Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Magic Origins Draft #12: Irish Luck

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?

  CREATURES (17)  
Anointer of Champions
Charging Griffin
Cleric of the Forward Order
Leaf Gilder
Llanowar Empath
Nissa, Vastwood Seer
Orchard Spirit
Pharika's Disciple
Rhox Maulers
Skysnare Spider
Stalwart Aven
Topan Freeblade x2
Undercity Troll
Valeron Wardens x2
Yeva's Forcemage
  ARTIFACTS (1)  
Veteran's Sidearm
  ENCHANTMENTS (1)  
Grasp of the Hieromancer
  INSTANTS (3)  
Celestial Flare
Enshrouding Mist
Titanic Growth
  SORCERIES (1)  
Nissa's Pilgrimage
  LANDS (17)  
Forest x9
Plains x8
  SIDEBOARD  
Aerial Volley
Akroan Jailer
Alchemist's Vial
Artificer's Epiphany x2
Aspiring Aeronaut
Auramancer
Bellows Lizard
Chief of the Foundry
Disperse
Guardian Automaton
Infernal Scarring
Languish
Nantuko Husk
Pyromancer's Goggles
Touch of Moonglove
Vastwood Gorger
Weight of the Underworld
Yavimaya Coast



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!

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... ?

  CREATURES (17)  
Akron Sergeant x2
Anointer of Champions
Boggart Brute
Charging Griffin
Cleric of the Forward Order
Iroas's Champion
Kytheon's Irregulars
Mage-Ring Bully
Prickleboar
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch
Stalwart Aven x3
Thopter Engineer
Topan Freeblade
War Oracle
  ARTIFACTS (2)  
Brawler's Plate
Sword of the Animist
  ENCHANTMENTS (1)  
Suppression Bonds
  INSTANTS (1)  
Enshrouding Mist x1
  SORCERIES (2)  
Act of Treason
Lightning Javelin
  LANDS (17)  
Mountain x8
Plains x9
  SIDEBOARD  
Cobblebrute
Enlightened Ascetic
Enthralling Victor
Firefiend Elemental
Gold-Forged Sentinel
Kytheon's Tactics
Mage-Ring Network x2
Ringwarden Owl
Separatist Voidmage
Timberpack Wolf x2
Totem-Guide Hartebeest
Touch of Moonglove
Undercity Troll
Valeron Wardens
Veteran's Sidearm
Volcanic Rambler
Yeva's Forcemage
---
Knightly Valor
---
Celestial Flare
Fiery Impulse
Anchor to the Aether
Bone to Ash
Fetid Imp
Mage-Ring Responder



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.

  CREATURES (15)  
Boggart Brute x2
Charging Griffin
Citadel Castellan x2
Elvish Visionary
Guardian Automaton
Knight of the Pilgrim's Road
Leaf Gilder
Outland Colossus
Pharika's Disciple
Prickleboar
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch
Topan Freeblade
Undercity Troll
  ARTIFACTS (1)  
Meteorite
  ENCHANTMENTS (1)  
Suppression Bonds
  INSTANTS (4)  
Celestial Flare x2
Enshrouding Mist x2
  SORCERIES (2)  
Swift Reckoning x2
  LANDS (17)  
Battlefield Forge
Forest x7
Mountain x2
Plains x7
  SIDEBOARD  
Claustrophobia
Cobblebrute
Jhessian Thief
Kytheon's Tactics
Mage-Ring Bully
Murder Investigation
Reave Soul
Screeching Skaab
Separatist Voidmage
Shambling Ghoul
Titan's Strength
Tormented Thoughts
Touch of Moonglove
Read the Bones
Returned Centaur
Unholy Hunger
Veteran's Sidearm
Volcanic Rambler

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.

  CREATURES (16)  
Aspiring Aeronaut
Chief of the Foundry
Guardian Automaton
Maritime Guard x2
Patron of the Valiant
Ringwarden Owl
Scrapskin Drake x2
Separatist Voidmage
Stalwart Aven
Thunderclap Wyvern
Topan Freeblade x2
War Oracle
Whirler Rogue
  ENCHANTMENTS (1)  
Knightly Valor
  INSTANTS (5)  
Disperse x2
Enshrouding Mist x2
Send to Sleep
  SORCERIES (1)  
Anchor to the Aether
  LANDS (17)  
Foundry of the Consuls
Island x8
Plains x8
  SIDEBOARD  
Blessed Spirits
Bonded Construct
Calculated Dismissal
Charging Griffin
Deadbridge Shaman
Dreadwaters
Exquisite Firecraft
Guardians of Meletis
Ravaging Blaze
Reave Soul
Scrapskin Drake
Stratus Walk
Timberpack Wolf
Totem-Guide Hartebeest
Unholy Hunger
Veteran's Sidearm
Wild Instincts

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.

  CREATURES (17)  
Conclave Naturalists
Deadbridge Shaman
Dwynen's Elite
Fetid Imp
Hitchclaw Recluse
Kothophed, Soul Hoarder
Lead Gilder x3
Orchard Spirit
Rhox Maulers
Shaman of the Pack
Somberwald Alpha
Undercity Troll x2
Vastwood Gorger
Yeva's Forcemage
  ENCHANTMENTS (1)  
Weight of the Underworld
  INSTANTS (2)  
Might of the Masses
Unholy Hunger
  SORCERIES (3)  
Eyeblight Massacre
Joraga Invocation
Wild Instincts
  LANDS (17)  
Forest x10
Swamp x7
  SIDEBOARD  
Catacomb Slug
Caustic Caterpillar
Citadel Castellan
Cleric of the Forward Order
Dark Dabbling
Deep-Sea Terror
Elemental Bond
Ghirapur Gearcrafter
Gnarlroot Trapper
Hitchclaw Recluse
Kytheon's Tactics
Possessed Skaab
Reclaim
Ringwarden Owl
Timberpack Wolf
Titan's Strength
Touch of Moonglove x2
Whirler Rogue


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.)

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Magic Origins Draft #7: Vying for Victory in Vegas

My daughter and I are visiting my parents in Las Vegas.  There's lots of fun things to do in Vegas, or so I hear, and of course what I did was drag my daughter to a Tuesday night draft at a local game store.

The Draft and the Decks

The draft was broken up into two pods, and naturally I ended up seated next to my daughter.  My first pick was Hixus, Prison Warden; my second a Patron of the Valiant; and then the White promptly disappeared.  Hm.  I started drafting Red... and then that dried up as well.

There were Claustrophobias floating around however, and past experience had taught me that Blue is often underdrafted, and so I started dipping my toes into Blue, thinking that I might go Blue-Red.

The second pack had a Disciple of the Ring, which seemed to confirm my choice.  But a couple of wheeled Thunderclap Wyverns just confused me even further, and by the end of pack 2 I started thinking... three colors?

My snap pick in the third pack was Liliana, Heretical Healer, but I resisted the urge to taste the rainbow by leaping into Black (despite the Priest of the Blood Rite I had hate-drafted earlier).  My third pick in the third pack was a Sentinel of the Eternal Watch, and that was when it became clear that Blue-White was a very viable option.

  CREATURES (15)  
Bonded Construct
Disciple of the Ring
Guardian Automaton
Hixus, Prison Warden
Maritime Guard
Patron of the Valiant
Ringwarden Owl
Scrapskin Drake
Sentinel of the Eternal Watch
Thunderclap Wyvern x2
Totem-Guide Hartebeest
Watercourser x3
  ENCHANTMENTS (5)  
Claustrophobia x3
Knightly Valor
Stratus Walk
  INSTANTS (2)  
Hydrolash
Send to Sleep
  SORCERIES (1)  
Anchor to the Aether
  LANDS (17)  
Evolving Wilds
Island x9
Plains x7
  SIDEBOARD  
Acolyte of the Inferno
Act of Treason
Alchemist's Vial
Fiery Impulse
Ghirapur Gearcrafter
Healing Hands
Infectious Bloodlust
Island
Lightning Javelin
Liliana, Heretical Healer
Macabre Waltz
Meteorite
Prickleboar
Priest of the Blood Rite
Undead Servant
Volcanic Rambler x2
Yoked Ox

Yep, I played Disciple of the Ring despite only having three instants and sorceries total.  Hey, I thought, it really only needs to trigger once or twice...

Meanwhile, my daughter exhibited her remarkable draft discipline by creating a mono-White deck.  And at an age when I would have merrily snapped up every single rare I saw, she had the fortitude to only pick up a single rare, which was in her colors.

  CREATURES (14)  
Akroan Jailer x2
Charging Griffin x2
Consul's Lieutenant
Heavy Infantry x3
Knight of the Pilgrim's Road
Kytheon's Irregulars
Patron of the Valiant
Stalwart Aven x2
Topan Freeblade
  ENCHANTMENTS (2)  
Grasp of the Hieromancer
Suppression Bonds
  ARTIFACTS (2)  
Sigil of Valor x2
  INSTANTS (4)  
Celestial Flare x3
Mighty Leap
  SORCERIES (1)  
Kytheon's Tactics
  LANDS (17)  
Foundry of the Consuls
Plains x16
  SIDEBOARD  
Akroan Jailer x2
Aven Battle Priest x2
Elemental Bond
Enlightened Ascetic
Gather the Pack
Healing Hands
Hitchclaw Recluse x2
Infectious Bloodlust
Jayemdae Tome
Meteorite
Might of the Masses
Nightsnare
Pharika's Disciple
Timberpack Wolf
War Horn

The matchups for the first round were announced... and I was startled to learn that players would be matched up across pods, a policy that was foreign to me.  But as I constantly tell my daughter, different people do different things and that's perfectly fine.

Round 1

I don't have many details about this round.  I faced a player who had just returned to the game, and beat him quite handily.  Meanwhile my daughter got mana-screwed her first game and mana-flooded her second.  "It happens," she said, putting on her philosophical face.

Result:
  • Me: W (2-0)
  • My Daughter: L (0-2)

Round 2

I faced a nightmarish Red-Black deck with 11-12 removal spells, everything from three Fiery Impulse to a couple of the black 5-cost kill spells - and his many Fetid Imps might as well have counted as even more removal.  But although he could deal with my early game quite easily, the late game became far more difficult for him, and I eked out the game 1 victory with a Toten-Guide Hartebeest retrieving Knightly Valor.

But in game 2 I was never able to find my footing, and game 3 started out extremely badly for me when he cast Infinite Obliteration to rip out both my Thunderclap Wyverns.  Fortunately the rest of the game was a repeat of game 1, and once again I ended up on top.

My daughter won her matches, and ran up to me proudly declaring that "Sigil of Valor is awesome!"

Result:
  • Me: W (2-1)
  • My Daughter: W (2-0)

Round 3

My opponent this round was also playing a Black-Red deck... except his featured Blazing Hellhound, Enthralling Victor, and Act of Treason.  Ugh.  Once I realized his game plan, I decided there wasn't much I could do... but attack, attack, and attack some more.

This plan failed in game 2; fortunately it worked out in games 1 and 3 when my opponent didn't draw the cards he needed, and I was able to take the round.

My daughter faced my second round opponent, and much to my surprise, managed to win a game with the help of Heavy Infantry.  Sadly for her, in game 3 her opponent used Infinite Obliteration to, well, obliterate her Heavy Infantry.

Result:
  • Me: W (2-1)
  • My Daughter: L (1-2)

Round 4

My opponent had a Green-Blue control deck, with big blockers and walls and cards like Sphinx's Tutelage, Harbinger of the Tides, and Separatist Voidmage, as well as a Gaea's Revenge to quickly close games out.

Fortunately I was able to maintain a board state in the face of his temporary removal.  Both of our games were extremely close, but I won them both by relying on my 5+ cost creatures such as Hixus, Totem-Guide Hartebeest, Disciple of the Ring, and Sentinel of the Eternal Watch.

Meanwhile my daughter played against my first round opponent and quickly ran away with a victory.

Result:
  • Me: W (2-0)
  • My Daughter: W (2-0)

Summary

I guess I read the signals correctly this draft, executing a proper course-change near the end of pack 1 and keeping enough options open to finally settle on the Blue-White combination.  I don't think my deck has any one overwhelming strategy; instead it has many minor synergies that helped me narrowly win several close games.

The prize was store credit, and I promptly and happily expended it by purchasing a Demonic Pact for myself - I swear that there's a deck that wants that card!

I let my daughter spend much of the rest, and her eye was immediately caught by a tray of custom Magic tokens.


"Hey, that Germ..." I began.

"LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE YOU!" she shrieked, right before launching into a tickle assault on my poor defenseless armpits.  Ah well.  Such is life.