Anusien's TTP #1

[Anusien]

Picture Draft is here

Draft:

Pack 1:


Feebleness, Looter il-Kor, Spinneret Sliver, Keldon Halberdier, Ivory Giant, Sidewinder Sliver, Mwonvuli Acid-Moss, Viashino Bladescout, Ophidian Eye, Molder, Fallen Ideal, Ignite Memories, Sporesower Thallid, Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, Ghost Ship

Pick: Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir

Pack 2:


Herd Gnarr, Fortify, Coal Stoker, Deathspore Thallid, Tolarian Sentinel, Prismatic Lens, Clockspinning, Sidewinder Sliver, Viscid Lemures, Aspect of Mongoose, Skittering Monstrosity, Basalt Gargoyle, Soul Collector, Plains

Pick: Soul Collector

Pack 3:


Spiketail Drakeling, Flamecore Elemental, Mana Skimmer, Nantuko Shaman, Coral Trickster, Benalish Cavalry, Prismatic Lens, Ground Rift, Eternity Snare, Skulking Knight, Assembly-Worker, Pendelhaven Elder, Disenchant

Pick: Spiketail Drakeling

Pack 4:


Grapeshot, Mindstab, Slipstream Serpent, Nantuko Shaman, Gorgon Recluse, Children of Korlis, Viscid Lemures, Ground Rift, Dream Stalker, Yavimaya Dryad, Plated Pegasus, Krosan Cloudscraper

Pick: Mindstab

Pack 5:


Orcish Cannonade, Amrou Scout, Keldon Halberdier, Wormwood Dryad, Venser's Sliver, Clockspinning, Bogardan Rager, Sangrophage, Paradise Plume, Paradox Haze, Phyrexian Totem

Pick: Phyrexian Totem

Pack 6:


Ivory Giant, Mindstab, Slipstream Serpent, Nantuko Shaman, Thrill of the Hunt, Shadow Sliver, Bogardan Rager, Traitor's Clutch, Krosan Grip, Ghostflame Sliver

Pick: Slipstream Serpent

Pack 7:


Chromatic Star, Gorgon Recluse, D'Avenant Healer, Wormwood Dryad, Mystical Teachings, Two-Headed Sliver, Harmonic Sliver, Urza's Factory, Kher Keep

Pick: Mystical Teachings

Pack 8:


Scarwood Treefolk, Amrou Scout, D'Avenant Healer, Glass Asp, Prismatic Lens, Ground Rift, Eternity Snare, Return to Dust

Pick: Prismatic Lens

Pack 9:


Feebleness, Sidewinder Sliver, Viashino Bladescout, Ophidian Eye, Molder, Fallen Ideal, Ignite Memories

Pick: Feebleness

Pack 10:


Clockspinning, Sidewinder Sliver, Viscid Lemures, Aspect of Mongoose, Skittering Monstrosity, Plains

Pick: Skittering Monstrosity

Pack 11:


Ground Rift, Eternity Snare, Skulking Knight, Assembly-Worker, Pendelhaven Elder

Pick: Skulking Knight

Pack 12:


Children of Korlis, Viscid Lemures, Ground Rift, Dream Stalker

Pick: Dream Stalker

Pack 13:


Clockspinning, Sangrophage, Paradox Haze

Pick: Sangrophage

Pack 14:


Shadow Sliver, Traitor's Clutch

Pick: Shadow Sliver

Pack 15:


D'Avenant Healer

Pick: D'Avenant Healer

Pack 16:


Penumbra Spider, Errant Doomsayers, Rift Bolt, Aether Web, Assassinate, Pit Keeper, Divine Congregation, Jhoira's Timebug, Chameleon Blur, Subterranean Shambler, Phthisis, Tromp the Domains, Firewake Sliver, Reiterate, Verdeloth the Ancient

Pick: Phthisis

Pack 17:


Ironclaw Buzzardiers, Search for Tomorrow, Icatian Crier, Dark Withering, Goblin Skycutter, Crookclaw Transmuter, Detainment Spell, Psychotic Episode, Sprout, Aetherflame Wall, Vampiric Sliver, Smallpox, Gemstone Caverns, Avatar of Woe

Pick: Avatar of Woe

Pack 18:


Think Twice, Ashcoat Bear, Urborg Syphon-Mage, Cloudchaser Kestrel, Pit Keeper, Sage of Epityr, Divine Congregation, Mindlash Sliver, Thallid Shell-Dweller, Celestial Crusader, Fool's Demise, Living End, Spitting Slug

Pick: Urborg Syphon-Mage

Pack 19:


Terramorphic Expanse, Snapback, Pentarch Ward, Bonesplitter Sliver, Dark Withering, Jhoira's Timebug, Jedit's Dragoons, Savage Thallid, Ancient Grudge, Thunder Totem, Quilled Sliver, Mishra, Artificer Prodigy

Pick: Terramorphic Expanse

Pack 20:


Amrou Seekers, Temporal Eddy, Mogg War Marshal, Drudge Reavers, Cyclopean Giant, Screeching Sliver, Psychotic Episode, Jedit's Dragoons, Faceless Devourer, Pull from Eternity, Merfolk Assassin

Pick: Temporal Eddy

Pack 21:


Errant Doomsayers, Corpulent Corpse, Sprout, Aetherflame Wall, Detainment Spell, Dreadship Reef, Ghostflame Sliver, Ib Halfheart, Goblin Tactician, War Barge, Drifter il-Dal

Pick: Corpulent Corpse

Pack 22:


Cancel, Icatian Crier, Bonesplitter Sliver, Ghitu Firebreathing, Momentary Blink, Might Sliver, Haunting Hymn, Angel's Grace, Claws of Gix

Pick: Cancel

Pack 23:


Amrou Seekers, Flickering Spirit, Call to the Netherworld, Drifter il-Dal, Havenwood Wurm, Basal Sliver, Telekinetic Sliver, Paradox Haze

Pick: Telekinetic Sliver

Pack 24:


Errant Doomsayers, Aether Web, Divine Congregation, Jhoira's Timebug, Chameleon Blur, Firewake Sliver, Reiterate

Pick: Reiterate

Pack 25:


Ironclaw Buzzardiers, Detainment Spell, Psychotic Episode, Sprout, Aetherflame Wall, Smallpox

Pick: Psychotic Episode

Pack 26:


Sage of Epityr, Divine Congregation, Mindlash Sliver, Living End, Spitting Slug

Pick: Living End

Pack 27:


Pentarch Ward, Jhoira's Timebug, Jedit's Dragoons, Ancient Grudge

Pick: Jedit's Dragoons

Pack 28:


Drudge Reavers, Screeching Sliver, Psychotic Episode

Pick: Psychotic Episode

Pack 29:


Sprout, Detainment Spell

Pick: Detainment Spell

Pack 30:


Ghitu Firebreathing

Pick: Ghitu Firebreathing

Pack 31:


Dreamscape Artist, Ridged Kusite, Dawn Charm, Evolution Charm, Pallid Mycoderm, Brain Gorgers, Dust Corona, Vitaspore Thallid, Mana Tithe, Primal Plasma, Vampiric Link, Saltblast, Muck Drubb, Calciderm, Dichotomancy

Pick: Dreamscape Artist

Pack 32:


Dreamscape Artist, Poultice Sliver, Brain Gorgers, Fury Charm, Wistful Thinking, Citanul Woodreaders, Firefright Mage, Simian Spirit Guide, Merfolk Thaumaturgist, Healing Leaves, Jodah's Avenger, Waning Wurm, Molten Firebird, Fatal Frenzy

Pick: Dreamscape Artist

Pack 33:


Battering Sliver, Aven Riftwatcher, Erratic Mutation, Cradle to Grave, Dash Hopes, Shade of Trokair, Vitaspore Thallid, Mana Tithe, Prodigal Pyromancer, Cautery Sliver, Mantle of Leadership, Null Profusion, Fungal Behemoth

Pick: Erratic Mutation

Pack 34:


Utopia Vow, Veiling Oddity, Ridged Kusite, Reality Acid, Citanul Woodreaders, Keldon Marauders, Dust Corona, Simian Spirit Guide, Gossamer Phantasm, Venarian Glimmer, Riptide Pilferer, Fatal Frenzy

Pick: Ridged Kusite

Pack 35:


Midnight Charm, Battering Sliver, Ghost Tactician, Wistful Thinking, Dash Hopes, Essence Warden, Bog Serpent, Primal Plasma, Sulfur Elemental, Riftmarked Knight, Keen Sense

Pick: Primal Plasma

Pack 36:


Cradle to Grave, Synchronous Sliver, Dash Hopes, Aquamorph Entity, Skirk Shaman, Healing Leaves, Revered Dead, Tidewalker, Frozen Aether

Pick: Cradle to Grave

Pack 37:


Utopia Vow, Dawn Charm, Spitting Sliver, Ghost Tactician, Firefright Mage, Wistful Thinking, Fa'adiyah Seer, Merfolk Thaumaturgist, Psychotrope Thallid

Pick: Spitting Sliver

Pack 38:


Saltfield Recluse, Needlepeak Spider, Giant Dustwasp, Uktabi Drake, Aquamorph Entity, Seal of Primordium, Essence Warden, Aether Membrane

Pick: Aquamorph Entity

Pack 39:


Ridged Kusite, Dawn Charm, Brain Gorgers, Dust Corona, Vitaspore Thallid, Mana Tithe, Vampiric Link

Pick: Brain Gorgers

Pack 40:


Brain Gorgers, Wistful Thinking, Citanul Woodreaders, Firefright Mage, Simian Spirit Guide, Merfolk Thaumaturgist

Pick: Merfolk Thaumaturgist

Pack 41:


Dash Hopes, Vitaspore Thallid, Mana Tithe, Mantle of Leadership, Fungal Behemoth

Pick: Mana Tithe

Pack 42:


Keldon Marauders, Dust Corona, Gossamer Phantasm, Venarian Glimmer

Pick: Gossamer Phantasm

Pack 43:


Ghost Tactician, Wistful Thinking, Dash Hopes

Pick: Wistful Thinking

Pack 44:


Dash Hopes, Tidewalker

Pick: Tidewalker

Pack 45:


Fa'adiyah Seer

Pick: Fa'adiyah Seer

Final Decklist:


Maindeck:

8 Island
8 Swamp
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Mindstab
1 Cradle to Grave
2 Dreamscape Artist
1 Feebleness
1 Phthisis
1 Prismatic Lens
1 Aquamorph Entity
1 Corpulent Corpse
1 Erratic Mutation
1 Phyrexian Totem
1 Skulking Knight
1 Slipstream Serpent
1 Spiketail Drakeling
1 Telekinetic Sliver
1 Urborg Syphon-Mage
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Primal Plasma
1 Spitting Sliver
1 Soul Collector
1 Skittering Monstrosity
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Avatar of Woe

Sideboard:

1 Brain Gorgers
1 Cancel
1 D'Avenant Healer
1 Detainment Spell
1 Dream Stalker
1 Fa'adiyah Seer
1 Ghitu Firebreathing
1 Gossamer Phantasm
1 Jedit's Dragoons
1 Living End
1 Mana Tithe
1 Merfolk Thaumaturgist
2 Psychotic Episode
1 Reiterate
1 Ridged Kusite
1 Sangrophage
1 Shadow Sliver
1 Temporal Eddy
1 Tidewalker
1 Wistful Thinking

Draft recording done by Blargware's MTGO DraftCap. Support Blargware!

I started on P1P1 Teferi over Looter, and P1P2 Soul Collector put me into UB.  I felt pretty good about the draft and #TMD told me the Draft went pretty well for me, but I ended up getting blown out in two games.  Game 1 I just got wrecked by Looter-fueled Grapeshots and Conflagrates, and Fatal Frenzy #2 on the guy my Phyrexian Totem was blocking sealed it (#1 got me a 2 for 1 when he played it on a lancer and I blocked with a 3/3).  Game two I drew 8 lands or so in addition to Dreamscape Artisting twice.

[UR]

You seem really set on fixing mana in a two color deck. Why? Jodah's Avenger is a much better card then Dreamscape Artist. Also, Terramorphic Expanse seems less then optimal here where that pick could have been a Snapback.

The other pick that I would have done differently was P4 where I would have taken the Gorgon Recluse over the Mindstab. Mindstabs can usually be picked up much later than this.

[Gekoratel]

I agree a lot with the previous post here are my differences:
P4: Gorgon Recluse //Mindstabs have a way of going very late in drafts and Recluse is pretty strong in UB because they have more discard outlets
P7: Recluse // I consider Mystical Teachings barely playable in draft so I would have taken the Recluse over it.
P19: Dark Withering //Here I'd go with the solid removal spell, while terramorphic is nice I wouldnt be taking it over cards like Dark Withering and Tendrils
P31: Primal Plasma or Muck Drub //I dont even like running Dreamscape Artist when I'm not splashing
P32: Jodah's Avenger is a house that ends game

Thanks for posting the draft it helps to improve everyones drafts skills to look over more drafts.

[UR]

Actually I think Mystical Teachings was the right pick there considering the first pick Teferi.

[Gekoratel]

I totally forgot about Teferi he was certainly correct in taking that card then.

[kirdape3]

Here are the picks I disagreed with and why:

Pick 4 - Recluse over Mindstab - U/B is mostly a defensive deck.  Even at 5 mana, Recluse trades with every non-black ground guy no matter how enormous.  Some decks in this format won't have three good cards left in their hand when Mindstab goes off.

Pick 19 - Both Dark Withering and Snapback are better than the manafixer especially when you have two already.

Pick 20 - Temporal Eddy is best in a very speedy deck that looks to close when that card is played.  Faceless Devourer is an evasive creature and Shadow defense.

Pick 31 - Primal Plasma is really, really good.  Dreamscape Artist in a deck that isn't really that madness dependent is nowhere near as strong as that guy is.

Pick 32 - Jodah's Avenger is SILLY.  He would've been the best attacker you had in the entire deck, no joking.

Pick 34 - Riptide Pilferer is actually the best card in the pack for you, and 9 out of 10 times it'll just be a morph that dies.  Kusite doesn't do very much in your deck except be a madness outlet when you don't have all that many madness cards.

To be honest, while Teferi is actually silly good if you had been Green your deck would've been a complete beating because of how late all the good green cards came back around.  Your U/B deck didn't impress me at all despite having some really solid cards in it; Green/x would've been a lot deeper of a deck.

[UR]

The signals for green in the first picks weren’t right though… I suppose you could have gone:

P4 Nantuko Shaman
P6 Nantuko Shaman

But the rest of the picks up until pack 8 (no point in reasoning beyond that) weren’t that impressive and UB seems much, much better. So I don’t see how you could have been green here.

Switching in pack two or three seems a little late, especially since black did have really good cards (Phisisisisisis, Avatar, etc.) and green wasn't that much more spectacular. Also, because you gave the signal of being UB the picture isn't completely what it would have been if you had given a different signal.

[Implacable]

The choice to go U/B was fine.  However, missed opportunities for double Recluse, Withering, Avengers, and Drubb cost you the draft.

[Anusien]

Probably.  I didn't rate the Withering and the Recluse that highly, I probably should have.  However, I've heard nothing but good things about Dreamscape Apprentice, so do you mind talking a bit more about why that choice was wrong?

Also, not to justify wrong decisions (and I took the Expanse so highly, and the Apprentice in part, because I was looking at BB/BBB of Soul Collector and UUU of Teferi and getting nervous), but I never saw the Mindstab, the Mystical Teachings, the Temporal Eddy, (The kusite got cut because this isn't the right deck; that I went on autopilot dumbly), or the Terramorphic Expanse in the games.  I did see Dreamscape Apprentice twice and wish it could block.

[Dxfiler]

All this talk about UB and possibly UG...

I would've strongly considered going UR.

Picks 1-3 I thought were fine.  Pick 4, where you basically made a bid at a second color, had many viable candidates... mindstab's a nice card, but it comes around very late.  Gorgon Recluse is solid but not worth jumping into black for.  Yavimaya Dryad at 4th is a solid signal that green is open, but UG is tricky in that both colors share many doubles, and you were already looking at UUU in teferi and UU in spiketail. 

I believe grapeshot was the best card in this pack...barely edging out dryad. Grapeshot at fourth is what I consider to be solid gold.  Red removal gets snapped up very high in this block and for a grapeshot to come at you 4th indicates that more solid to good red cards are on the way.   Plus, red is the optimal choice as a second color because many of its spells cost only one red.  Halbridiers, rif bolts, foreshadowi- er sudden shocks.  You get the idea. 

You were clearly blue at this point, and it was clearly going to be your main color...as it should be.  The focus should've been on a fairly light second color that offered removal.  While black seems to be open at this point and you did have soul collector, I really think taking grapeshot is the correct choice here because you want to remain open on colors and just focus on taking the best cards.  You're certainly blue no matter what, but color #2 was not automatically black just because of Soul Collector (which I would've also drafted).

So going down my path, pick four would've been grapeshot... pick 5 the VERY underrated Keldon Halberdier.  The rest of your picks this pack would've been pretty much the same ones as mine.  Lens and slipstream being the only playables picked up from then on. 

Now pack two gets muddy, because you've passed red clearly signaling you weren't going it.  I would've opened up to a pthisis and rift bolt... not even blinking while picking rift bolt.  You obv took pthisis based on earlier choices.  Your path ends up nice because Avatar of Woe comes to you second pick while I'm stuck probably taking crookclaw or hating the avatar.  But it's important to point out that I would've sent very heavy black signals, so that avatar could have likely been picked and something better for me than crookclaw could've been in it's place. 

The draft basically turns into 'what-if's' at this point, but the things I would've done different from a couple picks, going your route, are as follows:

To be blunt, Terromorphic Expanse over Snap Back was just flat out the wrong pick, as stated by many already.  T. expanse is a nice card, but in a 2 color deck that was light on tricks by this point, you should've 'snapped' this thing right up :p  In my UR deck, it would've helped contribute to the curve issues that archtype sometimes suffers from.  In your UB, it serves as a panic button or just a tempo play when you're ramping up to silly stuff like Teferi and Pthisis.

The rest of your TS pack 2 picks were pretty straight-forward.

Your Planar chaos gets very interesting though.

That opening pick just has nothing good for you at all, and while dreamscape artist is the best card for you by a mile... it constantly comes around mid to late.  I seriously would've just hated calciderm here, as its a problem card for you.  The fact that its about 1 tix doesnt hurt either, but it's far and away the best card in the pack and it's not at all something that UR or UB wants to tango with.  The guys in either archtype cant match his body and you can't remove him from the board.  Calciderm against a blue deck usually trades with two guys and does five damage... in the BEST case scenarios.  He's that damaging.

The second pick dreamscape #2 over Jodah's was also just too early for the adorable mana fixer... btw why are you trying to mana fix in a 2 color deck? :p
You had pthisisis and teferi...everything else was manageable.  I think Jodah's Avenger is a 'deal with me or die' card and I'd probably take it over dreamy any day of the week.  The fact that you already had a dreamy makes J. Avenger a must-take here.

pick 3 would've been a 'tom' for me, but erratic for you is right because you didnt go the red.

pick 4 ridged kusite is =/  again, way too early for that card.  Veiling oddity seems too be the pick here.  It's a solid card that you never mind having...and it can occassionally win games.

Pick 6 would've been sulfur elemental for me... but for you its primal or midnight charm.  I realllly like midnight charm... it's a card people ignore that can subtely turn games in your favor.  I like all the charms, but midnight is one of my faves. 

The rest of your picks for PC were again pretty straightforward.  You ended up with a solid UB deck with no glaring holes... but I really think there was a very good chance to have a good to great UR deck in this draft.  People will immediately point out the drought of red cards in pack two, but that was because you shipped them all pack one.  Even if pack 2 still ended up red-light for argument's sake, you would've had rift bolt and a couple small role players such as potentially goblin skycutters, ib halfheart or bonesplitter sliver.  None of those are exciting, but they are all playable and would've gone fine with the pack one.

Pack 3 are where the goodies came, and possibly more had red been cut pack one.  It's hard to say exactly what the deck would've been like, but more than likely a heavy blue deck with lots of threats with about 7-10 red spells mostly being single red.

So there are some thoughts on your draft.  Again, your deck was good and certainly competitive... I just think the chance to draft a monster in UR may have been missed.

- Dave Feinstein

[UR]

Yavimaya Dryad at 4th is a solid signal that green is open,

I strongly disagree. There are so many good green cards in this block (not to mention bombs and solids in other colors) that could have been picked over this card that there is still no way to tell if green really is open. Yavimaya Dryad isn't worth going for either, at least no more than the Gorgon Recluse for instance. There are three cards gone from that pack, one is a rare so that could be anything, one is an uncommon so again that could be almost any of the good cards and one is a common. Commons that get picked that high are probably something like Durkwood Baloth, Errant Ephemeron, Rift Bolt or Lightning Axe. There are more but these are the most likely and so we can't just assume green is open at his point. Trying to conclude any color is definately open at this point seems premature at best.

Probably.  I didn't rate the Withering and the Recluse that highly, I probably should have.  However, I've heard nothing but good things about Dreamscape Apprentice, so do you mind talking a bit more about why that choice was wrong?

The first pick in booster three wasn't wrong per se. The booster was simply that horrible for somebody playing UB. There is a Muck Drubb and a Primal Plasma, both of which are decent cards (and I rate both higher than the Apprentice) but the apprentice is randomly good because it filters lands from your deck while fixing your colors. My pick would probably have been the Primal Plasma but I can't strongly disagree with the Apprentice simply because the Plasma isn't really a bomb either.

The second pick is just wrong imo. Jodah's Avenger is really good, being an evasion creature and being able to protect itself from red spells. It costs 5U so it doesn't require fixing either (hell, sometimes I'll splash for it). The second Apprentice will rarely make your deck because you really don't want to draw a second one. You do always want the Avenger.

[Implacable]

I'd just like to point out that, in any deck with 3+ madness enablers, Drubb is very good.