The LiquidLegends Lounge - Page 1653

P1P1 is Cut // Ribbons over W/G cartouche, Lay Claim, Rhonas' Monument, Magma Spray, Final Ward (absurd pack). P1P2 is Baleful Ammit over another Magma Spray. Couple more picks and to my dismay R's cut hard. I jump off since after the Magma Sprays I don't expect it to be very open pack 2.

Pack 2 is another testament to WotC's stupid print runs' changes, as I receive packs that are literally ~10 cards between 2 colours, and the 2-3 others are from the rest. R is actually stupidly open, with half of the packs opened being R/W or R/B. Being BG, pack 2's a disaster for me, getting Wander in Death, an Exemplar of Strength, Miasmic Mummy, etc.
I'm picking filler for most of the pack due in part to these retarded print runs (stubborn neighbours are in G to my left but getting no cards in the packs is due to the print runs).

Pack 3 I open Glorybringer. Yeah sure.
Again with the garbage colour spread from the print runs, and considering the multiple holes in my plan because of shitty pack 2, half the packs have everything I want (Decimator Beetle / Cartouche of Strength / Naga Vitalist, Exemplar of Strength / Soulstinger / Naga Vitalist, Sandwurm Convergence / Exemplar of Strength / Final Reward) and the other half has nothing for me. With 3 Spidery Grasps from pack 1 ('cause that's all that wheeled) I'm finding myself counter-picking even before the wheel.

I end up with a weird midrange deck that has potential for curveouts, Cut // Ribbons, Bonefetcher and a Beetle to be dumb, and 2x Final Rewards to remove stuff.
The guy to my left is logically UB, that was the open pair pack 1. To his left we have UG, logical too (he got some good G from pack 2 (the only fucking G from the multiple entire boosters), took the vitalists and Spring // Mind, Open into Wonder, etc.). To his left we have Jund.

Match 1 vs that Jund guy. He picked the Glorybringer and has a foil Cut // Ribbons so he's even adding shit like a Cerodon to his "splash", and 'cause he's got no fixing aside from the Rg cycleland he's even playing Early Harvest.
Now, I'm biased. That's the guy who won the draft last friday by being BG to the right of UB and GW drafters and getting no counters synergy, just generic good cards in these colours. He got a couple good cards early from the strong packs we opened, then nothing, and got "rewarded" pack 2 as his neighbours were mono-R and someone chaffing between 4 colours and they opened stupid strong uncommons that he picked up. Then he again only got pack 3 from when I opened 3+ good cards and had to pass some.
He's an experienced player, prob more than me (especially constructed) and he's got more success iirc, but it just irks me when your left neighbours draft dumb but chance takes pity on their asses.
The match isn't worth talking about, he's got 2 Final Rewards despite me and his 2 immediate left neighbours playing B, he draws them both and the Glorybringer, and in game 2 I'm stuck at 4 mana with Final Reward long enough for the dragon to even exert twice.

Match 2 vs UB cycling
My left neighbour. I got a decent curve and his deck lacking pressure I could afford to attack willy-nilly. Even with a turn 3-4 Faith of the Devoted both games he didn't have enough time to stabilise. I think he should have played Ancient Crab over some of his 1/2 or 1/3s since I didn't even need to exert to discourage blocking, and my tricks blew him out.
My match 1 opponent is playing besides us against a solid UR spells deck, and wins 2-0 'cause his opponent drew badly. They play 3-4 friendlies while waiting for the round to end and jund guy gets crushed. But it doesn't matter 'cause he got his luck during the ones that did.

Match 3 vs RW aggro
Doomed Dissenter, Baleful Ammit, Soulstinger, 2x Giant Spider, tricks... my stuff lines up pretty well against his.
Game 1 I even afford to race him because I get to play Cut for once, and RW doesn't have many 2+ power blockers for the sandwurm. Game still looks close because he gets a nuts turn to go wide right before I kill him (ran straight into a trick).
Game 2 I'm stuck on 3 lands. 12 spells drawn.
Game 3 I'm stuck on 2 lands after a mulligan. Spider, Ammit, Soulstinger, all walls for him in hand or drawn.
Just a reminder that variance trumps skill, in case jund guy hadn't made a good case (he gets trashed in the finals).


I guess I will pick Vitalist over Soulstinger and shit like that from now on, since it's the 2nd time I lose to the off-colour bomb I open pack 3 and pass.
Just ignore colours and play all the bombs, AKH is just designed for that joke of a plan!
Or alternatively I'll get shit for packs one I'm in G and then I'll see these vitalists in the same packs as cartouche or behemoth just to spite me some more. That's been a pattern (especially when in the open pair for the sit) so far in the format.

Destined // Lead early, then several decent R cards like Trueheart Twins or Magma Spray, so when it started drying up I tried to hold onto it, as the other open colour was U and my current picks wouldn't slot into UR or UB. Guy to my left was the UB player from yesterday so I put both Faith of the Devoted on top of the packs I passed him, he growled a bit.

Pack 2 I saw some G and U, but little B. P2P1 Liliana's Mastery over Lord the Accursed knowing a lord was already passed to me pack 1 meant somebody would get a great deck if this weren't a 10-man pod. At that point I'm sitting there with a lack of 2-drops, cartouches of zeal, bats and thresher lizards.
Then pack 3 comes around and I guess pack 1 was simply weak in R because it's flowing for most of it now. Actually, it's again with the "my deck could use several things, there's none of them 3 packs in a row, then 3 of them in the next pack at once", difference compared to yesterday being that I see Electrify, wince at having to choose with Bloodrage Brawler, then stop thinking 'cause the rare is Neheb. Or picking Magma Spray over Baleful Ammit. Passing Consuming Fervor.
My left neighbour ends up incredulous at what I'm doing since I passed him Splendid Agony and a Magma Spray pack 1, and Electrify and other stuff pack 3, "full of removal."

Pool ends up retarded, when the cuts I'm looking at aren't things like filler but rather Soulstinger or Liliana's Mastery.
+ Show Spoiler [deck] +

Match 1 vs RGb monsters (he's splashing for Splendid Agony, short on removal)
Game 1 is basically Pathmaker Initiate + Cartouche winning me 6 life and killing 2 of his creatures, then turns 4+5 are hasty bats, and pursue Glory seals the deal. I didn't expect the bats to clock so fast.
Game 2 he uses a cartouche of zeal on his 2-drop to dodge mine and starts racing. I'm pretty confident so I go for it, and in the end Thresher Lizards becoming 4/4s pretty fast and forcing trades lets me win a very tight game (empty handed, facing lethal at 4 life, I let a 2/2 through as I topdecked the Javelineer, if my opponent plays a creature I can bin whatever I draw to prevent blocks and swing for lethal, so I decide to let a 2/2 through hoping he doesn't have a pump spell).

Match 2 vs UG ramp
This is disgusting and it doesn't even feel like I took many decisions aside from sequencing, while my opponent had to deal with everything.
Game 1 on the draw: magma spray on his Naga Vitalist, t2 Bloodrage Brawler (topdeck), t3 Neheb (topdeck), t4 Pathmaker+Entangler to drop to 1 card in hand, my opponent scoops turn 5.
Game 2 t1 bloodlust inciter, t2 pass, t3 hasty Neheb, t4 hasty Javelineer (topdeck). I don't remember what follows, and the game was actually close with a cartouche of knowledge of Initiate's Companion to pseudo-race me while setting up blockers, and deciding on what to keep to minimise my upside from the Javelineer's ability. I win at 7 life facing potential lethal next turn because I'm forcing chumps.
These are the best openers my deck can possibly get and it was so disgusting I didn't even really enjoy it, I just felt bad for my opponent.

Match 3 vs BGr -1/-1 counters and splashing red removal (my left neighbour)
Game 1 I keep a slow hand because I'm kinda afraid of mulliganing.
He plays 2x Festering Mummy, then Bat to my Thresher Lizard, which sets up a 3-for-2 and 5 life off of Cartouche of Ambition over 2 turns. I play a couple more creatures and with his slightly slower hand scoops once I get him low and play a hasted Bat. I drew more lands than spells (9 to 8) and still...
Game 2 I mull, keeping a Bloodlust Inciter, Bloodrage Brawler, Thresher Lizard, Cursed Minotaur and 2 lands, scrying one to the top. Plan goes awry to a t2 Miasmic Mummy from opponent (removes a t3 4/3+4/4 attack potential) then draw too many lands.
He's on 3 life but I had nothing... when I topdeck Grim Strider. Opp is devastated, he tells me after the game he was holding Electrify and one land away from Stir the Sands, so any creature could have been handled but this one at that point. He uses a Cartouche of Ambition to go back up to 6 and shrink the Strider, but I keep bricking after he's removed, refusing to cycle Limits of Solidarity has a single creature could grant me the win. He plays Hapatra instead, puts a counter on her to get a deahtouch snake and starts clocking me for 2.
He plays Hooded Brawler and I have the threaten effect+cartouche to deal 6 damage, however opp's got untapped mana and sinks deep in the tank when I cast limits, telegraphing the removal in hand. I opt not to use the cartouche and make it a 2-for-1 by baiting his Electrify out on his own creature. Magma Spray removes the creature he wanted to shove Hapatra's counter on (just to go wide), then I draw Neheb, risk his last card being Splendid Agony and cartouche him up (to remove Hapatra), the 5/3 first strike lifelinker prompting a scoop.
My opponent's pretty jaded because his P1P1 was Liliana (hence the heavy B cut pack 2, as he didn't see much pack 1 but it appeared open afterwards).