Initial Technology – (Fiendishly) Distorting the Draft Format

May 4, 2010 |

lsv

My initial forays into drafting Rise of the Eldrazi have gone well, and I now feel qualified to discuss some of the better archetypes I have found. It feels nice to even be able to draft actual archetypes, since Zendikar draft doesn't really have them. Each color just has a different 2/1 for two with evasion (Welkin Tern, Surrakar Marauder, Goblin Shortcutter, Cliff Threader, Nissa's Chosen) and you draft as many of those as you can. Not the most exciting, to be sure. Rise gets back to drafting fundamentals, and there are many cards that fit well in some decks but don't fit in others; Glory Seeker is by no means an auto-include like it was in the last format. Cards that you think are good, generally are (as long as you don't think Emrakul is good!). Removal, evasion, and bombs are excellent, and no more passing cards like ~~Sphinx of Jwar Isle~~Sphinx of Magosi because they are too slow.

The first archetype I wanted to take a look at is UW Levelers. This is a pretty obvious deck to draft, and certainly one of the better ones. It uses the same strategy UW aggro always has; evasive guys and pseudo-removal, with a few defenders thrown in for good measure. I can't even call Narcolepsy "pseudo-removal", since it even is straight up real removal.

Removal is of course the top priority, though this deck doesn't NEED a ton of removal to be good. Ideally your threats just outclass theirs, although having the capability to stop a random bomb or Umbra'ed guy is always nice to have. Some of the evasion guys can be a bit clunky, since a removal spell on the leveler that you spent turn two and three on can leave you behind on the board. For this reason, having some defenders and some counterspells is important, since they either keep you alive if they do have removal or stop the removal spell in the first place.

I don't want to spend too much time on this archetype, since it is not very difficult to draft or understand; good Blue and White cards that are good on their own and work well together is not a very complex strategy. You aren't super aggressive or controllish, but usually somewhere in between. Your guys goldfish a little slower than aggressive Red cards, but are much harder to stop, and against ramp/Eldrazi or just big Green decks, you can outrace them with a little help from a removal spell or two. All the good cards in this deck are flexible, which is one of its strengths, so I don't usually like playing cards like Distortion Strike (even though it can be quite effective).

I have ranted enough about pick orders in the past, but they are still useful at comparing cards in the abstract. Of course, the problem is always that you aren't drafting in the abstract, and once you have even a couple cards, pick orders change drastically. Use this list as a way to compare the relative power of the cards, not as a strict guide. Removal generally doesn't get worse in multiples, but cards like Enclave Cryptologist, regardless of how powerful, certainly do.

Top 25 UW Commons and Uncommons

Like I said, this list is subject to much change, but I generally take the premium removal (Domestication, Narcolepsy), then threats (good levelers and fliers), then situational removal (Regress, Oust, Smite). Cards like Venerated Teacher and Time of Heroes vary wildly in terms of rank, since they either do nothing or are awesome.

Feel free to let me know how wrong I am in the comments, since it is early enough in the format that I could certainly be over/under valuing some cards. I sure was wrong about Regress in my set review, after all!

The next archetype is much more interesting, just because it combines weaker cards to great effect. Any time you are drafting a deck that relies on cards nobody is really likely to want, you get a huge edge. You can spend your early picks on the overall awesome stuff, like Narcolepsy or Staggershock, and hopefully pick up the crucial cards later in the pack. Of course, telling everyone about it makes that a little less likely, but that's why you are reading this!

The strategy of this archetype is best described as "making crappy guys unblockable with situational spells". Hmm, that comes off as sounding terrible, but it really is effective. GP Champion Matt "Nassty" Nass has been forcing this archetype in our drafts, and it usually does well, and I've been happy whenever I have managed to draft it. The headline combo, if you will, is Kiln Fiend plus Distortion Strike. Those two cards are ten damage by themselves, and trust me, they usually have help. If that was all there was to the deck, I wouldn't recommend trying it, but there are a ton of Distortion Strike-type cards, and a few ways to replicate Kiln Fiend also. This deck often outraces the opponent, and is always threatening so much damage that it makes them play defensively, at which point you have a ton of ways to break through their defenses. When they keep guys back to block your Kiln Fiend and you have Strike, or Reality Spasm, or a key bounce spell, or Wrap in Flames (and the list goes on) it is quite the blowout. Not only might you just kill them, even if you don't, they are in the same position next turn; too low life to attack, but by not attacking they just give you time to find another way to bust through.

One of the reasons this deck works so well is Rebound, which not only makes your Fiends enormous, gives you plenty of gas throughout the game. Surreal Memoir is particularly noteworthy, since if you have enough instants (4+), it is almost a bomb, especially if you are returning cards like Staggershock. I am also duty-bound to mention Sphinx-Bone Wand, since I gave it a "0" in my Limited review. I actually played it in one of my decks, and it was surprisingly good. Now, I don't recommend playing it 9 times out of 10, or more, but in the right deck it is a good finisher. I happened to have 14 spells, 5 of which had Rebound, and two of which let me draw cards, so it was great. That won't happen very often, but since I did say it was terrible, I wanted to at least mention it.

The cards for this deck are divided into three main categories:

Damage Sources

Kiln Fiend is the clear best here, but Valakut Fireboar does an admirable job as well. Really any guy with power will do, but both the above cards do a massive amount of damage, and the more of them you have the more likely it is that you outrace the opponent with ease. Making Hill Giants unblockable is just not as exciting. Guys with natural evasion are good too, but not quite as high a priority as normal, since most of the spells are focused on getting your guys through. If you end up with a ton of evasion guys, you aren't getting as much value out of your Falters, since you really just want high-power creatures. Battle-Rattle Shaman is of particular note, since he is way better than he looks. He essentially has haste, and adds a good amount of damage any time you are getting through, which in this deck is often.

Other creatures are certainly playable, and Lagac Lizard and Soulsurge Elemental are certainly not exciting, but you really need ways to make use of all the Falters. Boars and Fiends are head and shoulders above everything, and at most tables you should be able to pick up multiple Fiends. If you can't, this deck certainly loses a lot of its luster, although if the spells are good enough you can probably kill them with most anything.

Removal

Cards in this category clearly overlap with cards in the next, but there is an important distinction between actual removal and Falters. Removal works even if you are behind, though this deck uses Falters better than any deck I have ever seen. The amount of damage that Kiln Fiend is capable of is staggering, and Fireboar isn't too far behind. Still, there are some games where your opponent is rude enough to kiln your Fiends, and you end up in danger of dying to his beasts, so having a few ways to deal with threats is good.

Staggershock is beyond awesome; normally, the card is busted, but in this deck it somehow gets better than it already was. All the other spells are high picks, until you get to Explosive Revelation and Spawning Breath, but you won't be cutting them from your deck. You have too many low mana spells for Revelation to be awesome, but it still draws you a card and does some damage. As for Breath, even if you don't kill anything, pinging them for 1 + 3 per Fiend and making a chump blocker is sweet. You don't often cut spells from this deck, since once you have three or more Kiln Fiends you would rather just play any spell than random creatures.

Falters

Ah, Falter. It has the distinction of being the card that every "can't block" card is compared to, probably because Falter was the first one to be good enough to be a staple in Limited, much to the surprise of the uninformed. In any case, this deck is built on Falters, and there are many to be had. The explosiveness of this deck is based on its Falters, so having four or more is very important.

Drake Umbra still wins, despite not being a spell or a Falter, exactly. As for the rest, I am assuming you have four+ Kiln Fiends/Fireboars, since Distortion Strike loses a lot of its luster if you don't. Traitorous Instinct does a ton of damage, and this is exactly the kind of deck that abuses it. Reality Spasm is also game-breaking, although more mana intensive than you would like. Goblin Tunneler is worth noting because he looks underwhelming, but his obvious synergy with Boar and Fiend make him awesome. If you didn't get it already, Boars and Fiends are VERY important to this deck, which its main weakness. All the other cards you can either get late or find proxies for, but Fiends and Boars are very hard to replace.

Random Spells and Creatures

This is the fourth category, which contains, well, random spells and creatures. Like I said before, you don't often cut spells from this deck, since your ideal draw usually contains one or two threats and all spells (with maybe a defensive guy if you have one).

Wall is a safer pick than Memoir, though Memoir is way more powerful if you have enough instants, which you always should. See Beyond is also very good at filtering your draws, and I would take it over most random creatures and some of the weaker Falters, assuming you have enough already. The other creatures really are interchangeable, since they are just fodder anyway. Fleeting Distraction is more than fine, since it cycles and might even save a Fiend from trading with another two-drop. Every spell in your deck powers the machine, and a cycling spell does it even if you don't have a way to use it immediately.

This is a surprisingly good archetype, considering the quality of most of its spells, but its reliance on Kiln Fiend and Fireboar make it somewhat of a gamble. If you can pick up some of those guys, it should be easy to make the deck, since there are plenty of redundancy among the rest of the spells needed. Like any deck, you probably shouldn't go into a draft forcing it, but be ready to jump in if it seems open.

I, for one, am excited about being able to draft focused decks again, since draft is at its most interesting when you are constructing a deck and not just taking "good" cards. There are many awesome archetypes ready to be discovered in this format, and I expect to be learning new things about the format even as late as the drafts in the Pro Tour itself.

LSV

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About This Author

Luis Scott-Vargas

LSV is the current record holder for most wins in the Swiss portion of a Pro Tour after his perfect 16-0 run at Pro Tour San Diego 2010, and has the highest lifetime match win percentage among all current pro-level players. His other accomplishments include a win at Pro Tour...