I was at a table of 7. Here are my picks, bottom left to top right:
First pack I mulled over the uncommons a little but eventually settled on the Trashmaster. There are some very good common goblins that I'd be happy to play, so being able to upgrade them seemed like a good way to begin. Second pack was horrible. It had a bad rare and a bunch of nothing else, so I took an average common. I was not seeing anything that worked well with my existing picks, so I started going with best card available. Vivien's Invocation is really strong, and green seemed open, but then it didn't. I was afraid I was ending up in a train wreck situation, and I was happy to have two Gargoyles at least that would be playable in any deck.
I didn't have more than 3 playable cards in any of my colors, and then I open a really good white rare with no white cards picked at all. On top of that, a lot of my best cards had double-colored mana costs, and I didn't have any color fixing. But I took Cleansing Nova anyway just because I was still truly open in all colors. Supreme Phantom and Departed Deckhand at least gave me some semblance of a plan, and I was able to mix them with more artifact creatures and a little more black removal, and by the end of the pack I was definitely blue and probably black.
Pack 3 rare was weird -- there were 2 copies of Ajani's Last Stand, one in foil. I went with the Psychic Corrosion because it seemed like a possible alternate win condition if my deck ended up defensive. Second Departed Deckhand was pretty exciting, and Skilled Animator was very exciting because it gave me a legitimate way to put opponents on the defensive (see images below). The rest of the pack was pretty good too, so I feel like I correctly identified blue as an open color (and kept it open by taking medium quality blue cards in lower quality packs). I wasn't sure about the resulting deck, but at least I managed to find enough playables after my scattered Pack 1.
Here's the main deck I played in Game 1 of matches:
It was hard to make the last few choices. At first I had Child of Night in the deck, but I replaced him with Totally Lost pretty quickly. I also eventually went up to 11 Islands vs. 6 Swamps because I kept drawing 2-Swamp hands and all my early game stuff was blue.
I wasn't sure what to do with One with the Machine and Psychic Corrosion, so I kept boarding them in and out.
One with the Machine was sweet when I could curve a 3-drop (usually the Gargoyle) into it, but once or twice I had it stuck in my hand. If I could draw 3 cards from it, I was generally winning.
Here are the two big synergy groups that occasionally helped me win games quickly:
Any of the cards next to Skilled Animator would let me attack for 5 (or more) with flying on Turn 4, and opponents had to have a quick answer to survive that. Having to pay 3 to activate the Gargoyle is pretty expensive, but usually it was worth it to pressure the other guy.
The Spirit package is a little slower, but the Deckhands are basically unblockable in this set. It might just be my experience this week, but the Deckhands seemed like all-upside. The first ability never was a problem -- if the opponent is casting a spell on it, they're killing it anyway, and it wasn't hard for me to avoid casting my own spells on it. And the last ability was a great finisher on stalled boards. This deck was full of mana sinks, so I was never unhappy to play out my lands.
I wasn't really sure about this deck -- it wasn't where I had expected to go with the draft, but it was where it led me. How did it do?
Round 1 vs. White-Green Auras
This guy is a former pro or semi-pro, and I was nervous playing him (my hands were shaking just a little). First game he put Oakenform on Daybreak Chaplain and started drawing cards every turn with the enchantment that requires you to have a 4-power creature. I think I conceded a turn or two early, but he had more cards than me, and a 35 - 8 life advantage that was just going to widen. I needed a reset. Game 2 on the play I got my aggressive game going and was able to bounce or kill his stuff, and won easily. Game 3 he was ahead for a long time, and got up to 29 life with me getting as low as 4. But through some good tricks and blocks, I overcame his big stuff (Pelakka Wurm, Colossal Dreadmaw) and got hits in with my unblockable creatures, and won! Win, 2-1.
Round 2 vs. White-Red Dragons
Game 1 he got stuck on 2 lands and couldn't do anything, and Game 2 I got stuck on 2 lands and couldn't do much (although it took him forever to actually win). Game 3 was better, and I took it down. Win, 2-1.
Round 3 vs. Naya (White-Red-Green) Ajani
In Game 1, he had a ridiculous start with Pegasus Courser into Hostile Minotaur into Ajani. I thought for sure I was dead, but I was able to bounce and chip away to kill Ajani, and I stabilized at 4 life and won. Game 2 was a good race but he got my last blocker with Plummet and won. I had a solid Game 3. Win, 2-1.
Round 4 vs. White-Red Goblins and Warleaders
This guy's deck was just stacked and I couldn't touch it. He had all of the good common goblins, Volley Veteran that acted as actual removal, and 2 Leonin Warleaders, He won both games pretty easily. Loss, 0-2.
Now I was 3-1 with my only loss to the sole 4-0 player in the tournament, so I was in pretty good shape to make Top 8. We looked at the standings and a veteran showed me and my Round 5 opponent that we could draw into the Top 8. I was happy to draw, but he insisted to play because he wanted the better seeding in the Top 8 so that he could play first in those games. This meant one of us would be eliminated instead of both getting into prizes. Ok Mr. Confident, lets go!
Round 5 vs. Black Green Liliana Zombies
Game 1 he mulliganed down to 5. It was not a bad game, but I won without too much trouble. Game 2 I was looking at my starting hand and I realized he had started shuffling again. I ask, "Mulligan?" Bitingly, he says, "No, I'm just shuffling for fun." He mulligans to 5 again and loses again in a not-terrible game. I say "Good match" and he mumbles, "I hope your Top 8 opponent mulls to 5," and walks away And this is why I'm always willing to take the intentional draw. Win, 2-0.
So I was completely on board to split the prize at any point in the Top 8, but there was always someone who wanted to play it out. Since it's my birthday this weekend, I thought I'd go ahead and play through instead of conceding to leave. The good news is that because my last opponent didn't draw with me, I got an extra win and was 2nd seed in Top 8, which meant that I would play first against anyone except the 1st seed.
Playoff Round 1 vs. Red-Green Dragons Splashing Black for Vaevictis Asmadi
This is a guy I like, but he also gets a little testy when he doesn't like how the game is going. I felt like both games were competitive, but he was frustrated not to draw his big dragons when he needed them. Win, 2-0.
Elvish Rejuvenator promo achieved (see image below).
Playoff Round 2 vs. White-Red Go-Wide
This was the guy who usually runs the store and the tournaments, and he's a very good player. He had a very stock white-red deck with the usual 2-for-1 creatures and team pump spells. Game 1 I got him in a tight race with my unblockable ability. Game 2 he kept his life total high with some incremental lifegain and eventually won on a big attack. Game 3 I whittled him down to where I could attack with everyone to push the last points through. Win, 2-1.
On to the finals! Winner gets a booster box (approx. $90) and loser gets $40 store credit. My opponent is the same guy I lost to in Round 4, so he is confident to play it out. Ok!
Finals vs. White-Red Goblins and Warleaders
More of the same. Loss, 0-2. Afterward I thought a lot about what I could have done differently. I might have tried holding back my Departed Deckhand to try to make it harder for him to attack, but he was packing enough removal and tricks to punish that strategy. I also had 4 Plains and a Manalith in my sideboard ready to be used for Cleansing Nova, and maybe this was the match to bring them in. It would have made my mana much worse, but having the ability to board wipe could have caught him off guard. Really, he just had an insane deck and I can't feel too bad about losing. He went 7-0 in matches, plus an intentional draw.
Final results: 6-2 in matches, 12-8 in games, and 2nd place overall! Like other decks I've played in M19, I was better on the play than on the draw.
What did I get?
I drafted 5 rares, which is above average, although I only played one main deck and a second one intermittently. I drafted 10 uncommons, slightly above average. I have not been seeing mythics at all in this format since I had Bolas at the prerelease, so I guess I used up all that mojo early. Supreme Phantom is about $2 since it is showing up in Modern. Nova is $1.20 and could go up as Standard evolves. Trashmaster is a card that Goblin enthusiasts will want, but he is just 50 cents. The promo Elvish Rejuvenator is just over $1, but it's one I would have bought for Commander if I hadn't won one. So the draft itself didn't break even, but the $40 store credit is a testament to why you draft to build a good deck instead of trying to grab every $1 and $2 card you see to try to make back the $10 entry fee.
Good times! Thanks for reading!
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