Drafting M15...what to look out for?
Limited forum
Posted on July 16, 2014, 11:29 p.m. by Dalektable
I have only done one draft IRL before, and I did sub par at best. This time around I am looking to do better, and I was hoping you all could help me. Obviously the packs determine what your deck will look like, however I think drafting W/x would be fairly strong. W/G maybe? W/U? Let me know below what you think the good archetypes are to look out for in M15 draft, and what are some commons/uncommons to look out for? Good rare bombs?
beautifulthrull says... #3
I managed 4-1 in the pre-release playing a B/G dredge deck featuring Gravedigger and Invasive Species . The amount of resilience the deck showed was amazing. My pool was terrible and I played no rares and the closest things to bombs I had were Juggernaut and Nimbus of the Isles (!) - with the amount of dredging I was able to pull off, it didn't seem to matter. I think this is going to be a slower format, so maybe dredging has an edge?
Also, splashing blue for Jorubai Murk Lurker was amazing - awesome stats (2/4) + cheap mana-sink that is probably one of the best ways to gain life in the set. If I'm remotely in the colours, I would definitely pick this highly.
July 17, 2014 12:05 a.m.
just about any of the planeswalkers are good in limited. Soul of New Phyrexia , Scuttling Doom Engine , Spirit Bonds , Polymorphist's Jest , and some others are real good cards for limited.
Hornet Queen
is great in limited, there is a card that returns a creature to your hand, so if you get that combo going it swings the game in your favor quickly.
Return to the Ranks
works well in a white/blue flyers deck.
Ensoul Artifact combos well with Darksteel Citadel as it creates a indestructible 5/5 creature and not all limited decks have ways to destroy the enchantments.....
July 17, 2014 12:16 a.m.
Dalektable says... #5
If anyone is interested I won my draft. I drafted G/w and first picked an Ajani Steadfast into a pack two Resolute Archangel , both of which did major work. I won every game except for one, in which i went 1-1-1 against a W/B deck. We had to do the tie because we ran out of time, but I was sitting at 59 life and him at 3 and if i had been given some more turns I easily could have pulled out a win.
July 19, 2014 5:35 p.m.
For some reason, people keep saying you should always first pick Witch's Familiar ... not quite sure why th... ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD!
July 21, 2014 7:43 a.m.
sonicizslow says... #7
Rayenous well i didnt first pick Witch's Familiar but I did play it in every single game. I only had one, and in the 7 rounds I played, that hit the table 7 times.
July 21, 2014 8:52 a.m.
Against white, never play Festergloom if it kills less than 2 creatures. Unless you're getting swarmed by a spirit bond or a First Response , never, ever play it before they cast Triplicate Spirits . It'll be all the bigger a blowout since they'll probably have tapped all their other tokens to cast the spirits in the first place. When playing Xathrid Slyblade , keep in mind it can be countered by Necrobite and Ephemeral Shields
Accursed Spirit and Krenko's Enforcer are first-pickable if your pack lacks an obvious bomb, and so is Necrogen Scudder .
As with Festergloom, avoid playing Hushwing Gryff if it doesn't cancel an ETB trigger (I especially like to do it against Heliod's Pilgrim )
July 23, 2014 9:51 p.m.
To clarify on something Circeus said.
Necrobite does not really counter Xathrid Slyblade . A creature that regenerates before it deals combat damage will deal no combat damage. Since Xathrid Slyblade gains First Strike, your creature will be regenerating before it gets a chance to deal it's Death Touch damage (unless you also have Fist Strike). - It will still survive, but it will not kill the Xathrid Slyblade .
Ephemeral Shields works nicely though. Anything that let's your creature live and still deal combat damage works well. Indestructible or "prevent all damage" are the two main ways of doing this.
Personally, I just hold onto a targeted removal until after they pay the activation. - It's usually a worthy target.
July 24, 2014 7:54 a.m.
illuknisaa says... #11
This might be a little late but Inferno Fist is pretty awesome. Marked by Honor on Boonweaver Giant and you got a pretty sweet beater.
August 1, 2014 11:18 a.m.
Dalektable says... #12
illuknisaa Just a little, haha :) I ended up winning my draft, first pick Ajani does work.
August 1, 2014 12:04 p.m.
For commons, these are cards I want as many copies of as possible:
White:
- Divine Verdict
- Kinsbaile Skirmisher
- Midnight Guard
- Raise the Alarm
- Sungrace Pegasus
- Triplicate Spirits
Black:
Blue:
Red:
- Inferno Fist
- Krenko's Enforcer
- Lightning Strike
- Generator Servant
- Seismic Strike
- Borderland Marauder
- Thundering Giant
Green:
Cards that enable certain archetypes or combos:
- Heliod's Pilgrim : This card is the bee's knees if you can get lots of Oppressive Rays , Inferno Fist s, and Encrust s. I wouldn't play it if all you're doing is grabbing Divine Favor . That just sets yourself up to get two-for-one'd.
- Ornithopter : Good with lots of convoke. With stuff like Generator Servant , you can get turn 2 Siege Wurm s or Triplicate Spirits .
- Scrapyard Mongrel : 3/3 body for 4 mana is already solid. However, I'm more inclined to take removal if I haven't drafted a lot of artifacts yet.
- Aeronaut Tinkerer : Same thing as Scrapyard Mongrel . I've noticed blue gets cogged up on three-drops, so this is a little harder to pick for me.
Commons I want only a few copies of, usually as singletons:
- Sanctified Charge : White Overrun . Can also be used defensively to blow your opponent out by double-blocking.
- Covenant of Blood : The mana cost is steep and most of the problematic threats in this format have five or more toughness. Still, it's a sorcery-speed Warleader's Helix that sometimes costs significantly less.
- Tyrant's Machine : Good singleton. You'll steal games you shouldn't have otherwise won with this.
- Blastfire Bolt : Kills just about everything in the format.
- Pillar of Light : One or two is ideal. I've found three or more is just a lot of dead weight in your hand.
Uncommons that are better than most rares and I will snap pick these:
- Stab Wound
- Devouring Light
- Heat Ray
- illusionary angel
- Juggernaut
- Serra Angel
- Stoke the Flames
- Sengir Vampire
- Overwhelm
Paragons (Paragon of Eternal Wilds etc.) are only good if you get enough creatures in that color (I'd say 7+). Otherwise, they're really bad 2/2s for 4 mana.
Allied Kird Ape -types (Sunblade Elf , Kird Chieftain , etc.) are great, especially as early picks. Like multicolor cards in any limited format, however, picking them early when the player to your right is in one of those colors can really gimp you. Your opponent may pass you Sunblade Elf because they took Soul of Theros and Triplicate Spirits first, for example. They may be planning on going red/white, so Sunblade Elf isn't a very good pick for them.
For the most part, avoid equipment and auras. This isn't like RtR block or M14 where removal was rather limited. Nor is it like Theros where we want to load up on all of the enchantments. Combat tricks aren't as good either, because few of them lead to total blowouts the way Martial Glory or Joint Assault . That being said, I'm more inclined to load up on as many creatures as possible, especially with convoke being in this set. Normally, I'd play 12 to 16. In M15, I'm finding myself wanting 17 to 20. Removal always gets picked before random creatures, but sometimes you'll be fighting with people over those Lightning Strike s, Hunt the Weak s, and Flesh to Dust s.
August 4, 2014 11:47 a.m.
NotSoLuckyLydia says... #14
One card that, especially in RB with a generator servant or two, that did a lot of work for me was Gravedigger . I am a huge fan of Gravedigger and kin in limited, and I think this set has a lot of great ways to use him. With all the powerful removal, he lets you get back a vital creature to use it again, or lead to crazy combo-y turns with Generator Servant .
August 13, 2014 10:48 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #15
You should know that G/W Tokens is the best deck in the format, and Soul of Theros is the best card, closely followed by Hornet Queen . I have drafted three times before in my life, and 0 times of this set, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
August 13, 2014 10:53 p.m.
TheRedDude says... #16
White is definitely strong. I played W/B life-gain and went 2-2-1. I drafted Jorubai Murk Lurker + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth The most important thing you can do is draft removal. Almost any removal is first pick material. Spectra Ward is also awesome if you get it out. This is the third draft I've been to and the first limited tournament I've made top 8 in. (unless you count the unsanctioned 8-man draft. Also, flyers and artifacts are good to build. The pseudo-multicolored cycle (i.e. Jorubai Murk Lurker are all worth splashing if you already are playing the other color.
August 30, 2014 9:45 a.m.
Dalektable says... #17
TheRedDude White is the strongest color in M15 limited, In my opinion. I've drafted M15 on paper three times, twice I got 1st and the other time I got third. Last night I drafted U/W Flyers with TWO Jace, the Living Guildpact ...It worked, lol.
Unforgivn_II says... #2
All I know is that Charging Rhino was my non-rare MVP. That thing with any pants (Battle Mastery was particularly brutal) is a force to be reckoned with. Also, Netcaster Spider is just great. Ghats only from my experience though. The Convoke Artifact guy (6 for a 4/4) was really solid against me. Convoke in general is very good.
July 16, 2014 11:44 p.m.