==ISLANDHOME #33==
October 15th 2008
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
Sealed Deck and Standard at Brothers Grim!
Draft Walkthrough: A complete Shards of Alara draft, from start to finish!
Madonia Minute
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: FNM Booster Draft at Brothers Grim @ 7 PM
Saturday: Standard Constructed at FNC @ 1 PM
Sunday: Sealed Deck ($20 Entry) at Brothers Grim @ 2 PM
Due to popular demand, I'm sanctioning a Standard event on Friday night at Grim and seeing how it goes. We'll also be running a Sealed tournament this Sunday at Grim, with an entry fee of only $20, the cheapest I've seen since booster packs were $1.99.
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
Sealed Deck and Standard at Brothers Grim!
Draft Walkthrough: A complete Shards of Alara draft, from start to finish!
Madonia Minute
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: FNM Booster Draft at Brothers Grim @ 7 PM
Saturday: Standard Constructed at FNC @ 1 PM
Sunday: Sealed Deck ($20 Entry) at Brothers Grim @ 2 PM
Due to popular demand, I'm sanctioning a Standard event on Friday night at Grim and seeing how it goes. We'll also be running a Sealed tournament this Sunday at Grim, with an entry fee of only $20, the cheapest I've seen since booster packs were $1.99.
==DRAFT WALKTHROUGH==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Author: Brian Paskoff
So I was watching TV at 11:30 PM on Sunday when suddenly, I hear the tell-tale bloop noise of an incoming IM message - it's my friend Vic Naqvi from Canada, asking if I want to draft. Rather than pack my passport and at least two pairs of socks and hop on the next flight to Toronto, I fire up NetDraft and connect to him while we post the IP address in the Magic-League chatroom. Within minutes, the draft fills up. NetDraft is a little weird; there's no print runs coded in yet, so packs you see in NetDraft won't always come up in real life. You could potentially see NetDraft packs that are all green cards. Usually though, a pack's a pack, and unless you memorize certain print runs, it's not an issue, and truly weird packs are rare. Shards of Alara packs are coded as having 14 cards to make up for the fact that real packs are 14 cards plus a basic land. And lastly, there are no foils in NetDraft - just like at a Nationals or Pro Tour draft, the possibility of a foil replacing a common is zero. So NetDraft is a good approximation of a real draft, but not a great replacement for the real thing.
This issue I'm going to walk you through my draft. I'm not the best drafter in the world, but I've been playing for a long time and hopefully I'll be able to help those of you who are just starting out in limited. I've pointed out my mispicks and why I should've taken the other cards, and contrary to popular belief I sometimes know what I'm doing.
NetDrafts aren't tournaments; you're only paired against one person, who will be sitting across from you so you're not cutting each other. After everyone pairs up, Vic seats everyone across from each other and presses the start button, and off we go!
This issue I'm going to walk you through my draft. I'm not the best drafter in the world, but I've been playing for a long time and hopefully I'll be able to help those of you who are just starting out in limited. I've pointed out my mispicks and why I should've taken the other cards, and contrary to popular belief I sometimes know what I'm doing.
NetDrafts aren't tournaments; you're only paired against one person, who will be sitting across from you so you're not cutting each other. After everyone pairs up, Vic seats everyone across from each other and presses the start button, and off we go!
1:1 - Memory Erosion, Necrogenesis, Angel's Herald, Jhessian Infiltrator, Agony Warp, Marble Chalice, Vithian Stinger, Cancel, Bone Splinters, Shadowfeed, Grixis Panorama, Wild Nacatl, Call to Heel, Windwright Mage.
Agony Warp is the clear winner here, nothing else even comes close. If it wasn't there, it'd be a little more difficult. I don't want to be roped into Naya this early with Wild Nactl, or Esper with Windwright Mage. It's too early for a mana fixer, counterspells aren't outstanding in limited, and the rare is unplayable because there's no mill strategy to build around in this set. Agony Warp can 2-for-1 a lot of the time, and can always 1-for-1. Plus, it leaves me open for either Esper or Grixis. This is a good start for me, because I'm not a strong enough drafter to figure out where I'm going if either of my first two picks don't set me on the right path.
PICK: Agony Warp
1:2 - Ooze Garden, Sigiled Paladin, Tower Gargoyle, Magma Spray, Waveskimmer Aven, Obelisk of Bant, Dispeller's Capsule, Soul's Fire, Steward of Valeron, Resounding Silence, Viashino Skeleton, Grixis Panorama, Rip-Clan Crasher.
Tough choice here. Tower Gargoyle moves me into Esper, Magma Spray moves me into Grixis. This early in the draft I should mention the other good cards, notably Waveskimmer Aven, Steward of Valeron, Resounding Silence, and Rip-Clan Crasher, all of which would put me in four colors, and I wasn't planning on discarding my Agony Warp this early. Soul's Fire is situational, so I try to avoid it; they table anyway. There are times in this set where two damage won't stop a big threat, but a 4/4 flier for 4 is always good. I take the Gargoyle and hope I don't regret it later.
PICK: Tower Gargoyle
1:3 - Blood Cultist, Mighty Emergence, Scourge Devil, Etherium Sculptor, Obelisk of Esper, Viashino Skeleton, Cloudheath Drake, Gustrider Exuberant, Guardians of Akrasa, Bant Panorama, Vectis Silencers, Kederekt Creeper.
Kederekt Creeper is the best card in this pack. I'm sure to see every other card in this pack many times in the draft, but not the "damned if you do block, damned if you don't" Creeper. It's not too late to switch into Grixis, and not too early to rule out four-color entirely, either. The only other alternatives I see are Obelisk of Esper, Guardians of Akrasa, and Cloudheath Drake. Etherium Sculptors are plentiful and I wouldn't worry about those right now even if I was going to try to force Esper.
PICK: Kederekt Creeper
1:4 - Sangrite Surge, Demon's Herald, Bant Panorama, Tortise Formation, Gift of the Gargantuan, Relic of Progenitus, Cylian Elf, Kathari Screecher, Etherium Sculptor, Shadowfeed, Deft Duelist.
Gift of the Gargantuan is a powerful spell, but I'm nowhere near green. There are two good creatures in this pack in my possible colors: Kathari Screecher and Deft Duelist. The flier has evasion, and Deft Duelist is a great two-drop that dodges all sorts of removal. I took the Deft Duelist, though looking back on it, Kathari Screecher would definitely have been the better pick because it kept my color options open; I was in blue no matter which shard I ended up in.
PICK: Deft Duelist
1:5 - Dawnray Archer, Thunder-Thrash Elder, Qasali Ambusher, Bone Splinters, Gustrider Exuberant, Glaze Fiend, Naturalize, Soul's Grace, Goblin Mountaineer, Etherium Sculptor
So I'm in Esper now, and my options are pretty limited in this pack. Every card I could possibly pick is the type of card that will go back around the table: Bone Splinters, Glaze Fiend, and Etherium Sculptor are my best bets. I'm not a fan of Bone Splinters in anything but Jund, Glaze Fiend is good but there's no telling how many artifacts I'll actually get at this point in the draft, and Etherium Sculptor helps me out with my chronic mana-screw. So I take the Sculptor.
PICK: Etherium Sculptor
1:6 - Ranger of Eos, Fire-Field Ogre, Grixis Battlemage, Courier's Capsule, Tortoise Formation, Call to Heel, Undead Leotau, Mosstodon, Deathgreeter.
Strangely, the only outright terrible cards in this pack are Undead Leotau and Tortoise Formation. That's a late Mosstodon, which means green's open, but it's kind of hard to go down that road now. Since this is NetDraft, I forgot Grixis Battlemage had a Merfolk Looter ability until it was too late, but it's not a huge loss. Still thinking in four colors, I take the Fire-Field Ogre. Courier's Capsule or the combat-trick-disguised-as-a-terrible-card Call to Heel would have been good choices. I also have to mention Ranger of Eos. Akrasan Squire, Feral Hydra, and Wild Nacatl are the only good one-drops in Shards limited. Unless you have multiples of those or are rare-drafting, there's usually not a good reason to pick the Ranger.
PICK: Fire-Field Ogre
1:7 - Exuberant Firestoker, Thoughtcutter Agent, Jungle Weaver, Soul's Might, Rip-Clan Crasher, Akrasan Squire, Druid of the Anima, Gustrider Exuberant.
If Thoughtcutter Agent was a 2/1 or even a 1/2, I'd take him. There's a Rip-Clan Crasher and a Druid of the Anima in this pack still! Some lucky drafter is in Jund or Naya and is all alone to enjoy all this green. Akrasan Squire is a solid one-drop that's even good late in the game. Nice to see it seventh pick.
PICK: Akrasan Squire
1:8 - Punish Ignorance, Carrion Thrash, Tortoise Formation, Knight of the Skyward Eye, Call to Heel, Volcanic Submersion, Cathartic Adept.
Even though counterspells are "meh" in limited, Punish Ignorance is pretty good. Carrion Thrash is a great beefy creature that, for some reason, always winds up going late. Tortoise Formation is awful anti-removal; I remember when it cost 1U and could be a 2/2 creature if you tapped the right mana (Plaxmanta). For some reason I took Knight of the Skyward Eye, but I can't remember why. Oh well, if Cylian Elf is playable, a white one should be too.
PICK: Knight of the Skyward Eye
1:9 - Memory Erosion, Necrogenesis, Marble Chalice, Shadowfeed, Call to Heel, Windwright Mage.
Wow, the Windwright Mage came back! Usually, seeing one Windwright Mage late means you'll see more, because a mana-intensive 2/2 lifelink isn't that great unless you can reliably give it flying.
PICK: Windwright Mage
1:10 - Ooze Garden, Sigiled Paladin, Obelisk of Bant, Dispeller's Capsule, Viashino Skeleton.
Obvious pick here, the Sigiled Paladin. And, with the picking of a double-white two-drop, I erase all notions of going four-color. Sorry, Kederekt Creeper and Fire-Field Ogre.
PICK: Sigiled Paladin
1:11 - Mighty Emergence, Etherium Sculptor, Viashino Skeleton, Gustrider Exuberant.
PICK: Etherium Sculptor
1:12 - Demon's Herald, Tortoise Formation, Shadowfeed.
PICK: Shadowfeed
1:13 - Soul's Grace, Goblin Mountaineer.
PICK: Soul's Grace
1:14 - Deathgreeter.
PICK: Deathgreeter
2:1 - Crucible of Fire, Jhessian Infiltrator, Savage Lands, Scavenger Drake, Obelisk of Jund, Cloudheath Drake, Blightning, Ridge Rannet, Jungle Weaver, Volcanic Submersion, Dragon Fodder, Steelclad Serpent, Skeletal Kathari, Obelisk of Esper.
Bad pack for me, bad rare for anyone. Scavenger Drake fits any black shard except Esper, so my choices are Cloudheath Drake, Steelclad Serpent, Skeletal Kathari, and Obelisk of Esper; none of those are really first-pick material. But, Cloudheath Drake is a flier, and goes great with a turn two or three Etherium Sculptor.
PICK: Cloudheath Drake
2:2 - Vicious Shadows, Wooly Thoctar, Algae Gharial, Jund Charm, Bone Splinters, Viscera Dragger, Grixis Panorama, Sanctum Gargoyle, Tortoise Formation, Resounding Wave, Steward of Valeron, Resounding Roar, Gustrider Exuberant.
Wow, Wooly Thoctar and Jund Charm. If I was in Grixis or Naya, I'd splash for the Jund Charm, and I almost consider hate-picking it for a few seconds. If Sanctum Gargoyle wasn't in the pack, I probably would, but a Gravedigger that flies, becomes cheaper with Etherium Sculptor, and both survives and helps me recover from Jund Charm fits my deck much better.
PICK: Sanctum Gargoyle
2:3 - Stoic Angel, Bant Charm, Kiss of the Amesha, Skeletonize, Cathartic Adept, Deft Duelist, Resounding Roar, Mosstodon, Oblivion Ring, Soul's Grace, Gift of the Gargantuan, Tidehollow Strix.
Twelve cards left in the pack and there only two bad ones (Cathartic Adept and Soul's Grace). Obviously the two guys next to me aren't in Bant, and look at all that green! I almost consider splashing for Bant Charm for a moment before looking down and seeing Oblivion Ring, which is technically more fragile, but deals with more than Bant Charm does... and doesn't require me to stretch my manabase.
PICK: Oblivion Ring
2:4 - Keeper of Progenitus, Demon's Herald, Esper Battlemage, Metallurgeon, Resounding Wave, Dispeller's Capsule, Courier's Capsule, Coma Veil, Windwright Mage, Elvish Visionary, Relic of Progenitus.
Wow, lots of stuff for me. Esper Battlemage picks off little guys and makes combat tough. Metallurgeon is deceptively powerful and even I overlooked it. Resounding Wave is okay as a normal spell, and great when you can cycle it. Courier's Capsule draws cards, but I'm sure I'll see more. Finally there's Windwright Mage. I already have one, but it's a better creature in multiples, and so in it goes. I'm not entirely sure I made the right choice, but I know I didn't make a bad one.
PICK: Windwright Mage
2:5 - Mighty Emergence, Topan Ascetic, Dragon's Herald, Steward of Valeron, Incurable Ogre, Undead Leotau, Blightning, Cathartic Adept, Shore Snapper, Elvish Visionary.
Not a playable card in my colors, and definitely none playable in my theme. Shore Snapper is an average creature, made worse by the fact that every time I pick it, my opponents don't play Islands.
PICK: Shore Snapper
2:6 - Clarion Ultimatum, Exuberant Firestoker, Blister Beetle, Obelisk of Esper, Cylian Elf, Dreg Reaver, Courier's Capsule, Gustrider Exuberant, Knight of the Skyward Eye.
The Obelisk is tempting, but Blister Beetle is so much more fun! Besides killing any X/1, Blister Beetle can kill off any creature that survived combat damage with one damage shy of lethal.
PICK: Blister Beetle
2:7 - Bant Battlemage, Dragon's Herald, Obelisk of Grixis, Deathgreeter, Relic of Progenitus, Banewasp Affliction, Cylian Elf, Resounding Scream.
Yuck. I could take Obelisk of Grixis, but then I'd be tempted to splash red. I don't have any high mana cost cards where I'd need the extra mana accel, and I'm sure I'll come across an Esper one later. Bant Battlemage is fine, it gives my guys evasion.
PICK: Bant Battlemage
2:8 - Grixis Battlemage, Drumhunter, Behemoth's Herald, Obelisk of Naya, Savage Hunger, Etherium Sculptor, Dreg Reaver.
Grixis Battlemage is a great draw engine, and Etherium Sculptors are a dime a dozen.
PICK: Grixis Battlemage
2:9 - Crucible of Fire, Obelisk of Jund, Ridge Rannet, Jungle Weaver, Volcanic Submersion, Obelisk of Esper.
PICK: Crucible of Fire. Just kidding. Obelisk of Esper.
2:10 - Vicious Shadows, Algae Gharial, Tortoise Formation, Steward of Valeron, Gustrider Exuberant.
Hate pick time! Even though no one's playing green....
PICK: Steward of Valeron
2:11 - Kiss of the Amesha, Cathartic Adept, Resounding Roar, Soul's Grace.
Well that's late. Kiss of the Amesha isn't exactly a bomb, but it's not exactly eleventh pick bad either.
PICK: Kiss of the Amesha
2:12 - Keeper of Progenitus, Relic of Progenitus, Demon's Herald.
PICK: Relic of Progenitus
2:13 - Mighty Emergence, Dragon's Herald.
PICK: Mighty Emergence
2:14 - Clarion Ultimatum.
PICK: Clarion Ultimatum
3:1 - Master of Etherium, Thoughtcutter Agent, Kiss of the Amesha, Naya Battlemage, Cathartic Adept, Shore Snapper, Druid of the Anima, Coma Veil, Angelsong, Marble Chalice, Bant Panorama, Cavern Thoctar, Volcanic Submersion, Glaze Fiend.
Wow! Not only is my rare in my colors, it fits my deck perfectly! The only other comparable card I could've opened in the rare slot is Sharuum the Hegemon. But before I slam that down, let's just see what else is in the pack. Naya Battlemage is good for the Naya player, as it taps down threats. Kiss of the Amesha and Glaze Fiend are the only other things I'd consider taking in this pack if Master of Etherium wasn't there.
PICK: Master of Etherium
3:2 - Where Ancients Tread, Sunseed Nurturer, Sigiled Paladin, Tidehollow Strix, Obelisk of Esper, Bloodthorn Taunter, Onyx Goblet, Welkin Guide, Dragon Fodder, Wild Nacatl, Call to Heel, Steelclad Serpent, Obelisk of Bant.
Where Ancients Tread is a huge bomb that no one's paid much attention to yet. With the amount of green going around though, I don't think anyone's in a position to abuse it to its fullest, however. Tidehollow Strix has flying and deathtouch and is an artifact creature - what more could I want?
PICK: Tidehollow Strix
3:3 - Scourge Devil, Bant Battlemage, Grixis Panorama, Windwright Mage, Sighted-Caste Sorcerer, Savage Hunger, Hissing Iguanar, Wild Nacatl, Dispeller's Capsule, Sigil Blessing, Gustrider Exuberant, Godtoucher.
Nothing's better than the Windwright Mage. Other notes - Hissing Iguanar is great in a Jund deck, Wild Nacatl fits in the Naya deck no one is playing, and Sigil Blessing would have been taken already if the two guys to my right were in WG.
PICK: Windwright Mage
3:4 - Ooze Garden, Exuberant Firestoker, Rockslide Elemental, Puppet Conjurer, Lightning Talons, Steelclad Serpent, Courier's Capsule, Hissing Iguanar, Deathgreeter, Thorn-Thrash Viashino, Glaze Fiend.
There's a couple of filler cards for my deck in this pack. I like Puppet Conjurer because he makes chump blockers and pumps Master of Etherium, but I like the card drawing power of Courier's Capsule. If I had to do it all over again, I might've taken the Conjurer since I already had Kiss of the Amesha and Grixis Battlemage for drawing power... but once again, it's not a massive loss.
PICK: Courier's Capsule
3:5 - Grixis Battlemage, Sunseed Nurterer, Deathgreeter, Call to Heel, Carrion Thrash, Lush Growth, Cavern Thoctar, Hindering Light, Jhessian Lookout, Bloodthorn Taunter.
The thing about taking Hindering Light is that you feel obligated to use it, and it's a dead card when you're down in board position and your opponent is swinging away at you. So I'm looking at Grixis Battlemage and Call to Heel here, and I take the creature.
PICK: Grixis Battlemage
3:6 - Mighty Emergence, Drumhunter, Wild Nacatl, Glaze Fiend, Dregscape Zombie, Kederekt Creeper, Deft Duelist, Onyx Goblet, Resounding Wave.
Kederekt Creeper this late is weird, since I'm getting a Grixis vibe from the drafter on my right. Drumhunter is amazing in a Naya deck, and so is Wild Nacatl, so I don't need to say anything more about that. Deft Duelist is good, but I've got enough already and it's strictly an early-game creature. Glaze Fiend goes great with my artifact theme, and I love having multiples, so pack three is my last chance. Runner up: Resounding Wave.
PICK: Glaze Fiend
3:7 - Sangrite Surge, Obelisk of Grixis, Esper Panorama, Skeletal Kathari, Marble Chalice, Godtoucher, Gift of the Gargantuan, Volcanic Submersion.
Gift is late. I could take the Panorama, but I don't want to get stuck on colorless mana in my deck with three Windwright Mages. Skeletal Kathari is an underrated flier, in black of all colors. And it goes great with the Puppet Conjurer I didn't pick!
PICK: Skeletal Kathari
3:8 - Cunning Lethemancer, Angel's Herald, Dregscape Zombie, Angelsong, Volcanic Submersion, Court Archers, Rip-Clan Crasher.
Medoicre cards, and two great cards that aren't in my (or anyone's) colors. Cunning Lethemancer could be annoying, but it wouldn't make my deck, that's for sure. Angelsong is a cute combat trick that can cycle when I don't need it, but the problem is, you can cycle it when you don't need it. Drawing Angelsong early means you'll cycle it, and won't have it when you need it later. Plus, unless you're digging for some mass removal (which I don't have), straight up fog spells aren't that great in limited. Dregscape Zombie probably won't make my deck, but I take it anyway. If this were a real draft, I might've hate-picked either green card.
PICK: Dregscape Zombie
3:9 - Cathartic Adept, Angelsong, Marble Chalice, Cavern Thoctar, Volcanic Submersion, Glaze Fiend.
Easy mode. Glaze Fiends in Esper are sort of like Mimics in Shadowmoor/Eventide drafts.
PICK: Glaze Fiend
3:10 - Where Ancients Tread, Sunseed Nurterer, Sigiled Paladin, Onyx Goblet, Steelclad Serpent.
Like I said, no one realizes how bomby Where Ancients Tread can be. Were this a real draft where I was going to play more than just the player across from me, I would've hate-picked the enchantment. But I decide to make life hell for the guy sitting across from the drafter next to me and let it go. Meanwhile, my choices are between Sigiled Paladin number two, or Steelclad Serpent. I probably should've taken the Paladin, but since this wasn't a real draft, I decided to experiment with Steelclad Serpent to see how powerful it is in an artifact-based deck.
PICK: Steelclad Serpent
3:11 - Savage Hunger, Dispeller's Capsule, Gustrider Exuberant, Godtoucher.
I decide to stick Dispeller's Capsule in my sideboard for any Oblivion Rings or Where Ancients Treads I go up against.
PICK: Dispeller's Capsule
3:12 - Ooze Garden, Deathgreeter, Glaze Fiend.
PICK: Glaze Fiend
3:13 - Deathgreeter, Bloodthorn Taunter.
PICK: Death Greeter
3:14 - Mighty Emergence.
PICK: Tarmogoyf
So I've got a great Esper deck. Only a Sharuum, a few more Sanctum Gargoyles, and another removal spell or two would put this draft in my all-time top five. Signals are important in a draft, which is why I'm hammering the point home that red and green were wiiiiiiiide open. Cards like Court Archers and Rip-Clan Crashers shouldn't table, ever. I didn't realize it while I was drafting, but in hindsight after typing all this out, white was the heaviest drafted color, maybe blue as well. I didn't survey everyone in the draft, but I'm sure more than two people were going for Bant.
I know I made a lot of mistakes that drafters better than me reading this will probably shake their heads and go "Tsk, tsk, that Paskoff, what a terrible drafter, my word!", but it all worked out in the end for the most part.
I build the deck quickly in NetDraft and export it so I can open it in Magic Workstation where I can look at it in greater detail. Here's what the deck looks like:
Creatures (18): Tower Gargoyle, Deft Duelist, Etherium Sculptor, Windwright Mage (3x), Sigiled Paladin, Cloudheath Drake, Sanctum Gargoyle, Blister Beetle, Grixis Battlemage, Master of Etherium, Tidehollow Strix, Glaze Fiend (3x), Skeletal Kathari, Steelclad Serpent
Spells (5): Agony Warp, Oblivion Ring, Obelisk of Esper, Kiss of the Amesha, Courier's Capsule
I have eighteen creatures, a little on the high end, which means I have to play somewhat aggressively. I also have only one trick - Agony Warp. Although to be fair, I didn't have much of a chance to pick up any others, though I might've taken Resounding Waves in place of Esper Battlemage and/or Glaze Fiend if I realized I was going to have only one playable instant... but again, that's something that comes from experience. You can know what cards you've taken easily, but it takes a lot of skill to analyze what cards you need while you're drafting.
Magic Workstation has all sorts of neat tools to analyze a deck. I've got ten two-drops, seven three-drops, two four-drops, two five-drops, and two spells that cost six or more. That's a lot of two-drops, but they're all really good. It also shows that I'm fairly even on the total mana symbols for each of my three colors. Ten white, thirteen blue, and twelve black. It could be very safe to play six Islands, six Swamps, and five Plains, but I'm a fan of the "23/18" school of limited deckbuilding and I put in six of each land. Your mileage my vary.
There are a whopping fifteen artifacts in the deck, thirteen of which are artifact creatures, making Glaze Fiend very playable. Just try getting thirteen playable blue/green spells in Eventide to set off your Shorecrasher Mimics!
Vic was in more or less the same colors as me, except he fell into the trap of splashing for a fourth color, red. This can happen often in a draft. The signals you're sending out get weaker and weaker the further away from you they get, and the furthest point is the person sitting directly across from you. So while I cutting off good Esper cards from the people sitting to my right and left, Vic had no idea what I was doing. He just knew that some good Esper cards were coming his way because no one near me wanted to fight me over them. We usually end up sharing a shard.
In game one, I knocked him down to four life early, but he recovered with a Sharuum the Hegemon off the top, bringing back a Cloudheath Drake and backed up by a Metallurgeon to regenerate his blockers on defense, and my 6/6 Tower Gargoyle (Master of Etherium + Sigiled Paladin) just couldn't break through. Game two went better for me, with my deck performing as it should and breaking through his defenses with fliers and a timely Blister Beetle. Unfortunately in game three, Vic got horribly mana-screwed, drawing nearly every non-Island land in his deck while all his blue cards remained stuck in his hand.
If you have any questions about why I picked/didn't pick a certain card, or comments about the draft, let me know! Hopefully you'll learn from the picks (and mistakes!) I made and can use this knowledge next time you draft.
Agony Warp is the clear winner here, nothing else even comes close. If it wasn't there, it'd be a little more difficult. I don't want to be roped into Naya this early with Wild Nactl, or Esper with Windwright Mage. It's too early for a mana fixer, counterspells aren't outstanding in limited, and the rare is unplayable because there's no mill strategy to build around in this set. Agony Warp can 2-for-1 a lot of the time, and can always 1-for-1. Plus, it leaves me open for either Esper or Grixis. This is a good start for me, because I'm not a strong enough drafter to figure out where I'm going if either of my first two picks don't set me on the right path.
PICK: Agony Warp
1:2 - Ooze Garden, Sigiled Paladin, Tower Gargoyle, Magma Spray, Waveskimmer Aven, Obelisk of Bant, Dispeller's Capsule, Soul's Fire, Steward of Valeron, Resounding Silence, Viashino Skeleton, Grixis Panorama, Rip-Clan Crasher.
Tough choice here. Tower Gargoyle moves me into Esper, Magma Spray moves me into Grixis. This early in the draft I should mention the other good cards, notably Waveskimmer Aven, Steward of Valeron, Resounding Silence, and Rip-Clan Crasher, all of which would put me in four colors, and I wasn't planning on discarding my Agony Warp this early. Soul's Fire is situational, so I try to avoid it; they table anyway. There are times in this set where two damage won't stop a big threat, but a 4/4 flier for 4 is always good. I take the Gargoyle and hope I don't regret it later.
PICK: Tower Gargoyle
1:3 - Blood Cultist, Mighty Emergence, Scourge Devil, Etherium Sculptor, Obelisk of Esper, Viashino Skeleton, Cloudheath Drake, Gustrider Exuberant, Guardians of Akrasa, Bant Panorama, Vectis Silencers, Kederekt Creeper.
Kederekt Creeper is the best card in this pack. I'm sure to see every other card in this pack many times in the draft, but not the "damned if you do block, damned if you don't" Creeper. It's not too late to switch into Grixis, and not too early to rule out four-color entirely, either. The only other alternatives I see are Obelisk of Esper, Guardians of Akrasa, and Cloudheath Drake. Etherium Sculptors are plentiful and I wouldn't worry about those right now even if I was going to try to force Esper.
PICK: Kederekt Creeper
1:4 - Sangrite Surge, Demon's Herald, Bant Panorama, Tortise Formation, Gift of the Gargantuan, Relic of Progenitus, Cylian Elf, Kathari Screecher, Etherium Sculptor, Shadowfeed, Deft Duelist.
Gift of the Gargantuan is a powerful spell, but I'm nowhere near green. There are two good creatures in this pack in my possible colors: Kathari Screecher and Deft Duelist. The flier has evasion, and Deft Duelist is a great two-drop that dodges all sorts of removal. I took the Deft Duelist, though looking back on it, Kathari Screecher would definitely have been the better pick because it kept my color options open; I was in blue no matter which shard I ended up in.
PICK: Deft Duelist
1:5 - Dawnray Archer, Thunder-Thrash Elder, Qasali Ambusher, Bone Splinters, Gustrider Exuberant, Glaze Fiend, Naturalize, Soul's Grace, Goblin Mountaineer, Etherium Sculptor
So I'm in Esper now, and my options are pretty limited in this pack. Every card I could possibly pick is the type of card that will go back around the table: Bone Splinters, Glaze Fiend, and Etherium Sculptor are my best bets. I'm not a fan of Bone Splinters in anything but Jund, Glaze Fiend is good but there's no telling how many artifacts I'll actually get at this point in the draft, and Etherium Sculptor helps me out with my chronic mana-screw. So I take the Sculptor.
PICK: Etherium Sculptor
1:6 - Ranger of Eos, Fire-Field Ogre, Grixis Battlemage, Courier's Capsule, Tortoise Formation, Call to Heel, Undead Leotau, Mosstodon, Deathgreeter.
Strangely, the only outright terrible cards in this pack are Undead Leotau and Tortoise Formation. That's a late Mosstodon, which means green's open, but it's kind of hard to go down that road now. Since this is NetDraft, I forgot Grixis Battlemage had a Merfolk Looter ability until it was too late, but it's not a huge loss. Still thinking in four colors, I take the Fire-Field Ogre. Courier's Capsule or the combat-trick-disguised-as-a-
PICK: Fire-Field Ogre
1:7 - Exuberant Firestoker, Thoughtcutter Agent, Jungle Weaver, Soul's Might, Rip-Clan Crasher, Akrasan Squire, Druid of the Anima, Gustrider Exuberant.
If Thoughtcutter Agent was a 2/1 or even a 1/2, I'd take him. There's a Rip-Clan Crasher and a Druid of the Anima in this pack still! Some lucky drafter is in Jund or Naya and is all alone to enjoy all this green. Akrasan Squire is a solid one-drop that's even good late in the game. Nice to see it seventh pick.
PICK: Akrasan Squire
1:8 - Punish Ignorance, Carrion Thrash, Tortoise Formation, Knight of the Skyward Eye, Call to Heel, Volcanic Submersion, Cathartic Adept.
Even though counterspells are "meh" in limited, Punish Ignorance is pretty good. Carrion Thrash is a great beefy creature that, for some reason, always winds up going late. Tortoise Formation is awful anti-removal; I remember when it cost 1U and could be a 2/2 creature if you tapped the right mana (Plaxmanta). For some reason I took Knight of the Skyward Eye, but I can't remember why. Oh well, if Cylian Elf is playable, a white one should be too.
PICK: Knight of the Skyward Eye
1:9 - Memory Erosion, Necrogenesis, Marble Chalice, Shadowfeed, Call to Heel, Windwright Mage.
Wow, the Windwright Mage came back! Usually, seeing one Windwright Mage late means you'll see more, because a mana-intensive 2/2 lifelink isn't that great unless you can reliably give it flying.
PICK: Windwright Mage
1:10 - Ooze Garden, Sigiled Paladin, Obelisk of Bant, Dispeller's Capsule, Viashino Skeleton.
Obvious pick here, the Sigiled Paladin. And, with the picking of a double-white two-drop, I erase all notions of going four-color. Sorry, Kederekt Creeper and Fire-Field Ogre.
PICK: Sigiled Paladin
1:11 - Mighty Emergence, Etherium Sculptor, Viashino Skeleton, Gustrider Exuberant.
PICK: Etherium Sculptor
1:12 - Demon's Herald, Tortoise Formation, Shadowfeed.
PICK: Shadowfeed
1:13 - Soul's Grace, Goblin Mountaineer.
PICK: Soul's Grace
1:14 - Deathgreeter.
PICK: Deathgreeter
2:1 - Crucible of Fire, Jhessian Infiltrator, Savage Lands, Scavenger Drake, Obelisk of Jund, Cloudheath Drake, Blightning, Ridge Rannet, Jungle Weaver, Volcanic Submersion, Dragon Fodder, Steelclad Serpent, Skeletal Kathari, Obelisk of Esper.
Bad pack for me, bad rare for anyone. Scavenger Drake fits any black shard except Esper, so my choices are Cloudheath Drake, Steelclad Serpent, Skeletal Kathari, and Obelisk of Esper; none of those are really first-pick material. But, Cloudheath Drake is a flier, and goes great with a turn two or three Etherium Sculptor.
PICK: Cloudheath Drake
2:2 - Vicious Shadows, Wooly Thoctar, Algae Gharial, Jund Charm, Bone Splinters, Viscera Dragger, Grixis Panorama, Sanctum Gargoyle, Tortoise Formation, Resounding Wave, Steward of Valeron, Resounding Roar, Gustrider Exuberant.
Wow, Wooly Thoctar and Jund Charm. If I was in Grixis or Naya, I'd splash for the Jund Charm, and I almost consider hate-picking it for a few seconds. If Sanctum Gargoyle wasn't in the pack, I probably would, but a Gravedigger that flies, becomes cheaper with Etherium Sculptor, and both survives and helps me recover from Jund Charm fits my deck much better.
PICK: Sanctum Gargoyle
2:3 - Stoic Angel, Bant Charm, Kiss of the Amesha, Skeletonize, Cathartic Adept, Deft Duelist, Resounding Roar, Mosstodon, Oblivion Ring, Soul's Grace, Gift of the Gargantuan, Tidehollow Strix.
Twelve cards left in the pack and there only two bad ones (Cathartic Adept and Soul's Grace). Obviously the two guys next to me aren't in Bant, and look at all that green! I almost consider splashing for Bant Charm for a moment before looking down and seeing Oblivion Ring, which is technically more fragile, but deals with more than Bant Charm does... and doesn't require me to stretch my manabase.
PICK: Oblivion Ring
2:4 - Keeper of Progenitus, Demon's Herald, Esper Battlemage, Metallurgeon, Resounding Wave, Dispeller's Capsule, Courier's Capsule, Coma Veil, Windwright Mage, Elvish Visionary, Relic of Progenitus.
Wow, lots of stuff for me. Esper Battlemage picks off little guys and makes combat tough. Metallurgeon is deceptively powerful and even I overlooked it. Resounding Wave is okay as a normal spell, and great when you can cycle it. Courier's Capsule draws cards, but I'm sure I'll see more. Finally there's Windwright Mage. I already have one, but it's a better creature in multiples, and so in it goes. I'm not entirely sure I made the right choice, but I know I didn't make a bad one.
PICK: Windwright Mage
2:5 - Mighty Emergence, Topan Ascetic, Dragon's Herald, Steward of Valeron, Incurable Ogre, Undead Leotau, Blightning, Cathartic Adept, Shore Snapper, Elvish Visionary.
Not a playable card in my colors, and definitely none playable in my theme. Shore Snapper is an average creature, made worse by the fact that every time I pick it, my opponents don't play Islands.
PICK: Shore Snapper
2:6 - Clarion Ultimatum, Exuberant Firestoker, Blister Beetle, Obelisk of Esper, Cylian Elf, Dreg Reaver, Courier's Capsule, Gustrider Exuberant, Knight of the Skyward Eye.
The Obelisk is tempting, but Blister Beetle is so much more fun! Besides killing any X/1, Blister Beetle can kill off any creature that survived combat damage with one damage shy of lethal.
PICK: Blister Beetle
2:7 - Bant Battlemage, Dragon's Herald, Obelisk of Grixis, Deathgreeter, Relic of Progenitus, Banewasp Affliction, Cylian Elf, Resounding Scream.
Yuck. I could take Obelisk of Grixis, but then I'd be tempted to splash red. I don't have any high mana cost cards where I'd need the extra mana accel, and I'm sure I'll come across an Esper one later. Bant Battlemage is fine, it gives my guys evasion.
PICK: Bant Battlemage
2:8 - Grixis Battlemage, Drumhunter, Behemoth's Herald, Obelisk of Naya, Savage Hunger, Etherium Sculptor, Dreg Reaver.
Grixis Battlemage is a great draw engine, and Etherium Sculptors are a dime a dozen.
PICK: Grixis Battlemage
2:9 - Crucible of Fire, Obelisk of Jund, Ridge Rannet, Jungle Weaver, Volcanic Submersion, Obelisk of Esper.
PICK: Crucible of Fire. Just kidding. Obelisk of Esper.
2:10 - Vicious Shadows, Algae Gharial, Tortoise Formation, Steward of Valeron, Gustrider Exuberant.
Hate pick time! Even though no one's playing green....
PICK: Steward of Valeron
2:11 - Kiss of the Amesha, Cathartic Adept, Resounding Roar, Soul's Grace.
Well that's late. Kiss of the Amesha isn't exactly a bomb, but it's not exactly eleventh pick bad either.
PICK: Kiss of the Amesha
2:12 - Keeper of Progenitus, Relic of Progenitus, Demon's Herald.
PICK: Relic of Progenitus
2:13 - Mighty Emergence, Dragon's Herald.
PICK: Mighty Emergence
2:14 - Clarion Ultimatum.
PICK: Clarion Ultimatum
3:1 - Master of Etherium, Thoughtcutter Agent, Kiss of the Amesha, Naya Battlemage, Cathartic Adept, Shore Snapper, Druid of the Anima, Coma Veil, Angelsong, Marble Chalice, Bant Panorama, Cavern Thoctar, Volcanic Submersion, Glaze Fiend.
Wow! Not only is my rare in my colors, it fits my deck perfectly! The only other comparable card I could've opened in the rare slot is Sharuum the Hegemon. But before I slam that down, let's just see what else is in the pack. Naya Battlemage is good for the Naya player, as it taps down threats. Kiss of the Amesha and Glaze Fiend are the only other things I'd consider taking in this pack if Master of Etherium wasn't there.
PICK: Master of Etherium
3:2 - Where Ancients Tread, Sunseed Nurturer, Sigiled Paladin, Tidehollow Strix, Obelisk of Esper, Bloodthorn Taunter, Onyx Goblet, Welkin Guide, Dragon Fodder, Wild Nacatl, Call to Heel, Steelclad Serpent, Obelisk of Bant.
Where Ancients Tread is a huge bomb that no one's paid much attention to yet. With the amount of green going around though, I don't think anyone's in a position to abuse it to its fullest, however. Tidehollow Strix has flying and deathtouch and is an artifact creature - what more could I want?
PICK: Tidehollow Strix
3:3 - Scourge Devil, Bant Battlemage, Grixis Panorama, Windwright Mage, Sighted-Caste Sorcerer, Savage Hunger, Hissing Iguanar, Wild Nacatl, Dispeller's Capsule, Sigil Blessing, Gustrider Exuberant, Godtoucher.
Nothing's better than the Windwright Mage. Other notes - Hissing Iguanar is great in a Jund deck, Wild Nacatl fits in the Naya deck no one is playing, and Sigil Blessing would have been taken already if the two guys to my right were in WG.
PICK: Windwright Mage
3:4 - Ooze Garden, Exuberant Firestoker, Rockslide Elemental, Puppet Conjurer, Lightning Talons, Steelclad Serpent, Courier's Capsule, Hissing Iguanar, Deathgreeter, Thorn-Thrash Viashino, Glaze Fiend.
There's a couple of filler cards for my deck in this pack. I like Puppet Conjurer because he makes chump blockers and pumps Master of Etherium, but I like the card drawing power of Courier's Capsule. If I had to do it all over again, I might've taken the Conjurer since I already had Kiss of the Amesha and Grixis Battlemage for drawing power... but once again, it's not a massive loss.
PICK: Courier's Capsule
3:5 - Grixis Battlemage, Sunseed Nurterer, Deathgreeter, Call to Heel, Carrion Thrash, Lush Growth, Cavern Thoctar, Hindering Light, Jhessian Lookout, Bloodthorn Taunter.
The thing about taking Hindering Light is that you feel obligated to use it, and it's a dead card when you're down in board position and your opponent is swinging away at you. So I'm looking at Grixis Battlemage and Call to Heel here, and I take the creature.
PICK: Grixis Battlemage
3:6 - Mighty Emergence, Drumhunter, Wild Nacatl, Glaze Fiend, Dregscape Zombie, Kederekt Creeper, Deft Duelist, Onyx Goblet, Resounding Wave.
Kederekt Creeper this late is weird, since I'm getting a Grixis vibe from the drafter on my right. Drumhunter is amazing in a Naya deck, and so is Wild Nacatl, so I don't need to say anything more about that. Deft Duelist is good, but I've got enough already and it's strictly an early-game creature. Glaze Fiend goes great with my artifact theme, and I love having multiples, so pack three is my last chance. Runner up: Resounding Wave.
PICK: Glaze Fiend
3:7 - Sangrite Surge, Obelisk of Grixis, Esper Panorama, Skeletal Kathari, Marble Chalice, Godtoucher, Gift of the Gargantuan, Volcanic Submersion.
Gift is late. I could take the Panorama, but I don't want to get stuck on colorless mana in my deck with three Windwright Mages. Skeletal Kathari is an underrated flier, in black of all colors. And it goes great with the Puppet Conjurer I didn't pick!
PICK: Skeletal Kathari
3:8 - Cunning Lethemancer, Angel's Herald, Dregscape Zombie, Angelsong, Volcanic Submersion, Court Archers, Rip-Clan Crasher.
Medoicre cards, and two great cards that aren't in my (or anyone's) colors. Cunning Lethemancer could be annoying, but it wouldn't make my deck, that's for sure. Angelsong is a cute combat trick that can cycle when I don't need it, but the problem is, you can cycle it when you don't need it. Drawing Angelsong early means you'll cycle it, and won't have it when you need it later. Plus, unless you're digging for some mass removal (which I don't have), straight up fog spells aren't that great in limited. Dregscape Zombie probably won't make my deck, but I take it anyway. If this were a real draft, I might've hate-picked either green card.
PICK: Dregscape Zombie
3:9 - Cathartic Adept, Angelsong, Marble Chalice, Cavern Thoctar, Volcanic Submersion, Glaze Fiend.
Easy mode. Glaze Fiends in Esper are sort of like Mimics in Shadowmoor/Eventide drafts.
PICK: Glaze Fiend
3:10 - Where Ancients Tread, Sunseed Nurterer, Sigiled Paladin, Onyx Goblet, Steelclad Serpent.
Like I said, no one realizes how bomby Where Ancients Tread can be. Were this a real draft where I was going to play more than just the player across from me, I would've hate-picked the enchantment. But I decide to make life hell for the guy sitting across from the drafter next to me and let it go. Meanwhile, my choices are between Sigiled Paladin number two, or Steelclad Serpent. I probably should've taken the Paladin, but since this wasn't a real draft, I decided to experiment with Steelclad Serpent to see how powerful it is in an artifact-based deck.
PICK: Steelclad Serpent
3:11 - Savage Hunger, Dispeller's Capsule, Gustrider Exuberant, Godtoucher.
I decide to stick Dispeller's Capsule in my sideboard for any Oblivion Rings or Where Ancients Treads I go up against.
PICK: Dispeller's Capsule
3:12 - Ooze Garden, Deathgreeter, Glaze Fiend.
PICK: Glaze Fiend
3:13 - Deathgreeter, Bloodthorn Taunter.
PICK: Death Greeter
3:14 - Mighty Emergence.
PICK: Tarmogoyf
So I've got a great Esper deck. Only a Sharuum, a few more Sanctum Gargoyles, and another removal spell or two would put this draft in my all-time top five. Signals are important in a draft, which is why I'm hammering the point home that red and green were wiiiiiiiide open. Cards like Court Archers and Rip-Clan Crashers shouldn't table, ever. I didn't realize it while I was drafting, but in hindsight after typing all this out, white was the heaviest drafted color, maybe blue as well. I didn't survey everyone in the draft, but I'm sure more than two people were going for Bant.
I know I made a lot of mistakes that drafters better than me reading this will probably shake their heads and go "Tsk, tsk, that Paskoff, what a terrible drafter, my word!", but it all worked out in the end for the most part.
I build the deck quickly in NetDraft and export it so I can open it in Magic Workstation where I can look at it in greater detail. Here's what the deck looks like:
Creatures (18): Tower Gargoyle, Deft Duelist, Etherium Sculptor, Windwright Mage (3x), Sigiled Paladin, Cloudheath Drake, Sanctum Gargoyle, Blister Beetle, Grixis Battlemage, Master of Etherium, Tidehollow Strix, Glaze Fiend (3x), Skeletal Kathari, Steelclad Serpent
Spells (5): Agony Warp, Oblivion Ring, Obelisk of Esper, Kiss of the Amesha, Courier's Capsule
I have eighteen creatures, a little on the high end, which means I have to play somewhat aggressively. I also have only one trick - Agony Warp. Although to be fair, I didn't have much of a chance to pick up any others, though I might've taken Resounding Waves in place of Esper Battlemage and/or Glaze Fiend if I realized I was going to have only one playable instant... but again, that's something that comes from experience. You can know what cards you've taken easily, but it takes a lot of skill to analyze what cards you need while you're drafting.
Magic Workstation has all sorts of neat tools to analyze a deck. I've got ten two-drops, seven three-drops, two four-drops, two five-drops, and two spells that cost six or more. That's a lot of two-drops, but they're all really good. It also shows that I'm fairly even on the total mana symbols for each of my three colors. Ten white, thirteen blue, and twelve black. It could be very safe to play six Islands, six Swamps, and five Plains, but I'm a fan of the "23/18" school of limited deckbuilding and I put in six of each land. Your mileage my vary.
There are a whopping fifteen artifacts in the deck, thirteen of which are artifact creatures, making Glaze Fiend very playable. Just try getting thirteen playable blue/green spells in Eventide to set off your Shorecrasher Mimics!
Vic was in more or less the same colors as me, except he fell into the trap of splashing for a fourth color, red. This can happen often in a draft. The signals you're sending out get weaker and weaker the further away from you they get, and the furthest point is the person sitting directly across from you. So while I cutting off good Esper cards from the people sitting to my right and left, Vic had no idea what I was doing. He just knew that some good Esper cards were coming his way because no one near me wanted to fight me over them. We usually end up sharing a shard.
In game one, I knocked him down to four life early, but he recovered with a Sharuum the Hegemon off the top, bringing back a Cloudheath Drake and backed up by a Metallurgeon to regenerate his blockers on defense, and my 6/6 Tower Gargoyle (Master of Etherium + Sigiled Paladin) just couldn't break through. Game two went better for me, with my deck performing as it should and breaking through his defenses with fliers and a timely Blister Beetle. Unfortunately in game three, Vic got horribly mana-screwed, drawing nearly every non-Island land in his deck while all his blue cards remained stuck in his hand.
If you have any questions about why I picked/didn't pick a certain card, or comments about the draft, let me know! Hopefully you'll learn from the picks (and mistakes!) I made and can use this knowledge next time you draft.
==MADONIA MINUTE==
Author: John "Metagame" Madonia
Author: John "Metagame" Madonia
Public Service Announcement. There are only two events left in the first and only Madonia Invitational and it's an intense setting as three different winners have been crowned. The first week was won by one of our dearly departed combatants that for the sanctity of this column will be kept nameless. Week 2 was handled by David 24/7 Drebsky (Wurm) with the only deck he realistically plays well, Kithkin. Week 3 was won by a Madonia/Chianese Joint that didn't lose a match on the weekend, even in batting practice.
Full standings are available through me, I will not post them here as to allow for tension to build.
FNC closing :(
Hopefully the majority of everyone knows this, but our Islip chapter of FNC will be shutting its doors for the last time in late October. I personally am saddened by this as I was a founding father of the Magic scene there and have helped bring it from the ground up. We put a lot of work in getting people in the building and keeping them there, so it's tough to see it go because of an increase rent cost and horrific economy. They will be moving to a main road in West Islip, which although seems quaint and all, is not FNC. I would ask that anyone that goes to the new store refer to it as Friendly Neighborhood or something to that effect. The people may transfer but the memories and the namesake will not. I can remember like it was yesterday our 10th Edition release. We had players on dumpsters on cement playing on hoods of cars, wherever there was space people were playing. Everyone was fantastic all day and the tournament ran perfectly, especially considering we had 55 or so players. People were there to have fun and enjoy themselves which was what it was about. If you were there that day, you probably had a blast, if you weren't you wish you would have been.
I'm sure the move is needed as far as finances go, so I wish them the best of luck and hope for continued successes, I'll just miss our little store that has no business having 30+ people in it, but we did anyway. We didn't have a store to call our own in Islip for a really long time after fire-gate, so we embraced this store and welcomed it finally a place that wasn't 40 minutes away. I think we did a hell of a job with it, for last year we had the highest turnout average of any other store in the entire state. So for everyone that made it an awesome couple of years I appreciate it.
FNC 2006-2008 RIP
Decklist of the Week
4x Ad Naseaum
4x Semsic Assault
4x Idylic Tutor
4x Diablic Tutor
3x Pyroclasm
3x Wrath
4x Kitchen Finks
7x Mountain
4x Swamp
3x Plains
4x Sungrass Prairie
4x Graven Cairns
4x Fetid Heath
4x Reflecting Pool
2x Vivid Marsh
1x Vivid Meadow
1x Vivid Crag
It's not a tournament level deck, but something to have fun with at a local tournament :)
Full standings are available through me, I will not post them here as to allow for tension to build.
FNC closing :(
Hopefully the majority of everyone knows this, but our Islip chapter of FNC will be shutting its doors for the last time in late October. I personally am saddened by this as I was a founding father of the Magic scene there and have helped bring it from the ground up. We put a lot of work in getting people in the building and keeping them there, so it's tough to see it go because of an increase rent cost and horrific economy. They will be moving to a main road in West Islip, which although seems quaint and all, is not FNC. I would ask that anyone that goes to the new store refer to it as Friendly Neighborhood or something to that effect. The people may transfer but the memories and the namesake will not. I can remember like it was yesterday our 10th Edition release. We had players on dumpsters on cement playing on hoods of cars, wherever there was space people were playing. Everyone was fantastic all day and the tournament ran perfectly, especially considering we had 55 or so players. People were there to have fun and enjoy themselves which was what it was about. If you were there that day, you probably had a blast, if you weren't you wish you would have been.
I'm sure the move is needed as far as finances go, so I wish them the best of luck and hope for continued successes, I'll just miss our little store that has no business having 30+ people in it, but we did anyway. We didn't have a store to call our own in Islip for a really long time after fire-gate, so we embraced this store and welcomed it finally a place that wasn't 40 minutes away. I think we did a hell of a job with it, for last year we had the highest turnout average of any other store in the entire state. So for everyone that made it an awesome couple of years I appreciate it.
FNC 2006-2008 RIP
Decklist of the Week
4x Ad Naseaum
4x Semsic Assault
4x Idylic Tutor
4x Diablic Tutor
3x Pyroclasm
3x Wrath
4x Kitchen Finks
7x Mountain
4x Swamp
3x Plains
4x Sungrass Prairie
4x Graven Cairns
4x Fetid Heath
4x Reflecting Pool
2x Vivid Marsh
1x Vivid Meadow
1x Vivid Crag
It's not a tournament level deck, but something to have fun with at a local tournament :)
==RULES CORNER==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Author: Brian Paskoff
Q. Do I have to name what land I'm searching for when I crack a Panorama?
A. While you're allowed to tell your opponent what you'll be searching for, you aren't forced to pick a land type until you're rummaging through your deck. You can just pick up your deck and search away while the ability is resolving. This way you don't have to memorize how many lands of each type are in your deck before you pop that Panorama.
Q. What happens when I Magma Spray a Kitchen Finks?
A. Magma Spray has made its way into the sideboards of many mono-red decks because it deals with persist so well. Magma Spray resolves, dealing two damage to the Finks, and then state-based effects are checked. Finks has two damage on it, so the game says it gets destroyed and put into the graveyard - but Magma Spray's replacement effect replaces the "going to graveyard" event with "going to the RFG zone".
A. While you're allowed to tell your opponent what you'll be searching for, you aren't forced to pick a land type until you're rummaging through your deck. You can just pick up your deck and search away while the ability is resolving. This way you don't have to memorize how many lands of each type are in your deck before you pop that Panorama.
Q. What happens when I Magma Spray a Kitchen Finks?
A. Magma Spray has made its way into the sideboards of many mono-red decks because it deals with persist so well. Magma Spray resolves, dealing two damage to the Finks, and then state-based effects are checked. Finks has two damage on it, so the game says it gets destroyed and put into the graveyard - but Magma Spray's replacement effect replaces the "going to graveyard" event with "going to the RFG zone".
==THE ISLANDHOME BLOG==
One of the things I wanted to do was have an archive of past issues online so I could refer people back to them as well as let new readers peruse old issues to see what all the fuss is about. So I've archived all the old issues on the blogosphere at islandhomemtg.blogspot.com. Go and relive all the past moments of glory!
==UPCOMING EVENTS==
October 4th - December 28th: PTQ Season for PT Kyoto
The next PTQ season kicks off October 4th, and the format is Shards of Alara sealed deck!
December - Mox Tournament at Brothers Grim
This December, Islandhome, in association with Brothers Grim, will be holding a giant Standard tournament. The first place prize will be a Mox Emerald, with many other prizes as well. Side events such as booster drafts and EDH multiplayer games will be held that day too, so keep reading Islandhome for more details!
December - Mox Tournament at Brothers Grim
This December, Islandhome, in association with Brothers Grim, will be holding a giant Standard tournament. The first place prize will be a Mox Emerald, with many other prizes as well. Side events such as booster drafts and EDH multiplayer games will be held that day too, so keep reading Islandhome for more details!
PTQs in our area this season:
10/26 - Rochester, NY
11/22 - Philadelphia, PA
12/13 - New York, NY
12/27 - Edison, NJ
10/26 - Rochester, NY
11/22 - Philadelphia, PA
12/13 - New York, NY
12/27 - Edison, NJ
==STORE LOCATIONS & CONTACT INFO==
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 631-698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
3 Grant Avenue, Suite 2
Islip, NY 11751
Phone: 631-470-7984
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 631-698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
3 Grant Avenue, Suite 2
Islip, NY 11751
Phone: 631-470-7984
==FIN==
See everyone this weekend!
Got forwarded Islandhome and want to sign up? Send an email to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com!
Got forwarded Islandhome and want to sign up? Send an email to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com!
-Brian Paskoff
L1 NY
L1 NY
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