NMS Draft #3
Pack 1 pick 1:
Act of Aggression is the best card because it’s colorless ‘removal’ that will range from a gruesome two-for-one to an almost useless Fog. The reason why it has such a wide range of effectiveness rests on how much information the opponent has; it will be harder to use if they know about it; however it’s still quite powerful. The first time cast it’s almost always going to be very favorable for you, and afterwards will still be decent. Act is good in every type of deck whether it’s aggro or control, and leaves the draft open to whatever gets passed to us. Other cards like Artillerize, Blighted Agent, and Spire Monitor are all good, but they aren’t as unfair.
My pick: Act of Aggression
Pack 1 pick 2:
This pack has a moderate amount of Blue, but none of it is premium level. Impaler Shrike can be good, but it has problem because of its one toughness. The other options are Blind Zealot, Apostle’s Blessing, and Razor Swine. I dislike Blind Zealot because it’s an inferior version of the Shrike and suffers from the same intensive color requirements. Apostle’s Blessing is fine, but it will usually show up later on in the pack. Razor Swine is the last option, and it’s not much better than the rest. However, the Swine is a bit tougher on the Battlefield than the other creatures (ignoring removal) because first strike plus in infect is a powerful combination.
My pick: Razor Swine
Pack 1 pick 3:
Here’s a pack with much more powerful options than the last, and they are spread across multiple colors which will make choosing the right path more difficult. Glissa’s Scorn, Porcelain Legionnaire, Remember the Fallen, and Wing Splicer are the better cards, and while the first three are fine, Wing Splicer is the strongest sign. Even though the Splicer isn’t removal and not as powerful as Remember the Fallen can be, it is rarely seen beyond third/fourth pick which means that it’s more likely that Blue is a good color to be in and that we’ll see a lot of it as the draft progresses. Wing Splicer itself is still a good card because of its low cost (a 3/3 flyer for four mana is a good deal) and potential synergy with other golem cards.
My pick: Wing Splicer
Pack 1 pick 4:
Beast Within isn’t great and usually a card for sealed deck where it’s more likely that you’ll play against a bomb every round that’s worth blowing up even at the cost of giving the opponent a 3/3. Victorious Destruction is expensive, sluggish, and thus unexciting. On the other hand, Spire Monitor is another good Blue creature that’s quite good because it’s a moderately large flyer that can potentially ambush a creature in combat while dodging artifact removal. Forced Worship is the other option, but at this point it would be better to stick with Blue. Both Blue and White are open, and staying with one color for the first part of the pack while trying to wheel the second color is going to be better than alternating between the two throughout, otherwise the second pack won’t be as predictable.
My pick: Spire Monitor
Pack 1 pick 5:
Necropouncer is quite good when it’s on the Battlefield because it’s difficult to accurately gauge how to attack properly from the opponent’s perspective; the problem is spending the six mana to get it there. It’s easier to see now that Blue and White are open with Dispatch and Spire Monitor as the options. Dispatch can be very powerful, but it demands a lot from the deck (and is White). Spire Monitor is a better choice because it’s good by itself and fits in with our strategy of drafting Blue initially.
My pick: Spire Monitor
Pack 1 pick 6:
Vapor Snag can be quite useful when racing because it’s relatively cheap and pings the opponent. However, Vault Skirge is a better choice because it’s useful in more situations like on turn one-two, and you will generally get more value out of it.
My pick: Vault Skirge
Pack 1 pick 7:
There’s nothing good for us here. Pestilent Souleater isn’t great because we already have a bunch of expensive spells and it would be better out of the sideboard against an Infect deck. Leeching Bite is the only card that I’d want to play, and that would only be the case if we got pushed into Green. Losing the Souleater (if we stick with Blue/Red) isn’t as considerable as missing out on Leeching Bite (if we end up in Green) because the Souleater is very replaceable compared to Leeching Bite (a cheap removal spell from a color that lacks non-artifact removal).
My pick: Leeching Bite
Pack 1 pick 8:
At this point it doesn’t seem like Red is an option because there’s been very little being passed to us, while Green has continued strong through the middle picks. Phyrexian Hulk is an option because of Wing Splicer, but it’s easy enough to pick up Hexplate Golems in the next pack if we desired. The better pick is Brutalizer Exarch because it can deal with troublesome cards like a Trigon or fetch out a bomb creature if we get one.
My pick: Brutalizer Exarch
Pack 1 pick 9:
Vanilla five-mana creatures isn’t a commodity that Green will ever have trouble providing which makes Rotted Hystrix unnecessary when considering Psychic Barrier. The Barrier isn’t at its best when paired with Forests simply because of a higher curve, but that’s mitigated somewhat by the duo of Spire Monitors while also being a useful tool if we need to sideboard against a Hoard-Smelter Dragon.
My pick: Psychic Barrier
Pack 1 pick 10:
My pick: Unwinding Clock
Pack 1 pick 11:
My pick: Numbing Dose
Pack 1 pick 12:
My pick: Phyrexian Hulk
Pack 1 pick 13:
My pick: Surge Node
Pack 1 pick 14:
My pick: Ruthless Invasion
Pack 1 pick 15:
The first pack was difficult to navigate at first, although we managed to settle into Blue after seeing some good signals, and the investment returned substantial dividends. Green seems like the next best color to be in, although that may change depending on what we see in the second pack.
Pack 2 pick 1:
Thrun, the Last Troll is difficult for most non-Infect decks to deal with, and if you don’t walk into a pump spell after tapping out to summon him, he’ll usually win the game for you.
My pick: Thrun, the Last Troll
Pack 2 pick 2:
Peace Strider, Steel Sabotage, Viridian Claw, and Quicksilver Geyser are the main cards to look at. The Strider is the weakest card but it’s being considered because we have to make the concession that the deck’s curve is a bit top-heavy at the moment, and the life-gain may be very important. I wouldn’t consider either of the Blue cards because it’s likely that one will wheel after seeing how the first pack flowed (we’ll be happy with either). The last card is Viridian Claw which is quite good, albeit slower initially than Peace Strider, but far more effective over the course of the game because first strike is very difficult to play against.
My pick: Viridian Claw
Pack 2 pick 3:
Serum Raker is good but it suffers in decks with high curves because excess lands have a much higher value than normal. Plague Myr would be a welcome addition but doesn’t compare in value to Fangren Marauder because the 5/5 has such a dramatic irreplaceable effect when it’s on the Battlefield; it’s more likely that we’ll be able to pick up a myr in the third pack.
My pick: Fangren Marauder
Pack 2 pick 4:
Myr Welder is usually pretty bad, and although the three-mana 1/4 body fits well into the curve, Steel Sabotage is going to be more beneficial overall because we don’t have that much removal at the moment.
My pick: Steel Sabotage
Pack 2 pick 5:
We can take Hexplate Golem for our Wing Splicer, but we have the fatties covered at the moment and should try to lower our curve by taking a Tangle Mantis. The Mantis can usually defend the ground reasonably well which is what we’re looking for from a four-drop.
My pick: Tangle Mantis
Pack 2 pick 6:
Neither of the big creatures or Mirran Mettle is interesting. Tangle Hulk is fine if you can untap with it and will certainly prove troublesome eventually, but it doesn’t help the deck in its time of need because it’s very vulnerable initially (a three-toughness artifact creature). Darksteel Juggernaut is doesn’t compliment the deck very well because it’s forced to attack, and it seems more likely that the deck will be in the position of being on the defensive until it can amass number of creatures before having the luxury of attacking. On the other hand, Piston Sledge is a card that I like here because it’s good very good on Thrun and Vault Skirge along with any other flyer and will allow us to create a significant threat out of one of those creatures while the rest chill out on defense.
My pick: Piston Sledge
Pack 2 pick 7:
Mirran Spy usually isn’t impressive, but it will still be fine and provide early defense for us.
My pick: Mirran Spy
Pack 2 pick 8:
Quicksilver Geyser is good because it helps take back some tempo from the opponent in addition to complimenting Spire Monitor and Psychic Barrier quite well; having a mix of tricks makes playing around one more difficult (ex: Cryptic Command and Mistbind Clique). However, Brass Squire is a better choice because it makes Viridian Claw and Piston Sledge much better in addition to being a cheap, moderately defensible creature.
My pick: Brass Squire
Pack 2 pick 9:
My pick: Loxodon Partisan
Pack 2 pick 10:
Unfortunately neither of the Blue cards wheeled from this pack, and so we’re stuck with an Unnatural Predation.
My pick: Unnatural Predation
Pack 2 pick 11:
Pistus Strike is unnecessary because we’re playing Blue and have access to flyers whereas Lead the Stampede will be a way to gas up if we flood.
My pick: Lead the Stampede
Pack 2 pick 12:
My pick: Kuldotha Ringleader
Pack 2 pick 13:
My pick: Unnatural Predation
Pack 2 pick 14:
My pick: Fuel for the Cause
Pack 2 pick 15:
The second pack actually wasn’t very impressive aside from opening Thrun. Granted we also got a Fangren Marauder, but the rest of the pack was very mediocre. The third pack will need to be slightly above average to compensate for this one.
Pack 3 pick 1:
Skinrender and Galvanic Blast are all well and good, but they pale in comparison to the David Ochoa invitational card: Acid Web Spider. The arachnid is quite excellent at defending from multiple fronts.
My pick: Acid Web Spider
Pack 3 pick 2:
Unfortunately there aren’t many options although Horizon Spellbomb is still quite good in the deck because of the lack of plays on turns one through three. The Spellbomb will help the deck draw into gas while still allowing it to play its lands every turn.
My pick: Horizon Spellbomb
Pack 3 pick 3:
Sylvok Replica and Heavy Arbalest are the two options, and while the Replica is both a cheap creature to defend with early on and a way to destroy random artifacts, Heavy Arbalest is a better choice because the deck already has a few tools to use against artifact-based decks (Fangren Marauder, Thrun, the Last Troll, Acid Web Spider, and Steel Sabotage) while few against other creatures (Act of Aggression, Leeching Bite, and Psychic Barrier). The Arbalest is quite slow, but with the addition of Brass Squire along with the deck’s natural ability to clog the board, it will still be effective in most games.
My pick: Heavy Arbalest
Pack 3 pick 4:
Tumble Magnet is better in a more aggressive deck because of its ability to generate tempo for only a small initial mana investment; it’s used to tap down blockers while bashing with random attackers. Wall of Tanglecord is better in this deck because it’s very cheap like Tumble Magnet, but it defends for more than three turns; it’s quite literally a gentleman’s Journey to Nowhere.
My pick: Wall of Tanglecord
Pack 3 pick 5:
This pick is more of a blank because Snapsail Glider, Lifesmith, and Sylvok Lifestaff don’t function well in this deck. The last two require keeping extra mana around to be useful (which isn’t a good idea with a high curve) while the Glider doesn’t have adequate support to be more than a Gray Ogre. Of all the cards, Lifesmith is most likely to provide the best way to climb back into a game against a fast start because it will make all of the artifacts drawn later on more useful while being able to block early if necessary.
My pick: Lifesmith
Pack 3 pick 6:
Mana myr are good because they can be summoned on turns two through four and still be quite useful at accelerating the deck’s plays, but they don’t defend well and don’t have a significant advantage over Neurok Replica unless they’re summoned on turn two. The Replica is more likely to be useful on every other turn of the game past turn two because it has a very relevant ability along with a superior body.
My pick: Neurok Replica
Pack 3 pick 7:
Darksteel Myr is rarely good whereas Scrapdiver Serpent is a legitimate threat against a lot of decks. However, the Serpent is rather expensive and will be a sideboard option against slower opponents.
My pick: Scrapdiver Serpent
Pack 3 pick 8:
Culling Dais isn’t very useful because the creature quality is high and we aren’t trying to support Metalcraft. Flight Spellbomb is a better option than Plated Seastrider because it’s unlikely that we’ll need the 1/4 now that we have more low-CC creatures.
My pick: Flight Spellbomb
Pack 3 pick 9:
My pick: Tel-Jilad Defiance
Pack 3 pick 10:
My pick: Wing Puncture
Pack 3 pick 11:
My pick: Ezuri’s Archers
Pack 3 pick 12:
My pick: Lumengrid Drake
Pack 3 pick 13:
My pick: Wing Puncture
Pack 3 pick 14:
My pick: Bonds of Quicksilver
Pack 3 pick 15:
Pack three was mediocre, and thus we’ll have to play some less desirable cards as a result. Overall the draft wasn’t a complete disaster, and we were still able to draft enough cards to make a cohesive deck that should be good enough to win a few rounds.
The following group of twenty cards should be in the deck:
The remaining cards to consider for the maindeck include the following:
It’s easy to dismiss the weaker options like Ezuri’s Archers, Unnatural Predation, and Wing Puncture. Nine artifacts makes Lumengrid Drake unattractive, although it would still be okay with one of the equipment cards. Another option would be to run either Phyrexian Hulk or Scrapdiver Serpent, and it would be better to play the Hulk because it’s cheaper; keeping the curve as low as possible is important. We didn’t see any Living Weapon equipment to get value from Tel-Jilad Defiance, and so it’s going to be better as a sideboard card. Between Bonds of Quicksilver and Numbing Dose, running Bonds is going to be better because it’s less color-intensive and has Flash (which compliments Spire Monitor, Psychic Barrier, and Fuel for the Cause). Fuel for the Cause is rather expensive and is going to interfere too much with curving out whereas Psychic Barrier is more manageable. Lead the Stampede is fine, although playing it makes running at least one more creature desirable. Eighteen lands is an option to consider especially with such a high curve, although Horizon Spellbomb does help a minor amount at the cost of our turn (in most cases).
After considering the options, we can make the following groups:
Lead the Stampede + Phyrexian Hulk/Scrapdiver Serpent, Psychic Barrier, Bonds of Quicksilver, Flight Spellbomb, and Lumengrid Drake.
Running more creatures seems like the best idea because it’s a non-conditional way to complicate the board compared to other cards like Bonds of Quicksilver which require certain game states. Our creature quality is likely to be higher than the opponent’s which favors us in drawn-out games. Lead the Stampede and Phyrexian Hulk are good enough on their own while Lumengrid Drake doesn’t quite have the staying power necessary for a four-mana card. The last slot is going to be Psychic Barrier because it’s the cheapest disruptive card between it, Bonds, and Fuel for the Cause.
Deck:
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The deck played out well and I ended up going 3-0.
Thrun was obviously good whenever I drew him and it wasn’t difficult to win as a result.
There was a game where Piston Sledge really shined and that was when it got strapped onto a Vault Skirge that had been summoned the turn prior. I sideboarded it out once and didn’t draw it during the rest of the time which makes it more difficult to evaluate in this kind of deck (few ways to move it around).
Act of Aggression was quite good and contributed heavily to the games that I won (one example was it stealing a defensive Saberclaw Golem and making it so that the only out for my opponent was to have Galvanic Blast for it; he did not).
Brass Squire never got going with the three equipment; I just never drew him much.
Lead the Stampede was decent and helped me in the games where one of my opponents had a lot of removal.
Psychic Barrier was only okay, and it got sideboarded out once when I was playing against a faster deck with a low curve. It was fine the rest of the time and didn’t interfere too much with me casting creatures.
Happy Drafting.
