I was really excited to play some full-block limited, as I've just had the most miserable time with Theros and There/Born limited. Plus, I haven't been playing as much, because my budget's been entirely focused on finishing my Melira Pod deck--which has finally happened. I look forward to posting more limited tournament results from here on out.
One of the reasons I was excited about JOU is that I think it gave some depth to the Theros block that the block really needed. The strive mechanic is very good because it scales as the game goes on, and as a player who looks aggressive strategies and a polished curve, that's a huge plus for me. I managed to snatch up 4 playable strive spells, and my friends proceeded to tell me they were all mediocre to unplayable, and I proceeded to crush the draft, which always feels nice
I p1p1'd a Mana Confluence bc of money, and an Ajani's Presence p1p2. I stayed in white, and switched over to red, as I was getting some low-surve red playables, even though I found out later red was being cut from my right and white from further right. (They were building green, then blue-based decks, so it wasn't too bad.)
The rest of the draft was on auto-pilot. Black was wide open, but I made the decision to not draft it because a lot of the high-powered cards came with a high curve, and the black removal just wasn't coming with the gorgons and such. I did hate draft some black in weak packs, tho... and I may have opened a Thoughtseize! Here's the deck:
1 x Satyr Hoplite
2 x Impetuous Sunchaser
1 x Sigiled Skink
1 x Vanguard of Brimaz
1 x Mogis's Warhound
1 x Observant Alseid
1 x Minotaur Skullcleaver
1 x Elite Skirmisher
1 x Rageblood Shaman
1 x Akroan Mastiff
2 x Pharagax Giant
1 x Forgestoker Dragon
3 x Ajani's Presence
1 x Rouse the Mob
1 x Chosen by Heliod
1 x Deicide
1 x Excoriate
2 x Portent of Betrayal
1 x Mana Confluence
8 x Mountain
8 x Plains
Sideboard:
1 x Springleaf Drum
1 x Hero's Podium
1 x Thoughtseize
1 x Abhorrent Overlord
1 x Viper's Kiss
1 x Warchanter of Mogis
1 x Deathbringer Lampads
1 x Ritual of the Returned
1 x Vanquish the Foul
1 x Epiphany Storm
1 x Demolish
1 x Reckless Reveler
1 x Font of Ire
1 x Commune with the Gods
1 x Nessian Demolok
1 x Pheres-Band Thunderhoof
1 x Swan Song
Match 1 vs. WG
2-0'd. She had only 12 creatures or so, her curve was all over the place, lots of combat tricks that became useless when I Ajani's Presence'd my creatures in response.
Match 2 vs. UB
2-1'd. We took turns losing to flood/screw, but once I got my Akroan Mastiff going and used it to lock down her Herald of Torment she slowly killed herself.
Match 3 vs. UR
2-1'd. Lots of tempo plays and removal, but I wasn't the heroic deck and I wasn't the monstrous deck, so was able to bounce back.
EDIT: 8 rares is kinda awesome too
