Kiels Draft Series

[KielJ]

Anyone interested in me writing a weekly draft series on the site? Help with strategies and such?

[Kamigawa]

Go for it dude.

[Ascendant Hero]

Sounds cool.

[KielJ]

So here goes my first draft series.

This one comes from my last draft at FNM. It was a ten man pod so things are a little different than your standard 8 man pod. When looking at how the format had changed since world wake came into the format things looked to be a bit slower, not much slower but enough that it is harder to be balls to the wall agressive like it used to be. I tend to like U/W skies the most right now, but I find myself always changing as colours seem to be open or not, unlike in shards block when I would just force U/W all the time.

This draft is one where I felt comfortable with my neighbours play skill that I could actually send a strong signal and they would bite on it. When I flipped through my first pack I got to the rare and what is looking back at me but Malakir Bloodwitch. This card is pretty much an autofirst pick everytime... except if there is a foil one right behind it.... anyways at this point I get into the mind set that I want to attempt to force monoblack at all costs to maximize the value of my first pick. Over the next few picks I take 2 disfigures and a harga crocodile, I start seeing only one black card per pack and they are really sub standard black cards. At the same time I am seeing a lot of white and blue cards in the hookmaster level of quality. This is where most people would open up thier splash and go with a second colour. This is quite justified but I felt the need to just be monoblack. I don"t recomend this strategy when drafting with inexperienced drafters as they will not usually get the message. One of the keys to this is what was happening... only seeing one or two lower quality cards in a pack of a single colour or type (ie: ally). This will let anyone downstream of you to know not to try and get into that specific colour. Pack two went ok, but not amaising, still I was geting a lot of quality cards but the packs were not that deep in black. It wasn't until the last pack that things went the way I wanted with me getting the nut high black in that last pack. In this setbeing mono coloured tends to be a HUGE advantage and it was really nice to be in one of the best colours to do this in.

This is really a risky strategy as someone who had a medeocre to terrible pack one sitting to your left may end up reaping the rewards of your labour pack two leaving you fighting over cards throught the last two packs reducing the quality of your decks. Although it can payoff in spades at help you take down your pod asit did for me at the FNM. I ended up going 4-0, 8-2 in games.

[Deviant]

Good first report.  Needs more detail.  Deck list? Matches? Your first picks in pack 2 and 3? Any cards you were shocked to see table or pick up late?

[KielJ]

Sorry for the lack of detail as I was A: doing it at work and B: a little forgetful of what I was picking second pack/ 3rd pack.

The things I can remeber from second pack first pick was a hideous end and than I got a couple of crypt rippers. Pack three was definately where things came together. I was able to get a few quag Vampires, and a few bojuka brigands. Bloodhusk ritualist came a little later. Late I was getting mire's toll and a 15th pick bojuka brigand... can't get much better than this.

I think the deck turned out something like this.

3 quag vampires
3 bojuka brigand
1 sukkara marauder
1 Ruthless cullblade
1 stonework puma
1 bloodhusk cultist
2 crypt ripper
1 Harga crocodile
1 malikir blood witch
1 harga diabolist
2 disfigue
1 hideous end
2 mire's toll
1 mind sludge
18 swamp

As for my matches they are a bit hazy

Round one I am up against the  owner of the store mike. I think he was playing a R/w deck. Game one I just curve out really hard and get an early lead and than just keep my foot on the gas and he dies to my pressure.

Game two I again come out faster than he does and we get into a race and I just seal the deal with bloodwitch.

Round two I am playing against a G/B deck I think. I remeber he was playing swamps.

Game one I get a couple of quag vampires into play and swampwalk to victory.

Game two goes very similar but I think Diabolist ends this one.

Round three I am playing against a mono blue deck

game one he curves out snapper, gomazoa, gomazoa... and I never get through.

Game two I curve out and end it when bloodwitch hits play and ge can't recover.
Game three I get out really quickly and put pressure on him until he s dies. He found far less walls in game two and three so it makes it much easier.

Round four.

I curve out hard and he just can't keep up after he fogs two of my guys with permafrost trap and I just lay out two more guys to his empty board.

Game two I keep a terrible hand of 5 lands and mires toll... I just rip creature after creature but his U/G deck just has bigger guys.

Game three is pretty much the best game ever. I get a really good curve however he gets a pair of huge guys one a now 5/4 with preditory urge and a leather back into play to my team of 2/1's and a 4/4 bloodwitch. Later in the game I have a harga diabolist, the blood witch and a 2/2 hederon rover and ruthless cull blade who is active as the 4/2. to his three guys. he is at 8 and makes a mistake not realizing that my guy is a 4/2 and not a 2/1 swings with his team and I am high enough that I just block the predatory urge'd guy ( who actually also had vigilance) with my 4/2 and let the other two through. He goes into the tank hard and realizes his mistake. He has to decide witch of my smaller guys to kill and choses wrong taking down my diabolist. Leaving my outs to end the game right there as any land and my hideous end. It turns out that I just rip hideous end and team him for the win. if he had killed the ally i would have had just the one brigand and hideous end as outs to win the game right there. So in the end it didn't matter but it was much safer to kill the rover.

[Kamigawa]

that was great, thanks for posting

looking forwards to more.

[Deviant]

that was great, thanks for posting

looking forwards to more.

Agreed, thanks for the update.  Another useful thing when reporting on a draft is to pontificate on why you choose one card over another, especially in first pick situations.

[Ascendant Hero]

Well done. I agree on the use of debating card selections but I find its more useful for early-mid picks as the 1st few picks eliminate the true standouts.

[KielJ]

This week I am going to be doing a double dose of draft action for you recapping my last two weeks. The details may be a bit sketchy for the first draft as I haven’t been able to take a lot of notes during the drafts.

I open my first pack and look to the rare… Nothing special I think it was something like predatory urge, look to the uncommons seeing Nighthawk good start I take a look to see what other cards are there and don’t see much black being passed so I may be able to force black pretty well. I second pick Bala ged thief I get a 4th pick and 5th pick pyromancer ally. From there I just keep taking black and red cards favoring the black ones looking to maybe get a strong red black ally theme going. Pack two I get passed some decent black cards and I get to a choice between Numana spell sword and crypt ripper. This pick was really tough and in the end not being Mono black led me to pick the ally in this spot. In retrospect I really wich I had just forced 5 colour allies but the fixing was going to be kind of terrible. Pack three I open up the 2/3 rare ally that grows and gives lifelink and I just sigh having to pass it as I take a searing blaze. I see a couple of join the ranks go by and I am really kicking myself as I am picking things like everflowing chalice and tomb hex. In all there were something like 3 join the ranks, the rare white ally and the clone ally… dear that would have been a good deck. I really am kicking myself for not taking the 1/1 haste ally higher as I end up not getting any of those and only have one or two of the 2/2 black ally.

My deck is ok but no amaising…

Round one

I get a pretty good ally draw and end up curving out pretty good and when I cast both of my pyromancers it pretty much seals the game.

Game two I have a slow draw and we get into a bit of a race. He plays out a couple of baloth cage traps and I am a bit behind but I am able to pull ahead until he drops terrastomper and I can’t remove it and lose a close one a I am 2 points short of killing him.

Game three he again gets out terrastomper quickly and I can’t really do much and I have a few turns to draw removal or nighthawk but never do… must be nice to get your bombs….

1-2
0-1

Round two

I don’t really remember this match but I know I won. I lost game one, but games two and three I get a turn 3 bladetusk boar and he can’t do anything about the clock and loses the race against it as I just have more removal than him

2-1
1-1

Round 3

Again I lose the round and the games are actually really close.

1-2

1-2

I am really disappointed in my play and disappointed in how the draft went as I should have just went with my guy and went all in on allies.


Last night the draft was interesting to say the least.

I open the first pack and there is a lot of green, blue and red cards that aren’t that great there is only one good white card steppe lynx, and one black card hideous end. I mull this pick over as it seems black is over drafted here and I really want to take the white card here as white is a little less drafted as of late. I keep trying to force myself to take the lynx but cannot and I end up taking the black card. Next booster shows me another step lynx and a gatekeeper of malikir… I take the black card and think to myself that I still could have gone either way. Pick three comes along and there is another good white card but no good black card but there is an into the roil.. I like B/u better than B/W so I take the blue card here. Pick three and the third stepp lynx I see and I am REALLY kicking myself now for not going with my gut. I finish out pack one in an ok u/b deck atm. The black card were coming but not quite the quality that I like. I pick up a heartstabber and blood seeker and pick up some good blue cards in whiplash trap and welkin tern. Pack three is pretty good for me in I get a wind zendikon and a corrupted zendikon a couple of wasps there are a lot of treasure hunts and mystery of the deeps and banishers going by  and I am picking up agro cards instead… Early I have the choice between goliath sphinx and calcite snapper… I tank for some time but I have a feeling that I will never be casting sphinx consistently enough to take it so I just take the snapper. In the end I get an okay deck but one that I think probably only goes 1-2 in a normal draft pod.

The list looks like this

Blood seeker
Bojuka Brigand
Heartstabber Mosquito
Hagra Croc
Vampire lacerator
Gatekeeper of Malakir
Surrkara marauder
Nimana sell-sword
2x Jagwasp Swarm
Welkin tern
Calcite snapper
Windrider eel

Into the roil
Mysteries of the deep
Whiplash trap
Twitch
Wind zendikon
Tomb hex
Hideous end
Corrupted zendikon
Grim discovery

Quicksand
Soaring seacliff
8 Islands
9 Swamps

Round 1

I find out just how good my deck actually is as it curves out really well and I get a quick concession as my opponents near monogreen deck can’t keep up with the 2/x’s for 2 backed by bounce and removal

Game two is much the same and he can’t get anything going.

2-0
1-0

Round two

Again the speed of my deck is too much for my opponent but we get into a stall and when he taps out to play some guys I bounce both his blockers and swing for the fences.

Game two we get stalled him on low life me on high life. I draw three off of mysteries and that proves to be enough as the card advantage gives me the tools to make all my drops and getting two uses out of heartstabber is sick.

2-0
2-0

Round three

I again come out of the gates really quick and my opponent is struggling to keep up. He taps out to get through to make this a race but I take this opportunity to bounce his only blocker with into the roil and take game one.

Game 2 I stubble on lands for the first time this night and it difficult to get far ahead but he is stuck on three and I am ahead. He draws out of it first and I lose the tempo that I need. He just overwhelms me with removal and has seastalkers to ruin my chances of getting back into this game.

Game three is a heart breaker and I actually find out the mistake that I made in the building of my deck. As I mull to six keep a three land hand with only one black source and a hideous end and a couple of guys. I never find a second black as merfolk seastalkers steal my life and I can just stare at the hideous end and heartstabber sitting in my hand waiting for one more swamp… such is life

1-2
2-1

Round 4

Game one again I just get really far ahead early and just remove blockers and fly over for the win.

Game 2 I come out a little slow and it is a bit of an attrition battle and he wins the race. There is a point when he has skyfisher and goblin short cutter to my heartstabber. I have 5 open and he goes to journey and I just bounce my hearstabber and his goblin and he is forced to journey his own skyfisher, he plays out his shortcutter and on my turn I just kick the stabber. Next turn he just bounces his journey and gains 4 and I frown and he just gets there.

Game 3

I mulligan to 5 and keep a hand of swamp, island welkin tern, calcite snapper, and twitch, I play out tern after drawing an island he plays out a skyfisher and bounces his land, I play out snapper and pass, after drawing into the roil. He plays his land and passes. I draw a fourth land and bounce his blocker and get in for 6. He replays it and again bounces a land. I again play a land twitch his blocker play a land get in for 6. and play out another guy. He kills my tern and passes. I swing with only my pumped tern making my first mistake… I could have swung with both but I am mess this as he probably can’t afford to take 4 more here and he trades for my snapper. I take this opportunity to undo my mull with mysteries ( I know what you all are thinking luck sack and such) (Nice 5 card hand) anywho I end up playing out and empty board after I use my removal to kill a blocker. I attack with two 2/2s and a 2/1 right into arrow volley trap… Mistake number two, I guess, should have read the 5 lands untapped. This wrath makes this game an interesting one but he starts gaining life and I can’t get back into it and he wins after I get him as low as three. I think I dealt out a total of 23 or something like that but I think my mistakes are what cost me.

1-2
2-2

All in all I am a little depressed as I felt I could have taken game three from the mull to 5. And I am really disappointed with my drafting and getting to into my first picks both times when I could read the signals and just take good cards. I still have to hone my skills with this format but I feel like I am getting a lot better.

[CelestialGorilla]

i probably woulda done the same thing as u in the 2nd draft picking hideous end and gatekeeper