Ravnica Remastered: WUBRG Drafting

I loved drafting Ravnica (RGD) block.  I was pretty good with Return to Ravnica (RGD2).  I got in a lot of Guilds of Ravnica and Ravnica Allegiance drafts and did quite well.  Ravnica Remastered?  I got this.

Or not, because I went 1-2.

I went into the draft knowing next to nothing about the set.  (I still feel that way.)  In the first pack, I saw a lot of gates going around, both in the new and old borders.  So... I didn't worry about taking them.  Unfortunately that strategy didn't pay off as they were scarcer in the second and third packs.  I managed to get 7, but I really needed more.  Here were my picks:

Packs left-to-right, picks front to back, as usual.

I was so excited to see that Gate Colossus in pack 3!  My normal rare-drafting tendencies went out the window.  I was not bummed to see a dearth of gates-matters cards, as that made 5-color drafting tricky in Ravnica Block #3, but I should have known that it wouldn't be enough.

Here's what I would try if I were drafting this again.  And... this might only change my picks slightly.

• More gates.  As always, you're always going to run the dual lands you get.  That card is definitely going to make the cut.
• Get those XXYY-cost creatures.  The cycle is so good.  They're hard to cast, but if you take enough gates, you should be able to make it happen a lot of the time.
• There's lots of removal in this set.  It's good.

Here's the deck I ran.  (I did make some sideboard changes in rounds 2 and 3.)

I took this photo long after the event.  Missing is a Blind Obedience I traded.

In my first round, I faced off against an Izzet deck that was a bit low on spells.  (I think they said their deck was split 20 spells/20 lands.)  I was able to capitalize on that, though the second game was nearly lost because they threw out an overloaded Cyclonic Rift.  I rebuilt my board as fast as I could and got in for the last damage, but it was definitely close at the end.  

In the second round, I was up against Tristan, who is becoming quite the blockade for my decks.  He had a Rakdos deck with a white splash for one or two Blind Hunters, which is a card that did a lot of work for me back in Guildpact.  His deck was quite fast.  I lost game 1, but Blind Obedience stymied his assualt and helped me outvalue to win game 2. (Extort is real good.)  In game 3, I was trampled again.

In the third round I faced a strong Dimir deck with loads of good removal, especially multiple Undercity Embraces, when I always had only one creature.  My opponent never gained the life off of it, but it didn't matter and I lost in two or three games.  (I don't remember for certain.)

I don't think my deck underperformed.  I think I underperformed.  In the drafting stage.  I got stuck without the necessary colors multiple times.  (I think this is the first draft where my friend, JC, would have said 5 colors caught up to me.  He would be very happy.)  Of course, it's possible that my plan above would be equally bad, with the XXYY spells often being just as unplayable.  

However, this is a remastered set.  So... I'll probably never get the chance to draft it again.  Which is too bad, because it is really fun.  I like that you're mixing all the guild mechanics together from the last two decades, e.g. Haunt + Extort + Afterlife.  It is perhaps the most fun Ravnica draft format ever.  Even if I'm bad at it.

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty: WUBRG Drafting

I love it when stores draft old sets.  I certainly not at all tired with Lost Caverns of Ixalan; I haven't been out to draft it much.  Still, I'm happy to visit old stuff.

Especially since I don't think I'd drafted Neon Dynasty before!  Wow!  Here's what I picked.  First pack on the left, picks from first in front to last in the pack at the back.

Sometimes I didn't feel like reading and just grabbed the pretty land instead. 

Some useful WUBRG drafting notes:  (I am probably the only one who looks at these, but that's good enough.)

• I really don't know this set well.  There were many cards I was reading for the first time.
• I figured out in my second pick that I should be doing 5-color Shrines.  I think that one or two other people were taking shrines, so I only got these four (2x Shared Purpose, 1x Lost Wisdom, and 1x Ancient Wars) plus two Shrine Stewards.  I think I got two or more shrines every game except for one.
• I was so happy to see all the refuges.  I was very underwhelmed by Uncharted Haven, though I did run one and it came in use multiple times.  Don't be afraid to grab it.  It gets the job done.  
• There isn't a cycle of basic land cyclers like in more recent sets, but there is essentially one in white: Sunblade Samurai, with a life gain upside.  
• Greater Tanuki is excellent.  I wish I had got more than just one.  
• Ecologist's Terrarium is great.  

I think I should have come back and modified my deck, but here's what I started with, and I didn't bother to change it throughout the night:  (Please point out where you think I made mistakes!)

I never saw the flying turtle nor the flying fish!

In the first round I was playing against an Abzan deck who unfortunately got quite mana screwed.  I had a slow start, so they had the chance to get in to the game, but I out valued them with shrines both time and won the first two games.  We finished pretty quick, so we played two more games, trading wins, I think. 

In the second round I was matched up against a fast Gruul deck.  In one of the games they got stuck on two lands for a long time, but still managed to hold me off with Bamboo Grove Archer, Jukai Trainee, and some combat tricks.  I managed to get the upper hand, then they cast Invoke the Ancients.  I had an amazing response to that in hand, thankfully: Hidetsugu Consumes All.  This match didn't seem to last longer, but we were the last ones playing.  I won 2-0.  

In the third round I got flooded.  I don't say this as an excuse for losing both games, but as a note to future me not to keep lots-of-land hands, even if they have all my colors.  It is way too common for me to draw land the first three turns when I already have plenty.  My opponent was a strong and fun opponent who had drafted a Rakdos deck with lost of low-cost creatures and flip-sagas, which got a lot of value.  I got overrun, though I put up a pretty good fight in game 1.  Game 2 was short, and deservedly so.  My Inkrise Infiltrator held out as long as it could, but I just kept drawing land.   

Some other cards that were just great for me:

• Roaring Earth, which I'd drafted before in a chaos draft.  Either great early value or another creature later.
• Gravelighter is so cool.  I don't think I've even seen this card before.  
• I felt like my opponents misplayed against Kappa Tech-Wrecker.  I got way more value out of this card the two times it showed up than I should have. 
   

Most importantly, perhaps, is that I particpated in the Wheel of Fate, a cool thing that Intergalactic Plastic does.  When they are running Wheel of Fate events, you can pay an additional $5 to participate.  Then, whenever you finish a game during the event, win or lose, you get to spin the wheel, for up to five spins.  At a draft like this, so long as you don't get a bye, you're going to play at least six games, so you're good.  (The store is pretty good at avoiding the bye by including staff if there's an odd number.)  It seems like you don't need to spin during the actual event either; I think that if you played an EDH game before or after the event you could also count that for a spin.  They want you to get to the five spins.

It is too small to be a Wheel of Fish, thankfully.

I spun the following prizes:

• Promo: some random promo cards.  (I got the one at the top that looks like "Prom".)
• Snack: I chose a Slim Jim.
• $3 card
• $3 card.  I got to combine these into $6 towards singles.
• Drink, which I didn't redeem.

This was very fun!  I will probably do this next time it's happening during the draft!