Draft #3: June 7th, UBW

Tonight I 3-0ed another draft, but this time I had actual competition!

I started off with a Nullmage Shepherd from a VERY weak Ravnica Pack, over Shambling Shell and Spectral Searchlight. I then fell into natural black with Gasp and more. I expected to go UBW and pick up some hellacious fliers and removal, but the fliers never came. I didn't see a single Blind Hunter, and very little Orzhov goodies. Dissension was somewhat better. I opened a SSS, and should have taken a Simic land or signet to work with it. I kept getting passed packs with Condemns, meaning I had to pass on the Seal of Dooms and Azorius First-Wings I wanted. I though my draft had gone terribly but upon building the deck I noticed just how much removal I had and that gave me some confidence. Here's what I played:

The men:

1 Exhumer Thrull
1 Woebringer Demon
1 Agent of Masks
1 Dimir House Guard
1 Guardian of the Guildpact
1 Entropic Eidolon
3 Ostiary Thrull
1 Minister of Impediments
1 Terraformer
1 Sadistic Augermage
1 Shrieking Grotesque
1 Veteran Armorer

The magic:

1 Ribbons of Night
1 Last Gasp
1 Seal of Doom
2 Plumes of Peace
2 Condemn

1 Strands of Undeath
1 Compulsive Research

The mana:

1 Azorius Chancery
1 Azorius Signet
1 Orzhov Signet
6 Swamp
6 Plains
4 Island

And the great and powerful Oz:

1 Forest
1 Simic Sky Swallower

Notable sideboard cards:
Slaughterhouse Bouncer
Supply & Demand
Castigate
Perplex
Vaccuummelt
Stasis Cell

If I'd had more green I might have maindecked S&D, to make Saps or to tutor up Simic Sky Swallower. I never sided Vaccuummelt in, since I had no good guys to use it with and I wanted actual removal more than bounce for his guys - I didn't have the fast flying legion to play the tempo game.

Round one I faced off against a very good RGU deck featuring 2 Trygon Predator, 2 Ghor-Clan Savage, a Steamcore, a Sporeback Troll, and more. I got trashed game one depsite trying very hard to stay in it. Game two I sided out the green plan (SSS, Forest, Terraformer) in favor of Perplex, Stasis Cell, and Slaughterhouse Bouncer - I noticed he had a lot of big guys I wanted to kill, and I usually had an empty hand. Since he had so many good cards, I figured Perplex would be a hard counter often.

I came out as fast as I could, bringing his life total down. Woebringer was good here. Towards the end, I had a Guardian of the Guildpact beating him down through some monocolored guys, and made the techy play of transmuting Perplex for Grotesque, which robbed him of his only card (an island) and forcing him to deal with two evasion guys with his one topdeck while at 1 life. He didn't. At some point he ruined me a bit with Kindle the Carnage for 5, which surprised me since I thought it only hit one creature, not wrathed the board. Later he Chronarched for it and replayed it, but I had only Guardian and he had two guys - he had misread the protection ability. This won me a very important game.

This guy was kind of a dick, doing that stupid card flicking thing, and there is nothing I love more than beating people who do that. He did it hard and often enough that he was bending his cards; had this been sanctioned I would not have hesitated to call a judge on him for marked cards. Anyway in game three he started off with land, bounceland, land, bounceland. His first spell came far too late and I rolled him.

Round two was another hard one. I again lost to a good start - he made Evangel, I Plumed it, but he had the Absolver Thrull (and Indrik Stomphowler later). I got overrun fast, finishing with Rotwurm.

I sided in Castigate and Perplex for Plumes and Strands, minimizing my vulnerability to enchantment removal. I played an early Castigate, taking his Absolver Thrull over Conclave Equenaut, then Plumed his Evangel. He hardcast the Equenaut but I answered with Woebringer Demon, and that turned tempo savagely in my direction.

Game three was epic beyond description, but I'll try anyway. We fought back and forth for awhile. I attacked with my Guardian only to discover that Golgari Rotwurm isn't actually monocolored. Oops. That almost cost me the game. I Exhumer Thrull'd it back. We sat on some large forces - my Condemn surprised the heck out of him, but the second one dropped his jaw. The life totals were his 23 to my 5 when I dropped Agent of Masks. The Agent gained me some much-needed life, though it looked like I was going to be overrun by a rampaging Evangel with no removal in sight. Then I topdecked the most beautiful card ever - ICE AGE FOREST. I unhesitatingly dropped my Simic Sky Swallower, which I think made his heart skip a beat. That beautiful 6/6 tore huge chunks of life out of him, but at eleven life, just after I dropped Woebringer Demon, he had a plan: Angel of Despair.

Angel nuked my recast Guardian. I untapped and swung with Triple S and my Exhumer Thrull, which bit the dust and haunted his Angel, bringing him to five. I haunted the Angel because I expected it would have to chump block next turn (he had very few fliers). He dredged up his Shambling Shell and played it and passed and this made me think hard. I had to lose either Demon, Agent, or Sky Swallower. I chose the Agent. I attacked into him, dealing 4 from Woebringer, and when the Shell+Angel traded with my Sky Swallower and the dust cleared (a LOT died here), the board was left as: his three Saprolings, Evangel, and some dumb 2/X guy. My haunting Thrull brought Sky Swallower back, so I had SSS and Woebringer Demon. He was at one life, I was at 11. He swung with everything, and I had to do my final thinking: I added it up and he had six power on the board. Is there anything that pumps for five? Then I thought: omfg, Gaze. Of the. Gorgon. I knew then not to block with Swallower, and I was right: I took my six, and he flashed the Gaze at me and scooped. PHEW!

Round three was kind of a letdown after that. He was the guy to my right who I had cooperated with to give him all the RGU love while he gave me the BW love. I MASSACRED him, it wasn't even close. I won four packs, which contained nothing much of note, except that both of the first two packs I opened had the EXACT SAME common runs - all eleven cards identical, and in the same order. Freaky.

Perplex was really good, I probably should have maindecked it over the green plan, and only sided into that when unstoppable fat was called for.