Clue of Creation (WUBRG Drafting)

Ravnica Clue wacky drafting is an amazing format.  Not only are the rules fun, but it's a way to rescue a draft when you only have three people.  That's what happened this week when I only had two guests coming for a draft on Thursday evening.  A "vanilla" wacky draft really needs a minimum of four people to fire, but three makes for a fun night if you add in the Clue rules.  My two guests were very cool with Clue ("clool"?) so we kept the date and played what was one of the best Clue games I've had!

We picked a really good mix of packs, including a new Hobbit pack.  

Nine great packs and three hidden cards!

I opened Song of Creation and decided to give that a go.  I realized that I'd need to build around it a bit so I kept my eyes open for cards I could cast from places other than my hand.  (I didn't see much.)  This actually would have been a great time to be doing a "progressive draft" (is that the right term?) where you choose your next pack after each round.  Then I could have opened Secrets of Strixhaven for packs two and three to get some prepared creatures.  Here are all my picks:

Radagast doesn't combo great with the Song.

As you can see, I did not do a great job of drafting around the Song.  Not much in the way of prepared, adventures, or flashback-type spells.  I was determined to run it anyways because... because it's a three-color spell in my five-color deck.  Here are some other things I was doing while drafting:

• I drafted a bunch of landcyclers and kept my eyes open for necromancy spells (along the lines of Raise Dead or Animate Dead) but I only got Corpse Churn in the first pack.  I did also get Rooting Moloch which could serve the same purpose, however.  
• When I picked the Elvenking's Halls in pack three, I thought to myself that it would be great if I could pick all three multi-lands in a row.  Then I grabbed the Avenger's Hangar and Azorius Guildgate in my next two picks.  Awesome!  It feels really good to have six mana-fixing lands for this, especially since Clue provides Treasures that can go a long way in fixing too.
• I got a lot of other fixing too!  I don't know how I got so lucky, especially at a table with only two other people.  I didn't even run the Doc Samson I grabbed.   

Here's the deck I built from those picks:

No Doc Samson needed here.

We dealt out the Clue cards and rolled to see who was up first.  

One suspect, one weapon, and four rooms, a good distribution of cards.

I won the roll, so:

• Player 1 was me,
• Player 2 was on Boros, and
• Player 3 was running Jeskai.  

We decided to play a 20-life game.  This might seem incorrect, because the original Ravnica Clue rules call for 30 life, but after a couple of times wacky drafting with three people, 20 seems much better.  It turned out to be the right call. 

Player two started us off with a Fire Nation Cadets on the first turn.  No one cast anything until their next turn either, so they dropped Wingnut and then hit P3 with the Cadets.  They guessed Apothecary White, Candlestick, and the Conservatory.  P3 showed them a card and took their Treasure token.  P3 did have a play on turn two and cast Oin the Brave, who did a ton of rummaging for them during the game.

On turn three I played Fertilid.  I had Song of Creation in my opening hand and was looking forward to getting more things out of my hand so I could play it more safely, but it would have to wait.  P2 cast Foot Elite and then attacked and hit us both.  (I was not willing to put my Ferilid in harm's way.)  They guessed Mustard, Knife, and Billiard Room.  Thankfully P3 had a card to show, so I didn't have to reveal anything.  That gave P3 another treasure, which meant they were already Storied!  On their turn they played a Boros Cluestone then Action News Crew.  They hit me with Oin, naming Emissary Green, the Knife, and the Conservatory.  I had all three of those in hand, and I figured it was best to reveal a room, so I showed them the Conservatory and took my treasure.  

That was a useful treasure, because I played Donatello, Turtle Techie to start off the fourth round of turns and drew my card.  P2 hit us both and guessed Peacock, Wrench, and Study.  Again, P3 had to show a card and I escaped with only damage.  P3 attacked P2 back, but they got blocked.  They dropped Thor Odinson, however, ready to start hitting in.  At the end of turn four, the life totals were me: 14, P2: 20, P3: 11.

On turn five, I hit P2 with Donatello and guessed Mastermind Plum, the Rope, and the Kitchen.  They showed me the Rope.  They cast Unsubtle Mockery to kill Thor and then attacked us both, but I blocked with Fertilid and used both counters to go ramping.  They guessed Plum, Pipe, and Dining Room on P3, who showed them a card.  P3 hit me and guessed Green, Knife, and Dining Room.  Again, I had all three, and I could again just reveal the room.  Unfortunately, since P3 had asked me two similar suggestion-questions that differed by only one card, P2 vocally pointed out that they knew I had the Conservatory from the first guess.  Oof!  P3 played Ultron Drone, powered it up, and passed, ending the turn with life totals at me: 12, P2: 17, and P3: 10.

I played Zog, Triceraton Castaway to start off turn six and then hit P2 with Donatello.  I guessed Headliner Scarlett, the Candlestick, and the Ballroom.  They showed me the Ballroom.  I played Mindful Biomancer and passed the turn.  P2 played Jessica Jones, Private Eye (this card is so good) and then hit P3 with Wingnut.  They guessed Emissary Green, the Wrench, and the Secret Passage.  I had all three of those cards, so P3 had to pass.  

Photo from around this point.

On their turn, P3 played Speedball, New Warrior and I Corpse Churned for the Fertilid.  The life totals were me: 13, P2: 14, P3: 9.

I attacked P2 with Zog on the seventh turn.  They responded by "channeling" Team Avatar, but I responded with Stolen Stark Tech.  Since Zog was now indestructible and trampling, they didn't block.  I guessed Emissary Green, the Lead Pipe, and the Library; they showed me the Library.  On their turn, P2 punished me by playing Spider-Woman, Secret Agent and tapping Zog, who would be locked down for the rest of the game.  Then they hit me, guessing Emissary Green, the Knife, and the Secret Passage.  It seemed like my opponents were really focused on Emissary Green and the Knife, so I showed P2 the Secret Passage to keep them guessing.  P3 cast Don & Raph, Hard Science.  The life totals ended with me: 12, P2: 8, P3: 9.  I was in a strong place both in life and Clue-knowledge.

I drew Species Gorger on turn 9 and had nine lands.  That seemed like the perfect combo with Song of Creation, so I cast the Gorger first, then the Creation.  We had a discussion about how things happen with the beginning of the end step actions.  (Could I discard before choosing whether to Collect Evidence 6 to make a suggestion?)  I had enough in my yard that it didn't matter, but I'm still curious.  I collected the evidence and guessed Apothecary White, the Knife, and the Study.  P2 passed, but P3 showed me Apothecary White.  Player 2 then cast Renounce the Guilds, and I was faced with a faux Villanous Choice.

P2 and P3's choices were obvious, but mine was not.

I made what is almost certainly the wrong choice and kept the Song of Creation.  P2 attacked me and I chump blocked with Mindful Biomancer.  Then they collected evidence 6 and guessed Emissary Green, the Knife, and the Kitchen.  I was lucky enough to again have all three, so I continued my strategy and showed them the Kitchen.  P3 hit both of us and guessed Headliner Scarlett, the Wrench, and the Secret Passage.  I had to show them the Secret Passage.  I had 8 life, P2 had 6, and P3 had 9.

Why was the Species Gorger the wrong choice?  Because of some other bad choices I made on my ninth turn.  I got really lucky in that I topdecked a spell.  I attacked P3 with Donatello, and they cast Wilt in the Heat to kill him.  I cast Ant-Man, Colony Commander, which I'd drawn and drew into Cycle of Renewal and Knight of Wundagore.  I cast the Cyce of Renewal because I wanted to thin out the lands in my deck and because I'm an idiot.  I then cast Knight of Wundagore and moved to the end of turn to Collect Evidence 6.  (I had plenty in my yard now.)  I guessed Commander Mustard, the Wrench, and the Hall.  P2 showed me the Hall.  I realized I was an idiot because I counted my library to find only eight cards.  I could cast a maximum of two more spells this game.  I would need to win on Clue.  P2 cast Ferocious Tigorilla then hit me with Wingnut.  They guessed Emissary Green, the Knife, and the Study.  I finally had to reveal a non-room and chose to show them Emissary Green.  My secrets were coming out!  P3 cast H.E.R.B.I.E. Scout Unit and then Collected Evidence 6 to also guess Emissary Green, the Knife, and the Study.  I also showed them Emissary Green.  (Is that the right thing to do?)  The life totals were me: 7, P2: 6, and P3: 9.

Turn ten started off with me attacking P2, who blocked and traded.  Then I cast Great Fierce Bee, which seemed like a good idea because of the scrying.  (I should have cast it pre-combat.)  I collected evidence 6, guessing Senator Peacock, the Candlestick, and the Lounge.  P2 showed me the Lounge.  P2 went right to the end step and collected evidence 6 for Mastermind Plum, the Knife, and the Dining Room.  P3 passed so I had to show them the Knife, my last great secret.  P3 also went right to the end step and guessed Headliner Scarlett, the Wrench, and the Study.  I passed and P2 showed a card.  P3 thought for a while, then passed saying "Oh man, so close!"  The life totals were still 7, 6, and 9.

I drew a land on turn eleven and also jumped right to my end step.  I guessed Headliner Scarlett, the Candlestick, and the Study.  P2 showed me Headliner Scarlett.  I also felt like I was really close.  Maybe I could have figured it out from the information I had so far (let me know if you can) but I didn't, so I passed the turn.  P2 played Goblin Plate Mail and then Web Up on H.E.R.B.I.E.  They didn't attack, though, and jumped right to collecting evidence.  They guessed Mastermind Plum, the Wrench, and the Study.  P2 and I both passed.  They accused the same thing and got it correct to win!

This was one of the best Clue games I've had!  The life totals all got pretty low and everyone seemed to be close to solving the murder.  I think I need to improve my deduction skills and ask better questions.  Right now I mostly just shoot in the dark with cards I haven't guessed yet.   

Another draft saved by Clue in an awesome way!  Happy Murder-solving Magicking!

The Hobbit Draft (WUBRG Drafting)

The Hobbit prerelease was at the beginning of August, but this past weekend my FLGS had enough packs to facilitate its first Hobbit draft.  They weren't play boosters from a box, but cardboard-covered blister packs for individual purchase.  (They finally got their shipment of play booster boxes in the day I started writing this, and delays on the next set have already been announced a month before that set releases.)  

Weird but okay.

We had enough for twelve people, so we split into two pods of six.  That's great for a lot of people, but I continue to believe that a bigger table is better for my draft style.  Here's what I drafted:

There are some fancy-looking cards there!

I do think I made a mistake right off the bat.  I first picked that Bilbo, Luckweaver over An Unexpected Party, which is really strong in limited.  I don't have an explanation; I don't know why I did that!  Apparently Black is the consensus best color of this set, but I didn't get much of that.  I very nearly drafted Bilbo-tribal, except I didn't get any copies of Bilbo Baggins, Burglar!  I also checked my picks at the end of pack one and realized I was only in Bant, so I made sure to grab my last two colors in pack two, to avoid being a fraud.  Most important, though, is that I took four Giant's Boulder, a card that is good for me with all three of its abilities.

Here's the deck I was running at the end of the draft matches.  (Why would he say it like that?  Maybe for foreshadowing?)

No one can defeat the Quad-Boulder!

The five lands were pretty good for a six-person pod in a set with basic lands in packs and I even used the Iron Hills' ability multiple times.  My curve here was really low, though, which is weird for me.  I was hopeful I could keep up with the speed of other decks!

In the first round I was up against a Rakdos deck played by a friend who I've faced a lot at store events recently.  I got a Giant's Boulder right off the bat, but they played Gollum the Abandoned on turn two and then Goblin-town Flunkies on the next turn.  I played Ori, Keeper of Songs, but they hit it with Pinecone Strike and then played a second Gollum the Abandoned post combat to hit me with the ETB effect again.  I played Iron Hills Blacksmith, but they didn't flinch and swung in again.  I killed Gollum with Magnificent End, but they sacrificed their other creature to get it back and replayed it.  I was in trouble at six life against twenty.  They attacked and I flashed in Little Bear to hold them off.  They played Smaug, Wicked Wurm, but I hit it with Stone by Sunlight.  I got aggressive and started to hit back.  I put them to nine life and started to think I was safe.  They flashed in Head of the Hunt, hit me on the next turn for four and then played Gollum to end it.

The second game went too fast for me to take good notes.  I know that I held on to Bilbo, Luckweaver in case I needed to trade for a good creature.  All that got me was being in this situation at the end of the game.

I would like to trade your Smaug for one of my non-existent creatures.

 

Oof.  0-1.  

 

In the second round I was up against another of my friends, who wasn't very friendly with Part in Friendship.  

Not this time, Pinkie Pie.

 

In the first game I had a good thing going against their Golgari deck until they played Part in Friendship on turn five.  Their deck consisted of big green beaters including multiple copies of Boughside Wanderers, at least two Wilderland Scroungers, and Galion among others.  It was clear I could not keep up with them auto-replacing all their deaths and I found myself in a familiar situation with only Bilbo, Luckweaver.  

I was less salty because I hadn't been holding it.

 

After that first game loss, I desperately sideboarded to remove removal and replace it with delaying cards such as Velvetwing Butterflies.  In the second game I got off to a fast start with my cheaper creatures.  They played Part in Friendship late, but I had Giant's Boulder up with seven untapped mana and held it off to pull out the win.  

In the third game, they realized just how good their Notary Hobbits were and had 15 mana available on turn six!  They played Boughside Wanderers and found... another Boughside Wanderers.  

Hello everything.

I lasted until time was called and then died on turn three.  0-2.

In the third round I was up against another friend, but one who I rarely am pitted against.  They were running "Bearly Jund".  In the first game they had Goblin Plate Mail out on turn two, followed by Great Fierce Bee (an amazing card) on turn three.  The played a second Goblin Plate Mail on turn four and I played Ori to hold them off.  They drew more with Reverent Howl on their turn, but then I responded with Dreaded Bat Cloud and a Giant's Boulder.  They played Goblin-town Flunkies and then a Rage into the Valley.  After huge value off of the Bee, I finally hit it with Enchanted River's Grasp.  They played a Crude Bent Blade and I flashed in Little Bear.  I attacked to put them to five against my four life.  I played Dwarven Provisioner and used the Iron Hills to pump it up.  I was going to pull it off!  And then they played Beorn, Reluctant Host.  I used my last Iron Hills, but it wasn't enough.

In game two I had a fast start, with a Giant's Boulder into Bilbo, Luckweaver, into Ori, Keeper of Songs.  I continued to be aggressive and got slightly ahead, six life to five, and pulled off the win.  They had Beorn the Fierce in their hand, but didn't have the second green to cast it!   

The third game was another tight one.  We went to turns and I pulled out the win on turn five!  Again they didn't have the second green to cast the Beorn the Fierce in their hand.  Yuck!  1-2.

Bonus Round!  My resident Ravnica Clue hype starter brought their set and we played a game with our draft decks.  Well, most of a game.  Both of my opponents were from the other pod: Player 1 was running Boros Dwarves, Player 2 was me, and Player 3 was playing Rakdos Goblins.  

Here're my Clue cards.

I didn't take great notes, but on turn four I made a classic multiplayer blunder and overextended after hitting for the second time.  I took some heat but I continued to get in on people the next turn and was making a good dent in my sheet.  Everyone kept showing me their suspects so I was narrowing it down quickly.  On turn six, Player 1 cast Stone Giant of High Pass, which granted them archenemy status pretty quickly.  

Sometime during the turn after the Stone Giant landed.

I cast Balin, Loremaster on turn seven and then the manager declared they were closing up the shop!  We decided to write down our best guesses and see who was closest.  I thought I was in good shape because I had just figured out that Mastermind Plum was the killer.  When we revealed our guesses (we wrote them down) I got the suspect right, but Player 2 got both the suspect and the weapon correct.  We didn't quite finish right, but it was still really fun!

This draft was great!  I had so many tight games where the win came down to the last few cards, which is always exciting.  And it was super awesome to get to use my deck for more than just the three draft matches.  1-2 isn't a great result, but I would be lying if I said I didn't have a ton of fun!

I hope Hobbit cards have arrived in your neck of the woods so you get to play this draft format!  Happy Magicking!

Freepack Draft #(n+13) (WUBRG Drafting)

I ran a draft on Thursday with four students, as early in the semester as I could, using the packs I've built from cards donated to me.  We decided to do single-game rounds because many people didn't have much time.  I thought I might have a hard time getting dual lands, but a lot of them came around to me.  Here's everything I picked:

I also first-picked two of them.

Here's the deck I put together.  It's fun to only need six basic lands!

The table was busy, so my comforter is the backdrop this time.

I got all my matches in before people left, thankfully.  In the first round I was up against a swift Boros deck.  They had a Felidar Cub out on turn two, then bestowed it with Mogis's Warhound on turn three.  Thankfully, I had Runic Shot on my third turn to cut it in half.  They didn't slow down, though, and ran out Clarion Cathars.  I played Rhox War Monk on my fourth turn to try and keep things at bay.  They cast Bonded Construct, swung in, and then cast Touch of the Void to kill my Monk after combat.  I cast Unified Front on my turn to slow things down.  They played Dwarven Forge-Chanter.  I passed and then they started swinging again.  I cast Void Grafter to block the Dwarf and then cast Glowspore Shaman on my seventh turn.  Since the board started to gum up (I played more strong creatures), I couldn't keep up with my notes until my opponent dropped Coalition Warbrute.  Thankfully I drew into Infused Arrows.  They played Resolute Blademaster. to again move ahead.  I took that back with Garrison Sergeant.  I played Ruin Processor the next turn and it was over.  1-0.

In the second round I was up against a Selesnya deck with lots of mana.  I got my Glowspore Shaman out on turn two.  They responded with a (face down) Mysterious Creature on the next turn and then Market Festival the next.  I hit the disguised creature with Runic Shot (paying the ward and kicker).  (I don't recall what it actually was.)  They played Pharika's Disciple and Baloth Pup on their turn.  I got my favorite Infused Arrows again and immediately took out the Disciple.  They played Giant Mantis and Harvestguard Alseids on their sixth turn but I dropped Kozilek's Channeler to keep the board kinda even.  On their next turn they played Slip on the Ring to make the Mantis their ringbearer and skulked past my Channeler.  I played Unified Front to avoid taking more skulk damage, but on their turn eight they took out my Channeler with Mighty Leap and Prey Upon (maybe with the Alseids?) and then attacked me with it and the Mantis.  I blocked with all of my tokens and then used my last Infused Arrow to save one of them.  (I think I got confused about Prey Upon and thought it was a "bite" card, not a "fight" card.)  On my turn I played Voyage Home and Pathway Arrows.  After a few passed turns, I played Ulamog's Nullifier and won on turn ten.  2-0.

In round three I was up against someone who had built a bit around Grim Guardian in a previous freepack draft.  They ran one again this time in their Golgari deck, but I didn't get to see it.  This time I kept a two-land hand.  They led off with Pacification Array on turn one, then Leech Fanatic on turn three and Cautious Survivor on turn four.  It wasn't fast, but it was enough since I continued to be stuck on two lands.  I finally cast Glowspore Shaman on turn seven or eight, but it was too little, too late.  2-1.

In round four I was up against a relatively new player.  They started setting up some pieces with Implement of Combusion and Kefnet's Monument on turns two and three.  I played the first creature on my third turn with a 3/4 Tajuru Stalwart.  They played Vile Aggregate on turn four, then I played Arcus Acolyte, then I played Void Grafter.  I tried a successful attack, but they cast Jace's Scrutiny.  They also Negated my Runic Shot.  I kept the pressure up on my next turn, though, and cast Unified Front.  On turn eight, my opponent cast Murk Strider, Mist Intruder, and Essence Scattered my Garrison Sergeant.  I still kept attacking in, though, and won shortly after.  3-1.

I really appreciate all the people that have donated cards to me in the past that make these free drafts possible!  I know people often want to get rid of bulk, but it's not nothing to hand these cards off to me and I love running these for students.  It's not a long list, so Thank You!

And Happy Magicking!