@Lobster667 P1P4: I had not yet played with the card, now I completely agree with you.
P1P6: I don't know what it is about that dagger, it just really escapes my notice. I have to really look to see that it is quite aggressive.
P2P1: I should have... I needed the removal, as it turned out.
P2P4: I completely agree. I really should have taken that there with all the flying I had.
P3P3: Yep, should've.
P3P4: Didn't see it the first time, didn't see it the second time. Not until you point it out did I even notice it was there. Yeah, I should really try to grab one and try it out, seems good.
P3P7: Even in the aggro build? Turns out it wouldn't have helped me in the deck I lost to, GW Humans Travel Prep... all those green cards I let go came back to bite me in the end.
P1P1: Yeah the Marauders are insane; this is the right pick.
P1P2: I might be tempted to take Harvest Pyre to stay in red, but Midnight Haunting seems like the better card, and red/white seems like a very good combination.
P1P3: I think Travel Preparations is probably better than Prey Upon, and I don't think Travel Preparations is worth giving up your first pick for. I'm pretty impressed with the Watchkeep. It can win games, and (mostly) worst case scenario is that it is a turn 3 blocker they can't get passed while you play guys, and then crashes in and probably trades up when you run out of other things to do.
P1P4: Midnight Haunting not close.
P1P5: I think the Scourge of Geier Reach is the next-best card in this pack, but I agree that Chapel Geist is better.
P1P6: I'd take the Dagger here. You will certainly maindeck it, it will be great on all of your flyers, and if you pick up any (more) humans (which is likely, given your colours) it will be crazy good there too.
P1P7: Given that I would have taken the Dagger previously, I'd be happy with the Bell-Ringer here, although Butcher's Cleaver isn't that much worse (I do think it's significantly worse than the Dagger, however).
P1P9: No way, this isn't close at all and the Spirit wheeling seems like a fairly good signal that white is open. Someone took Manor Skeleton over it!
P2P1: Slayer is an aggressive body, is a human, and in most of your matchups will be a Nekrataal killing their best guy. This is the right choice IMO.
P2P2: The person to your left is a dope. I would take this but not look to play it unless I get a bunch of good black cards in this pack. You are looking like a beatdown deck and that just doesn't need the hassle of a double splash.
P2P4: I think Kessig Wolf is the third-best pick here, and I think you're right that Rolling Temblor is the best.
P2P5: Pitchburn Devils! Also at this point I'm probably giving up on black.
P2P6: Yep, no black.
P2P8: B-b-but you've already got one! It's such a marginal card that you're probably not going to play two. Dagger is a significant upgrade from Butcher's Cleaver, and Scourge is a significant upgrade from every five drop you have other than Marauders. I'm not sure what I would take here but it wouldn't be the pump spell.
P2P11: One-Eyed Scarecrow is awesome BTW, and if you find yourself needing a durdle, this is the first one you should run.
P3P2: I would be very tempted by the Hauberk here - that thing is crazy with some tokens and evasive dudes. It's a shame that it is in the same pack as the dude that goes best with it. There's an outside chance it will wheel if people don't know how good it is? If you picked up that second Midnight Haunting P1P4 I think the Hauberk might be the pick.
P3P3: Yeah Geistflame.
P3P4: I'M THE NOW EXPLICABLY FIFTH-PICK JUGGERNAUT, BITCH
P3P7: No, there's just no way the pick is anything but the Priest here. Removal is good in every kind of deck. Neonate is probably the fourth best pick for you here.
P3P9: The awesome white flyer wheeled again? The people your were drafting with were all on drugs.
P3P12: I think Scarecrow is better, but Cathar is the best pick for your deck. I think at this point you should be knowing whether there is gap in your curve that you need to fill in, which will make these decisions easier for you (i.e. you'd be more likely to take the one-drop, because it's MORE LIKELY to see play, even if it's not necessarily going to make it).
Deck-building: I'm really in favour of drafting super consistent decks over decks that splash multiple colours in this format. Every time I have significantly compromised my mana base in order to make my deck a little more powerful, I have come to regret it (although I don't know to what extent that's just small sample sizes talking). Given that you are attempting to be aggressive, it seems pretty important that you hit your colours consistently. Those two-drop red creatures aren't doing much on turn five, and that's around the turn you can expect them with only four mountains. If your deck was a bit shittier I could see playing the Bloodline Keeper and hoping to mise some wins, but you have a solid gameplan and powerful enough cards to carry that plan out in a consistent fashion. The Flail is also not doing a whole lot in your deck filled with tiny flyers. I'd swap that and the Bloodline Keeper (and probably the red aura too) for Village Bell-Ringer and Kessig Wolves, and then swap all three swamps for mountains. Note that I've not played with Bloodline Keeper, so maybe I'm just wrong and you should disregard all of this.
p1p2: I would have taken the Pyre over the Haunting, worse card, but not too bad, and you stay in one color, maybe I value being able to do that since I often find the 4 picks 4 colors scenario happening to me :P
p1p3: I personally would have taken the Pitchburn Devils, but I can see the Watchkeep, early drops are often harder to come across.
p1p4: I would take the Haunting here, they get better in multiples mate. The Sentry is good, but I just think the Hauntings far better. Plus your 4 picks in man, your curve can wait :)
p1p6: Daggers definitely the right pick, I would have considered a green card since it seems its open but if it killed your father and raped your mother I guess I wouldn't jump in...
p1p7: I disagree, you could jump in at this point I feel, and p3 is way too early to read signals anyway.
p1p9: You made the right call, easier mana is very important in this set.
p2p1: I support the Slayer initiative, but I don't think Volley is a blatant mispick if you took it.
p2p2: If your willing to switch colors sure, go for it. Otherwise I would have double checked the price on Phantasm to see if foil would cut a significant chunk out of the price of the draft. I would be tempted to take the priest and stay on color but I would just take the keeper too and see where it goes.
p2p5: Not even discussing Youth or Devils over the bellringer? This guy has been performing less and less to my desires lately, I would have probably gone with Youth if you want to be aggro which you seem to want to be :P
p3p3: The Flail fails when Geistflame is in the pack!!!!!! (Puns are punny!)
p3p4: JUGGERRRNAAAAUUUUGHHHTTT!!!
p3p7: Removal is good in every deck. Aggro or not.
p3p11: How many humans do you have? The Pitchfork is pretty good if you have a bunch, just sayin.
It seems most of the bones I was to pick have been picked by more eloquent peoplle. But seriously, with good fixing I dont even consider a double splash, with none, its just asking for trouble man. Marshall and Ryan went over the likelyhood of a double splash actually occuring. Its low. You need to draw 3 cards specific cards for it to work as opposed to two. That one card difference is VERY significant especially when your mana is suffering every moment your trying to cast Chapel Geists...
Yes, the Priest is correct even in an aggressive deck, especially this late. If it isn't dealt with it can tap one of their dudes at the end of their turn and another on your own so you can swing in with two blockers down.
I am hearing the dagger/priest/geistflame/juggernaut calls loud and clear. After playing midnight haunting, I won't be making that mistake again. That card rules hard. Thanks for all the input guys! My next draft will be sent here too!
P1P2 - I think the Harvest Pyre is worth a consider here. I think it is much less conditional removal than people think and the staying on color is worth it. I don't dislike the midnight haunting pick but it's worth a consideration here. P1P3 - My personal preference here is for the devils. I think they can frequently make things awkward for your opponent, threaten 2 for 1's or trade up. P1P4 - Slam the haunting. P1P5 - I don't love this pick just because the early double white is more awkward for you when you have the falkenrath noble. I take either the abbey griffin or the scourge here. In normal pick order the geist is better, but you want to be red with that double red spell. P1P6 - I don't think I like the grudge as even a sideboard card over the dagger, especially since you are looking to be in white with humans, and red with potential werewolf humans. I probably take the spirit or the pilgrim, though. P1P7 - I take the bell ringer here. P2P4 - It just depends on how agressive you are. The wolf is a good beatdown card, the cathar is a good value card if you're going to go for the more grindy game. P2P5 - I don't think the village bell-ringer is the slam pick over the cloistered youth and pitchburn devils. But, it depends on curve and stuff. P2P6 - Sometimes when it was the correct pick before, it is correct to take the other one so that you're deck has variety. Maybe that's FPS, though. P2P8 - I don't think you play 2 moments of heroism, so I take the scourge of geier reach. P2P11 - I think the scarecrow is more useful than the spare from evil. Probably both SB cards at this point, though. P3P3 - I take the geistflame here. The flail is only good on fliers (which you do have) or when you're facing a bunch of creatures better than you and you wanna trade up. P3P4 - Slam the juggernaut. P3P6 - Vampiric fury is pretty much unplayable unless you're vampire.dec. Take the nightbird's clutches or the pitchfork. P3P7 - Take the priest! P3P8 - Take the cloistered youth if you are beatdown. The doomed traveler is more defensive.
Deck building - I think your deck is good enough without the Bloodline keeper and I wouldn't get that greedy. Playing all those red cards with only 4 red sources seems pretty loose as does playing a double black spell with only 2 black sources. I see that this has been harped on already and I won't continue to go into it. I also think that I play the two kessig wolfs over the flail and the furor of the bitten.
Also, as a final note: Those of us in the LR world are fairly adamantly against playing 43's because of the lack of payout. For those of us that are tryign to get as much EV as we can the fact that a 43 pays out one less pack per draft adds up over time (84's and swiss pay out 12 packs, 43's pay out 11). Personally, I play exclusively swiss because the swinginess of 84's. I would love to be able to play a single elimantion queue that is less swingy sometimes and the only way to get wizards to change it to 53 is for people to stop spending money on it. As long as they are making extra money they aren't going to change it. (steps off soapbox :) )
P1P1: Nice pack! I think I agree with your pick. Perhaps the Crossway Vampire will table?
ReplyDeleteP1P2: Eeek a hard choice! I think your pick is right but Pyre or Interloper seems good too.
P1P4: This pick on the other hand is not hard at all: Midnight Haunting!
P1P6: ... Dagger?
P1P7: I like the Bell-Ringer here.
P1P9: probably right.
P1P10: Was hoping to wheel that! It would be better with a second Haunting, though...
P2P1: I don't know... I think you can argue for both Slayer and Volley.
P2P2: The missing card here is UNCOMMON. Wow.
Your pick is probably right this early.
P2P4: I think Temblor is the pick here.
P3P3: Geistflame.
P3P4: Not when there's a Juggernaut in the pack, you shouldn't.
P3P5: That Virtue would be so good if you had taken one more of these earlier.
P3P7: Priest is the pick here.
P3P12: The Cathar makes a lot more sense with so many small fliers.
@Lobster667
ReplyDeleteP1P4: I had not yet played with the card, now I completely agree with you.
P1P6: I don't know what it is about that dagger, it just really escapes my notice. I have to really look to see that it is quite aggressive.
P2P1: I should have... I needed the removal, as it turned out.
P2P4: I completely agree. I really should have taken that there with all the flying I had.
P3P3: Yep, should've.
P3P4: Didn't see it the first time, didn't see it the second time. Not until you point it out did I even notice it was there. Yeah, I should really try to grab one and try it out, seems good.
P3P7: Even in the aggro build? Turns out it wouldn't have helped me in the deck I lost to, GW Humans Travel Prep... all those green cards I let go came back to bite me in the end.
P3P12: Yes, I see that... interesting.
-TwanTwan
P1P1: Yeah the Marauders are insane; this is the right pick.
ReplyDeleteP1P2: I might be tempted to take Harvest Pyre to stay in red, but Midnight Haunting seems like the better card, and red/white seems like a very good combination.
P1P3: I think Travel Preparations is probably better than Prey Upon, and I don't think Travel Preparations is worth giving up your first pick for. I'm pretty impressed with the Watchkeep. It can win games, and (mostly) worst case scenario is that it is a turn 3 blocker they can't get passed while you play guys, and then crashes in and probably trades up when you run out of other things to do.
P1P4: Midnight Haunting not close.
P1P5: I think the Scourge of Geier Reach is the next-best card in this pack, but I agree that Chapel Geist is better.
P1P6: I'd take the Dagger here. You will certainly maindeck it, it will be great on all of your flyers, and if you pick up any (more) humans (which is likely, given your colours) it will be crazy good there too.
P1P7: Given that I would have taken the Dagger previously, I'd be happy with the Bell-Ringer here, although Butcher's Cleaver isn't that much worse (I do think it's significantly worse than the Dagger, however).
P1P9: No way, this isn't close at all and the Spirit wheeling seems like a fairly good signal that white is open. Someone took Manor Skeleton over it!
P2P1: Slayer is an aggressive body, is a human, and in most of your matchups will be a Nekrataal killing their best guy. This is the right choice IMO.
P2P2: The person to your left is a dope. I would take this but not look to play it unless I get a bunch of good black cards in this pack. You are looking like a beatdown deck and that just doesn't need the hassle of a double splash.
P2P4: I think Kessig Wolf is the third-best pick here, and I think you're right that Rolling Temblor is the best.
P2P5: Pitchburn Devils! Also at this point I'm probably giving up on black.
P2P6: Yep, no black.
P2P8: B-b-but you've already got one! It's such a marginal card that you're probably not going to play two. Dagger is a significant upgrade from Butcher's Cleaver, and Scourge is a significant upgrade from every five drop you have other than Marauders. I'm not sure what I would take here but it wouldn't be the pump spell.
P2P11: One-Eyed Scarecrow is awesome BTW, and if you find yourself needing a durdle, this is the first one you should run.
P3P2: I would be very tempted by the Hauberk here - that thing is crazy with some tokens and evasive dudes. It's a shame that it is in the same pack as the dude that goes best with it. There's an outside chance it will wheel if people don't know how good it is? If you picked up that second Midnight Haunting P1P4 I think the Hauberk might be the pick.
ReplyDeleteP3P3: Yeah Geistflame.
P3P4: I'M THE NOW EXPLICABLY FIFTH-PICK JUGGERNAUT, BITCH
P3P7: No, there's just no way the pick is anything but the Priest here. Removal is good in every kind of deck. Neonate is probably the fourth best pick for you here.
P3P9: The awesome white flyer wheeled again? The people your were drafting with were all on drugs.
P3P12: I think Scarecrow is better, but Cathar is the best pick for your deck. I think at this point you should be knowing whether there is gap in your curve that you need to fill in, which will make these decisions easier for you (i.e. you'd be more likely to take the one-drop, because it's MORE LIKELY to see play, even if it's not necessarily going to make it).
Deck-building: I'm really in favour of drafting super consistent decks over decks that splash multiple colours in this format. Every time I have significantly compromised my mana base in order to make my deck a little more powerful, I have come to regret it (although I don't know to what extent that's just small sample sizes talking). Given that you are attempting to be aggressive, it seems pretty important that you hit your colours consistently. Those two-drop red creatures aren't doing much on turn five, and that's around the turn you can expect them with only four mountains. If your deck was a bit shittier I could see playing the Bloodline Keeper and hoping to mise some wins, but you have a solid gameplan and powerful enough cards to carry that plan out in a consistent fashion. The Flail is also not doing a whole lot in your deck filled with tiny flyers. I'd swap that and the Bloodline Keeper (and probably the red aura too) for Village Bell-Ringer and Kessig Wolves, and then swap all three swamps for mountains. Note that I've not played with Bloodline Keeper, so maybe I'm just wrong and you should disregard all of this.
P.S. Welcome!
p1p2: I would have taken the Pyre over the Haunting, worse card, but not too bad, and you stay in one color, maybe I value being able to do that since I often find the 4 picks 4 colors scenario happening to me :P
ReplyDeletep1p3: I personally would have taken the Pitchburn Devils, but I can see the Watchkeep, early drops are often harder to come across.
p1p4: I would take the Haunting here, they get better in multiples mate. The Sentry is good, but I just think the Hauntings far better. Plus your 4 picks in man, your curve can wait :)
p1p6: Daggers definitely the right pick, I would have considered a green card since it seems its open but if it killed your father and raped your mother I guess I wouldn't jump in...
p1p7: I disagree, you could jump in at this point I feel, and p3 is way too early to read signals anyway.
p1p9: You made the right call, easier mana is very important in this set.
p2p1: I support the Slayer initiative, but I don't think Volley is a blatant mispick if you took it.
p2p2: If your willing to switch colors sure, go for it. Otherwise I would have double checked the price on Phantasm to see if foil would cut a significant chunk out of the price of the draft. I would be tempted to take the priest and stay on color but I would just take the keeper too and see where it goes.
p2p5: Not even discussing Youth or Devils over the bellringer? This guy has been performing less and less to my desires lately, I would have probably gone with Youth if you want to be aggro which you seem to want to be :P
p3p3: The Flail fails when Geistflame is in the pack!!!!!! (Puns are punny!)
p3p4: JUGGERRRNAAAAUUUUGHHHTTT!!!
p3p7: Removal is good in every deck. Aggro or not.
p3p11: How many humans do you have? The Pitchfork is pretty good if you have a bunch, just sayin.
It seems most of the bones I was to pick have been picked by more eloquent peoplle. But seriously, with good fixing I dont even consider a double splash, with none, its just asking for trouble man. Marshall and Ryan went over the likelyhood of a double splash actually occuring. Its low. You need to draw 3 cards specific cards for it to work as opposed to two. That one card difference is VERY significant especially when your mana is suffering every moment your trying to cast Chapel Geists...
Yes, the Priest is correct even in an aggressive deck, especially this late. If it isn't dealt with it can tap one of their dudes at the end of their turn and another on your own so you can swing in with two blockers down.
ReplyDeleteI am hearing the dagger/priest/geistflame/juggernaut calls loud and clear. After playing midnight haunting, I won't be making that mistake again. That card rules hard. Thanks for all the input guys! My next draft will be sent here too!
ReplyDeleteP1P2 - I think the Harvest Pyre is worth a consider here. I think it is much less conditional removal than people think and the staying on color is worth it. I don't dislike the midnight haunting pick but it's worth a consideration here.
ReplyDeleteP1P3 - My personal preference here is for the devils. I think they can frequently make things awkward for your opponent, threaten 2 for 1's or trade up.
P1P4 - Slam the haunting.
P1P5 - I don't love this pick just because the early double white is more awkward for you when you have the falkenrath noble. I take either the abbey griffin or the scourge here. In normal pick order the geist is better, but you want to be red with that double red spell.
P1P6 - I don't think I like the grudge as even a sideboard card over the dagger, especially since you are looking to be in white with humans, and red with potential werewolf humans. I probably take the spirit or the pilgrim, though.
P1P7 - I take the bell ringer here.
P2P4 - It just depends on how agressive you are. The wolf is a good beatdown card, the cathar is a good value card if you're going to go for the more grindy game.
P2P5 - I don't think the village bell-ringer is the slam pick over the cloistered youth and pitchburn devils. But, it depends on curve and stuff.
P2P6 - Sometimes when it was the correct pick before, it is correct to take the other one so that you're deck has variety. Maybe that's FPS, though.
P2P8 - I don't think you play 2 moments of heroism, so I take the scourge of geier reach.
P2P11 - I think the scarecrow is more useful than the spare from evil. Probably both SB cards at this point, though.
P3P3 - I take the geistflame here. The flail is only good on fliers (which you do have) or when you're facing a bunch of creatures better than you and you wanna trade up.
P3P4 - Slam the juggernaut.
P3P6 - Vampiric fury is pretty much unplayable unless you're vampire.dec. Take the nightbird's clutches or the pitchfork.
P3P7 - Take the priest!
P3P8 - Take the cloistered youth if you are beatdown. The doomed traveler is more defensive.
Deck building - I think your deck is good enough without the Bloodline keeper and I wouldn't get that greedy. Playing all those red cards with only 4 red sources seems pretty loose as does playing a double black spell with only 2 black sources. I see that this has been harped on already and I won't continue to go into it.
I also think that I play the two kessig wolfs over the flail and the furor of the bitten.
Also, as a final note: Those of us in the LR world are fairly adamantly against playing 43's because of the lack of payout. For those of us that are tryign to get as much EV as we can the fact that a 43 pays out one less pack per draft adds up over time (84's and swiss pay out 12 packs, 43's pay out 11). Personally, I play exclusively swiss because the swinginess of 84's. I would love to be able to play a single elimantion queue that is less swingy sometimes and the only way to get wizards to change it to 53 is for people to stop spending money on it. As long as they are making extra money they aren't going to change it. (steps off soapbox :) )