7/28/14 Drafting a pile of cards (M15 draft 2-1)

I headed over to Versus Games to play in another draft.  I ended up getting there early thanks to there being no traffic.  Unfortunately, I didn't bring the Nintendo 3DS or any books to read, so I ended up spending a bunch of time staring at a wall.  It sucked.

P1P1:  Rare was Shivan Reef.  I picked Heat Ray.

P2P1:  Rare was Sliver Hive.  I picked Altac Bloodseeker.

P3P1:  Rare was Grindclock.  I think I picked a Goblin Roughrider (that's how bad my deck ended up)

DECK:
Black:
1 Witch's Familiar
1 Xathrid Slyblade
1 Accursed Spirit
1 Rotfeaster Maggot
2 Shadowcloak Vampire
------
2 Crippling Blight
1 Flesh to Dust
1 Covenant of Blood
1 Unmake the Graves

Red:
1 Borderland Marauder
1 Torch Fiend
1 Altac Bloodseeker
1 Goblin Roughrider
2 Krenko's Enforcer
1 Scrapyard Mongrel
1 Thundering Giant
-----
1 Crowd's Favor
1 Inferno Fist
1 Heat Ray

Artifact:
1 Juggernaut

Lands:
9 Mountain
8 Swamp

Sideboard:

White:
1 Tireless Missionaries
-----
1 Solemn Offering
1 Triplicate Spirits

Black:
1 Blood Host
-----
1 Eternal Thirst
1 Festergloom

Red:
1 Forge Devil
2 Foundry Street Denizen
1 Wall of Fire
1 Miner's Bane
-----
2 Hammerhand
1 Lava Axe

Green:
1 Runeclaw Bear
1 Roaring Primadox
1 Siege Wurm
-----
1 Verdant Haven
1 Hunter's Ambush

This deck really could have used another Borderland Marauder, or a Generator Servant.   Also I am feeling like Shadowcloak Vampire is not super good since in racing situations where you need to pay the life cost, since it's only making 2 damage life difference.

Match 1:  BG (1-2)

Game 1:

Lost to Siege Wurm + Ancient Silverback.

Game 2:

I get the nut curve out.   Turn 2 Borderland Marauder, he drops a Typhoid Rats, then I drop turn 3 Altac Bloodseeker into Forge Devil to kill his Typhoid Rats and give my Bloodseeker +2 power, haste, and first strike.   I play a Witch's Familiar next turn, and have Hammerhand to seal the deal if he plays any blocker.

Game 3:

Opponent used Hunt the Weak from to kill my Shadowcloak Vampire.

Killed Ancient Silverback with topdeck Flesh to Dust, after he tapped out of green and left up a swamp.   I could have used Heat Ray instead, but he might have had Gather Courage (which I passed earlier).

My opponent chump attacks his board into my Xathrid Slyblade and Rotfeast Maggot, then he drops Perilous Vault and uses it.

I drop Altac Bloodseeker with Inferno Fist, while he's tapped out.   Then he drops Cruel Sadist, I pop the Sadist right away, he follows up with Accursed Spirit.   Of course, I topdeck Crippling Blight next turn.  I end up drawing 3 straight lands, and he plays Necromancer's Assistant and Siege Wurm to seal the deal.

Match 2:  UR (2-1)

Game 1:

Game 2:

Lost to Quickling/Illusory Angel.

Game 3:

He kept a slow hand, and I

Match 3:  BG (2-0)

This guy was on my left.  Apparently he jumped into black because I passed him 3 Endless Obedience.

Game 1:

Krenko's Enforcer did 16 points of damage here.   Witch's Familiar with Inferno Fist did the other 4 damage.  He blocked my Witch's Familiar with Black Cat, then used Giant Growth.  I pop my Inferno Fist in response, targeting his Black Cat.  I think he didn't realize how that worked.

Game 2:

Krenko's Enforcer with Inferno Fist did 18 points of damage.  Sweet.

Traded 4 Nykthos for:

3 Yavimaya Coast
3 Battlefield Forge
1 Caves of Koilos

Traded 3 Boros Charm for:

1 Shivan Reef
2 dollars

7/26/14 another M14 sealed pool exercise

Opened six more packs of M15:

Rares:
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Shield of the Avatar
1 Spectra Ward
1 Jalira, Master Polymorphist
1 Polymorphist's Jest
1 Hornet Queen

White:  17
3 Soulmender
1 Sungrace Pegasus
2 Oreskos Swiftclaw
1 Wall of Essence
2 Heliod's Pilgrim
1 Warden of the Beyond
1 Tireless Missionaries
1 Boonweaver Giant
-----
1 Oppressive Rays
1 Pillar of Light
1 First Response
1 Sanctified Charge
1 Spectra Ward

Blue:  21
1 Research Assistant
1 Quickling
1 Frost Lynx
1 Aeronaut Tinkerer
1 Illusory Angel
1 Wall of Frost
2 Amphin Pathmage
1 Jalira, Master Polymorphist
1 Kapsho Kitefins
-----
1 Hydrosurge
1 Negate
1 Peel from Reality
2 Ensoul Artifact
1 Military Intelligence
1 Invisibility
2 Divination
1 Encrust
1 Polymorphist's Jest

Black:  11
1 Black Cat
1 Child of Night
2 Carrion Crow
1 Necrogen Scudder
------
1 Mind Rot
2 Necrobite
1 Unmake the Graves
1 Flesh to Dust
1 Covenant of Blood

Red:  14
1 Forge Devil
1 Generator Servant
2 Torch Fiend
1 Altac Bloodseeker
1 Goblin Roughrider
1 Rummaging Goblin
2 Wall of Fire
1 Scrapyard Mongrel
1 Thundering Giant
-----
1 Inferno Fist
1 Lightning Strike
1 Blastfire Bolt

Green:  14
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Satyr Wayfinder
1 Runeclaw Bear
1 Wall of Mulch
1 Netcaster Spider (foil)
1 Invasive Species
1 Hornet Queen
------
2 Ranger's Guile
1 Plummet
1 Hunter's Ambush
1 Verdant Haven
1 Hunt the Weak
1 Nissa's Expedition

Artifact:  7
2 Ornithopter
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Gargoyle Sentinel
-----
1 Shield of the Avatar
1 Staff of the Wild Magus
1 Staff of the Mind Magus

This is the deck I created:

Blue:  13
1 Research Assistant
1 Quickling
1 Frost Lynx
1 Aeronaut Tinkerer
1 Illusory Angel
1 Wall of Frost
2 Amphin Pathmage
1 Kapsho Kitefins
-----
1 Peel from Reality
2 Divination
1 Polymorphist's Jest

Red:  8
1 Generator Servant
2 Torch Fiend
1 Altac Bloodseeker
1 Goblin Roughrider
1 Scrapyard Mongrel
-----
1 Inferno Fist
1 Lightning Strike

Artifact: 2
1 Gargoyle Sentinel
-----
1 Shield of the Avatar

I'm not really fond of all the 2/1's in the deck.

There weren't enough white playables to play Spectra Ward.

7/26/14 The Definition of Insanity (M15 drafts poop)

I went over to Versus Games today, and signed up for two drafts.  I figured that based on my previous M15 draft experiences, I should be good to go, right?  Also, most of the experienced players went over to Eudemonia for the PTQ.

P1P1 rare:  Lilliana Vess.  Hello nurse!
P2P1 rare:  Hoarding Dragon.  Picked Carrion Crow, which didn't even make the deck
P3P1 rare:  Shivan Reef.  Picked Child of Night I think.

I raredrafted a Waste Not for value.

Guy on my right was black/red.  Person on my left was green/blue, and went to the finals.

DECK:

Black:  14
1 Typhoid Rats
2 Child of Night
4 Accursed Spirit
1 Gravedigger
1 Shadowcloak Vampire
-----
1 Ulcerate
2 Flesh to Dust
1 Lilliana Vess
1 Covenant of Blood

Green:  6
1 Venom Sliver
1 Netcaster Spider
1 Invasive Species
1 Hornet Nest
------
1 Gather Courage
1 Hunt the Weak

Artifact:  3
1 Gargoyle Sentinel
1 Juggernaut
-----
1 Rogue's Gloves

Sideboard:
White:
1 Kinsbaile Skirmisher

Black:
1 Carrion Crow
2 Shadowcloak Vampire
-----
1 Crippling Blight
1 Waste Not
1 Sign in Blood
2 Unmake the Graves

Red:
1 Forge Devil
1 Krenko's Enforcer
1 Scrapyard Mongrel

Green:
1 Ranger's Guile
1 Plummet
1 Naturalize
1 Titanic Growth
1 Verdant Haven
1 Restock

Artifact:
1 Sacred Armory

I didn't pick up any Festergloom, which made me sad.

Match 1:  UW aggro (1-2)

This guy also ended up in the finals.

Game 1:

He durdled around with 2 Coral Barriers, then eventually cast a Triplicate Spirits.

I managed to grind him out of the game with Liliana Vess and timely use of my removal spells.   My opponent constantly complained about me playing Lilliana Vess and how broken planeswalkers in limited were.

Game 2:

Oreskos Swiftclaw got some early beats, then Ajani's Pridemate and Divine Favor gave me headaches.  I drew 12 of 17 of my lands this game.

Game 3:

He got turn 2 Military Intelligence into turn 4 Triplicate Spirits.  Things went downhill from there.  I forgot to sideboard in Naturalize, despite seeing Divine Favor, Military Intelligence, and Marked by Honor the previous game.

Match 2:  UW aggro (0-2)

Game 1:

Got stuck on 3 lands, died to turn 2 Dauntless River Marshal + Frost Lynx + Welkin Tern + Sanctified Charge.

Game 2:

Got stuck on the backfoot again to his blue white aggro draw with Midnight Guard + Aeronaut Tinkerer + Welkin Tern.  Netcaster Spider was nowhere to be found, neither Crippling Blight.  A Frost Lynx sealed the deal.

I also punted by not boarding in Plummet into these matches.  My opponent this round was a douche anyways, because he kept arguing with me about life totals.   Whatever.

Match 3:

Game 1:

Opponent plays turn 1 Typhoid Rats into turn 2 Eternal Thirst.

Opponent got me down to 5 life with double Lava Axe plus some critter attacks, but I stabilized.

Game 2:

Opponent acted kinda superior because he had turn 1 Frenzied Goblin into turn 2 Eternal Thirst into turn 3 Feast on the Fallen.  I still crushed him.

New draft.   This drafted started 25 minutes late because three of the people from the 1 pm draft were signed up for it (including me).  Why did I sign up for a second draft?

P1P1 rare:  Spirit Bonds.
P1P2 rare:  In Garruk's Wake.  I took Gather Courage (I think over Raise the Alarm, which was wrong)
P1P3 rare:  Haunted Platemail over Geist of the Moors.

I got a pick 4 Triplicate Spirits in pack 1.   This is weird because apparently the guy on my right was mono white.  The person on my left was black/green.

I was kinda dipping into black first pack, but ended up continuing to force white after picking up a second Triplicate Spirits in pack 2.

There was no reason for me to draft either of the Paragons of the Eternal Wilds.  I ended up with like 4 green creatures.

Constricting Sliver WHEELED in pack 3.

DECK:
White:  14
2 Selfless Cathar
1 Oreskos Sunclaw
1 Midnight Guard
2 Razorfoot Griffin
1 Paragon of the New Dawns
1 Constricting Sliver
1 Seraph of the Masses
------
1 Spirit Bonds
1 Marked by Honor
3 Triplicate Spirits

Green:  7
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Sunblade Elf
1 Runeclaw Bear
1 Siege Wurm
-----
1 Ranger's Guile
1 Gather Courage
1 Titanic Growth

Artifact:  2
1 Haunted Platemail
1 Obelisk of Urd

Sideboard:

Black:
1 Accursed Spirit
1 Shadowcloak Vampire
-----
1 Crippling Blught
1 Mind Rot
1 Endless Obedience
1 Covenant of Blood

Blue:
1 Amphin Pathmage
1 Glacial Crasher
-----
1 Mind Sculpt
1 Negate
1 Encrust

Green:
2 Paragon of Eternal Wilds
-----
1 Naturalize
1 Hunter's Ambush

Artifact:
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Staff of the Flame Magus

Lands:
2 Radiant Fountain

Match 4:    UB (0-2)

Game 1:

Mull to 6, lost to Accursed Spirit which I had no way to interact with.

Game 2:

Mull to 4, lost to Welkin Tern plus double Kapsho Kitefins

He said good game afterwards, but it wasn't really, said I had to mull to 4.  His heart was in the right place, I guess.

Match 5:  RG (1-1)

Game 1:

Opponent got me down to 5 life with Kird Chieftain and Scrapyard Mongrel, but I managed to stabilize thanks to Spirit Bonds.  Card is so good.

Game 2:

Ended up barely losing this game, due to a 4/6 Scrapyard Mongrel, then my opponent topdecking Sungrace Pegasus and Juggernaut.

Game 3:

This game went to turns.  My opponent got me down to 3 life with Juggernaut + Scrapyard Mongrel, but I eventually managed to block down them and they were dead.   I should have just conceded, since a draw would likely put us both out of contention for prizes.  Unfortunately, the store employee was right there, so it would have seemed weird to concede on my turn 5.

Match 6: bye

Result:  1-3-1, (technically 2-3-1, but I got a 3rd round bye, so I don't count that)

7/25/14 Sweet Indulgence (FNM M15 draft, 3-0)

I bruised my left "ring" toe by hitting a wall in my apartment.  My toe turned black.   Despite that, I ended up driving over to Gamescape North to play in the M15 draft.  The store was PACKED, and they had to cap attendance to 40 people.  Also it was sweltering inside the store.   I ended up getting assigned to the "experienced people" table despite the fact that there were multiple people who counted as experienced people not getting picked to sit at the table (what's up with that?).   Anyways, I was in a bit of trouble since the person sitting on my right was not the best at sending signals.  Indeed.

P1P1:  Rare was Necromancer's Stockpile.  I took the Paragon of New Dawns over Ulcerate and Lightning Strike.

P1P2:  Indulgent Tormentor.  Who passes that?

P1P4:  Geist of the Moors.

P2P1:  Rare was Hoarding Dragon.  I didn't feel I was anywhere near red, so I passed it on, taking Necrogen Scudder.

P3P1:  Rare was Chandra, Pyromaster.  I took it over Raise the Alarm/Kinsbaile Skirmisher/Rogue's Gloves.

The Rogue's Gloves WHEELED.  YAY.

Person on my left was red/white.  Person on my right was black/blue.  Huh.

Deck:

White:   11
1 Sungrace Pegasus
1 Kinsbaile Skirmisher
1 Heliod's Pilgrim
2 Geist of the Moors
1 Paragon of New Dawns
1 Razorfoot Griffin
------
1 Ephmeral Shields
1 Pillar of Light
2 Marked by Honor

Black:  11
2 Typhoid Rats
1 Child of Night
2 Necrogen Scudder
1 Gravedigger
1 Shadowcloak Vampire
1 Indulgent Tormentor
-----
1 Sign in Blood
1 Unmake the Graves
1 Covenant of Blood

Artifact:  1
1 Rogue's Gloves

Land:  17
9 Swamp
8 Plains

Sideboard:

White:

1 Midnight Guard
-----
1 Divine Favor
1 Ephemeral Shields
1 Pillar of Light
1 Solemn Offering
1 Congregate
1 Sanctified Charge

Black:
1 Witch's Familiar
-----
1 Festergloom

Red:

1 Hammerhand

1 Chandra, Pyromaster

Green:

2 Sunblade Elf

1 Satyr Wayfinder

1 Carnivorous Moss-Beast

------

1 Plummet

1 Back to Nature

1 Hunter's Ambush

1 Verdant Haven

Match 1:  RG (2-0)

Game 1:

Opponent seemed to get flooded out.  Child of Night got in serious beats.

Game 2:

This game was a bit closer, but careful use of my two Typhoid Rats and Unmake the Graves, allowed me to hold the ground, while my flyers sealed the deal.

Match 2:  UB (2-0)

Game 1:

He bounced my Necrogen Scudder with Void Snare, which sucked.

He applied a Stab Wound on my Necrogen Scudder, but I beat him down with my flying creatures (Necrogen Scudder, Razorclaw Griffin, and Indulgent Tormentor).

Game 2:

This game was a bit slower, with my opponent having Frost Lynx and Void Snare to slow me down.  He also had Jalira, Master Polymorphist (wombo combo with his Coral Barrier).   He Mind Sculpted me turn 2 , milling my Indulgent Tormentor.  Also, he admitted he had Stain the Mind in his hand.  So I didn't want to use my Gravedigger or Unmake the Graves to get Indulgent Tormentor back.  Eventually, he popped off Stain the Mind, naming "Stab Wound" and searched my hand/library.  He got kinda pissed, saying my deck was just Indulgent Tormentor and a couple of ways to get him back.  (this was true)

He had Encrust for my Indulgent Tormentor, but I had Marked by Honor to give it vigilance.  Then he tapped down my Indulgent Tormentor with Frost Lynx (sad times) but I swung for 8 with my Necrogen Scudder, Geist of the Moors, and Razorclaw Griffin.

Match 3:  GR (2-0)

This guy argued with me at an earlier tournament about Legacy dredge (wtf).  So I thought he was kind of a douchebag.

Game 1:

He "blew me out" with Gather Courage on his Runeclaw Bear when I attacked with Child of Night, then followed up with Inferno Fist.

I managed to get max value.  I played an Indulgent Tormentor, he killed it with Heat Ray.  I played Gravedigger on it, getting Indulgent Tormentor back.  He played Restock, getting back Heat Ray and Inferno Fist.   He re-fisted his bear, I blocked with Gravedigger, then he sac'd the Fist to kill my Gravedigger.  I replayed Indulgent Tormentor, he Heat Ray'd again.  Next turn, I played Unmake the Graves on Indulgent Tormentor and Gravedigger.

Eventually, I put Marked by Honor on Indulgent Tormentor, holding up Ephmeral Shields and Pillar of Light.

I blocked his Goblin Roughrider with my 7/5 Indulgent Tormentor.

Opponent got a 1 for 1 from Cone of Flame.  Hitting me for 3, hitting one of my creatures for 2, and one of his other creatures for 1.  I responded with Ephemeral Shields, turning my Indulgent Tormentor indestructible until end of turn.  I was waiting for the followup Lightning Strike for troll value, but instead he scooped.

Game 2:

My first hand was three swamp, Typhoid Rats, three white spells.  I shipped back, got a no-lander, mulled to 5, plains, Child of Night, Necrogen Scudder, Typhoid Rats, Indulgent Tormentor.   Opponent put me on the PLAY.  I drew swamp turn 2 (had it).   He played a Generator Servant, didn't block the Child of Night.  Next turn, he sac'ed servant, hit me for hasty 4 damage with Kird Chieftain.

Next turn, I untapped, and popped off Pillar of Light on his Kird Chieftain.  Perhaps I could have waited until he tapped out, since he had two mana up, but I would rather not give him an extra draw for a possible Ranger's Guile.

I drew an Ephmeral Shields, and held it up.  Managed to get my opponent down to 2 life, with Indulgent Tormentor, 5 mana, Ephmeral Shields in hand.  I didn't play the Indulgent Tormentor, thinking there was no reason to play into two removal spells, but he would have played them earlier?  So I should have just played the Indulgent Tormentor.

Result:  3-0 in matches, 6-0 in games, six packs

Also I traded my foil Deathrite Shaman, foil Geist of Saint Traft, foil Young Pyromancer for two Noble Hierarch and four slightly played Blackcleave Cliff.  Value.

Update:  I passed a Silver Hive for Geist of the Moors during the draft.  Lost out on 5 dollars value.

7/21/14 Izzet a dream or a nightmare (Monday night M15 draft 2-1)

I went to Versus Games to play in an M15 draft.

P1P1:  Hoarding Dragon

P2P1:  Shield of the Avatar

P3P1:  Waste Not (foil).  Supposedly this is worth 15 dollars, so sure.

Turns out the guy on my right was black/blue, yet he passed Ulcerate, and three Flesh to Dust pack 1.  He passed me Into the Void pick 3.  Huh?

In pack 2, I should have taken Welkin Tern over Paragon of the Eternal Winds.  I ended up not getting enough blue creatures to make the Paragon good.

In pack 3, I should have taken another Borderland Marauder over Frenzied Goblin.  Frenzied Goblin was pretty bad in my deck.

DECK:
Blue:
1 Wall of Frost
1 Nimbus of the Isles
1 Glacial Crasher
-----
1 Peel from Reality
1 Into the Void

Red:
1 Borderland Marauder
1 Generator Servant
1 Rummaging Goblin
1 Belligrent Sliver
2 Krenko's Enforcer
1 Scrapyard Mongrel
1 Kird Chieftain
1 Hoarding Dragon
-----
1 Crowd's Favor
1 Inferno Fist
4 Lightning Strike
1 Stoke the Flames
1 Blastfire Bolt

Artifact:
1 Shield of the Avatar

Lands:
8 Mountain
8 Island
1 Forest

Sideboard:
White:
1 Constricting Sliver
-----
1 Meditation Puzzle

Blue:
1 Fugitive Wizard
1 Research Assistant
1 Paragon of Gathering Mists
-----
1 Chronostutter

Black:
1 Necromancer's Assistant
-----
1 Waste Not

Red:
1 Forge Devil
1 Frenzied Goblin
-----
1 Clear a Path
1 Hammerhand

Green:
1 Elvish Mystic
2 Netcaster Spider
1 Undergrowth Scavenger
------
1 Naturalize

Artifact:
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Tyrant's Machine

Behold, the 12 creature Shield of the Avatar Deck.   This deck needed more Welkin Tern.  Maybe I should have not passed both Encrust that I saw, but I think Encrust is usually pretty bad.

Tyrant's Machine would have been ok with the Hoarding Dragon and the Scrapyard Mongrel.

Match 1:  UB (1-2)

Game 1:

He plays a turn 1 Hot Soup turn 3 Jorubai Murk Lurker and turn 4 Eternal Thirst.  He seems to think Eternal Thirst gives a +1/+1 as part of the enchantment, but I told him that was not the case.  It gives +1/+1 counters when an opponent's creature dies.  I end up killing the Murk Lurker with the Blastfire Bolt.

He had Encrust for my Kird Chieftain.  I have Nimbus of the Isles, which he kills with Flesh to Dust.  Then I follow up with Glacial Crasher which swings in for a bit.

He plays Illusory Angel but I have Into the Void for his Jorubai Murk Lurker and his Illusory Angel, and swing for the win with Glacial Crasher enchanted with Inferno Fist, then sac the Fist post combat for 9 total damage.

Game 2:

I kept a 6 lander, proceed to draw 6 more lands and 4 spells the entire game.

My opponent plays Hot Soup into Illusory Angel turn 4.  He then follows up with turn 5 Eternal Thirst.  Apparently he was holding up Necrobite the whole game.  Any kind of bounce spell would just wrecked him, but nope I don't draw that.  I draw a Blastfire Bolt which he Necrobites in response.  Whatever.

Game 3:

I end up losing to turn 3 Staff of the Mind Magus into turn 5 Ensoul Artifact and Illusory Angel.  Argh.  I have Blastfire Bolt, which I use to kill his Illusory Angel.  I don't want to block his Staff of the Mind Magus with Krenko's Enforcer + Scrapyard Mongel, because I just lose on the spot to Necrobite.   So I just end up losing to his topdeck Frost Lynx.   He didn't have the Necrobite after all.  I think I punted by letting him hit me for 7 damage a couple times, when I was only hitting for 5 damage.  I don't think I was in a racing situation at all.   I should have just went for the double block, but I was holding out for Into the Void or Peel from Reality.

My first round opponent ends up leaving before the third round starts.  Ugh.

Match 2:  WG (2-0)

Game 1:

He's all in on the Aura plan (Battle Mastery, Marked by Honor, and Vineweft).  I have Lightning Strike + Into the Void to punish him for doing that.  Krenko's Enforcer + Inferno Fist wins the game for me.

Game 2:

This game takes a bit longer, but it goes similarly to the first one.  He plays auras into open mana, I punish him for it.  Intimidate guys win the game for me, again.

Match 3:  BR (2-0)

This guy was on my left.

Game 1:

This was a tough game, where I had to burn down Nightfire Giant with double Lightning Strike.  We both have Rummaging Goblins, and we rummage a bunch of cards.   We trade a bunch of removal for creatures, but eventually my topdecks are slightly better.  I use Into the Void for the win, swinging with Rummaging Goblin and Borderland Marauder for the final 4 damage.

Game 2:

I Lightning Strike his Carrion Crow.  He kills my Rummaging Goblin with Ulcerate (aggressive).  He plays a Necrogen Scudder, I kill it with Lightning Bolt.  I killed his Nightfire Giant with Blastfire Bolt.

He had Unmake the Graves to bring back his Carrion Crow and Nightfire Giant (ugh).

Got to a tough board state, where he had Nightfire Giant, Carrion Crow, and Rotfeast Maggot in play.

I had Wall of Frost, Borderland Marauder, and Kird Chieftain (4/4 due to having a forest).  I had 9 untapped lands in play, and 1 card in hand.

I was at 5 life, he was 2.   He had 8 lands untapped.  I swung with both my Marauder and Chieftain, saying I was dead if I didn't swing. He uses Nightfire Giant on the Marauder pre-blocks, and I use Kird Chieftain to buff it.  He deliberates, and ends up blocking the Maggot on the Marauder (now a 5/4 with 2 damage on it) and the Giant on my Kird Chieftain.  They both trade (I reminded my opponent that the Marauder died).

If I was him, I would have blocked the Maggot on the Kird Chieftain, and the Giant on the Marauder.  That way if I wanted to save the Marauder I would have to pump with the Chieftain, then he could burn in response.  But I guess he was playing around Crowd's Favor (a common).   If I had the Crowd's Favor in hand, and he blocked the Maggot on Chieftain, and Giant on the Marauder, I could just pump the Kird Chieftain with the Crowd's Favor and its own ability to trample for 2 damage.

If he did that block and I didn't have Crowd's Favor, then I would only have Wall of Frost, and he would have Nightfire Giant, Rotfeaster Maggot, and Carrion Crow, swing at me for 5 damage (from the Maggot + Crows).  Plus he could also dome me for 2 more damage with the Giant on his turn.

Because of the way he blocked, I ended up going to 3 life, then I top decked Inferno Fist, which I put on my Wall of Frost and sacrificed.

7/20/14 Hunka burning love (M15 draft, 3-0)

I headed over to Versus Games for more practice with M15.

I had signed up for the 1 pm draft at 9:30 a.m.  Then at 10:30 a.m. I signed up for the 4 pm draft.

When I got to the store, I was wondering why they only asked me for 11 dollars, instead of asking for 22 dollars (to cover both drafts).  I figured they didn't collect the money because they thought the 4 pm draft wasn't going to fill.   I sit down at the table.

P1P1:  I take Spectra Ward.

P1P2:  Brood Keeper, even though this was super speculative. There was nothing good in white I wanted to take.

P1P3:  I take Burning Anger.  Somehow I get Burning Anger 3rd pick pack 1, yet the person on my right is in red.  What?  Do people not value this card?

P2P1:  Opened Stormtide Leviathan.  I took Ephemeral Shields.  Bleh.

P3P1:  Opened Soul of Innistrad.  Took Devouring Light over Inferno Fist.

P3P2:  Reward, got passed Avacyn.  Unfortunately I had to pass another Devouring Light and another Krenko's Enforcer.

I passed a second Ephemeral Shields for Altac Bloodseeker.  Probably wrong since Ephmeral Shields would have been nice to protect my creatures with auras.

Lots of black was going around in pack 1 and 3.  It turned out only 2 people were in black.

Guy on my left was white/green.
Guy on my right was red/blue.

DECK:

White:
1 Oreskos Swiftclaw
2 Heliod's Pilgrim
1 Avacyn, Guardian Angel
-----
1 Ephmeral Shields
1 Devouring Light
1 Marked by Honor
1 Spectra Ward
1 Triplicate Spirits

Red:
1 Borderland Marauder
1 Generator Servant
1 Altac Bloodseeker
2 Goblin Roughrider
1 Belligerent Sliver
3 Krenko's Enforcer
1 Brood Keeper
-----
1 Hammerhand
1 Burning Anger

Artifact:
1 Gargoyle Sentinel
-----
1 Rogue's Gloves

SIDEBOARD:
White:
1 Selfless Cathar
-----
1 Divine Favor
1 First Response
1 Meditation Puzzle

Blue:
1 Nimbus of the Isles
-----
1 Invisibility
1 Statute of Denial

Black:
1 Necrobite
2 Covenant of Blood

Red:
2 Forge Devil
-----
1 Lava Axe
1 Might Makes Right

Green:
1 Venom Sliver
1 Charging Rhino

Artifact:
1 Bronze Sable
1 Will-Forged Golem
1 Brawler's Plate

Match 1:  BUG (2-0)

Game 1:

I win the roll.

I end up mulling to 5.  He gets a turn 2 Feast on the Fallen, into turn 4 Blood Host with Hot Soup.  So we end up racing, but I manage to win the race, just barely.   He gets Nissa online as well but my intimidate creatures don't care about a forest.

Game 2:

We both mull to 5.

My opponent opens up with turn 1 Profane Memento, turn 2 Mind Sculpt, gaining 2 life because he milled two creatures.  However, he has problems finding black mana until the last turn or so.

I win off Hammerhand on Avacyn, make his Child of Night unable to block, swing with all my guys for lethal.

Match 2:  GR (2-0)

Game 1:

I win the roll.

My opponent keeps 7, but apparently only plays forests for the first 5 turns.

He kills my Rogue's Gloves with a maindeck Naturalize.

He surprises me when he plays Lightning Strike off a Verdant Haven, and then a Kird Chieftain.  However, I resolve a Spectra Ward, and just grind him out of the game.

Game 2:

This game was pretty close, my opponent gets Shield of the Avatar turn 1, and Yisan, Wandering Bard on turn 3.   He also plays a Staff of the Wild Magus I don't have any artifact destruction in my pool.   He gets Elvish Mystic, Generator Servant, Reclamation Sage, and Scrapyard Mongrel off his Yisan.

He tutors up Reclamation Sage to kill my Spectra Ward.   I'm pinging him down slowly with a Heliod's Pilgrim enchanted with Marked by Honor and Burning Anger.    I have him down to 3, I ping him after I untap. he plays Titanic Growth to gain 1 life.  So he's at 1 life.  I'm at 13 life now.

He untaps, swings with his team (Reclamation Sage, Yisan, Elvish Mystic, Scrapyard Mongrel that's a 5/3), I block to try and not die, then he Lightning Strikes my Gargoyle Sentinel that was blocking his Scrapyard Mongrel, then Titanic Growth's to push through more damage.  I play Ephemeral Shields on my Gargoyle Sentinel, but since his creature had trample, it should have actually trampled 3 extra damage over to me, since it was an indestructible guy with 3 damage marked already.   I thought I only took 11 damage, but I actually took 14 damage.  Next time I see this guy I will have to apologize to him, and give him a pack to make up for the difference (or maybe two).

This game I  punted by taking two extra damage from Reclamation Sage when he attacked me, and I didn't block, even though I think I could have done that safely with Ephmeral Shields back up.   Also I think I should have pinged his Scrapyard Mongrel with the Heliod's Pilgrim instead of trying to race a 5/3 trample (even though I was at 18 life when he was at 9 life).

Match 3:  BW (2-1)

Game 1:

My opponent wins the roll. My opponent's deck is pretty nuts, with Haunted Platemail, Avacyn, Indulgent Tormentor, Soul of Innistrad (though he didn't draw the Soul).

I get a Krenko's Enforcer with Rogue's Gloves.  My opponent gets a turn 4 Haunted Platemail.

Game 2:

He's got early aggression with Oreskos Swiftclaw and Child of Night, plus Crippling Blight for my Borderland Marauder.

He's got a Gravedigger + Endless Obedience on Gravedigger thing going on.   The VALUE.

I had Devouring Light for his Avacyn.

I use Burning Anger on my Brood Keeper, then ping his 3/1 flyer with the Brood Keeper.  I mistap my mana so I have a white open instead of red, so I can't use the firebreath on my Dragon token.  (bleh).

However, I misplayed. I chump blocked his Juggernaut, but let his Swiftclaw go through, taking me to 2 life.  Then he plays Sanctified Charge.  I didn't need to let myself go to 2 life.  I should have just blocked the Swiftclaw with my dragon token, or not attacked with both of Krenko's enforcers, and used a Krenko's Enforcer to block the Swiftclaw.

Game 3:

I boarded out one Goblin Roughrider for Forge Devil.  I technically should have boarded then both out for Forge Devil since Goblin Roughrider doesn't match up well with with the 2/1's and 3/1's he's showed me.

This game was really close.

I have Avacyn in play, and a Gargoyle Sentinel enchanted with Mark of Honor.  He's at 10 life and has a Juggernaut (tapped) and an Indulgent Tormentor in play.  I swing with both, he blocks Avacyn with the Indulgent Tormentor, and goes to 5 life.  Then he has Flesh to Dust for my Gargoyle Sentinel.  I swing him down to 3 life with a Krenko's Enforcer.  He taps all but one black mana for another creature that wasn't an artifact (I forgot what it was).

Next turn I topdeck Heliod's Pilgrim, search for Spectra Ward, play it on Krenko's Enforcer.  He doesn't have Ulcerate, and he scoops.

He was a bit tilty since he apparently had Avacyn and Soul of Innistrad in his hand.  He didn't have a 3rd plains for Avacyn or a

Result:  3-0 (6-1 in games), 4 packs

Unfortunately, it actually just turned out they missed my signup for the 4 pm draft.  When I asked about drafting at 4 pm the employee said the store was full and that they would not start another draft because the store was closing at 7 pm.  So that was the end of my draft day.

In the end I was okay with that because I was super tired.

7/19/14 M15 Sealed Training Exercise

Rare:
Ajani Steadfast
Resolute Archangel
Cruel Sadist
Master of Predicaments
Phyrexian Revoker
Soul of New Phyrexia

White:
1 Sungrace Pegasus
1 Kinsbaile Skirmisher
1 Ajani's Pridemate
1 Warden of the Beyond
1 Tireless Missionaries
1 Constricting Sliver
1 Resolute Archangel
-----
2 Divine Favor
1 Raise the Alarm
1 Solemn Offering
1 Battle Mastery
1 Marked by Honor
1 Congregate
1 Ajani Steadfast
1 Sanctified Charge

Blue:
1 Fugitive Wizard
1 Aeronaut Tinkerer
1 Nimbus of the Isles
1 Master of Predicaments
1 Glacial Crasher
-----
1 Hydrosurge
1 Void Snare
1 Peel from Reality
1 Military Intelligence
1 Turn to Frog
1 Divination
1 Chronostutter

Black:
1 Cruel Sadist
1 Black Cat
2 Child of Night
1 Witch's Familiar
1 Necromancer's Assistant
1 Accursed Spirit
1 Shadowcloak Vampire
-----
1 Crippling Blight
1 Ulcerate
3 Sign in Blood
1 Caustic Tar
1 Covenant of Blood

Red:
2 Foundry Street Denizen
1 Borderland Marauder
1 Generator Servant
1 Wall of Fire
1 Scrapyard Mongrel
-----
1 Clear a Path
1 Crowd's Favor
1 Hammerhand
1 Inferno Fist
1 Stoke the Flames
1 Lava  Axe

Green:
2 Satyr Wayfinder
1 Runeclaw Bears
1 Wall of Mulch
1 Invasive Species
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Shaman of Spring
1 Living Totem
1 Charging Rhino
1 Carnivorous Moss-Beast
1 Siege Wurm
-----
2 Ranger's Guile
2 Verdant Haven
1 Hunt the Weak
1 Feral Incarnation

Artifact:
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Gargoyle Sentinel
2 Will-Forged Golem
1 Soul of New Phyrexia
-----
1 Profane Memento
1 Sacred Armory
1 Staff of the Sun Magus
1 Staff of the Death Magus

Land:
1 Swamp (foil)
2 Radiant Fountain



DECK:

White:  8
1 Sungrace Pegasus
1 Kinsbaile Skirmisher
1 Ajani's Pridemate
1 Warden of the Beyond
1 Constricting Sliver
1 Resolute Archangel
-----
1 Marked by Honor
1 Ajani Steadfast

Black:  12
1 Cruel Sadist
2 Child of Night
1 Witch's Familiar
1 Necromancer's Assistant
1 Accursed Spirit
1 Shadowcloak Vampire
-----
1 Ulcerate
3 Sign in Blood
1 Covenant of Blood

Artifacts:  3
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Gargoyle Sentinel
1 Soul of New Phyrexia

Lands:

8 Swamp
7 Plains
2 Radiant Fountain

This deck has a lot of life loss, between:
1 Cruel Sadist
3 Shadowcloak Vampire
1 Ulcerate
3 Sign in Blood
1 Covenant of Blood

This is offset by:
1 Sungrace Pegasus
1 Resolute Archangel
1 Ajani Steadfast (the +1)
2 Child of Night
1 Covenant of Blood
2 Radiant Fountain

Also the lifegain helps Ajani's Pridemate.

The Warden of the Beyond only has synergy with Constricting Sliver.