MTG Salvation

The Draft


The Deck


The Games

Too bad you weren't able to get there. I don't think I would have picked differently (after the R p1p1), but I was wondering about the P2P1 Observant Alseid vs Akroan Hoplite pick. Did you give the Alseid consideration or is the Hoplite that much better?

Definitely in contention, but the hoplite is more aggressive and punishes slow starts better. It's also human to go with a potential cavalry pegasus. Neither is really better, as alseid bestows, but at that point I wanted something aggressive.

Temple of Triumph over Battlewise Valor in p3 gave me pause until I saw one heroic creature. Still, I'm not sure I would have made that same decision.

I don't know if I would have jumped into RW as quickly as you. I like to stay open in pack 1. All those times you said white/red seemed open, blue seemed more open. IMO Retraction Helix > Kragma Butcher (happened twice! Helix in pick 6?? wow), Nyxborn Triton > Nyxborn Shieldmate (unless already committed to low curve RW aggro), etc. I probably would have grabbed those instead and waited to see what else appeared. In hindsight, blue dried up and RW seems correct, but at that stage you never know.

Notice that you also passed somebody a REALLY sick black/blue pool. That may be the person you lost to in round 2. Drafting is zero sum game. I know that conventional wisdom is against hatedrafting, but it's also against trying too hard to send signals. If you just grab the best card in each pack in pack 1, it's less likely the guy next to you SEVENTH picks a 2nd Retraction Helix after seeing double Asphyxiate double Spiteful Returned. If he P1P1 Sudden Storm, then I wonder what colors he's picking..

By the time you've picked double Ordeal and double Akroan Hoplite, it sounds like you need to be in "flood the board with low cc".dec. Those cards are both significantly worse with 3-5 drops, since they capitalize on having lots of early attackers. To better enable that archetype, I would have prioritized combat tricks and efficient beaters and gone:

1) p3p2 Battlewise Valor or Dragon Mantle (you have Spearpoint Oread + Two-Headed) over the scryland.
2) p3p8 Arena Athlete over Stoneshock Giant (hoping to end the game before you'd ever have mana for Monstrous)
3) p2p12 Peak Eruption over the 2nd Cerebrus, since you're never maindecking both whereas Peak Eruption is a great SB card to keep RG monsters from dropping fatties.
4) p3p4 Leonin Snarecaster (-1 blocker) over another Skullcleaver, since you had more than enough 3cc

I probably would have grabbed a Titan's Strength or Chosen by Heliod somewhere over another 3cc body. I then would have maindecked both Arena Athlete's, Snarecaster and all the combat tricks. I get you were trying to avoid that sort of deck, but based on your beginnings of pack 2, that's the deck you're best slated to end up in IMO.

Ugh...and you passed p1p1 asphyxiate for fall of the hammer...which is likely just straight up worse than asphyxiate most times. And you did it twice...ouch.

Hmm Fall of the Hammer is a stronger and more versatile card in BTT. It's removal, a combat trick, and heroic enabler. Also very splashable while Asphyxiate demands 1BB.

The upside on Fall is definitely higher than Asphyxiate. It's instant speed, doesn't need the target to be untapped, and triggers heroic. If I know I'm in red, particularly R/W Heroic, I always want the card. However, red is such a bad color in BTT that I'd be inclined to take the Asphyxiate P1P1.