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