One reason I have such a love hate relationship with Magic is because of my love hate relationship with the release cycle. I have to attend the pre-release, then the midnight release, then wake up early to go the release—all of this within a week. I know, it’s hard being me, but when you lose as much as I do, it can take a lot out of you. Either way, despite my despondence I was at our Midnight Draft for Innistrad.
We had about 30 folks brave the cold autumnal air to play this appropriately Halloweeny set. As I reviewed our four pods for the event I noticed I was in a pod with some of the top players at the store. The Wizards Event Reporter really does hate me. To top it off I remain woefully bad at drafting, and that night was no different. Instead of remembering to get dudes, dudes, dudes, I got too cute with my strategy.
I originally drafted a Red White deck based around Burning Vengeance, but after my flop of a first round I changed it to be a bit more creature heavy. It was not easily accomplished. At least I got two mythics in the draft, and I was able to run one of them.
- Doomed Traveler x2
- Selfless Cathar x1
- Reckless Waif x1
- Spectral Rider x2
- Ashmouth Hound x2
- Village Ironsmith x1
- Bloodcrazed Neonate x1
- Kruin Outlaw x1
- Crossway Vampire x1
- Tormented Pariah x1
- Falkenrath Marauders x1
- Pitchburn Devils x1
- Geistflame x2
- Furor of the Bitten x2
- Nightbird’s Clutches x2
- Cobbled Wings x1
- Grimoire of the Dead x1
- Mountain x11
- Plains x6
For the first round of the night I was up against someone who just drafted creatures. He said he had about 20 creatures in his deck. And I believe it. Now keep in mind that for this round I was running a deck based on Burning Vengeance, Rally the Peasants, and other flashback cards. It may have been possible to win if I had had Devil’s Play and Divine Reckoning, but sadly it was not the case. My Reckless Waif and Doomed Travelers couldn’t keep up with his 7/7 Krallenhorde Wantons. I was stomped into the ground. After the two game lost I quickly reassessed my deck. I tried my best to jam more creatures into it, but sadly I just didn’t have enough. I had to bank on evasion and auras.
My second match went a little better. I had two long games with a Blue White flying deck. It had a lot of great removal with Smite the Monstrous and Rebuke. But what really made the deck was Zombie Alchemist. It was made even worse when he milled four creatures with it. To make matters worse whenever I would manage a trade he would then cast a Stitched Drake. It was a bad scene. In game two I was able to stall while waiting for my Grimoire of the Dead to power up. I was able to swamp the board but his Zombie Alchemist empowered army of zombies was able to thin it back out again. I was unable to pull it out. I lost in two long games. Metal note: draft dudes, dudes, and more dudes.
In match three I was a given a bit of a reprieve. My opponent’s deck was also filled with tricks and a little low on dudes, but his tricks were better than mine. He was running Werewolves, so he had his Moonmists and Full Moon’s Rises. Both of which were wicked. He had mostly higher cost ‘wolves though, so I was able to out race him in game one. Game two was a little more hairy. (get it?) He was able to get out his big beefy werewolves and flip them. Not only did he have a Mayor of Avabruck but also Ulvenwald Mystics. After a Travel Preparations and a Full Moon’s Rise, they were simply too big. They tore my eyes out. Game three thankfully ended up being another race. I quickly got out my Waif and Iron Smith. They let me to get in there for massive damage. I was just glad his ‘wolves were more costly. My Nightbird’s Clutches also came through for me in the end, so I was able to take game three and the match.
In the end my drafting skills just didn’t cut it. I had needed to draft more creatures, or simply better removal . I know that in draft creatures and removals are important, but it seems that in a creature and combat heavy set like Innistrad they become even more so. Don’t underestimate the power of a 7/7 for five mana, nor combat tricks like Moonmist. Also remember that boardwipes are amazing in this set. The board gets locked down very quickly. If I had kept all of this in mind during the Midnight Draft maybe I would have ended better than 1-2 in 21st place overall. No matter, it was a great night and an even better learning experience.
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