My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 2:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 3:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 4:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 5:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 6:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 7:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 9:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 10:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 1 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 1:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 2:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 3:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 4:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 5:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 6:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 7:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 9:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 10:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 2 pick 15:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 1:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 2:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 3:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 4:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 5:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 6:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 7:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 8:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 9:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 10:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 11:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 12:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 13:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 14:
My Pick:
Pack 3 pick 15:
My Pick:
Deck
1 Adventuring Gear
1 Bold Defense
1 Kor Hookmaster
1 Arrow Volley Trap
1 Shepherd of the Lost
1 Kraken Hatchling
1 Trusty Machete
1 Æther Figment
1 Pitfall Trap
1 Kabira Crossroads
1 Plains
1 Ondu Cleric
2 Merfolk Seastalkers
1 Ior Ruin Expedition
1 Steppe Lynx
1 Paralyzing Grasp
1 Into the Roil
1 Kor Cartographer
1 Cliff Threader
2 Kor Outfitter
1 Windrider Eel
1 Caller of Gales
7 Plains
7 Island
1 Whiplash Trap
1 Sejiri Refuge
Sideboard
1 Molten Ravager
1 Crypt Ripper
1 Cancel
1 Savage Silhouette
1 Archmage Ascension
1 Sunspring Expedition
2 Brave the Elements
1 Narrow Escape
1 Shoal Serpent
1 Elemental Appeal
2 Nimbus Wings
1 Beast Hunt
1 Noble Vestige
1 Grim Discovery
1 Akoum Refuge
1 Needlebite Trap
MATCH 1, GAME 1
Both players keep their hands.
I have plainsx2, Island, into the roil, Shepard of the Lost, Paralyzing Grasp, Merfolk SeaStalkers
1. I play plains.
1. Opp plays Forest, Scute Mob. I think oh shit.
2. I draw Cliff Threader. I play Islands, Cliff Threader.
2. He plays Forest and Khalni Heart Expedition. No attacks. He passes.
3. I draw Kor Outfitter. I play Plains. I swing. He blocks with the Scute Mob. What the hell? At 20 life, you sacrifice one of the bombiest cards in the game to get rid of a Cliff Threader? Really? When you have Khalni Heart Expedition out? I play Kor Outfitter.
3. He passes the turn without a land. Uh oh. He is land screwed. I understand a little more why he blocked the Cliff Threader.
4. I draw an Island. I attack with Kor Outfitter. He is down to 18 life. I play Island, Merfolk Seastalkers. This is such a bomby card.
4. He plays a Forest. Counter on the Khalni. He plays Grazing Gladeheart. I think to myself, I will bounce your Khalni Heart Expedition if I do not get a land to play my Shepherd.
5. I draw a Plains. Cha-Ching! I swing with the team. No blocks. 14 life. I play Plains, Shepherd.
5. He plays an Island. Landfall from the Gladeheart. 16 life. He taps down his lands to play a Mold Shambler. He passes.
6. I draw a Steppe Lynx. I kick Into the Roil into his Khalni Heart Expedition. He types, ":(." I pick up a Caller of Gales on the cantrip. I swing with the Shepherd. I play the Lynx.
6. He plays a Forest and puts Predatory Urge on the Grazing Gladeheart. Now I am convinced that he is definitely new to this game. Why didn't he play it on Mold Shambler? He was at 15 life.
7. I draw an Island. I play it for the Landfall on the Lynx. In response, he takes out my Lynx with his Gladeheart. I Paralyzing Urge his Gladeheart. I tap down his Shambler with my Seastalkers. I swing with the team. He's at 8 life.
7. He plays the Khalni Heart Expedition. With so much land in play, I start thinking that he probably doesn't have much else to play. This doesn't make a lot of sense, though. He didn't have a land to play Turn 2. He must have kept a huge fatty in his hand. He plays a Forest triggering the two Landfall cards. He attacks with the Mold Shambler and pumps it with Primal Below. I take 8 damage and I'm down to 12.
8. I draw a Kabira Crossroads. I bring myself to 14 life. I swing with the team. He is at 3 life.
9. He plays Gigantiform leaving open an Island. Oh OK. That was the fatty. He's not even going to pretend that he has a Vine. I tap down his Mold Shambler in response. He concedes.
MATCH 1 GAME 2
I draw Island X 2, Plains X 2, Kor Outfitter, Merfolk Seastalker, Arrow Volley.
He Mulligans to 6. I keep. He keeps his 6.
1. He plays Forest. Scythe Tiger. One of the funny things about Scythe Tiger on MODO is that if you play Scythe Tiger, sacrificing your only land. the card will enlarge to fit your play mat, making it look like a really really big tiger. Playing Scythe Tiger to sacrifice your only land against a deck with lots of 2/2 white creatures (which he has seen at this point) makes you look really, really dumb. In fact, playing Scythe Tiger in general is just a really bad move. It is a terrible card. I think to myself, "I will take 3 damage from your Tiger and then your Tiger and my Outfitter will dance."
1. I draw a Kor Cartographer. I pass.
2. He plays a Forest and swings with the Tiger. I am down to 17 life.
2. I draw a Kraken Hatchling. I play Island, Kraken Hatchling, rather than Plains, Outfitter thinking that if he has a pump spell, I would rather sacrifice my Hatchling.
3. He plays Mountain, Quest for the Pure Flame. He swings with the Tiger, which represents that he has Primal Below. I block with my Hatchling thinking that it would be wonderful if he did have Primal Below to trade my Hatchling for his Primal Below.
3. I draw Bold Defence. I play Plains, Outfitter.
4. He plays Grazing Gladeheart. I really love the Gladeheart. Most of Zendikar runs at full throttle and life gain is much better in this fast format than in other formats in my opinion.
4. I draw Sejiri Refuge. I play Islands. I attack with the Kor Outfitter. I play Kor Cartographer instead of the Merfolk Seastalkers. On retrospect, I am not sure if this was a misplay. I am still a little worried that he had a pump spell on Turn 1 when he swung with his Tiger into my Hatchling. I am willing to trade the Cartographer for either one of his creatures. Playing the Cartographer also means that I can play Arrow Volley next turn even if I don't draw any lands. If I had played the Seastalker instead, I wouldn't have blocked his creatures with my Seastalker, but if he had played a fatty, I would have tapped it down. Actually, I think I made the right play. I wanted to stall the board so that my Seastalkers could come into play. Potentially, I could have also lured out any burn spells that he had.
5. He taps his Forests for a Khalni Heart Expedition. I think to myself that that card is probably not really going to be relevant in this game. He has 1 card in hand. It is probably not a good one. He plays a Forest and goes up to 20 life. He puts Goblin War Paint on his Grazing Gladeheart. At this point, I regret my previous decision to play the Cartographer. Enchantments are getting better and better in Magic. They really mess with my combat math too. Playing a Gigantiform on your creatures at the right time will sometimes allow you to swing for lethal damage after your opponent has overcommitted. He swings with both of his creatures. I block his Tiger with my Cartographer. I am at 13 life.
5. I draw a Plains. I play the Sejiri Refuge. I swing with the Outfitters. He is at 18 life. I pass the turn getting ready to Arrow Volley his creature. Was this a misplay? I could have played the Seastalkers and then a land next turn for a total of 6 mana. This would allow me to tap down 2 of his fatties after chumping with the Hatchling. In that situation, I would have had to sacrifice a Hatchling. My Seastalkers would have been vulnerable to any burn that he had. I feel like it is unlikely that he has any given that it hasn't come out at this point, though. If he played any permanant or temporary pump on his creature, I would have been much better off with playing the Seastalkers. If he did not, I would be better off with the Arrow Volley and keeping around the Hatchling to block future creatures. It is unlikely that he has additional pumps for his Gladeheart. In addition, if he does have pumps, he will not have any fatties for a while given that he only has 4 mana open. Keeping the Hatchling around in a format full of 2 power creatures can also be very valuable. I think that I made the right call saving the mana for an Arrow Volley.
6. He plays a Forest triggering the Khalni Heart Expedition and bringing himself to 20 life through his Gladeheart. He swings and I Arrow Volley. I feel pretty good about myself. He has no cards in his hand. I have a 2/2 and an 0/4 with Bold Defense, Merfolk Seastalkers and a Plains in my hand.
6. I draw a Caller of the Gales. I play Plains. I swing with the Outfitter. I play Merfolk Seastalker, leaving mana open to tap down any of his creatures. Now, I am pretty sure this was a misplay. Green/Red doesn't really have any playable mass removal. There is that one card that deals 4 damage to all creatures, but I have never seen that played nor is it really worth playing around. Also, he only has 1 Mountain and that spell requires 2. I thought that getting 1 extra damage in wouldn't really be worth it. This was wrong though. It is not only 1 damage. I also had enough mana for a Bold Defense. Besides, even if I wanted to tap down his creatures, I would still have a ton of mana available to do it. Very bad play on my part.
7. He plays a Turntimber Grove. This was a mistake. He probably doesn't need an additional land and lands in Zendikar should be treated like spells. This could be a pump for some creatures and life gain for others. He puts a trigger on his Khalni Heart Expedition which is now up to 3 counters--locked and loaded. He pops it thinning his deck and preparing his mana for a big spell. I don't know what is in his deck. If he was doing it purely for deck thinning and he had creatures to take advantage of the landfall triggers, he probably should have saved it. He's in a losing position. Taking some risks when you're losing is probably worth it.
7. I draw Kor Hookmaster. Yay! I love this guy. I swing with the Outfitter and Seastalker. I play Caller of the Gales and pass the turn, saving Kor Hookmaster. This was also stupid for very similar reasons. I don't need his tapping ability. I have something that taps already. He is down to 14 life. If he didn't draw anything, I had lethal damage on the board if I played the Hookmaster and Bold Defense. Hatchling would be a 2/6, Outfitter, 4/4, Merfolk, 4/6, Caller of Gales 3/3, Hookmaster 4/4.
8. He just passed the turn. Now I am really kicking myself for not playing the Hookmaster as a bear. I think that my love for the Hookmaster's very cool ability got in the way. I am reluctant to play him as a vanilla creature.
8. I draw Ior Ruin Expedition. Now there is a useless late-game card. Early game, it can be really fantastic. Late game, it is pretty much a dead card without a Harrow or a Khalni Heart Expedition. Khalni Heart Expedition, by comparison, is pretty good early game and decent late game. I think when drafting, I should really think, "How can I establish a lead early? How can I dominate in the middle game? How can I finish off in the late game? What cards allow me to bounce back after not doing so well in any of these phases?" Of course factored into this calculus would be the mana curve, fatties, etc. However, those are merely means to the end. The goal is to win. The sub-goal in draft is to play the early, mid and late game well and synergistically. I swing with everything but the Kraken Hatchling and I pump with a kicked Bold Defense. I immediately realize that I should have swung with the Hatchling. I immediately realize that I should have swung with the Hatchling as well. I think that the problem was that I realized, after swining, that I should pump my creatures. I should have planned whether I would pump or not before swinging. Doing stupid things like this really allows defeat to be snatched from the jaws of victory sometimes. He is down to 3 life.
9. He Relic Crushes his Quest for the Pure Flame. Then he concedes.
MATCH 1 2-0
MATCH 2 GAME 1
He wins the roll and goes first.
I draw 2X islands, Whiplash Trap, Shepherd of the Lost, Cliff Threader and Merfolk Seastalker. I am happy about this hand. I have a turn 2 play, a turn 4 play, and 2 turn 5 plays. I have 3 lands and I am very likely, especially on the draw to pick up enough to play my cards. Even if I do not, Seastalker, if he lives which is very likely given his 3 toughness, can still tap down creatures.
1. He plays Graypelt Refuge, gains a life and passes.
1. I draw Kabira Crossroads and play it. Merfolk Seastalkers is playable. Check. 22 life. Pass.
2. He plays a Plains. He passes.
2. I draw a Plains. Sheperd of the Lost and Whiplash Trap are playable. Check. Check. I play Plains, Cliff Threader. My tail is wagging. I am a happy pup.
3. He plays Forest, Grazing Gladeheart. He passes.
3. I draw a Bold Defense. I swing with the Threader. No blocks. Obviously. 19 life. I play a Plains. This was a mistake. I should have played an Island. If I play a Plains, it is basically an indication that I do not have Into the Roil. If I play an Islands, I increase that possibility. It takes a pretty sophisticated player to catch this in my opinion. Most people on MODO would not. Still, it is dumb. I pass the turn.
4. He plays a Graypelt Refuge. He gains 3 life, 1 from the Refuge and 2 from the Grazing Gladeheart. 22 Life. He swings with the Gladeheart. I'm at 20 life. He plays Kazandu Blademaster. I die a little on the inside. The Blademaster is such a good creature. I anticipate Whiplash Trapping his Blademaster when the tokens start stacking.
4. I draw Into the Roil. It might not have been a bad thing to represent that I didn't have Into the Roils afterall. I don't really know, actually. Did I want to represent that I had Into the Roil? I play Islands, Seastalkers. Does it really matter? At this point, I reason that if he kills off one of my creatures, I'll have another one waiting.
5. He plays Verdant Catacombs and taps his two vanilla lands to Journey to Nowhere my Seastalker. Wow. Showing me 2 bomb cards in 1 turn. Showing off much? I die a little more on the inside.
5. I draw Arrow Volley. Excellent. 2 pieces of bounce and 1 piece of potentially multi-creature removal. I feel a little better about myself. I play the Island, Shepherd of the Lost. At the end of my turn, he pops the Verdant Catacombs for life for his Gladeheart. He puts a Forest in play. He is at 5 lands.
6. He plays a Forest. Uh oh. 6 lands. That is danger zone when playing against Green. Oh nos! A kicked Oran-Rief Recluse. Down goes the Shepherd. He smashes his Blademaster's sword over my head. I'm down to 16. I have 1 2/1 on the board.He has a 2/2 life-gainer, a 2/2 viligence first striker and a 1/3 reach. Wow. This is not looking pretty.
6. I draw a Trusty Machete. Yay! I equip my creature, leaving enough mana for Into the Roil un-kicked. I could have saved the Machete for later. I probably should have and tried to Arrow Volley his 1/3 and 2/2 with Whiplash Trap as a back-up. I think I got overly excited about the Trusty Machete. :(
7. He plays a Plains and gets 2 life. He is at 29 life. He plays a Kor Aeronaut giving his Gladeheart flying. He swings with the Gladeheart, Blademaster and Recluse. I really regret not keeping my mana open for the Arrow Volley at this point. At least I still have my Machete. I go down to 12 life. Defeat pending. That misplay last turn really cost me.
7. I draw an Island. No attacks. Pass.
8. He swings with the Blademaster and the Aeronaut. I take down both with a Arrow Volley, assigning 3 to Aeronaut and 2 to the Blademaster. It doesn't really matter since pretty much anything that will give his creatures +1/+1 will also give his creatures more protection than that. In other words, if he has a pump spell, he'll get to choose who to save and not me. If he had only 3 mana in play, giving 3 to the Aeronaut would prevent a Bold Defense from saving it. I take down both of his guys.
8. I draw an AEther Figment. I feel a little bit better about my situation. I swing with the Threader. I am not too worried about blocks with pump spells. He would have used it to save his most valuable creatures. He takes the 4 damage. He's at a whopping 25 life against my 12. I kick in an AEther Figment. If I were more worried about pump spells, I probably would not have attacked. I feel pretty good about blocking with the Figment if he attacks.
9. He plays Nissa's Chosen. He passes. At this point, I feel less bad about misplaying the Machete. That Kor Aeronaut was a really good creature to get rid of. Plus, I got extra damage in due to the Machete. It worked out, but it was still a misplay. There was no reason to think he had an Aeronaut.
9. I switch the Machete onto the AEther Figment. I swing in for 5. I switch the Machete back to the Cliff Threader. I leave 3 mana open for Bold Defense if he decides to attack with his Nissa's Chosen.
10. He plays Windborne Charge on his Nissa's Chosen and Grazing Gladeheart. I did not expect that. Ouch. I play an unkicked Into the Roil oh his Gladeheart lest I wind up in the danger zone of 4 life with 3 creatures on the board. I go down to 8 life. He plays the Gladeheart back.
10. I draw Steppe Lynx and play him before Combat. I probably did this because I was startled by the Windborne Charge. I should have played him after combat or perhaps not at all. I swing with my Aether Figment without the Trusty Machete equipped. I reason that I should leave my mana open. He goes down to 17 life.
11. He plays a kicked Kor Sanctifiers which makes me cry a little. Bye bye Machete. He attacks with the Recluse and Nissa's Chosen. I Whiplash Trap both. I could have Bold Defensed and taken down his Nissa's Chosen. I think it was better to play the Whiplash Trap so that I could continue to have blockers as my Figment nicked away at his life. He replays his Nissa's Chosen and he adds a Steppe Lynx.
11. I draw Kor Hookmaster. I tap down his Sanctifiers. I swing with the AEther Figment. I plan to play Bold Defense and block his Lynx and Nissa's Chosen with my Cliff Threader and Hookmaster respectively. He goes down to 14.
12. He plays a land going up to 16 life through the Gladeheart. and giving his Lynx the +2/+2. I execute my plan. I have no cards in hand. He has a Grazing Gladeheart and a tapped Kor Sanctifiers. I have a kicked AEther Figment, a Steppe Lynx and a Kor Hookmaster. He plays his Nissa's Chosen.
12. I draw a Plains. I keep it in my hand for future use. I do not attack saving my AEther Figment to block his 2 2/3s.
13. He passes the turn with no plays.
13. I draw a Kor Outfitter. That's fine. I play it and swing with my AEther Figment. He has 13 life. I am still at 8.
14. He swings with his 2 2/3s. I double-block his Kor Sanctifiers with my 2/2s and I chump the Nissa's Chosen with my Lynx.
14. I draw a Plains. I consider attacking with my AEther Figment for just a second and then I decide to attack witht he Outfitters instead. It's at 11/8. I have 2 Plains in hand.
15. He plays a Forest and goes up to 13. How much life has that Gladeheart gotten him? Almost 20, right? Damn. He plays Quest for the Gemblades. Uh oh. I can't swing with anything without expecting him to get a huge 6 power fatty. This is not good.
15. I top deck Merfolk Seastalkers. God. You are so beautiful. I play a Plains. I swing with the AEther Figment. He goes to 10. I play the Seastalkers. If he doesn't deal with this the way that he dealt with my first Seastalkers and my Shepherds, I win.
16. He plays Adventuring Gear. He equips it to his Grazing Gladeheart. He plays a land. I tap down his Gladeheart. He attacks with his Nissa's Chosen. I chump with my Outfitters. I do not want to risk any damage to the Seastalkers. Keeping Nissa's Chosen around just costs an extra 3 mana per turn. He almost definitely doesn't have a pump spell, but I don't want to risk it when I could have 9 land on the board next turn. He puts a counter on the Quest for the Gemblades. Retrospectively, this was definitely the wrong move. It was pretty clear that he wanted a counter on his Quest for the Gemblade so he attacked. I should have blocked with both. If I don't and he has 4 creatures on the board, which is not infeasible, he would have won. He plays an Oran-Rief Recluse.
16. I draw a Caller of Gales. I play it. I swing with the AEther Figment. He goes to 9. I keep my Plains in my hand.
17. He plays a land. He gains 2 life and +2/+2 on his Gladeheart. I tap down his Gladeheart and his Nissa's Chosen at the beginning of combat. He swings witht he Oran-Reif Recluse. I chump.
17. I draw an Ior Ruin Expedition. Dead card. I swing with both of my creatures. He goes to 6 life. This is pretty much victory. Next turn, he untaps his three creatures. I tap his three creatures at the end of his turn. Even if he plays a Terrastomper, I will tap that and 2 others and chump with my Seastalkers allowing me to swing home with my Figment for victory. The only way he wins is through a removal spell.
18. I tap down his three creatures. He plays a land. That's fine.
18. I draw a Kor Outfitter. I note that he has no cards in hand. I swing with both of my creatures. I play my Kor Outfitter. He plays Journey to Nowhere and realizes that it is too late. I tap down 2 of his creatures. He concedes.
MATCH 2 GAME 2
He chooses to play first. I draw 3 x Plains, a Sejiri Refuge, a Merfolk Seastalker, a Steppe Lynx and an AEther Figment. I keep. This is not as good as my previous hand, but it'll be more than adequate.
1. He plays a Forest.
1. I draw an Ondu Cleric. I play Plains, Steppe Lynx. Now I just need a 3 drop.
2. He plays Verdant Catacombs. Sacs it for a Forest. Plays Nissa's Chosen.
2. I draw an Island and play it. I attack. He blocks. I play the Ondu Cleric.
3. He plays Plains, Adventuring Gear. Then he equips it onto his Nissa's Chosen. Ouch. That is a bad misplay. It saves me 2 life. He doesn't attack. Of course if it was his plan to stall, then that's not such a bad misplay.
3. I draw a Bold Defense and smile. That is an adequate 3 drop. I am happy that I previously attacked with the Steppe Lynx and did not pump it. It sets the right precedence. I swing with just the Steppe Lynx. He blocks. I pump. No more Nissa's Chosen.
4. He plays Journey to Nowhere on my Steppe Lynx. It looks like he has a few more where that came from.
4. I draw a Plains. yay! I can play my 5 drop. I swing with my Ondu Cleric. He's at 19. I play the Seastalker which I expect to be Journeyed.
5. He plays a Forest and Journeys my Seastalker. Retrospectively, I probably should have use the AEther Figment to lure out his second Journey. The Seastalker is a much better card. He plays a Quest for the Gemblades.
5. I draw a Paralyzing Grasp. I swing with the Ondu Cleric. I play the AEther Figment.
6. He plays a Forest. He plays a Caravan Hurda. That card normally sucks. In combination with Adventuring Gear, it is pretty solid. In combination with Adventuring Gear and Quest for the Gemblade Counters it is freaking nasty. Luckily, I have a Paralyzing Grasp.
6. I attack with the AEther Figment. He's at 15. I play a Sejiri Refuge. I'm at 22.
7. He attacks with the Caravan. Good for me. He Journeys my AEther Figment. Not good for me. It looks like Ondu Cleric's damage will carry the day. He only needs to be hit 16 times with him. He attaches Adventuring Gear onto the Hurda.
7. I draw a Hookmaster. I tap down his Hurda with my Hookmaster. I swing with the Cleric. 15 life left.
8. He plays the Grazing Gladeheart and equips it with Adventuring Gear. He passes the turn.
8. I draw Adventuring Gear. I play Adventuring Gear on my Ondu Cleric. I put a Plains into play, pumping the Cleric. I swing with both of my creatures. He blocks my Hookmaster with his Grazing Gladeheart, thinking that he can just make his Hudra a 5/6 life gain creature. I deal him 3 damage. He goes to 12. I Paralyzing Grasp his Hurda. We both have no cards in hand.
9. He passes the turn. He has 1 card in hand.
9. I play a Plains. I swing with the Ondu Cleric. He goes to 9. I thought that the Ondu Cleric would swing his way to my victory.
10. He equips the Hurda with Adventuring Gear. Why not, eh? If he draws a Kors Sacntifier, it'll be ready at least. He passes. 2 cards in hand.
10. I draw an Arrow Volley. This is one of the few times I wish I draw a land over an Arrow Volley. I swing. He goes to 8. I pass the turn.
11. He plays a Plains. He has 3 Forests, 1 Graypelt Refuge and 2 Plains on the board.
11. I draw a Kraken Hatchling. I swing for 1. He goes to 7. I play the Hatchling.
12. He passes the turn. 3 cards in hand.
12. I draw a Windrider Eel. I swing with the Cleric. He is at 6. I play the Windrider Eel. I pass the turn.
13. He plays a Steppe Lynx. It is going to be one huge cat due to the counter on his Quest for the Gemblades. He equips it with Adventuring Gear.
13. I draw the winning card: Kabira Crossroads. I move Adventuring Gear onto the Eel. I play the Kabira Crossroads making my Eel a 6/6 flier. His big cat cannot touch my bigger flying fish. I'm at 23. He is dead.
MATCH 2 2-0
MATCH 3 GAME 1
He chooses to play first. He mulligans to 6. I draw a no-land hand. He keeps his second hand. I mulligan to 6. I draw 2 Islands, 1 Plains, Caller of Gales, Windrider Eel, and AEther Figment. This is a pretty bad hand, but worth keeping. I'll keep.
1. He plays Mountain. Passed.
1. I draw a Plains. I play Island, Caller of Gales. Passes.
2. He plays Island, Ior Ruin Expedition. Passes.
2. I draw a Plains. I play Plains. I swing. I pass.
3. He plays a Mountain and Reckless Scholar.
3. I draw an Island. I play the Island. I swing with my Caller of Gales. He's down to 18. No blocks.
4. He plays a Mountain. He swings with the Reckless Scholar to my surprise. I am down to 18. He plays Welkin Tern.
4. I draw an Island. I am a little worried about him hitting me again with the Scholar. I do not attack with the Caller of Gales. I put down a Plains and the Windrider Eel.
5. He uses the Scholar to draw a card discarding a Stonework Puma. He attacks with the Tern. I don't block. I am a little worried that he passed the turn without playing any card while discarding the Stonework Puma. I am expecting to say goodbye to my Eel.
5. I draw Ondu Cleric. play an Island expecting him to kill my Eel. He does not. I attack with the 4/4 Eel and the Caller of Gales bringing him to 13. I play a kicked AEther Figment.
6. He draws a card with the Reckless Scholar and discards Hellfire Mongrel. He has no attacks. I am very confused about what he wants to do given that he is discarding playable creatures left and right.
6. I draw a Kabira Crossroads and attack with AEther Figment and Windrider Eel. He blocks the Eel with his Tern and plays Slaughter Cry on his Tern. I guess I should have expected that given that he did not attack with his Tern. It was a little dumb for me to just walk right into that. I should have held back on attacking with the Eel. I also should have attacked with the Caller of Gales. It could not be blocked anyway. I think I was getting cocky from my x-0 streak. I was also being very confused about why he discarded 2 playable cards. I play the Ondu Cleric.
7. He plays a Mountain. He activates the Ior Ruin Expedition. He uses Magma Rift on my AEther Figment, sacrificing a Mountain. He attacks with the Welkin Terrin. I toss the Ondu Cleric into the air with my Caller of Gales. I trade the Cleric for his Tern. He plays another Tern. I start really regretting my attack with the Windrider Eel.
7. I draw Bold Defense. I attack with Caller of Gales. I pass the turn. At the end of my turn, he uses Reckless Scholar to discard an Island.
8. He puts down an Island and plays Gomazoa. I think that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to take down Gomazoa with Bold Defense.
8. I draw a Ior Ruin Expedition. I take down Gomazoa. I am at 17 life. He is at 9.
9. He uses the Reckless Scholar, discarding an Island. he attacks with the Welkin Tern. He puts a Torch Slinger into play killing my Caller of Gales. I am down to 15. This is not good.
9. I draw an Island. I play the Ior Ruin Expedition and an Island. Once again, Ior Ruin Expedition has demonstrated that late game it is a pretty lousy card.
10. He plays Teethering Peaks, targetting the Torch Slinger and attacks only with the Torch Slinger. My guess is that he misclicked on the Welkin Tern.
10. I draw a Merfolk Seastalker. My savior! This is just such a fantastic card and at 11 life to 9, I can really use it. I put it into play with an Island. I have no cards in hand. Ior Ruin Expedition has 2 counters. I start feeling pretty decent.
11. I tap down his Torch Slinger with my Seastalker. He swings with the Welkin Tern. He activates Reckless Scholar discarding a Misty Rainforest. With so many dual lands floating around, why didn't I get one? Grr....
11. I draw a Pitfall Trap, which is not so good against his massive set of fliers. I attack with the Seastalker. He's at 7 and I'm at 9.
12. He activates Reckless Scholar discarding a Mountain. He attacks with the Tern. I take 2. He plays Murasa Pyromancer. targetting my Merfolk for 1 damage. I tap down his Pyromancer.
12. I draw Adventuring Gear which I equip onto my Seastalker. I have 9 lands in play. 2 of which are untapped. I swing with the Seastalker. He's down to 5 and I am at 7. This was really stupid. I should have left open the mana to tap down his entire team. I didn't pay enough attention to the fact that I was almost dead.
13. I tap down his Torch Slinger and his Pyromancer. He attacks with the Reckless Scholar and the Tern. He pumps his turn with a Slaughter Cry. I concede. The last few turns didn't really matter all that much.
MATCH 3 GAME 2
I draw 2 Islands, Windrider Eel, Pitfall Trap, Ior Ruin Expedition, Shepherd of the Lost and Kor Cartographer. On the draw, I might have been tempted for a second to keep this. If I can get 2 lands, which is a big if, I can really pretty much be guaranteed victory. On the play, it was a very easy mulligan. My new hand had 3 Islands, a Merfolk Seastalker, a Cliff Threader and a Whiplash Trap. This is a pretty lousy hand, but I don't think my chances with 5 cards would be better. I keep it.
1. I play an Island and pass.
1. He plays an Island and passes.
2. I draw an Ondu Cleric. I play an Island. I pass.
2. He plays an Island and a Welkin Tern and passes. Oh how I hate those guys.
3. I draw a Sejiri Refuge. I play it. I pass.
3. He plays the Ior Ruin Expedition and a land. He attacks with the Welkin Tern. I'm down to 18. He passes.
4. I draw a Plains. Where were you last turn, Mr. Plains? *frustrated grumbling* I play the plains and a Cliff Threader and Ondu Cleric. I could have played the Merfolk Seastalker, but I wanted to lure out any removal and 3 damage and a life was better than 2 damage and the potential to tap.
4. He plays Misty Rainforest and sacrifices it for a Mountain. He sacrifices the Ior Ruin Expedition to draw 2 cards. He attacks with the Welkin Tern. He plays a Bladetusk Boar.
5. I draw a Kabira Crossroads. I rather regret my decision to play the 2 weenies. If I had played the Merfolk, I could be tapping down his creature and playing another creature this turn. That would have been much more superior to my crappy play of playing a Merfolk this turn. It was a very bad mistake. I play the Island and bounce his two creatures to his hand with the Whiplash Trap I have. I swing with my team. He is down to 16. I am at 18.
5. He plays an Island, a Hellfire Mongrel and a Welkin Tern. I am not happy about this.
6. I take 2 damage from the Mongrel. I really like this card. I feel like it is consistently under-drafted. You have a solid 2/2 fighter and the potential to do 2 damage or to keep your opponent at 3 cards. 2 damage is significant and keeping 3 cards in your hand is miserable too in Zendikar where things are fast and furious. I draw a Merfolk Seastalker. I attack with Ondu Cleric and Cliff Threader. This was really stupid too. I don't know why I attacked with Ondu Cleric. Even if I had a trick, a 2-for-1 would have been a good deal for him. I made a stupid decision. I play the Merfolk Seastalker.and pass the turn.
6. He plays Teetering Peaks targeting the Tern. He attacks with the Hellfire Mongrel and the Tern. This is representing a trick. I block with the Merfolk Seastalkers thinking that I have another one in my hand to tap down his creatures and it is worth getting rid of his trick. Thinking back, it was really stupid. The Seastalkers do more than tap down his creatures. They have Islandwalk. They could get in for a guaranteed 2 damage every turn. They're also 2/3. I could have held the Cliff Threader back and blocked with the Cliff Threader instead. Even better, I could have blocked with nothing and just tapped down his board as I swung in with my evasion creatures.
7. I take 2 damage from the Mongrel. I draw an Island. I play the Island. I swing in with the Cliff Threader. I play the second Merfolk. We are at 12-12.
7. I tap down his plays Goblin Shortcutter and Bladetusk Boar, making my Merfolk Seastalker unable to block. I tap down his Mongrel. He swings with his Tern. I am down to 10.
8. I take 2 damage from the Mongrel. I play an Island. That brings me to 8 lands. I swing with my Seastalker. I think that I can tap down 2 of his creatures and chump with my Threader.
8. He plays Murasa Pyromancer targetting my Cliff Threader. I tap down the Mongrel and the Boar. He does not attack.
9. I take 2 damage from the Mongrel. I am down to 6. I draw a Machete and I play it without it being equipped so that so that I still have 7 lands to tap down his creatures.
9. He Magma Rifts my Seastalker. I concede.
No comments:
Post a Comment