Adventure in Alara: Why You Shouldn't Talk Too Much When Building a Sealed Deck

I didn't start playing paper Magic (as opposed to drafting on Magic Online) until my daughter was old enough to play with me, but making the switch was not difficult.  The act of opening packs and slamming down bomb cards is far more exciting in real life than it is in the virtual one.

But one thing I do regret is 'losing' all the random cards that I had drafted (badly) before my daughter was even born.  So what I do is this: I trawl eBay for relatively cheap deals for older booster boxes.  And when I manage to obtain one, my daughter and I rip the box open and build sealed decks.

My most recent acquisition was a Shards of Alara Premium Foil Booster Box.  These boxes contain twelve packs of 15 cards with the normal rarity split.  However the cards can be from any of the three Alara block sets, and every card is foil.

The box came, my daughter and I each took six packs, and here are the decks that we built.

My Deck (Esper)

CREATURES (14)   Cloudheath Drake Esper Cormorants Esper Sojourners Ethercaste Knight Etherium Sculptor Guardians of Akrasa Illusory Demon Magister Sphinx Parasitic Strix Vectis Agents Vectis Dominator x2 Vedalken Outlander Wall of Denial   ENCHANTMENTS (1)   Oblivion Ring   ARTIFACTS (3)   Etherium Astrolabe Obelisk of Esper Thopter Foundry   INSTANTS (3)   Hindering Light View from Above Zealous Persecution   SORCERIES (2)   Bone Splinters Excommunicate   LANDS (17)   Island x7 Plains x6 Swamp x4

SIDEBOARD   Angelsong Gleam of Resistance Knight of the White Orchid Lapse of Certainty Marble Chalice Mark of Asylum Yoked Plowbeast --- Cancel Cathartic Adept Jhessian Lookout Skill Borrower Spell Snip Traumatic Visions Vectis Silencers Worldly Counsel --- Onyx Goblet Pestilent Kathari Resounding Scream --- Bloodpyre Elemental Dark Temper Ignite Disorder Molten Frame Soul's Fire Thunder Thrash Elder Toxic Iguanar Viashino Skelton Viashino Slaughtermaster Wandering Goblins

Behemoth's Herald Cylian Elf Gift of the Gargantuan Keepr of Progenitus Might of Alara Naya Battlemage Sacellum Archers x2 Scattershot Archer x2 Shard Convergence Wild Nacatl --- Anathemancer x2 Branching Bolt Breath of Malfegor Captured Sunlight Deadshot Minotaur Gorger Wurm Identity Crisis Monstrous Carabid Pale Recluse Sangrite Backlash Sewn-Eye Drake Singe-Mind Ogre Sprouting Thrinax Steward of Valeron Valley Rannet Violent Outburst Winged Coatl --- Bone Saw Obelisk of Grixis --- Jungle Shrine

My Daughter's Deck (Naya)

CREATURES (15)   Beacon Behemoth Bloodthorn Taunter Cerodon Yearling Druid of the Anima Elvish Visionary Ember Weaver Enlisted Wurm Gutstrider Exuberant Jungle Weaver Nacatl Savage Naya Sojourners Rakeclaw Gargantuan Rhox Brute Ridge Rannet Scourge Devil   ENCHANTMENTS (2)   Sigil of the Nayan Gods Trace of Abundance   ARTIFACTS (1)   Dispeller's Capsule   INSTANTS (5)   Colossal Might Ignite Disorder Magma Spray Molten Frame Path to Exile   LANDS (17)   Bant Panorama Jungle Shrine Naya Panorama Savage Lands Forest x9 Mountain x4

SIDEBOARD   Angeleic Benediction Asha's Favor Resounding Silence Rhox Meditant --- Grixis Illusionist Outrider of Jhess Steelclad Serpent Tortoise Formation Traumatic Visions Unsummon --- Absorb Vis Banewasp Affliction Dregscape Zombie Executioner's Capsule Fleshformer Immortal Coil Infectious Horror Scepter of Fugue Sedraxis Alchemist Shadowfeed Undead Leotau Wretched Banquet --- Dragonsoul Knight Hell's Thunder Resounding Thunder Thunder-Thrash Elder --- Godtoucher

Aven Mimeomanger Bant Sojourners Bituminous Blast x2 Blightning Clarion Ultimatum Esper Charm Esper Cormorants Esper Stormblade Ethersworn Shieldmage Firewild Borerpost Goblin Deathraiders Grixis Charm Grizzled Leotau Igneous Pouncer Jhessian Balmgiver Kederekt Creeper Knotvine Paladin Mistvein Borderpost Shambling Remains x2 Sigiled Behemoth Stormcaller's Boon Tidehollow Strix Veinfire Borderpost Wall of Denial Waveskimmer Aven Windwright Mage Zombie Outlander --- Bonesaw

The Matchup

We decided to play a best-of-three.

A quick Rakeclaw Gargantuan decimated me in game 1.  Conversely, in game 2 I quickly flew to victory over my daughter's defenders.

Game 3 was where all the excitement was - a long, drawn out game with lots of swings and turns of fate.  What ultimately decided it?  To answer that question, let me transcribe a conversation my daughter and I had while building our decks:

Her: "Hey Daddy, what kind of deck are you building?"
Me: "I dunno.  Maybe Esper?
Her: "Esper? What's that?"
Me: "Black-Blue-White.  Artifacts.  Wait, why do you want to know?"
Her: "OH, NO REASON."

And so I was eventually blown out by Dispeller's Capsule, Molten Frame, and Ignite Disorder.