starting on turn 2 with a Topan Freeblade, and continuing each and every turn. And although he dealt with my early threats and played Pia and Kiran Nalaar, I was able to simply overwhelm him in the end.
Result: W (2-1)
Summary
The deck I drafted felt like a 'typical' Origins draft deck, full of early threats that curve into a few late threats while using the occasional combat trick to fool my opponent. Nothing too exciting. But at least the Irish Magic players were all very nice!
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Magic Origins Draft #11: Game Day Draft!
I had hoped to play Standard during Magic Origins Gameday, but work conspired against me, putting me on a Saturday evening flight. The store I frequent was running a draft in parallel. Eh, good enough!
The Draft and the Deck
I decided to try and exert some discipline this draft, keeping a careful eye on my curve and making sure I had the requisite early board presence that this format seems to require. That led to pack 3 picks such as Topan Freeblade over Knightly Valor.
In the meantime it felt like my Red/White deck was being cut hard from removal. Still, my creatures looked good and I had combat tricks, so maybe... ?
Round 1
My round 1 opponent also played Red/White, and I quickly discovered when the White removal had went when he played Celestial Flare after Celestial Flare. He was a newer player though, so he played his removal far too fast, leaving my bigger threats such as Sentinel of the Eternal Watch free to wreak havoc.
Result: W (2-0)
Round 2
My first round opponent had the White removal, and my second round opponent had the Red, with three Fiery Impulses to go along with his Blue control cards such as Anchor to the Aether and Bone to Ash. He only had nine creatures though, and my creatures wore out his removal before slamming through to victory.
Result: W (2-0)
Round 3
My opponent and I agreed to an intentional draw before playing out a friendly game. His Blue/Black control deck was a bit slow for my aggro deck - my 2/2 2-drops outclassed his Fetid Imps - and I rode my aggressiveness to victories in game 1 and 3.
In game 2 he pulled out a Mage-Ring Responder which I narrowly defeated by using Enshrouding Mists to save my Sentinel of the Eternal Watch before triple-blocking the Responder to death. But after that 1-for-3 trade I was too far behind on the board, and he overwhelmed my lone creature for the victory.
Result: ID; friendly game W (2-1)
Summary
This was not the most exciting draft, although I feel like it was one of my more consistent ones, and a victory is always something to be proud of. But I think I'd like to work up the courage to try one of the more extreme draft strategies - mill or sacrifice or control.
The Draft and the Deck
I decided to try and exert some discipline this draft, keeping a careful eye on my curve and making sure I had the requisite early board presence that this format seems to require. That led to pack 3 picks such as Topan Freeblade over Knightly Valor.
In the meantime it felt like my Red/White deck was being cut hard from removal. Still, my creatures looked good and I had combat tricks, so maybe... ?
Round 1
My round 1 opponent also played Red/White, and I quickly discovered when the White removal had went when he played Celestial Flare after Celestial Flare. He was a newer player though, so he played his removal far too fast, leaving my bigger threats such as Sentinel of the Eternal Watch free to wreak havoc.
Result: W (2-0)
Round 2
My first round opponent had the White removal, and my second round opponent had the Red, with three Fiery Impulses to go along with his Blue control cards such as Anchor to the Aether and Bone to Ash. He only had nine creatures though, and my creatures wore out his removal before slamming through to victory.
Result: W (2-0)
Round 3
My opponent and I agreed to an intentional draw before playing out a friendly game. His Blue/Black control deck was a bit slow for my aggro deck - my 2/2 2-drops outclassed his Fetid Imps - and I rode my aggressiveness to victories in game 1 and 3.
In game 2 he pulled out a Mage-Ring Responder which I narrowly defeated by using Enshrouding Mists to save my Sentinel of the Eternal Watch before triple-blocking the Responder to death. But after that 1-for-3 trade I was too far behind on the board, and he overwhelmed my lone creature for the victory.
Result: ID; friendly game W (2-1)
Summary
This was not the most exciting draft, although I feel like it was one of my more consistent ones, and a victory is always something to be proud of. But I think I'd like to work up the courage to try one of the more extreme draft strategies - mill or sacrifice or control.
Friday, August 7, 2015
Magic Origins Draft #10: Oh, That's Where the Green Cards Went
The Draft and the Deck
My first three picks were Undercity Troll, Leaf Gilder, and Elvish Visionary. Pretty solid... except the kid sitting two seats to my right had opened Nissa, and (as I later learned) he proceeded to simply take every green card he saw for a mono-Green deck.
Needless to say, my draft strategy was derailed. I started dabbling in various colors in the expectation of dropping Green altogether. White quickly became a color of choice after I snap-picked a few Swift Reckonings despite passing two Suppression Bonds. But the second color... ?
And then in the third pack I opened and took an Outland Colossus, while two Citadel Castellans wheeled. Just like that I was back in Green... except I didn't have enough playables in Green/White, so I splashed Red for the truly epic bombs of Boggart Brute and Prickleboar.
Okay, maybe it wasn't the best strategy, but it turns out that there was a mitigating factor in this draft...
Round 1
... which I quickly learned about when my first round opponent shook his head and unhappily mentioned that he really wished he didn't have to go four colors. It turns out that I wasn't the only person whose draft strategy had been thrown askew. As one might expect my opponent's deck was a bit hodgepodge (although he did have a sizable threat in Hangarback Walker), and I won fairly easily.
Result: W (2-0)
Round 2
My second round opponent had a familiar tale: he had started out drafting Red/Blue, only to switch into White/Black. And he gave me ample opportunity to regret passing so many Suppression Bonds when he played three of them in our first game and won on the back of Knightly Valor while I stared unhappily at the Swift Reckoning in my hand.
Fortunately for me he had mana issues in the other two games, and I pulled out a victory. I do believe that his deck was the better one though. I guess it's better to be lucky than good sometimes.
Result: W (2-1)
Round 3
Since we were the only two undefeated players left in the pod, and the top two players both received the promo Serum Visions that everyone was pretending not to lust for, we agreed to an intentional draw.
Result: ID
Summary
Well... it was a draft... and I got a Serum Visions...
My first three picks were Undercity Troll, Leaf Gilder, and Elvish Visionary. Pretty solid... except the kid sitting two seats to my right had opened Nissa, and (as I later learned) he proceeded to simply take every green card he saw for a mono-Green deck.
Needless to say, my draft strategy was derailed. I started dabbling in various colors in the expectation of dropping Green altogether. White quickly became a color of choice after I snap-picked a few Swift Reckonings despite passing two Suppression Bonds. But the second color... ?
And then in the third pack I opened and took an Outland Colossus, while two Citadel Castellans wheeled. Just like that I was back in Green... except I didn't have enough playables in Green/White, so I splashed Red for the truly epic bombs of Boggart Brute and Prickleboar.
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Okay, maybe it wasn't the best strategy, but it turns out that there was a mitigating factor in this draft...
Round 1
... which I quickly learned about when my first round opponent shook his head and unhappily mentioned that he really wished he didn't have to go four colors. It turns out that I wasn't the only person whose draft strategy had been thrown askew. As one might expect my opponent's deck was a bit hodgepodge (although he did have a sizable threat in Hangarback Walker), and I won fairly easily.
Result: W (2-0)
Round 2
My second round opponent had a familiar tale: he had started out drafting Red/Blue, only to switch into White/Black. And he gave me ample opportunity to regret passing so many Suppression Bonds when he played three of them in our first game and won on the back of Knightly Valor while I stared unhappily at the Swift Reckoning in my hand.
Fortunately for me he had mana issues in the other two games, and I pulled out a victory. I do believe that his deck was the better one though. I guess it's better to be lucky than good sometimes.
Result: W (2-1)
Round 3
Since we were the only two undefeated players left in the pod, and the top two players both received the promo Serum Visions that everyone was pretending not to lust for, we agreed to an intentional draw.
Result: ID
Summary
Well... it was a draft... and I got a Serum Visions...
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Magic Origins Draft #9: Take to the Skies!
The Draft and the Deck
After rolling my eyes at opening yet another painland in my first pack, I excitedly slammed down the bomb uncommon... Anchor to the Aether.
Okay, I might be showing a bit of sarcasm here. But fortunately my second pick was a true bomb uncommon: Whirler Rogue. So I was almost definitely going Blue. But what about my second color? I flirted a bit with both Green and Black before I decided that passing a third Topan Freeblade was just asking for trouble. Not the best reason to go into White... but although I didn't pick up any bombs, I did draft a pretty solid deck.
Note my sideboard, which displays my worst drafting habit: the tendency to instinctively hate-draft cards that have beaten me over the head in the past.
Round 1
My first round opponent was playing a Black/Red deck that had some cheap creatures leading into heavy 5-mana removal and Kothophed, Soul Hoarder. In the first game I jumped out into an early lead, only to watch my dominating board get wiped away by a well-timed Chandra's Ignition. But fortunately I had a Foundry of the Consuls in play, enabling me to quickly establish a few Thopters that grew in strength once my Chief of the Foundry came down.
But my opponent cast Kothophed to stall, and we stared at each other for a few turns while we each slowly played creature after creature. In the end I barely won with an attack that just managed to be lethal after he was forced to block and kill one of my attackers, triggering Kothophed and losing him his last life.
Game 2 played markedly different, with both of us eschewing blockers, instead swinging with our cheap creatures. My opponent's Acolyte of the Inferno and Scab-Clan Berserker did serious work, but in the end my flyers combined with my tempo tricks won the day.
Result: W (2-0)
Round 2
My second round opponent was fairly new to drafting, as evidenced by the fact that he had two copies each of Akroan Jailer and Yoked Ox. This led to fairly straightforward victories.
Result: W (2-0)
Round 3
As this was the last round and my opponent and I were the only undefeated players left in the pod, we agreed to an intentional draw. However we learned that the winner of each pod also received a StarCity Games pin, so we decided to play for that.
The first two games played similarly for me, with him playing 2- and 3- drops on curve while I was forced to wait until turn 4. But in the first game, my turn 4 creature was a War Oracle that I managed to sneak through his defenses to turn the time. I was not so fortunate the second game, and my opponent created a stalled board state with two Hitchclaw Recluses before utterly smashing me with Hangarback Walker and Gaea's Revenge.
And then there was game 3, in which I curved perfectly - a Chief of the Foundry into Whirler Rogue into Thunderclap Wyvern. There was little my opponent could do against that.
Result: ID; played for bonus prize, W (2-1)
Summary
Well, there's nothing really exciting in my deck. It's 'just' solid cards implementing a solid plan, and I think a lot of times that's all you really need.
Oh, and here's the pin (and token) that I won!
After rolling my eyes at opening yet another painland in my first pack, I excitedly slammed down the bomb uncommon... Anchor to the Aether.
Okay, I might be showing a bit of sarcasm here. But fortunately my second pick was a true bomb uncommon: Whirler Rogue. So I was almost definitely going Blue. But what about my second color? I flirted a bit with both Green and Black before I decided that passing a third Topan Freeblade was just asking for trouble. Not the best reason to go into White... but although I didn't pick up any bombs, I did draft a pretty solid deck.
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Note my sideboard, which displays my worst drafting habit: the tendency to instinctively hate-draft cards that have beaten me over the head in the past.
Round 1
My first round opponent was playing a Black/Red deck that had some cheap creatures leading into heavy 5-mana removal and Kothophed, Soul Hoarder. In the first game I jumped out into an early lead, only to watch my dominating board get wiped away by a well-timed Chandra's Ignition. But fortunately I had a Foundry of the Consuls in play, enabling me to quickly establish a few Thopters that grew in strength once my Chief of the Foundry came down.
But my opponent cast Kothophed to stall, and we stared at each other for a few turns while we each slowly played creature after creature. In the end I barely won with an attack that just managed to be lethal after he was forced to block and kill one of my attackers, triggering Kothophed and losing him his last life.
Game 2 played markedly different, with both of us eschewing blockers, instead swinging with our cheap creatures. My opponent's Acolyte of the Inferno and Scab-Clan Berserker did serious work, but in the end my flyers combined with my tempo tricks won the day.
Result: W (2-0)
Round 2
My second round opponent was fairly new to drafting, as evidenced by the fact that he had two copies each of Akroan Jailer and Yoked Ox. This led to fairly straightforward victories.
Result: W (2-0)
Round 3
As this was the last round and my opponent and I were the only undefeated players left in the pod, we agreed to an intentional draw. However we learned that the winner of each pod also received a StarCity Games pin, so we decided to play for that.
The first two games played similarly for me, with him playing 2- and 3- drops on curve while I was forced to wait until turn 4. But in the first game, my turn 4 creature was a War Oracle that I managed to sneak through his defenses to turn the time. I was not so fortunate the second game, and my opponent created a stalled board state with two Hitchclaw Recluses before utterly smashing me with Hangarback Walker and Gaea's Revenge.
And then there was game 3, in which I curved perfectly - a Chief of the Foundry into Whirler Rogue into Thunderclap Wyvern. There was little my opponent could do against that.
Result: ID; played for bonus prize, W (2-1)
Summary
Well, there's nothing really exciting in my deck. It's 'just' solid cards implementing a solid plan, and I think a lot of times that's all you really need.
Oh, and here's the pin (and token) that I won!
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Magic Origins Draft #8: The Waters Run Deep...
The Draft and the Deck
My first pack was not exciting, with a painland as the rare and dispiriting uncommons and commons. My first pick: Lead Gilder.
However I perked up once I saw the pack that was passed me and quickly yanked out Kothophed, Soul Hoarder. That gave me a direction for the rest of the draft, helped by the fact that Green seemed reasonably open.
Round 1
In the first game my opponent played first and started with a Faerie Miscreant that quickly learned how to use Grasp of the Hieromancer. Meanwhile I drew my two drops on turn 3 and my three drop on turn 4. My deck rhythm felt completely off, and by the time I stabilized and started swinging back he had enough Blue/White fliers to finish me off.
My deck curved far more nicely in the next two games, enabling me to constantly attack and smash my way to victory.
Result: W (2-1)
Round 2
The first game my opponent played a Sphinx's Tutelage on turn 4. In the second game he played it on turn 3. I quickly got milled out both games, helped along by an unlucky streak of milled green cards in game 1 and a Dreadwaters in game 2. I did manage to get my opponent down to 1 life in game 2 with a Shaman of the Pack, but by the time that happened I had no cards left in my library.
Result: L (0-2)
Summary
I hate Sphinx's Tutelage!
My first pack was not exciting, with a painland as the rare and dispiriting uncommons and commons. My first pick: Lead Gilder.
However I perked up once I saw the pack that was passed me and quickly yanked out Kothophed, Soul Hoarder. That gave me a direction for the rest of the draft, helped by the fact that Green seemed reasonably open.
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Round 1
In the first game my opponent played first and started with a Faerie Miscreant that quickly learned how to use Grasp of the Hieromancer. Meanwhile I drew my two drops on turn 3 and my three drop on turn 4. My deck rhythm felt completely off, and by the time I stabilized and started swinging back he had enough Blue/White fliers to finish me off.
My deck curved far more nicely in the next two games, enabling me to constantly attack and smash my way to victory.
Result: W (2-1)
Round 2
The first game my opponent played a Sphinx's Tutelage on turn 4. In the second game he played it on turn 3. I quickly got milled out both games, helped along by an unlucky streak of milled green cards in game 1 and a Dreadwaters in game 2. I did manage to get my opponent down to 1 life in game 2 with a Shaman of the Pack, but by the time that happened I had no cards left in my library.
Result: L (0-2)
Summary
I hate Sphinx's Tutelage!
Monday, August 3, 2015
Magic: the Dartening
When my daughter and I arrived at my parents' house, we discovered that my mother had hung a magnetic dart board up in the kitchen. For a while it was a great source of amusement for my daughter and her two younger cousins. Then the novelty wore off, and when I heard one of the kids yell, "Okay, this time whoever manages to break the oven is the winner!" I knew that playtime was over.
Well, not completely. Here's the dart game I drew up for my daughter. I dub it: Magic: the Dartening.
See if you can guess my favorite bit! (Hint: it has to do with poop.)
Well, not completely. Here's the dart game I drew up for my daughter. I dub it: Magic: the Dartening.
See if you can guess my favorite bit! (Hint: it has to do with poop.)
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