#draft a pack

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Deriums Draft a Pack part #15 - What would you pick?

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Deriums Draft a Pack part #2 - What would you pick?

[buggermy]

Draft a Pack: Scars of Mirrodin

Time for a bonus Scars pack! I know I tried to wrap it all up yesterday, but I lost this one and just happened across it while I was cleaning the office.

So how about we make a clean break from Scars? Each card gets a sentence and a rating, then I’ll list my top five picks as if I were drafting a single pack.

Plague Stinger - Exactly the kind of card you want if you are a "force the infect deck" kind of person, though maybe not a first pick. 3/5

Lumengrid Drake - Normally the extra 2 CMC would get you a relevant ability, but in this case it just turns a really bad drake in to a pretty bad Voidwielder. 1/5

Origin Spellbomb - 3 CMC for a Myr and a card is the definition of situational. 2/5

Flameborn Hellion - The risk/reward is high, but I'm still not convinced it's any good. 2/5

Neurok Replica - It's an artifact, a decent body to block with, and an over-expensive Unsummon wrapped in to one mediocre package. 3/5

Galvanic Blast - Perfectly costed to use it early to drain your opponent's momentum or work it into a later turn to hit for a heavy amount of damage. 5/5

Chrome Steed - This will do yeoman's work as a 4-drop in the right artifact deck. 4/5

Neurok Invisimancer - No matter what you put it on, "unblockable" will always be a useful ability. 3/5

Wall of Tanglecord - I like slow, grindy counters to aggressive decks, but I suspect most will disagree with the rating. 4/5

Whitesun's Passage - This card is bad and I should feel bad for sideboarding it. 2/5

Darksteel Axe - Utilitarian even at its worst, it's a solid late-teens inclusion for most of my decks. 3/5

Myrsmith - This card is going to make somebody very happy, but that somebody is not me. 2/5

Contagion Clasp - This could work beautifully for an infect deck, but I feel like it could just as easily flop. 3/5

Engulfing Slagwurm - This is just the kind of thing I like to have waiting at the end of my curve, a beast with a kicker. 4/5

Pick 1

I don't love first-picking commons, but this card will resolve often enough and make enough of an impact that I won't feel too bad about it. The Metalcraft ability takes this from a powerful early game card to a spell that I'd be happy to draw even on turn eight.

Pick 2

When playing limited, I think evasion will always fit in your strategy, unless you're forcing a very specific deck. With the two Us in the mana cost, I wouldn't splash this in to a deck but if I'm even somewhat inclined to take blue, this will make the cut.

Pick 3

I will admit, this is probably a card that looks better to me now that it would at the end of the tournament. (See Hover Barrier, and how bullish I've been on it.) But I think the G for reach ability is a great hedge against fliers and having a 0/6 body on turn 2 is enough to slow down almost any aggressive deck. 

Pick 4

For all the times I resolve this thing, there will be an equal number of times where it sits in my hand. I know this. But in limited, I think there is room for cards like this one. Cards that will not come out every time you draw them, but will be fun to play and make the experience more enjoyable.

Pick 5

There's not a lot that I can say about this one. If you have two artifacts down already, this is a 4/4 for 4, and that's pretty dope. In my experience, Metalcraft is nearly always met during the course of a game. It's just a matter of how soon and how much utility you get from the cards with the ability.

[buggermy]

Draft a Pack: Magic 2013

Thanks to my rekindled drafting habit, I found myself with a $90 gift certificate to my Magic supplier of choice. I sold quite a few rares, including a few of my oldest cards that I didn't even know were worth money (Intuition and Time Spiral, among others).

So, fueled by the unique joy of having money to spend on one's hobby, I promptly forgot the upcoming Gatecrash release and bought a box of Magic 2013. Our draft calendar is full until the pre-release, so this box will have to sit until February. However, in the spirit of making the best of things, let's make believe we're drafting this box today.

Each card gets a sentence and a rating, then I’ll list my top five picks as if I were drafting a single pack.

Kindled Fury - First strike is enough to make any ho-hum body a serious threat, and the price is right. 3/5

Titanic Growth - I'd kind of rather have Giant Growth, but this will do. 3/5

Chandra's Fury - Four damage to your opponent can swing the game, but I'm not convinced this is the five-drop I'm looking for. 3/5

Mind Rot - It's a staple of Magic (12 editions), but uninteresting at best. 2/5

Mark of the Vampire - The cost is a little bit rich for my taste, but you can't deny the ability of +2/+2 and Lifelink to turn a game around in a hurry. 3/5

Prey Upon - If I'm going to be in green, this is something I want to have multiple copies of. 4/5

Pacifism - Another staple of the game (13 editions), having your best creature sitting useless is undeniably painful. 4/5

Elvish Visionary - You should be able to find something better to do with 2 mana, but this is always an option if you can't. 2/5

Serpent's Gift - As far as combat tricks go, turning a chump block into a one for two is pretty lackluster. 1/5

Walking Corpse - Webster's defines Grizzly Bear as... 3/5

Crimson Muckwader - Unless there's something I'm missing, this card is a pack two or three pick because you're already in BR. 2/5

Harbor Bandit - I'm not missing anything here, this card will definitely push me in to BU. 4/5

Kitesail - Clunky evasion that can safely sit out game one in the sideboard. 2/5

Predatory Rampage - The grammar in the flavor text is confusing but the power is not, and I'll happily take this and push for a green deck. 5/5

Pick 1

Looks like I'll be going green again this time. I often write about how I enjoy the strategy and flavor of green, so while this card isn't necessarily a bomb, it's exactly the kind of thing I want to be doing in draft play. I'd happily start pulling green creatures and combat tricks to complement this card.

Pick 2

Hey, speaking of green combat tricks, here's the apocryphal green combat trick in M13. I love this card especially because if I'm already pushing for green, I'll almost certainly be able to turn this into removal against my opponent's best creature. Additionally, the "fight" keyword means abilities that only work in the combat phase like first strike and double strike are out of the picture.

Pick 3

You've seen this card, you've played this card, and you've had your #1 threat laid low by this card. It's cheap and common, so if you don't pick it early it's only going to end up haranguing you later. Personally, I'll take this under almost any circumstances.

Pick 4

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If you feel like you can push for black/blue, then this is definitely worth picking early. A 3/3 for 3 is excellent in and of itself, and the evasion is enough to win games. On top of that, if you get it out early you can be certain it will soak up one of your opponent's removal spells, clearing the way for a stronger creature later in the game.

Pick 5

This would pair excellently well with the above card, or really any kind of creature that can get around your opponent's front line. It will win you a race, and there are very few situations where I wouldn't want to have it in my hand.