The Prodigal King Returns to Chaos

I ran a draft on Wednesday and at the last moment people were interested in a Kingdom draft!  I have been looking forward to this, so I joined right in!  We had a player who had moved away but was visiting, and they pulled the King role.  Everyone picked the packs we were opening first, but we probably should have handed out the roles first.  I don't know whether anyone would have changed their picks based on the role, but then they could've!  Here's what we opened:

The Battle For Zendikar-War of the Spark-Zendikar Rising triple was the King.

We didn't reveal our roles yet, but we certainly knew them while drafting.  I got the Knight card, which was pretty crazy, because the last time I drafted in a Kingdom, I was the Knight for the same player!  That time I did a terrible job convincing them I was the Knight, so I vowed to do better.  I tried to keep my role in mind while drafting.  Here's what I picked:

The sixth card I picked in pack three is hard to read, but it's Queen Brahne.

I've got some notes about these picks!

• I almost didn't draft any white cards!  Whew!  I'm not a WUBRG-fraud!  (This time, at least.)
• I picked the Balamb T-Rexaur over The Lunar Whale.  That was probably the wrong pick, but the T-Rex did a lot for me.  
• I took more combat tricks than I normally do.  The plan behind that was that using them to help the King out would make it more clear that I was on their team.  Spending cards like that means committing a lot of resources! 
• I think we need to be more strict about table talk during Kingdom drafts.  When Queen Brahne came back around, I mused aloud that the King probably should have taken it.  That could have outed me as the Knight if people had thought more about it and figured out what card I was talking about.  I decided to take her because I figured it would be okay for me to get the Wizard triggers so long as the King was in agreement.

Here's the deck I built from those cards:

Deepway Navigator needs to be in there!

In addition to keeping table talk down so we don't reveal our roles accidentally or otherwise, I think it might have been beneficial for us to build our decks separately.  If anyone had looked closely at what I'd built, they might've noticed that I was running more combat tricks than normal and figured out that I was the Knight.  On the other hand, we're not exactly a competitive bunch so it was probably fine.

We sat down to play:

• P1 was the King, running a WUBRG deck (on purpose).  They started with 26 life while everyone else had 20.
• P2 was running Selesnya with an unknown role.
• P3 was me, the Knight (but only I knew that) also WUBRG.  (Team WUBRG, let's go!) 
• P4 was playing Boros with an unknown role.
• P5 was running Sultai "Elves and Rares" with an unknown role.

If you're unfamiliar with this format, it's important to point out that everyone pretends to be the Knight from the beginning.  Saying "my liege" becomes a bit of a meme.  My claims were drowned out among the group.  

P4 and P5 are quite good friends and they always seem to wind up on the same team.  There was a 1/3 chance they were teammates again, this time barbarians! 

In the first round of turns, only P4 cast a spell: S.H.I.E.L.D. Spy Kit.

On turn two, only P2 had a play: Old Thrush.

Things heated up on turn three.  P2 attacked P4 with the Thrush.  It's good for the other players to be attacking each other instead of the King, but it made P2 look like the Knight, which was bad for me.  I cast Down in the Valley to search up a swamp.  P4 cast Dori, Bearer or Friends.  

On turn four, the King finally made a play with H.E.R.B.I.E. Scout Unit and played the extra land.  P2 cast Dwarven Shortsword and then hit me with the Old Thrush.  I played al and and got an Elf token from Down in the Valley.  P4 cast Fin Fang Foom and then P5 cast The Lunar Whale.  Big things were starting to land.

The King made two plays to start off turn five: Vine Gecko and The Chief Warg.  P2 cast East Wind Avatar and then attacked P5.  They were being aggressive against everyone who wasn't the King, which is a good Knight play.  I was the only one who knew they weren't the Knight, so I was thinking of the other options:

• If they were a Barbarian (most likely) this was all a ruse. 
• The same is true if they were the Doppelgänger; they wanted someone to die, but probably weren't in a rush to kill anyone.
• If they were the Black Knight, then they were happy for everyone else's life totals to drop.  
• If they were the Villager, they were trying to get someone to react and kill them.
• If they were the Gravedigger, they were trying to kill other players.

For now, though, they were doing a good job of looking like the Knight.

I continued turn five by casting Mirkwood Nurturer.  I put Down in the Valley back in my hand but had a nice little board of elves.  P4 retaliated against P2 and hit them.  P5 cast Thranduil, Sindaran Liege, a rare elf.  The life totals were all still quite high: King: 26, P2: 19, Me: 19, P4: 19, P5: 17.  At this point I had an inkling that P4 was a Barbarian.

On turn six, the King cast Samut, Tyrant Smasher.  That's one of my Oathbreakers, so I knew how it worked.  P2 cast a Mirkwood Pathmaker and attacked me.  I think I blocked their equipped dwarf with one of my elves.  I recast Down in the Valley got my sixth land and cast Queen Brahne.  P4 attacked P2 with Fin Fang Foom, then Suplexed their Shortsword.  They copied the Suplex onto the Shortsword because they didn't see any other targets.  Post combat, P5 pointed out that the Lunar Whale was an artifact.  Suspicious!  They then played Oin the Brave and were storied.  P5 played a third Mirkwood Nurturer and bounced a land.  They they played Kraven the Hunter and attacked me.  I'm sure the King was happy with all the subjects attacking each other, so I was too!  The life totals were still high: King: 26, P2: 15, Me: 16, P4: 19, P5: 17.

On turn seven, the King cast Nori, Teller of Tales.  They were suspicious of P2 and there was a bunch of wrangling where P5 promised not to block Nori so it could grant first strike and the King could safely swing into P2.  P2 cast Attercop and Moment of Glory, and then attacked me.  I foolishly blocked with my Murkwood Nurturer.  They then started a Quarrel with Queen Brahne to kill her.  At this point, other players were wondering aloud whether P2 was the Black Knight and I were actually the Knight.  P4 and P5 couldn't go wholesale into that, though, because then they would be outing themselves as the two Barbarians.  I cast Plunder the Trollshaws, drew a land, played it, and got another elf token.  P4 cast Dwarven Mattock.  P5 launched a big attack on the King, but I cast Roilmage's Trick to save my King a lot of damage.  Now my Knighthood seemed quite evident.  P5 finished their turn by playing Dawnhand Dissident and Astonishing Ant-Man.  The life totals were King: 25, P2: 11, Me: 13, P4: 19, P5: 15.

The King passed to start turn eight.  P2 flashbacked Moment of Glory and then attacked me.  I cast Balamb T-Rexaur to regain some of the life lost.  P4 cast Crimson Operative.  P5 swung at the King's Samut with The Lunar Whale and then cast Secret Invasion to get their own Mirkwood Pathmaker.  They also summoned Master's Councillors and Serpent Specialist.  The life totals were now at King: 26, P2: 11, M3: 11, P4: 19, P5: 15.  

On turn nine, the King cast Retreat to Valakut.  P2 swung in to me with their flyers, but I stayed alive.  I responded by casting Widow's Bite to take out their Attercop and then swung with my T-Rexaur.  Post combat, I cast Roll-Roll-Roll-Roll to blink it and again gain some of my life back.  At the end of my turn, P4 cast Outnumber.  With Fin Fang Foom, it copied and killed both the King's H.E.R.B.I.E. and P2's East Wind Avatar.  The dragon villain now had 4 +1/+1 counters on it.  They untapped and then attacked me and P2 with lethal damage towards us both.  Fin Fang Foom was coming my way with the Dwarven Mattock, which granted Ward 1.  I had exactly four mana untapped and P4 didn't think there was any removal that had gone around the table for three mana or less with the ward.  Thankfully, I had Eject, which got around the ward with its uncounterability.  P2 had no such response and died, revealing that they were, in fact, the Black Knight.  That meant that P4 and P5 were definitely the Barbarians.  P5 cast Large Bear.  With Kraven now a 7/6, they launched a big attack on the King.

Chips and all.

The King dropped to 7 life and P5 finished their turn by casting Erratic Visionary.  The life totals were now King: 7, P2: dead, Me: 9, P4: 19, P5: 15.  

The jib was up.  We were toast.  The King decided to try to end the game on their own terms by attacking me, but they only put me to 2.  I cast Hawkeye's Bow and attacked P4, but it wasn't enough.  P4 cast Friendly Neighborhood and attacked the King to kill them.  I was unable to protect the King!

This was a great game!  I can't believe the teams turned out to be so predictable, but it was wicked fun for everyone.  The game had taken nearly two hours, so two players had to leave.  The two Barbarians stayed around to play a three-player bonus game with me.  (They actually said they wanted more action for this blog, which is exciting for me!  So, I took notes.)

I won the roll to go first, so it was me and then P4 and P5 from the Kingdom game.  I'll keep those names for clarity.

Only P5 had a play on turn one with Party Dude, a card I don't think I'd ever seen. 

On turn two, I cast Frog Butler.  P4 cast Mouser Foundry.  P5 cast Creakwood Safewright.  

On turn three, P4 cast Colleen Wing and P5 cast Silvan Rally, which comboed with the Safewright by putting an elf into the graveyard.  

On turn four, I played Hawkeye's Bow and put it on my Frog Butler.  I used this to deal them both one damage each turn for many turns.  P4 cast Dwarven Shortsword.  P5 upgraded Party Dude to level two.

On turn five, I cast my Balamb T-Rexaur.  P5 took Thranduil off of the adventure.  

On turn six, I attacked P5, who blocked with their 6/6 Safewright.  P4 sacrificed their Mouser Foundry to kill Thranduil, which put the Safewright down to 5/5.  My dinosaur lived!  P4 cast their Friendly Neighborhood.  P5 cast The Lunar Whale.

On turn seven, I attacked P4.  They responded by attacking me back for 10 damage and then played Sidequest: To Catch a Fish.  P5 hit P4 for 3 with the Whale, then cast Erratic Visionary and Rescuer Sphinx.  At the end of turn, I cast my Deepway Navigator.  The life totals were me: 16, P4: 7, P5: 19.

On turn eight, I cast Chameleon, Master of Disguise to get a second dinosaur.  P4 pumped up one of their creatures with Friendly Neighborhood and attacked me, but I chumped with the Deepway Navigator.  P5 cast Lakeshore Apothecary and then put Secret Invasion on one of their creatures, exiling my Chameleon.  They swung in on me, but I turned it mostly away with Roilmage's Trick.  At the end of turn, the life totals were Me: 19, P4: 9, P5: 12.

On turn nine I cast Mirkwood Nurturer.  (I don't think I bounced anything.)  P4 finally stopped my Butler + Bow slow combo by Suplexing the Bow.  They attacked me and I blocked with the Nurturer.  P5 cast Scarblade Scout and then upgraded Party Dude again.  they attacked me, but I once again used Eject on a creature with Ward when I only had four mana.  The creature with Secret Invasion disappeared and I got my T-Rexaur back.  (I gained so much life off of these.  Dino life.  The opposite of Dino Damage.)  That was a good block for me; the life totals were Me: 16, P4: 8, P5: 11.

I was the archenemy, but I kept the pedal to the metal anyways.  I attacked P3.  They had a good block, but I cast Pain 101 to win it and get the T-Rexaur back (again).   I ended my turn by playing Venomized Cat.  P4 swung out.  With the Cooking Campsite and Party Dude, and a Vow to Erebor, they put me to one life.

All that sweet dino life, gone.

P5 attacked us both on their turn, killing me, but P4 blocked and survived.  They had 8 life and P5 had 4.

On turn 11, P4 attacked P5 for exactly four damage, made possible by the Sidequest.  Very close!

These games were great!  I'm really happy with how the Kingdom game turned out and it was really fun to come close to winning with my deck in a bonus game too.  I think I will get better at the Kingdom format by laying it more.  Hopefully I can draft that again sometime.

Happy Magicking, your Majesty! 

In Defense of (Wacky) Drafting

I'm not sure whether I'm writing this to explain to others why I enjoy drafting so much, or because question it myself.  I love constructed Magic.  I have a bunch of EDH decks!  Designing standard versions of Shuffleupagus helped me stay away awake back in classes in grad school.  

Drafting doesn't ignore deck-brewing/building, though.  It's a microcosm of the whole Magic hobby: opening packs, choosing cards, deck building, playing, and then incorporating those cards into your collection.  

I learned about drafting in 2002 in my last year of college.  I was very skeptical before I tried it, but after my first draft at Zimmie's Comics in Lewiston, Maine, I was hooked.  (I found an old Facebook page, but it looks like they've been closed since at least 2019.)  I think I made it to a few Odyssey-block drafts that fall before Onslaught was released in early October of that year.  I started going regularly with a group of new players as well as some amazing players.  There was always a crowd of around ten at the store and I was really bad for that whole first year.  I don't think I ever did better than 1-2.  It didn't matter, I loved it.

I won a few Nemesis packs at a vintage tournament at J&R Cards in Brunswick, Maine (another Facebook link, sorry, but this one appears to still be active).  Had I won those packs a year earlier, I would have opened them, but I had changed.  Instead I left them sealed, figuring I could use them in a friendly draft sometime.  I wasn't consciously doing any value-maxing, I just wanted to draft more.  I didn't have enough for a full draft, of course, but I bought some more packs of different sets and that snowballed a little bit.  I've been drafting and running drafts ever since.  (In the aughts, my group called these "Wacky Drafts": drafts where you bring whatever three packs you want.  I think most people refer to these as Chaos Drafts, but I also think that refers to other unexpected-pack-drafts as well, so I like the differentiation.)

I like bulleted lists.  Here are a bunch of reasons why drafting is my favorite as well as further bonuses for Wacky/Chaos drafts:

• It works with all sorts of numbers of players.  In the past year I've learned that even three players is an acceptable amount if you're willing to do a Ravnica: Clue draft!
• I love opening packs!  It's fun!  It's even more fun to be opening packs and to immediately use those cards.  When you open a pack outside of limited play, it can be boring if there isn't a valuable card in it.  In a draft, however, you get to take a closer look at those cards and hunt for the one that is going to help you win the most games.  Wacky Draft Bonus: you're probably opening different packs, which is even further from the "booster box game" where you open packs from the same set over and over (which can get a bit tedious).
• Sealed formats can overwhelm me a bit when I'm deckbuilding.  I always wish I had more time to better analyze my cardpool optimize my deck.  In a draft, I get a bit acquainted with my cards while I'm picking them.  I already have a bit of an idea of how my deck is going to look and can build faster.  
• The playing field is more level.  It's certainly possible to be more skilled than someone else in a limited setting, but at least there isn't the disparity of having access to different sized/valued collections.  Wacky Draft Bonus: it's possible to learn the ins and outs of specific draft formats, but I think it's harder to predict how a draft with many different packs will go, leveling skills even further.
• It's always different.  I can draft with the same group of four people and each draft is going to be very different.  Even a few key cards can make a huge difference.  It's really exciting to see how other people put together a deck, given what came around.  Wacky Draft Bonus: The variance is even higher when drafting from a bunch of sets simultaneously.
• I like playing with low-power cards.  There are so many cards out there and it's fun to make use of the ones that aren't playable in constructed formats.  It is really fun when some common card comes in clutch to save you.  Wacky Draft Bonus: I love it when there's an amazing interaction between cards from distant sets.  I think I had some Ravnica-block spirit (Azorius Herald, perhaps?) trigger my Innocence Kami and I got really excited about it.  
• I like the cards I walk away with.  No matter how poorly I do, I have a bunch of neat cards in a deck I built that I get to add to my collection.  Some may go in my trade binder, some may even go into decks.  Some may be copies of cards I don't have yet!  I get to sort them all out and organize them into the rest of my collection.  I know that may not be fun for everyone, but it is extremely fun for me.  As I write this, I can't wait to doing it with the cards I drafted last night!  (This is such a big part of it for me that I think it explains why I don't cube draft much.)

I still love constructed Magic.  I have a list of wanted cards a mile long for a variety of decks.  Some day I may even get them all.  But I still love drafting even more.  

Happy Magicking to you, no matter which formats you like best!

The Hobbit Draft #2 (WUBRG Drafting)

I made it to a second Hobbit FNM draft last week.  There were only seven of us, but that's more than enough for Intergalactic Plastic, so we got to draft!  

A very surprising picture of what I opened.

I continued a streak of not drafting enough color-fixing, especially in the land department.  I got some other mana fixing, but I really need to return to pulling them early.  I think that since my last try at this, Giant's Boulder has crept up the charts for perceived utility in limited, because I didn't get that many of those.  Here were all my picks so you can judge (me) for yourself:

That's one Giant's Boulder instead of four.

I got a little nervous after the first pack because I wasn't yet in black, but I made up with that a bunch in the second pack by drafting six black cards.

I was able to put together a deck that looked pretty good:

... Except one of those lands doesn't even tap for multiple colors!

I sat down in the first round against a player running Azorius Recruiting.  Very quickly it became clear that they'd pulled a bunch of the cards that they needed.  On turn two they played Bilbo, Luckwearer, followed by a Lakeshore Apothecary the next turn.  That's already a great combo, and the Snowslope Hunter I played (and later took out of my deck) didn't look so hot.  It looked even worse when they played a second Lakeshore Apothecary on turn four.  I played an Attercop I'd drawn, so I wasn't out of it, but then they dropped Longlake Nuisance.  I put up a fight and played Supper for Spiders (which also later got taken out of the deck) and Elrond, Moon-Reader, but they played another Longlake Nuisance on the next turn.  The only good part is that the Recruiting wasn't giving them more counters on the Apothecaries because they were already drawing off of Bilbo.  On my sixth turn I had Great Fierce Bee and Beorn's Hospitality.  The game wasn't over.  Then they played Thorin's Last Stand and yes it was.

I got Thror's Map on the second turn of the second game, which was one of my best cards all night.  They had a much slower start with nothing until a Patient Instructor on turn three.  I played Beorn's Hospitality but still had no creatures out.  On turn four they played a Longlake Nuisance.  On turn five I put up a good defense by flashing out Head of the Hunt, but they had Thorin's Last Stand and took it out while also putting me down to 8 life.  I Gathered the Darkness to bring my Head of the Hunt back to hand and played Well-Worn Spatula.  Over the next two turns they played Lake-town Lookout and Eagle of the Great Shelf.  I continued to put up a fight and get Wolf tokens on my side.  Sadly, my Head of the Hunt got a bit traitorous.

Hey, what are you doing over there?

That's right, my opponent cast Burglar's Plot and traded it for one of their soldiers.  I was a much less scary theat then and the two flyers plus Bilbo were enough to kill me.  0-1.

In the second round I got the dreaded Bye.  Thankfully, the manager was up for a game of Dandân (Forgetful Fish), which I'd never done!  I lost but got a real good feel for it and I really want to play it again.  I don't think I've played a single-deck format since playing Mental Magic decades ago, and surprisingly having that experience helped a bit.  This was probably the most fun I've had with a bye in years.

In round three I was up against another friend running an aggressive Boros dwarves deck.  In game one I got my Iron Hills Blacksmith out on turn two.  I really like that card, but I was immediately jealous of the Troop of Ponies they played.  I played Ragged Short Spear on turn three but didn't draw into a third land.  I had Giant's Boulder on turn four but was still stuck on two.  I played my Well-Worn Spatula, but my opponent played Dori, Bearer of Friends, an actual threat.  I finally drew into a land and played Beorn's Hospitality, then the land to make my Blacksmith quite formidable.  Unfortunately, my opponent had Magnificent End just waiting when I swung in.  They untapped and cast Dwarven Shortsword.  On my sixth turn I played Great Fierce Bee then another land to make it bigger.  They played Balin, Loremaster with Storied.  They attacked and dealt me extra damage with Smaug's Fury, putting me at 10 life to their 16.  On turn seven, I cast Burn, Burn, Tree and Fern to take Balin out and swung in to put them at 11.  They played The Mountain King's Return and attacked me to put me at 6 life.  On the next turn I played both Elrond, Moon-Reader and Thror's Map.  They returned Long-Bodied Grey Dog with their saga, then also played Ori, Keeper of Songs and attacked.  I thought I had a good block on Dori.

I guess not.

They played Nori, Teller of Tales and I couldn't do enough on turn nine to stay alive.  

In game two I looked more like an aggro deck.  I had the Well-Worn Spatula on turn one, then Thror's Map on turn two.  My opponent answered with Oin the Brave.  I ran out Elrond, Moon-Reader on turn three and they played Troop of Ponies.  On turn five I played Great Fierce Bee and attacked in but lost Elrond to Smaug's Fury.  They played Misty Mountains Raider, which I immediately hit with Burn, Burn, Tree and Fern on my turn.  They played Gandalf, Spark Starter and killed my Bee.  On turn seven I conjured a Gathering of Darkness to get Elrond back to my hand and then cast Ravening Warg.  My opponent cast their own Iron Hills Blacksmith, attacked, and hit for a lot with Smaug's Fury again.  On my eighth turn I cast both Fili the Pathfinder and Elrond.  Fili was big enough to scare away attacks and on my next turn I played Boughside Wanderers.  (I don't remember what I got in my hand.)  I swung in and put them to 8 life.  On my tenth turn I played another Great Fierce Bee and swung in again, putting them to 4 and taking out many of their defenders.  I won on my next turn, but time had been called so we were done.  0-1-1.

Before we reflect, we have a bonus round!  I got to play against a friend who still had their deck together from their prerelease!   They had put together a Rakdos deck.  On turn two, they played Ravening Warg.  I thankfully had Thror's Map and played that on my turn, then played Great Fierce Bee on turn three.  On turn four, I played Iron Hills Blacksmith and the Well-Worn Spatula.  On their fifth turn they Stirred Up Trouble with their Warg and then cast Dreaded Bat-Cloud for cheap.  Thankfully I had Fili the Pathfinder on my turn.  I attacked to keep up the pressure and put them down to 12 life compared to my 16.  On turn six they hit Fili with Bilbo's Deadly Slice, but didn't have any way to stop a double striker with a few good equipment.  I won on turn seven.

In game two they had Goblin-town Flunkies on turn two. I was very fortunate to get Thror's Map yet again.  They played Goblin Plate Mail on turn three and put me to 15 life.  I didn't have any blockers, but did have a Giant's Boulder.  They played Reverent Howl on turn four to put my life even lower and gain five.  I played Burn, Burn, Tree and Fern to take out the army, but they attacked the next turn to put me to 7.  I had Gandalf, Wandering Wizard on turn five to get me back into the game, but they played Crude Bent Blade on turn six and he Gandalf wandered to my graveyard.  I played Boughside Wanderers took his place on my turn, but Bilbo's Deadly slice didn't let them stick around either.  On my seventh turn I played both Fili the Pathfinder and Iron Hills Blacksmith.  They spent turn eight playing The Great Goblin and Tidings of War.  I went to one life while they were at 25.  I couldn't let them untap with The Great Goblin, so I Spewed Flame on him and played the Well-Worn Spatula (yet again).  On turn nine they played Desert Were-Worm (what a cool card!) but they only had three mountains out.  I equipped up my Iron Hills Blacksmith and braced for an attack.  They didn't swing in right away, but prepped by summoning their own Great Fierce Bee and the Ravening Warg.  I played Smaug, the Great Calamity.  On their turn eleven, they flashbacked the Tidings of War and swung in.  I pulled off a good block.

Thankfully, no Smaug's Fury here!

I played Gathering of Darkness to bring the Boughside Wanderers back and played my own Ravening Warg and got in for some damage.  On turn twelve, against a mostly-empty board, I played Dwarven Shortsword and swung in for 22 damage for the win.

We played a bonus bonus game (I didn't take notes) against the other deck they'd put together: Boros Dwarves.  I lost bad; they were at 31 life when I died! 

After two drafts, my total The Hobbit draft record is now  1-3-1.  That is definitely in the Not Great category.  Is that because I'm bad at Magic or that the set isn't good for WUBRG drafting?

• I definitely didn't mulligan aggressively enough and I failed to get enough color fixing.  So, I am clearly at fault in both drafting and playing.  I hope I get another chance to do better at this format.  Sadly it's nearly Reality Fracture time, so it might be a long time.
• I think the jury might still be out on how friendly The Hobbit is to WUBRG drafting.
• The common dual lands are quite good and it seems like players take them early.  Please let me know if you're having a different experience!
• Other fixing is also highly sought-after.  Giant's Boulder and Troop of Ponies are really good in all kinds of decks.  This is interesting because it's different from the Conflux/Ravnica Allegiance problem where many people are shooting for five colors.  That's certainly not happening, but the fixing resources are disappearing nonetheless.  

I hope I get more chances to play this in the future!  I would really like to prove that it's possible to do better (even for me).  

Happy Hobbit Magicking!

The Chaotic Ninth Legions of Yorion (WUBRG Drafting)

If you're opening Ikoria first with the goal of getting a companion, then when you open something like Yorion, it's time to build around them.  Wait, is Yorion the worst companion for WUBRG drafting?  Was it a mistake for me to shoot for a working 60-card draft deck?  Maybe!  As is common, however, I'm getting ahead of myself and avoiding the actual story of Thursday night last week.  The real story here is the packs.

A beautiful hexagon of impending chaos.

Yeah, you see that right: one player opened Legions and Ninth Edition!  Another opened Journey Into Nyx!  The player who opened Return to Ravnica got a Cyclonic Rift so they decided to keep it and open another pack instead, choosing Throne of Eldraine.  That means we opened packs from 2026, 2025, 2023, 2020, 2019, 2014, 2005, and 2003!  The only recent thing that compares is Wacky Worlds 2026.  

We decided that since there were six of us, we would play single-game rounds.  This works much better with an odd number of people, but things went pretty well without too much waiting.

Okay, so I first-picked Yorion and built around it.  Three years ago I drafted Yorion and that experience is exactly what convinced me to get in the pack rut I've been in.

"Open the Ikoria pack first.  Open the Ikoria pack first.  Open the Ikoria pack first..."  - peak wisdom, three years ago. 

There's two parts to Yorion (and every companion):

• I needed to meet the condition and draft a 60-card deck.  That means I needed to pick a lot of spells, because I'd want a split of about 35 spells/25 land.  With 41-44 non-Yorion cards I would draft, that's not many spells I wouldn't run.  I think I actually went too far in this direction and should have taken more lands.
• I needed to pick cards that actually comboed with Yorion.  I didn't pay good attention to this facet because I'm dumb, but I got lucky and got a bunch of them anyways.  

Here're all my pulls:

White borders in pack two!

I was really excited about a lot of my pulls!  I remember how good Skinthinner and Skirk Marauder are.  Divergent Equation and the two Ragged Short Spears are all great and came around really late.  My only real problem was the lack of mana-fixing in a larger-than-normal deck.  Here's what I put together for the draft:

Good cards, a good curve, but bad mana.

In the first round I was up against an Azorius player who was drafting with us for the first time.  I played Gristle Glutton on turn two, which is a card I wound up using a lot throughout the rounds.  My opponent played Gravelgill Scoundrel, which turned out to be a problem later on.  I played a Clay Spider (a face down Skirk Marauder) on turn three and my opponent played a Quill-Blade Laureate.  Before that could be a problem, I flipped my Marauder on turn four to kill it.  On the following turn I put Yorion into my hand.  My opponent cast Unexpected Assistance when I passed, then cast Primary Research on their turn.  We traded off spells back and forth for the next few turns: I played Ragged Short Spear, they played Rosie Cotton, I played Wildvine Pummeler, they played Dreadful Apathy on it, then I played Market Festival.  That gave me enough mana that turn to also cast Repulsor Blast on the Gravelgill Scoundrel, which had been hitting me a bit.  My opponent played Frost Lynx and I cast Goblin Glasswright.  They cast Captain America, Living Legend and ended their turn with me at 4 life and them at 17.  It was time to cast Yorion, so I did after swinging in and bounced a lot of my board, including the Pummeler and the Short Spear.  On their turn they played an Eagle of the Watch and Lake-town Toymaker.  

The calm before the storm.

I summoned Explosive Prodigy and took Captain America out with four colors.  I swung again to keep the pressure on, but they turned the tables a bit on their turn by killing Yorion with Stone by Sunlight.  My opponent also cast Realm-Cloaked Giant (I got real lucky that I had my own giant, so the adventure wouldn't have got them out of the jam fast enough).  On my turn I played Skinthinner face down and swung in to put them down to 1 life while I was still at 4.  I was able to win on the next turn.  1-0.

In the second round I was up against another Azorius player who was also drafting with us their first time.  (They both drafted great decks for having been cutting each other throughout!)  They played Suntail Hawk on turn two, then cast Ithilian Kingfisher on turn three.  I thankfully had Vulpikeet on turn four and felt good until they played Syr Alin, the Lion's Claw on turn five.  I cast Embrace the Paradox to try and find an answer to that, but I didn't dig right to anything.  On turn six, I played Barrow-Blade and Signpost Scarecrow, one of my favorite draftable mana fixers.  Sadly it went back to my hand with a kicked Cunning Geysermage.  I waited a turn to replay it and cast the Esgaroth Garrison on turn seven instead.  They played Raft Security Officer, which was going to be annoying and then Riptide Director as well.  (I thought I was pretty familiar with all the Legions cards, but I don't remember this one at all!)  I played the Scarecrow again and Cloaked Siren, which they followed up with Rise of Eagles.  On my ninth turn, I drew into Conciliator's Duelist, which fetched me Spider-Woman, Secret Agent.  That was enough to turn Syr Alin off.  They cast Checkpoint Officer, providing a second creature to lock mine down.  I played Skinthinner face down on a pretty gummed up board.  My opponent played Timid Shieldbearer, a real threat to break through.  Things got pretty intense, so I don't remember exactly the plays thereafter.

This is the board after Yorion came down and I'd cast Hop to It.  I don't remember how many turns'd passed.

I won the game, I think after luckily surviving a big attack and then swinging back all at once for around 13 damage to win.  2-0.

In round three I was up against a Golgari Menace deck, but I didn't even see all the menace cards.  On turn two they played Skull Prophet, curving into The Chief Warg on turn three, which I thankfully had Mana Leak for.  On my third turn I played Ravenous Rats, but they caught back up on cards with Cost of Brilliance on their next turn, then got a big threat with Stoic Grove Guide the next turn when they put me down to 12.  I played Bolg of the North, but didn't bother sacrificing the Rats since the Skull Prophet had the +1/+1 counter.  They attacked again on turn six, but a Shield's Might turned my good block into a bad one.  

The card economy wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't on an adventure!

I cast Hop to It and Azog, Moria's Ruin.  I thought I was in a better place, but then they played Spry and Mighty and swung to put me at 5 life.  I played Stratosoarer on my turn, but on their eighth turn, they cast Entish Restoration and then another big threat: Scathing Shadelock.  I brought Yorion out, but they had Broken Wings for it on their next turn, as well as a Callous Inspector and Blighted Blackthorn.  I died shortly after that.  2-1.  That player wound up winning the draft.

In the fourth round, I was up against a Sultai deck that led right off the bat with Wildwood Tracker on the first turn, though the following turns were a bit slow.  I played Gristle Glutton on turn two, which kept me in it, but they came up with Pterafractyl the next turn.  I played Signpost Scarecrow on turn four but got caught in a bad combat yet again when they cast Dreadful as the Storm on turn five.  They cast Beorn, Reluctant Host on turn six.  I had Spider-Woman in hand, but since she has flash, I figured I'd wait until the last minute to get her out to lock Beorn down.  

That was a mistake.

I cast Killian's Confidence and Hop to It, but I was already down 5 life to their 18.  They cast Illusion Spinners non-flashy, then I cast Wildvine Pummeler to get back into the game.  On turn nine, they played Vindictive Warden.  At five life, I was in danger of just getting killed by it alone in just a few turns.  I had two blockers for their two fliers, but I needed to get damage in right away.  I cast Concilliator's Duelist, hoping that I would soon be able to get Killian's Confidence back, bounce Spider-Woman to tie down a blocker and get in.  (I had Divergent Equation in hand to get the Killian's Confidence.)  I passed the turn and went to 3 after the Duelist's life loss and a pain point from the Vindictive Warden.  They only had the mana to activate it two times on their turn.  They didn't need it, however, because they drew Capture Sphere to tie down a blocker and swing in for the win.  2-2.  

That was the end of the night, but I got to get my fifth game in two days later as my opponent and I agreed to keep our decks together.  They started off with Almighty Brushwagg on turn one.  I have died to many such Brushwaggs over the years, but that wasn't the decider here.  I had kept a hand with off color lands and spells, but a good future if they would ever overlap.  They had Vastwood Fortification on turn two, which wasn't too scary, and then Smitten Swordmaster and Oracle's Restoration on turn three.  It wasn't looking good, but I did draw into Gristle Glutton for turn three.  I thought I might turn it around, but instead died on turn six.  2-3.

We got in a bonus game and that one was way more interesting.  The game was quite even and I pulled out a long win in the end.

2-3, but how can this be anything other than a win?  I got to play with all sorts of fun decades-old cards, I had another chance to make Yorion work, and I got to play a bunch of fun magic with friends.  

Happy 20-cards-too-many-Magicking! 

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!