Hmmm... Lets just get this over with shall we?
I'll say this, I haven't reviewed these at all, but I know I have a major problem switching to the blue side of the color wheel... even when everything is pointing in that direction. Well, that and I suck. Really, really suck.
I'm going to try again tonight, but I'll let you guys digest these for a while before I post some more.
Enjoy!
AAA 04 - Draft
AAA 04 - Round 1
AAA 05 - Draft
AAA 05 - Round 1
AAA 06 - Draft
AAA 06 - Round 1
AAA 07 - Draft
AAA 07 - Round 1
AAA 07 - Round 2
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
AAA 03 - "MOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!"
Since Viddler has a download feature, I'm going to stop posting on FileFront. To access the video page and the download link, just click on the Viddler logo in the corner of the video.
Ok, so lets get started...
Draft
I like this how this draft turned out. Not as loaded up on Squires/Nacatls as in AAA 02, but with better mana balance and better late game creatures. And Elspeth. Lets not forget about her.
Round 1
Game one should of been a mull. Even if we get the mana we needed we weren't going to get there with such a mediocre hand. Games one and two were one sided as my opponent put up little resistance.
Round 2
So... sorry about the audio problems. I tried to cut around the commotion, but it was too distracting to try to talk, call her mom's cell on my cell, deal with the irate girlfriend, and play magic at the same time, so I just stopped the commentary.
The first game proved to me the first pick quality of Sigil of Distinction. Even if I manage to get rid of his Rhino, I have to deal with another monster after that. Eeek. Games two and three went better thanks to help from Elspeth, although I think I should of played out the Benediction first in game 3.
Round 3
First time I've seen a 5 color deck in action. Game one he just spins his wheels looking for a threat, but doesn't get one down in time to matter. I had a chance to win game 2, but with 7 cards in hand and access to all that mana I thought it would be safer to kill the Gargoyle and try to win out with the threats I had. Little did I know a nasty Hellkite was awaiting me once he got his green mana. Game three he was able to stall me out until he got Hellkite out again. Yeesh.
Ok, so lets get started...
Draft
I like this how this draft turned out. Not as loaded up on Squires/Nacatls as in AAA 02, but with better mana balance and better late game creatures. And Elspeth. Lets not forget about her.
Round 1
Game one should of been a mull. Even if we get the mana we needed we weren't going to get there with such a mediocre hand. Games one and two were one sided as my opponent put up little resistance.
Round 2
So... sorry about the audio problems. I tried to cut around the commotion, but it was too distracting to try to talk, call her mom's cell on my cell, deal with the irate girlfriend, and play magic at the same time, so I just stopped the commentary.
The first game proved to me the first pick quality of Sigil of Distinction. Even if I manage to get rid of his Rhino, I have to deal with another monster after that. Eeek. Games two and three went better thanks to help from Elspeth, although I think I should of played out the Benediction first in game 3.
Round 3
First time I've seen a 5 color deck in action. Game one he just spins his wheels looking for a threat, but doesn't get one down in time to matter. I had a chance to win game 2, but with 7 cards in hand and access to all that mana I thought it would be safer to kill the Gargoyle and try to win out with the threats I had. Little did I know a nasty Hellkite was awaiting me once he got his green mana. Game three he was able to stall me out until he got Hellkite out again. Yeesh.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
AAA 01 & 02
Can't breath? Doped up on Benedryl? Sounds like a perfect time to draft! I ran two practice drafts before these with 2nd and 1st place finishes.
(I'm trying out a different video host, as the FileFront solution wasn't cutting it. Viddler seems like an amazing host, as the videos are nearly full screen resolution and they stream quickly. If you are having issues with the videos let me know and I will try to resolve them, and in the meantime I will mirror the .avi files on FileFront.)
AAA 01 - Draft
A bit all over the place here, but we kept a focus on R/B with splashes on the sides for U and G. I'm interested to see where others would have diverged from my draft as there were many directions that we could of gone. We end up with a deck that has to stretch on playables and lacks focus and is creature light. Still we have a lot of removal, so we might be ok.
AAA 01 - Round 1
Blah, Devour and lack of creatures is a pain. Dealing with a Broodmate isn't a picnic either. I make a few mistakes (like not pinging a creature about to die with the Cultist) but ultimately I just ran out of gas in game 3.
AAA 02 - Draft
Things come together pretty well, except in pack 3 we end up a little heavier in red than I would of liked to be with 3x Squires and 2x Nacatl. Maybe I should of put in the Thorn-Trash, but I was a little turned off to it (and Devour) in the last draft. The mana was a bit weird, but with luck we'll be able to get our aggressive starts and use our removal and finishers to end the game.
AAA 02 - Round 1
The tension between mana fixing and early drops is on full display in this draft, fortunately he only gets the 2 Tower Gargoyles in game one and we are able to keep up pressure on him through out games 2 and three.
AAA 02 - Round 2
I make a huge mistake in game one when I didn't tap and ping correctly to ensure he wouldn't have enough damage to kill me on the next turn. I put this mistake behind me and move on to win the match.
AAA 02 - Round 3
Besides a brain freeze that makes me look like I'm slow rolling my opponent, I win this round pretty handily.
So far I'm impressed with Angelic Benediction (even though I was tapping the wrong creature left and right). In a heavy Exalted deck taking out their best blocker gives you a lot of power in the mid-game, forcing them into bad blocks or taking a lot of damage. I've seen some people down this card, but these matches show that they can be a total beating.
Well, thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time.
(I'm trying out a different video host, as the FileFront solution wasn't cutting it. Viddler seems like an amazing host, as the videos are nearly full screen resolution and they stream quickly. If you are having issues with the videos let me know and I will try to resolve them, and in the meantime I will mirror the .avi files on FileFront.)
AAA 01 - Draft
A bit all over the place here, but we kept a focus on R/B with splashes on the sides for U and G. I'm interested to see where others would have diverged from my draft as there were many directions that we could of gone. We end up with a deck that has to stretch on playables and lacks focus and is creature light. Still we have a lot of removal, so we might be ok.
AAA 01 - Round 1
Blah, Devour and lack of creatures is a pain. Dealing with a Broodmate isn't a picnic either. I make a few mistakes (like not pinging a creature about to die with the Cultist) but ultimately I just ran out of gas in game 3.
AAA 02 - Draft
Things come together pretty well, except in pack 3 we end up a little heavier in red than I would of liked to be with 3x Squires and 2x Nacatl. Maybe I should of put in the Thorn-Trash, but I was a little turned off to it (and Devour) in the last draft. The mana was a bit weird, but with luck we'll be able to get our aggressive starts and use our removal and finishers to end the game.
AAA 02 - Round 1
The tension between mana fixing and early drops is on full display in this draft, fortunately he only gets the 2 Tower Gargoyles in game one and we are able to keep up pressure on him through out games 2 and three.
AAA 02 - Round 2
I make a huge mistake in game one when I didn't tap and ping correctly to ensure he wouldn't have enough damage to kill me on the next turn. I put this mistake behind me and move on to win the match.
AAA 02 - Round 3
Besides a brain freeze that makes me look like I'm slow rolling my opponent, I win this round pretty handily.
So far I'm impressed with Angelic Benediction (even though I was tapping the wrong creature left and right). In a heavy Exalted deck taking out their best blocker gives you a lot of power in the mid-game, forcing them into bad blocks or taking a lot of damage. I've seen some people down this card, but these matches show that they can be a total beating.
Well, thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
AverageDrafter - SSE 05
I'm going to try to squeeze in some more SSE before the Alara drafts start firing and we can put this whole silly 2 set block nonsense behind us.
The Draft
Click here to download the full screen video!
So, the first round of packs seemed to have very little depth in them. Our early decision to go white was reasonably rewarded with Skulk, Cohort, and Procession. Not bad for such terrible packs.
In pack two we seem to be heading back to G/W with a pair of Hungry Spriggans, but a 5th pick Puncture Bolt forces us to reconsider red as our second color. At the end of Pack 2 we are firmly ensconced in white, but are still on the fence about our second color.
Pack 3 beefs up our removal with 2 Unmakes and a Bliss. We also pick up a nice sub-theme of U/B Mimics and Aura.
I also make a last minute (literally!) change to the deck by switching to B/W to run Soul Snuffers over Puncture Bolt. You can see these changes in the beginning of Round 1. The only problem was that I didn't have time to properly make the adjustment. I should have included Scar and Corrosive Mentor in the main deck, but pressed for time (and wanting to record the change) I made the 1 for 1 swap and adjusted my mana.
Round 1
I want you to pause this video at 31:45 (right after his Flame Jab to my dome), and try to figure out what he is up to. I think this exercise will help everyone add another layer of thinking to their play. You have to remember their is another human being across the table from you. If they do something weird or out of place you really have to stop and figure out what they are up to before you continue.
Click here to download the full screen video!
So... did you figure it out? There was a proper course of action to take here had I reasoned out his side of the equation. His activation of the Scrapbasket during his main phase should of been my second clue.
Draft 2
Click here to download the full screen video!
Wow, I just ripped everything I needed, right when I needed it in this round. Not much else to say really. Sometimes Mimics just go off.
Round 3
Click here to download the full screen video!
Pretty straight forward play here. I hate Parapet Watchers!
Well, another 1st in SSE. I'd like to play in the 8-4, but they never fill. With the new set I will start running in more 8-4s if I can.
Till then!
The Draft
Click here to download the full screen video!
So, the first round of packs seemed to have very little depth in them. Our early decision to go white was reasonably rewarded with Skulk, Cohort, and Procession. Not bad for such terrible packs.
In pack two we seem to be heading back to G/W with a pair of Hungry Spriggans, but a 5th pick Puncture Bolt forces us to reconsider red as our second color. At the end of Pack 2 we are firmly ensconced in white, but are still on the fence about our second color.
Pack 3 beefs up our removal with 2 Unmakes and a Bliss. We also pick up a nice sub-theme of U/B Mimics and Aura.
I also make a last minute (literally!) change to the deck by switching to B/W to run Soul Snuffers over Puncture Bolt. You can see these changes in the beginning of Round 1. The only problem was that I didn't have time to properly make the adjustment. I should have included Scar and Corrosive Mentor in the main deck, but pressed for time (and wanting to record the change) I made the 1 for 1 swap and adjusted my mana.
Round 1
I want you to pause this video at 31:45 (right after his Flame Jab to my dome), and try to figure out what he is up to. I think this exercise will help everyone add another layer of thinking to their play. You have to remember their is another human being across the table from you. If they do something weird or out of place you really have to stop and figure out what they are up to before you continue.
Click here to download the full screen video!
So... did you figure it out? There was a proper course of action to take here had I reasoned out his side of the equation. His activation of the Scrapbasket during his main phase should of been my second clue.
Draft 2
Click here to download the full screen video!
Wow, I just ripped everything I needed, right when I needed it in this round. Not much else to say really. Sometimes Mimics just go off.
Round 3
Click here to download the full screen video!
Pretty straight forward play here. I hate Parapet Watchers!
Well, another 1st in SSE. I'd like to play in the 8-4, but they never fill. With the new set I will start running in more 8-4s if I can.
Till then!
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