Pack 1 pick 1:
Karn is easily the best card for a few reasons. It’s very difficult for almost every archetype to fight against since it can apply pressure to a player’s board or hand, whichever is most relevant. If the Battlefield is anywhere close to parity, then Karn will take over the game. The obvious downside to this pack is that it’s actually too good. We’re passing Enslave and Grim Affliction (along with Blind Zealot to a much lesser extent) which means that Black will be non-existent during pack two. Afterwards, there’s Exclusion Ritual, Porcelain Legionnaire, and Glissa’s Scorn along with Victorious Destruction which will only negatively impact White somewhat due to the above-average quality of Black.
My pick: Karn Liberated
Pack 1 pick 2:
Tappers have always been at the top of the pick order, and Blinding Souleater is one of the better versions because it functions in any color deck, although you really want to be White in conjunction with it. Still, the Souleater is leagues ahead of everything else by a far margin because the other removal is extremely narrow in application comparatively. Leeching Bite, Gut Shot, and Marrow Shards are all difficult to be useful all of the time, and the other options (Apostle’s Blessing, Spined Thopter, and Razor Swine) are even worse because they lack the power that traditional removal has.
My pick: Blinding Souleater
Pack 1 pick 3:
With a rare and common missing, seeing a Volt Charge makes me immediately think of Grim Affliction which works out well for us. Volt Charge is highly desirable removal which means that unless the missing rare was Red, then we should be positioned well for good Red throughout the entire draft. Pack two should be good also because we’ve passed so much non-Red that other people will go into those other colors. So far we’re only committing to Red at this point which is reasonably safe. Again, we’re not passing too much except in Green (Glissa’s Scorn and Spinebiter).
My pick: Volt Charge
Pack 1 pick 4:
Remember the Fallen is a solid card, quite similar to Morbid Plunder, and generally a game-breaker in attrition wars. The main problem with Remember the Fallen is that sometimes it can be difficult to acquire enough artifacts to make it a Morbid Plunder; some decks just are too artifact-light. The other good cards are Impaler Shrike and Mindculling along with Mycosynth Wellspring and Victorious Destruction to a lesser extent. The Wellspring is actually slightly overrated because most decks won’t be able to properly take advantage of it due to not having any Metalcraft cards or utility like Rusted Slasher, Barrage Ogre, et al. Mindculling is quite the card actually, and has always been impressive whenever I’ve seen it played. Impaler Shrike is also good because it’s a three-power flyer or Concentrate, but it suffers from having one-toughness. After seeing so many copies of Gut Shot, Marrow Shards, and Leeching Bite already, it would be better to pass on the Ancestral-on-wheels. Jumping into Blue with Mindculling is the best bet because we’re being sent a relatively strong signal that it’s open.
My pick: Mindculling
Pack 1 pick 5:
Spined Thopter and Porcelain Legionnaire are both good options, but the Thopter is rather vulnerable being a one-toughness artifact while it’s better to pass the Legionnaire to draw attention away from Red/Blue during pack two. The remaining cards to consider are Mycosynth Wellspring, Gremlin Mine, and Apostle’s Blessing. I like the Wellspring the most because we have three really good cards, but they’re all in different colors, and the Wellspring will let us play all of them with greater ease. Gremlin Mine is fine and benefits from being cheap, but it’s still rather narrow. Apostle’s Blessing is also moderately good because it’s a very cheap way to protect good creatures from removal while also doubling as a very relevant combat trick against decks without. However, the fixing that the Wellspring provides is too valuable at this point because Red has started to trickle compared to White/Blue, and we don’t want to get cut off from being able to play the Volt Charge.
My pick: Mycosynth Wellspring
Pack 1 pick 6:
Suture Priest is a cornerstone to the popular White-based aggro decks, but this deck isn’t shaping up to be one of those, and it would be better to continue cutting off Blue by taking the Impaler Shrike.
My pick: Impaler Shrike
Pack 1 pick 7:
Here’s another pack with more White and less Red which is unfortunate because of the amount of White that’s been passed already. Forced Worship is usually pretty good in defensive decks, because unlike Arrest you can play it early on a bad creature and then lock down what really matters later on. However, Forced Worship is quite lacking in a more aggressive deck, and even ones that are simply ground-based. Deceiver Exarch is weaker than Forced Worship, but it’s just as useful against smaller creatures, and it keeps us more open in pack two (if there’s a bomb or color-shift).
My pick: Deceiver Exarch
Pack 1 pick 8:
Victorious Destruction is a lot like Gremlin Mine (narrow) but worse because it’s so clunky (an expensive sorcery). A second Impaler Shrike is a better option.
My pick: Impaler Shrike
Pack 1 pick 9:
Psychic Barrier is rather mediocre because it’s difficult to cast in conjunction with other Blue cards until very late in the game which makes it generally only good against slow decks or in fast decks. Numbing Dose is fine, although it’s quite slow like Parasitic Implant, but slower and not as effective. It’s rather easy to fill up a deck with expensive five/six-mana spells, and in the case of Phyrexian Hulk versus Sensor Splicer, I’d rather have the more powerful version.
My pick: Sensor Splicer
Pack 1 pick 10:
My pick: Gut Shot
Pack 1 pick 11:
My pick: Numbing Dose
Pack 1 pick 12:
My pick: Victorious Destruction
Pack 1 pick 13:
My pick: Xenograft
Pack 1 pick 14:
My pick: Scrapyard Salvo
Pack 1 pick 15:
The first pack went rather well, although a moderate amount of White slipped through us which means that it’s unlikely we’ll get much from the second pack. However, most White in pack two isn’t great for our current setup because it’s mostly Metalcraft and Infect. Red seemed like it was open, although it really slowed down mid-pack while Blue was flowing nonstop. In the second pack it’s reasonable to expect a moderate amount of Blue with no Black, very little White, and some Red/Green. We can currently branch off into Red or White depending on what we get passed, but it seems more likely that Red will be heavier than White.
Pack 2 pick 1:
This pack is nice. Unfortunately we don’t want to take any Black card because we already have a potential splash, and sending a heavy Black pack will only improve our options in pack three. Our options are Titan Forge, Oculus, or an artifact creature. Titan Forge is too slow and the artifact creatures are easily replaceable whereas Oculus is fine because it provides time to setup/race with flyers while being relatively cheap.
My pick: Oculus
Pack 2 pick 2:
This is more like it. Burn the Impure and Strandwalker are both good, but the removal is better because it’s so efficient whereas Strandwalker is much slower (although it has a much higher potential value over the course of the game).
My pick: Burn the Impure
Pack 2 pick 3:
One of the important reasons for staying open and solidifying yourself in only one color during New Phyrexia is because Mirrodin Besieged has so many bombs that you want to be able to take them when able (like now).
My pick: Corrupted Conscience
Pack 2 pick 4:
Ichor Wellspring and Quicksilver Geyser both act as utility cards in the sense that their role is determined by the other spells in a deck and/or how the deck plays out. Ichor Wellspring becomes useful with cards like Rusted Slasher and Lumengrid Drake while Quicksilver Geyser is good in a flyer deck that wants to race or one that has a lot of ETB-triggers to take advantage of (like Skinrender). It’s generally easier to make Quicksilver Geyser good than Ichor Wellspring, and the Geyser fits into this deck well since it already has a few three-power flyers that we don’t want to block with.
My pick: Quicksilver Geyser
Pack 2 pick 5:
Myr Sire and Oculus overlap a moderate amount, but Myr Sire is better in a Metalcraft deck. Both creatures work well defending against Accorder Paladins and other similar creatures, but Oculus will tend to be better because it replaces itself (which has more potential to be better if the value of having a Myr in play is unknown).
My pick: Oculus
Pack 2 pick 6:
Vivisection is good with Sensor Splicer and two Oculus at our disposal, but it’s a tempo-draining play and usually not something that will lead to a win unless you’re already ahead on the board. The other options are Spin Engine and Ogre Resister, of which the Resister is generally better in a non-aggro deck (sturdier body due to being a non-artifact and having three toughness). The Ogre’s mana requirements are much more awkward, but the tradeoff is worth it.
My pick: Ogre Resister
Pack 2 pick 7:
Ichor Wellspring is fine and will be moderately good if we pick up any Metalcraft creatures, but that’s an uncertainty and it could end up as just a two-mana-cycle card. Playing cards that cycle is fine especially with other cards like Karn Liberated in the deck, but the value of Divine Offering is most likely going to be higher because it’s moderately good removal in this deck since it gains life. The deck’s mana requirements are going to be stretched moderately with Divine Offering, Ogre Resister, and Impaler Shrike, but hopefully that doesn’t have too much of a negative impact on the game play.
My pick: Divine Offering
Pack 2 pick 8:
Mirran Spy is quite mediocre and not a creature that I’ve ever been excited to play despite having flying because one power doesn’t have a substantial impact on most games. Rusted Slasher is the best creature option because it combos with Ichor Wellspring, is colorless, and has more board presence than any other option (which the deck doesn’t have much of at the moment).
My pick: Rusted Slasher
Pack 2 pick 9:
There’s nothing good here, although it’s possible that Razorfield Rhino may make the cut if we’re in search for another moderately-sized body.
My pick: Razorfield Rhino
Pack 2 pick 10:
My pick: Ogre Resister
Pack 2 pick 11:
My pick: Spire Serpent
Pack 2 pick 12:
My pick: Brass Squire
Pack 2 pick 13:
My pick: Caustic Hound
Pack 2 pick 14:
My pick: Banishment Decree
Pack 2 pick 15:
The second pack was moderately underwhelming despite picking up Corrupted Conscience and Burn the Impure. Besides those two cards and Divine Offering, the rest of the pack was just a bunch of random creatures. There was much less Blue than I had initially thought there would be which was very evident with the lack of Serum Rakers, Gust Skimmers, and Steel Sabotages.
Pack 3 pick 1:
Nice pack, although it’s unfortunately not deep enough to wheel much of anything. Contagion Engine is the pick for us because one-sided reusable (with Quicksilver Geyser) wraths are “nice”.
My pick: Contagion Engine
Pack 3 pick 2:
Barrage Ogre has a lot of potential, but we passed up on the Wellsprings and Myr Sire in favor of other cards, and so Turn to Slag is going to be more consistent because there aren’t many cheap artifacts that we can use profitably with the Ogre.
My pick: Turn to Slag
Pack 3 pick 3:
Arrest is the best card, although it’s going to make our mana much worse, and it would be better to limit the amount of White that we splash. Normally Arrest would be the pick, but since we already have a moderate amount of removal, its value is reduced. With expensive cards like Karn, Contagion Engine, and Mindculling, Palladium Myr is the best option because it will streamline games.
My pick: Palladium Myr
Pack 3 pick 4:
Unfortunately White seems like the place to be regarding a main color, and seeing back-to-back Hippogriffs is certainly disheartening. However, we still have the option of Silver Myr which will supplement Palladium Myr quite well. Glint Hawk Idol isn’t going in the direction that the deck wants to go because it’s more of an aggro card whereas this deck is just trying to go over the top with big, powerful spells.
My pick: Silver Myr
Pack 3 pick 5:
Another Silver Myr will be useful for acceleration, but the utility of Neurok Replica is better overall because it fills the defensive role that hasn’t been filled yet.
My pick: Neurok Replica
Pack 3 pick 6:
My pick: Neurok Replica
Pack 3 pick 7:
Bloodshot Trainee isn’t going to be good in our deck while Vulshok Replica is a fine sideboard card against Infect because it trades with Cystbearer, Ichorclaw Myr, and the other three-toughness creatures while being relatively cheap to play.
My pick: Vulshok Replica
Pack 3 pick 8:
Trigon of Infestation is another good sideboard card, but Revoke Existence is a good maindeck card. With a Volition Reins floating around, having as many ways to protect non-creatures from it (like Karn) is important.
My pick: Revoke Existence
Pack 3 pick 9:
Nothing great wheeled from our original pack except a mediocre Flight Spellbomb to help support the Rusted Slasher.
My pick: Flight Spellbomb
Pack 3 pick 10:
Plated Seastrider isn’t necessary because we already have two Oculus, two Neurok Replica, and a Deceiver Exarch. Strider Harness won’t be very useful either, but its functionality is more unique within our pool.
My pick: Strider Harness
Pack 3 pick 11:
My pick: Stoic Rebuttal
Pack 3 pick 12:
My pick: Lumengrid Drake
Pack 3 pick 13:
My pick: Vedalken Certarch
Pack 3 pick 14:
My pick: Vigil for the Lost
Pack 3 pick 15:
The third pack was much better than the second because we had more options to consider (even with the plethora of good White that we had to pass on). It’s clear that a few people went into Red after the first pack because there was much less in the second and third (which was unfortunate for us since we too chose to splash White instead).
The following group of twenty-one cards should be run for sure:
An argument could be made that the White splash will compromise the consistency too much, but it’s not convincing enough because the cards that the deck gains are simply underpowered, and what it comes down to is whether two-three Plains is too much of a liability. If there were less removal in the deck, then it would be more reasonable to be concerned with dying to a fast draw. However, the deck should be able to draw out most games and find the necessary mana to play all of its spells.
The remaining cards to consider for the last few slots are:
Flight Spellbomb and Rusted Slasher as a package is an option, although running the Slasher alone isn’t good because there aren’t very many artifacts to sacrifice besides the Wellspring and Silver Myr which makes it almost as bad as Vulshok Replica. The deck won’t be able to achieve Metalcraft very easily with only seven artifacts which make Spire Serpent, Lumengrid Drake, and Vedalken Certarch all very lacking. Running Razorfield Rhino as just a six-mana 4/4 isn’t going to pull much weight either. Sensor Splicer is an option and has a moderate synergy with the two Neurok Replicas which is good. Stoic Rebuttal, Numbing Dose, and Victorious Destruction are quite slow and would be better as sideboard options because they overlap a lot with the cheaper removal in the deck.
There are only ten creatures in the deck at the moment, and adding at least one seems important because you don’t want to be forced to use removal on bad creatures. Sensor Splicer seems like the best option.
The most impactful card left for the last remaining slot is Quicksilver Geyser because there are a few cards that have ETB triggers to take advantage of, in addition to the Geyser being the spell that will help the deck come back into the game if it gets too far behind.
The manabase is going to be rather ugly because three-and-a-half spells (Blinding Souleater) will require four White sources (3 Plains and 1 Mycosynth Wellspring) which leaves the remaining fourteen slots to be split evenly with seven Islands and seven Mountains. A case could be made about running nine Mountains because being able to play removal and Ogre Resisters early will be more important than casting Impaler Shrike, but that seems a bit excessive.
Deck:
The deck lost in round three of the draft (playing out like expected) which is to say that it had trouble at times due to being unable to cast some spells. However, the moderate amount of removal made most games manageable which made up for the fact that there would be a few turns where two spells were locked away in hand. Unfortunately the deck’s draws in two of the games in round three were far below average, and it wasn’t able to win the final match.
Karn was amazing (for those of you who have never seen him in action) and single-handedly won the game. Most of the other wins came from leveraging the board to take advantage of Contagion Engine or by simply casting Corrupted Conscience.
Happy Drafting.
