This draft, I went 2-1 with an aggressive WU heroic deck. I was quite surprised at how consistent the deck had felt, and it definitely hit fast and hard enough to punish slow decks, and those that stumbled. I would have liked to have more bestow creatures, but as I didn't see any more during the draft, I did the best with what I had.
I also found a neat converter online to post all my draft picks, so I'll slowly start to go through older posts to update them. I also figured out how to summarize my posts, so it should be easier to scan through all my games and find specific ones to look more into. Now all I need to do is find a nice format for posting more accurate game plays.
Entry
2 Tix, 1 BNG Booster, 2 THS BoostersRares
Hero of Iroas, Temple of Silence, Master of Waves, Anax and CymedePrizes/Sold
1 BNG Booster, 1 THS BoosterDraft
Picks
Final List
In Theros, I have been wanting to avoid WU heroic mainly due to it's popularity. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the ordeals as it seems too all-in for me. However, my first picks were Hero of Iroas, Akroan Skyguard and Ephara's Enlightenment, so I don't think I really had a choice in the matter. By the end of pack 1, I was pretty much solidified in that archetype.
Going through pack 2, I started to get a little worried as I was fairly low on creatures, and I wasn't getting the heroic enablers I was hoping for. I also took a duel land to give me potential to splash black.
I got a few bestow creatures in pack 3, so I started to get a little less worried. I was hoping for a Traveler's Amulet to table for some splash, but the only one I saw was in the same pack that I rare drafted a Master of Waves.
Final Decklist
The deck ended up as a mostly white deck. My strategy was to swarm my enemy with all my low drop creatures, and use my bestows and enchantments to Voltron one of them up for a win.
A Scholar of Athreos was thrown in as a backup win-con as I had a Temple of Silence and Unknown Shores to provide black mana.
Games
Round 1
First round was against a WU(B) deck.Game 1
Kept a 1 land hand with a lot of 2 drop cards.Opponent opened with two Omenspeakers and I an Akroan Skyguard with an Ordeal of Heliod. Opponent plays Lenin Snarecaster and I play Hero of Iroas. Opponent plays an Observant Alseid. I play Traveling Philosopher which trades with their Alseid, and I play my own. They play Prescient Chimera, which I kill with my Skyguard and a Battlewise Valor, and win the game.
I missed my second land-drop and had to discard one card. Luckily I got a mana on turn three, otherwise I would have been in trouble. I only got 3 lands in 8 turns, so with a higher curve, I would have definitely been mana screwed.
Game 2
Opponent opened with an Omenspeaker into two Chorus of the Tides and I a Traveling Philosopher into Wingsteed Rider with Ordeal of Heliod. I bestow my rider with an Observant Alseid, and they block it with one of their Choruses. They bestow their remaining Chorus with Thassa's Emissary. I enchant my Rider with an Ordeal of Thassa and they block it with their second Chorus. They play Benthic Giant which I block with my Rider, but they use Mortal's Ardor to get life out of it. I play Sea God's Revenge to bounce their board for good measure and win the game.Round 2
The next round was against a UB deck. I think it was supposed to be a slower, control deck, but I never gave it a chance to get off the ground to see if that was the case.Game 1
I open with a Traveling Philosopher into Scholar of Athreos and my opponent a Spiteful Returned into Servant of Tymaret. I play Elite Skirmisher and they play an Asphodel Wanderer. I bestow the Skirmisher with an Observant Alseid. They play an Insatiable Harpy. I play Sea God's Revenge to bounce everything but the Spiteful Returned. They replay their Wanderer and Harpy. I bestow the Skirmisher with a Hopeful Eidolon and they play a Forsaken Drifters as a last line of defense. I swing with all, kill the Drifters, and deal the final blow with my Scholar.As a side bonus, killing the Drifters allowed me to see more cards in their deck to watch out for in game two.
Game 2
I added the Gainsay and Gorgon's Head in to deal with a Tromokratis I saw in their graveyard last game. The serpent and combat trick was removed as I felt like my early game was really strong, and I just needed to push that to win.+ Gainsay
+ Gorgon's Head
- Floodtide Serpent
- Mortal's Ardor
I opened with a Akroan Skyguard into Elite Skirmisher while my opponent a Forsaken Drifters, which I kill with a Crypsis. They use Thoughtseize to force me to discard an Observant Alseid, see my Gainsay in my hand, and play a Felhide Brawler. I play a Scholar of Athreos. They swing with the Minotaur, but I let it go through. I enchant my Skyguard with Ordeal of Heliod and swing with everything. My opponent then concedes from the game.
My opponent only drew black mana, so it looked like he got flooded with black as they finished turn 7 with 6 in play.
Round 3
Last round was against a URGame 1
My opponent opens with a Satyr Rambler into Spearpoint Oread while I an Observant Alseid. They enchant the Oread with a Dragon Mantle, while I enchant my Alseid with Ephara's Enlightenment. They try to kill my Alseid with a Bolt of Keranos but I protect it with a Mortal's Ardor. I bestow it with a Thassa's Emissary. They play Stoneshock Giant, but I return all their creatures to their hand with a Sea God's Revenge and win the game.Game 2
I swap in some enchantment removal.+ Ray of Dissolution
- Floodtide Serpent
I open with a Traveling Philosopher into Wingsteed Rider but they wipe the board with an Anger of the Gods. I rebuild my board with a Elite Skirmisher and they play a Stoneshock Giant. I enchant my Skirmisher with a Ephara's Enlightenment but they kill it with a Bolt of Keranos. I play Scholar of Athreos, and they play Divination. I bestow Hopeful Eidolon onto my Scholar. They play Stormcaller or Keranos and swing with all, and finish me off with Fanatic of Mogis.
Game 3
They open with Satyr Rambler enchanted with Fearsome Temper and I a Traveling Philosopher into Elite Skirmisher which dies to a Titan's Strength in attempt to block the Rambler. I bestow a Hopeful Eidolon onto my Philosopher. They play a Stoneshock Giant. I bestow Observant Alseid onto the Philosopher and it blocks the giant, and they use Bolt of Keranos the Alseid that fell off.I bestow my remaining Hopeful Eidolon with a Thassa's Emissary and they play a second Stoneshock Giant which I kill with a Crypsis. They then play a Forgestoker Dragon. I play a Favored Hoplite. They play a Fanatic of Mogis, then a Divination on their next turn and kill me with a Bolt of Keranos.
Lessons Learned
- Taking a seemingly questionable hand instead of taking a mulligan can be acceptable if the ceiling on the hand is high enough. If you have the time to draw into it, even better
- Having a good curve goes a long way in terms of not getting mana screwed. This also includes watching out for double costed cards.
- Having a backup or alternate win condition can help win games out of nowhere. Having a small chance of pulling it off is better than having no chance of winning at all.
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