The Daily Draft Debate 2/1

Daily Draft Debate

KrazyCaley

7 April 2010

730 views

Our picks so far

Journey to Nowhere

2x Living Tsunami

2x Burst Lightning

Plated Geopede

2x Magma Rift

Reckless Scholar

Nissa's Chosen

Ruinous Minotaur

Turntimber Grove

Lethargy Trap

Island

My thoughts on our draft so far

We've drafted a solid set of good, honest, hardworking red cards. We started out with the promising Journey to Nowhere, but no really good white ever showed up, and we practically shifted to a couple Living Tsunami, then we mostly focused on red from then out. I think our priority in the next pack should be to decide whether we want to go full on red, given that red is apparently not a popular color in this draft, or find some more blue to go with the already-solid red we've got. The cards will dictate much of our choice. So let's open up a fresh pack, shall we?

This pack

Marsh Flats

Inferno Trap

Graypelt Refuge

Landbind Ritual

Pillarfield Ox

Demolish

Noble Vestige

Kabira Crossroads

Territorial Baloth

Zektar Shrine Expedition

Bladetusk Boar

Whiplash Trap

Umara Raptor

Crypt Ripper

Island

This article is a follow-up to The Daily Draft Debate 1/13-1/15 The next article in this series is The Daily Draft Debate 2/2

KrazyCaley says... #1

Yuck! Options are Inferno Trap , Demolish , Zektar Shrine Expedition , Bladetusk Boar , and maybe Umara Raptor . Marsh Flats is worth some cash but is not wonderful in limited, especially not for our U/R stuff.

I'm in favor of Bladetusk Boar , especially given how unpopular red is in this draft so far. It's not a wonderful first pick, but it's still a good card for our deck.

April 7, 2010 5:03 a.m.

l0ki says... #2

Zektar Shrine Expedition . we've passed one before, we should take this one.

April 7, 2010 6:04 a.m.

kabrazell says... #3

I'm a big removal person so the inferno trap looks nice to me, but the boar is also really good and I like to agree with KC once in a while!

Bladetusk Boar

April 7, 2010 6:13 a.m.

Siegfried says... #4

Zektar Shrine Expedition . Gives Eleleth a reason to be smug.

Bladetusk Boar and Demolish probably won't make it back around the table, despite everyone else's apparent red-phobia. Factored into this is the idea that someone may have realized all the good red is vanishing and could start hate-drafting with a passion. Marsh Flats, Crypt Ripper and Graypelt Refuge we may as well say goodbye to now, methinks. For when this comes back my money's on us picking Kabira Crossroads, for the simple reason that everything better will be gone

April 7, 2010 6:35 a.m.

Eleleth says... #5

I don't know a smug emoticon but... imagine it, ok? (Aside for the fact I was totally wrong about seeing the original ones again).

I also think that it's a good card, and the pig is expensive and reliant on the opponent not having red to block it.

Zektar Shrine Expedition

April 7, 2010 6:52 a.m.

jjmacgrinch66 says... #6

Bladetusk Boar puts people in panic mode for some reason even if they are playing red. Whiplash Trap is amazing in limited because it bounces 2 of their fatties or blockers for us to get the win and we are lookin pretty aggro right now. Umara Raptor is a 2/2 flyer for 3 which is pretty good and can get bigger. Inferno Trap is good but not first turn pick. Zektar Shrine Expedition is never a first turn pick but has its uses in an aggro deck, only if drawn early though. 11th draw Zektar Shrine Expedition is a dead card.

my vote goes for Bladetusk Boar .

April 7, 2010 8:19 a.m.

SirNips says... #7

i really dont like Zektar Shrine Expedition it is to slow to actually be useful, unless it is played within the first 4 turns. (so this should be the third one we pass on)

Umara Raptor and Bladetusk Boar rate roughly the same for me. As flying is so precious in limited and intimidate i guess is kind of Pseudo-flying.

So on that basis we have a 2/2 for 3 or a 3/2 for 4

Each presents a good choice and you would be happy with either of these two. But we are hevily set into red now and i think we all want to play those Living Tsunami 's

So i'd probably go with the Umara Raptor because it could possible get bigger. And Its a Fabulous Card (regretting passing on those 2 highland-beserker's now)

April 7, 2010 9:51 a.m.

squire1 says... #8

Umara Raptor for me 2/2 flyer for thre with growth potential. I like But there are a lot of good cards in there.

April 7, 2010 10:32 a.m.

exarkun809 says... #9

You forgot to list that we picked a Bushwhacker last pack pick 12... or am I going crazy?

Also, if this draft were for real this isn't even up for debate... you take the fetch land. If we're ignoring the $ cards and just solely going for our deck then I'd say Bladetusk Boar b/c it's a card that has to be dealt with.

April 7, 2010 10:46 a.m.

I think Bladetusk Boar will come back around. If it doesn't, we really don't have a reason to fear an opponent getting it.

My vote goes for Umara Raptor . It works even without other allies. (That Island Caley so righteously drafted for us combos well with it.) Besides, we may see Akoum Battlesinger or more copies of Highland Berserker later in this draft.

April 7, 2010 10:46 a.m.

p0haku says... #11

Inferno Trap is kind of boss for removal, and I really don't see us getting a lot of mileage out of Umara Raptor. My end vote is going to have to be for piggy, though; judging by how much red we're getting he's got a good chance of going unblockable in most games (and most of the things we've lost that could block it aren't things that are likely to block it, ie Zektar Shrine and Highland Berserker).

April 7, 2010 11:16 a.m.

exarkun809 says... #12

Supreme makes a good point. Bladetusk will probably come back around and Umara is a really underrated card... Can I change my vote? :P

April 7, 2010 11:34 a.m.

I like the power 3 which likely can't be blocked by any of our opponents. Seems like if anyone else was really focusing red we wouldn't be seeing so much red coming back around. So Bladetusk Boar is my pick.

As to your broader question the way things have been drafted so far I suggest we stick red / blue, white seems to have been pretty sparse until this pack and i am not enamored with anything that i have seen so far. We just need to nab some counters from blue in future packs to make our deck a bit more viable. But blue usually has plenty of answers so hopefully this won't be a problem.

April 7, 2010 12:17 p.m.

I did what?!?

April 7, 2010 12:19 p.m.

guitarhero says... #15

i vote for Bladetusk Boar

thats a big E for evasion!

April 7, 2010 2:26 p.m.

Banned says... #16

Where is our Goblin Bushwhacker ???

April 7, 2010 2:57 p.m.

honeymomo says... #17

Marsh Flats ... rare draft for the $$ and can be used for the 'Pede. :3

April 7, 2010 3:15 p.m.

tapanmeister says... #18

There is no question in the mind of someone who has drafted a ton of zendikar what the correct choice is here. Inferno Trap beats the 3-4 toughness spread found abundantly in worldwake. It's casting cost is appropriate, and it has a chance to be cast for far less since it's a trap! (courtacy of admiral Akbar).

Bladetusk would be my second pick here. Wonderful beater, I've won many drafts on his back. The problem is he dies to EVERY removal spell in the sets, and any two-power creature who can block him. The investmen is heavy for us, and affordable to our opponent. Plus he's a common, we're sure to see another come around (or even this guy come around again, although unlikely).

April 7, 2010 3:23 p.m.

KrazyCaley says... #19

Forgot about Goblin Bushwhacker . I'll have him up there next time around.

April 7, 2010 5:02 p.m.

Xander574 says... #20

umara raptor

April 7, 2010 5:26 p.m.

mattlohkamp says... #21

I think it's Inferno Trap , zectar-shrine, or Bladetusk Boar . maybe Umara Raptor . The boar is going to have a really easy time getting in free hits - we're one of the possibly two red players, which means every other player (especially green) won't be able to do anything about it, and 3 points per turn is a pretty good clock.

On the other hand, Umara Raptor does get bigger, and justifies our blue a bit more... I just don't see it happening more reliably than the boar.

let's just boycott the shrines, shall we? ha ha.

Inferno trap is pretty legit removal. 4 points of damage will take out a lot of things...

So it's either Inferno Trap or Bladetusk Boar . We actually already have decent direct damage, and I like scaring people with hard-to-block creatures, so let's go with the piggy.

April 7, 2010 5:28 p.m.

tapanmeister says... #22

We can't have enough direct damage. Removal is always a premium, and inferno trap is one of the best removal spells in zendikar.

April 7, 2010 5:33 p.m.

TridenT says... #23

I like the Boar for this round. If we're dominant red, it'll be quite effective.

April 7, 2010 5:34 p.m.

I'm def feeling the Bladetusk Boar , but I'm really tempted to take the Inferno Trap ... I feel like overall the piggy is less likely to hurt in somebody else's hands, but the trap on the other hand... that could set us back a tsunami and a land drop AND a Geopede... I hate to pass up a good beater, but I'm going to be cautious and go for the removal: Inferno Trap it is.

April 7, 2010 5:58 p.m.

Darkness1835 says... #25

April 7, 2010 8:11 p.m.

mattlohkamp says... #26

Marsh Flats for landfall is hilarious - but I get the feeling we're not going to be playing much white in the end, and it won't hurt us too much to let the white or black player pick this up if they really want it. Steppe Lynx would be neat, true. But how likely are we to move into that area?

April 7, 2010 8:19 p.m.

TAMA says... #27

So it was Eleleth that guaranteed the zektars would return (stabbing Emoticon) they didn't therefore you should pick... the Marsh Flats because I think we will see another one.

April 7, 2010 8:48 p.m.

Zanven says... #28

No one else is voting for it but me, but I like Whiplash Trap . It's saved my bacon plenty of times, and I want to steer back into blue with those Living Tsunami s.

April 7, 2010 11:04 p.m.

SirNips says... #29

for us i think that seeing either Inferno Trap or Umara Raptor or Bladetusk Boar would BENEFIT us more than the marsh flats and i think thats kinda what the point of this is. Sure there are good "money" cards in the pack, but We are choosing what would benefit the deck most.

April 8, 2010 9:06 a.m.

Leardawg says... #30

Bladetusk Boar is a great card for us.

April 8, 2010 9:52 a.m.

merubhanot says... #31

I know I'd pick the Marsh Flats every time for the landfall triggers and the cash, but I'm sure that's not the popular pick.

My real question is, why on earth would be pick the Bladetusk Boar ? No one is even playing red. I give it a 75% chance of tabling back to us.

It has to be the Umara Raptor , especially since so many people end up playing blue white skies, and picking the raptor is a nice combination of hate-drafting and picking up a great flier.

April 8, 2010 10:11 a.m.

ballard302 says... #32

Inferno Trap . We've pulled two Burst Lightning 's from packs already, so I'm sure we'll see the Boar come back around, and even if we don't, he won't pose a problem for us.

April 8, 2010 12:10 p.m.

Xander574 says... #33

Umara Raptor makes sense due to the fact that we have allot of time to grab a few allies to compliment it not to mention we are already in blue. its really between the raptor and the shrine but other people are rafting blue alt least more then they are red

April 8, 2010 1:43 p.m.

mattlohkamp says... #34

wow, I am really having trouble trying to figure out if I want to change my vote or not. Bladetusk Boar in the absence of a lot of other removal is going to really hurt the other non-red players, which seems like it's worth taking for ourselves - on the other hand, if we leave it for the hypothetical other red player, we don't have anything to worry from it.

Stealing the Inferno Trap is cool because we keep red burn to ourselves, and will help us deal with the things we've passed to other players.

And the Umara Raptor is an average flier on its own, but can get scary if it lives to see even one or two subsequent ally drops. We could deal with it with the Inferno Trap , though...

I still think that the guaranteed damage of the boar is the most appealing, but the removal is a close bet, and the flier isn't far behind.

April 8, 2010 2:41 p.m.

I seriously doubt that both Inferno Trap and Bladetusk Boar will be gone when this pack comes around again. So, from a "getting value from the pack" perspective, I think we can safely pass on both this time around.

If we take Umara Raptor , we should get another shot at one or both of the reds. Plus, we're messing with the allies drafter, and we're getting a card that is 90% as good as the other two.

April 8, 2010 3:14 p.m.

KrazyCaley says... #36

By my count, we have 8 votes for Umara Raptor, 8 votes for Bladetusk Boar, and 7 votes for Inferno Trap. All others trail by significant margins. Not a great consensus here. Anybody else want to weigh in/change a vote?

April 8, 2010 6:32 p.m.

mattlohkamp says... #37

glad to see I'm not the only one conflicted. So -

Umara Raptor is a 2/2 flier for 3, might get better if we pick up an ally somewhere, and counts as ally hate against the player that's supposedly been taking those green allies - although there haven't been any other blue allies that I've seen.

Inferno Trap is 4-damage removal, which could take out almost anything we've seen come around, and which we could keep a near monopoly on creature removal if we picked up, in addition to denying it to the hypothetical other red drafter.

Bladetusk Boar could go to the other red drafter without presenting any danger to us, but we could make good use out of it as well, since it would likely guarantee damage (given the apparent colour breakdown and lack of other removal we've seen) against at least 5 of our opponents.

... the bird and the trap are the ones that can be used against us. We already have two big beefy fliers to soak up an opponent's bird, but if we give the trap over to an opponent, they'll be able to shoot down any of our creatures with it.

So... I'm still voting for Inferno Trap .

April 8, 2010 6:47 p.m.

mattlohkamp says... #38

Did I say, "still?" I mean "now." I changed my mind in the course of writing that post, ha ha.

April 8, 2010 6:49 p.m.

TAMA says... #39

Bladetusk Boar because it is alright in draft and I hate the it will come back to us line (because they didn't).

April 8, 2010 8:27 p.m.

mattlohkamp says... #40

ha ha ha, after some study, I'm ready to present my hypothesis that what TAMA means is:

Bladetusk Boar , because it is alright in draft games, and because I hate the "it will come back to us" line. (I don't think it will.)

April 8, 2010 8:45 p.m.

mattlohkamp says... #41

also, I think we still need a tie-breaker, don't we?

April 8, 2010 8:45 p.m.

KrazyCaley says... #42

I'm hoping a few people who advocated for choices besides one of the big 3 will change their vote now that the other options are no longer plausible for victory.

April 8, 2010 8:57 p.m.

SirNips says... #43

doubt it :P

April 8, 2010 9 p.m.

ballard302 says... #44

I'll change to bladetusk.

April 8, 2010 11:19 p.m.

ballard302 says... #45

Blah, nevermind, keeping my vote for Inferno, I just love it to much.

April 8, 2010 11:20 p.m.

Darkness1835 says... #46

i'll go bladetusk.

April 8, 2010 11:54 p.m.

mattlohkamp says... #47

ITS A TRAP

April 9, 2010 12:28 a.m.

KrazyCaley says... #48

Been up two days; calling it for Bladetusk.

-C

April 9, 2010 1 a.m.

TAMA says... #49

Lets guess how much sleep TAMA has had based on his grammar.

April 10, 2010 3:40 a.m.

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