This was my third try at the new draft format. I had a few preferences (UW skies/tempo, BW enchantments, UB mill) that I wanted to try out, and managed to draft one of those. For those that want to try their hand at redrafting the pack, here is the adventure:
And here are my picks. If you want to follow the commentary, look at the appropriate pack in the adventure.
WillbreakerI reserved the rare, and then thought long about it. I was passing two good blue cards, so there was every possibility that blue will be cut in pack two. Also, there was the Blightcaster, which is the payoff card for WB enchatments deck. In the end, curiosity won out. I wanted to try out the crazy combo rare.
Celestial FlareA lot of good cards for me here.
Lightning Javelin,
Separatist Voidmage, and
Rogue's Passage are all fine picks. But when in doubt, take removal.
Knight of the Pilgrim's RoadAnother rich pack.
Ampryn Tactician is fine, very close to the Knight, and I might well have taken it if this were pack two.
Fetid Imp,
Unholy Hunger and
Akroan Sergeant are fine playables, not in the colors I wanted to be. I love
Stratus Walk, but I can get one later.
Deep-Sea Terror and
Clash of Wills were cards I hoped to wheel. Knight was the archetype choice. IMO, you need the beaters first, tricks come later.
Throwing KnifeNo early drops for me here, so it's between
Grasp of the Hieromancer,
Hydrolash, and the Knife. I took the Knife, since it's a fine card on its own, and a combo with
Willbreaker.
Enshrouding MistGreat card. No contest here.
Separatist VoidmageThis one was close, with
Watercourser and
Turn to Frog both real contenders.
Bonded ConstructI was planning on having a lot of early drops, so this really has no drawback. I don't think
Send to Sleep is very good, and
Hallowed Moonlight is sideboard-only.
Bonded ConstructGuardian AutomatonRogue's PassageAnd it came back. Great!
Clash of WillsDitto. Sideboard, but a great one to have.
HydrolashNegateVine SnareA good beginning. I know where I want to be. Deck needs a lot more cards, but there's two more packs to come.
Sigiled StarfishThis one made me happy. I love the card.
Suppression BondsI did consider
Displacement Wave, but not really interested, since I plan to have lower cc permanents than the opposition.
War OracleThis one was hard. In the end, I gambled on seeing another
Topan Freeblade, and took the uncommon.
Charging GriffinTopan FreebladeAnd here he is. Sorry,
Ampryn Tactician;
Ringwarden Owl, go to the control player.
Stalwart AvenPick six? Really? Looks like white is not heavily drafted to my left.
Stratus WalkDraw a card is such a nice line.
Mighty LeapAgain, I took the trick over the team buffing
Kytheon's Tactics.
Cleric of the Forward OrderBone to AshGrasp of the HieromancerAlchemist's VialBellows LizardAkroan JailerIslandLooks like I will have enough playables. There is certainly room for improvement, but looks like I will have a deck.
ClaustrophobiaI'm not sure how much
Goblin Piledriver is worth in paper, but the one ticket I get for him online is not enough to draw me away from premium removal.
Gold-Forged SentinelThis might have been the second
Charging Griffin, but in a set without Dragons, the Sentinel is often the biggest thing in the sky.
Blessed SpiritsAnother great fit for me. I did consider
Sphinx's Tutelage, but the Spirits are just perfect for what I want to do.
Starfield of Nyx is worth a few tix, but discipline won this time.
Scrapskin DrakeGideon's PhalanxI was happy to get this. Not a great fit, but very powerful, and taken over nothing else.
WatercourserSend to SleepSee? Easy to get these, even if you don't want them.
AuramancerGuardians of MeletisNivix BarrierMighty LeapAkroan JailerDreadwatersNivix BarrierPlains If you don't yet have the cards by heart, look for the links in the draft section. I was happy with the deck, and curious how it will play. Sideboard has a few relevant options, mostly counterspells, and
Mighty Leap if I want to get hyper aggresive.
Round one was against RG. I won game one on tempo, and was doing well in game two, until he topdecked a
Chadra's Inginition, wiped my board, and killed me the same turn. So I boarded out the Phalanx and Willbender for counterspells, and won game three on tempo. He had two
Skyraker Giants, which were annoying. However, he had to trade them in for my groundpouders, which cleared the way for the Sentinel and Spirits to finish him off.
Round two was the UW mirror. This match was all about Willbreaker, since he had no answer to it. Game one, I comboed it off with
Throwing Knife, and game two, with
Grasp of the Hieromancer. He had a good deck, lots of early drops and fliers, topped with the
Soulblade Djinn. But it's hard to win when your opponent is stealing your best card every turn.
Round three was UB graveyard advantage deck, featuring
Screeching Skaabs,
Macabre Waltz,
Possessed Skaab, and
Skaab Goliath. We had a long game one, and when I started inching ahead, he dropped
Sigil of Valor, followed by
Whirler Rogue, and that was game. I boarded out the high-mana-cost rares, and brought in counterpells. And the plan worked. I drew well game two, and he stumbled just a bit in game three, finding no answers to my fliers.