The LiquidLegends Lounge - Page 693

First, salt alerts for y'all: an American at the draft (from Chinese descent, was in town to visit a Chinese friend studying here) opened a Foil Ob Nixilis. We did redraft rares, but building around it gave him the 3-0. So he'll go back to the states with a Foil French Ob Nixilis after a 10€ draft. Pretty good value I'd say.

Drafting is hard. Resorting to old habits, and not being able to predict what's going to come back (and what your neighbours are drafting) can be really punishing I feel. I knew I'd be bad at this, but I think with 3 different choices (all reasonable in hindsight) I could have, actually rather easily, went 2-1 instead of 1-2 (spoilers!).

First pack had Bring to Light. I don't know how you'd play UG nearly enough, and it'd need a 3rd colour to get some value so I didn't get it. Instead I picked Angel of Renewal, thinking it'd be a decent flyer, if costly for its stats, with a neat effect.
I picked a bit of Red and Black, for example Chasm Guide, Complete Disregard, Zulaport Cutthroat... and with quite a few allies passing by me I decided to go BW and splash either Red or Green (some fetching and Earthen Arms). Opening Undergrowth Champion sent me on G.

I didn't see much interesting stuff in UG, but Green seemed kinda weak (and picked for value by a game to my right), while Blue was being exclusively hoarded by to guys in front of me, meaning I didn't see anything good from it reach me (Ob dude went UB eldrazi).

I passed 2 Kalastria Nightwatch early in the draft because I didn't really have lifegain available, and the 5 CMC made me think twice. Later on I got 2 Kalastria Healer and Zulaport Cutthroat, also Courier Griffin, and Serene Steward, and a Tandem Tactics. Welp. I had passed a Stone Haven Medic before seeing them too.

Deck was basically allies with some lifedrain, vigilance, some pump, flyers, and I splashed green for undergrowth champion, earthen arms and the sorcery that looks at the top of the library for creatures or lands. I picked an Evolving Wilds and I had a Fertile Thicket so I felt somewhat confident (4 forests, the thicket, 2 mortuary mires, the evolving wilds, 5 plains and 5 swamps).

I new I didn't have a lot of high-power creatures so I thought I'd rely on earthen arms, serene steward counters and my flyers to finish the job.

First series:
The other UB dude. I didn't get a very strong start (because BW allies have shit stats), and come turn 5 he started dropping Oracles of Dust. He drafted 3 in total. I could still damage him using the griffin and some lifedrain, but Oracle of Dust into Ugin's Insight (Scry 5, Draw 3 with the Oracle in play), Kozilek's Channeler...
After that he drew Benthic Infiltrator and started pinging me, putting the exiled cards back into my graveyard imemdiatly to loot with the Oracle.
I didn't have anything to compete with the 5 toughness from the Oracle, my Complete Disregard was one of the first exiled cards, and after that he proceeded to pretty much exile every single ally in my deck turn after turn, while I was drawing lands (I didn't play them to try and psych him, but didn't do too much).
The Courier Griffin dropped him to 4 HP. At that point, Zulaport Cutthroat, my second Healer, or enough ally draws would give me the game (one Healer in play, he attacked at one point and I played an ally to trigger Vigilance then hit him for 9, so he got content stalling and pinging from there).
At this point all he has against my Griffin is a 1/2 Eldrazy Flyer, he hasn't blocked with it yet. He plays Ulamog's Reclaimer, gets Ugin's Insight back by processing, plays it and gets the 2/1 blue Eldrazi flyer which produces a spawn. I don't have my Earthen Arms to get over the 3/3 worth of stats anymore, nor my removal. I pretty much have to get a Mortuary Mire or Zulaport Cutthroat to win. When he kills me (with 5 card left in his deck, his drawing power was absurd), Zulaport Cutthroat was 2 cards further. Drawing it, playing it then attacking with everything would have granted me the win. Welp.
My biggest mistake that game was choosing to discard Renewal Angel over Earthen Arms when one of his spells forced it upon me, thinking 6 mana was far, and Mortuary Mire could be used later to reclaim it. I never got to draw a Mire, and the lifegain from the Angel + having another flyer to go over his wall of 3/5, 2/5 and 4/4 creatures would have granted me the win.
I don't know if I could have anticipated that, though, as sealed draft taught me that if someone drafts landfall you're going to die by turn 5 if he draws right and you can't handle the 4/4s.

Game 2 started on time, after I mulliganed to 4, with 2 lands and a spell in hand. Loss 0-1.

2nd series:
The other guy who drafted BWg, and who didn't pass the Kalastria Nightwatch I did. I don't know what he drafted early to take them like this (in the first two rotations).
First game he kept whining and being all down because he wouldn't be able to do anything or what have you. Sure, he didn't play many cards, I played Undergrowth Champion vs his Stone Haven Medic and Makindi Patrol, then made him discard 2 (3B sorcery).
But he casted Complete Disregard on my champion the next turn, removed a lot of my damage with the Medic (I was hitting with the griffin, and a Makindi Patrol of my own defending).
Then he got his 5th mana and dropped a Kalastria Nightwatch, which I was expecting from his complaints.
Bone Splinters on a Scion to get rid of my Griffin with Earthen Arms, which I got back with Mortuary Mire the next turn (putting it on top of the library and not in hand hurts though). I fucked up and cast a Complete Disregard with all my Black mana instead of taping a Forest or Plain and thus couldn't cast Altar's Reap on a blocking creature after I had to chump on his next turn, another mistake.

In the end he cast March from the Tomb to get Grovetender Druids andsome other stuff back, and played Tajuru Beastmaster.
With the Stone Haven medic to freely give flying to both his Kalastria Nightwatch as an instant, the buffs from the Beastmaster, and me being reduced to 3 creatures, I died.

Now one thing where I fucked up, I had a Mortuary Mire in hand turn 4. I didn't play it because I didn't need the mana yet and wanted to keep it for when I'd have something to get back from the graveyard. Playing it meant making Undergrowth Champion a 4/4, and I considered it (would allow me to attack with it and Medic+Patrol are 3/6 together, can't kill it and I get to kill one). I hesitated, then prefered to keep the Mire, and not attack with the Champion so I could block and grow him later. He got exiled.
Had I played the Mire like I initially contemplated, 4 power would have put it out of Complete Disregard's reach, forcing my opponent to block. That would have let me kill the Medic then.
The Medic ended up saving his life, as I dropped him to 1 life with Healer triggers, then to 2 and/or 3 with the Griffin and Angel of Renewal (Makindi Patrol granting vigilance). More importantly, it gave him the ability to make his 4/5 flyers to block my 4/4 angel at any point as he kept a plain up. I'd have won without that (alternatively, had I drawn Tandem Tactics or Focus of the Lithomancer a turn or two earlier, as when they arrived the Beastmaster was in play and buffing them; but I don't have control over this so let's not consider it), either by just putting him at 0 life, or by being able to swing my angel over the damn 4/5s.

Second game I had a colour death for black. Too bad my cards either costed 4+, or I needed a swamp to play them. Turn 6 or 7 I drew evolving wilds, used it to get a swamp, counted 10 cards in the deck before I'd get the first one.
I died the next turn, due to my empty board. It was an extremely fun game. Well at least the guy wasn't whining anymore (he whined less after the champion got exiled, instead making remarks how he wished he had one, or how he expected me to play in on turn 3 during the second game; he was smug and jubilant when he got board advantage. Not tilting, but annoying).
0-2

3rd series:
Against me was another guy doing his first booster draft. He had less than a month's worth of experience, so I assume he did the pre-release like me. He draft RG landfall, but didn't draw his 5-6 landfalls creatures on curve, and I got an almost perfect opener for my deck (turn 2 Healer, turn 3 Steward+counter, turn 4 Makindi Patrol+counter, even the Healer became decent as a 2/3). I attacked tapped out once again, no mana to cast Altar's Reap on a blocked creature, which was a dumb mistake I made several times, and he later cracked a sion to Rolling Thunder half my board away. I still won because I had gotten a big lead and forced him to lose creatues by chumping.
Second game I went Healer turn 2 and 3, Niraka turn 4, he played Rolling Thunder to get both Healers out but I ended up winning anyway through a couple awaken spells.
2-0

In the rares redraft, I picked a Smothering Abomination (am at 3 now), the ally granting Lifelink, and March from the Tomb (I know it's not good so noone would want it, so I left it out till my last turn).
Oh, and I didn't receive the promo Ultimate Price and forgot to tell the shop owner he'd forgotten. Well if I'm going for a dud evening in term of plays, might as well stay on the theme.

I exchanged my Chasm Guide for a Stasis Snare, and I'll get a 3rd one at the promo tomorrow.

The gods who led the rebellion against the primordials were the most powerful ones, called the Celestial Incarnae (because they're things in the sky): The Unconquered Sun (the sun), Luna (the moon), the 5 maidens (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn), and Nox (the night sky).

The canon fluff doesn't mention Nox much. He betrayed the gods (he's a god of paradoxes, so by allying with them he simultaneously betrayed them) and let the Primordials know of their plans, which sparked the war stuff or at least made it worse, can't quite remember. To stop him, Autochthon bent him and used his body to augment the powers of a machine called the Loom of Fate, which the gods and the exalted champions of the 5 maidens use to control/influence destiny. Nox isn't completed dead, but plays basically no role in canon Exalted.

A popular fanbook picked up on how potentially cool Nox was and rounded out his character, history, etc. In it, Nox is revealed to have had exalted champions of his own (called Nocturnals) previous to being bent by Autochthon, and they scattered / got killed when he did. Also, because he's (a) not dead and (b) part of the most powerful machine in creation, he can influence fate a little bit without anyone noticing. His exalted champions are now returning for various reasons, but he can't speak to them directly so they don't really know what's going on. Also, the book is well written, really fun, rounds out a niche really well, and is more balanced than a lot of the canon books, so it's popular.

In 3E, they've introduced a new character called Rakan Thulio, the sleepwalker, who's one of the exalted champions of the 5 maidens that govern fate. He's bitter about fate because #lifesux, so he rebelled and tapped into a "dark power of paradoxes", made his own green lantern corps exalted army that harnesses the powers of the Loom of Fate, and declared war on heaven. He's also purple in the one picture we have of him, and making his best sinestro face. It seems like a cool take on the Nocturnal concept + Sinestro for some reason.

Maindeck:
1x Hangarback Walker (don't have more)
2x Expedition Envoy
4x Kalastria Healer
4x Zulaport Cutthroat
4x Serene Steward (mana dump, help make my shitter less shitty)
3x Drana's Emissary (I know she has shit stats, I still wanna try)
2x Malakir Familiar (defensive deterrent; triggers can pump it pretty fast though)
1x Grim Hauspex (draaaw!)
2x Bloodbond Vampire (hesitated with Kalastria Nightwatch for evasion; they're easy to pump in this list tho. Anyway with slackers like Zulaport and Healer I need big bodies to finish the job.)

2x Altar's Reap (more sac and draw!)
1x Utter End
2x Complete Disregard (I'd put more but I already have 4 other spot removal)

2x Vampiric Rites (sac outlet/draw/trigger lifegain)
1x Suspension Field
2x Stasis Snare
2x Citadel Siege (Retreat to Emeria too slow, no Gideon, I'll pump however I can; or stall)
1x Palace Siege (you know what this list full of EtB/LtB lacks? Recursion, and I don't have Lili)

1x March from the Tomb (I don't have more D: )

1x Caves of Koilos
1x Scoured Barrens
1x Sandsteppe Citadel (Look, I use what I have)
2x Mortuary Mire (ditto for recursion)
8x Swamps
10x Plains (there are more black cards, but the WW costs come as soon as turn 3, also Steward activations)

Sideboard:
2x Felidar Cub (enchantment hate)
3x Duress (vs spell-heavy/control)
2x Transgression of the Mind (vs ramp or annoying big stuff)
2x Nantuko Husk
2x Rogue's Passage (alternate wincon)
1x Defiant Broodlord (alternate wincon, with Harsh Sustenance out I'm not sure about it anymore)
2x Ultimate Price (fast and cheap, if their deck allows it—which I doubt)
1x Lantern Scout (against aggro; I only got one)