Pack 2 pick 1:
Lingering Souls
Fathom Seer
Mesmeric Fiend
Prophetic Flamespeaker
Deranged Hermit
Mutavault
Journey to Nowhere
Heliod, God of the Sun
Hand of Cruelty
Fleecemane Lion
Blade Splicer
Porcelain Legionnaire
Savannah
--> Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Survival of the Fittest
Pack 2 pick 2:
Old Man of the Sea
Liliana's Reaver
Desperate Ravings
Scavenging Ooze
Flagstones of Trokair
Miscalculation
Remand
Wear/Tear
Sorin's Thirst
Purphoros, God of the Forge
--> Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Stormblood Berserker
Progenitus
Esper Charm
Pack 2 pick 4:
Yosei, the Morning Star
Sakashima's Student
Sinkhole
Sunken Ruins
Sulfurous Springs
Etched Oracle
--> Student of Warfare
Visara the Dreadful
Rude Awakening
Mox Diamond
Glen Elendra Archmage
Deep Analysis
Pack 2 pick 5:
Hokori, Dust Drinker
Wake Thrasher
Herald of Torment
Ravenous Baboons
Great Sable Stag
Baleful Strix
Spell Pierce
Nevinyrral's Disk
Thelonite Hermit
Shardless Agent
--> Geist of Saint Traft
Pack 2 pick 6:
Into the Roil
Diabolic Servitude
Red Elemental Blast
Teetering Peaks
Blood Baron of Vizkopa
Sphinx's Revelation
Ogre Battledriver
--> Mentor of the Meek
Upheaval
Reflecting Pool
Pack 2 pick 7:
Mana Tithe
Living Death
Skullcrack
Yavimaya Coast
Flooded Strand
Unburial Rites
Pithing Needle
Orcish Lumberjack
--> Martial Coup
Pack 2 pick 14:
--> Ogre Battledriver
Reflecting Pool
Pack 2 pick 15:
--> Orcish Lumberjack
------ BNG ------
Pack 3 pick 1:
--> Brimaz, King of Oreskos
Pact of Negation
Bloodgift Demon
Kargan Dragonlord
Primal Command
Volrath's Stronghold
Willbender
Misty Rainforest
Kami of Ancient Law
Serendib Efreet
Gnarled Scarhide
Koth of the Hammer
Mirror Entity
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
Seething Song
Pack 3 pick 2:
Enlightened Tutor
Brainstorm
Silent Specter
Searing Blaze
Rocky Tar Pit
--> Sword of War and Peace
Necromancy
Keldon Champion
Karplusan Forest
Ajani Goldmane
Rout
Caves of Koilos
Bane of the Living
Venser, Shaper Savant
Pack 3 pick 3:
Hero of Bladehold
Vesuvan Shapeshifter
Wheel of Fortune
Ulvenwald Tracker
Sunpetal Grove
--> Grim Monolith
Corrupt
Skeletal Scrying
Kird Ape
Dimir Aqueduct
Memory Jar
Elixir of Immortality
Sensei's Divining Top
Pack 3 pick 4:
--> Imposing Sovereign
Smother
Mogg War Marshal
Terastodon
Drowned Catacomb
Silverblade Paladin
Crumbling Necropolis
Deadbridge Chant
Sacred Foundry
Damnation
Counterspell
Flooded Grove
Pack 3 pick 5:
--> Decree of Justice
Tradewind Rider
Torch Fiend
Vines of Vastwood
Fire-Lit Thicket
Karakas
Barbarian Ring
Bant Charm
Putrid Leech
Tangle Wire
Cascade Bluffs
Pack 3 pick 6:
--> Emeria Angel
Spinning Darkness
Mark of Mutiny
Flood Plain
Empty the Warrens
Iona, Shield of Emeria
Experiment One
Mother of Runes
Dark Ritual
Overgrown Tomb
Pack 3 pick 7:
--> Compulsive Research
Stupor
Frenzied Goblin
Boros Garrison
Pernicious Deed
Lodestone Golem
Gravecrawler
Mountain Valley
Death Cloud
I definitely don't think you want to be wasting time with Cryptologist when trying to be aggressive and I don't think there's any reason to throw in ramp artifacts. If it's because of Ravages of War, I think that's got a few flaws. First, the reason MLD is good in aggressive decks is because you generate a good board, then destroy the lands early enough that they can't sweep your guys away or drop something better - if you've wasted your first few turns playing artifacts or are Ravaging late game, you're probably going to lose. Second, only one of them produces colored mana, so even if that's your plan, you're still relying on digging up colored sources from topdecks. Finally, Ravages with two mana heavy spells seems odd. Unless you curve into an early Elspeth or Decree with the artifacts, then Ravages, you'll probably win, but that's not going to happen at all frequently. You basically just have a ton of dead draws for an aggressive deck. They're also pretty bad with Thalia. Especially since you took good, strategy advancing cards over some of them. There's zero chance the Grim Monolith helps your deck even remotely close to as much as a Hero of Bladehold, for example.
Deck seems conflicted - too threat light to be aggressive and the pool doesn't seem to support it and having mana rocks in aggro decks is a pretty big nombo. It'd have been good to cut the early creatures (Silver Knight, Imposing Sovereign, Legionnaire, Student of Warfare) to emphasize the control aspects of the pool.
I figured this deck might be a fluke. When I looked at the deck I thought it would be terrible for the same reasons. This deck does not have a cohesive identity.
I crushed the 8-4. Every game I felt like I always had outs and a better game plan. This could be all due to luck.
Every game I had to ask myself was I the beatdown or the control. Sometimes that role switched in the game. This deck was also good at sideboarding. To win the 8-4 I had to beat a pretty good mono-red deck. Then in the finals I faced a red/green planeswalker/ramp/burn deck that had channel, Ulumog, Top and a lot of searching. It was heavy on answers but light on threats.
The last game of the finals I played turn 2 porcelain legionnaire, It got bolted. I played turn 3 Brimaz, then he played a chandra on his turn four. Then on my turn four I ravages. I had never felt so evilly powerful.
In the end I think the 8-4 was easy for me to win because I saw no counterspells.
A deck doesn't need to be good to win a 3 round draft. Even the worst decks have a halfway decent chance of winning in limited, particularly once you factor in free wins to mana screw/flood.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Academy Rector
Mulldrifter
Hymn to Tourach
Ball Lightning
Dryad Sophisticate
Murmuring Bosk
Genesis Wave
--> Ravages of War
Mind's Desire
Inferno Titan
Borderland Ranger
Sea Gate Oracle
Figure of Destiny
Terminate
Dragonskull Summit
Pack 1 pick 2:
Catastrophe
Dissipate
Rift Bolt
Krosan Grip
Rugged Prairie
Disfigure
Yavimaya Elder
Brushland
Daze
Master of Waves
Vampiric Tutor
Flinthoof Boar
Vendilion Clique
--> Coalition Relic
Pack 1 pick 3:
Restoration Angel
Thirst for Knowledge
Hellrider
Beast Within
Rootbound Crag
Wasteland
Force Spike
Wild Nacatl
Natural Order
--> Balance
Obzedat, Ghost Council
Plated Geopede
Man-o'-War
Pack 1 pick 4:
Reveillark
Tidings
Ancient Grudge
Halimar Depths
Ohran Viper
Strangleroot Geist
Silver Knight
--> Detention Sphere
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Wall of Reverence
Breeding Pool
Pack 1 pick 5:
--> Land Tax
Riftwing Cloudskate
Pain Seer
All Suns' Dawn
Twilight Mire
Headhunter
Search for Tomorrow
Celestial Flare
Falkenrath Aristocrat
Bloodline Keeper
Troll Ascetic
Pack 1 pick 6:
Celestial Purge
Guul Draz Assassin
Azorius Chancery
--> Parallax Wave
Call of the Herd
Faithless Looting
Firespout
Thawing Glaciers
Taiga
Tendrils of Corruption
Pack 1 pick 7:
Delver of Secrets
Braids, Cabal Minion
Thunderblust
Grasslands
Electrolyze
--> Pristine Talisman
Selesnya Sanctuary
Thornscape Battlemage
Stonecloaker
Pack 1 pick 8:
Ranger of Eos
--> Enclave Cryptologist
Nekrataal
Narcolepsy
Carnophage
Manriki-Gusari
Chain Lightning
Savage Lands
Pack 1 pick 9:
--> Hymn to Tourach
Ball Lightning
Murmuring Bosk
Mind's Desire
Sea Gate Oracle
Terminate
Dragonskull Summit
Pack 1 pick 10:
Dissipate
Krosan Grip
--> Rugged Prairie
Disfigure
Daze
Flinthoof Boar
Pack 1 pick 11:
--> Rootbound Crag
Force Spike
Wild Nacatl
Obzedat, Ghost Council
Plated Geopede
Pack 1 pick 12:
Ancient Grudge
Halimar Depths
Ohran Viper
--> Silver Knight
Pack 1 pick 13:
--> Pain Seer
All Suns' Dawn
Headhunter
Pack 1 pick 14:
--> Faithless Looting
Thawing Glaciers
Pack 1 pick 15:
--> Selesnya Sanctuary
------ THS ------
Pack 2 pick 1:
Lingering Souls
Fathom Seer
Mesmeric Fiend
Prophetic Flamespeaker
Deranged Hermit
Mutavault
Journey to Nowhere
Heliod, God of the Sun
Hand of Cruelty
Fleecemane Lion
Blade Splicer
Porcelain Legionnaire
Savannah
--> Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Survival of the Fittest
Pack 2 pick 2:
Old Man of the Sea
Liliana's Reaver
Desperate Ravings
Scavenging Ooze
Flagstones of Trokair
Miscalculation
Remand
Wear/Tear
Sorin's Thirst
Purphoros, God of the Forge
--> Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Stormblood Berserker
Progenitus
Esper Charm
Pack 2 pick 3:
Akroma, Angel of Wrath
Legacy's Allure
Plague Sliver
Spikeshot Elder
Underground Sea
Devil's Play
Golgari Rot Farm
Duress
Wooded Bastion
Fetid Heath
Blightning
Genesis
--> Thran Dynamo
Pack 2 pick 4:
Yosei, the Morning Star
Sakashima's Student
Sinkhole
Sunken Ruins
Sulfurous Springs
Etched Oracle
--> Student of Warfare
Visara the Dreadful
Rude Awakening
Mox Diamond
Glen Elendra Archmage
Deep Analysis
Pack 2 pick 5:
Hokori, Dust Drinker
Wake Thrasher
Herald of Torment
Ravenous Baboons
Great Sable Stag
Baleful Strix
Spell Pierce
Nevinyrral's Disk
Thelonite Hermit
Shardless Agent
--> Geist of Saint Traft
Pack 2 pick 6:
Into the Roil
Diabolic Servitude
Red Elemental Blast
Teetering Peaks
Blood Baron of Vizkopa
Sphinx's Revelation
Ogre Battledriver
--> Mentor of the Meek
Upheaval
Reflecting Pool
Pack 2 pick 7:
Mana Tithe
Living Death
Skullcrack
Yavimaya Coast
Flooded Strand
Unburial Rites
Pithing Needle
Orcish Lumberjack
--> Martial Coup
Pack 2 pick 8:
Savannah Lions
Urabrask the Hidden
Llanowar Wastes
Prophetic Bolt
Basalt Monolith
Harmonize
Tainted Pact
--> Bonesplitter
Pack 2 pick 9:
Lingering Souls
Mesmeric Fiend
Heliod, God of the Sun
Hand of Cruelty
Fleecemane Lion
Blade Splicer
--> Porcelain Legionnaire
Pack 2 pick 10:
--> Old Man of the Sea
Liliana's Reaver
Desperate Ravings
Sorin's Thirst
Stormblood Berserker
Esper Charm
Pack 2 pick 11:
Plague Sliver
Spikeshot Elder
--> Devil's Play
Golgari Rot Farm
Duress
Pack 2 pick 12:
Sinkhole
Sunken Ruins
Etched Oracle
--> Deep Analysis
Pack 2 pick 13:
Hokori, Dust Drinker
--> Wake Thrasher
Shardless Agent
Pack 2 pick 14:
--> Ogre Battledriver
Reflecting Pool
Pack 2 pick 15:
--> Orcish Lumberjack
------ BNG ------
Pack 3 pick 1:
--> Brimaz, King of Oreskos
Pact of Negation
Bloodgift Demon
Kargan Dragonlord
Primal Command
Volrath's Stronghold
Willbender
Misty Rainforest
Kami of Ancient Law
Serendib Efreet
Gnarled Scarhide
Koth of the Hammer
Mirror Entity
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
Seething Song
Pack 3 pick 2:
Enlightened Tutor
Brainstorm
Silent Specter
Searing Blaze
Rocky Tar Pit
--> Sword of War and Peace
Necromancy
Keldon Champion
Karplusan Forest
Ajani Goldmane
Rout
Caves of Koilos
Bane of the Living
Venser, Shaper Savant
Pack 3 pick 3:
Hero of Bladehold
Vesuvan Shapeshifter
Wheel of Fortune
Ulvenwald Tracker
Sunpetal Grove
--> Grim Monolith
Corrupt
Skeletal Scrying
Kird Ape
Dimir Aqueduct
Memory Jar
Elixir of Immortality
Sensei's Divining Top
Pack 3 pick 4:
--> Imposing Sovereign
Smother
Mogg War Marshal
Terastodon
Drowned Catacomb
Silverblade Paladin
Crumbling Necropolis
Deadbridge Chant
Sacred Foundry
Damnation
Counterspell
Flooded Grove
Pack 3 pick 5:
--> Decree of Justice
Tradewind Rider
Torch Fiend
Vines of Vastwood
Fire-Lit Thicket
Karakas
Barbarian Ring
Bant Charm
Putrid Leech
Tangle Wire
Cascade Bluffs
Pack 3 pick 6:
--> Emeria Angel
Spinning Darkness
Mark of Mutiny
Flood Plain
Empty the Warrens
Iona, Shield of Emeria
Experiment One
Mother of Runes
Dark Ritual
Overgrown Tomb
Pack 3 pick 7:
--> Compulsive Research
Stupor
Frenzied Goblin
Boros Garrison
Pernicious Deed
Lodestone Golem
Gravecrawler
Mountain Valley
Death Cloud
Pack 3 pick 8:
Vampire Lacerator
Goblin Guide
Brooding Saurian
Izzet Boilerworks
--> Winter Orb
Black Sun's Zenith
Volcanic Fallout
Wrench Mind
Pack 3 pick 9:
Pact of Negation
Bloodgift Demon
Kargan Dragonlord
Willbender
Gnarled Scarhide
--> Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
Seething Song
Pack 3 pick 10:
Silent Specter
Rocky Tar Pit
Necromancy
Keldon Champion
--> Rout
Bane of the Living
Pack 3 pick 11:
Wheel of Fortune
Corrupt
Skeletal Scrying
--> Memory Jar
Elixir of Immortality
Pack 3 pick 12:
Drowned Catacomb
Crumbling Necropolis
Deadbridge Chant
--> Damnation
Pack 3 pick 13:
Torch Fiend
--> Karakas
Bant Charm
Pack 3 pick 14:
Spinning Darkness
--> Empty the Warrens
Pack 3 pick 15:
--> Frenzied Goblin
Creatures
Spells
Feedback is appreciated
I used to write cube articles on StarCityGames, now for GatheringMagic and podcast about cube (w/Antknee42.)
I crushed the 8-4. Every game I felt like I always had outs and a better game plan. This could be all due to luck.
Every game I had to ask myself was I the beatdown or the control. Sometimes that role switched in the game. This deck was also good at sideboarding. To win the 8-4 I had to beat a pretty good mono-red deck. Then in the finals I faced a red/green planeswalker/ramp/burn deck that had channel, Ulumog, Top and a lot of searching. It was heavy on answers but light on threats.
The last game of the finals I played turn 2 porcelain legionnaire, It got bolted. I played turn 3 Brimaz, then he played a chandra on his turn four. Then on my turn four I ravages. I had never felt so evilly powerful.
In the end I think the 8-4 was easy for me to win because I saw no counterspells.