Drafting with Jim - #3

By Jim Marlow

Hey Everyone,

Thats right, two draft articles in two days. I am trying to write about 4-5 articles a week and i was going to write an article about the importance of mental strength, but i found it hard to write, and i think it was too serious for a player as bad as me to write about. Also i won 14 packs on mtgo last night so i thought i would play some more.

Pack 1, pick 1 - Oblivion ring

the best removal spell in the format is always a welcome sight. I passed a bone splinters, topan ascetic, crumbling necropolis and kederekt leviathon. Im not happy passing the ascetic, but hey.

Pack 1, pick 2 - drumhunter

I definately picked from the heart not the head here, i got passed a pack with drumhunter, vithian stinger, probably 2 of my 3 favourite shards limited cards, and an executioners capsule to boot. Drumhunter is probably the weakest of the three, but i can go 5 power naya and put someone in jund, so its not all bad i guess.

Pack 1, pick 3 - druid of the anima

I never know how early to pick these guys, this feels a little early but hes a decent card in big man naya. Not sure it was worth picking over a blood cultist either, maybe i should just be going jund splashing the o-ring

Pack 1, pick 4 - naya panorama

I never take enough mana fixing really, and im glad to take it, there is an agony warp in the pack too which is slightly worrying, because either the pack was sick good or the people feeding me are now in my colours.

Pack 1, pick 5 - quasali ambusher

passed a rip clan crasher, but i like this dude.

Pack 1, pick 6 - jund charm

I wish i had gone jund now, but this is easily splashable and is awesome!!!

Pack 1, pick 7 - cavern thoctar

pack 1, pick 8 - keeper of progenitus

pack 1, pick 9 - jungle weaver

woot!

remaining picks - incurable ogre, obelisk of jund, godtoucher, lush growth, shadowfeed, plains

Pack 2, pick 1 - naya charm

This pack was like a naya sealed deck, with a battlemage, rakeclaw gargantuan, druid of the anima and naya panorama, at least something will wheel

Pack 2, pick 2 - vithian stinger

passing a nacatl here isnt horribe as he's not as good in my deck, im hoping the mosstodon in the pack tables

Pack 2, pick 3 - resounding silence

Not the greatest removal spell and maybe jungle weaver was the pick here, thought long about it but im playing a longer game than normal aggro decks.

Pack 2, pick 4 - drumhunter?

this is slightly naughty.

Pack 2, pick 5 - rockcaster platoon

I love this guy for getting rid of pesky flyers, as this deck has a problem with random 2/2 flyers getting there against you

Pack 2, pick 6 - waveskimmer aven

nothing else here...

Pack 2, pick 7 - bant battlemage

This pack is drying up a bit early, hopefully the guy to my left is in jund and is just clearing shallow packs

Pack 2, pick 8 - rakeclaw gargantuan

its so awesome this wheeled, plus goog sign naya is clear.

Pack 2, pick 9 - naturalize

remaining picks - tidehollow sculler, windright mage, souls might, island, goblin mountaineer, plains

Pack 3, pick 1 - armillery sphere

not sure if exploding borders is better for my type of deck here, but sphere is just better, and its good for my jund charm splash too.

pack 3, pick 2 - wild leatau

pretty much the best card i could want right now

Pack 3, pick 3 - wild leatau

my deck is looking pretty hot with these guys

Pack 3, pick 4 - rupture spire

Pack 3, pick 5 - volcanic fallout

delicious!

Pack 3, pick 6 - vagrant plowbeat

slyvan bounty is close, but i probably have enough mana fixing and 5 power guys are awesome

Pack 3, pick 7 - rhox meditant

Pack 3, pick 8 - molten frame

remaining picks - skyward eye prophets, corrupted roots, rotting rats, countersquall, constricting tendrils, salvage slasher, mountain.

Overall im pretty happy with the deck, got pretty lucky having double drumhunter with double wild leatau and other big guys, plus having a jund charm and volcanic fallout means i have some decent removal. Guys to my left playing r/g/x cut me a bit pack 2, so im a bit light on playables.

Here's the finished decklist i played

1 x druid of the anima
1 x armilary sphere
1 x naturalize
1 x molten frame
1 x obelisk of jund
1 x jund charm
1 x naya charm
1 x volcanic fallout
1 x oblivion ring
1 x quasali ambusher
1 x vithian stinger
2 x drumhunter
2 x wild leatau
1 x rhox meditant
1 x incurable ogre
1 x resounding silence
1 x rakeclaw gargantuan
1 x cavern thoctar
1 x jungle weaver
1 x vagrant plowbeast
1 x rockcaster platoon

1 x naya panorama
1 x rupture spire
7 x forest
4 x plains
3 x mountain
1 x swamp

Round 1 - DontBeEmo - U/B/R

Game 1 - I keep a 5 land hand with armilary sphere and wild leatau, i play and crack the sphere then the leatau, but my only other non, land draw of the game was naturalize, which i use to kill his ethersworn adjudicator.

Game 2 - i get turn 3 stinger, turn 4 drumhunter. My opponant magma sprays the stinger interestingly, and mt wild leatau next turn ensures i get lots of cards and play a fatty a turn untill my opponant is very dead.

Game 3 - Its pretty similar to game 2, with both drumhunters seeing play, but sadly getting killed after i stalled out for cards. My opponant is ahead on the board but i have 7 cards in hand. He attacks with a tower gargoyle, grixis slavedriver and unearthed kathari screecher after using an executioners capsule on my only guy. I cycle resounding silence on the two fatties, he then plays a grixis battlemage and i play jund charm end of turn, untap and play rakeclaw gargantuan and rhox meditant, good night sir.

In game 3 my opponant apparantly 'missed out' an attack step when it got skipped through, which he was upset about. He asked me to mana burn for 2, which i didnt do much to his annoyance, but i said i would conceed if i was on 2 life at the end. I got nowhere near this, but my opponant still got pissy when he drew land when apparently 'any spell would have won it' - i dont think so.

Round 2 - Roadl_jp - G/W/R/u

Game 1 - turn 2 druid of the anima plus a couple of guys in later turns. Eventually my opponant gets a few guys out including algae gharial, but i have a jund charm wating. Megleonoth holds me back for a turn but my opp takes a swing for 5, then when he taps out to make and equip a manaforce mace i can naya charm and swing for lethal.

Game 2 - turn 2 druid of the anima into turn 3 stinger is met but druid and paragon of the amesha. I take beats before playing volcanic fallout leaving life totals 17-16 in his favour. He plays another druid, and then cycles a couple fatties, evidently lacking a mountain, as i play a wild leatau. I misplay by not unearthing stinger to deny him red mana and he plays a carrion thrash, but i do it next turn and o-ring the thrash, getting in for 5. He plays an elvish visionary and next turn a rhox meditant as chump blockers but i now have a cavern thoctar with the wild leatau and he conceeds before i need to play either the jungle weaver or vagrant plowbeast i have in hand.

Round 3 - FitsgeraldJD - Jund

Game 1 - My opponant gets a goblin outlander and dragon fodder as beaters, leaving me flooding after popping a panorama and the sphere. He plays scourge devil to knock me to lethal next turn and a non sweeper means on to game 2.

Game 2 - Luckily for me my opponant gets a slow start, meaning i can fetch up lands and make a turn 5 cavern thoctar. Unluckily for me this is met with a 10/10 apocolypse hydra. I make a rockcaster platoon to stop the hydra, but my opponant take the doubel block and knocks me down to 7 with other creatures. I still have gas in hand and fallout his other 2 guys, leaving only his scarland thrinax. As always, i keep playing a fatty a turn and its not long before i have vagrant plowbeast and other fat in there, naya charm seals it.

Game 3 - Another slow start from my opponant is pretty lucky since i keep a risky 2 lander on the draw, but it has rupture spire and armilary sphere. I go pretty sick by oblivion ringing the hydra, then killing all his creatures he attempts to equip with a quitus spike. Eventually i play a drumhunter as im stuck on 6 lands but he gets dragged down, but being a savage lucksake i rip land #7 for the vagrant plowbeast, then drumhunter off the top pretty much gets me there with plenty of gas, my opponant shows me his sarkhan vol, but by that time its all over.


hold the phones baby, because it looks a lot to me like i'v won two 8-4 queues in a row. I must be feeling ill or something because i am notoriously bad at drafting online, so going 11-1 over the last 2 days is ridiculous.

Anyways hope you found the draft enjoyable, see everyone on thursday, there will be more articles going up in the time being.


Until then,


Jim


As always, feel free to comment on anything about this article, or anything unrelated to magic whatsoever. If you would like to contribute to the TLM blog, please email any ideas, articles, pictures or anything else to ss07jm@leeds.ac.uk