Most games were not close. I think I dropped 1 for the entire event. Oracle of Bones is not a good card, and opponents never paid the Tribule cost, but I was getting free Portents of Betrayal and Bolts of Keranos all tournament.
Ambush Krotiq makes me laugh so much. I keep rereading the card and it keeps not having Flash. In what sense is this an ambush again? I just have visions of this huge Krotiq poorly concealed in some bushes, feeling slightly sad that his carefully planned ambushes never seem to work.
So, it turns out that Triton tactics + Arbiter of the Ideal can do busted things. I just played a game where I attacked with the Arbiter. When my opponent attacked back with his Ill-tempered cyclops, I played Triton Tactics, and if that wasn't enough the inspire trigger hit a Hundred-Handed One. It was pretty brutal.
I had one out with a Kiora's Follower.... heh heh. Mise mise mise mise mise mise mise...
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
My helpy helpdesk of helpfulness.
My Decks: EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn Modern: Polytokes IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
I just built white-blue flyers with a heroic subtheme. Guy next to me was in white-blue too, somehow didn't realize we were cutting each other the whole time. He got a Bident and an Eidolon but I got all the powah: Daxos, Battlewise Hoplite, Arbiter of the Ideal, Siren of the Fanged Coast, Ornitharch, Archetype of Imagination, Triton Fortune Hunter, Horizon Scholar, two Naiads, etc. Ended up going 3-0. Pretty much every game went: drop a two-drop, go back and forth, build a huge board of flyers and sail overhead to victory. Lost one game against a red-black player who had pulled Mogis and Stormbreath Dragon along with a bunch of other beef and resolved it all G2, but got him in G3. Lost one game against RG monsters when I got super greedy and kept a fivelander with Siren and Ornitharch and flooded out (his deck was way slower than it should have been, so I felt bad but not terrible keeping it).
Also, I have no idea why anyone passes Hunter's Prowess. That card P1 puts me into green 90% of the time. I have never lost a limited game where it resolved.
I'm torn about whether or not I think this was the more powerful of the two decks, though certainly this one was more consistent and needed Chromantidaddy way less. That said, he was instrumental in my first-round win over a U/W opponent with Hundred-Handed One, Prognostic Sphinx 2 copies each of Phalanx Leader and Battlewise Hoplite, and then excellent stuff like Springleaf Drum and Lost in the Labyrinth (I hope he's not in here, I pointed out to him that there was an - ahem - gap in this card quality). I lost a close game 1 after picking the wrong thing to do at instant speed during a double-block, and he punished me with Gods Willing (Note to self: Always bestow the Chromanticore at instant speed).
Other than that, another tidy 3-0 (6-1) after my finals opponent chose to neither confirm nor deny the split.
Played in three very good matches. Beat RG in Round 1, GW in Round 2 (running a bunch of big butts, wasn't sure I was gonna punch through) and UB in the finals.
Played in three very good matches. Beat RG in Round 1, GW in Round 2 (running a bunch of big butts, wasn't sure I was gonna punch through) and UB in the finals.
Congrats! How'd your son do? I always like seeing new players figure out how drafts work. I hope he didn't get too discouraged-- I imagine you were helping him, but I worry that players who are new to drafting will get frustrated. I helped a new guy at the last draft I was in build his deck. It was BTT, he had drafted a bunch of random cards that I sort of put into a G/W slow controlly build (it was the best I could do with what he had). He went 0-6 but I told him about some basics of drafting and I hope he feels up to coming back.
Congrats! How'd your son do? I always like seeing new players figure out how drafts work. I hope he didn't get too discouraged-- I imagine you were helping him, but I worry that players who are new to drafting will get frustrated. I helped a new guy at the last draft I was in build his deck. It was BTT, he had drafted a bunch of random cards that I sort of put into a G/W slow controlly build (it was the best I could do with what he had). He went 0-6 but I told him about some basics of drafting and I hope he feels up to coming back.
Thanks for asking! He went 0-2 with a bye (another player dropped after Round 1). My biggest concern was him getting the concept of what he needed to do to build a playable deck and then having fun with it. I told him at the top to take cards you like, focus on two colors and we'll build a deck at the end. He values toughness a lot due to the fact he doesn't like losing his creatures (a reasonable position for an eight-year-old to have, I think...he'll learn) and drafted and mained a Guardians of Meletis (I talked him out of running a second). He was smart enough to pick money, as he took a Temple of Abandon...and remembered to run it in place of a forest in his GW deck (proud moment).
The best part of the night was at the end when he told me how much fun he had and that he wants to draft again.
Top-heavy curve with less-than-ideal early defenses? Check. Almost no interactive spells? Double-check. Passing a better deck in other colors in both directions? Yuuuuuuuup. However, there's not much more satisfying than cast a Fate Foretold on a Pillar of War, then attacking with both the Pillar and a Floodtide Serpent. Oh, the sweet sweet value.
(This was also a fairly sweet Master of Waves deck, for what that's worth.)
Had my first Grand Prix experience tonight. I can't play the main event, and since my regular store is closed for the weekend (because they brought pretty much all of their stock for a booth at the GP), I decided to get my FNM on where there would be a few hundred folks playing. Jumped into a 6(+3)-4-1-1 draft and made the finals, losing to a pro named Andrew (I missed his last name) from Chicago. We split the final, but officially I scooped so he could use the free entry for Saturday or Sunday, as I can't get back to the event this weekend.
And apparently I sat and shot the bull with Andrew Sullivan for about a half-hour during our final match in the draft without realizing it until a group of guys came up to get him to sign some playmats. Who knew?
Just think of how much fun playing in an actual GP would be! It's incredibly intense and is made way better with a group of friends in the fold.
I can't wait to (probably) play GP Washington D.C. in late June. I'm 4-5 in making day 2 of GPs, which is pretty sweet, and I've cashed in 3. My overall match record in them is something like 46-16-1. It's nice to be able to feel like I don't suck every now and then.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Providing a plethora of pompous and pedantic postings here since 2009.
:dance:Fact or Fiction of the [Limited] Clan:dance:
Signalling is like farting: it's a natural thing that helps people avoid being where you are, and if you try to do it deliberately, things turn to crap fast.
Quote from Hardened »
I hereby found the American Chapter of the Zealots of Semantics. All glory to The Curmudgeon.
Had my first Grand Prix experience tonight. I can't play the main event, and since my regular store is closed for the weekend (because they brought pretty much all of their stock for a booth at the GP), I decided to get my FNM on where there would be a few hundred folks playing. Jumped into a 6(+3)-4-1-1 draft and made the finals, losing to a pro named Andrew (I missed his last name) from Chicago. We split the final, but officially I scooped so he could use the free entry for Saturday or Sunday, as I can't get back to the event this weekend.
And apparently I sat and shot the bull with Andrew Sullivan for about a half-hour during our final match in the draft without realizing it until a group of guys came up to get him to sign some playmats. Who knew?
I know this is far less good than a lot of folks here, but I'm so stoked right now. Went 3-0 in a MTGO draft for the first time last night. Yeah, it was swiss, but I don't care. My first ever QP. And my Elo is over 1600 for the first time since basically I opened the account (I did a lot of 0-2ing and 1-1ing new player drafts and 1-2ing once I got in the real world). Ran RGb cows (splashed the black for a P3P11 or so Kragma Warcaller) and just ran over folks (except in round two, which was just a battle of who was going to get mana screwed twice).
Yeah, most people haven't played that long, and most people who have didn't play Standard seriously (if I had to guess). I'd actually seen his Condemn already, as it was revealed with Augur, and I was just hoping for that there to happen.
Ink-Eyes, while a card I normally try to cut, managed to do several pretty filthy things in that draft. Against the reanimator opponent I managed to steal his Griselbrand both games. He was not pleased.
Usually it's between 1850 and 1900, with 1810-1820 if I'm on a bad streak and 1930-1940 when I'm on a roll (or if a format I'm particularly good at is the current flashback draft format). Personal best is 1988, when Rise of the Eldrazi was the current format.
(and yeah, I like paying attention to it - competing with myself and keeping track of how I do is fun)
In 5 or so days of Scars drafting, I opened Karn, Batterskull, two copies of Elesh Norn, Spellskite (when it was still 14 tickets), and wheeled a 5-ticket Torpor Orb. Fairly certain that's unprecedented for me, money-wise.
1 Akroan Crusader
1 Favored Hoplite
1 Hopeful Eidolon
1 Nyxborn Rollicker
2 Loyal Pegasus
1 Akroan Hoplite
1 Cavalry Pegasus
1 Everflame Eidolon
2 Kragma Butcher
1 Spearpoint Oread
1 Wingsteed Rider
1 Borderland Minotaur
1 Oracle of Bones
1 Stormbreath Dragon (FOIL!)
1 Coordinated Assault
1 Battlewise Valor
1 Fall of the Hammer
2 Lightning Strike
1 Revoke Existance
1 Bolt of Keranos
1 Portent of Betrayal
1 Temple of Triumph
8 Mountains
7 Plains
Most games were not close. I think I dropped 1 for the entire event. Oracle of Bones is not a good card, and opponents never paid the Tribule cost, but I was getting free Portents of Betrayal and Bolts of Keranos all tournament.
Shiny Stormbreath Dragon was not bad either....
Oh yes, and I had a Xenagos, God of Revels in the pool too for extra values.
2 Nyxborn Rollicker
1 Leonin Snarecaster
1 Cavalry Pegasus
1 Phalanx Leader
1 Arena Athlete
1 Elite Skirmisher
1 Minotaur Skullcleaver
1 Wingsteed Rider
1 Ghostblade Eidolon
1 Spearpoint Oread
1 Flame-Wreathed Phoenix
1 Akroan Phalanx
1 Gods Willing
1 Battlewise Valor
2 Lightning Strike
1 Magma Jet
1 Fall of the Hammer
1 Divine Verdict
8 Mountaim
Easiest eight packs ever. 3-0, 6-0, 15 minutes total of game time.
I had one out with a Kiora's Follower.... heh heh. Mise mise mise mise mise mise mise...
My Decks:
EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn
Modern: Polytokes
IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
Just a friendly reminder that I will drive this car off a bridge
dollarChromantibrew:1 Sedge Scorpion
1 Kiora's Follower
2 Agent of Horizons
1 Nessian Courser
1 Nyxborn Wolf
1 Opaline Unicorn
1 Burnished Hart
1 Crackling Triton
1 Karametra's Acolyte
1 Horizon Chimera
1 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Celestial Archon
1 Chromanticore
2 Nylea's Presence
1 Karametra's Favor
1 Voyage's End
2 Excoriate
1 Peregrination
1 Hunter's Prowess
1 Curse of the Swine
Lands: 17
9 Forest
4 Island
1 Temple of Deceit
1 Plains
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
Easy 3-0 (6-0); highlights included casting a Prophet of Kruphix, getting it Nullify-ed, and having the mana leftover to bestow Chromanticore on the same turn. My first four picks in the draft were: 1. Hunter's Prowess 2. Kiora's Follower 3. Chromantidaddy 4. Peregrination. The Nylea's Presences were high picks, and I think I took that Burnished Hart over a Voyage's End, the only time in history that's been remotely logical (though possibly still incorrect).
Also, I got a Hunter's Prowess 3rd-pick in the draft after this one. What is it with people?
Also, I have no idea why anyone passes Hunter's Prowess. That card P1 puts me into green 90% of the time. I have never lost a limited game where it resolved.
1 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Voyaging Satyr
1 Swordwise Centaur
2 Agent of Horizons
1 Noble Quarry
2 Horizon Chimera
1 Nylea's Disciple
1 Karametra's Acolyte
2 Nessian Asp
1 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Chromanticore
1 Shipbreaker Kraken
1 Horizon Scholar
3 Nylea's Presence
1 Karametra's Favor
1 Time to Feed
1 Griptide
1 Fated Intervention
Lands: 17
10 Forest
4 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Swamp
I'm torn about whether or not I think this was the more powerful of the two decks, though certainly this one was more consistent and needed Chromantidaddy way less. That said, he was instrumental in my first-round win over a U/W opponent with Hundred-Handed One, Prognostic Sphinx 2 copies each of Phalanx Leader and Battlewise Hoplite, and then excellent stuff like Springleaf Drum and Lost in the Labyrinth (I hope he's not in here, I pointed out to him that there was an - ahem - gap in this card quality). I lost a close game 1 after picking the wrong thing to do at instant speed during a double-block, and he punished me with Gods Willing (Note to self: Always bestow the Chromanticore at instant speed).
Other than that, another tidy 3-0 (6-1) after my finals opponent chose to neither confirm nor deny the split.
1 Felhide Minotaur
1 Blood-Toll Harpy
1 Servant of Tymaret
1 Agent of Horizons
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Nylea's Disciple
1 Disciple of Phenax
1 Graverobber Spider
1 Staunch-Hearted Warrior
1 Nyxborn Wolf
1 Cavern Lampad
1 Pharika's Mender
1 Keepsake Gorgon
1 Snake of the Golden Grove
1 Vulpine Goliath
1 Boon of Erebos
1 Pharika's Cure
1 Savage Surge
2 Necrobite
1 Gild
1 Fated Intervention
1 Sip of Hemlock
Land
9 Swamp
8 Forest
1 Drown in Sorrow
1 Time to Feed
1 Sip of Hemlock
1 Weight of the Underworld
1 Skyreaping
1 Viper's Kiss
1 Fade into Antiquity
1 Dark Betrayal
1 Marshmist Titan
1 Returned Centaur
1 Flamecast Wheel
1 Guardians of Meletis
1 Bronze Sable
1 Deathbellow Raider
1 Demolish
1 Dissolve
1 Breaching Hippocamp
1 Evanescent Intellect
1 Divination
Played in three very good matches. Beat RG in Round 1, GW in Round 2 (running a bunch of big butts, wasn't sure I was gonna punch through) and UB in the finals.
Congrats! How'd your son do? I always like seeing new players figure out how drafts work. I hope he didn't get too discouraged-- I imagine you were helping him, but I worry that players who are new to drafting will get frustrated. I helped a new guy at the last draft I was in build his deck. It was BTT, he had drafted a bunch of random cards that I sort of put into a G/W slow controlly build (it was the best I could do with what he had). He went 0-6 but I told him about some basics of drafting and I hope he feels up to coming back.
Thanks for asking! He went 0-2 with a bye (another player dropped after Round 1). My biggest concern was him getting the concept of what he needed to do to build a playable deck and then having fun with it. I told him at the top to take cards you like, focus on two colors and we'll build a deck at the end. He values toughness a lot due to the fact he doesn't like losing his creatures (a reasonable position for an eight-year-old to have, I think...he'll learn) and drafted and mained a Guardians of Meletis (I talked him out of running a second). He was smart enough to pick money, as he took a Temple of Abandon...and remembered to run it in place of a forest in his GW deck (proud moment).
The best part of the night was at the end when he told me how much fun he had and that he wants to draft again.
1 Sedge Scorpion
1 Vaporkin
1 Satyr Hedonist
1 Nessian Courser
1 Crackling Triton
1 Pillar of War
1 Burnished Hart
1 Horizon Chimera
1 Master of Waves
1 Chorus of the Tides
1 Coastline Chimera
1 Floodtide Serpent
1 Prescient Chimera
1 Arbiter of the Ideal
1 Vulpine Goliath
2 Fate Foretold
1 Savage Surge
1 Nylea's Presence
1 Divination
1 Feral Invocation
1 Raised by Wolves
1 Curse of the Swine
Lands: 17
10 Island
7 Forest
Top-heavy curve with less-than-ideal early defenses? Check. Almost no interactive spells? Double-check. Passing a better deck in other colors in both directions? Yuuuuuuuup. However, there's not much more satisfying than cast a Fate Foretold on a Pillar of War, then attacking with both the Pillar and a Floodtide Serpent. Oh, the sweet sweet value.
(This was also a fairly sweet Master of Waves deck, for what that's worth.)
And apparently I sat and shot the bull with Andrew Sullivan for about a half-hour during our final match in the draft without realizing it until a group of guys came up to get him to sign some playmats. Who knew?
So I went 2-1 with this deck:
1 Vortex Elemental
1 Baleful Eidolon
1 Shipwreck Singer
2 Returned Phalanx
1 Fleshmad Steed
1 Felhide Minotaur
1 Forlorn Pseudamma
1 Thassa's Emissary
1 Aerie Worshippers
1 Sealock Monster
1 Shrike Harpy
1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Siren of the Fanged Coast
2 Pharika's Cure
2 Read the Bones
1 Drown in Sorrow
1 Oracle's Insight
1 Lash of the Whip
1 Psychic Intrusion
1 Sea God's Revenge
Land
10 Swamp
7 Island
2 Necrobite
1 Stratus Walk
1 Warchanter of Mogis
1 Dark Betrayal
1 Boon of Erebos
1 Pillar of War
2 Traveler's Amulet
1 Coastline Chimera
1 Sentry of the Underworld
A+++++ would go again.
I can't wait to (probably) play GP Washington D.C. in late June. I'm 4-5 in making day 2 of GPs, which is pretty sweet, and I've cashed in 3. My overall match record in them is something like 46-16-1. It's nice to be able to feel like I don't suck every now and then.
:dance:Fact or Fiction of the [Limited] Clan:dance:
Who's Andrew Sullivan? Did we mean Adrian Sullivan?
Yes, we did. I always reserve the right to be wrong.
Played five 8-4's. Forced RW every time. Split the finals once, won the other 4.
http://imgur.com/a/A2fTu
I'll try to post a draftcap of it later tonight.
Also, this was a fun little play that I got to do:
Ink-Eyes, while a card I normally try to cut, managed to do several pretty filthy things in that draft. Against the reanimator opponent I managed to steal his Griselbrand both games. He was not pleased.
(and yeah, I like paying attention to it - competing with myself and keeping track of how I do is fun)
Congrats, Sene!
In my last 4 Swiss drafts I've pulled Xenagos (god), Ashiok, Xenagos (planeswalker), Foil Medomai, and Elspeth.
Of course this means I have no right to complain about my pulls, like, ever again.
Pulled very little decent out of the packs though. Did manage to trade a scry land I have a set of for a Nylea I need so that was nice.