Drafting Avacyn Restored

Me and Liz went along to Hemel to do a draft of Avacyn Restored last night; probably the last time we'll be able to go for a little while. This would be the second time to draft the set, so we had a bit of an idea about what some of the cards did. 

The Helvault and Avacyn Restored draft

Due to some illness, I didn't go along to a Avacyn Restored pre-release. With a baby coming along soon I'm not going to be going to as many events as usual, so I didn't mind too much. I had a look through the set while it was being spoiled and it looked interesting though (but I sometimes find it hard to see what a set looks like without playing it). It wasn't one that I looked through and thought it looked awesomely fun straight away, but not all sets do that, so that's fine. There were a couple of fun looking cards, that I might try to get for a couple of decks. It seems to take me a couple of days to listen to the Magic pod casts I listen to (The Mana Pool and Limited Resources), so I think by that point I had listened to the pre-pre-release ones so was about as prepared as a pre-release (which, it kind of was to me, the second interaction with the set [1])


Even though we had missed the pre-release, on the weekend the set was released we popped in the comic shop I play at sometimes (Chaos City in St Albans) as it was free comic book day (and we were passing through St Albans), and were asked if we wanted to come to the Monday night Magic event they were doing, which would be a draft of the new set. We said we might come along if we had the time spare to. As it was on a bank holiday, we did have a bit of time, and did make an effort to go along, if anything because it's a few set and we'll have less Magic playing time soon...

Dark Ascension draft

I've not been able to draft as much as I would have liked recently, so was happy that me and Liz had a spare evening to go along to Hemel yesterday. Getting ready, we wondered how many times we had actually drafted the set, figuring it had only been once, maybe twice. I had gone to the pre-release so was one time up, but it was still a lot less than I would have liked. 


Sitting down, we opened the Dark Ascension pack and I had a look through, before deciding that, as I hadn't played the set much (and won't have much of a chance to soon), I would go for a fun deck as opposed to a super powerful one, and went with Diregraf Captain, with the intention to get a fun Zombie deck. 

Magic deck: HaakonStorm

When Innistrad was first being spoiled, one card that caught my eye was Rooftop Storm. Reading the card, I thought it would be fun to pair it with Haakon, Stromgald Scourge...

Dark Ascension pre-release

Bit late for this posting now, but I've been busy. 


Went to the Dark Ascension pre-release in St Albans the other weekend - it was on a Sunday (so they had already run two the previous two days). I had donated some basic land cards as there was a message on the forum saying they were low and couldn't get hold of any land stations. Luckily I had a box of spare lands that I sent along to be used over the weekend. 


I got there a bit early and we waited around until the start, lining up to get the boosters and then we all opened them at the same time (I got mine towards the end of the line so didn't have to wait as long as others). 

Drafting the Laboratory Maniac deck

I did another draft last night and, while I didn't do well with blue last time, ended up playing blue again. I had been reading about an archetype where you mill yourself and make many spider tokens over and over again, but didn't want to go into the draft looking to play the deck, and just went with what I saw. As it turned out, I ended up going with a deck very similar anyway. 


When I opened the pack, the first card I picked was Skaab Ruinator. Massive creature, evasion; generally a great bomb. Meant I was going to be in blue again, but I had a win condition, whereas last time I just had ways to delay my inevitable defeat. It also meant I would have to be looking into playing cards that filled my graveyard, so kept that in mind. I can't remember what my next pick or two were, it might have been a Victim of Night. But my pick either 3 or 4 was Laboratory Maniac, which looked so fun I took it and decided to build my deck around it...

Halloween Game Day

Yesterday, on Halloween (Monday 31st October), I went to the Game Day that a nearby shop (Chaos City Comics) was running. It was a standard tournament, so I took along a deck I had already made: Mono-Black Infect [1]. 


I had updated it quite a bit since the last time, and was taking a few things of the  evolving metagame into consideration (when I first made the deck, it was mostly for fun, and the only thing to really play against was Caw-Blade). I had taken out the battlecry aspect because, although it had a nice synergy with the deck, wasn't always going to come together (as I would need a creature with infect in order to make the battlecry relevant, so I decided to instead focus on cards that are good or at least alright on their own, as well as with others). 

Innistrad First picks

I opened an interesting looking booster recently. Definatly something that has multiple good cards to consider for a first pick.  


This was the top 7 cards that there was in the pack. 

First experiences with Innistrad (and some first picks!)

Although I didn't make it to any of the official pre-releases and releases, I have been able to play some games now (including a draft!). 


So far I have done a practice sealed deck creating and playing with Liz, and started an Innistrad league, and done a draft at Hemel. Playing with Liz was the first time I used the double sided cards, and I tried both with sleeves and without using the checklist cards. I like the cards themselves, but so far think they are a bit awkward to play with. I didn't like them too much in sleeves because I wanted to be able to see the other side a bit easier when it was in play (and it would be a bit obvious what is in your hand if you try to look at the other side while in your hand). I didn't like the unsleeving it to transform it too much as it was a little awkward. Hopefully these issues will be lessened once I know what is on the other side of the card a bit better so I won't need to check the other side as much. Playing with the checklist cards was a bit better when they were in play because it was easier to check the other side, but I didn't like using the checklist cards while not in play too much. When I played a checklist card, I had an awkward moment when I didn't know what to do with the checklist card - I couldn't keep it in my hand as I had cast it, I didn't want to put it on the battlefield in case I mistook it for a token (I sometimes use the back of cards for tokens), so I ended up making an awkward pile away from my graveyard (again so I didn't mistake it for my graveyard pile). I also had the problem of not knowing exactly what the cards did by name when having checklist cards in my hand, with extra awkwardness when drawing multiples (image below is my hand from turn 2 or 3 when I was playing against Liz)

Summary: DFC's are a bit awkward

Last M12 draft - Winston Star

At Hemel last night was probably the last M12 draft I'll be doing. As there was only 5 of us, we did a different format than usual. We did a Winston Draft between the 5 players, planning to play the Star Format as there was 5 of us. 


I started off the draft, with nothing particularly interesting in either pile, but opted to take a Plummet in the last pile as it is somewhat alright (and going to have some targets with multiple opponents) as I didn't want to risk getting something worse. In hindsight, I should have taken the card off the top as it was Sorin's Vengeance which the person after me took. 


When the pick came round to me again, the first pile hadn't been taken and now had about 6 cards, so I took it as there were a few slightly alright cards. 

Magic Deck: Terravore

As past of my clearing up of the cupboard where I store games (including Magic), I have re-discovered a variety of decks that I've not played in a while. One of these was a Terravore deck which I made a while ago and was a particular favourite of mine for a while. 


As with some of my other recent posts, I will look into what is in the deck at the moment, and think about cards to take out and replace with other ones. 

M12 draft: splashing Overrun

I went to another M12 draft yesterday, where I went 3-0 again (yay). 


The draft started off with a couple of potential colours, but it turned out that I was going to be heavy black so I stuck with that, picking up a few cards from other colours in case I wanted to splash, which I did in the end (I don't think I had enough to make a mono colour deck). 

Looking back: My first Magic deck

I started playing Magic back in my first year of Uni, I had started going along to the Sci-Fi film nights, and one of the people running it told me about the second night the club also ran, for gaming. 


When I went along with some friends, I think all the regulars were playing was Magic (there was a handful of people there, enough for a multiplayer game that wasn't too big). We watched a few games to get the jist of it, then borrowed some decks off people there (I think the first time me and my two mates piloted the same deck as one), and we borrowed other peoples decks for the next week or so to learn the game. 

UBr Draw/Discard casual deck update

When I was last looking at my old casual decks, I said I would update them if possible, and I have done, albeit very slightly. 


This is an update on the Black/Blue/Red draw-discard based deck, build around Underworld Dreams and Megrim. 

Fast M12 draft deck (& first picks)

I went to the usual Hemel draft yesterday. It was M12, so this would be the third time I have drafted it so far I think. Last time I had a fast blue deck. 

M12 (almost) mono blue Draft (and first picks)

After not being able to go draft for a while, I finally managed to get to Hemel to do a M12 draft yesterday. So this post will briefly cover that, and after look at the packs I won and think about first picks from them. 

Old casual Magic decks

I have been sorting out my Magic card collection and came across some old casual decks I used to play, and thought I would have a look at a few and update some, ready for whenever I get a chance to play casually with friends again. 

M12 Release

I went to the M12 release event at my usual place, as the London pre-release I usually go to wasn't running, it was the first time I got to play with the new cards. 


In general, I think the set is quite fun. I didn't do very well on the day (a mixture of my opponents being very good, but mainly me playing badly). 

Commander: Skullbriar, the Walking Grave

After seeing Skullbriar, the Walking Grave, I thought it was an interesting card and wanted to build a Commander deck with it. This post covers my thoughts about the card and the deck I built, including the cards that I used to build the deck, why I chose some of them and what some of the synergies are. 


I think it appeals to the three main player types (Timmy, Johnny, Spike) fairly well. It appeals to Timmy because it is a creature that can swing for huge amounts. It appeals to Johnny because of the keeping counters between zones. It appeals to Spike (although Commander is usually casual, I'm sure there are Spikes playing it) because it is aggressive and keeps its advantages (counters) between zones. 


I like it as a commander because you can play it early and attack with it, so it is relevant in the early game. Also, so long as you keep on hitting your opponents, it scales nicely with other creatures being played. Later on in the game, it is still a strong commander if it managed to get a few +1/+1 counters on it - it can be somewhat risky with low CMC commanders that they have less of an effect later on in the game, and on the other hand, commanders with really powerful effects usually cost a lot of mana, but this doesn't have those drawbacks. 


It also encourages attacking and using it aggressively because, well, if it dies (hopefully trading something), you can get it back and it is the same size (you don't have to start over again). The cheap cost means that playing it from the command zone a few consecutive times isn't going to be greatly prohibitive. 


After a bit of planning and searching through gatherer (and my current card collection), I put together a deck (deck list at the bottom of this post). 


Synergies
Here are some of the synergies of some of the card choices I made for the deck. 


Re-use
Rancor, Aspect of Mongoose, Fallen Ideal, Loxodon Warhammer 
These are a couple of things to boost the commander (or another creature if needed), that can be reusable. Three of them return to my hand to be re-cast, and the other is a decent equipment that I can re-equip when Skullbriar re-played. 


Noxious Revival, Golgari Guildmage, Evolution Charm, Stitch Together, Rise from the Grave 
Returning things from my graveyard, to a mixture of my hand/library/battlefield. I sent an email to The Mana Pool recently about Skullbriar as I had concerns about  it getting a -1/-1 counter and not being able to play it again as it would die before I could do anything to remove the -1/-1 counter, so I ensured I had a selection to return it to my hand or library to remove the counters if I wanted. 

Mighty Emergence, Beastmaster Ascension 

Some static effects that stay around regardless of whether Skullbriar is in play or not. 


+1/+1 Counters
The most common counter in Magic (I think) is +1/+1 counters, so there are a lot of ways to add these counters, and some other creatures that benefit from them (in the case that I can't put counters on Skullbriar)


Bramblewood Paragon
Most of the creatures in the deck are associated with +1/+1 counters, and while the first ability might not always trigger as I don't think there are many Warriors, anything with a +1/+1 counter will have trample, which ups the aggression in the deck considerably. 


Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
There are more green cards in the deck than black cards, so the effect to put counters on them is relevant a lot of the time. The downside is that it only effects creatures that entered the battlefield this turn, but Skullbriar can enter the battlefield multiple times if it dies, keeping the counters each time, so it is relatively powerful. 


Simic Initiate, Aquastrand Spider, Fungal Behemoth, Cytoplast Root-Kin, Soul's Might, Llanowar Reborn
Among other cards, a selection of ways to add counters to creatures. 


My favourite combination is casting Soul's Might on a Fungal Behemoth :)

Spike Feeder, Fertilid, Triskelion 

A few creatures that benefit from having counters (there is a lot of putting counters on my creatures, so if Skullbriar is unavailable, these will quite happily have extra counters). 

Playing
So far I have only managed to play one game since creating the deck, against Liz playing the Kaalia of the Vast pre-made Commander deck (since I got the set of pre-made decks to play with her, this has been her favourite; I don't think I've had a chance to play it myself). 


The game was close, I got to play Skullbriar a few times, and it was still relevant as the game progressed, and was slowly adding up some counters. Oran-Rief, the Vastwood was powerful, but did slow me down a little (as I needed to tap it for the effect, I was effectively a turn behind). 


In the end I lost against a free Angel, but it was a very close game and, most importantly, a fun game. 


Cardlist
This is the current card list, I think there are a few cards I am not too sure on so might replace later on (will have to see what's good in later sets). Doubling Season seems a bit too obvious (and is fairly expensive to buy), but is something I may consider in the future. I haven't included the 'Commander Staples' of Sol Ring (they're all in the pre-made decks at the moment, and a lot of the spells in this deck are colour intensive) and Lightning Greaves (commander already has haste, and I would like to target it to add extra counters). 


Some of the effects return cards from the graveyard to my hand or library, while this means Skullbriar will lose its counters, if it has a -1/-1 counter, I would like it to return to my hand or library to re-set it. 


Commander: Skullbriar, the Walking Grave


CMC 1
Scute Mob - A cheap creature that can be relevant in the later game
Simic Initiate - A great turn one play to follow with a turn two Skullbriar
Predatory Hunger - When I first started playing Magic, someone lent me a deck with this to play multiplayer with. It was awesome
Rancor - Reusable, powerful
Battlegrowth - Eh, it gives a +1/+1 counter if something needs it
Noxious Revival - Returns something, not great but decent enough


CMC 2
Aquastrand Spider - Early Graft creature, can be helpful as the deck doesn't have a lot of flying
Golgari Guildmage - Efficient. The green ability is great with the commander, the black ability is handy if Skullbriar dies with a -1/-1 counter on it
Bramblewood Paragon - Gives Skullbriar trample (if it has a counter), to help encourage more counters :D
Earthbrawn - Pump in a pinch, or just an extra counter 
Evolution Charm - A selection of options, helpful for a Skullbriar -1/-1 counter situation, or to get some more land to play more stuff!
Stitch Together - Some interesting recursion
Demonic Tutor - Go find something awesome
Golgari Signet - Acceleration 
Contagion Clasp - Kill opponents creatures, proliferate my +1/+1 counters
Aspect of Mongoose - Reusable enchantment to make Skullbriar harder to kill
Quest for the Gemblades - Add a load of counters to Skullbriar


CMC 3
Shambling Shell - Reusable counter adding
Hunting Moa - More counters
Spike Feeder - Use of counters
Fertilid - This likes having counters of its own, and is a great target for additional counters apart from Skullbriar
Dismember - Excellent removal
Grim Affliction - Removal and increasing my own +1/+1 counter, erm, count
Beast Within - Catch all removal
Putrefy - More removal
Beseech the Queen - Search for stuff (I think I play this in any Black Commander deck)
Cultivate - Efficient acceleration
Mighty Emergence - Once Skullbriar has a few counters, this triggers each time you re-play it
Beastmaster Ascension - Make stuff bigger. It likes the few proliferate spells, and the deck is mainly combat focused
Fallen Ideal - Reusable enchantment, and one of the few ways to deal with flying
Loxodon Warhammer - A powerful card that can be re-equipped when needed
Tumble Magnet - Appreciates the proliferate spells
Dragon Blood - A simple way to continuously add counters


CMC 4
Cytoplast Root-Kin - An awesome card to spread the counter love :D
Fungal Behemoth - Slowly adds counters and then benefits from them
Creakwood Liege - Pumps creatures, and creates some more if needed
Forgotten Ancient - An interesting way to use counters
Fangren Firstborn - The goal of the deck is to attack anyway, I may as well benefit from being so...
Sporeback Troll - More graft
Garruk Wildspeaker - Lots of options with a planeswalker 
Hunting Triad - Creatures if needed, or a load of counters
Vigor Mortis - Recursion, with added counter bonus


CMC 5
Vulturous Zombie - Gets counters of its own, and is pretty fun in multiplayer
Spiritmonger - Gets counters, regenerates
Ob Nixilis, the Fallen - Gets counters of its own (there are a few cards that get their own counters, but that doesn't mean they don't appreciate extra ones)
Plaguemaw Beast - Repeatable proliferation
Liliana Vess - Planeswalker abilities can be useful
Incremental Growth - Lots of counters! :D
Soul's Might - Adding a huge chunk of counters if you're lucky. Nice synergy with Fungal Behemoth
Spread the Sickness - Removal AND proliferate? Yes please
Rise from the Grave - Returning stuff
Angelheart Vial - Likes counters, card advantage


CMC 6
Vigor - Gives out many counters
Jugan, the Rising Star - Gives out counters
Simic Basilisk - Graft
Triskelion - Likes extra counters (fun with graft)
Brutalizer Exarch - Utility (the remove-a-problem-non-creature-permanent has been useful when I've played it before)
Contagion Engine - Kill an opponents creatures, multiple, repeatable proliferate. Sweet


CMC 7
Cytospawn Shambler - More graft


CMC 9
Decree of Savagery - Yay counters :D


CMC X
Protean Hydra - Gets some of its own counters (tempted to replace with the one that doubles its counters that's been previewed in M12...)
Strength of the Tajuru - Addings lots of counters
Profane Command - Handy utility


Land
Command Tower - Mana fixing
Rupture Spire - Mana fixing
Overgrown Tomb - Mana fixing
Llanowar Wastes - Mana fixing
Golgari Rot Farm  - Mana fixing
Terramorphic Expanse - Mana fixing
Evolving Wilds - Mana fixing
Vivid Grove  - Mana fixing
Llanowar Reborn - Extra counter
Oran-Rief, the Vastwood - Extra counters
Havenwood Battleground - Acceleration if needed
Slippery Karst - Can be useful
Vivid Marsh - Mana fixing
Polluted Mire - Can be useful
14 Forest - Well, kind of essential
8 Swamp - See above

New Phyrexia first picks

Now I have played some games with the new set, and done a draft or two, I thought I'd look over a couple of packs and see what I would pick if  had just opened it in a draft. I have four packs to look over today, what I usually do is pick out the top couple that I would consider picking and compare them before choosing one (and maybe a second, as in if that card wasn't in there or I had just been passed the pack). I only do the top few because it keeps my ramblings down, and there isn't too much to learn about comparing mediocre draft cards.