We opened a really fun set of packs last night in a chaos draft. We had a variety of normal draft boosters, Mystery Boosters, and boosters for alternative formats (Conspiracy and Conspiracy 2). Here's the whole assortment:
This draft went really well. I had a sufficient mix of multi-color lands as well as land cyclers. Here were my picks:
I ran 17 lands, which I think were too many. I think I need to compensate for lots of land cyclers. I got mana-flooded often. Here's the deck I built:
I named "cycling" for Inspirational Antelope's Legacy mechanic (I refused to actually write on the card) because it counts basic landcycling and swampcycling. (We looked it up!) That means I had 4 cards that could become cheaper with it. As it turns out, it probably would have been better to name "flash". Nevertheless, I was determined to get a discounted spell off the antelope!
We played single-game rounds and were able to get all three rounds in. In the first round I was up against aggro Grixis. I got steamrolled. I made a big play mistake, removing a bigger creature instead of a smaller creature with Followed Footsteps. It wouldn't have made a difference, though. I lost so fast that we played two more games and I lost them both. 0-1. (I did not get the antelope out. In any of the games.)
In the second round I was up against aggro Boros. Daring Skyjek was good against me in Return to Ravnica block, and it hit the battlefield on turn 2. Two turns later and it was flying in to my life total. I tried to get some blockers down, but couldn't keep up and lost even faster. 0-2. (No antelope.)
In the third round, I was up against value Selesnya with a bunch of toxic creatures. I got the antelope out early, but didn't get to cast any cards with cycling. (Sadly, the benefit doesn't help with Ketria Triome.) I went down to 9 as the battlefield supremacy went in my opponent's favor, then wavered back and forth. My opponent became The Monarch and then With the ground gummed down, I got Spire Monitor out and that turned the tide for me until we were both near 10 life, then it died to a Smell Fear. Then I played Juniper Order Ranger and creatures over the next few turns gave me the power to break through the ground lock. The turn before I swung for lethal, I cashed in on the Legacy mechanic and cast Gloomfang Mauler for 6. Yes! 1-2.
This draft was wicked fun. I often feel more comfortable flipping through Mystery booster cards than recent packs, because I'm less familiar with many of the newer cards. Also, as soon as we were done I was ready to draft again. (That actually happens a lot. I wonder how many drafts I would have to do in a row before I needed a break.)
I do really want to know how things would have been different if I had run one or two fewer lands. (I need to actually remember this lesson during the next draft!)
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