p1p1 -
Ancestral Recall doesn't come knocking every day. If it wasn't in the pack, I'd be looking mostly at
Gruul Signet,
Lotus Cobra, and
Animate Dead, probably leaning toward one of the mana options.
p1p2 - You know what's possibly better than 3 cards for 1 mana? 2 cards for NO mana. Exaggerations aside,
Gush is actually an incredibly powerful card in a variety of blue decks and makes for a perfect follow-up to Recall.
Orzhov Signet and
Hallowed Fountain were my next considerations.
p1p3 - I've been drafting a lot of different combo decks lately, and what I have so far fits into storm very well, so grabbing
Timetwister feels obvious.
Tendrils of Agony might table from the last pack, and this sets me up perfectly. Nothing else in the pack really interested me anyway.
p1p4 - Okay, perhaps the first difficult decision of the draft. I'm looking at
Monastery Mentor,
Tasigur, the Golden Fang,
Faithless Looting, and
Windswept Heath. After taking three card draw spells in a row, I opted not to go for another one in Looting. Heath was calling me, but I decided to pass on it, hedging instead to take one of these tempo-based win-cons.
Monastery Mentor is just fantastic with a bunch of card draw and cheap spells, so it won my heart easily.
p1p5 - Had I taken Tasigur I probably would have windmill slammed
Gurmag Angler here and tried to force some awesome aggro-control shell, but with Mentor in my grip, fixing my mana felt like the right call. I wish
Glacial Fortress was an Island to support
Gush, but I can't have everything.
p1p6 - Nothing I desperately want.
Sacred Foundry opens up possibilities.
Yawgmoth's Bargain is powerful, but I have a ton of card draw already, so I'd rather focus on having options.
p1p7 -
Mother of Runes was an interesting consideration, a temptation to veer toward aggro-control, but
Adarkar Wastes is a solid fixer and I don't turn my nose up at those.
p1p8 -
Hero of Bladehold is a strong card that wins games on its own. It's my second token producer. Given the cards I have, a WU aggro-control deck seems like a fine possibility. There's still Storm potential, but you really need the fast mana cards to make that work. Anyway, Hero was an easy pick here:
Reveillark needs a lot more to go right for it to be good, and I just don't enjoy playing
Splinter Twin...
p1p9 - ...even when the other half of the combo shows up in the next pack. I don't expect to need 1-drop beaters, so
Isamaru, Hound of Konda just doesn't excite me. But
Gaddock Teeg is a brilliant card at times and one I can envision fitting into this deck at the end of it all.
p1p10 - Well, there's my
Tendrils of Agony. Taking it as a hedge seems fine, but having taken a few creatures now, it seems less likely to happen.
Regrowth is a nice pick since I've got a card as good as
Ancestral Knowledge to get back with it, and a
Monastery Mentor dying to chain things with it.
p1p11 -
Ranger of Eos is probably a fine card to take this late. It has a lot of potential upside and it's not getting taken over anything amazing other than the
Lightning Helix, and I've already passed a number of RW fixers.
p1p12 -
Mana Tithe would have been fine, but it's less exciting in this format of excess mana, while
Windswept Heath opens all sorts of potential. (And fixes for Teeg if I go down that road.)
p1p13 -
Soldier of the Pantheon, just for the value with Ranger.
Gurmag Angler was also appealing, and possibly a better pick.
p1p14 - Actually quite a tough pick for this late in the pack. I ended up taking
Horizon Canopy since
Honor of the Pure felt like such a win-more card when paired with my token makers that naturally pump their own dudes. Besides, gotta support that Teeg!
p1p15 - Holy crap,
Mother of Runes tabled. Go Ranger!
So after pack one, I'm a blue-white deck that's attempting to draw a lot of cards and use token producing creatures to create a reckoning force. On to pack 2!
p2p1 - The cards I'm considering here are
Sower of Temptation,
Land Tax, and
Dig Through Time. I think
Sower of Temptation is the correct pick; I've yet to take any creature control cards, and its one of the best. It also let me support the aggression I've started to build in this deck.
Dig Through Time isn't a bad pick, but a lesser one in this spot.
Land Tax is great; stop underestimating it, people.
p2p2 -
Seeker of the Way,
Elspeth, Sun's Champion,
Thada Adel, Acquisitor,
Avacyn's Pilgrim,
Dack Fayden. I actually think all of these are viable options for my deck. Pilgrim is a stretch, but I have grabbed two green fixers thus far, and I've been wanting fast mana. Seeker is probably just not good enough, and Dack is likely too far a stretch. Elspeth is solid; I'm looking to be a bit more aggressive than that, though. I think
Thada Adel, Acquisitor might actually be the right pick. There are so many broken artifacts in this Cube; if I can't draft any, I might as well steal some.
p2p3 - I haven't mentioned it yet, but I really wanted some counter-magic, specifically something like
Remand that fits this style of deck.
Mana Drain, though, is just WAY better and the perfect gift to get this late.
p2p4 -
Spell Pierce adds another counter to that theme, though
Izzet Signet might have just been a better pick.
p2p5 -
Mox Diamond is great when you can make up for the card disadvantage. With Recall, Gush, and Twister in the deck, it seems likely that I can. I like this over
Restoration Angel or
Sun Titan with my current cards.
p2p6 -
Fastbond is such a strong card that I just slam it here. I've already passed a
Zuran Orb and a
Land Tax in this pack, both highly underrated cards. If they come back, I could be living in hog heaven. Besides, I also drafted
Gush earlier.
p2p7 -
Shardless Agent is a great contributor to the aggressive cause that helps gain back some card advantage. Cascading into
Ancestral Recall isn't as good as cascading into
Ancestral Vision, but it should suffice.
p2p8 -
Crucible of Worlds with
Fastbond? Are we getting there? It was that or
Temple Garden, and while I would love more fixing, living the dream seems more important.
p2p9 - Slammed
Land Tax. It's sort of awkward with Crucible and Fastbond depending how you draw them, but I whole-heartedly believe that
Zuran Orb is coming and I wanna be there to celebrate.
p2p10 -
Zuran Orb tables! How I went from aggro to this is anyone's guess, but YES YES YES.
p2p11 - Just because I have the ridiculous super combo doesn't mean I give up on my token strategy.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos is a good companion to have.
p2p12 -
Student of Warfarep2p13 -
Sun Titanp2p14 -
Angel of Serenityp2p15 -
Crater's ClawsAfter two packs, I'm an aggro deck with some insane land tricks. Let the excitement continue.
p3p1 -
Time Walk! I've completed the set of broken blue cards! It goes insanely well in my deck, too, given that I have a Regrowth, a fast mana combo, and creatures that get better after every attack.
p3p2 -
Thirst for Knowledge was yet more card draw, but I wasn't convinced I needed it.
Daze also looked good, but I don't want another card that clashes with
Shardless Agent if possible.
Armageddon isn't as good in this cube as usual, but it still messes with most opponents and just shuts others down. Given that I have a Crucible, a Land Tax, and a reasonable amount of aggression, it seems to fit.
p3p3 -
Kitchen Finks is fine, but a bit durdlely for what I'm doing.
Arid Mesa isn't actually fetching anything for me yet.
Impulse is good, but I have enough cards like it. So I just take
Swords to Plowshares. It's still the best removal spell in the business, and there are still plenty of creatures that need answering in this format, especially Eldrazi.
p3p4 - I was wrong. I haven't completed the set of broken blue cards.
Opposition feels so tailor-made for my deck.
p3p5 - I could keep the mana denial theme running with
Winter Orb. I sort of want to, especially with
Opposition in my ranks. But
Enlightened Tutor does so much for me in this deck. I have a big combo that needs support and just tutoring for Op is perfect on its own.
p3p6 -
Chrome Mox fits the same bill I was talking about earlier: a fast mana card that requires card advantage to be good.
Secure the Wastes looks interesting, but I just want more fast mana. I'm not even sure I'll play it at this point, but I don't think I'll miss Secure much either.
p3p7 -
Narset Transcendent or
Riftwing Cloudskate? For rebounding, I have Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, Regrowth, and Gush. AKA 4 AMAZING spells to play twice. But it pretty much ends there. For the +1, I have a lot more options. Riftwing does a lot of good things, but I'm gonna take a flier on
Narset Transcendent here. It might be wrong and might not actually make my deck, but the dream is a glorious one.
p3p8 -
Gaea's Cradle or
Life from the Loam? Geez. Loam fits my theme, and it even combines with Crucible, which seems odd but awesome. Cradle has a number of token makers to aid it, and I already have a ton of good spells to jam into this deck. Not sure what to do. I don't actually have that many creatures I'm intending on playing.
Opposition is a fine card with only a few token makers; Cradle, less so. I also have very little to ramp into other than a
Timetwister extravaganza. Ultimately, I think Cradle will just be too inconsistent for me.
Life from the Loam might not make the final cut, but I'll be thrilled if it does.
p3p9 -
Meloku the Clouded Mirror is somehow the best card imaginable for this deck. It does EVERYTHING.
p3p10 -
Spectral Procession continues the theme, but I don't feel like I need it here as much as
Reclamation Sage.
p3p11 -
Leonin Arbiterp3p12 -
Flickerwisp probably doesn't make the cut, but it's the closest.
Mind's Desire is interesting, and I have one awesome mana-combo to abuse it, but it just doesn't fit.
p3p13 -
Winter Orb, get in there!
p3p14 -
Gifts Ungiven might actually be fine.
Regrowth makes it work.
p3p15 -
Mardu Woe-Reaper. Value.
Pretty awesome draft. Here's my deck:
Creature (5)
Brimaz, King of OreskosMonastery MentorHero of BladeholdSower of TemptationMeloku the Clouded MirrorOther Spells (18)
Zuran OrbSpell PierceSwords to PlowsharesAncestral RecallLand TaxFastbondEnlightened TutorWinter OrbTime WalkMana DrainRegrowthCrucible of WorldsTimetwisterOppositionGifts UngivenNarset TranscendentArmageddonGushMana (17)
Mox DiamondChrome MoxAdarkar WastesGlacial FortressWindswept HeathHorizon CanopyForestPlains (3)
Island (7)
Sideboard (16)
Sacred FoundrySoldier of the PantheonStudent of WarfareMother of RunesMardu Woe-ReaperLeonin ArbiterCrater's ClawsSun TitanAngel of SerenityRanger of EosFlickerwispReclamation SageShardless AgentGaddock TeegThada Adel, AcquisitorLife from the LoamI
this deck.