Draft
Heyo! That’s a P1p1 bomb! Choice of TWO Chandras (sucks passing Baby Chandra though).
Signals: P1p6 Goblin Smuggler is a little late, which raised my hopes that red would be open. P1p9 Fathom-Fleet Cutthroat is nice going with my earlier black removal. I waffled between RB aggro and control, with the tail end of pack 3 putting me in aggro.
Interesting Picks
P3p2: Meteor Golem vs. Audacious Thief vs. Goblin Smugger (#2) This was tough. Meteor is the best card in the vacuum while both three-drops are powerful. I eventually went with the Golem only to have massive aggro cards slip through to me, including another two Smuggers in the middle of the pack. Right call at the time, but boy this deck would love a thief.
Deck
Well, aggro RB it is then. Some clumsy choices (plus a fascinating potential Destructive Digger/Retributive Wand package) but I think going generic curve-out-plus-removal is the way to be. After the first round though, I took out the Meteor Golem and the Necromancer. Both great cards with a built-in 2 for 1, but this deck is so fast and low to the ground, I want to lean into the aggro plan. So I put in the 4-drop Aeronaut and the Marauder’s Axe.
Results
- Round 1 vs. GWbu: Mull to 6, but I curved out pretty nicely with removal for their fatties. Goblin Smugger. Game 2 I curve into… Big Chandra! Holy cow that +2 is oppressive! I flooded out hideously, sacrifice my dudes and four of those emblems made it a forgone conclusion.
- Round 2 vs. Temur: I get a dream curve out but oppo stuck a Risen Reef – healer of Glade – Cloudkin. Yikes, that’s a lot of card draw. Even with the lifegain, I have the oppo on a two turn clock with two Goblin Smugglers. They bought some time with a Frost Lynx (more card draw!) and a Gyre, but I got through. Assuming I’m on the draw, I sideboard out one land for a Fry. Game 2, I curved out while oppo got stuck on 3 land. They got a Lavakin Brawler out with a Maniacal Rage to try and race me, but unblockable damage took the day! The finals!
- Round 3: Another good curve out against another fairly good curve out. Once again, the Goblin Smugglers carried me to victory. For sideboarding, I take out Reduce to Ashes and put in the Boneclad Necromancer, as 2-for-1s against the quasi-mirror are better. I also take out a Bladebrand and put in a Skeleton. In game 2 I got stuck on only 1 mountain, giving oppo enough time to land Gargos. Good thing I put that Skelton in, eh?! Huge stall, as my deathtouch/skeleton face off. Then oppo tapped all of their mana for… THE OTHER HYDRA. I fire off the Murder. Finally I draw my salvation, big momma Chandra!
Learnings
It was definitely nice having a deck with a plan. Goblin Smuggler was absolute sauce for me and Big Momma Chandra closed out again games that were still in doubt. It felt nice that every card fit the plan perfectly.
Benalish Dad 