I often sided in annul, mostly cutting... another land! I kept getting flooded this time.
The Games
First match vs WG.
Pretty close games. The deciding factor was mostly the life gain due to hopeful eidolon and the bounce with helix and griptide. In the first game I get hypnotist vs skyguard, vanguard, hopeful eidolon, spirit of the labyrinth. At one point he has skyguard with nyxborn wolf on. I only live thanks to double verdict and griptide. The key play was when I played triton tactics, killing off two creatures. I win at 6 life. Second game he gets skyguard into wingsteed rider. His key turn was getting excoriate on by oresko sunguide that was enchanted with chosen by heliod and hopeful eidolon. He would not have won the damage race. I do get a small ornitarch with hopeful eidolon on, but his 5/3 skyguard plus mistcutter hydra, rider and karametra (turned on!) and feral invocation is just waaaay too much for me to deal with. Third game I get battlewise hoplite on turn two but he got spirit of the labyrith, so we're stalled. He trades the spirit for a sunguide and get staunch-hearted warrior out. I get annul + tactics to prevent his warrior from getting too big and I tap it down. I griptide one guy and divine verdict the warrior. The race is super close as he still has his 1/1 skyguard and I'm at 3 life. He almost gets there, but a trick on phalanx leader to pump everyone deals him exact damage. That was close. I drew 10 lands out of 15 (after siding one out) in 11 turns.
Second match vs UR.
Another aggro deck with multiple hasty guys including satyr nyx-smith. The games were entirely decided by combat tricks, getting battlewise-valor, tactics, gods willing and divine verdict in times. Key turn was deciding to let him put me at 4 because I had a guy with hopeful eidolon and two combat tricks in hand with phalanx leader out. That allowed me to win enough life, bounce on guy through helix and pump through valor and having griptide backup to not die to his attacks and get through for enough. There were tons of choices to be made in this game. The following game was one-sided as I had the answers for everything he did and he conceded in frustration.
Third match vs WU.
Split.
Once again I win an 8-4 with WU. Maybe it's just my playstyle that is adapted to these colors, but I really feel it is by far the best color combo of Theros. When I don't have blue, I miss the bounce. When I don't have white, I miss the crazy aggro, gods willing, lifegain, etc. Still, it feels good to win one again after multiple close calls.
It's really tough to play in 8-4, I find it hard to keep a serene outlook when you lose by one life or would have won if you had played first twice, so it all comes down to the die roll. Losing multiple times in a row is annoying and everybody plays aggro and white is super-overdrafted and yet is still the best color, it seems. I asked my opponent and he played two aggro decks too (RB and RW) and he had WU just like me (except he told me he got multiple mythics to go with it. No such luck for me.)
I have no idea how you accomplished anything with an 11 creature aggro deck. You must have been incredibly fortunate to not have games where you only saw 2 or 3 creatures and got them both removed/beaten in combat by a trick - especially since 3 of them are barely even creatures. That's way, way too few. I guess playing against two of the three weakest color combinations helps. It's also not even remotely accurate to say you "won an 8-4" when you split the finals - just saying. Congrats, though.
Also, when you picked the Deepwater Hypnotist, you had only a Bolt versus a Helix to compare blue to red. I'm fairly sure Rollicker is the better pick by a wide margin. It's a better card, Bolt is better than Helix and RW is better than UW (assuming it's actually open). I'm guessing you're biased towards UW, though, which happens to us all. You probably shouldn't have been in white at all, honestly. You got cut completely out of it after only two picks in four packs. Ornitharch is awesome, but not that awesome. Finally, Archon is a windmill slam, even in aggro. I love Hoplite, but I'm fairly sure it isn't going to win you more games. Although I could be wrong given that you didn't take anywhere near as many creatures as you should have. You'd probably have died before putting the Archon to use with even one fewer creature early. =/
You're right my deck had waaaay too few creatures. I often found myself with only one or two creatures. OTOH, I had enough tricks / bounce / kill to stabilize. If you look at my games report, it's clear I won by the skin of the teeth a few times. Also, FWIW, I always split in the 8-4 finals and classify splitting in the final as winning. I'll take my six pack and play twice more any day.
And, yes, yes YES, I forced UW. I forced it because in the four preceding drafts I always faced either RW or UW and they always are good and 8-4 is completely overhwelmed by aggro decks in my experience so far. I've had only success with UW, so I will go this route if I have the slightest inkling of a possible deck in the first pack. Beside, as many have pointed out, BNG doesn't have the same power-level, and this is especially true for white where THS has favorite hoplite, rider, hopeful eidolon, phalanx leader and gods willing.
It's foolish to try to read pick 3 by what's not there. It's only sometimes useful to judge it based on what is there, and even that's iffy. Picks 4 and 5 had trash for blue, too. If you want to actually get into reading signals, he should have been in on green or black at that point. In fact, he probably could have benefited from keeping himself in white with pick 2, given that he's right, BNG is pretty bad and it's good to keep yourself in one color if possible without sacrificing quality. Vanguard is a fine dude. Asphyxiate would have been defensible, too, given how good a solid BW control deck can be. Also, Rollicker is absolutely a more powerful card in an aggressive RW deck (it doesn't actually even need to be put on a heroic guy to be good value for the price) than Hypnotist is in any UW deck. I see no defense for Hypnotist.
And I never suggested that you shouldn't split. I tend towards splitting, too, unless my deck is insane or I really want to play more. That said, it's definitely not "winning an 8-4" no matter how you slice it.
Pack 1 pick 1:
Charging Badger
Pharagax Giant
Sphinx's Disciple
Ephara's Radiance
Setessan Starbreaker
Claim of Erebos (FOIL)
Impetuous Sunchaser
Culling Mark
Necrobite
Kragma Butcher
Stormcaller of Keranos
--> Ornitharch
Graverobber Spider
Whims of the Fates
Swamp
Well, this time I'm going white. I'm cutting white with this pick and it's the best of the pack.
Pack 1 pick 2:
Felhide Brawler
Ephara's Radiance
--> Bolt of Keranos
Setessan Oathsworn
Aspect of Hydra
Mortal's Resolve
Divination
Claim of Erebos
Impetuous Sunchaser
Akroan Phalanx
Vanguard of Brimaz
Drown in Sorrow
Temple of Plenty
Island
I agonized a long time over this. RW is good, but should I cut white further by taking one of the aggro guys?
Pack 1 pick 3:
Evanescent Intellect
Epiphany Storm
Servant of Tymaret
Great Hart
Satyr Wayfinder
--> Retraction Helix
Pheres-Band Tromper
Asphyxiate
Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass
Unravel the Æther
Siren of the Silent Song
Heroes' Podium
Swamp
Ugh. After that great p1p1, I'm not getting great white. Oh well, taking best U card.
Pack 1 pick 4:
Nyxborn Wolf
Floodtide Serpent
Rise to the Challenge
Griffin Dreamfinder
Nyxborn Eidolon
Karametra's Favor
--> Oreskos Sun Guide
Nullify
Pheres-Band Raiders
Sunbond
Mindreaver
Mountain
A wee bit of white.
Pack 1 pick 5:
Epiphany Storm
Hold at Bay
Marshmist Titan
Nyxborn Wolf
Nyxborn Rollicker
Aspect of Hydra
Claim of Erebos
--> Deepwater Hypnotist
Kiora's Follower
Thunderous Might
Forest
Pack 1 pick 6:
Evanescent Intellect
Hold at Bay
Setessan Starbreaker
Weight of the Underworld
Sphinx's Disciple
Reckless Reveler
--> Nullify
Skyreaping
Fated Return
Mountain
Pack 1 pick 7:
Ephara's Radiance
Marshmist Titan
Aspect of Hydra
Mortal's Resolve
Divination
Claim of Erebos
Kraken of the Straits
--> Archetype of Finality
Plains
Hesitated, almost took divination. I should have, even though it's often too slow to be played.
Pack 1 pick 8:
Excoriate
Scouring Sands
--> Chorus of the Tides
Felhide Brawler
Griffin Dreamfinder
Mortal's Resolve
Ashiok's Adept
Plains
Phew, at least I get something.
Pack 1 pick 9:
--> Pharagax Giant
Ephara's Radiance
Setessan Starbreaker
Culling Mark
Necrobite
Whims of the Fates
Swamp
Pack 1 pick 10:
Ephara's Radiance
Aspect of Hydra
Mortal's Resolve
Claim of Erebos
--> Impetuous Sunchaser
Island
Pack 1 pick 11:
Evanescent Intellect
Epiphany Storm
--> Great Hart
Heroes' Podium
Swamp
Pack 1 pick 12:
Griffin Dreamfinder
Sunbond
--> Mindreaver
Mountain
Pack 1 pick 13:
Epiphany Storm
--> Claim of Erebos
Forest
Pack 1 pick 14:
--> Evanescent Intellect
Mountain
Pack 1 pick 15:
--> Claim of Erebos
------ THS ------
Pack 2 pick 1:
Nimbus Naiad
Nylea's Disciple
Lash of the Whip
Titan's Strength
Baleful Eidolon
Benthic Giant
Annul
Traveling Philosopher
Traveler's Amulet
Shredding Winds
Mogis's Marauder
Nylea's Emissary
--> Favored Hoplite
Boon Satyr
Forest
Oh well, at least I get another p1 white.
Pack 2 pick 2:
Fleshmad Steed
Cavalry Pegasus
Titan's Strength (FOIL)
Satyr Hedonist
Last Breath
Unknown Shores
Crackling Triton
Vaporkin
Felhide Minotaur
--> Battlewise Hoplite
Vanquish the Foul
Fanatic of Mogis
Celestial Archon
Forest
Another long hesitation: hoplite or archon. Archon is strong, but I want to be more aggro than that. Wishful thinking...
Pack 2 pick 3:
Cavalry Pegasus
Loathsome Catoblepas
Nylea's Presence
Fleetfeather Sandals
Breaching Hippocamp
Vulpine Goliath
Asphodel Wanderer
Savage Surge
Setessan Griffin
Witches' Eye
--> Triton Tactics
Akroan Horse
Swamp
Pack 2 pick 4:
--> Chosen by Heliod
Pheres-Band Centaurs
Thassa's Bounty
Lagonna-Band Elder
Priest of Iroas
Fade into Antiquity
Returned Centaur
Staunch-Hearted Warrior
Borderland Minotaur
Chronicler of Heroes
Artisan's Sorrow
Swamp
Pack 2 pick 5:
Demolish
Gods Willing
Feral Invocation
Returned Centaur
--> Hopeful Eidolon
Fate Foretold
Portent of Betrayal
Boulderfall
Sedge Scorpion
Dissolve
Mountain
And now I get hopeful 5th... ?
Pack 2 pick 6:
--> Divine Verdict
Bronze Sable
Messenger's Speed
Mnemonic Wall
Blood-Toll Harpy
Spearpoint Oread
Setessan Battle Priest
Deathbellow Raider
Flamespeaker Adept
Island
Pack 2 pick 7:
Minotaur Skullcleaver
--> Chosen by Heliod
Mnemonic Wall
Portent of Betrayal
Commune with the Gods
Opaline Unicorn
Ray of Dissolution
Firedrinker Satyr
Island
Pack 2 pick 8:
Battlewise Valor
Viper's Kiss
--> Griptide
Commune with the Gods
Spark Jolt
Returned Phalanx
Rescue from the Underworld
Forest
And griptide 8th!
Pack 2 pick 9:
Lash of the Whip
Titan's Strength
Benthic Giant
--> Annul
Traveler's Amulet
Shredding Winds
Forest
Pack 2 pick 10:
--> Cavalry Pegasus
Titan's Strength (FOIL)
Satyr Hedonist
Last Breath
Crackling Triton
Forest
Pack 2 pick 11:
Loathsome Catoblepas
Fleetfeather Sandals
--> Vulpine Goliath
Asphodel Wanderer
Swamp
Pack 2 pick 12:
--> Pheres-Band Centaurs
Thassa's Bounty
Priest of Iroas
Swamp
Pack 2 pick 13:
Demolish
--> Boulderfall
Mountain
Pack 2 pick 14:
--> Messenger's Speed
Island
Pack 2 pick 15:
--> Island
------ THS ------
Pack 3 pick 1:
Minotaur Skullcleaver
Chosen by Heliod
Mnemonic Wall
Returned Centaur
--> Hopeful Eidolon
Fate Foretold
Portent of Betrayal
Observant Alseid
Borderland Minotaur
Shredding Winds
Nemesis of Mortals
Burnished Hart
Satyr Piper
Steam Augury
Island
Pack 3 pick 2:
Nessian Courser
March of the Returned
Dragon Mantle
Voyaging Satyr
Spearpoint Oread
Unknown Shores
Aqueous Form
Asphodel Wanderer
Boulderfall
Savage Surge
Destructive Revelry
--> Phalanx Leader
Spellheart Chimera
Forest
Yay! I get one really good white pick per pack it seems.
Pack 3 pick 3:
--> Battlewise Valor
Nessian Asp
Viper's Kiss
Leonin Snarecaster
Feral Invocation
Fate Foretold
Thassa's Bounty
Lagonna-Band Elder
Sedge Scorpion
Boon of Erebos
Destructive Revelry
Artisan's Sorrow
Forest
Pack 3 pick 4:
Messenger's Speed
--> Gods Willing
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Read the Bones
Thassa's Bounty
Lost in a Labyrinth
Agent of Horizons
Fade into Antiquity
Boulderfall
Setessan Battle Priest
Horizon Chimera
Plains
Pack 3 pick 5:
Viper's Kiss
Pheres-Band Centaurs
--> Divine Verdict
Defend the Hearth
Agent of Horizons
Crackling Triton
Spark Jolt
Boon of Erebos
Akroan Hoplite
Rescue from the Underworld
Swamp
Pack 3 pick 6:
Guardians of Meletis
Prescient Chimera
Demolish
--> Gods Willing
Last Breath
Scourgemark
Setessan Battle Priest
Traveler's Amulet
Hunt the Hunter
Mountain
Well, two gods willing, that will really help.
Pack 3 pick 7:
Guardians of Meletis
--> Battlewise Valor
Loathsome Catoblepas
Returned Phalanx (FOIL)
Scourgemark
Coastline Chimera
Boon of Erebos
Dark Betrayal
Swamp
Pack 3 pick 8:
Loathsome Catoblepas
Nylea's Presence
Fleetfeather Sandals
Returned Phalanx
Scholar of Athreos
--> Benthic Giant (FOIL)
Witches' Eye
Mountain
Pack 3 pick 9:
--> Chosen by Heliod
Mnemonic Wall
Returned Centaur
Shredding Winds
Satyr Piper
Steam Augury
Island
Pack 3 pick 10:
March of the Returned
Asphodel Wanderer
Boulderfall
--> Destructive Revelry
Spellheart Chimera
Forest
Pack 3 pick 11:
--> Leonin Snarecaster
Thassa's Bounty
Destructive Revelry
Artisan's Sorrow
Forest
Pack 3 pick 12:
--> Thassa's Bounty
Lost in a Labyrinth
Boulderfall
Plains
Pack 3 pick 13:
Defend the Hearth
--> Boon of Erebos
Swamp
Pack 3 pick 14:
--> Scourgemark
Mountain
Pack 3 pick 15:
--> Loathsome Catoblepas
The Deck
2 Hopeful Eidolon
1 Favored Hoplite
1 Phalanx Leader
1 Oreskos Sun Guide
1 Cavalry Pegasus
1 Leonin Snarecaster
1 Battlewise Hoplite
1 Deepwater Hypnotist
1 Chorus of the Tides
1 Ornitharch
2 Gods Willing
1 Retraction Helix
1 Triton Tactics
1 Nullify
3 Chosen by Heliod
2 Divine Verdict
2 Battlewise Valor
1 Griptide
Lands
6 Island
10 Plains
1 Mindreaver
1 Annul
1 Benthic Giant
I often sided in annul, mostly cutting... another land! I kept getting flooded this time.
The Games
First match vs WG.
Pretty close games. The deciding factor was mostly the life gain due to hopeful eidolon and the bounce with helix and griptide. In the first game I get hypnotist vs skyguard, vanguard, hopeful eidolon, spirit of the labyrinth. At one point he has skyguard with nyxborn wolf on. I only live thanks to double verdict and griptide. The key play was when I played triton tactics, killing off two creatures. I win at 6 life. Second game he gets skyguard into wingsteed rider. His key turn was getting excoriate on by oresko sunguide that was enchanted with chosen by heliod and hopeful eidolon. He would not have won the damage race. I do get a small ornitarch with hopeful eidolon on, but his 5/3 skyguard plus mistcutter hydra, rider and karametra (turned on!) and feral invocation is just waaaay too much for me to deal with. Third game I get battlewise hoplite on turn two but he got spirit of the labyrith, so we're stalled. He trades the spirit for a sunguide and get staunch-hearted warrior out. I get annul + tactics to prevent his warrior from getting too big and I tap it down. I griptide one guy and divine verdict the warrior. The race is super close as he still has his 1/1 skyguard and I'm at 3 life. He almost gets there, but a trick on phalanx leader to pump everyone deals him exact damage. That was close. I drew 10 lands out of 15 (after siding one out) in 11 turns.
Second match vs UR.
Another aggro deck with multiple hasty guys including satyr nyx-smith. The games were entirely decided by combat tricks, getting battlewise-valor, tactics, gods willing and divine verdict in times. Key turn was deciding to let him put me at 4 because I had a guy with hopeful eidolon and two combat tricks in hand with phalanx leader out. That allowed me to win enough life, bounce on guy through helix and pump through valor and having griptide backup to not die to his attacks and get through for enough. There were tons of choices to be made in this game. The following game was one-sided as I had the answers for everything he did and he conceded in frustration.
Third match vs WU.
Split.
Once again I win an 8-4 with WU. Maybe it's just my playstyle that is adapted to these colors, but I really feel it is by far the best color combo of Theros. When I don't have blue, I miss the bounce. When I don't have white, I miss the crazy aggro, gods willing, lifegain, etc. Still, it feels good to win one again after multiple close calls.
It's really tough to play in 8-4, I find it hard to keep a serene outlook when you lose by one life or would have won if you had played first twice, so it all comes down to the die roll. Losing multiple times in a row is annoying and everybody plays aggro and white is super-overdrafted and yet is still the best color, it seems. I asked my opponent and he played two aggro decks too (RB and RW) and he had WU just like me (except he told me he got multiple mythics to go with it. No such luck for me.)
Also, when you picked the Deepwater Hypnotist, you had only a Bolt versus a Helix to compare blue to red. I'm fairly sure Rollicker is the better pick by a wide margin. It's a better card, Bolt is better than Helix and RW is better than UW (assuming it's actually open). I'm guessing you're biased towards UW, though, which happens to us all. You probably shouldn't have been in white at all, honestly. You got cut completely out of it after only two picks in four packs. Ornitharch is awesome, but not that awesome. Finally, Archon is a windmill slam, even in aggro. I love Hoplite, but I'm fairly sure it isn't going to win you more games. Although I could be wrong given that you didn't take anywhere near as many creatures as you should have. You'd probably have died before putting the Archon to use with even one fewer creature early. =/
I hope that's somewhat helpful.
And, yes, yes YES, I forced UW. I forced it because in the four preceding drafts I always faced either RW or UW and they always are good and 8-4 is completely overhwelmed by aggro decks in my experience so far. I've had only success with UW, so I will go this route if I have the slightest inkling of a possible deck in the first pack. Beside, as many have pointed out, BNG doesn't have the same power-level, and this is especially true for white where THS has favorite hoplite, rider, hopeful eidolon, phalanx leader and gods willing.
And I never suggested that you shouldn't split. I tend towards splitting, too, unless my deck is insane or I really want to play more. That said, it's definitely not "winning an 8-4" no matter how you slice it.