Draft

Sneaking in a quick draft before some Benalish Daddies with Chris tomorrow. I did some more chores earlier in the day anyway and the Benalish Momma took care of the bedtime. I did have to dash away mid-draft for a final hug goodnight. Such is the price we pay sometimes; though no picks were missed.

Draft Log

Early Picks

P1p1: Henge vs. Animating Faerie. Pretty easy Henge (THAT I NEVER SAW, uh, spoilers)
P1p2: this was trickier! Oven vs. 2 gold cards and the hybrid Fireborn Knight. I think it’s between the Knight
P1p3: Searing Barrage as strongest card in the pack.
P1p4: Ardenvale Tactician is the white card you just can’t have enough of. I’m briefly tempted by Rampart Smasher, but I think the power level of the white card is higher.
Late Outmuscle and Rimrock Knights put me in red… with absolutely no payoff in pack 2 or pack 3. Bleh. The P2p14 So Tiny felt particularly galling.

Self-Assessment

Well, not sure where red went there. I like my drafting early, taking powerful cards (still unsure about the pick 2 Witch’s Oven, but I think it fit).

Deck

Hmm, midrange is not really where I want to be. However, the red that was pretty clear in pack 1 (with the late Rimrock Knights) dried up in pack 3. Huh, well that feels kinda bad.

Results

• Round 1 vs. UB: I got savagely blown out by Lochmere Serpent. And then oppo had a SECOND ONE. I boarded into the more red, more variance, lower curve because my only hope is to draw well and go under. I mull to 5, fairly aggressively since I’m going to need an aggressive hand. I stumbled, oppo eventually found their Lochmere Serpent and that was that. Felt like I was going to lose to that deck pretty convincingly no matter what I did.
• Round 2 vs. UB: Much more manageable this time, as oppo had the terrible puppet card instead of a Lochmere Serpent. I also had a very smooth curve out. Oppo then conceded game 2 before we event started.
• Round 3 vs. RG: I forgot about Witch’s Oven not once but twice, dodging my removal. Which is embarrasing. Turned into a really good game frankly. Lots of removal, but I kept pounding away with the giant. I kept a dreamy start with Goose, to Ogre Errrant and the lance, with everything coming down a turn early. I think my oppo’s mana base finally haunted them and they conceded.

Learnings

Don’t forget that Witch’s Oven makes your removal really bad, or at least wait until they tap it, or SOMETHING.

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