Matt Draft #1 (8-4)

Here's a report of a draft Stu and I did one night after a Game On event.

Pack 1, Pick 1:


 My Pick:


Have never played with the assembly, but I've heard it's pretty insane, especially in R/W. The Artisan, Knight, and Invoker are all fine cards as well. I ended up taking Invoker as it's easily splashable, always good, and therefore leaves us least committed.
Pack 1, Pick 2:

My Pick:


Corpehatch is just better than everything else
Pack 1, Pick 3:

My Pick:


Not the most exciting pack. Cub, Might, and Spawning Breath are all playable, but Regress is both good and pushes us into B/U/x control, which is very good in RRR.
Pack 1, Pick 4:

My Pick:


Bombardment and Lust for War are both good in more aggresive decks. While Servitor isn't a card that I really like 4th picking it's fairly good in our control deck
Pack 1, Pick 5:

My Pick:


All value.
Pack 1, Pick 6:

My Pick:


Probably should have taken the Essence Feed, as It that Betrays is pretty unplayable unless you're green or have a ton of spawn producers, but I wanted to get greedy.
Pack 1, Pick 7:

My Pick:


If you can make enough tokens to support it, drawning 3 cards is pretty good
Pack 1, Pick 8:

My Pick:


We already have a Corpsehatch, Regress, Mnemonic Wall, Shared Discovery... Sometimes you just want more value.
Pack 1, Pick 9:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 10:

My Pick:

Pack 1, Pick 11:

My Pick:


Not going to play multiple Shared Discovery unless our deck is really wild, and null holds down the ground pretty well.
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:


In case you weren't aware, turning spawn tokens into 4/4's is a 700% increase in their combined power and toughness.
Pack 2, Pick 2:

My Pick:


Again with walls and cast through time, we just want the instant. Our last pick gives us a recurrable win condition, so we don't need something like crusher or beetle that's more vulnerable.
Pack 2, Pick 3:

My Pick:


We're light on removal at this point, and although we don't have a lot of creatures to reveal, we can pick up plenty later.
Pack 2, Pick 4:

My Pick:


I swear this was an 8-4. The rest of the pack is pretty nuts too.
Pack 2, Pick 5:

My Pick:


Sometimes you just want to make some tokens so you can turn them into 4/4's. Also wanted to start picking up dudes for Induce Despair.
Pack 2, Pick 6:

My Pick:


Wavewatch and Last Kiss are both good, but all our deck wants is more value.
Pack 2, Pick 7:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 8:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 9:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 10:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 11:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 12:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 13:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 14:

My Pick:

Pack 2, Pick 15:

My Pick:

Pack 3, Pick 1:

My Pick:


Staggershock is just always a blowout. I get more impressed by the card every time I draft it.
Pack 3, Pick 2:

My Pick:


Well, our deck just became good.
Pack 3, Pick 3:

My Pick:


Random dudes are worse than another spell. We definitely have ways to win the game other than attacking with a pawn of ulamog.
Pack 3, Pick 4:

My Pick:


More value
Pack 3, Pick 5:

My Pick:


Probably wrong. We don't need the sentinel as a win condition, and Last Kiss would definitely be solid in our deck.
Pack 3, Pick 6:

My Pick:


Don't know what this is still doing here
Pack 3, Pick 7:

My Pick:


By now we have plenty of guys to make this good
Pack 3, Pick 8:

My Pick:


Fliers are still good, and while wavewatch is better in our deck that in others, invoker is still better.
Pack 3, Pick 9:

My Pick:


Wow, all value!
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:

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Pack 3, Pick 15:

My Pick:


Final Deck:
1 Enclave Cryptologist
1 Prophetic Prism
1 Runed Servitor
1 Spawning Breath
2 Induce Despair
2 Regress
1 Staggershock
1 Lavafume Invoker
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Surreal Memoir
1 Lord of Shatterskull Pass
1 Vent Sentinel
1 Corpsehatch
2 Dread Drone
2 Mnemonic Wall
1 Frostwind Invoker
1 Helion Eruption
1 Rapacious one

On to the matches

Round 1: Vs. GB
Game 1 He has a turn 2 Beastbreaker, which we Induce Despair, revealing Lord of Shatterskull Pass, when he tries to level. Lord comes down the next turn and he never has an answer.
Game 2 Again we kill an early Beastbreaker and have Lord on 4. However, our opponent makes some spawn tokens with a Kozilek's predator then plays a Bloodthorne Vampire which could potentially get bigger than 6/6. After leveling to the max, our lLrd ends up trading with his entire team except the Predator (which had a Snake Umbra), and from there active Cryptologist put us too far ahead.

Round 2: Vs. UW
Game 1 We have a t1 Crytologist, which thankfully UW has no real answer to short of bounce/Oust to stall or Domestication. He has a Chronologist, which would ordinarily be good except our looter gives us infinite removal and we Corpsehatch it after he sinks a ton of mana into it. While he eventually does rip the Domestication for out looter, its already gotten us enough value that it doesn't matter, Staggershock deals with it and his Dawnglare Invoker, and a Vent Sentinel finished the job.

For game 2 we boarded in a plains and the Dawnglare Invoker due to the general lack of outs UW has to that card. Even Domestication isn't a concern since we have so much removal.

Game 2: In this game we open with swamp, fetch a plains with Evolving Wilds, play an island and Induce Despair a random flier, then play a mountain and pass. If our opponent isn't already tilting that he's losing to a 4 color monstrosity, I'm pretty sure that when we cast Hellion eruption for 5 guys, with Regress backup, he's slightly annoyed.

Round 3: lsv with R/G rampdrazi
We don't offer the split since it is level infinite pro lsv. He's a ringer. Our deck is insane, so might as well pit it against the best. Also, getting QP's is always value.

Game 1: He starts with Joraga Treespeaker while we rip Enclave Cryptologist on 1. He accelerates out into Nest Invader and start the beats while also getting turn 3 Dreamstone Hedron. We Induce Despair the Treespeaker and he Spawning Breaths our Cryptologist.  We cast Lord of Shatterskull Pass. His Artisan of Kozilek rebuys the elf. We Regress the Artisan and serve for 6 with level 1 Lord. He has 8 mana next turn, misses land, and levels up Treespeaker 5 times. We are glad that is the best he can do. We serve with Lord, which is chumped by Invader, and play Rapacious One. His recast Artisan meets the Corpsehatch we rip and the game ends shortly with Lavafume Invoker powered spawn tokens.

SB: - Vent Sentinels + Inquisition of Kozilek. Vent will not be a win con in this matchup. Inquistion hits early mana accel or threats like Beastbreaker of Bala Ged and Aura Gnarlid.

Game 2: He again has Treespeaker to our Cryptologist. Must be good at this game or something. However this time his turn 2 is level and attack, and his turn 3 is Ondu Giant for a land and miss land drop. We have the Induce Despair for Treespeaker and settle down to loot our way to victory. He plays Kozilek's Predator. Our Lord of Shatterskull Pass eats Heat Ray.  Dread Drone matches Kozilek's Predator and his followup is Aura Gnarlid. We cast Inquisition of Kozilek his Kiln Fiend, leaving him with 1/5 Spider, Dreamstone Hedron, and Battle Rattle Shaman. With the tokens from Dread Drone we also cast Rapacious One. He plays Hedron and Rattles and beats us to 6. We have the Staggershock for Gnarlid but fail to mainphase it, which was a grave misplay. However the three cards from the Hedron did not include burn or a pump spell and he concedes when we use Cryptologist to draw a card the next turn.

So another draft won for the good guys. And beating lsv is always value.