Jacob Draft 2: Where mythic happens.

So after completing my first year of medical school this week, I decided to fire up an 8-4.

Pack 1, Pick 1:


My Pick:


A solid start, fatty CA is always appreciated.  I now look for a ramp deck, though 10 isn't too bad even with minimal accel.  Ideally though, I want to cast this on 6 and bash face.

Pack 1, Pick 2:

My Pick:





Artisan is tempting to go all in on eldrazi fat, but slash is the pick.  All the games I lose in this format are to heavy removal decks or decks with guys I can't answer.

Pack 1, Pick 3:

My Pick:


And we have a plan.

Pack 1, Pick 4:

My Pick:


Since I now really want to be ramp fatties, I want at least a couple more win conditions, crusher fills this well and not over too much else.

Pack 1, Pick 5:

My Pick:


This card is pretty good in this archetype, stems some beats then makes all your fat one turn faster.

Pack 1, Pick 6:

My Pick:


The only picks in this pack are black cards just in case I go full jund ramp, cadaver imp is much better than null in this plan.

Pack 1, Pick 7:

My Pick:


Could have taken the leaf arrow, but I like getting a prism for potential splashes early in the draft.

Pack 1, Pick 8:

My Pick:


And there's the leaf arrow for the board.

Pack 1, Pick 9:

My Pick:


This card usually gets cut, but I like it in the direction this deck is going in.

Pack 1, Pick 10:

My Pick:



Pack 1, Pick 11:

My Pick:


Sometimes you need to vent some steam off.

Pack 1, Pick 12:

My Pick:


More likely to play this than the second stirrings.

Pack 1, Pick 13:

My Pick:


Pack 1, Pick 14:

My Pick:



Pack 1, Pick 15:



My Pick:


After pack one we have a nice base for an eldrazi ramp deck.  I really want many more ramps, 1-2 more fatties and some removal.

Pack 2, Pick 1:

My Pick:


While we want to have spawns and broodwarden is great at letting them beat down, I think we are going to be sacrificing our spawn more often than them just sitting there so I really want the ramp.

Pack 2, Pick 2:

My Pick:


 If I get enough fixing, then this is the best pick.  Right now in the draft the colors are really awkward.

 Pack 2, Pick 3:

My Pick:


Didn't need to mul over this for too long, ramp plus fattie beats ramp alone.

Pack 2, Pick 4:

My Pick:


Ramp and fixing would have been nice, but not over the beastbreaker whom I will be fine sinking my mana into.

Pack 2, Pick 5:

My Pick:


This is a great reason to take prisms early, if I did not have one then this would have been riskier.  However, since I have one then I only need one more fixer to play this insane card on a free splash.

Pack 2, Pick 6:

My Pick:


I have an irrational hate for this card stemming from me losing a whole round due to my opponent casting lust for war on it.  However, it is a good sideboard card against fliers and my hatred can't sway me away.

Pack 2, Pick 7:

My Pick:


Even though I have passed many ways to use tokens, I still want this card to make sure I can cast kozilek.  Also makes great chump blockers.

Pack 2, Pick 8:

My Pick:


Now I have the tokens to potentially with a great third pack go into raiding.

Pack 2, Pick 9:

My Pick:



Pack 2, Pick 10:

My Pick:


I don't know if this or battle rattle is better in this deck.

Pack 2, Pick 11:


My Pick:



Pack 2, Pick 12:

My Pick:


So trips birthing, if I get a few more early token makers they become playable.

Pack 2, Pick 13:






My Pick:



Pack 2, Pick 14:

My Pick:



Pack 2, Pick 15:





My Pick:




The second pack was ok, I got some nice green early drops but no more removal.

Pack 3, Pick 1:



My Pick:


With no ramp or removal to choose from, I go with the warden as a solid body and can help the few tokens I do have.

Pack 3, Pick 2:

My Pick:


Now that's some gluteus maximus! 

Pack 3, Pick 3:

My Pick:


Don't think I could have asked for a better card, now I have plenty of ramp to get'em with.

Pack 3, Pick 4:

My Pick:


...and now invoker is in.

Pack 3, Pick 5:

My Pick:


I also quietly picked up a nice wall theme with a couple of vents and ramparts to hold the fort down while ramping.

Pack 3, Pick 6:

My Pick:


May the slash be with you.

Pack 3, Pick 7:

My Pick:


Also may you get regularly forked at night.

Pack 3, Pick 8:

My Pick:


Solid card for the deck, a cheap fattie without the booty.

Pack 3, Pick 9:

My Pick:



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:


Decklist:
10 Forest
7 Mountain
1 Plains

1 Dawnglare Invoker
1 Emrakul's Hatcher
2 Vent Setinel
1 Soulsurge Elemental
1 Lavafume Invoker
1 Battle Rampart
1 Forked Bolt
2 Flame Slash
1 Pekakka Wurm
1 Broodwarden
1 Kozilek's Predator
1 Mul Daya Channelers
1 Growth Spasm
1 Beastbreaker of Bala Ged
1 Overgrown Battlement
1 Ancient Stirrings
1 Prophetic Prism
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Ulamog's Crusher
1 Skittering Invasion

I shouldn't have played the red invoker and should have played the second battle rampart because that card ended up being the nuts and I always wanted one.

R1G1:  I dont draw red mana to kill his escort before it gets fully leveled and he kills me turns later after I tap out for Kozilek with fliers and a staggershock.

R1G2:  My curve is mul daya, into predator, into hatcher, into crusher, into Kozilek :).  He punts by sacrificing his wildheart invoker when he could have pumped and double blocked to kill my Kozilek, but my hand was all adipose tissue and I would have won anyways.

R1G3:  I flame slash his beastbreaker after taking 4, then set up the walls of vent and rampart variety.  He value antelope's for a mammoth umbra and plays it on it but I have hatcher and predator to buy plenty of time.  Hasty ulamog's crusher trades for two lands and a smite.  I go to 6 before I try a triple block of predator, hatcher, and vent on his 5/8 antelope but he has the heat ray for a two for one that I don't care about.  The invasion comes and now I have plenty of token to buy time and when I draw my white source an invoker that can lock down the game.  The white comes by a hasty Kozilek which comes down, trades with 2 lands, 3 guys, and an oust, and invoker finishes things off next turn.

R2G1:  I stir the old guys, then he plays a spy patrol which instead of leveling up, he eel umbras so the race is on.  I spasm into hatcher into invasion while he levels and plays a sky scout.  I play invoker and he chariots his sky scout to put me down to 5.  I have spawn and 7 lands but need to draw an 8th to be safe.  He also has guard duty for my hatcher so my clock is only the invoker.  A play I did but questioned is a couple of turns later I double flame slashed his 4/5 wall so I could beat in again.  It was greedy if he has an invoker himself but it was worth 1 turn of clock which could be critical since he is probably ripping to a regress or oust or something that I am dead to.  I slowly tick down his life and he does not draw an answer.  Kozilek sat sadly in my hand the whole time while his friend of dawn did all the dirty work (partial justification for my vote for him as the best common from a couple of weeks ago).

R2G2:  I once again stir the elderly then beastbreak, but he has wavewatch to hold the ground.   I spasm into the warden while he griffiths which I don't flame slash, followed by luminous waking it which I figure is annoying enough to slash him out of the skies.  He has soul's attendant for more life and sky scout but I get in some damage with 4/4s before he gains it back when I play hatcher.  With 4 tokens and 5 lands, I draw Kozilek (running about as well with that card as Ari does with Bitterblossom) so I cast rampart to hasten his arrival.  I don't draw the land but do have a 9 power soulsurge which my opponent thinks double blocking with two 1/1s is the answer (hint:  it is not).  The following turn I play Mul Daya and see a land so I know I can Kozilek next turn, I attack and my opponent's new solution is blocking with a 2/6 and 0/6 (hint: that solution isn't any better).  He has the guard duty for my soulsurge, however he does not have the answer for hasty Kozilek.

Wooo I finally made the finals of a Rise draft.

R3G1:  He enforces, but I have battlement and his attempt to teach me yields no results when I slash before enforcer becomes unblockable.  Once again I have Kozilek in hand and just need the game to last.  I play rampart into channelers with the help of defender mana, but it meets the last kiss and his oracle and teacher get by the wall for one.  I beastbreaker with level, and attack which ends up being a retroactive punt.  He scorpions my battlement and gets in for 3 putting me to 13.  Beastbreaker gets him down to 14 and I spasm to now have 7 lands and a token.  He gets in for three more (10) and plays a pawn while I draw land and fully level beastbreaker and put him down to 8.  He attacks me to 5 and I play a hasty Kozilek but he has reality spasm to attack me for lethal.  In the end I would have won this game if I didn't attack with beastbreaker even because it ended up he only had dinky ground guys which won through incremental damage, but I don't think I could have known it at the time.  I could have not drawn lands and just drawn blockers and the beastbreaker would have gotten there.

R3G2:  I keep the Kelley approved 6 lands and a predator and he mulls to 6.  I rip mul daya and play it on three to match his runed servitor.  Showing vent I attack into it which is a punt because I'm drawing a card, but like a master battle rampart shows next.  He doesnt draw black mana and I win.

R3G3:  I mull into 4 lands, forked bolt, and invasion.  His first play, a bloodrite invoker, gets forked (and not in a good way) and I play a vent to his pawn.  He domesticates vent to start getting in there.  He keeps passing with mana up which screams countermagic, so I keep passing having drawn double flame slash.  I don't even play invasion on 7 because I think it will be important depending on what I draw and I am not under heavy pressure.  I play battle rampart as a blocker, and eventually his counter bites on my predator so he now sees my invasion and slashes (possibly invasion was the lead but it didn't seem like predator was going to do much, looking back on this game I don't think the 3/3 would have done much).  He now vomits his hand of bala ged scorpion on my rampart and runed servitor.  I slash his pawn since I was at 12 and 3 guys was too much, and the invasion finally comes.  He teaches with no students and I draw mul daya showing dude.  He perishes my last slash into thought which gives him the opportunity to play coralhelm commander.  I leave mana up the last turn and he falls for my bluff by not fully leveling his commander while I'm at 4 but don't draw anything to get me out of it.

The deck was fun and I drew pretty well.  All in all a nice 4 packs.