Wizards Draft Sim: M10 #1

[Hawk]

Let's hop into some M10 discussion, eh? Wizards has their fun draft simulator for this week here. How did everyone's draft go? Here's my walkthrough in all it's lengthy glory...

Spoiler:

Pack 1, pick 1:
Right away, we have a choice that isn't too hard in a weak pack that includes a whopping 5 unplayables: Bountiful Harvest, Acolyte of Xathrid, Yawning Fissure, Ignite Disorder, and Tome Scour are never gonna make my 40. It's really a showdown between Mind Spring, Cudgel Troll, and Stampeding Rhino since all the other playables just don't stack up. It's tempting to try and cut blue, but green is deeper and in M10 limited Cudgel Troll is bascially unkillable with open, so I take the troll even though someone one or two drafters down is almost certainly gonna take the Rhino.

Pick: Cudgel Troll

P1, p2:
We follow our trash pack with an outrageously strong one with lots of potential picks...makes me wonder what the rare was that we got passed White Knight, Snapping Drake, Prodigal Pyromancer, Doom Blade, and Pacifism as well as two fine playable green men in Centaur Courser and classic [/card]Llanowar Elves[/card]. This is obviously a hard pick and the only saving grace is that in a pack this strong, something good is probably gonna table. Removal is so key in limited and especially in a creature war format like M10, and Doom Blade is the stronger of the two removal spells. Also, having passed a bunch of garbage and a Skeleton and Tutor as the only remotely playable black cards, maybe we can cut black? If not, Doom Blade +2 swamp is an easy splash.

Pick: Doom Blade

P1, p3:
It comes down to Rampant Growth or Craw Wurm to go with our Troll, Dread Warlock to firmly cut black, or Divination and Blinding Mage to audible to another color. Right now I want to ride either the black or green trains for a while, and a chance at sending the signal to LEAVE BLACK ALONE is too good to pass up. White and green are "deeper" colors but the signals thus far are mixed and even if I don't go black at all, it's not like any of the other picks is so good that my deck will die without them...right?

Pick: Dread Necromancer

P1, p4:
Some more interesting calls as Black, White, Green, and Blue fight for attention (playable red is no where in sight). Black offers up Assassinate, while green counters with its own removal in Giant Growth. For the other choices, again neither is very compelling: Unsummon is barely playable under M10 rules, and Veteran Swordsmith, while solid, demands too much of a white commitment. Siege Mastadon isn't really 4th pick material, either. I punt and take the real removal to keep trying to signal that black is dry as the Sahara.

Pick: Assassinate

P1, p5:
Another weak pack. Blue has vanished (unsurprising, it's the shallowest color), red is still absent, and white offers the playable but uninspiring Silvercoat Lion. I love the looks of Rise from the Grave but a 5th pick Stampeding Rhino is too big a gift. Hopefully the slow and cumbersome resurrection spell won't break my signaling, eh?

Pick: Stampeding Rhino

P1, p6:
The fact that only black and green playables remain (well, Horned Turtle isn't awful) is a good sign that we are in the right color combo. It's an interesting call between Kelinore Bat, Warpath Ghoul, and Deadly Recluse as filler men for my deck, so I default back to "BREAD" rules and take Bat-man.

Pick: Kelinore Bat

P1, p7:
No playables of any sort for any color in sight (Glorious Charge and Panic Attack are the only non-15th picks here), so I snag a Naturalize just in case someone cracks Platinum Angel or something stupid like that.

Pick: Naturalize

P1, p8:
Red has a few marginal but at least playable pulls here with Lava Axe and another Panic Attack. The rest is trash: Kraken's Eye, Unholy Strength, Tempest of Light, Underworld Dreams, and another Naturalize. I snag the strength: I have two evasive dudes at 3CC, an unkillable dude at 4CC, and a trampler at 5CC, so strengthening any of them could be good in a pinch.

Pick: Unholy Strength

P1, p9:
Our first pack, and what a surprise: despite the low power, a Child of Night tabled! Huzzah!

Pick: [card]Child of Night[c/ard]

P1, p10:
Bramble Keeper is so terribad that I just hate a Righteousness. At uncommon, btw, this card is way better than it looks. It's basically ": Destroy target blocked creature". You can do worse.

Pick: Righteousness

P1, p11:

P1, p11-14: Fog, Bountiful Harvest, Spellbook, Bountiful Harvest

Pack 2, pick 1:
Planar Cleansing, Serra Angel, Stormfront Pegasus...Merry Christmas, white players! I honestly ponder just snagging the Angel here (that was a really late Righteousness), but end up looking at black and green instead. We have two good men (Centaur and an Elvish Visionary), and Sign in Blood for black. Red's got nothin and blue has a lone Snapping Drake. I debate long and hard, then take Sign in Blood. Black is open in pack 3...so hopefully we can play strongly black. If not, hopefully in a pack this solid one of the green men will table...

Pick: Sign in Blood.

P2, p2:
Lots of good little critters here: Bears, a Giant Spider, and more Bats. However, our black determination has paid off in the form of a Consume Spirit. I take it happily.

Pick: Consume Spirit

P2, p3:
A...3rd pick...Serra Angel? And Stormfront Pegasus? With the only black card in the pack being Weakness? We don't need to worry as hard about signaling and Weakness is...well...weak. I pass on solid Oakenform and gamble on an angel...seriously, 3rd pick? This is at worst early hate: neither of the black or green are guaranteed main deck cards.

Pick: Serra Angel

P2, p4:
I need good cheap guys and Elite Vanguard, I feel, is too weak in limited. I take Warpath Ghoul over Excommunicate. It should be noted that there is some good blue here (Essence Scatter and Divination)...wonder if everyone jumped that ship?

Pick: Warpath Ghoul

P2, p5:
Let's see, we have an Elvish Visionary, a bunch of marginal cards like Griffin Sentinel, and...Harm's War. Let me say a few words about this card: I have yet to play it but I have a feeling this card is going to be the stupidest thing in M10 draft. It's very nearly a 5.0 card, one of the few in the set. It, at worst, kills an X/2. It's a white shock. But it also:

- Can lead to 2-for-1's (attacking Viashino Spearhunter and Goblin Piker? Harm's Way to take 0 and kill them both!)
- Turns losing combat situations into even fights.
- Turns fair fights into total friggin blowouts.
- Saves multiple dudes from red sweepers like Fireball, Pyroclasm, and Earthquake.
- Kills people.
- Blanks opposing Lightning Bolts and probably in most situations, Tendrils or Seismic Spikes.

To see this at 5th is almost insulting :P. I take it.

Pick: Harm's Way, all the way

P2, p6:
A really, really late Pacifism cements me in B/w. Only Wall of Frost is on a similar power scale, and I've already switched once.

P2, p7:
Elite Vanguard or Rhox Pikemaster? I really need early drops, but Pikemaster is really good...I take him and pray I can snag some skeletons, lions, and children in pack 3.

Pick: Rhox Pikemaster

P2, p8:
The only thing resembling playable is Safe Passage, which I take.

P2, p9:
Our first pack...none of the green tabled, but Stormfront Pegasus did! Wow, go us?

P2, p10-14: Sanguine Bond, Safe Passage, Ball Lightning, Spellbook, Dragon's Claw.

Pack 3, pick 1:
Black Knight, Pacifism, and Doom Blade in one pack? Why do you taunt us, drafting Gods?!?! There's some good green but I'm married to B/W now. Gorgon Flail is interesting, but I take the Blade of Doom.

Pick: Doom Blade #2

P3, p2:
A pretty weak pack, with Sleep and Oakenform being the strongest cards. I badly need another 2-drop, so I suck it up and take a Silvercoat Lion...they can't always be aces, right?

Pick: Silvercoat Lion

P3, p3:
Relevant to us is Assassinate, Drudge Skeletons, and Siege Mastodon. There's some good green (Prized Unicorn and a Giant Growth) but I have commitment issues and I need to get past them. I want to take the removal, but a quick scan shows me I have 8 creatures, 9 if I splash Rhino, 10 if I go nuts and also splash troll. That's not nearly enough, so I take the skeleton to come down early and stall the board while I draw my bruisers and removal.

P3, p4:
Still some great green (well, Oakenform and Bears are hardly great), but I think Harm's Way, Serra Angel, Pacifism, and Rhox Piker are stronger. I again need men, so I have to pass on Sign in Blood #2 and pick between Griffin Sentinel, a second Child, or Bog Wraith. I take the sentinel arbitrarily.

Pick: Griffin Sentinel

P3, p5:
All you need to know is that there was a Blade and the only black or white creature was a Soul Warden. Epic win!

Pick: Doom Blade #3!

P3, p6:
Black Knight or ghoul #2? I take the Knight, to counter all those cheap soldiers I've shipped in favor of white's fliers and removal .

Pick: Black Knight

P3, p7
A Mastodon is the only thing good for my deck, and I appreciate the late 3/5 stomper for my endgame.

Pick: Siege Mastodon

P3, p8:
No playable white or black = :'(. I hate on a Wall of Frost because even though half my team evades it, it's reaaaaalllly annoying to fight through and it sucks to burn a Doom Blade on a card that isn't actually killing you.

Pick: Wall of Frost

P3, p9:
Our pack wasn't great to begin with, and all the white is gone. No surprise or big deal, really. I take a Visionary to deny my opponents the chance.

Pick: Elvish Visionary

P3, p10-14: Angel's Feather, Megrim, Runeclaw Bears, Dragon's Claw, Firebreathing

Overall: Looking at it, there was a lot of white at the table. White's deep, though, and I have some insane stuff. There was a lot of black too...the guy in seat 4 first picked Vampire Nocturnus followed by back-to-back Tendrils . Still, not bad. The final deck was a little low on playables, so it has to MD a Safe Passage and splash for the Rhino. However, it has a whopping 5 "real" removal spells, plus two more psuedo removals, which is ridiculous for limited. Overall not bad.

M10 Draft 1
Land: 17 2 Forest 9 Swamp 6 Plains Creatures: 13 1 Silvercoat Lion 1 Stomrfront Pegasus 1 Child of Night 1 Drudge Skeletons 1 Black Knight 1 Griffin Sentinel 1 Dread Necromancer 1 Kelinore Bat 1 Warpath Ghoul 1 Siege Mastodon 1 Rhox Pikemaster 1 Serra Angel 1 Stampeding Rhino	Other:10 1 Harm's Way 1 Righteousness 1 Pacifism 3 Doom Blade 1 Sign in Blood 1 Safe Passage 1 Assassinate 1 Consume Spirit

Post your walkthroughs! Or critiques of mine

[Forgotten One]

I love the Draft Simulator, and I usually do it every week. I was really excited to see the new set up right away, as it really helps the drafting skills.

I ended up going BG, starting very similar to you but getting more green cards and ignoring the white good stuff at the start of pack 2 (except for the hating on Planar Cleansing and the Pacifism splash. I just didn't want to pass it.)

I ended up drafting like this:
Round 1:
Cudgel Troll
Doom Blade
Craw Wurm
Assassinate
Stampeding Rhino
Kelinore Bat
Naturalize
Unholy Strength
Child of Night
Bramble Creeper
Fog
Bountiful Harvest
Spellbook
Bountiful Harvest
Island

Round 2:
Planar Cleansing
Giant Spider
Weakness
Borderland Ranger
Elvish Visionary
Pacifism
Elvish Visionary
Bramble Creeper
Safe Passage
Sanguine Bond
Dragon's Claw
Ball Lightning
Spellbook
Dragon's Claw
Mountain

Round 3:
Doom Blade
Looming Shade
Prized Unicorn
Bog Wraith
Doom Blade
Black Knight
Duress
Giant Growth
Elvish Visionary
Angel's Feather
Fog
Tome Scour
Dragon's Claw
Firebreathing
Swamp

9 Forest
7 Swamp
1 Plains

I think this particular draft presented a lot of different choices that affect the overall direction of the draft. Pack 1, Pick 3 I went a more green route with Craw Wurm instead of sticking with more black with the "Severed Legion". I also didn't move into white in pack 2 despite the temptation ot do so.

One thing to note is that I like being in green especially for the man ramping and color fixing. Rampant Growth and Borderland Ranger allow for splashing cards like Pacifism, Doom Blade or Fireball when they come accross your path, while other colors don't necesarily give you the same opportunity.

I look forward to doing more of these.

[rabbit]

This was pretty cool. I'm pretty bad at drafting so I love doing these for practice. Here's what I went with.

Round 1:
Cudgel Troll
Llanowar Elves
Fog
Elvish Piper
Stampeding Rhino
Mold Adder
Panic Attack
Panic Attack
Jackal Familiar
Jackal Familiar
Rampant Growth
Burst of Speed
Forest
Bountiful Harvest
Island


Round 2:
Jackal Familiar
Kindled Fury
Mold Adder
Ball Lightning
Elvish Visionary
Jackal Familiar
Elvish Visionary
Elvish Visionary
Wall of Fire
Viashino Spearhunter
Dragon's Claw
Firebreathing
Spellbook
Dragon's Claw
Mountain


Round 3:
Prized Unicorn
Ball Lightning
Fog
Oakenform
Mist Leopard
Fog
Viashino Spearhunter
Giant Growth
Bramble Creeper
Regenerate
Viashino Spearhunter
Kindled Fury
Dragon's Claw
Firebreathing
Swamp

Started going Mono Green for a bit, then started seeing a lot of Red cards I like. That and I'm partial to RG decks. Look forward to more practice on this.

[Forgotten One]

If I were to force RG in this draft, my deck would look a lot different than yours:

Round 1:
Cudgel Troll
Prodigal Pyromancer
Craw Wurm
Giant Growth
Stampeding Rhino
Deadly Recluse
Panic Attack
Lava Axe
Jackal Familiar
Bramble Creeper
Trumpet Blast
Burst of Speed
Spellbook
Bountiful Harvest
Island

Round 2:
Planar Cleansing
Giant Spider
Berserkers of Blood Ridge
Borderland Ranger
Mist Leopard
Llanowar Elves
Elvish Visionary
Jackal Familiar
Elvish Visionary
Kindled Fury
Burning Inquiry
Ball Lightning
Bountiful Harvest
Dragon's Claw
Mountain

Round 3:
Stampeding Rhino
Ball Lightning
Prized Unicorn
Runeclaw Bear
Mist Leopard
Lightning Elemental
Flashfreeze
Sparkmage Apprentice
Jackal Familiar
Regenerate
Demon's Horn
Kindled Fury
Dragon's Claw
Firebreathing
Swamp

9x Forest
8x Mountain

I think that Jackal Familiar is an okay card, but I would only run them if I was short on other playables.