I got to run another free draft on Friday night with cards donated to me. (I don't get to do this often, so it's fun that there were two in a row!) This time we had seven, two of which were first-time drafters. I explained the process a bit more clearly this time and we drafted without issue. Here's everything I picked:
I didn't pull enough fixing here. Four lands and three mana-fixing spells (Chromatic Sphere, Pitiless Plunderer, and Crossroads Candleguide) didn't really get the job done. I did draft two big cards with three pips in blue and green, but decided against running them in the end, which I was bummed about. Here's the deck I put together:
We had decided on single-game rounds to try and get all the matches in, which we succeeded with! It was really great to see everyone excited to get all the games in.
In the first round I was up against one of those first-timers and the Orzhov deck they'd put together. We both mulled twice, but I got stuck on two land. My opponent played two Drana's Emissary and just kept attacking. I was dead on turn six. 0-1.
In the second round, against an Izzet deck, I got Arabella on turn two and got up early. I realized that I didn't have a ton of power-two-or-less-creatures in my deck, but it was enough that I went up early. I continued to attack while my opponent flooded out. 1-1.
In round three I was up against a Gruul deck with some big Eldrazi in it. I agained mulled twice, but then I got to play Ravenous Rats and follow it's death up with Surgical Suite to force a second discard. That card was Bane of Bala Ged, which they had searched up with Fierce Empath. Unfortunately, I was stuck on three land and they played a Grove Rumbler that I just couldn't deal with. 1-2.
In the fourth round I was up against one of the two Selesnya players. I played Permeating Mass early, which kept their attackers at bay. On turn 5 I played one of my Garrison Sergeants and I did have a gate to pump it up. My opponent trapped it in a Deserter's Quarters after a few turns, but I had a wide board and got to keep swinging in. I transformed Pyretic Prankster into Glistening Goremonger and forced them to sacrifice the Quarters when it died in combat. The Sergeant led me to victory. 2-2.
In round five I was up against the other Selesnya deck, also played by a first-time drafter. They got good stuff and I failed to draw any red sources while my hand kept filling up with red cards. Even with all my colors I often fold to a bunch of efficient creatures. 2-3.
In the final round I was up against a player who was giving five-colors a try. I got the Ravenous Rats out on turn two and my favorite Garrison Sergeant showed up on turn five. That stayed on the board kept the pressure on until I won. 3-3.
We finished all 21 possible matches, and everyone seemed committed to staying to get all the games in. There were only three records: 5-1 (two people), 3-3 (three people), and 1-5 (two people) which is a bit surprising.
I'm not sure what I personally learned from this draft, except that I wish I had taken more lands. I can't remember exactly what I took lands over, though. Mostly I'm glad everyone had fun! Happy Magicking!
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