I second watching draft videos. I dont draft too often so in order to get a feel for what cards are playable and what to make of the cards coming your way, i try to find videos with good discussion about the possible picks and the pros and cons of each and pause the video to come to my own conclusions beforehand and see how they compare to someone with much more experience and skill.
P1P3: Nimbus is certainly a good card especially this early on when you're not set in your picks yet, I did just want to point out Ordeal of Thassa though. If you did end up WU heroic Ordeal is one of the best cards you could ever ask for.
P1P5: Why Read the Bones here? Were you considering UB at this point? If you were still on the WU plan Snarecaster and Verdict are both worth picking up...
P1P6: I have to say Emissary is the pick here. Wavecrash is good sure but Emissary is nuts both on its own and attached to something. Wavecrash really needs a steady supply of enablers to be at its best.
P1P8: I'd have gone with the Alseid here if you were still thinking of WU though Fortold isn't a bad pick persay.
P1P9: Why Dragon Mantle? Don't get me wrong, I have a deep love for the card but I doubt it's worthy of a hate draft when you've got another playable. Were you considering going UR at this point?
P2P1: I get that Satyr is a great card but at this point you had zero G. Why jump into a new color? Satyr isn't so good that it beats out Emissary when you've already got a fabled hero or even just a fortune hunter to stay in U.
P2P2: If you were serious about going green after picking up that Satyr, why not take the Nemesis? You don't have any reason to splash yet so why Presence?
P2P5: Omenspeaker is a fine card to be sure but Triton Tactics is both a cheap enabler (good for that Wingsteed you just got) and a blow out combat trick rolled into one.
P2P7: Again, you don't have anything worth splashing so why Unknown Shores? It's not even very good when you do have something worth splashing. Verdict isn't the best removal but it is removal.
P2P8: Why? Verdict, Chimera, Guardians (even Staunch-hearted warrior if you still wanted to be green) are all worth picking over Commune.
I think you were a bit too hesitant to pick a path here. You seemed to wander between colors for not enough reason. I'm certainly not saying you should be married to your first pick but at the same time unless you have a clearly stronger card to grab it doesn't hurt to build on what you've already got. There was a whole lot of power (not to mention just decent playables) that you let pass by you because of the wavering back and forth on color.
P1P5: Yeah I agree in retrospect this was a pretty big fail. I had a couple of value 2-1 creatures if the good white heroic cards never came and figured it would be a good way draw into more... removal if I had to go a control route. I guess i just enjoy paying life for draw THAT much haha
P1P6: This too, I was caught up in getting stuck with two 6cmc bestow cards and didn't consider how awesome he is as a 3/3
I guess the rest of what you point out is summed up in what you said at the end. I was pumped for U/W heroic after the first 3 picks and had gotten rattled a little bit after not seeing much of the white heroic cards up until then and figured I could plan b into some green ramp/color fixing and draft some big stuff. Things got tense with the timer pretty often, but should be less of a problem after playing around with the cards a little bit
Thanks for the insight it was good, and the timer tip is definitely appreciated haha
Don't draft too often, and this is my first crack at theros. Felt I was able to put together a nice deck but ended up losing in the finals to the other U/W deck who happened to have all the heroic creatures I wanted
Thought about the satyr, but bestow looked better to me
Pack 1 pick 3:
--> Nimbus Naiad
Lash of the Whip
Portent of Betrayal
Commune with the Gods
Lagonna-Band Elder
Aqueous Form (FOIL)
Setessan Griffin
Vaporkin
Ordeal of Thassa
Mogis's Marauder
Flamecast Wheel
Anax and Cymede
Plains
Snap picked more blue bestow, dont even remember seeing anax though, could have been a better pick at the time lol
Pack 1 pick 4:
Stymied Hopes
Ill-Tempered Cyclops
Read the Bones
Thassa's Bounty
Lost in a Labyrinth
Agent of Horizons
Fade into Antiquity
--> Voyage's End
Setessan Battle Priest
Tormented Hero
Horizon Scholar
Swamp
Pack 1 pick 5:
Pheres-Band Centaurs
Divine Verdict
Guardians of Meletis
Leonin Snarecaster
Priest of Iroas
--> Read the Bones
Thassa's Bounty
Lost in a Labyrinth
Felhide Minotaur
Ordeal of Erebos
Mountain
Pack 1 pick 6:
Dragon Mantle
Nessian Asp
Bronze Sable
Spearpoint Oread
Thassa's Emissary (FOIL)
Aqueous Form
--> Wavecrash Triton
Cavern Lampad
Coordinated Assault
Island
Was firmly in blue, but not sold on white, thought I could maybe go green
Pack 2 pick 2:
Loathsome Catoblepas
--> Nylea's Presence
Fleetfeather Sandals
Lagonna-Band Elder
Lost in a Labyrinth
Pharika's Cure
Rage of Purphoros
Feral Invocation
Boon of Erebos
Setessan Griffin
Nemesis of Mortals
Ordeal of Erebos
Ember Swallower
Mountain
Hmm could have grabbed ember swallower when I look back now
Pack 2 pick 5:
Battlewise Valor
Loathsome Catoblepas
--> Omenspeaker
March of the Returned
Last Breath
Scourgemark
Shredding Winds
Chronicler of Heroes
Spellheart Chimera
Triton Tactics
Mountain
Possible error not grabbing Traveling philosopher here, but I was hurtin for some heroic and I had some good green cards
Pack 2 pick 7:
Divine Verdict
Sip of Hemlock
Bronze Sable
--> Unknown Shores
Portent of Betrayal
Commune with the Gods
Deathbellow Raider
Vanquish the Foul
Island
Pack 2 pick 8:
Divine Verdict
Guardians of Meletis
Prescient Chimera
--> Commune with the Gods
Spark Jolt
Staunch-Hearted Warrior
Flamecast Wheel
Mountain
Pack 2 pick 13:
Loathsome Catoblepas
--> March of the Returned
Spellheart Chimera
Pack 2 pick 14:
--> Messenger's Speed
Island
Pack 2 pick 15:
--> Commune with the Gods
------ THS ------
Pack 3 pick 1:
Minotaur Skullcleaver
Chosen by Heliod
Mnemonic Wall
Last Breath
Scourgemark
Griptide
Satyr Hedonist
Satyr Rambler
Disciple of Phenax
--> Voyage's End
Vanquish the Foul
Karametra's Acolyte
Witches' Eye
Steam Augury
Island
Pack 3 pick 2:
--> Minotaur Skullcleaver
Chosen by Heliod
Mnemonic Wall
Thassa's Bounty
Lagonna-Band Elder
Priest of Iroas
Fade into Antiquity
Returned Centaur
Savage Surge
Disciple of Phenax
Nemesis of Mortals
Burnished Hart
Fanatic of Mogis
Island
I timed out here on my decision, sadly. Probably between Chosen, Surge, and Lagonna
Pack 3 pick 3:
Chosen by Heliod
Pheres-Band Centaurs
--> Daxos of Meletis (FOIL)
Minotaur Skullcleaver
Annul
Titan's Strength
Yoked Ox
Scholar of Athreos
Disciple of Phenax
Glare of Heresy
Destructive Revelry
Colossus of Akros
Mountain
Pack 3 pick 4:
Fleetfeather Sandals
Guardians of Meletis
Battlewise Valor
Loathsome Catoblepas
Hopeful Eidolon
Fate Foretold
Portent of Betrayal
Deathbellow Raider
--> Ordeal of Heliod
Centaur Battlemaster
Arena Athlete
Swamp
Pack 3 pick 6:
--> Omenspeaker
March of the Returned
Silent Artisan
Spearpoint Oread
Ray of Dissolution
Stoneshock Giant
Warriors' Lesson
Cutthroat Maneuver
Titan of Eternal Fire
Mountain
What do you guys think about Mogis's Marauder? I played him in conjunction with the whip in the prerelease and won quite a few matches with him in the Gy as a surprise alpha strike. Giving your team intimidate was no joke. As it stands, he may be sideboard worthy against decks not playing black.
He is an amazing finisher in the black aggro deck i was toying with a week or two ago, but i cant see him being a good fit in this deck, lifebane and demon don't benefit at all from his effect
This looks a lot like the list i was planning to put together, how has any testing gone?
For the main i would probably add another draw spell for sure, either a third UW Connections or a Read the bones. I'm personally going to run 4 draw spells to start off my testing as we have no other source of card draw, but 3 could be correct with maybe the fourth in the side.
As well the 2 dmg +2 life gain spell (the name escapes me atm) seems good in the side for aggro, although im sure it has been mentioned
Not alot of black cards have been spoiled so it is really hard to say, i hope that my unbelievably high hopes for the black god arent crushed though, i love playing black
All of our creatures have inherent value, which is why we use them in the first place. Using slots to improve what is already very good isnt as strong as using slots to improve areas we are weak in.
Yeah mana base costs are atrocious, but in this case the shock lands also have extra consideration in helping fuel Mutilate, which could be big factor come turn 4.
Finally, if I can get Garruk Relentless to flip, using either Thragtusk or Geralf's Messenger as a sacrifice for his -1 is solid. I'm considering adding Disciple of Bolas to the deck which makes both Thragtusk and Messenger solid targets.
Those are both degenerate lines of play, imagine living the dream of sac'ing a pumped Demon on turn 8, gaining 10, drawing 10.. that out right wins games and more importantly it wins games you aren't winning. You need to add +2 Disciple of Bolas ASAP. I'd suggest move the 2 Vraska to the board to make room, her -3 can be an awesome answer but it isn't needed in every matchup, aggro especially.
For a deck that specializes in controlling the board, adding in elements of card draw and life gain is exactly what a control deck wants to be doing. Not sure how Thragtusk isn't a perfect fit, he allows you to use your life total as a more comfortable resource, buying us time while we can develop our gameplan.
P1P5: Yeah I agree in retrospect this was a pretty big fail. I had a couple of value 2-1 creatures if the good white heroic cards never came and figured it would be a good way draw into more... removal
P1P6: This too, I was caught up in getting stuck with two 6cmc bestow cards and didn't consider how awesome he is as a 3/3
I guess the rest of what you point out is summed up in what you said at the end. I was pumped for U/W heroic after the first 3 picks and had gotten rattled a little bit after not seeing much of the white heroic cards up until then and figured I could plan b into some green ramp/color fixing and draft some big stuff. Things got tense with the timer pretty often, but should be less of a problem after playing around with the cards a little bit
Thanks for the insight it was good, and the timer tip is definitely appreciated haha
Time: 2/8/2014 4:38:15 PM
Players:
wishkah
ormlongarm
Baxta
swoopordie
--- Netsky
Toonztes
gfjungle
smed06
------ THS ------
Pack 1 pick 1:
Nessian Courser
March of the Returned
Dragon Mantle
Coastline Chimera
Pharika's Cure
Defend the Hearth
Leonin Snarecaster
Priest of Iroas
Triton Shorethief
Cavern Lampad
Destructive Revelry
Phalanx Leader
Nylea's Emissary
--> Fabled Hero
Plains
First pick double white wasn't what I wanted to do, but I couldn't say no
Pack 1 pick 2:
Divine Verdict
Sip of Hemlock
Bronze Sable
Vulpine Goliath
Annul
Titan's Strength
Yoked Ox
Voyaging Satyr
Setessan Battle Priest
Triton Shorethief
Kragma Warcaller
Satyr Piper
--> Thassa's Emissary
Swamp
Thought about the satyr, but bestow looked better to me
Pack 1 pick 3:
--> Nimbus Naiad
Lash of the Whip
Portent of Betrayal
Commune with the Gods
Lagonna-Band Elder
Aqueous Form (FOIL)
Setessan Griffin
Vaporkin
Ordeal of Thassa
Mogis's Marauder
Flamecast Wheel
Anax and Cymede
Plains
Snap picked more blue bestow, dont even remember seeing anax though, could have been a better pick at the time lol
Pack 1 pick 4:
Stymied Hopes
Ill-Tempered Cyclops
Read the Bones
Thassa's Bounty
Lost in a Labyrinth
Agent of Horizons
Fade into Antiquity
--> Voyage's End
Setessan Battle Priest
Tormented Hero
Horizon Scholar
Swamp
Pack 1 pick 5:
Pheres-Band Centaurs
Divine Verdict
Guardians of Meletis
Leonin Snarecaster
Priest of Iroas
--> Read the Bones
Thassa's Bounty
Lost in a Labyrinth
Felhide Minotaur
Ordeal of Erebos
Mountain
Pack 1 pick 6:
Dragon Mantle
Nessian Asp
Bronze Sable
Spearpoint Oread
Thassa's Emissary (FOIL)
Aqueous Form
--> Wavecrash Triton
Cavern Lampad
Coordinated Assault
Island
Pack 1 pick 7:
--> Prescient Chimera
Fleetfeather Sandals
Guardians of Meletis
Crackling Triton
Spark Jolt
Borderland Minotaur
Centaur Battlemaster
Flamespeaker Adept
Swamp
Pack 1 pick 8:
--> Fate Foretold
Portent of Betrayal
Observant Alseid
Akroan Crusader
Cavern Lampad
Magma Jet
Warriors' Lesson
Plains
Pack 1 pick 9:
March of the Returned
--> Dragon Mantle
Coastline Chimera
Leonin Snarecaster
Priest of Iroas
Triton Shorethief
Plains
Pack 1 pick 10:
--> Annul
Yoked Ox
Setessan Battle Priest
Triton Shorethief
Satyr Piper
Swamp
Pack 1 pick 11:
Commune with the Gods
--> Aqueous Form (FOIL)
Setessan Griffin
Flamecast Wheel
Plains
Pack 1 pick 12:
--> Stymied Hopes
Thassa's Bounty
Setessan Battle Priest
Swamp
Pack 1 pick 13:
--> Priest of Iroas
Lost in a Labyrinth
Mountain
Pack 1 pick 14:
--> Aqueous Form
Island
Pack 1 pick 15:
--> Swamp
------ THS ------
Pack 2 pick 1:
Demolish
Ephara's Warden
Fleshmad Steed
Spearpoint Oread
Breaching Hippocamp
Vulpine Goliath
Asphodel Wanderer
--> Voyaging Satyr
Triton Shorethief
Traveler's Amulet
Horizon Chimera
Heliod's Emissary
Triton Fortune Hunter
Pyxis of Pandemonium
Forest
Was firmly in blue, but not sold on white, thought I could maybe go green
Pack 2 pick 2:
Loathsome Catoblepas
--> Nylea's Presence
Fleetfeather Sandals
Lagonna-Band Elder
Lost in a Labyrinth
Pharika's Cure
Rage of Purphoros
Feral Invocation
Boon of Erebos
Setessan Griffin
Nemesis of Mortals
Ordeal of Erebos
Ember Swallower
Mountain
Hmm could have grabbed ember swallower when I look back now
Pack 2 pick 3:
Bronze Sable
Ephara's Warden
Asphodel Wanderer
--> Wingsteed Rider (FOIL)
Silent Artisan
Titan's Strength
Traveling Philosopher
Sedge Scorpion
Felhide Minotaur
Dauntless Onslaught
Witches' Eye
Artisan of Forms
Island
No big deal, white it is, I've got some auras already
Pack 2 pick 4:
Prescient Chimera
Demolish
Titan's Strength
Traveling Philosopher
Yoked Ox
Benthic Giant
Shredding Winds
Deathbellow Raider
Dissolve
Burnished Hart
--> Curse of the Swine
Forest
Nice, saved my ass in one game
Pack 2 pick 5:
Battlewise Valor
Loathsome Catoblepas
--> Omenspeaker
March of the Returned
Last Breath
Scourgemark
Shredding Winds
Chronicler of Heroes
Spellheart Chimera
Triton Tactics
Mountain
awesome card
Pack 2 pick 6:
Messenger's Speed
Titan's Strength
Baleful Eidolon
Benthic Giant
Traveling Philosopher
--> Staunch-Hearted Warrior
Scholar of Athreos
Anvilwrought Raptor
Pharika's Mender
Island
Possible error not grabbing Traveling philosopher here, but I was hurtin for some heroic and I had some good green cards
Pack 2 pick 7:
Divine Verdict
Sip of Hemlock
Bronze Sable
--> Unknown Shores
Portent of Betrayal
Commune with the Gods
Deathbellow Raider
Vanquish the Foul
Island
Pack 2 pick 8:
Divine Verdict
Guardians of Meletis
Prescient Chimera
--> Commune with the Gods
Spark Jolt
Staunch-Hearted Warrior
Flamecast Wheel
Mountain
Pack 2 pick 9:
Ephara's Warden
Asphodel Wanderer
Triton Shorethief
Traveler's Amulet
--> Triton Fortune Hunter
Pyxis of Pandemonium
Forest
Pack 2 pick 10:
Loathsome Catoblepas
Lost in a Labyrinth
Rage of Purphoros
Boon of Erebos
--> Setessan Griffin
Ordeal of Erebos
Pack 2 pick 11:
Ephara's Warden
Silent Artisan
--> Traveling Philosopher
Witches' Eye
Island
Pack 2 pick 12:
Demolish
--> Yoked Ox
Shredding Winds
Forest
Pack 2 pick 13:
Loathsome Catoblepas
--> March of the Returned
Spellheart Chimera
Pack 2 pick 14:
--> Messenger's Speed
Island
Pack 2 pick 15:
--> Commune with the Gods
------ THS ------
Pack 3 pick 1:
Minotaur Skullcleaver
Chosen by Heliod
Mnemonic Wall
Last Breath
Scourgemark
Griptide
Satyr Hedonist
Satyr Rambler
Disciple of Phenax
--> Voyage's End
Vanquish the Foul
Karametra's Acolyte
Witches' Eye
Steam Augury
Island
Pack 3 pick 2:
--> Minotaur Skullcleaver
Chosen by Heliod
Mnemonic Wall
Thassa's Bounty
Lagonna-Band Elder
Priest of Iroas
Fade into Antiquity
Returned Centaur
Savage Surge
Disciple of Phenax
Nemesis of Mortals
Burnished Hart
Fanatic of Mogis
Island
I timed out here on my decision, sadly. Probably between Chosen, Surge, and Lagonna
Pack 3 pick 3:
Chosen by Heliod
Pheres-Band Centaurs
--> Daxos of Meletis (FOIL)
Minotaur Skullcleaver
Annul
Titan's Strength
Yoked Ox
Scholar of Athreos
Disciple of Phenax
Glare of Heresy
Destructive Revelry
Colossus of Akros
Mountain
Pack 3 pick 4:
Fleetfeather Sandals
Guardians of Meletis
Battlewise Valor
Loathsome Catoblepas
Hopeful Eidolon
Fate Foretold
Portent of Betrayal
Deathbellow Raider
--> Ordeal of Heliod
Centaur Battlemaster
Arena Athlete
Swamp
Pack 3 pick 5:
Messenger's Speed
Fleetfeather Sandals (FOIL)
Prescient Chimera
Rage of Purphoros
Feral Invocation
Felhide Minotaur
Shredding Winds
Horizon Chimera
Shipwreck Singer
--> Triton Fortune Hunter
Curse of the Swine
Pack 3 pick 6:
--> Omenspeaker
March of the Returned
Silent Artisan
Spearpoint Oread
Ray of Dissolution
Stoneshock Giant
Warriors' Lesson
Cutthroat Maneuver
Titan of Eternal Fire
Mountain
More awesome, got lots of milage off these guys
Pack 3 pick 7:
Mnemonic Wall
--> Cavalry Pegasus
Aqueous Form
Silent Artisan
Blood-Toll Harpy
Borderland Minotaur
Sedge Scorpion
Prowler's Helm
Swamp
With his help too
Pack 3 pick 8:
--> Battlewise Valor
Viper's Kiss
Annul
Wild Celebrants
Two-Headed Cerberus
Deathbellow Raider
Prowler's Helm
Plains
Pack 3 pick 9:
Scourgemark
Satyr Hedonist
Satyr Rambler
Vanquish the Foul
Witches' Eye
--> Steam Augury
Island
Pack 3 pick 10:
Mnemonic Wall
Thassa's Bounty
--> Lagonna-Band Elder
Priest of Iroas
Fade into Antiquity
Island
Nice late pick
Pack 3 pick 11:
Titan's Strength
Yoked Ox
Scholar of Athreos
--> Destructive Revelry
Colossus of Akros
Pack 3 pick 12:
--> Guardians of Meletis
Loathsome Catoblepas
Portent of Betrayal
Swamp
Pack 3 pick 13:
--> Fleetfeather Sandals (FOIL)
Shredding Winds
Shipwreck Singer
Pack 3 pick 14:
--> Silent Artisan
Cutthroat Maneuver
Pack 3 pick 15:
--> Swamp
7 Plains
1 Unknown Shores
1 Fabled Hero
1 Thassa's Emissary
1 Nimbus Naiad
2 Voyage's End
1 Wavecrash Triton
1 Prescient Chimera
1 Fate Foretold
1 Annul
1 Stymied Hopes
2 Aqueous Form
1 Wingsteed Rider
1 Curse of the swine
2 OmenSpeaker
2 Triton fortune hunter
1 Traveling Philosopher
1 Daxos of Meletis
1 Ordeal of Heliod
1 Cavalry Pegasus
1 Lagonna-Band Elder
Losing games from simple mistakes is only a testament to how close the games were, good luck with your deck moving forward
He is an amazing finisher in the black aggro deck i was toying with a week or two ago, but i cant see him being a good fit in this deck, lifebane and demon don't benefit at all from his effect
This looks a lot like the list i was planning to put together, how has any testing gone?
For the main i would probably add another draw spell for sure, either a third UW Connections or a Read the bones. I'm personally going to run 4 draw spells to start off my testing as we have no other source of card draw, but 3 could be correct with maybe the fourth in the side.
As well the 2 dmg +2 life gain spell (the name escapes me atm) seems good in the side for aggro, although im sure it has been mentioned
Those are both degenerate lines of play, imagine living the dream of sac'ing a pumped Demon on turn 8, gaining 10, drawing 10.. that out right wins games and more importantly it wins games you aren't winning. You need to add +2 Disciple of Bolas ASAP. I'd suggest move the 2 Vraska to the board to make room, her -3 can be an awesome answer but it isn't needed in every matchup, aggro especially.
For a deck that specializes in controlling the board, adding in elements of card draw and life gain is exactly what a control deck wants to be doing. Not sure how Thragtusk isn't a perfect fit, he allows you to use your life total as a more comfortable resource, buying us time while we can develop our gameplan.