Even after that, I still feel frustrated, so the next best thing that every article tells you to do is go back over the mistakes and learn. But sometimes you already know what the mistake is, and any further analysis is just masochism. This is one of those times. I figure why not be constructive and positive by focusing on a victory for once. Shouldn't there be more to learn from winning than from losing if we really look hard enough? Thanks to MTGO's great new Draft Recorder function, the Starcity Games Image Converter, and http://www.deckcheck.net this may actually be entertaining to read for once! Without further ado, here is my favorite draft deck in recent memory:
creature [17]
What an amazing deck, right!? Most strategy sites post the draft picks first and the deck second, but I wanted to try the other way around with this, since it's an offbeat deck and I wanted to show it off first. Check out the exemplary mana curve on this baby, as well as sample hands and more on this page.
I'll also give you the results first: this deck went 3-0 with very little trouble, and it felt like it was the most powerful deck at the table. The first two rounds were won pretty easily and when I saw that my opponent in the finals had a rating over 1800, I started worrying that my slow strategy might falter in the face of such a strong opponent. I believe my "5-color green" strategy allowed me to take the best cards I was passed for the most part, so there was nothing too amazing in the guy's deck. Through exceptionally careful play on my part I was able to win two games in a row, both with the help of Arcane Teachings--first on Veteran Monk, then on Quirion Dryad in a spectacular final. Oh, I should note that this was a 4-3-2-2 queue, as Tenth Edition rarely fires at 8-4.
What I mean by careful play is that when I had Arcane Teachings on Quirion Dryad, I sat there with it and Windborn Muse for many turns before attacking, not wanting to risk losing the Dryad to some tricks as it was my win condition. I think when I had played enough spells for it to be around 9/9 I finally started attacking, and at that point there aren't too many tricks in the format to deal with it. Righteousness, I suppose, but at some point you have to attack!
Another all-star was Aven Cloudchaser, as most of the huge bombs in this format are enchantments, not to mention things like Pacifism and Dehydration. My favorite moment of the draft is when my opponent lays Seismic Assault and starts saying what a huge bomb it is and how he picked it up around 9th. I tell him I passed it, and then lay Aven Cloudchaser. He did manage to kill the flier and some other stuff with what he had in hand, but all of a sudden his bomb was much less impressive.
So let's check out this draft, and I'll give my thoughts on each pick. Sorry about the ugly formatting, I have yet to figure out how to tell blogger.com to make my posts display wider. Yes, I am that bad at HTML. Also, clicking on the card image doesn't work yet but I will try and fix later.
Pack 1 pick 1:
My Pick:
My Pick:
I have yet to play this card, but it seems like it could be really powerful. Again, 10th has a lot of Enchant Creature effects and this is pretty much blue's Wrath of God. The "correct" pick is probably Mantis Engine, but I like to go with a powerful first pick, and the Mantis is not all that amazing.
Pack 1 pick 2:
My Pick:
This is quite possibly my favorite card in the set, and I still want to live the dream of playing this on Horseshoe Crab to machine gun everything in sight. Since my first card is blue, that's a possibility....
Pack 1 pick 3:
My Pick:
While waiting for this draft to start, I watched Olivier Ruel draft on the wizards Draft Viewer. One thing I've noticed really good drafters do is completely abandon their first pick or even picks without much hesitation. I believe Ruel had first-picked a Mycoloth in Shards of Alara, and switched to Esper when his next few picks were artifacts. Clearly, I had learned the lesson by observation, as I was willing to take this powerful card over the blue card draw. While some would argue for the card draw, I think the Dryad can be really decent in this slower format, and there is lots of green in this pack that could come around later.
Pack 1 pick 4:
My Pick:
I really love manlands. They dodge so much of the format's removal and are really underestimated. This one's perfect for a deck that wants to buy time, and I want to play red, too. As it happens, this card was really great at buying time as I would just sit with 3 lands open on defense and most decks couldn't attack into it safely.
Pack 1 pick 5:
My Pick:
This card is a huge bomb, and not just with big green fatties. It was pretty good at protecting the Quirion Dryad and getting guys through during frequent stalemates.
Pack 1 pick 6:
My Pick:
I don't think I realized how good Head Games can be at the time, but anyway I'm not in black at all.
Pack 1 pick 7:
My Pick:
I hesitated about taking the Scrying to fetch the manland, but the acceleration offered by growth is more important.
Pack 1 pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 9:
Pack 1 pick 2:
My Pick:
This is quite possibly my favorite card in the set, and I still want to live the dream of playing this on Horseshoe Crab to machine gun everything in sight. Since my first card is blue, that's a possibility....
Pack 1 pick 3:
My Pick:
While waiting for this draft to start, I watched Olivier Ruel draft on the wizards Draft Viewer. One thing I've noticed really good drafters do is completely abandon their first pick or even picks without much hesitation. I believe Ruel had first-picked a Mycoloth in Shards of Alara, and switched to Esper when his next few picks were artifacts. Clearly, I had learned the lesson by observation, as I was willing to take this powerful card over the blue card draw. While some would argue for the card draw, I think the Dryad can be really decent in this slower format, and there is lots of green in this pack that could come around later.
Pack 1 pick 4:
My Pick:
I really love manlands. They dodge so much of the format's removal and are really underestimated. This one's perfect for a deck that wants to buy time, and I want to play red, too. As it happens, this card was really great at buying time as I would just sit with 3 lands open on defense and most decks couldn't attack into it safely.
Pack 1 pick 5:
My Pick:
This card is a huge bomb, and not just with big green fatties. It was pretty good at protecting the Quirion Dryad and getting guys through during frequent stalemates.
Pack 1 pick 6:
My Pick:
I don't think I realized how good Head Games can be at the time, but anyway I'm not in black at all.
Pack 1 pick 7:
My Pick:
I hesitated about taking the Scrying to fetch the manland, but the acceleration offered by growth is more important.
Pack 1 pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 9:
My Pick:
Phew!
Pack 1 pick 10:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 11:
My Pick:
None of those green cards came back around, so it's a good thing I'm playing green for Quirion Dryad and splashing other colors.
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:
This is why going Green-X is great, because you can pick whatever's most powerful as long as you're careful about not getting too greedy. This is fine because I already have white fliers and it looks like my deck could use something to buy time.
Pack 2 pick 2:
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:
This is why going Green-X is great, because you can pick whatever's most powerful as long as you're careful about not getting too greedy. This is fine because I already have white fliers and it looks like my deck could use something to buy time.
Pack 2 pick 2:
My Pick:
I like Prodigal Pyromancer a good deal, but it doesn't hurt too much stuff in my deck and I could use something big and flashy. Not sure, Pyromancer may have been the better pick here.
Pack 2 pick 3:
My Pick:
The dryad and mana-fixing make splashing even more colors tempting, but I'm proud of my choice to stick with green as a main color and not pollute my mana base for great card draw like Sift. At other times I have gotten way too greedy and lost to bad mana, so this trick is the right choice, although the Rootwalla is a solid creature.
Pack 2 pick 4:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 5:
My Pick:
In retrospect some card draw with the Vault may have been nice, and the Whelp didn't have all that much red mana to play with. That said, my deck is slow enough as is and needs some threats, and I'd much rather have the Whelp on my side than be on the other end of it.
Pack 2 pick 6:
My Pick:
The double white in the casting cost could be an argument in favor of the green trick, but I believe the power of a tapper and its synergy with the deck outweighs such arguments.
Pack 2 pick 7:
My Pick:
The more the merrier! White is clearly wide open, which is good to know.
Pack 2 pick 8:
My Pick:
OK, Pyromancer coming back around is a bit of 4-3-2-2 luck. What can I say, I love drafting Tenth Edition!
Pack 2 pick 9:
My Pick:
Rich Hoaen has taught me to love the two-drop "bear" in draft. They may not be sexy but those times when your opponent has nothing and you have one of your many bears, they can make all the difference.
Pack 2 pick 10:
My Pick:
I guess either no one is in white, or no one realizes how good enchantment kill is in the format.
Pack 2 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 13:
My Pick:
Not sure how good this guy is, and I didn't end up having the mana base to support him.
Pack 2 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 1:
My Pick:
I really like the Golem in this kind of deck as he is a solid beater that can fix your mana in a pinch. However, Angel of Mercy is just awesome and was exactly what this deck needed to go from mediocre to awesome. It ended up saving me from death in several games.
Pack 3 pick 2:
My Pick:
I've since read that Treetop Bracers is pretty good in green decks, but this deck has enough white fliers that it doesn't need to play stuff like that, more mana fixing will ensure that I can play all three colors safely.
Pack 3 pick 3:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 3:
My Pick:
The dryad and mana-fixing make splashing even more colors tempting, but I'm proud of my choice to stick with green as a main color and not pollute my mana base for great card draw like Sift. At other times I have gotten way too greedy and lost to bad mana, so this trick is the right choice, although the Rootwalla is a solid creature.
Pack 2 pick 4:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 5:
My Pick:
In retrospect some card draw with the Vault may have been nice, and the Whelp didn't have all that much red mana to play with. That said, my deck is slow enough as is and needs some threats, and I'd much rather have the Whelp on my side than be on the other end of it.
Pack 2 pick 6:
My Pick:
The double white in the casting cost could be an argument in favor of the green trick, but I believe the power of a tapper and its synergy with the deck outweighs such arguments.
Pack 2 pick 7:
My Pick:
The more the merrier! White is clearly wide open, which is good to know.
Pack 2 pick 8:
My Pick:
OK, Pyromancer coming back around is a bit of 4-3-2-2 luck. What can I say, I love drafting Tenth Edition!
Pack 2 pick 9:
My Pick:
Rich Hoaen has taught me to love the two-drop "bear" in draft. They may not be sexy but those times when your opponent has nothing and you have one of your many bears, they can make all the difference.
Pack 2 pick 10:
My Pick:
I guess either no one is in white, or no one realizes how good enchantment kill is in the format.
Pack 2 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 13:
My Pick:
Not sure how good this guy is, and I didn't end up having the mana base to support him.
Pack 2 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 1:
My Pick:
I really like the Golem in this kind of deck as he is a solid beater that can fix your mana in a pinch. However, Angel of Mercy is just awesome and was exactly what this deck needed to go from mediocre to awesome. It ended up saving me from death in several games.
Pack 3 pick 2:
My Pick:
I've since read that Treetop Bracers is pretty good in green decks, but this deck has enough white fliers that it doesn't need to play stuff like that, more mana fixing will ensure that I can play all three colors safely.
Pack 3 pick 3:
My Pick:
Good thing there's some in-color removal to keep me from making the terrible choice of splashing black just because I have more than one Rampant Growth! I hope I would have had the restraint to take the red creature had the Tactics not been there.
Pack 3 pick 4:
My Pick:
Yes, Seismic Assault is a bomb, but three red is too much no matter how much fixing this deck has. I'm glad I showed restraint here and went with a two-drop. While the forestwalk creature is also good, my deck is clearly defensive and would rather have a blocker in the early turns, flying over with the white creatures later on.
Pack 3 pick 5:
My Pick:
Wow, I could not have hoped for a better card in this deck. It's always difficult to balance mana fixing and actual threats, but I think at this point my deck has enough good threats and removal that the biggest danger is losing to my own mana base. So the other creatures are nice and all, but the Wayfinder is the best choice.
Pack 3 pick 6:
My Pick:
This card is fairly underwhelming by itself, but playable enough. The red enchantment is a cool trick but this is the safer choice. I really show impressive restraint in this draft, as I tend to overcommit to too many colors and get greedy in most drafts.
Pack 3 pick 7:
My Pick:
After seeing that Seismic Assault, I'm happy to have two of these guys. I think in one match it took care of a Blanchwood Armor as well. So good.
Pack 3 pick 8:
My Pick:
Rare draft. Commune with Nature would be playable, but I have 40 cards already.
Pack 3 pick 9:
My Pick:
Nice. This guy's underrated I think.
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:
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Pack 3 pick 4:
My Pick:
Yes, Seismic Assault is a bomb, but three red is too much no matter how much fixing this deck has. I'm glad I showed restraint here and went with a two-drop. While the forestwalk creature is also good, my deck is clearly defensive and would rather have a blocker in the early turns, flying over with the white creatures later on.
Pack 3 pick 5:
My Pick:
Wow, I could not have hoped for a better card in this deck. It's always difficult to balance mana fixing and actual threats, but I think at this point my deck has enough good threats and removal that the biggest danger is losing to my own mana base. So the other creatures are nice and all, but the Wayfinder is the best choice.
Pack 3 pick 6:
My Pick:
This card is fairly underwhelming by itself, but playable enough. The red enchantment is a cool trick but this is the safer choice. I really show impressive restraint in this draft, as I tend to overcommit to too many colors and get greedy in most drafts.
Pack 3 pick 7:
My Pick:
After seeing that Seismic Assault, I'm happy to have two of these guys. I think in one match it took care of a Blanchwood Armor as well. So good.
Pack 3 pick 8:
My Pick:
Rare draft. Commune with Nature would be playable, but I have 40 cards already.
Pack 3 pick 9:
My Pick:
Nice. This guy's underrated I think.
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:
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Like I said, impressive restraint for me here. This draft is proof that restraint pays off, as consistency is rewarded in this game of ours. Some of the picks are arguable, though, and that first pick Mantis Engine would have made the deck over a weaker creature, definitely. Feel free to leave comments.
In Cabal Therapy: Where Once Every Six Months Or So Richard talks about Magic.
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