Thursday, July 17, 2008

SSS 12 & 13 - Pros and Joes

So I did about 5 drafts on my own, and for the most part I totally stunk up the place (yes... more so than usual thanks). A combination of trying new archetypes (U/B mill is pretty bad BTW), playing under the influence of muscle relaxers (hey I was sore from moving furniture all weekend!), and not being used to playing without you guys looking over my shoulder caused me to lose quite a few points and packs over these drafts.

Ah well, lets get back on track shall we?

OK, in SSS 12 I noticed a couple of pro names in the draft including Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa so I should be in for an interesting draft to say the least.

SSS 12 - Draft


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Pack 1 Pick 2 was a tough decision. I could see arguments either way on Oversoul or Prison Term, mainly over the commitment that Oversoul takes. I figure that Term was good but just removal, where as Oversoul should win most games on its own.

I think the rest of the draft went more or less to script as I drafted a fairly solid G/W deck featuring several combat dominating creatures and a good array of tricks to help them along the way.

I'm relieved when I see my first round opponent is not a recognizable name.

SSS 12 - Round 1


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Good games overall. I made some mistakes in game 1, but since he had no pressure on me they were no big deal. A couple of top decked Seedcradles forces through the Oversoul vs Warcrawler and the game is in the bag.

Game 2 sees a ton of pressure come my way, and I end up on the losing end of a race even though I get 3rd turn Oversoul with a Tower Above on it to take out Warcrawler. I make a major mistake in attacking with the Sentry into his Lurebound as he doesn't have to block that turn to live. I also screw up by playing the Mudbrawler over the Ghastbark as it takes out Druid as a chump blocker next turn.

The correct play here is to just attack with the Oversoul and just see what he does. This gives us more options if we draw into an out on the following turn.

Game 3 has another Oversoul met with another Warcrawler. I haven't gone through thoroughly this one yet, but I'm sure I misplayed quite a bit... but I don't think with his final creature rush I had much of a chance to win anyways.

OK, so not exactly the performance I was hoping for, but hey... lets get back into action. It was getting late so I just jump on to the next 4-3-2-2 that was firing.

SSS 13 - Draft


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This one just came together beautifully. Having 4 solid pieces of removal from pack one alone gives me a good feeling. Obviously the talent level in this draft was a major step down from SSS 12, but the deck I drafted was so much fun I was excited to play 3 full rounds with it.

I could of gone mono-red to take full advantage of the Jaws, but I would weaken my creature base significantly to do so.

Round 1


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Game 1 features Spawnwrithe getting out of hand (with the help of a perfectly timed Giantbaiting). This guy is so dangerous that with just a little help he can blow a game wide open.

Game 2 was... well it was a major slog. We both drew a ton of land, and his defensive cards kept me from making much headway until he made a mistake and gave me his Puca's Mischief. That allowed me to grab his Trip Noose (for my Chained Spriggan no less) and the rest was history.

SSS 13 - Round 2


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Two quick ones as Giantbaiting and Spawnwrithe do their things.

SSS 13 - Round 3


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Game 1 I misplay when I use a Puncture Bolt to finish off a 6/6 Plumeveil (thanks to 4th turn Liege) that has already claimed two creatures. Had I held on it it and used it to take out the Liege (with help from a Power of Fire) I might of been able to win this game.

Game 2 I play around the Liege this time and keep up enough of an offense to finish him with a Jaws for 3.

Game 3 I skirt around combat tricks long enough use Ember Gale to knock him down from 17 to 7, then clean up with Jaws of Stone.

4 comments:

FlameRetardantFag said...

Fantastic Draft in 12, I don't think you made a single bad pick in my opinion. In putting the deck together I would have favored the farhaven elf to the Aethertow, it just seems like your deck's win condition is putting out the big guys as fast as possible and getting all accelerants in is a huge priority. Also consider playing 18 lands when you have so many activation costs. The curve was pretty good, but it gets frustrating when by activating a creature's ability you hinder yourself from casting another spell that same turn.

Anonymous said...

good job! glad 2 c u back, modosharks is terrible at this kind of stuff and starcitygames' articles have been lacking lately.

Matt said...

P1P1: this pack isn't great, but take Curse with no regrets. I doubt anyone will be taking any signals from a pack this obviously weak so you ought not to worry about sending them into U/W, and anyway Curse is a fine card to play in W/G so it's not like you're locked in.

P1P2: I'd go Oversoul and look for W/G, maybe W/G/r or W/G/u. Shipping a Prison Term is not automatically going to put someone in white, but shipping Oversoul definitely will put them in W/G.

P1P4: Woah woah woah, big mistake! Shield is WAY the best card here. Tower Above is okay, but a) it's not THAT good, and b) look at what you've already drafted - you're going to want to be majority-white W/g, not G/w. Blech. Tower Above is at best the third best pick, behind both Shield and Spriggan and potentially even the Dragoon.

As for Spriggan, just...no. That guy makes a big impression when he works, and that clouds people's minds as to just how not-awesome he really is. He's a solid creature but nowhere near the power card you seem to think, mainly because he gets conked by literally ANY wither guy or Scar or Leech Bonder etc. etc. Shield is way better!

P1P6: Skulk vs. Dragoon, it's a tough call, but only because you failed to take the Shield. If you had, Dragoon is much much better. As it is, it's too close for me to call, although Skulk might be right for your curve.

P2P1: Wow, what a powerful contrast to the first pack. It sucks out loud to pass Banshee and Javelin, but take Seedcradle anyway because it's an on-color bomb. This is the card Tower Above wishes it were.

P2P2: If you suspect that the choice which is most likely to make your deck (Mudbrawlers) won't make the cut, then this is a perfect time to hate-draft the Steel, especially since there's an outside chance Steel may yet find its way into your deck if you get a run of W/U guys.

P2P5: Between Snare and Elf, Elf is better, but both are WAY better than Medicine Runner, which is probably the worst bear in the format. (Although, again, if you had a Shield, he'd be a lot more attractive...) Elf also lets you splash a bomb card like a Biting Tether or something.

P2P9: Feast > Breath #2 is a much easier call than Feast vs. Breath #1. You're right that they're about equally strong.

P3P1: Since you already have Scuttlemutt and Farhaven Elf, I actually would take Grief Tyrant here as a splash bomb. Druid isn't nearly as good in your mostly-white deck as the other two pieces of acceleration, so his value has plummeted a lot from the time when you picked Oversoul. Gotta remember the changing valuation of cards depending on what you already have (this played a role in screwing you over on Tower Above): don't get locked into thinking that because you really wanted Devoted Druid BACK THEN that it's automatically the pick NOW.

P3P2: You are correct, Silkbind is stronger.

P3P3: Duo is better, but now don't you wish that Mudbrawler were a Steel instead?

P3P4: Wurm is probably correct here, with Scuttlemutt being second-best. Medicine Runner is pretty trashy; it seems like you're locked into a rule that says "YOU MUST HAVE 2-DROPS" when, actually, given what you've already drafted you don't need them. You're playing the W/G version of the R/G accel+fat deck. You aren't going to win games on tempo, but rather, with fatties. Downgrade tempo cards and upgrade accel+fat accordingly (which still makes Wurm the pick but only because you have so much accel already; it would not be uncommon to have a similar draft, but have lots of fat and lack accel instead).

P3P8: Snare IS better than Lurebound here, but not because you "ave enough creatures"; it's also a question of what KIND of creatures you have, and you don't have enough cheap guys to make full use of Lurebound, who is really better in a heavy-red deck with many playable 1&2-drops. Lurebound's ideal game is t1 Infiltrator Initiate, t2 Mudbrawler Cohort, t3 Lurebound. Your deck can't reliably put out two same-color creatures before Lurebound comes out, so you'd just be begging to get 2-for-1'd out of the game by a timely removal spell. Snare is thus superior.

On what basis are you suggestting that Farhaven "doesn't do much to accelerate" you? That seems ludicrous, like saying, "This swimming pool isn't going to do much to get my hair wet." The craziness is only heightened when you follow up with, "we don't have much to accelerate into." You don't have a huge amount, but...Oversoul? Wurm? Ensuring you can drop a Hill Giant on turn 4 even when you've only drawn 3 land? Being able to play a guy AND use Seedcradle in the same turn? Hello, McFly?

-MH

AverageDrafter said...

Reposted from the Star City response...

{P1P4: Woah woah woah, big mistake! Shield is WAY the best card here. Tower Above is okay, but a) it's not THAT good, and b) look at what you've already drafted - you're going to want to be majority-white W/g, not G/w. Blech. Tower Above is at best the third best pick, behind both Shield and Spriggan and potentially even the Dragoon.

As for Spriggan, just...no. That guy makes a big impression when he works, and that clouds people's minds as to just how not-awesome he really is. He's a solid creature but nowhere near the power card you seem to think, mainly because he gets conked by literally ANY wither guy or Scar or Leech Bonder etc. etc. Shield is way better!}

I've dropped the God enchantments down quite a bit in my rankings as of late for a number of reasons. Not only do you have the normal problems of most auras, but you have the additional issues of not having the right creature to put it on and also color changing effects as well.

Of course the upside is often worth it, but in general I prefer consistency to potential. Shield has the addition downside of not having the immediate impact that Runes or Steel have on the respective life totals.

Tower has more immediate impact on the board, and works fine well with every creature in the deck.

And I can't believe you just called Spriggan non-awesome... its the best common three drop creature in the format and hasn't been anything less than amazing for me.




{P2P2: If you suspect that the choice which is most likely to make your deck (Mudbrawlers) won't make the cut, then this is a perfect time to hate-draft the Steel, especially since there's an outside chance Steel may yet find its way into your deck if you get a run of W/U guys.}

I'll take the marginal card for my deck over a hate draft any day (particularly in a pack this weak where the Steel is likely to go next pick).




{P3P1: Since you already have Scuttlemutt and Farhaven Elf, I actually would take Grief Tyrant here as a splash bomb. Druid isn't nearly as good in your mostly-white deck as the other two pieces of acceleration, so his value has plummeted a lot from the time when you picked Oversoul. Gotta remember the changing valuation of cards depending on what you already have (this played a role in screwing you over on Tower Above): don't get locked into thinking that because you really wanted Devoted Druid BACK THEN that it's automatically the pick NOW.}

I wouldn't call Tyrant a bomb, and certainly not something I'd want to splash for. 4/4 for six isn't that impressive in this speedy format, even if it takes a creature out on the way down. I have no problem bumping the Farhaven for the Druid since it will get a five drop down a turn sooner. Just because I have some acceleration doesn't mean I shouldn't upgrade when I can.

{P3P3: Duo is better, but now don't you wish that Mudbrawler were a Steel instead?}

Not really as I only have 4 creatures to put it on...



{On what basis are you suggestting that Farhaven "doesn't do much to accelerate" you? That seems ludicrous, like saying, "This swimming pool isn't going to do much to get my hair wet." The craziness is only heightened when you follow up with, "we don't have much to accelerate into." You don't have a huge amount, but...Oversoul? Wurm? Ensuring you can drop a Hill Giant on turn 4 even when you've only drawn 3 land? Being able to play a guy AND use Seedcradle in the same turn? Hello, McFly?}

I mean exactly that, I only have three cards that need 4th turn 5 mana acceleration (you could throw the Seedcradles in there if you want, if I drew them after turn one and had a two drop to threaten). Druid also accelerates 3rd turn 4 mana spells, and Skuttlemutt comes with a decent body and another good ability. Farhaven just doesn't stack up... what would you cut for it?