Draft

Told to avoid white, I go straight into Loxodon and 2x Raise the Alarms. Red felt like it was getting cut and some late green. But the Raise the Alarms kept flowing so I went wide. I wish the green was a little better, but it seemed like a pretty clear lane.

Draft Log

Deck

Okay, well this plan is pretty straightforward. Go REAL wide and win with a mass-pump spell. 18 creatures (counting Raise the Alarm and Ancestral Blade as creatures), a trick, 2x Glaring Aegis (unsure how good those are) and the 3 mass-pump. Sideboard I have two color hosers, which I would probably take out the Growth Cycle first.

Results

• Round 1 vs. WG: I mull a 5-lander, get a 2-lander and viciously curve out into a turn 5 Inspiring Captain right as I drop two Raise the Alarms. That felt great! In round 2, oppo mulls to 5. I have a slower start, but I put some pants on the Thicket Crasher and Barkhide Troll and do some work.
• Round 2 vs. mono-black: I mull again to 6, as this deck just wants a fast start. I bottom a third land, feeling a little frisky. Oppo also gets off to a slower start, but they have cards and I don’t. Then Dread Presence enters the battlefield and things look ugly. To be fair, I didn’t draw any plains. Game 2 I keep a two-lander, miss a few turns. Oppo gets the Undead Servant train rolling, which is a pretty decent when I’m trading 1 for 1 with it. Eventually I stall out and he draws his removal and powers through me. Great deck.
• Round 3 vs. RB: we curve out and I remember this time to dodge the Fathom Fleet Cutthroat. I double-cast Raise the Alarm on their end-step and set up an Inspired Charge that domes them for 18. Second game: Oppo gets the Goblin Smugger/Audacious thief combo (right after I blew my removal) which starts reloading him quickly. I launch an early Overcome but the card advantage was too much. I mull in game 3, keep a 2-lander. Fortunately, oppo lands Drakuseth so it really didn’t matter that I got stuck on three lands.

Learnings

Well, that was straightforward. Honestly it felt better than 1-2, but that’s the weakness of combo decks like this. If things come in the wrong order, then you just sit there and eat sand. But you get to feel like a GOD when you alpha strike them.

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