Shards Limited

[Matt]

I figure this is a better place to talk about my drafts.

P1P1 was Executioner's Capsule vs. Salvage Titan vs. Jund Charm. I went Capsule, trying not to commit to anything so soon. P1P2 was Branching Bolt, P1P3 was Bone Splinters, and by then I was feeling pretty good about this draft! I had some trouble getting quality creatures, though. It's possible I should have been in Bant, as there were several Bant fetches going really late (and a B. Charm and Rhox War Monk), but my mana came out pretty sweet anyway (5 fixers, without resorting to Obelisks), and my removal suite was godly.

The only hiccup was when I opened pack 3 to see Battlegrace Angel staring back at my R-G-B pile. Fuck. I REALLY didn't want to let someone else have that bomb diggity, so I took it, passing an Infest I would have dearly loved in round 3 (although I won that anyway, so fuck you).

//Drafted October 15, 2008

//2cc
Blister Beetle
Cylan Elf
Rip-Clan Crasher

//3cc
Shore Snapper

//4cc
Viscera Dragger

//5cc
Carrion Thrash
Skullmuncher
2 Corpse Connoisseur
3 Skeletal Kathari

//6cc
Undead Leotau
Cavern Thoctar

Bone Splinters
2 Executioner's Capsule
Branching Bolt
Resounding Thunder
2 Bloodpyre Elemental        <--sort of a 5-drop too
Violent Ultimatum

Crumbling Necropolis
Jund Panorama
2 Grixis Panorama
Naya Panorama
6 Swamp
4 Mountain
3 Forest

SB: Blister Beetle
SB: Blightning
SB: Ridge Rannet
SB: Undead Leotau
SB: Bloodthorn Taunter

I'm not sure I built this right. Do I want the other 6-drop? The 7-drop that cycles? Beetle #2 should possibly have been MD. Is Blightning better for my deck than anything I included? My curve was way hevay on 5, I would really have liked another Hill Giant.

Round 1 I got blown out by the eventual winner, who had Hell's Thunder, Predator Dragon, AND Broodmate Dragon. Ouch.

Round 2 my opponent mulliganed to 4, which sucked, but his deck was kind of weak and I still ran him down in game 2 by removing 6382632 creatures.

Round 3 was intense. Game 1 I won a race when he forgot how much unearth I had. Game 2 I lost in swift succession to a bunch of 1/1s. In game 3 my hill giant got triple-Beetled, which was funny, but he fetches for black instead of blue and that stranded a lot of cards in his hand, so following a board-clearing battle, I recovered first.

I had fun, but I didn't immediately take to Shards the way I did with Shadowmoor. There seem to be a lot of useless 1/1s clogging up packs, and it's not as easy to get to 23 playables. The removal is clearly more plentiful, but the creatures seemed pretty sucktacular, although that may be because I was black, which I've heard is awful.

[Disburden]

Yeah, black is pretty suckalicious. I love this format though, it's a whole lot of fun. I drafted a GRW deck the other day with huge beats and the 2R sorcery that does damage to creature or player equal to one of your creatures power. The creatures in blue seem to suck too.

[Matt]

I really hate the Charms, they're so tempting to take P1P1 but when I do it screws me up. Such was the case here, where I took a Grixis Charm and then fell into Esper.

//Drafted October 22, 2008, 1-2

Akrasan Squire

Sigiled Paladin
2 Deft Duelist
Etherium Sculptor

3 Windwright Mage
Master of Etherium

Fatestitcher
2 Outrider of Jhess
Filigree Sages

2 Cloudheath Drake

Resounding Silence
Esper Charm
Grixis Charm
Agony Warp
Call to Heel
2 Bone Splinters
Executioner's Capsule

Seaside Citadel
Bant Panorama
2 Grixis Panorama
Esper Panorama
Obelisk of Esper
4 Island
3 Swamp
3 Plains
1 Mountain

SB: 2 Onyx Goblet
SB: Dispeller's Capsule
SB: Dreg Reaver
SB: 2 Vectis Silencers
SB: Etherium Sculptor
SB: Thoughtcutter Agent

I had a good curve and decent removal, but the deck lacked some punch. 3 toughness could be hard to push through. The second Bone Splinters wasn't very good, there's only so many 2-for-1 trades you can afford to make. The first Windwright was usually weak, since I had few early ways to drop an artifact in the yard.

Round 1 we went to time. I won game 1, and on turn 5 of 5 in game two, he did me in. I was 3 life short of winning 1-0.

Round 2 I punched Kevin's deck in the head. Streak continues unbroken!

Round three I got blown out consistently by Infest, although getting Bone Splinters hit by the cantrip Avoid Fate was extremely bad too. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

[Matt]

I took Ed (see adept blog) to his first draft last night. He did well for a first-timer. Didn't win any matches, but he got some games, and made some decent picks, and only a few deckbuilding mistakes, all of which he at least had some kind of reasoning for.

I, on the other hand, had an awesome draft. P1P1 Hell's Thunder, then got O.Rings 2nd and 4th pick, bookending a Fleshbag. I was waffling between splashing red and black into my white deck (i.e. Naya or Esper) but eventually I just wound up using both and going with a non-shard 3-0 removal-heavy deck.

//Drafted January 29, 2009, 3-0

Akrasan Squire

Bloodthorn Taunter
Dredscape Zombie
Metallurgeon
Tidehollow Sculler
Knight of the Skyward Eye
Knight of the White Orchid
2 Sighted-Caste Sorcerer

2 Guardians of Akrasa
Vithian Stinger
2 Fleshbag Marauder
Hell's Thunder

Viscera Dragger

Scourge Devil

Blightning
3 Oblivion Ring
Magma Spray
Resounding Thunder
Bone Splinters

Savage Lands
7 Plains
4 Mountain
4 Swamp

SB: 2 Excommunicate
SB: Resounding Roar
SB: Yoked Plowbeast
SB: Volcanic Submission
SB: Obelisk of Grixis
SB: Lightning Talons
SB: Bone Splinters

I didn't think I had the creatures to support 2 Fleshbag AND 2 Splinters. The total number varied between 2 and 3 every round. Few were ready for TRIPLE Oblivion Ring.

Ed, on the other hand, had sick luck with his packs. Opened a Sarkhan Vol in the draft, and his complimentary winning pack had a Hellkite Overlord. He also bought two Eventide just for fun, and to maybe pull a Quillspike he's looking for. He got the Quillspike, along with a Stillmoon Cavalier. Beginner's luck, eh?

[Matt]

Okay so...I once again drafted an amazing deck, but punted it to a 1-2 finish. Wtf.

//Drafted June 19, 2009, 1-2 (?!?!?!?)

2 Grixis Grimblade
Goblin Outlander
Dregscape Zombie
Blister Beetle

Brackwater Elemental
Parasitic Strix
Sedraxis Alchemist

Singe-Mind Ogre
Sewn-Eye Drake
Fatestitcher

Monstrous Carabid

Malfegor

Thraximundar
Enigma Sphinx

Terminate
Agony Warp
Scepter of Fugue
Wretched Banquet
Deny Reality
Yoke of the Damned

2 Absorb Vis
Armillary Sphere
Crumbling Necropolis

8 Swamp
3 Island
3 Mountain
1 Plains

SB: Etherium Abomination
SB: Illusory Demon
SB: Dreg Reaver
SB: Rotting Rats
SB: Skeletal Kathari
SB: Suicidal Charge
SB: 2 Obelisk of Jund
SB: Vectis Agents
SB: Jhessian Zombies
SB: Unstable Frontier

[Matt]

Oh and this was another huge disappointment. 0-2 and a bye, whoopee.

//Drafted June 6, 2009, 1-2 (BYE)

Esper Stormblade
Grixis Grimblade
Tidehollow Strix
Zombie Outlander

2 Brackwater Elemental
2 Sedraxis Alchemist
Lich Lord of Unx

Sewn-Eye Drake

Monstrous Carabid
Vectis Agents
Giant Ambush Beetle
Sphinx Summoner

Grixis Slavedriver

Sphinx Sovereign

Wretched Banquet
Call to Heel
2 Sangrite Backlash
Magma Spray
Resounding Thunder

Obelisk of Grixis
Traumatic Visions
Fieldmist Borderpost
Crumbling Necropolis

6 Swamp
4 Island
3 Mountain
1 Plains

SB: Sewn-Eye Drake
SB: Unsummon
SB: Obelisk of Esper
SB: Obelisk of Jund
SB: Skill Borrower
SB: Fleshformer
SB: Intimidation Bolt
SB: Coma Veil
SB: Arsenal Thresher
SB: Sanity Gnawers
SB: Resounding Roar
SB: Where Ancients Tread
SB: Elder Mastery

[crestiksa]

I pick Vithian Stinger and Blood Cultist very high just for decks with all that 1-toughness stuff.  Jund Charm is very difficult to pass, and Infest is, too, although being double black and a sorcery, its not nearly as good.

After going 7-1-1 on day 1 of the GP, my record in Shards limited wearing my Hard Rock Rome shirt is now 11-1-2, in 2 events.  I think the format is all about what you wear.

Seriously, though, Ive done very well with red-based decks in this format, in both sealed and draft, including Naya, Jund, Grixus, and 4 & 5-color,

Mike

[Mantis]

Looks like your record will remain unchanged for years to come....

FYI, we are at zendikar block now and Worldwake, the second set will come out in a while.