Feedback welcome! I really enjoy drafting, and would like to continue and improve my game.
First draft of Shadows over Innistrad! I started out attempting to draft Delirium, but found myself getting better Madness and Vampire cards. I played in some great matches, often down to the wire, but came out on top at 3-0.
Matches:
Match 1: 2-0 vs RW Humans - Both games I ended up with board control early, and didn't look back. In the first match, I hit Markov Dreadknight turn 5, Flameblade Angel turn 6, then on turn 7 buffed Markov while playing an Incorrigible Youths for it's madness cost and swung for lethal. Although this was definitely a lucky draw order, it ended up happening at least one other time during the draft.
Match 2: 2-1 vs UB Zombies - The first and last match I was able to maintain board control, and went over the top with fliers. The second match I was swarmed by an impressive hoard of 8 zombies - that one didn't end well.
Match 3: 2-1 vs BRG - I took the first game fairly quickly - my opponent ended up flooding. The second game didn't fare as well for myself, as I didn't draw the right lands quick enough, and got smacked by some big green Delirium triggering creatures - it was an awesome play to get that last card in the graveyard for his delerium! The final match came down to the wire, with my Markov Dreadknight buffing twice to kill off his last swing attempt and winning the next turn - I only had two life left!.
Post-Mortem:
Good:
MVP: Markov Dreadknight - this guy was a beast. I was able to trigger his ability frequently, which would not only make him unstoppable, but get additional threats out on the board.
Vampires: This was the heart of the deck. I was able to main-deck 8, with a Stensia Masquerade to help out. 5 of these cards had ways to add +1/+1 counters to themselves or other Vampires, which was generally what put me over the top. Markov Dreadknight is an absolute beast running in a Madness deck, which frequently got my Incorrigible Youths on the field for lethal. For the long game, Asylum Visitor helped me keep card advantage. Finally, Bloodmad Vampire is hard to deal with if it can get through a few times.
Madness: Madness worked out great, but looking back at my deck, I only had four engine cards. Markov Dreadknight was the most effective by far, followed by Mad Prophet. Rottenheart Ghoul never triggered for me, but ended up being a solid blocker, especially against Zombies. Sinister Concoction hit twice for me, and it's removal was solid.
Removal: I ended up with 7 forms of removal, including 3 permanents/tokens. Murderous Compulsion, Reduce to Ashes and Avacyn's Judgment are pretty straight forward. As I mentioned above, Sinister Concoction hit twice along with dropping in some creatures with Madness, and ended up winning the first game in my final match. Tooth Collector, although never hitting Delirium, won me early board control in a few matches. The one time I did successfully hit Delirium was with Kindly Stranger
into Demon-Possessed Witch, which ended up taking out a big threat. Finally, Dance with Devils continues to impress me with it's utility.
Other: Flameblade Angel only showed up on the field twice, but ended up being hard to deal with. Senseless Rage combo'd nicely with Indulgent Aristocrat for an early big body plus Lifelink, and Olivia's Bloodsworn for an early flying threat.0
Bad:
Worst Performers: Looking back at it, I should have dropped Vessel of Malignity and Creeping Dread. The former only went off once, and didn't seem to change much. The latter was never played, and in the situations I could have played it in, would have put myself behind in cards.
Sideboard: Sideboarding during limited is something I need to work on. Ghoulsteed and Stallion of Ashmouth were technically in my sideboard, but didn't really fit in. Ghoulsteed I thought was too expensive to try and hit Madness with it, and Stallion of Ashmouth was picked assuming I would draft more Delirium. Twins of Maurer Estate were beat out by Incorrigible Youths due to their haste. Rush of Adrenaline didn't ever really make it out of the sideboard, but that may have just been due to the fact that I didn't recognize any situations where they would have worked better than what I had in the deck.
Delirium: I wanted to draft into Delirium, which ended up leaving a few cards in my deck that depended on it. Crow of Dark Tidings was worthless, and only ended up getting played out of desperation once (it didn't help). Tooth Collector was fine due to it's weenie removal, but it's Delirium never triggered. Kindly Stranger
only triggered once, but that was a fluke.
Missed Cards: There were a ton of Senseless Rages being passed around. I'm not sure if there were better picks at the time, or I underestimated it's value, but I should have grabbed at least one more. It was a heavy hitter, especially when it came out early-game. In addition, I didn't really decide to go Vampires and Madness fully until the second pack - I should have noticed this earlier and could have grabbed a few more useful cards.
