I ended up in UG again, no surprises there, but it's definitely where I want to be. The draft portion went really well. I could have picked up some strong Red and White cards in pack 2, but passing them on seemed pretty good, since I really got hooked up in pack three.
My questions are as follows:
1. P1P9 seems like it shouldn't matter much, but I'm interested in what people think about taking the sideboard card over the distraction.
2. Should I have jumped into Red or White in pack two, or was I right to keep passing it down the line?
3. This is the big one. P3P3... do you take Mist Raven or Soul of the Harvest?
As for deckbuilding, I decided to cut the Deathwind / Abundant Growth package. Keeping it would have meant cutting both Spectral Prisons, which just doesn't seem right. However, there are plenty of matchups where Spectral Prison sucks, and in those matchups, I'd be perfectly happy to cut the Prisons for the Death Wind package. I also decided to leave out the Pathbreaker Wurm in favor of a second Nettle Swine.
So, my questions for this one are:
1. Do you put in the Deathwind package, or keep the two Prisons?
2. Do you put in the Wurm over the Nettle Swine?
As for the games:
M1G1 – I go up against BR. He gets down an early Scalding devil, but I rip two Islands in a row, and get down Fettergeist, and then Mist Raven on a Hanweir Lancer. Tandem Lookout + Mist Raven was a pretty severe beating. He managed to get a really big Havengul Vampire after playing Thatcher Revolt. But Crippling Chill + Trusted Forcemage closed out the game.
M1G2 – T3 Fettergeist, T4 Mist Raven, T5 Druid’s Familiar is a pretty severe beating. I accidentally let my Fettergeist die, but filled my board with Borderland Ranger and Scrapskin Drake. Into the Void + Peel from Reality + Crippling Chill finishes him off.
Match 2 – My opponent was WB. The replays didn’t work here, so I can’t recount the games, but he mulled to five in the first, and I crushed him. Game 2, I got Fettergeist into Trusted Forcemage and crushed him again.
M3 was against clanmate Duerstine. His deck was a pretty good RG build. In the first game, I got off to a pretty good early start, and had him up against the wall, but then he dropped both Ulvenwald Tracker and Zealous Conscripts in the same game for a huge tempo swing. The next turn, he started picking off my guys. I had him at two life with a Scrapskin Drake, but he killed that. I managed to rip a Mist Raven, bounce the Tracker and survive the backswing. He didn’t have removal, so I won.
Game 2 was over pretty quickly. He drew all lands, I drew all creatures and tempo spells.
Let me know what you think.
I like your deck quite a bit. Nice work staying the course in pack two. When you're getting decent cards in your colors, there's no reason to shift so drastically.
ReplyDeleteP1P9 - I think in pack one, I take the maindeck playable card. You have a lot of time to grab sideboard answers, and in AVR, playables can dry up very quickly. Better to get the insurance now than not. If this happens in packs 2 or 3, I probably take the thorns.
P3P3 - Gah! Tough! I think the choice comes down to how good the rest of your deck is (i.e. - how efficient are you so far). In your deck at that point, I feel like Mist Raven is better since you're so close to just being able to out-tempo everyone all day. Tempo decks need all of their draws to be tempo cards, so topdecking Mist Raven on turn 6 is going to be so much better for you than the big durdle.
Had your deck been less efficient, then I think you need the bomb. The UG build that tries to muck up the ground before wingcrafting something huge into the air for the win likely needs the card advantage and the late game staying power. So I think you made the right call here, but it's important to think about why, and in what situations this changes. Good decision point!
Splash package - Meh, it's not even that good. Keep it in the board and bring it in against must-kill utility creatures or bad spectral prison matches.
Wurm v. Swine - I actually like the Wurm here. It seems like you have enough 4 drops that are better than Swine such that Swine is going to be more of a 5-drop or higher. He's good, but he doesn't bring a lot of utility. I think the wurm gives you tools you don't otherwise have access to. For example, you have no way to deal with 5 toughness outside of bouncing it, racing it, or soulbonding and trading. Elgaud Shieldmate, though unexciting, can hold off a lot of your deck's plan, especially if bonded with something big. The wurm helps you here a lot more than a second boar.
Congrats on the win!
P1P9 - It is true that playables dry up quickly in AVR, so it might be right to take the Fleeting Distraction. I think that Rain of Throns is powerful, and looking back, my reasoning has a lot more to do with "I want to take this and see if I actually end up bringing it in." Than anything. The Distraction has got to be the right pick.
DeleteP3P3 - Soul of the Harvest is a very strong card. However, at this point in the format, I think that Mist Raven is better, even for P1P1. It is definitely better at this point. Here is my reasoning: In this format, you only have around a 40-60% chance of hitting six mana, depending on your deck. That means that a six mana card needs to be much better than a 4 mana card. On top of that, Soul of the Harvest is only a 6/6 trampler for six until you play another creature. First you have to get to six mana, then you have to untap without your opponent somehow dealing with your Soul of the Harvest. Meanwhile, Mist Raven is just always good.
P1P1 - I probably take the Into the void here... Because man, GU is so good. At this point your goal is STAY GU, even though you don't have any U cards, right? Go for it.
ReplyDeleteP1P5 - Are you relegating Escort to unplayable? Sometimes you need things to pair with. Sometimes you need things to put your bracers on. Sometimes you need creatures for your blessings...Sometimes you need one more pairer for your lumberknot. I think staying GU is better, but then again you do have the Borderland ranger..
P1P9 - I take the safe fleeting distraction, but have no good reason for that.
P3P3 - Eh, I take the mist raven here. But, P1P1 I think I.... ahhhh, take the green fatty with upside.
P3P9 - I take amass, but your reasoning is strong.
I staid GU in pack 2 without even hesitating.
P1P1 - I don't know that Into the Void is actually better than Forcemage...
DeleteP1P5 - I tend to draft Borderland Ranger fairly highly, and I am perfectly happy splashing a couple of Death Winds. That is typically my plan going into the draft. I think that Death Wind is substantially better than Escort.
P3P9 - I can understand why someone would take Amass. I was 100% sure it wouldn't make the cut in my deck, so there is no reason to give the black deck a good card.
I can't say much against any of your choices in the draft. I bet I would have been suckered in to take the rare Soul of the Harvest over the mist raven but I bet mist is a better choice. And I like the deck how you have it. The swine aren't too flashy but they definitely attack well and trade well. I think you've got enough evasion to not need the push from trample, and without the lumberknots you don't need the extra soulbond.
ReplyDeleteGreat job!
P1P3: As you say, this pick is really close! With double Forcemage already in the pile, the Wolf becomes much better. I don't know which one I'd pick here.
ReplyDeleteP1P9: I don't know if I'd have made this pick, but I'll buy your reasoning. You'll see another Distraction, probably.
P2P2: Chill is a pretty good card, too! But again, it's common so you'll probably see more of those, and having the Smuggler in there is pretty good.
P3P1: I disagree on the Blood, it's not a good card. I've played against it where it netted my opponent upwards of 20 life and he still lost. It comes out too late and does too little.
P3P3: I like your pick here, but it IS close. Soul is good - but a bit too slow, I think.
I like your deckbuilding decisions, and good job overall, Matthew!