Draft

Easy Bedeck in P1p1, then some good Gruul with a P1p4 Savage Smash and P1p5 Burning Tree Vandal feeling pretty good. I saw a late Slimebind and then was passed a Mass Manipulation in pack 2. Definite “Hmmm” moment where I explored a more of a blue base, but the lack of gates (and continued stream of Savage Smash cards) put me back on the Gruul train.

Deck

Looks very by-the-numbers Gruul deck. Three Savage Smashes and a archtypical 6-5-4 curve out. The ceiling doesn’t look particularly high, lacking powerhouse rares. Also a little sad I was never able to snag a Gruul Guildgate or two. But we’ll see!

Results

• Round 1 vs. Jund: racing curving out, but getting to Savage Smash his Arynx first and slamming in for 8 put me on the permanent front foot. Opponent lacked green mana in game 2 so that was over fast.
• Round 2 vs. Orzhov: oppo gets a little choked on mana. I then walk into a Kaya’s Wrath (that was avoidable) I then throw away the game not chump blocking because I wasn’t tracking my life total. Game 2 I get broken by a Revenge, putting my opponent at 30 and myself at 7, so I get finished off by Spirit tokens.
• Round 3 vs. Simic: I keep a hand that needs a forest to get going, but that slows me down just enough where his multiple Chillbringers slow. The other hand i get a little choked on red mana, he lands that stupid -1/-0 Azorius sky card (his white splash) and I just can’t complete.

Learnings

As everyone says, mana base is important. It really is different having 8 sources versus 10 sources (i.e. two guildgates). Also, just don’t keep a hand that needs a color of mana to really work. Especially when an aggressive deck, losing the card to the mulligan isn’t as bad as sitting with 2-3 dead cards or not getting on the front foot.

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